Faith expressing itself through love.....

Last week I went on a search to find what the bible said about false teachers. There seems to be a lot of people who have certain reservations for a few different pastors that I enjoy watching. A lot of pastors also have reservations about television preachers. I went looking for myself to see what I could find on my own. I know it isn't my job to judge so I don't cast judgement upon a pastor who has an online feed, television station, or any one for that matter. The following few blogs are going to be my findings.

I'm going to be working out of Galatians 5. Here is where a pastor would say, open your bibles to Galatians 5. I know that a lot of people have the bible app on their phone but I really enjoy being able to look inside the book and make notes. I'm going to start with verses 1-6. And I used NIV, to each his own on that one. This isn't going to be about false teachers at all. It's kind of a set up for the other blogs. Some basic reminders.

Vs 1. It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. 

Once you have accepted Christ as your Savior, you are no longer a slave to sin. Boom. Easy as pie. You don't have to carry the burden of sin. This doesn't mean that it's going to be easy. It doesn't mean that you aren't going to face trials. This doesn't mean that you instantly become perfect little church child. You are going to endure trials, pain, and opposition. And through all of this, you have to make a conscious effort to change your ways.

Vs 2. Mark my words! I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no value to you at all.  Vs 3. Again I declare to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is obliged to obey the whole law. 

Paul's letter was to the Galatians and you see the word circumcision a lot. There was an issue with the legalism of the Galatians and Jewish tradition. I'm going to be doing some more research on this to get the whole situation organized in my wittle ol' mind. 

Vs 4. You who are trying to be justified by law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace. Vs 5. But by faith we eagerly await through the Spirit the righteousness for which we hope. 

Apparently some of the people spent so much time trying to uphold the law they were denying or neglecting what God was saying. The bible talks to us in Romans 13 about obeying the law of the land. I think that we have to have great discernment about this though. Just because the law is set in place, doesn't mean it will always line up to the word of God. We just have to make sure it lines up with God's direction and path. Even Paul and Silas were jailed :)

Vs 6. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor circumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.

If we jump back to Galatians 2:6 it says that God does not judge by external appearances. It doesn't matter if you are white or black. It doesn't matter if you are male or female. It doesn't matter if you are tall or short. It doesn't matter if you are fat or thin. IT DOESN'T MATTER IF YOU ARE YOUNG OR OLD. What matters is that you are sharing God's reflection in LOVE. If God isn't going to judge someone by the way they look then why should we look upon someone and cast judgement about how they look? We spend to much time as a body of Christ shutting people out because of their outward appearance. Think about that for a minute and let it sit in. God knows the heart of the person you are looking at. Maybe you come across someone who is homeless and you are supposed to be the light in their dark moments of life. 

Ladies, maybe you are in wal mart and see a female who has hair that is 3 different colors, oversized sweatshirt, and 3 kids. You don't know her context. You don't know her story. Maybe her story is EXACTLY like yours and all she needs is someone to tell her hi and smile at her or she is going to commit suicide later that night. We have to show love and be willing to step outside of our comfort zone. We have to be sensitive to that still small voice.

Guys, maybe you are walking into target and see a huge buff thin guy and God tells you to stop him and ask him what gym he goes to. He is asking a simple task. To engage in conversation. But what He is doing is much stronger. People who work out are obsessed with it..... I know because I was addicted to my time at the track. Once you get to talking to this guy, maybe you begin a friendship. Maybe you invite him to church. He gets saved and tells you that he has been addicted to Meth for years and that's how he keeps his life going. He ends up going to Team Challenge and changing 30 peoples lives while he is there, including his own. 

One simple step. One simple act of obedience. It doesn't matter your station. It doesn't matter circumcised or not. We need to know that once we are saved we are not slaves to sin anymore. It doesn't mean it's going to be easy, but it means it's going to be worth it.