This week's belated Bible study, with apologies to all my valued readers, will be part 1 of Luke chapter 21

Signs of the End of the Age (part 1)

[Luke chapter 21, verses 1-19]

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Last week when we finished chapter 20 of Luke's gospel, our Lord and Savior Jesus the Christ had just left his critics dumbfounded by his response to yet another of their 'trick questions'. Today as we move on to chapter 21, as they are about to leave the Temple at Jerusalem Jesus makes an observation about the religious practices of that day. We find Jesus, the Twelve, and a throng of his followers moving on from this scene to one that was more private soon after. So let's begin today's analysis of Luke chapter 21 at verse one.

“As he looked up, he saw the rich putting their gifts into the temple treasury. He also saw a poor widow put in two very small copper coins. 'I tell you the truth', he said, 'this poor widow has put in more than all the others. All these other people gave their gifts out of their wealth; but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.' Some of the apostles were remarking about how the temple was adorned with beautiful stones and gifts dedicated to God. But Jesus said, 'As for what you see here, the time will come when not one stone will be left on top of another; every one of them will be thrown down.' 'Teacher', they asked, 'when will these things happen? And what will be the sign that they are about to take place?' He replied, 'Watch out that you are not deceived, for many will come in my name, claiming, 'I am he', and 'The time is near'. Do not follow them. When you hear of wars and revolutions, do not be frightened. These things must happen first, but the end will not come right away.' “ (Luke 21, verses 1-11)

As chapter 21 begins, we find the apostle Luke adding yet another shining example of Jesus' contempt for the rich – those who line their pockets, their wallets and their closets full of as much cash, expensive merchandise and the very finest of everything all the time that they can! As you see from Luke's testimony, greedy and materialistic people will never see the Kingdom of God, nor will the vast majority of them be able to enter heaven when their lives are over, although there will be at least a few exceptions. The rich tithed their 10% effortlessly. It was no strain on their budget at all. But the poor widow who put the two copper coins in the offering put in all she had. She left the worship service more justified in the sight of God than the person who put in the largest offering that day! God doesn't honor what we possess. He honors those who give away what they have. It's exactly the opposite of our world today. Everyone is obsessed with how much they can accumulate, but our eternity depends on the legacy we leave behind.

In the following verses, Jesus relates how the Temple at Jerusalem will be torn down, with not a single stone atop another. This actually occurred in 70AD, when the Roman armies conquered Jerusalem and destroyed the temple there, approximately 37-38 years after Jesus uttered those words. But Jesus' response to the apostle's questions about the End Times are telling: “Watch out that you are not deceived, for many will come in my name, claiming, 'I am he', and 'The time is near'. Do not follow them.” We have already seen some of this in the last 150 years here in America, with the Mormons and Jehovah's Witnesses being two of the most prominent examples. The conflagration of the Branch Davidians in Waco, Texas back in the 1990's is yet another example, and with horrific consequences. That was, in short, a sign of the impending End Times in which we are living.

“When you hear of wars and revolutions, do not be frightened. These things must happen first, but the end will not come right away.” As before, this is precisely what is occurring today. We have had 2 world wars, with a third threatening to break out over the Korean peninsula, and with Russia and China signing a sweeping military and economic cooperation agreement that effectively forms an alliance against North America. As I have written previously, this new pact between the 2 largest Asian countries will ultimately climax in a preemptive strike on the United States (see Ezekiel 7 & Revelation 18), the exact nature of which remains unknown. I know, I know, this is not exactly a popular thing to say or write, and there are at least a few who have questioned my patriotism over the years. But I'm a man commissioned to speak and write the truth who also happens to love his country and to care greatly about her future. So to me, I would be remiss to fail to warn my countrymen – and the rest of the world – of the dangers that lie ahead. But if we pray and ask God to forgive us for our sins and our country of its sins, and then turn away and repent of those sins, God will hear our prayers, and will forgive us and heal our land. An now let's move on to the rest of today's Biblical study beginning at verse 12.

