Why Then the Law? (Gal. 3:15-22)

I am not a Jew; I was born a Gentile. I did not become a Jew when I was saved; I became a Christian. The Bible divides the world of mankind into three categories: Jews, Gentiles and Christians. "Give none offence, neither to the Jews, nor to the Gentiles, nor to the church of God" (1 Cor. 10:32). We must remember these distincions when we discuss the matter of the Mosaic Law. Being a Gentile, I have never been obligated to the Law of Moses. However, that does not mean I am lawless and have no obligation to God. Now that I am a Christian, I am under a new law, the laws of Jesus Christ. My rationale for this is that I am now identified with the with Jesus who is called "thy seed" (Gal. 3:16) and to whom the Abrahamic promise was given. But many people still claim that the Mosaic Law is important and must be followed. God's Word states that "as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse" (Gal. 3:10) but "Christ [by his work on the cross] hath redeemed us from the curse of law" (3:13).

Why then the Law? (3:19). God gave it to heighten our understanding of His standard and the seriousness of transgressing that standard (Rom. 4:15). So, when God said, "Thou shalt not bear false witness" (Exo. 20:16), a lie was seen to be what it is: an overstepping or transgression of the law of God. A Gentile does not have the Law but he sometimes instinctively does the things that are in the law (Rom. 2:14-15). The reason for this seems to be that he is made in the image of God (James 3:9). Certain moral duties, imparted by that divine image are written in his heart and are manifest in his moral decisions and judgments. Having a conscience, he is obliged to respond favorably to God's self-revelation in nature and to fulfill certain basic duties that personal creatures owe the Creator, i.e. worship, gratitude, and service. When Paul preached to pagans, he did not use the Mosaic Law to bring them under the conviction of sin (Acts 14:6-18; 17:15-34; 24:25). Rather, he reminded them of their creaturehood (Acts 17:24-26) and their guilt of dishonoring God by neglecting to seek after Him (17:27) and by regarding Him to be less than what He is (17:24-25, 29). He also declared their duty to seek the Lord (17:27), repent and prepare for coming judgment (17:31).

Under New Management (Gal. 3:15-22)

When I was saved on January 4, 1953 several things happened to me that I later discovered as I grew in grace. For example, I learned that salvation was never granted on the basis of Law. I learned also that I had been justified before God on that day and thus any relationship to old Adam and to the law ceased; I was adopted into the Lord’s family; I was enrolled under a new rule, i.e. a new covenant. It became my first duty to obey my heavenly Father, not as a slave but as a child. In fact, I was to obey as a beloved child. It would now be an offense to Him if I intimidated His will in any way. Did He call me to seek fellowship with other Christians? Then it is at my peril if I neglected it, for I would be disobeying my Father. I was to do it, not because the law says, “Love thy neighbor,” but because Jesus says, “If ye love me, keep my commandments,” and this is the commandment that He has given to me, “that ye love one another.” Did He command me to seek to become like Jesus? What a joy it became to do so as I studied His Word and spent time with Him in prayer. Was I told to distribute to the poor? Then I was to do it, not because love is a burden which I dared not shirk, but because Jesus taught, “Give to him that asketh of thee.” Did the Law say, “Love God with all your heart”? Then I could look into the very eyes of that demand and reply, “O commandment, Christ has fulfilled you already. I have no need, therefore, to fulfill you for my salvation.” But I did, and ever since have rejoiced to yield obedience to Him because God is my Father now and He has a claim upon me.

Using Scripture to Deceive

It is hard to believe but it is nevertheless true that some preachers "lie in wait to deceive" their hearers (Eph. 4:14). They even use Scripture to do it by misinterpreting it. Satan used this tactic when he tempted our Lord in the wilderness. He had been defeated on each of the first two attempts and so the enemy said in effect, "O.K. If I can't win by opposing him then I'll win by joining him." And so he quoted Scripture, from Psalm 91. But, he conveniently misinterpreted it for his own advantage (Luke 4:10-11). The Lord recognized this ploy and warded off the attack with another Scripture.

