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“You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly 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.” 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 to Abraham: “All nations will be blessed through you.” So those who have faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith. 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.” Clearly no one is justified before God by the law, because, “The righteous will live by faith.” The law is not based on faith; on the contrary, “The man who does these things will live by them.” 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.” 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 3:1–14)

Paul is giving the Galatians some necessary chastisement. They were making one of the most common mistakes followers of Jesus can make. They were starting to believe that they could take some of the credit for their forgiveness and salvation, when the truth of the matter is that our salvation from sin and death was, is and always will be GOD’S DOING.

Paul very bluntly asks them a key question:  Does God give you his Spirit and work miracles among you because you observe the law, or because you believe what you heard?

Paul doesn’t try to drive home his point with his own reasoning or power of persuasion. He instead turns to what should be the final word in all matters of faith. Scripture. He quotes the Old Testament six times here to answer the question he put before them.

V.6 Genesis 15:6  It was Abraham’s faith, not his works, that was credited to him as righteousness.

V.8 Genesis 12:3, 18:18, 22:18 Abraham’s faith in God would bring God’s blessings to all nations.

V.10 Deuteronomy 27:26 The law brings condemnation because we cannot and do not keep it perfectly.

V.11 Habakkuk 2:4 God’s declares us righteous, and truly sees us that way, because we believe in Him.

V.12 Leviticus 18:5 God knew that men would try to achieve their own righteousness. He also knew they would fall short of His requirements.

V.13 Deuteronomy 21:23 Our shortcomings and failed efforts put us under a curse. Jesus took that curse on Himself in our place at the cross.

By citing theses passages, Paul establishes that he is not introducing anything new. This was God’s plan all along, announced right after the fall into sin. He would rescue us. He would save us.

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.

“If, while we seek to be justified in Christ, it becomes evident that we ourselves are sinners, does that mean that Christ promotes sin? Absolutely not! If I rebuild what I destroyed, I prove that I am a lawbreaker. For through the law I died to the law so that I might live for God. I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!””  (Galatians 2:17–21)

Did Christ die in vain?  Most certainly not!  His death was necessary as the only acceptable payment for the sins of mankind. Sometimes we live and act as though His death were unimportant, but in this passage Paul is addressing what is at the very core of our faith: sin and grace. We are sinners who need help. God provided the help we need. If we could save ourselves, why would Jesus have come down here and died?

The grace of God is the free gift of forgiveness that He has provided for sinful man through Jesus Christ. Ever since the Fall into sin, man is not able to live righteously before God.  But some people continue to stubbornly maintain that we can indeed make ourselves righteous before God, in spite of God’s Word telling us just the opposite. Through sin, man has become totally depraved, unable to do anything to please God. We are under sin, dead, under judgment, under Satan’s control. We are helpless and lost. That is why God sent His Son.  His grace provides the remedy for sin.  Jesus Christ delivers us from the consequences of sin, removes the guilt and condemnation, gives us life.  It was absolutely necessary.  If righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing.  Man cannot be made righteous through his own obedience, so the death of Jesus was needed to redeem us.

The issue Paul was addressing here was whether a believer in Christ will live by the Law or the Gospel. Is the Christian faith a set of rules that must be observed in order for a person to be saved, or is trust in Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins alone necessary for salvation? Paul made it clear that rules never saved anyone. Jesus did. Only trust in Jesus, His cross and resurrection, has power to save.

A lesson from this passage (and the one in yesterday’s devotion) is the way in which Paul confronts Peter’s sin. He does not run down Peter but speaks to the issue. He was condemning the sin. Peter was still his brother in the faith, even when he was wrong.  And that is a strong lesson Christians today. There is no room in a Christian congregation for character assassination, no matter how strongly you may feel about an issue.  Paul knew that Peter loved the Lord. His Christian faith was not in question. But his actions were harming the cause of Christ, so he needed to be corrected. We would do well to remember this when we disagree. Disagree with your brother or sister if you must, but never forget that he or she is your brother or sister in Christ. We share the same Lord, who died to forgive us. We live together in the forgiveness of sins. All of us need the forgiveness that comes only from the crucified body and shed blood of our Savior. And that is what will hold us together in spite of our differences: the knowledge of our forgiveness through Him who gave Himself for us.

“When Peter came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he was clearly in the wrong. Before certain men came from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles. But when they arrived, he began to draw back and separate himself from the Gentiles because he was afraid of those who belonged to the circumcision group. The other Jews joined him in his hypocrisy, so that by their hypocrisy even Barnabas was led astray. When I saw that they were not acting in line with the truth of the gospel, I said to Peter in front of them all, “You are a Jew, yet you live like a Gentile and not like a Jew. How is it, then, that you force Gentiles to follow Jewish customs? “We who are Jews by birth and not ‘Gentile sinners’ know that a man is not justified by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by observing the law, because by observing the law no one will be justified. (Galatians 2:11–16)

How do you react when someone tries to correct you? It probably depends on the situation. If you are learning something new and trust the person speaking to you, most likely you will readily listen and take the correction to heart. However, if you are confident in what you are doing and someone calls you out on it, you might get defensive and try to justify what you are doing.

Would it make any difference if the person offering correction was doing so on the basis of God’s Word? I’d like to think it would in my life, but I also know how pigheaded I can be sometimes.

Paul mentions a time he had to call out Peter. Peter ate with the Gentile Christians as long as the Jewish Christians were not around, but would not do so when the Jewish Christians came for fear they would not approve of it. Some of them thought Gentiles should “become Jews” before becoming Christian by being circumcised. They were putting a legalistic requirement on being a follower of Jesus, one He never imposed. That is why Paul called Peter out.

He did so on the basis of the message they both heard and knew and believed and proclaimed:  …a man is not justified by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by observing the law, because by observing the law no one will be justified.

 Peter’s behavior would send the message that the Gentile believers were not truly or fully Christian, which was not the case. All it takes is faith in Jesus. Our deeds, our efforts, our actions do not contribute to our salvation. Jesus did everything necessary for us to be saved. He lived perfectly. He died in our place as our substitute. He conquered the grave for us. And He gives that freely to anyone who believes He is who He says He is. Peter’s actions were implying otherwise, so Paul tries to correct him.

Of course, once we are saved, we strive to live our lives according to God’s will, what He has revealed to us in His Word. This is a response to knowing we are already saved, not the cause of our forgiveness. That is an important distinction to maintain, which Peter failed to do here.

Lord, help me to be open and receptive to the correction your Word gives me in my life. Thank you for the assurance that I am forgiven and redeemed for Jesus’ sake.

“Fourteen years later I went up again to Jerusalem, this time with Barnabas. I took Titus along also. I went in response to a revelation and set before them the gospel that I preach among the Gentiles. But I did this privately to those who seemed to be leaders, for fear that I was running or had run my race in vain. Yet not even Titus, who was with me, was compelled to be circumcised, even though he was a Greek. This matter arose because some false brothers had infiltrated our ranks to spy on the freedom we have in Christ Jesus and to make us slaves. We did not give in to them for a moment, so that the truth of the gospel might remain with you. As for those who seemed to be important—whatever they were makes no difference to me; God does not judge by external appearance—those men added nothing to my message. On the contrary, they saw that I had been entrusted with the task of preaching the gospel to the Gentiles, just as Peter had been to the Jews. For God, who was at work in the ministry of Peter as an apostle to the Jews, was also at work in my ministry as an apostle to the Gentiles. James, Peter and John, those reputed to be pillars, gave me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship when they recognized the grace given to me. They agreed that we should go to the Gentiles, and they to the Jews. All they asked was that we should continue to remember the poor, the very thing I was eager to do.” (Galatians 2:1–10)

Do you think Paul’s ministry among the Gentiles looked like the ministries of Peter and John among the Jews? Highly unlikely. Nor did they have to be the same. What was the same was Word and Sacraments, Law and Gospel, preaching the whole counsel of God, not picking and choosing what suits you.

God’s Word is filled with calls to worship and praise Him for who He is and what He has done. But did you know that a style of worship is not dictated in Scripture? The list of instruments we are told to use in praising God in His Word is vast, but no where in there can I find mention of a pipe organ. Proclaiming the message of Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior and King is a responsibility. But using a pulpit or a style of preaching is never mandated.