“Then he said to them, 'Nation will rise against nation; and kingdom against kingdom. There will be great earthquakes, famines, and pestilences in various places, and fearful events and great signs from heaven. But before all this, they will lay hands on you and persecute you. They will deliver you to synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors, and all on account of my name. This will result in your being witnesses to them. But make up your mind not to worry beforehand how you will defend yourselves. For I will give you words and wisdom that none of your adversaries will be able to resist or contradict. You will be betrayed even by parents, brothers, relatives and friends, and they will put some of you to death. All men will hate you because of me. But not a hair of your head will perish. By standing firm you will gain life.'” (Luke 21, verses 12-19)

So we can infer from the first 2 or 3 verses that before the time of the end – when nations and kingdoms rise up against one another and “fearful events”, a possible reference to the atomic age, as well as “great signs from heaven”, such as the total eclipse of the sun that was seen across North America earlier this year, occur – that those who are counted as believers and followers of Christ Jesus will endure considerable persecution for their faith. This is the proof many are seeking as to the timing of the 'rapture' of the Church (see 1^st Thessalonians 4: 13-18 and chapter 5 verses 1-3), but in fact it shows that we will have to endure persecution for our faith, implying that we will all still be here for the first part of the 'tribulation' period, the word used in Matthew chapter 24, which parallels this account of the apostle Luke's. Nobody knows for sure when we are going to be 'taken up' by Christ just prior to the last part of the 7-year (see Daniel chapter 9) 'tribulation' period in Scriptural prophecy. So this is proof that those who argue in favor of a “pre-tribulation” or a “mid-tribulation” as opposed to a “post tribulation” 'rapture' are only guessing at best, and stirring up confusion at worst, within the Body of Believers known as the Bride! This has simply got to stop! Remember what Jesus said to his apostles, “He who does not gather with me, scatters.”

“But before all this, they will lay hands on you and persecute you. They will deliver you to synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors, and all on account of my name. This will result in your being witnesses to them.” This quotation was not talking about the early Christians being fed to the lions in the Coliseum in Rome. Jesus was prophesying about our time, about the here and now! Our faith is going to be tested to the utmost extreme during the reign of the world dictator called the “Antichrist”, as the apostle John calls him (see 1^st John 2, verses 18-27). Although a lot of people currently don't believe this, there will be persecution and even prosecutions of Christians right here in the United States in the not-too-distant future, and Jesus knew that. But God will take what was intended for evil and turn it into an opportunity for those being prosecuted to do some good for the cause of Christ. “But make up your mind not to worry beforehand how you will defend yourselves. For I will give you words and wisdom that none of your adversaries will be able to resist or contradict.” That's the good news about this trying time to come from our Lord and Savior himself. None of us will need lawyers, presumably because none will be provided. This can only mean the US Constitution will be suspended at best or done away with at worst, implying martial law or its equivalent. Clearly this will be a bad situation for everyone. But if we prepare ourselves we will fulfill our missions for the Lord, and we will be rewarded accordingly.

“You will be betrayed even by parents, brothers, relatives and friends, and they will put some of you to death. All men will hate you because of me. But not a hair of your head will perish. By standing firm you will gain life.” Some of us will have to die for our faith, there's no doubt about it. The way I see it, Jesus loved us all so much he gave his life for us by dying on the cross. It seems only natural – from a Christian vantage point – to be quite willing to return the favor if given the opportunity to do so. This doesn't mean we're all going to have to get ourselves killed to get to heaven, but it does mean we should have as much passion for serving Christ as he did for being our Savior and Kinsman Redeemer. It will cost us some friends and some will find themselves estranged from their families on account of their faith. This is similar to my own life. The family that I grew up with are all Catholics. I am a nondenominational Protestant. I was a foster kid who found Christ later in life (I was in my thirties when I gave myself to Jesus in 1992), I have had no contact with them since, and I'm OK with that. They know where I live if they want to contact me. So if you are a person who is estranged from your family for religious reasons, or if you have no family for whatever the reason, take heart! You have gotten God's attention because it's people like ourselves who make the best servants. Having 'lost' our families, we are all now part of the 'family of God', the largest one of all! And next week we'll explore the 2^nd half of Luke chapter 21.

Iron-Clad Proof of Vegas Crime Scene Cover-up They WON'T Want You to See!!

