The Amish Voice 2
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Justification by faith in Jesus Christ has been proven. This has
been the point of the last six passages in the Book of Galatians. Now
Paul launches a fivefold appeal to the church: a fivefold appeal to be
justified by faith.
INTRODUCTION:
Are you the kind of person who is willing to take a risk? The true
Christian knows that following Christ is well worth any risk. But
think for a moment:
How many experiences meant for the Christian believer
have you missed out on because you turned your back?
Why is turning back so appealing at times?
Maybe it is fear or just being perfectly content to keep things like
they are. Or maybe your excuse is a complete lack of faith.
If you are thinking about turning back, or if you have already
started down the backward journey, listen closely to this first appeal:
Do not turn back!
1.
REMEMBER YOUR FORMER LIFE (v.8).
Remember what you were when you were an unbeliever, before you
ever believed in Jesus Christ and experienced salvation. The
unbeliever is characterized by two significant traits.
1.
The unbeliever does not know God. This means that he does
not know God in a personal way; God’s Spirit does not dwell in the
unbeliever filling the unbeliever with the fullness of God. The
unbeliever does not experience God’s…
The unbeliever does not have the day-by-day experience of
knowing God, of experiencing the presence, fellowship, communion,
care, and provision of God—of experiencing the abundance of life
with God. And as tragic as any of his shortcomings, the unbeliever
does not have the absolute assurance of living forever with God.
2.
The unbeliever serves false gods. Even before their conversion,
the Galatians had sensed their need for God. They had not been
atheists or agnostics. They had been a religious people seeking to
become acceptable to God. Their worship had been the worship of
many gods
including both Jupiter (Zeus) and Mercury (Hermes). This,
of course, meant that they had been enslaved to heathen gods, religion
and worship, rituals and ceremonies, rules and regulations,
superstitions and idols.
Note what is said about the unbeliever: he serves gods which
by
nature are not gods
.
By their very nature, the objects of man’s
worship are not gods. How could they be, for they are only a creation
of the unbeliever’s mind. He may count them as gods, but they are no
more than ideas in his own mind.
ILLUSTRATION:
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to stumble upon a
community of idolaters? What kinds of things would offend you?
Take a glimpse into one such community:
As we peek into one of their homes, several things strike us as
unChristianlike
.
It seems that their worship is centered in their main
living area. The entire room has been arranged to give honor to this
inanimate object (which makes all kinds of noises and appeals to the
senses of those who worship it). All of the available seating in this
room is angled in order to provide the best seating and viewing
arrangement possible.
Upon further investigation in this house, the closets are full of
sewn materials which are hung on metal hanging ornaments. One can
only guess about this culture, but there seems to have been a lot of
value placed upon this area of the living quarters.
Seeing their bookkeeping records might give some insight on
what they valued, you find the only entry on the ledger is entitled
“
self.”
Let’s leave this uncivilized culture behind. What kind of people
are they anyhow? Sad to say, but it looks a lot like our culture. The
inanimate object displayed in the main living area is a television. For
many, it has become an object of worship as its pull has overcome
many a Christian.
The closet represents the value our culture places on apparel—
SECTION OUTLINE:
A. Appeal One: Do Not Turn Back (4:8-11).
B. Appeal Two: Restir Affection for the Minister of God (4:12-20).
C. Appeal Three: Listen to What the Law Really Says (4:21-31).
D. Appeal Four: Stand Firm in the Liberty of Christ (5:1-6).
E. Appeal Five: Obey the Truth (5:7-12).
OUTLINE:
1.
Remember your former life (v.8).
2.
Look at your present life: you know God and are known by
God (v.9).
3.
Consider your turning back (vv.9-11).
divine nature (2 Pe.1:4)
presence
assurance
care
love
life
power
confidence
provision