We all have our comfort zones, our preferences. That is fine. But that does not mean that other worship styles or songs or attire are wrong. And this is not a novel thought on my part. Lutherans wrote about and affirmed this a long time ago.

VII. [The Church]

¹ It is also taught among us that one holy Christian church will be and remain forever. This is the assembly of all believers among whom the Gospel is preached in its purity and the holy sacraments are administered according to the Gospel.

² For it is sufficient for the true unity of the Christian church that the Gospel be preached in conformity with a pure understanding of it and that the sacraments be administered in accordance with the divine Word.

³ It is not necessary for the true unity of the Christian church that ceremonies, instituted by men, should be observed uniformly in all places.

⁴ It is as Paul says in Eph. 4:4, 5, “There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call, one Lord, one faith, one baptism.”

(Augsburg Confession, Article VII, Tappert, T. G. (Ed.). (1959). The Book of Concord)

Did you catch that? “It is not necessary for the true unity of the Christian church that ceremonies, instituted by men, should be observed uniformly in all places.”  We can be united in Christ even if we don’t all do things the same way. Rather than being critical of each other, let’s focus on the unity we have in the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body and the life everlasting.

“I want you to know, brothers, that the gospel I preached is not something that man made up. I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it; rather, I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ. For you have heard of my previous way of life in Judaism, how intensely I persecuted the church of God and tried to destroy it. I was advancing in Judaism beyond many Jews of my own age and was extremely zealous for the traditions of my fathers. But when God, who set me apart from birth and called me by his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son in me so that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I did not consult any man, nor did I go up to Jerusalem to see those who were apostles before I was, but I went immediately into Arabia and later returned to Damascus. Then after three years, I went up to Jerusalem to get acquainted with Peter and stayed with him fifteen days. I saw none of the other apostles—only James, the Lord’s brother. I assure you before God that what I am writing you is no lie. Later I went to Syria and Cilicia. I was personally unknown to the churches of Judea that are in Christ. They only heard the report: “The man who formerly persecuted us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy.” And they praised God because of me.” (Galatians 1:11–24)

As we continue through Galatians, we find Paul asserting that the message that he proclaimed, the message that changed him inside and out, was neither made up nor man made. It came directly from Jesus.

I have had a lot of people tell me that God spoke to them. Some of them told me that in the context of trying to justify their own sinful behavior. “I heard God speak and tell me that it was okay for me to move in with my boyfriend because we really love each other.” Or some version of “I know the Bible says ______ is a sin, but God told me that did not apply to me.”  I don’t think that was God they were hearing (2 Corinthians 11:14).

On the other hand, I have had people tell me that they heard God clearly speak to them about following Him, trusting Him, and living for Him, which resulted in those people drastically changing their lives. They became more committed to being the person God wants them to be. What they heard did not contradict God’s Word, but affirmed it. I have no doubt that God was working in their lives and communicating His truth to them.

When God spoke to Paul, it changed him dramatically. He thought he was being a faithful follower of God by persecuting Christians, but God told him otherwise, and the path of his life was profoundly changed. “The man who formerly persecuted us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy.” The change was evident and obvious. Some were skeptical at first, and with good reason. But they could not deny that he was changed.

The last phrase of that passage is especially striking:  And they praised God because of me. What kind of world would it be if that statement were true for every follower of Jesus? And they praised God because of me. I’ve been striving to live that way. I know I don’t always do it, but I am trying to follow God’s leading and live that kind of life. I don’t crave accolades or recognition. I want others to see Jesus and praise Him for who He is and what He has done.

“I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned! As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let him be eternally condemned! Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ.” (Galatians 1:6–10)

Christians don’t always agree. You know that. If we did, there would not be so many different denominations and church bodies throughout the world. It is an unfortunate result of the fact that the church is made up of sinners, myself included. Disagreements cause divisions. It continues to happen within denominations. I read an article over the weekend about an imminent split in the United Methodist Church.

The challenge we have this side of heaven is to remain faithful to the Gospel, the message of God’s grace that calls us and claims us to be His dearly loved and forgiven children, not because of what we do, but because of what Jesus did for us. He died to pay for ALL sin. All sin.