A Message From God That Is Chilling To the Bone! And the Body of Christ ...

Las Vegas and the Bible: an Indictment of American Culture

Why We Have Guys Like Stephen Paddock and

Incidents Like the Las Vegas Shooting: a Spiritual Diagnosis

by Pastor Paul J. Bern

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All week long, everyone has the same question, especially the police at the local, state and federal levels – why? Why did this man kill 58 people and wound or maim 500 more? What motivated this seemingly mindless mass slaughter? A shooter's reasons, however sick and twisted, usually become clear within a day or two. A suicide note, a manifesto, a series of social media rants, a phone call – even police reports and court dockets can provide insight into what drives a warped mind to commit such a violent act. Usually, someone close knows something or realizes, in retrospect, that they missed the warning signs. But 64-year-old Stephen C. Paddock flew low under the radar. He avoided interaction with many of the people around him, and his manner was direct and brusque by all accounts. He was known to stay up all night gambling, but it was as if he was the only reveler at his own party.

Clark County Nevada Under-sheriff Kevin C. McMahill seemed almost apologetic Friday afternoon when he told reporters that despite running down some 1,000 leads, investigators still haven't come up with "credible information" concerning Paddock's motive. Chasing down all those leads "helped create a better profile into the madness of this suspect," McMahill said, but "we still do not have a clear motive or reason why." The previous evening, Sheriff Joe Lombardo summed up the mystery man this way: Paddock "spent decades acquiring weapons and ammo and living a secret life, much of which will never be fully understood." But I maintain that much of the mystery surrounding Mr. Paddock's can be cleared up. What Sheriff Lombardo was lacking, along with most, if not all, of the other investigators, was a Bible. Let me give you a few examples of what I mean.

“You shall not murder....” (Exodus 20: 13). That's the most obvious example, but there's more than just this alone. “The commandments, 'Do not commit adultery', 'Do not murder', 'Do not steal', 'Do not covet' and whatever other commandment there may be, are summed up in this one rule: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' (Lev. 19:18) Love does no harm to his neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.” (Romans 13, verses 9-10) Based on these verses we can conclude that Mr. Paddock was either a person completely devoid of love, or he had completely suppressed all his capacity to love. Yet he had the presence of mind to get his lady friend out of the country with a cool 100 grand before carrying out this diabolical plot of his. I'm no psychiatrist, but it appears Mr. Paddock made a conscious effort to turn off that part of his brain. This is the same as selling one's soul to the devil, as it is written: “Jesus said to them, 'If God were your father you would love me, for I came from God and now am here. I have not come on my own, but he has sent me. Why is my language not clear to you? Because you are unable to hear what I say. You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father's desire. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.'” (John 8, verses 42-44)

The law enforcement folks, as I wrote at the beginning of this week's message, are still asking 'why?' everybody was so clueless about this mad assassin. The FBI reportedly has interviewed Mr. Paddock's girlfriend, who evidently flew back to the US from the Philippines at her own expense, or I should say Mr. Paddock's, since she undoubtedly had a credit or debit card from Mr. Paddock to defray her expenses, and she apparently knew nothing of her late boyfriend's intentions. But the words of our Lord and Savior are very clear: “You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father's desire. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him.” Remember when the press and the police interviewed Mr. Paddock's brother? He said at least twice during the interview, “He had no affiliations of any kind, especially not churches, so I can't imagine what made Steven do this!” So we now get a clearer picture of this man. Though no one is born a murderer, this guy Mr. Paddock evidently turned himself into one gradually, over the years, until he became a cold-blooded killer. He did this to himself, and it appears he did it on purpose. It was a conscious effort on his part. Steven Paddock consciously turn himself into an atrocity so he could commit atrocities, and evidently for sport. In short, Mr. Paddock rented that Las Vegas hotel room because he was going on safari, and his game was human beings. I realize writing this the way I'm doing is not politically correct. I'm not trying to be politically correct. What I am doing is explaining the mass shooting in Las Vegas in Biblical terms.

