Four Points Church

Luke 6:27-38

Luke 6:12-26

Luke 6:1-11

Luke 5:27-39

Luke 5:12-26

Luke 5:1-11

Luke 4:31-44

The Qualifications of Elders

Luke 4:14-30

Luke 3:23-4:15

Luke 3:1-22

Luke 2:22-52

Luke 2:1-21

Luke 1:57-80

Luke 1:39-56

Luke 1:5-38

Luke 1:1-4

Legacy: Love Lives On

Passion: We Love Others

Devotion: We Love God

Love: God Loves Us

God's gift of grace

Paul previously mentioned false brothers in Galatians 2:4, and then he discussed the fact that he had been in direct communication with other apostles like James, Peter, and John. In Galatians 5:2, he specifically states that “I, Paul, say to you…” And here in Galatians 6:11, he draws attention to his own handwriting. It is likely that the recipients would have been able to recognize his handwriting and they could be assured that this letter of such strong rebuke against the Judaizers was indeed from Paul. This is also an example of Paul wanting to openly and honestly take ownership of these statements. This surely would be an encouragement to the recipients and it should be so for us today to stand behind what we say and write.

As Paul has just written to the Galatians about the works of the flesh and the fruit of the Spirit, he understands that we will not always display the fruit of the Spirit perfectly in our lives. Sometimes we or those around us will give in to the works of the flesh. Paul instructs us in two ways that we should approach a fellow believer who is in sin. First of all, we should approach with a spirit of gentleness. Part of this, of course, would be in accordance with Matthew 18 in approaching our brother or sister alone to discuss their sin. In addition, note that we are not to just approach them for the sake of revealing sin but for the purpose of restoring them.

The amazing reality of the Christian life is that God Himself indwells all those who have looked to His Son by faith through His Holy Spirit. This is truly remarkable if you take a moment to think about it. No other religion in the world believes this. Consider it for a moment: God not only condescended to come from the infinite heights of heaven's throne to the earth He made in order to redeem sinners through His Son's work, but He also indwells those same individuals through the power of the Holy Spirit, to transform them to be more like Jesus. We call this sanctification. If you have believed in the Lord Jesus by faith, the Spirit of God dwells in you; you are sealed with the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 1:13-14). Are you walking by the Spirit? Paul wants the believers in Galatia to live out this new reality. His thesis statement for this section is found in verse 16, “But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.” Let's compare the works of the flesh with walking by the Spirit.

What does it look like to live in the freedom of the gospel? Galatians 5 answers that question for us. Paul begins chapter 5 with a powerful truth: “Christ has set us free,” followed by an urgent appeal: “stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery” (v. 1). In continuing his defense of the gospel, Paul emphasizes that if the church in Galatia insists on adding circumcision as a necessary requirement for justification before God, then the work of Christ will be of no advantage to them. They will be falling back into slavery, back into legalism. Walking in freedom means resting in the finished work of Christ and loving others well as a result.

We live in a world that values personal identity. We identify ourselves and others by pronouns, tattoos, sexual preference, political party, color of skin, and a hundred other varieties of differentiation. However, all these self-identities are frivolous and vain. Identity politics is the force that draws people away from each other instead of pulling us together. “I'm this, and you're that, I'm from here and you're from there…” Can you see us cannibalizing ourselves? But we are more than we think we are and we always have been. Our deepest identity can only truly be found in one place: Jesus Christ! The entire book of Ephesians is a testimony to this truth. We are no longer defined by things that fragment us from each other, but by being one new creation and one new humanity in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 2:14-19). Only in Christ can we truly find ourselves. We might have all kinds of struggles and engage in all types of sin, but God is constantly calling us upward and home. This is the gospel. This is the call of Jesus: repent of sin and turn towards Him. Any other form of identity will be our demise. Only in turning to Jesus will we find our salvation.

Entering a dark room can be an uncomfortable experience. You don't know where the furniture is and the danger of hitting a knee or a toe on the corner of a bed or dresser is a real problem. So what do you do to alleviate this situation? You turn on the light. Light exposes all things that are hidden by darkness. You no longer have to fear the bumps in the night when you can see clearly. This is the point that Paul makes to God's people in this passage.

One of the lures of social media is the promise of being able to raise your social status among your fellow humans. The places you go, the things you know, and even what you eat can all be displayed for the sake of picking up more approval in the form of “likes, shares, and subscribes.” But the most important status change is the one that, as sinners, we cared least about: our status with God. Interestingly, it's the one status that we have no control over changing! In this passage, Paul further explains how we have become “sons of God,” and why we should never want to go back to our old status of slavery.

Some sections of Scripture can be read more quickly and understood more easily than Galatians 3. Paul is traversing 2000 years of God's covenant dealings with people, without breaking a sweat, so if you are trailing him, panting and out of shape, you are not alone! Here, Paul parries and counters arguments from the Judaizers while helping the Galatians to understand how much they have inherited by faith in Christ.