But notice, no where does Jesus tell us that sin is no longer sin. That is one of the greatest perversions of the Gospel the church is facing today. People want to declare that things the Bible clearly calls sinful should no longer be seen that way. That is the issue at the heart of the split in the UMC.

When Jesus died to pay for sin, he negated sins power over us, but not sin itself. It is still with us. When He forgave people, He did not give them permission to sin as much as they wanted. Quite the contrary.

In John 8, Jesus was questioned about what to do with the woman caught in adultery, He dispersed the crowd by telling them that whoever was without sin should cast the first stone. They all left. Jesus then asked the woman:

“Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” “No one, sir,” she said. “Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.” (John 8:11)

Jesus did not tell the woman her sinful lifestyle was acceptable. He told her to leave it. Sin no more. Don’t remain that way. He came to make payment for your sins to give you forgiveness and a new life. Leave your former way of life. Don’t let sin control you. Be led by the Spirit of God.

Sin is still sin, no matter what some in the church or government may say. I will trust God’s Word on that. The same Word that tells me about the forgiveness I have for Jesus’ sake and that encourages me to live a better life in response.

“Paul, an apostle—sent not from men nor by man, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead— and all the brothers with me, To the churches in Galatia: Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.” (Galatians 1:1–5)

Do you know the difference between a disciple and an apostle?  It is kind of a trick question. You can be both. The first disciples of Jesus became apostles. A disciple is a follower. An apostle is one who is sent.

At the start of his letter to the believers in Galatia, Paul, who was not one of the original disciples, identifies himself as an apostle. He then goes on to define what that means. Jesus sent him to tell others the good news, what Jesus did to rescue us from sin and death. Acts 9 has the record of God calling Saul, who was on his way to persecute followers/disciples of Jesus. Jesus struck him blind, asked why he was persecuting him, and told him to wait for a guy named Ananias to come and restore his sight. Ananias was skeptical, because he had heard a lot of bad stuff about this guy named Saul.

“But the Lord said to Ananias, “Go! This man is my chosen instrument to carry my name before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel. I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.”” (Acts 9:15–16)

God choses people to follow Him and then sends them out to tell others. Disciples and apostles. God called you to faith in the one who lived and died and rose again for your salvation. To whom is he sending you to be His chosen instrument?

“Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand. They encircled the throne and the living creatures and the elders. In a loud voice they sang: “Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!” Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, singing: “To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever!” The four living creatures said, “Amen,” and the elders fell down and worshiped.” (Revelation 5:11–14)

John’s vision of heaven that he attempts to describe for us leaves us with more questions than answers. For that reason, many people shy away from that last book of the Bible. Others go too far with it, trying to proclaim that it tells them when the last day will occur, even though Jesus said we could not know that day or hour.

My approach to this head-scratching book is simple. Take it for what it is. An attempt to describe something out of this world, something outside of our experience, in worldly terms. But it is also part of our loving God’s revelation of Himself to us, so we need to read it as such.

The passage above is being read in churches throughout Christendom today on this Third Sunday of Easter. John shares that in his vision, he observed angels and all other creatures in heaven and on the earth joining in a song of praise and worship to the Lamb who was slain. He’s talking about Jesus, identified by John the Baptizer as “The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” (John 1:29)

The song in heaven says Jesus is Worthy … to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise! When you consider what He did for you and everyone else, you reach the same conclusion. He alone is worthy of praise! Knowing that He took our place in punishment, that He paid for the sins of everyone, that He conquered sin and death and the grave and gives that triumph to anyone who believes in Him, we need to declare how wonderful and awesome and amazing that is!

Praise is just that. Saying how good something is. I want to praise Jesus everyday for what He has done for me. And I’m going to a worship service with other Christians today to do just that.

1 Peter 1:17-21 Since you call on a Father who judges each man’s work impartially, live your lives as strangers here in reverent fear.  For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.  He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake.  Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God. 

One more day reflecting on this passage from 1 Peter where he reminds us how valuable it is that the Lamb of God was slain for us. Without that, we would have no hope of salvation, but with faith, we have the certainty of eternal life.

