Galatians 6:15-16 KJV
For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision
availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature.
And as many as walk according to this rule,
peace be on them, and mercy, and upon the Israel
Ever
played a game when you weren’t as familiar with the rules as your opponent?
The days
in which these words were written were, I suppose, not too much different than
our own. The rules seemed to change according to whomever ruled in Rome and according to
whatever nation a person was from.
Paul had
preached faith in Jesus Christ as sufficient for salvation. Others had followed
behind and insisted Christ was only a beginning place and believers had to then
follow the Old Testament law. To the Judaizers this was the best of two worlds.
They could include many more into their religious system by claiming the newly
professing Christians as a part of their faith and they could exert strict
control of them through their Judaistic rules.
The Roman
world, however, had different ideas.
- Jewish nationalism had always been a thorn
in
- The Jews were constantly stirring up
trouble and in only a few years
- The emperor believed he was to be
worshipped as a god and the Jewish notion of just one God rubbed him wrong
He wasn't
thrilled about Roman citizens embracing Judaism.
Into this
conflict enters the book of Galatians with the answer that neither the rules of
uncircumcision or circumcision were the answer. God called for a brand new
creature. And it was this creature who would experience the blessing of God's
peace and mercy.
This is
the rule Christians are to abide by, not systems of man made policies and religious
duties and expectations. Our rule is simple and yet absolutely life changing;
we are to be new creatures.
It is
remarkably simple and yet absolutely profound
- Just one rule to live by, but completely
life changing
- Not lots to remember but you’ll never be
the same
- Only one thing to accomplish, but it can
only be accomplished by the Holy Spirit
No comments:
Post a Comment