This all started back in 1962 when the USA took prayer out of her public schools. Stephen Paddock would have been in the fifth grade at that time. Seven years later in 1966, America had its first mass shooting. On August 1, 1966, Charles Whitman, a former U.S. Marine sharpshooter, took rifles and other weapons to the observation deck atop the Main Building tower at the University of Texas at Austin, then opened fire on persons indiscriminately on the surrounding campus and streets. Over the next 96 minutes he shot and killed fifteen people (including one unborn child) and injured thirty-one others; another victim died in the hospital, and a final victim died in 2001 from the lingering effects of his wounds. The incident ended when police reached Whitman and shot him dead. Mr. Paddock would have in the 11^th grade at that time, and he was surely affected by this incident. It may have even planted the seeds in his mind for the Las Vegas mass shooting decades later. But the US Supreme Court banned public prayer in all government buildings – not just schools – due to the Constitutional separation of church and state. Unfortunately for America, this ban has been taken too far.

It was 27 years later, in 1999, when America suffered her first mass shooting in a school, Columbine High School in Colorado. That's what happens in just one generation when God and his Son, Jesus, together with the Holy Spirit, are forcibly removed from our nation's schools. You wind up with a bunch of godless, atheistic kids without a conscience – or who can willfully turn theirs off and back on again without remorse, since the end always justifies the means to such people. That's exactly what Stephen Paddock turned into, and in his case it was clearly voluntary. And why did this occur? There we are, back to the original question yet again. Yet the answer has been staring us right in the face the whole time. We kicked God out of our lives. The ban on prayer in schools back in 1962 was passed with the lobbying of Congress from just a few individuals from the O'Hare family of Pittsburgh, Pa., and later Austin, Texas, a mother (Madelyn) and her two sons. The rest of America sat back and let this happen. America's churches sat on their hands. Their pastors, bishops and elders railed against the prayer ban from their pulpits, but when the sermon was over, everyone went home to their black & white TV's. There was some public protesting of the 1962 prayer ban, but not nearly enough! Even back then, people would rather sit and watch television, voluntarily surrendering their brains to an electronic box. They then proceeded to shut off their consciences so that they wouldn't be bothered no matter how much violence they were looking at. These plastic religious people would rather be entertained than get out in the streets and protest against evil!

So, when you spend the last two generations removing all semblance of prayer or the mention of God, and especially of Jesus, from a society, that society immediately begins to drift away from God. When this was done in America's schools, we programmed an entire generation against the knowledge of God. We have been drifting morally as a nation for well over half a century at this point, and this is what you get, America! We have done this to ourselves, and we have no one but ourselves to blame. America has forgotten about God! Gun control is not the answer, although mandatory gun registration should be the law of the land. We have similar laws on the books today, but they have too many loopholes. But more than that, we have to put God back in America's schools if we want to remove the potential for violence. We must allow the love of Christ Jesus to return to our governing bodies and educational system. Otherwise, our 'society' will ultimately break down. Last but not least, we need to clean up the violence on America's TV and movie screens and from the video games you and your children are playing. Turn off your cable TV and stream Christian content on the Internet instead. Get a lot pickier about what you – and especially if there are kids in the house – watch on TV or what video games you're all playing. There's an encyclopedia of subliminal messaging contained in those TV shows, commercials and video games – even in movies – that's designed to program people's minds. That could be what happened to Mr. Paddock, but it's likely no one will ever know for sure.

Stephen Paddock, and his predecessors Dylan Klebold at Columbine High and Charles Whitman at UT Austin, were godless human beings, and godlessness leads people to commit atrocities (sorry, but the word 'tragedy' just isn't strong enough). Here in America, it happens most often with guns. In Europe and the Middle East, where gun control is very strict, bombings are the weapon of choice for those who have surrendered willingly to Satan to willfully commit mass murder. In all these cases, as best as I can tell, these individuals had willfully turned off their consciences in order to commit these crimes and atrocities. There is no other explanation. The solution is to address the source of the problem, which is our nation's schools and the way children are being educated right from Day One. Insert the Prince of Peace into our homes and schools and we will know peace. No Prince of Peace equals no peace.

This week's Biblical teaching with Pastor Paul J. Bern will be part 3 of Luke chapter 20

Whose Son is the Christ and Promised Messiah?

[Luke chapter 20, verses 27-47]

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Last week when we left off at verse 26, the Pharisees, together with some agents provocateur, had tried to entrap Jesus with some questions about the tax laws. “Then give to Caesar what is Caesar's, and to God what his God's”, was Jesus' immortal response, and from that time going forward the Pharisees and “teachers” of the Law dared not challenge our Lord and Savior any further. Let me say this once again as I did in last week's study – the responses of Christ to the hired agents' questions back in verses 23-25 was indicative of a truly superior intellect. By humanity's standards, Jesus was a genius because he was the Son of God. He was, then, omniscience in the flesh. This week as we move on to part 3 of Luke chapter 20, we find another sect of the Jews called the Sadducees asking Jesus a 'trick question' in an effort to entrap him in an argument. The Pharisees, as we will see in chapter 22, had decided they needed a new strategy. So let's begin this week's study at verse 27.

“Some of the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to Jesus with a question. 'Teacher', they said, 'Moses wrote for us that if a man's brother dies and leaves a wife but no children, the man must marry the widow and have children for his brother. Now there were seven brothers. The first one married a woman and died childless. The second and then the third married her, and in the same way the seven died, leaving no children. Finally, the woman died too. Now then, at the resurrection whose wife will she be, since the seven were married to her?' Jesus replied, 'The people of this age marry and are given in marriage. But those who are considered worthy of taking part in that age and in the resurrection of the dead will neither marry nor be given in marriage, and they can no longer die, since they are like the angels. They are God's children, since they are children of the resurrection. But in the account of the bush, even Moses showed that the dead rise, for he calls the Lord 'the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.' He is not the God of the dead, but of the living, for to him all are alive.' Some of the teachers of the law responded, 'Well said, teacher!' And no one dared ask him any more questions.” (Luke 20, verses 27-40)

So here we have another instance where the Pharisees had given up on trying to entrap our Lord and Savior. The last time around some hired men sent by the Pharisees tried unsuccessfully to catch the Lord in a contradiction or an inconsistency in his testimony and teachings. So now we have the Sadduccees, another sect in Judaism, trying to entrap the Son of God with another trick question like the others. “Jesus replied, 'The people of this age marry and are given in marriage. But those who are considered worthy of taking part in that age and in the resurrection of the dead will neither marry nor be given in marriage, and they can no longer die, since they are like the angels....” To put this concisely in 21^st century vernacular, there will be no gender in heaven, meaning, the human sex drive will vanish when our bodies die. The human soul or spirit is, therefore, asexual at heart.

“Those who are considered worthy“, on the other hand, refers to all faithful believers who served the Lord as best as they were able, according to their abilities, while their bodies were living. It does not necessarily mean those who give the most money, although our financial support is critical to the long-term success of any church. But no one can buy their way into heaven, even though the “prosperity gospel” says otherwise. Moreover, pastors, deacons, administrators and musicians will all be held to a higher standard, along with any others in positions of senior leadership, such as boards of directors. Those who occupy various positions of leadership in the churches they attend should watch themselves and how they live more closely, because they can be quite sure God is watching them! I try to live my own life this way as well, because God watches what I do and listens to what I say. So I always try to conduct myself as if Christ were right there in the room, or on the bus or train, with me, and I'm strongly emphasizing that all should be doing the same. Those who aren't there yet, you know who you are and what you have to do.

“They are God's children, since they are children of the resurrection.” I am fairly sure that the apostle Paul, the final apostle, had this in mind when he wrote chapter 4 of 1^st Thessalonians. I will quote only the most important part here for the sake of brevity: “Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope. We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. According to the Lord's own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage each other with these words.” (1st Thess. 4: 13-18) So all those who pass the test of time regarding their faith, who hold themselves up to a higher standard and do so for all the right reasons, they are the ones who will spend eternity with Jesus in Paradise. Few if anyone else is going to make it in, and that's the hard truth of the matter.

“He is not the God of the dead, but of the living, for to him all are alive.' Some of the teachers of the law responded, 'Well said, teacher!' “ At this point in the dialogue, which had started back at the beginning of chapter 20, we find those who were critics of the Lord (if you can imagine such a thing, because I really can't) giving praise to Christ Jesus for his incisive response. At this point there was nothing else they could do! Unfortunately, there are still people today who have done something in their past, or who have simply lived their lives only for themselves, and who have never quit and turned away from this sort of behavior. There are still more who simply don't believe in God at all. This is tantamount to a 'vote of no confidence' in God and in the massive saving power of the blood of Jesus Christ! Let the atheists say whatever they want – they'll never convince me there is no God! But they also refuse to even consider the possibility that there is one. How sad for them! They are permanently lost and they don't even realize it. All we can do is pray for them, and praying for atheists is another thing we can all be doing for Jesus. And now let's finish up this week's lesson starting at verse 41.

“Jesus then said to them, 'How is it that they say the Christ is the son of David? David himself declares in the Book of Psalms: 'The Lord said to my Lord: 'Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet. David calls him 'Lord'. How then can he be his son?' While all the people were listening, Jesus said to his disciples, 'Beware of the teachers of the law. They like to walk around in flowing robes and love to be greeted in the marketplaces and have the most important seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets. They devour widows houses and for a show make lengthy prayers. Such men will be punished most severely.'” (Luke 20, verses 41-47)

I absolutely love the way Christ turned the tables on the very people who had just asked him a trick question of their own! Jesus responded to their loaded question about the childless wife of 7 husbands with one they couldn't answer concerning Psalm 110, verse 1. Notice, too, that Jesus didn't even give them time to answer his question before turning to his disciples and saying the modern equivalent to, “Watch out for these guys. They're all full of crap, and they cheat people for a living. My father is sending them all straight to hell, so stay away from them.” Also notice the text where it says, “While all the people were listening, Jesus said to his disciples, 'Beware of the teachers of the law'.....” As I have pointed out in previous studies of the apostle Luke, Jesus had a flock of his own faithful followers besides the Twelve that numbered in the hundreds by the time the end of his ministry on earth was near. I would call it a 1^st century version of an entourage. I don't know about you, but I would give anything to have been a member of that group of followers just so I could have an opportunity to hear Jesus preach! What an honor that would have been!

“They like to walk around in flowing robes and love to be greeted in the marketplaces and have the most important seats in the synagogues.” You know who this reminds me of? Modern politicians, mega-church pastors and TV evangelists are the first 3 groups I can think of, how about you? Here again we have yet another example where Jesus makes his disdain for vain and materialistic people known with abundant clarity. He makes his contempt for hypocrites equally clear. The last thing that bears mentioning here is verse 47, where our Lord and Savior said, “They devour widows houses and for a show make lengthy prayers. Such men will be punished most severely.” Remember the real estate housing crash of 2008-2010? Many of the people who presided over that financial bloodbath, where whole families were evicted after their houses were illegally foreclosed on and due process was denied them, can be found in church every Sunday. The majority of those homes, by the way, many of which were in poor neighborhoods, were then ruthlessly seized. The nicest ones are being rented out, while the majority of these repossessed houses sit vacant to this day. The moral of the story is if we live only for ourselves we will be condemned, but if we live for Christ first, others second and ourselves last we will live with the Lord forever. And that's good for our present lives, as well as the eternal life that is coming when our bodies wear out and die. And that, my dear readers, is the best thing worth waiting for!

Nobody in America is Talking About This... (2017-2018)

Free book excerpt #12 from Web pastor and Progressive Christian blogger & author Rev. Paul J. Bern

"The Apostles In Plain English Vol. 1: the Apostle Paul” by Rev. Paul J. Bern

Find out more by clicking here

Which Is Better, Being Lawful Or Being Faithful?

[Galatians chapter 3, verses 1-14]

As we begin this week's study we'll be looking at the first half of Galatians chapter three. In it the apostle Paul continues to take the church at Galatia to task because of certain heretical teachings that were going on at the time. Newly converted Gentile Christians were intermingling with newly converted Jews who embraced Christ as the Jewish messiah. Evidently the non-Jews were being instructed by unnamed Jewish converts to practice and live their new faith while also adopting the Jewish customs of their new brethren in Christ Jesus. Paul continues with his blistering criticism of this practice as we begin at verse one.

