Jump Start # 3536

  Galatians 1:6 “I am amazed that you are so quickly deserting Him who called you by the grace of Christ, for a different gospel”

Paul was amazed. He was amazed at two things the Galatians brethren were doing. And, what they were doing was not good. First, he was amazed that they were leaving the message that Paul had preached to them. They were moving to a “different gospel,” which he later calls a distorted or perverted gospel. How could they do that?

But the second thing that amazed Paul was how quickly this was taking place. This wasn’t two or three generations later, like we read at the beginning of Judges, after Joshua’s generation died. There, about two generations later, Israel was bowing down to idols. But, that’s not the Galatian story. Paul is amazed at how QUICKLY or how soon all of this was taking place.

Just about every N.T. book, other than Philemon, addresses the topic of error and false teaching. The slippery slope that some slide down can happen so quickly that they do not even realize it.

But the question needs to be asked, not for our times, but for Paul’s time, why were some deserting the Gospel so quickly after they had received it? There were likely many people still around that had seen Jesus. Remember, after His resurrection, He was seen by five hundred at one time. So, we are not centuries away from the time of Jesus. Maybe thirty years. Thirty years isn’t very long. For us, it’s just the 1990s. We have folks today that remember the moon landing or the assassination of JFK. Thirty some  years is not very long.

The time between when Paul first went to the Galatian region, on his first journey and the writing of the letter to the Galatians, would be about ten years. Ten years is really a short length in time. In our time frame, it’s 2014, seems like yesterday. How could some leave the message of Jesus that soon after they first heard it and believed it?

First, there is always a curious fascination with the odd, the unusual, the different, the newly discovered. And, often that’s the package that error comes in. It’s a different way of looking at things, some will say. It’s something that no one else has ever seen. And, that’s all that needs to be said for some to sign up for that new gospel.

For the Galatians, there was a strong Jewish push to demand circumcision for the Gentiles. Some had one foot in the Gospel, while their other foot remained in the Old Testament. And, in our times, it’s one foot in the Gospel and the other foot in the world or in denominationalism. Rather than leaving one for the other, some try to find a way to force a merger or a marriage between the two. And, in so doing, the pure Gospel is twisted and distorted. The new message isn’t the same as the ole’ Gospel message.

Second, there are always proponents of error that push their ideas upon others. That was the Galatian situation. Had the Jewish influence not been so powerful, there is a strong chance the message would never have been distorted. Today, social media allows anyone to say anything, and they usually do. They don’t have to prove what they say with evidence and facts. Just throw out statements, wild and radical, and there will be those who latch on to that and go with it.

Out of this comes some thoughts: First, everyone needs to know the will of God. Ignorance allows error to spread and grow. Truth has nothing to fear and truth never suffers under investigation. Error will hide. Error will deceive. Had the Galatians, had we, the knowledge that we ought to, error would find no footholds among us. Shame on us for not knowing. Shame on us for not being sharp enough to recognize the twisting of Scriptures, passages taken out of context and the misuse of God’s word.

But, with this also, comes a responsibility upon the shepherds of God’s people to watch, guard and protect the sheep that have been given to us. Giving a platform for error to be taught falls directly upon clueless shepherds who have been blinded by the charisma of smooth talking preachers or they have drunk the Kool-Aide of error themselves. Error tends to die when it is confronted with truth and when it no longer has a platform to peddle it’s false agenda.

John told brethren about the wicked Diotrephes, “if I come, I will call attention to his deeds…”. Could this be a reason why the majority of the N.T. books address error? God is trying to protect His people. Don’t hide. Don’t be afraid. Stand up. Confront it with the Word of God. And, when the salesmen of error won’t stop, no longer give them a platform to peddle their poison. That may mean changing Bible class teachers in the middle of a quarter. It may mean giving the preacher his walking papers. Toleration of wrong, only allows wrong to continue.

When someone declares, “I’ve been misunderstood,” then speak so clearly so we can all understand. What are you saying? We ought to speak as the oracles of God.

Third, the permitting of error will only destroy a congregation. Later in Galatians we find, “But if you bite and devour one another, take care that you are not consumed by one another.” Error and truth cannot co-exist within a congregation. A battle will ensue. Lines will be drawn. People will leave.

It’s hard when people we love and have worshipped with for years now want to side with a distorted Gospel. But our allegiance is with the Lord, first, and always. When we allow friendships and feelings to close our eyes to the destructive nature of Satan, we will lose.

There comes a time to draw a line in the sand and stand with the Lord. Those times are upon us. They always have been. Joshua declared, “Choose you this day who you will serve.” Paul said, “I am amazed that you are so quickly deserting Him.” We must side with the Lord.

Roger

Jump Start # 2143

Galatians 1:6 “I am amazed that you are so quickly deserting Him who called you by the grace of Christ, for a different gospel.”

Not long after Paul left the Galatia region, Jewish teachers followed. They were distorting, twisting and confusing what the new Christians had been taught. Now, they didn’t know. Were the Gentiles supposed to become Jews first and then Christians? Was certain aspects of the Old Testament law still supposed to be followed? The letter to the Galatians works through those questions and those issues.

What we want to look at today is the expression, “so quickly deserting Him.” It didn’t take long for the purity of the Gospel to become mingled with error. Church history attests to this statement, as well. By the second century, distortions were made among bishops and their power and control. A hierarchy was quickly developing. During this time the adoration of martyred Christians, referring to them as “saints” began. Infant baptism also began very early. I think this is shocking to many folks who have never looked deeply into church history. It is easy to believe that for three or four centuries things were running smoothly and everyone was sticking pretty close to the Gospel message. Then, later, gradually, things started creeping in and changing. That thought would be nice, but it isn’t historically true.