Peter brings all of this up to encourage you to live the new life to which you have been called. Knowing what Jesus went through for your sake, applying His atonement to your life through faith, should evoke a response of living for Him. Notice that your obedience to God is the result of salvation, not the cause. You have been redeemed from the empty way of life that would have you believe you must save yourself. Christ died to save you. So you now live for Him.

Something that is amazing to me is the way in which God deals with us in regard to all of the things of this world that we tend to value more highly than Him. You might think that He would tell us to get rid of them all and never have anything to do with them again, but that is not what He says. Rather, He tells us that He gave up His Son for us, and that together with Him He will freely give us all things. The difference is that you are to receive all the things of this world in the proper perspective, not valuing them above the most precious thing you have, Jesus Christ, the Lamb who was slain for you.

Peter tells us that we are not to trust in ourselves, but that your faith and hope are in God. He also said that you are to live your lives as strangers here in reverent fear. With the Lamb slain for you in your experience, you are conscious of what you do. You are strangers in this world in the sense that you no longer fit into the way the world does things. You no longer find the way of Satan appealing, but rather encourage those following Him to repent and believe in the Gospel. Living in the fear of God means you respect Him and marvel at His goodness to you, and you want to do His Will. This will not always be easy. The pressure of the world to conform will be strong.

Years ago I was driving to Austin for a conference. I left early in the morning and stopped at a McDonald’s on the south side of Dallas for breakfast. I ordered an Egg McMuffin and an orange juice. I handed the lady a five dollar bill. When I looked at my change, I noticed that she gave me four ones and some change. I said, “I don’t think you charged me enough.” She looked at me in disbelief and said, “What did you say?” I repeated, “I don’t think you charged me enough.” Astonished, she said, “I can’t believe you said that. Nobody here is ever honest!”

I thought to myself, that’s the way of the world. That’s the empty way of life Peter spoke of. People tend to put more importance on things than on following God. But I can’t live that way. I have been redeemed from that. I have been forgiven and called to live as the follower of Jesus Christ, even in little things.

As I said, it is not always easy to do this. The pressure to go along with the crowd will be great. At times like this, remember that your faith and hope are in God. Remember that Jesus suffered, died, and rose again to redeem you from your sins, to redeem you from that empty way of life. The Lamb of God was slain for you. Live your lives in reverent fear.

1 Peter 1:17-21 Since you call on a Father who judges each man’s work impartially, live your lives as strangers here in reverent fear.  For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.  He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake.  Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God. 

Yesterday I ended my thoughts with a question: I wonder if we can ever fully appreciate what Jesus went through in order to accomplish our salvation? You have heard that He went through all the temptations that you do, so you can relate to that. You know that He felt hunger, pain, joy, sorrow. But have you ever considered what He gave up in order to come down here?

For those of you who have small children or grandchildren, try to imagine this situation. Would you send your child into a prison full of convicted murders, rapists and sex offenders? Can you imagine the vile and unspeakable things that those prisoners would do to that small child? If so, can you bear to think of it? Personally, I can’t stand to think of it. I would never consider sending my children of grandchildren into any situation that could prove harmful to them.

That is what God the Father did for you. He sent His Son from the glory and joy and happiness and beauty and safety of heaven into this world filled with sin and corruption. He knew exactly what would happen to His beloved Son yet sent Him here to go through all of that for your sake. Can you fathom that kind of love? That’s the love God has for you.

But rather than valuing God and His love most highly in our lives, mankind has always placed a higher value on the things of this world. Our desire to follow our own sinful nature is what we make most important. In one sense, we want to make our sins our “god.” Our Father in heaven knew that this would lead to eternal damnation for men, so He stepped in to help. He sent Jesus down to pull us up. And the way He did this is something that bears repeating. He took all the sinfulness of mankind and placed it on that spotless lamb. He made the only one to ever live without sin to be sin for us. And then He placed Christ with the sins of the world on that cross for all to see. Jesus went through that anguish so that you would not have to do so … eternally! His death in our place spares us from death. Faith claims His death as your payment for sin. Luther once summed it up this way: “If Christ died with all sins on Him, they can’t be on me.” And it is because of faith that God no longer holds your sins against you. The Lamb of God was slain for you.