Galatians 3:10-18 

Galatians 3:5-14 Part 2

Paul has already warned the Galatians twice in chapter 1 that if anyone is preaching a gospel contrary to the one he preached, they are to be anathema, accursed, considered outside the faith that was once-and-for-all delivered to the saints. At the end of chapter 2, Paul begins to get a little more specific about the problem that these churches are dealing with: their doctrine of justification. At the end of Galatians 2:16, Paul said “by works of the law no one will be justified.”

After recounting his confrontation with Peter, Paul continues to establish his defense of his gospel. In this section, Paul lays the logical and theological groundwork for his message, perhaps summarizing what he spoke to Peter during their confrontation. His message is clear: salvation is not based on what we have done but solely on what Christ has accomplished for us. Our sins have been nailed to the cross with Christ, and we have died with Him. This changes everything!

Can't we all just get along? Let's be honest: not many of us like confrontation. However, the gospel demands that we graciously confront other believers who are not walking in alignment with its message. Overcome by the fear of man, the Apostle Peter had to be confronted by Paul himself because of his behavior, which had severe implications for others and was incongruent with the gospel message. It's not that Peter's teaching of the gospel had erred, but his conduct contradicted what he knew to be true, and so he stood “condemned” (Galatians 2:11). This passage records for us one of the great conflicts in the New Testament. Here, two leading apostles square off in open conflict. This conflict was necessary to teach us not only about biblical confrontation but also about biblical justification.

Entrusted with the Gospel part 3

False brothers exist (Galatians 2:4). Just because someone calls themselves a Christian does not necessarily mean they are. The Bible is full of false people. Almost every book of the New Testament has warnings against individuals who teach what is false. Jesus informs His followers about them (Matthew 7:14), Paul suffers because of them (1 Timothy 1:19-20; 2 Timothy 2:17; 4:14-26), John encourages those who were afflicted by them (1 John 1:26; 2 John 1:9-11), and Peter brings false teachers to the attention of the church (2 Peter 2:1-3). Part 2 of 2

False brothers exist (Galatians 2:4). Just because someone calls themselves a Christian does not necessarily mean they are. The Bible is full of false people. Almost every book of the New Testament has warnings against individuals who teach what is false. Jesus informs His followers about them (Matthew 7:14), Paul suffers because of them (1 Timothy 1:19-20; 2 Timothy 2:17; 4:14-26), John encourages those who were afflicted by them (1 John 1:26; 2 John 1:9-11), and Peter brings false teachers to the attention of the church (2 Peter 2:1-3).

Men believe they know everything. God knows better. Jeremiah 10:14 reminds us that “Every man is stupid and without knowledge.” Paul, an incredibly learned man, would be seen as a sage among most of the Jewish population in the first century (Philippians 3:4-6; Acts 22:3), yet he denounces his own knowledge and ability when it comes to the gospel. The gospel is something far superior to anything man has ever produced. It takes a wise man to understand that truth.

Most of the time, if you want to confront someone, you start with some good news first. A compliment or an affirmation of your relationship to them might precede the hard conversation. Paul often commends the churches he writes to for things he knows they are doing well. In Galatians, Paul moves directly from the brief reminder of the gospel message to the bad news: in listening to the message of the Judaizers, the Galatians have turned away from the gospel entirely! Paul responds with alarm to the spiritual threat that the Galatians don't see, in the same way that we would if we saw a friend stepping out into oncoming traffic. No time for pleasantries!

We are fascinated with the origins of things we love. Documentaries cover the history of a particular style of music. Or they tell us about the younger years of our heroes and how their formative experiences shaped their great accomplishments. Shows for “foodies” visit the restaurant that is the “original,” the first to serve a particular dish. In the first few verses of Galatians, Paul introduces one of the important themes of the letter: the origin of the gospel message. Paul contends that both the origin of the gospel and the origin of his apostleship are found in God alone.

Proverbs 8

Proverbs 7

Proverbs 6

Proverbs 5

Proverbs 4

Zechariah 14 is one of the hardest chapters in the Bible to interpret. Every good student of Scripture knows that there is one true interpretation for every passage. Hundreds of applications could come from a text, but only one accurate interpretation. The problem with this chapter is at least seven known interpretations are being taught in Christian circles, with dozens more variations of those known interpretations. It's enough to make even the best of Bible teachers, like Martin Luther, throw their hands up in the air and say, “I don't know.” Being 2500 years removed from this time period certainly makes things difficult, but chapter 14 is still “Godbreathed and useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness” (2 Corinthians 3:16). So let's try our best.

During the Civil War, densely-packed battle lines made it likely that field generals might be killed in battle. During the Battle of Spotsylvania, Union General John Sedgwick stood away from the front and proudly proclaimed to his fellow officers “They couldn't hit an elephant at this distance.” The next moment, he was shot and killed by a Confederate sharpshooter. Killing the leader always results in confusion for those who follow. In Zechariah 13:7-9, it is not the enemy who kills the leader, but God himself. But what could God seek to gain from putting His own leader to death? Our passage explains how our sovereign God uses even great tragedy to save His people.