“You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was portrayed as crucified. I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by observing the law, or by believing what you heard? Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort? Have you suffered so much for nothing – if it really was for nothing? Does God give you his Spirit and work miracles among you because you observe the law, or because you believe what you heard? Consider Abraham: 'He believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness'. [Genesis 15:6] Understand, then, that those who believe are children of Abraham. The Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the Gospel in advance of Abraham: 'All nations will be blessed through you'. [Genesis 12:3] So those who have faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.” (Gal. 3, verses 1-9)

Here we see Paul summing up his point in one sentence when he wrote, “Did you receive the Spirit by observing the law, or by believing what you heard?” Since the observation of the Law of Moses – the first five books of the Old Testament – was fulfilled by the supreme sacrifice of Jesus Christ, Paul is simply stating that to continue observing the Old Law and its customs is both pointless and unnecessary. The crucifixion, death and resurrection of Christ is the embodiment of the new law, replacing the old. After spending all the time converting them and teaching them and founding a church, Paul is clearly exasperated with the church at Galatia because they had strayed from what he taught them was the Spiritual foundation of that church, none other than Jesus himself. It is not possible to obtain salvation through Christ by our good works alone, although it is good that we all do so whenever and wherever we can. We can do so only two ways according to Scripture; the first is by maintaining a totally committed faith in Christ and his Salvation, and the second is by grace that God bestows upon us through his Son. Grace is defined as unmerited favor, the spiritual equivalent of a free pass. Even though none of us deserves it due to our sins, grace is given to us freely as a token of God's love for us when we accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior. So if you ever need evidence that God really does love you, just think about His grace as you bask in its warm light. If you are already a believer, just focus on that in your mind. And if you aren't yet a believer, now would be a good time to become one. Simply ask Jesus to come and live inside your heart, and to stay there forever.

The other thing the apostle Paul explains (or more likely reiterated) to the church at Galatia is the concept of unity between Jew and Gentile when he wrote, “Understand, then, that those who believe are children of Abraham. The Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith”... Paul is clearly citing this as another reason to put away the traditions of old and replacing them with the then-new concept of Jesus Christ as the Jewish and Gentile messiah and as the Son of God. If any of you read my studies on the book of Romans, Paul touched on that same topic when he wrote, “For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the spirit of Son-ship. And by him we cry, 'Abba, Father'. The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs – heirs with God and co-heirs with Christ ...” (Romans 8: 15-17) So you see, Paul was literally telling the Galatian congregation that they were already adopted into the family of God, and that there was nothing extra or special that they needed to do to join the family. Moreover, since our adoption into God's eternal family is through Jesus Christ, whose lineage can be traced all the way back to God, that makes us all Jewish by adoption just as it says in Romans. I don't know about you, but I find the prospect of being an adopted Jew quite appealing. If that is the genealogy of my Lord and Savior, then that is good enough for me. Let's continue now and conclude today's study beginning at verse ten.

“All who rely on observing the Law are under a curse, for it is written: 'Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law.' [Deut. 27:26] Clearly no one is justified before God by the Law, because 'the righteous will live by faith'. [Habakkuk 2:4] The Law is not based on faith; on the contrary, 'The man who does these things will live by them'. [Lev. 18:5] Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: 'Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.' [Deut. 21:23] He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit. (Galatians 3, verses 10-14)

The apostle Paul repeatedly quotes the Old Testament – or more accurately the Law of Moses, which was still very much the religious tradition of that time in that part of the world – in order to finish making his point. Paul's literacy was the exception rather than the rule in those days, and he uses his educational level to his advantage right here. Clearly, Paul writes, “ … no one is justified before God by the Law, because 'the righteous will live by faith'...”. This is the crux of the matter, which is that no one can enter into God's kingdom – or the third heaven, as Paul called it – based on their good deeds and legalistic achievements. The only way to salvation is through our uncompromising and undiluted faith in the saving power of the blood of Christ. There is no other way by which any of us may enter heaven, and there are no exceptions allowed based on the teachings of Christ. If anyone tries to tell you any different, get away from those people and those churches because they are teaching a false doctrine, and they will be held accountable. But it is the truth, Jesus said, that will make you free, and anyone who is free in Him is truly and irrevocably free. And that's the best news of all.

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