There are warnings within the New Testament of trouble on the horizon. Diotrephes, in John’s third letter, was running the church as if he was the boss. He was refusing to accept people and he was putting people out. No one person has such control, not according to the structure of the N.T. organization. But, it happened. Peter warned of false prophets arising among the people. Timothy was told that the people will not endure sound doctrine and will seek preachers who will tell them what they want to hear. Paul warned the elders of Ephesus that salvage wolves would arise among them, speaking perverse things to draw the disciples after them. Before the ink had dried on the New Testament, storm clouds were on the horizon.

Why did departures happen so quickly?

First, this was attacks by Satan to destroy the people of God. The message from the mid section of Revelation is that Satan could not wreck God’s eternal plan. He set his focus upon making war with the God’s children. As the gospel spread, so did opposition, resistance and the spirit of change. Glorifying man more than honoring God became a massive part of the powerful church in Europe. Statues adorn cathedrals of bishops, saints and leaders. Churches were named after men. While fooling the people into thinking that they were still following Christ, idolatry, power and control became dominate in what they did. The simple message of Jesus Christ, became so twisted and abused, that powerful men were becoming rich off of the common man. The church switched from a spiritual body to a political body and powerful men in the church were influencing world governments to their liking.

It’s easy to look at all of this and think, this is nothing like what we read in the New Testament. The lust for power, money and control, fed by Satan, corrupted hearts and twisted the church into what God never intended.

Second, the gullibility and ignorance of the people allowed this to take place. Instead of the people thinking for themselves and searching the Scriptures, as the Bereans had done, they were being told by these powerful church leaders what to believe and what to do. Few people had their own Bible. They were left to trust what the church leaders were telling them. If they disagreed, the heavy hand of the church came crashing down upon them. Discipline, not in the Biblical fashion to restore one back to Christ, but rather in the form of imprisonment, taking property, and even death, caused the common man to fear the powerful church. The church wasn’t a fellowship to help one get to Heaven, as the New Testament teaches. It became a powerful system that crushed any that opposed it. Ignorance isn’t bliss. The powerful church kept the people in the dark. There was period of time that a list of forbidden books was circulated among the people. If anyone had one of those books, they were subject to stiff punishment. On that list was the Bible. The Bible was a forbidden book, banned from the people. This is why the works of early reformers such as Wycliffe and Tyndale, who translated the Bible into the common language was seen as a threat to the church. Those men were viewed as a heretics to the church. Their bodies were degraded in death.

Third, the silence of the people allowed this. When people are afraid to act, they will hide in fear. They will go along with things that they know are not right, but they are fearful of saying anything. A powerful, distorted church that does not allow any questions to be asked, and keeps a heavy hand above the people will continue on it’s path of departure. There is no one to speak up. There is no one to warn. There is no one to question. Finally, after enough corruption and abuse, some started to speak up. They started to write. This led to what historically is called the Reformation Movement. We are talking about the 14 and 15 centuries, hundreds of years from the first century. A long time of corruption, departure and abuse.

Now, four lessons from this. Do not think that this is a walk down the halls of history. Our times are no different. The modern church today, with all the social and emotional emphasis, is a far cry from what we read in the New Testament. The organizational structure of the modern church is not close to what you read about in the New Testament. Every Sunday, mega churches are filled to capacity, listening to messages are distorted and twisted from the Gospel account. Our times are not much different.

First, we must realize that Satan is still after God’s people. He will use anything and anyone to put a wedge between us and Christ. He will use discouragement. He will use compromise. He will use false teaching. He will twist, change and present new ideas and new ways of looking at things. Any congregation that does not have their radar on and is not keeping a sharp eye out on Satan will suffer. Today’s twisted message is found on Social Media. There any fool can say anything he wants. People air their complaints. It can be a feeding frenzy for error.

Second, we must know God’s message. There isn’t much difference between those early years when people didn’t have their own Bibles and today when people simply won’t read the Bible. It’s not ownership that makes the difference. It’s spending time and getting to know what the message is all about. There is a difference between knowing facts about the Bible and knowing the message of the Bible. For instance, what is the purpose of the church? Is it to take care of the whole of man? Is it to provide a safe haven for teens to play and get together? Is it supposed to entertain us? Ignorance then and ignorance today, allows things to happen that never should.

Third, we need to take personal ownership of our faith and become actively involved within our congregations. Sitting back and saying, “Well, that’s what they decided. I don’t agree with it,” simply doesn’t fly. Abuse among elderships still happens today. Elders who do everything except shepherd the flock is still all too common. Raise questions. Look in the Bible. Don’t be a trouble maker, but demand proof from the Bible. Believing that you don’t have a say, leads right into the abusive church we read about in history. Now, don’t allow one wrong to make you do wrong. Your spirit, your attitude, your words—can lead people back to the Biblical pattern or you can just be seen as another power hungry person who wants to control things.

Finally, we must give the church back to God. It is His body. We belong to God. Our lessons, our classes, our interaction must be laced with Biblical references. We must honor Him by doing what He says. This attitude will help us stay the course that God wants.

So quickly, is what Paul said. How did you leave the Gospel so quickly? It happened then and it continues to happen today. Put a stake in ground for God and rally around that. Some may leave. Some may not have the disposition to stay with the Gospel message. They would rather run the church and ruin the church than to do what the Bible says.

We stand with God.

Roger