Who Has Bewitched You?

Instead of writing a usual email to the girls tonight, I sent them this excerpt and paraphrase from Galatians 3:1-8.
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Hi girls! I hope you enjoyed this most lovely Saturday. I certainly did, out-of-doors, prepping to put in raspberry plants. We're a little late, but a friend of mine just gave me a big tote of starts from her garden, so I will be putting them in anyway.

Tonight I started the book of Galatians in my reading (I've gotten a bit off-schedule this past week or two). Here, Paul writes to the church at Galatia, which has allowed erroneous teaching to creep in and lead them astray into salvation-by-works-of-the-law teaching, which we know is false--yet it was appealing to them then, and it is still appealing to people today. Why do you think every other religion and cult requires some kind of works or rule-keeping in order to "join the elite"? Because it makes people feel as if they are doing something to earn their righteousness, and it glosses over the ugly reality that "all have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God." "There is none who is righteous, no, not one." If the devil can have people feeling that they're doing a good thing and somehow contributing to their right standing before God, then he knows he's got them all the way deceived and nowhere near being genuinely saved--for true salvation comes only from recognizing that our own righteousness is filthy rags, and there is only one intermediary between us and God--the Lord Jesus Christ. See here what Paul writes to the church struggling with this serious issue:

"O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified. ² Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith? ³ Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh? ⁴ Did you suffer so many things in vain—if indeed it was in vain? ⁵ Does he who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you do so by works of the law, or by hearing with faith— ⁶ just as Abraham “believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”? ⁷ Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham. ⁸ And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “In you shall all the nations be blessed.” ⁹ So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith."

O foolish girls! Who has bewitched you? You have seen and believed the evidence that Jesus Christ was indeed crucified. Let me ask you only this: Did you receive salvation because of all the good things you did, or was it by believing the Word of God in faith, without any good work? Having begun your Christian life so ardently in the Holy Spirit, have you now rabbit-trailed off and tried to "supplement" it with being a "good" person? Was your initial exuberance and steadfastness all for naught--or is there yet a shred of hope for you? God supplies the Holy Spirit to you and works miracles in you--but does he do it because you adhere to the old law, or is it because you heard the gospel and believed through faith? After all, even in the Old Testament, Abraham "believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness." In the same way, all who believe are also counted among the redeemed, just like Abraham. The Bible, because God would justify all who believe by faith, records the early presentation of the gospel to Abraham, speaking of Jesus: "In you shall all nations of the earth be blessed." So remember, girls, all who believe by faith and live by faith are also blessed, and their salvation is secured, just like Abraham of old. 

The only place good works have in the believer's life is that they are an out-flowing expression of the love we have for our Lord and our delight in obeying his word. Good works are a fruit of saving faith, not a bargaining chip in negotiating one's salvation. Such knowledge should fill us with joy and even more delight in doing good works as ambassadors of the name of Christ, because there are no stipulations to be met, no burden to bear--only the joy of true freedom. "I delight to do Your will, O my God; Your law is within my heart." (Ps. 40:8)

Good night! Have a most glorious and blessed day worshiping our Lord together tomorrow! I'll see [some of] you at church tomorrow.

Love,

~Brenna

. . . Coram Deo . . .
"Living before the face of God"

This, This is Why

More thoughts for my girls, from my Bible reading this evening.

Tonight, I'm reading from Matthew 26 through Mark 2.

The end of Matthew chronicles the unjust trial, condemnation, persecution, crucifixion, death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. It's a powerful story, even more so this time of year, with Easter only a couple of weeks away. There is so much I could say; I don't know where to focus for just one thoughts for this email.

I suppose I want to draw your attention to the night Jesus prayed in the garden of Gethsemane, and his disciples (who were supposed to be praying and watching at the gate) repeatedly fell asleep and left him alone, unsupported, in his darkest hour. (See Matthew 26:36-46)

I have to confess; for a long time (and maybe even still), I really didn't understand Jesus' grief and despair at this time. I guess I thought, "Yes, definitely it would be somber to await one's executioners, even more so when you hadn't done anything wrong. How scary to be unjustly condemned, and how awful to await the dawn, knowing it would bring nothing but terror and, ultimately, a murderer's death by agonizing crucifixion." I didn't really get it. Jesus didn't sweat drops of blood and weep because he was afraid to die an agonizing death. (Which would be reason enough for me to sweat blood and cry, by the way. I'm terribly afraid of pain). He spent the night in total anguish because he knew that his death meant not merely excruciating physical pain, and total humiliation, but . . . he, the Holy, the Sovereign, the Son of the Father who knew God, loved God, and who was God, would become the recipient of the righteous, terrible wrath of a just and holy God. We cannot even begin to comprehend what kind of terror and anguish this is. The only Man who had ever lived in perfect obedience, total innocence, without one single sin against him, would become a blood-saturated substitute for all who were truly guilty. His holiness, cleanness, and perfect purity would bear the punishment deserved by all who were filthy, rotten, foul, debased, and evil to the core of their very beings. The punishment you and I deserve.

That is why he wept. Not for physical pain, but for spiritual anguish. The wrath of God is a crippling, terrible, frightening, killing kind of fear that cuts to the quick of all who understand its measure. It is this gasping, paralyzing, anguishing fear that drives foul sinners to repentance, that drives them to their knees, begging forgiveness from a Holy God before whom they have no reason to stand except for His grace. But, He cannot simply be gracious to wicked people and still be just; all sins have a just recompense, a wage that has been earned and must be paid. That wage is death. An agonizing, spiritual, separated-from-God death. A death you and I, by all rights, have earned for ourselves by our foul hearts.

And Jesus Christ, that loving, gentle, holy, perfect, beautiful Son of Man and Son of God, saw down the corridors of time and saw your face, your tear-filled eyes, your guilty sentence, your hopeless plight, your foul record of sins, and he stepped up to executioner's block, not only for a physical death, but for the full onslaught of the out-poured wrath of God. For you. For me. And it cost him, oh so dearly. Such anguish. Such grief. How he prayed in that garden that there might be some other way! "Nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will, Father."

Oh, how great is our God. How merciful. How slow to anger, abounding in mercy. What is man, that You are mindful of him? We are so small, so weak, so flawed, yet he loves us still. I cannot understand such love. And in its wake, as a recipient of such immeasurable graciousness, how can I possibly settle for a religion that is shallow, weak, apathetic, fleshly in its lusts, and requires me to give less than absolutely everything? Look at what He did for me! Would I insult him so, and disregard such love? What hypocrisy is such a pseudo-faith! Far be it from me, oh Lord. I am weak, but You are strong. Help me, Father, to live with urgency and a right perspective of my place: from whence I've come, by Your amazing grace.

"Who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began." (2 Tim 1:9)

All my love, sweet girls,
~Brenna

. . . Coram Deo . . .
"Living before the face of God"