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The Amish Voice 2
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1. OBEY THE TRUTH, FOR THE CHRISTIAN LIFE IS A
RACE (v.7).
The phrase you did run well is a picture of athletes running in a race.
1. The Galatians had been running and running well. When they first
heard the gospel, they believed...
in God’s love—that God loved the world so much that He sent
His Son into the world to save it.
in the righteousness of Christ—that Jesus Christ lived a perfect
and righteous life, securing righteousness for them.
in the death of Christ—that Jesus Christ died for their sins—
that He actually bore the punishment for their transgressions.
As stated, the Galatians had been running the Christian race well.
Having believed in Christ, they had been living for Christ: living
clean and pure lives and bearing testimony for Him. They had been
worshipping and serving Him with zeal. They had been living what
they were professing. There had been no false profession about
them: no counterfeit and no hypocrisy. They had not been Sunday
only Christians; they had been busy for Christ seven days a week,
and people from all over the city were coming to know Christ.
But note: some person had stepped in and had begun to hinder their
running the Christian race. We know from the previous four chapters
that some false teachers had arisen in the churches of Galatia.
However, the present reference is to a single individual. Apparently
one person had taken charge, becoming a ringleader of the trouble
and false teaching. The word “hinder” means to cut in, to edge in, to
interfere, to obstruct. The picture is still that of the running track.
While the Galatians had been running the Christian race, some had
edged in on them and begun to hinder and interfere with their
running. They were no longer obeying the truth. They were now
trying to approach God by some way other than Christ. They were
now thinking. . .
that God accepted them because they had been ritualized:
circumcised and baptized.
that God accepted them because they tried to keep the law:
tried to be as good as they could and did good deeds as
opportunity arose.
that God approved them because they were faithful to the
church: its rituals, ceremonies, services, rules, and regulations.
They were no longer running well. They had allowed some false
teacher to hinder them and to turn them from the truth. They had a
need to think about the matter, a desperate need…
to think about the race they had been running.
to think about who it was that was now hindering their
running.
“Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one
receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain” (1 Co.9:24).
“Wherefore, seeing we also are compassed about with so great
a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin
which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the
race that is set before us” (Heb.12:1).
ILLUSTRATION:
Has anyone tried to hinder you in your spiritual race? Listen to this
illustration about a little boy who knew how to keep on course.
Dennis wasn’t a big fellow, but as he played Little League Baseball,
his knowledge of the game made up for any lack of size. On a
particular summer day he swung at the ball with all his might, and to
his amazement, the ball rocketed off his bat in the general direction
of left field.
Off he ran! As he rounded first base, his head was down. In doing so,
he failed to see whether or not the ball had landed in fair or foul
territory. Before he arrived at second base, the second baseman on
the other team flagged Dennis down and said, “Go back. It was a
foul ball.”
Without hesitation, Dennis ignored the second baseman and slid
safely into second base. The umpire, whose opinion mattered the
most, signaled that the ball was fair.
What is the lesson for us here? Keep on running until the Umpire of
our souls, the Lord Jesus Christ, tells us to go back. We need to
ignore any other voice that would hinder our running ahead to the
next base.
Fair or foul? Fair ball—keep on running to the Lord. In Him, you’ll
always be called safe!
QUESTIONS:
1. What types of things represent the “second basemen” in your life?
Who or what hinders you from being faithful in your Christian
race?
2. How do you feel when you have listened to the advice of
someone who hinders you in your spiritual race? What could you
do differently the next time?
3. Why do you fail to obey the truth? What changes do you need to
make to become more faithful?