New Year

New Year

Philippians 3:14   I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

            As we begin the new year many ask, “What will it be this year?” The election went completely different than most thought it would. The Trump supporters came out in force and took the nation by surprise. In spite of the ramblings and cheating on the left, the people made their voice known. Will there be more assassination attempts? Will the left acknowledge their failed policies and ideals? Will gas prices. Food prices, cost of living etc. come down now?

            These and many other questions are being asked by many, if not all of us. The Hebrew word for future means “going backward”. We think that to be unusual, but they are more accurate than we. In commencement addresses the graduating student are urged to “match forward into the future”. But in reality, the Hebrew word better describes the future. Who can see into the future? Only God can do that and so going into the future is like holding God’s hand and walking backward – we cannot see the future and we don’t know what will occur tomorrow. We can see yesterday but not tomorrow.

            In our text Paul says that he will go forward pursuing his life with Christ and going forward in faith to seek the prize of eternity and fulfilling his calling from God. So, as we begin another year, let us seek to fulfill the calling of God in our life and push forward to our eternal home. There will be obstacles, heartaches, losses and more. But by faith we press on into the unknown, holding the hand of the One who knows all and cares deeply about His children.

Another gospel 1-10-2025

Galatians 1:6-7  I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel:

7  Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ.

Another not another:

            Some get confused with the wording of Paul’s warning “another gospel that is not another”. The difficulty is relieved when we consider that two different Greek words are used and they are both translated “another”. In verse 6 Paul uses the word heteros which implies something of a totally different sort altogether – something diametrically opposed to the one to which it is compared. In verse 7 he uses the word allos which implies a comparison to two items of the same sort. In essence what Paul is saying is: “You are removed from, the truth in Christ to a totally different belief system, which seems similar and legitimate expression of the true gospel, but is actually opposite to the truth.”

Another Comforter:

            When Jesus was preparing His disciples for His coming death, He told of the Father sending them another Comforter to take His place (Jn 14:16). Here Jesus uses the word allos to describe the Comforter – the Holy Spirit—that will take His place with them after His ascension back into heaven. This Comforter will be the same as Him and will help, encourage and strengthen the believers in Jesus’ bodily absence. As Jesus taught them truth so this Comforter is called the Spirit of Truth. He is like Christ in that He is the very Spirit of Christ.

The true gospel:

            The book of Galatians is set forth to indoctrinate the believers to the true gospel and help them see the error that the false gospel propagates. Paul teaches them that we are saved by grace minus the works of the law and the just shall live by faith.

Problem today and yesterday:

            In Paul’s day the problem arose when false teachers followed him around telling people that if they were going to truly be saved they would have to keep the ceremonial law – particularly circumcision. So he dealt with that problem, in the early church that caused division and confusion.

Today there is another problem that arises from the same epistle of Paul to the Galatians. This problem is with those who confuse the “law” Paul was speaking about. Paul said Christ is the end of the law for righteousness (Rom 10:4), yet Christ said He did not come to destroy the law (Matt 5:17) but to fulfill it. When we understand that Christ was not come to do away with any of the law of God – Ten Commandments, moral laws, etc. – but fulfilled it, and that the law is still in effect we search to find out the truth. Christ fulfilled the complete aspect of the law that makes us righteous in approaching God, as well as keeping the moral law perfectly. Our approach to God is not thru the sacrificial OT system but thru the NT sacrifice of Christ. The moral law of God is still in place only transplanted into the believer by the Holy Spirit (Heb 8:6-10).