Category Archives: Galatians

A Faith Which Works By Love

Galatians 5:6 For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love.

The Church at Galatia was largely a Church composed of Gentiles who had received Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Just like the Pharisees did with Jesus, the Pharisees came to Galatia and began to teach the people that they weren’t really saved if they didn’t keep the Law of Moses. A Gentile who was uncircumcised was certainly NOT a Christian, because true believers are supposed to be circumcised.

What is circumcision, and why did the Pharisees believe it was necessary for salvation? God established circumcision as a Law within Israel in Genesis 17. In that text God told Abram:

Genesis 17:4-8 As for Me, behold, my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations. 5 Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee. 6 And I will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee. 7 And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee. 8 And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.

God promised several things to Abram that day. God promised that Abram – renamed Abraham – would be “father of many nations”. But God also promised Abraham that he would father a specific nation that would inherit “all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession”. Abraham and his “seed”, his progeny, would be given title to Canaan in perpetuity. So in Abraham there was promised a specific nation that would be his… Continue reading

Posted in Galatians, Sermons Preached | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

A Difficult Text For Wednesday Night

Turn with me in your Bibles to Galatians Chapter Six. Galatians is a book written by the Apostle Paul to the Church at Galatia. The Church was largely composed of Gentile Believers, but had recently been visited by Christians with a Jewish background. These Jewish believers told the Galatians that they were not fully saved because they did not keep the festivals and the rituals (like circumcision) that they themselves did. The Apostle – himself a Jew – wrote to correct the error that the Christ following Jews were introducing.

When the Apostle Peter wrote of Paul’s writings, he said:

2 Peter 3:15-16 (ESV) And count the patience of our Lord as salvation, just as our beloved brother Paul also wrote to you according to the wisdom given him, 16 as he does in all his letters when he speaks in them of these matters. There are some things in them that are hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do the other Scriptures…. Continue reading

Posted in Galatians, Sermons Preached | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Baptist Distinctives 4: The Holy Spirit Makes Salvation Real

We’re going to start in Galatians chapter three tonight as we continue our Baptist Distinctives study. Tonight we’ll be talking about the Holy Spirit of God. The 2000 Baptist Faith and Message states:

“The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God, fully divine. He inspired holy men of old to write the Scriptures. Through illumination He enables men to under- stand truth. He exalts Christ. He convicts men of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment. He calls men to the Savior, and effects regeneration. At the moment of regeneration He baptizes every believer into the Body of Christ. He cultivates Christian character, comforts believers, and bestows the spiritual gifts by which they serve God through His church. He seals the believer unto the day of final redemption. His presence in the Christian is the guarantee that God will bring the believer into the fullness of the stature of Christ. He enlightens and empowers the believer and the church in worship, evangelism, and service.”

When we speak of the Holy Spirit, we are not talking about a POWER but a PERSON.

The Holy Spirit is the third Person of the Trinity of God. The Father is the Leader of the Trinity, the Head of the Family of God. The Son is the Mediator and the Covering for sin, the One Who made a way whereby we can come to the Father. The Holy Spirit is the Enabler, the Member of the Godhead that most personally comes to the believer. The Holy Spirit makes every… Continue reading

Posted in Baptist Distinctives, Galatians | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

A.B.I.D.E.

Much of American Christianity has so blended with the world that it is impossible to recognize it from the world. What has caused this problem is a confused preacher in the pulpit. Many preachers – in an effort (in many cases, sincere effort) to reach a lost world have eradicated “repentance” from the Gospel message. Quoting “by the works of the Law shall no flesh be justified” and famous texts like… Continue reading

Posted in Galatians, Sermons Preached | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

The Flesh Versus The Spirit

I read a lot. A whole lot. I love reading. I wish more people read. But I also watch videos. I was watching a town hall meeting where Democratic hopeful Beto O’Rourke was explaining why he wanted to overturn the Second Amendment. As I watched it another commentator – Colion Noir – began to respond to Mr. O’Rourke’s statements. … Continue reading

Posted in Galatians, Sermons Preached | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Crucified With Christ

On a remote field in Lithuania there is a hill called Kryžių Kalnas (pronounced cry-zoo kale ness), which literally means The Hill of Crosses. For over two centuries Christians have brought literally thousands of metal or wooden crosses and placed them on this hill. It’s an impressive site. National Geographic© stated that “some think the crosses {were} left by mourning relatives of the victims of revolts against the Russian regime … Continue reading

Posted in Galatians, Sermons Preached | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment