America is becoming a graveyard for churches. Across the land stand tombstones that were once church buildings. Some of these churches failed to accomodate changing neighborhoods. Others became unfaithful to the Word and God gave them up. Some destroyed themselves - they committed ecclesiastical suicide. It is these of whom we are going to study.

Galatians 5:13 - 6:5 is a passage full of huge themes that we won’t have time to cover, and since our primary focus is on the “one another’s” of the New Testament, we’ll focus on those phrases in context throughout the passage. I see the overall theme of the passage as being walking together in the Spirit. WAIT! There is more to read… read on »

“Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.”—Galatians 5:1

Jesus said, “the truth shall set you free” and that once set free, we would be “free indeed.” But freedom does not necessarily mean the absolute liberty to do anything we please, but rather to do anything we please within the proper boundaries.

America has become a place in which we are overly sensitive to certain “freedoms.” We’ll protect just about any right no matter what effect it may have on society, so long as it does not directly violate an existing law (and even then we often simply change the law). We fight for “civil liberties” at the expense of the decency and moral excellence of this once great nation. Freedom is a God-given privilege, but even our own law gives evidence that our freedom must know its proper boundaries.

This is true in our lives as well. Christians today will argue tooth and nail for their freedom to do just about anything because we are “under grace.” Strangely, I never remember Paul arguing for the right to do something questionable, rather He was always willing to give up his own rights for the sake of Christ’s testimony. He was a slave, bound to Jesus. Like Paul, we are free not to sin anymore, not to try to live up to the law to please God, and we are free from the condemnation that once rested on us for sin. But also like Paul, we are bound to Christ and therefore our freedom must know its limitations, set by the Lordship of Jesus Christ and the absolute authority of Scripture in our lives.

So run free for God! But don’t use your freedom as an excuse to run away from God. Run, that you may obtain the prize He has waiting!

“Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted.” –Galatians 6:1

In a recent discussion with other church leaders, the subject of church discipline was approached. I have read in the history of the church in which I grew up that a few people were “churched” for dancing, cardplaying, or some other evil practice. Obviously the subject of church discipline can be very misunderstood and abused. So often we think of it as a mere cleaning of our church rolls or “kicking the sinners out.”

Real church discipline is a very biblical practice but it is also an almost forgotten practice. In our world of individualism, we sometimes go too far to protect the privacy of our hurting brothers and sisters. Jesus commanded church discipline and the New Testament expands on His teaching. The idea of excluding a believer from the fellowship of the saints was reserved as an extreme last resort. Real discipline is much, much more. One of the best phrases to use in conjunction with “church discipline” would be “restorative discipleship.” Church discipline is really a means of correcting and helping another believer.

Paul challenged us to do the very uncomfortable task of approaching one who had fallen into sin in order to restore them to full fellowship with the church. Needless to say, the church should never resort to eliminating from her fellowship those who merely struggle with addictions or problems. Exclusion is limited to those who willfully ignore the problem of sin and minimize its impact while flaunting an unbiblical lifestyle as an embarassment to the church’s testimony.

It takes great courage to approach a struggling brother or sister. We’re never sure how much to say or how far to push. We are usually concerned about jeapordizing the friendship, but real friendship is a matter of strengthening each other and sometimes, even rescuing one another. As the writer of Proverbs indicated, “As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens the countenance of his friend.” If we offend someone by offering help, we may lose a friend, but if we end up rescuing them from the powerful grip of a moral problem, we may have saved a friend for life and eternity.

Real church discipline is rarely expressed through a congregational vote, but by courageous Christians who love enough to rebuke, correct, and exhort using God’s inspired Word.

“And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed.”—Galatians 3:8

God has sovereignly chosen that faith should be the means by which people come to know Him. He chose long in advance that He would “justify the heathen” through faith. Therefore He gave the good news of “salvation by grace through faith” to Abraham in the form of a promise. He told Abraham that someday, all the families of the earth would be “blessed” through his lineage (e.g. – Jesus Christ). Abraham believed that promise and God credited to his account as righteousness.

We may not understand all of these great mysteries of faith, but one biblical truth is evident in our lives – God blesses faith. He has chosen to save us through the medium of our faith. He provides blessings in our lives through our faith. We see Him acting in, around, and through us as we look for Him with the eyes of faith.

Where is your faith today? Do you find your security in a fattened bank account, a great job, a good retirement package, or in Jesus? Save your money, work hard, prepare for the future, but trust in Jesus. God, increase our faith today.