This tactic was used by the Judaizers in the early church. They believed that faith in Christ, though crucial, was not enough for salvation; believers had to observe the ceremonial law to be approved by God and to be welcomed into the family of God. They used Scripture to teach this. Had not Abraham, who received the promise that through him all the nations of the world would be blessed (Gen. 12:2-3), been commanded to be circumcised to be part of the family of God? (Gen. 17:10) This reference to Abraham and to Scripture made a lot of sense to the Jewish and Gentile believers. But, if the Christians of that day carefully studied their Scriptures, they would have discovered the deliberate misinterpretation. The Judaizers conveniently forgot an event that took place ten years after the promise and fourteen years before the command to be circumcised. At that time Abraham was challenged to believe that even at his advanced years, he would have a child who would be the seed of a great nation who would produce the Messiah. Scientifically, this was impossible. But faith takes God at His Word. "He believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness" (Gen. 15:6). This means that Abraham was saved by faith alone - fourteen years before he was circumcised. Paul concludes, "Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham ... So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham" (Gal. 3:7, 9). Friend, don't give up precious gospel truth to people whose major self-appointed task is to lead you astray. They will even use Scripture to do it, but it will be abused.

A Personal Remedy for Deserting the Faith

In 1965 a teenager began to attend our church services. He showed an interest in the Bible and gave every evidence of salvation. However, he left us after several weeks to join with the Mormons who had convinced him that he needed more than just a trust in the cross work of Jesus Christ for his salvation. How tragic! His experience represents that of thousands who desert the pure gospel of grace for a false form of Christianity that presumes to improve on the finished work of Christ. Some look for a second work of grace; some, for a commitment to the Lordship of Christ some time after being justified; still others, the baptism of the Holy Spirit which is evidenced by one's speaking in tongues.


In Galatians 3:1–5 the Apostle Paul reminds his readers that a believer's experience of the Lord Jesus Christ, of the Holy Spirit, and of God the Father are uncontested evidence of having been graciously made acceptable to God through personal faith in the perfect, complete work of Christ, apart from any human supplement. John McArthur states, "Although experience in itself is not entirely reliable evidence of spiritual reality, it is nevertheless a powerful apologetic when closely linked with and built on scriptural truth. Because genuine Christian experience verities the gospel of grace, the inspired apostle was led by the Holy Spirit to use it as an effective means of defending the doctrine of justification by faith." In 3:6-4:11 he will deal with the scriptural truth but here in 3:1-5 he helps to draw us back to the pure gospel if ever we were to stray by directing us to a few questions. (1) Was I justified in any other way than by believing in the cross work of Christ? (3:1) (2) Did I receive the Holy Spirit, our greatest evidence of final salvation, in any other way than by faith in the gospel and at the same time as my justification? (3:2-4) (3) Did the Father grant me, as He had promised, the Spirt power for victory over Satan, sin and the world in any other way than by faith in the gospel of grace (3:5)? If not, then how could I hope to enhance any of that out of my own insignificant human resources?

Superficial Believers

I don't know what the percentage is, but I dare say that evangelical churches are filled with superficial believers. They live only to experience spiritual "highs." In seeking for good feelings, they have missed the truly joyful, happy, satisfying life. Make no mistake about it, there are wonderful feelings in the Christian life, but they are found only in knowing and obeying God's truth. True happiness comes as John McArthur describes it as the product of a "humble pursuit of God's truth and will and of conformity to it."

The first century had their share of such believers too. Paul speaks of them in Galatians 3:1-5. "O foolish Galatians!" (Gal. 3:1) "Are ye so foolish?" (3:3) "Foolish" is such a harsh word! But the Apostle was not calling them stupid. The word that he used here means "no mind" or "no understanding." The Galatian saints failed to use their spiritual intelligence when faced by the unscriptural, gospel-destroying teaching of the Judaizers. They were not using their heads. They were lazy! They had foolishly fallen into Judaistic legalism because they had stopped believing and applying the basic truths of the gospel that Paul had taught them and by which they had been saved.

We are neither saved nor sanctified in the Christian life on the basis of good feelings or attractive inclinations. Both are on the basis of God's truth in Christ. Christians who rely on self-oriented emotions instead of Scripture-oriented minds are doomed to be "tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive." (Eph. 4:14). When they judge an idea on the basis of how good it makes them feel or how nice it sounds rather than on the basis of its harmony with God's Word, they are in serious spiritual danger.

Questions to Ponder:
1. What do you think attracts most people to cults: (1) They are intellectually convinced the doctrines of the cult are true. (2) They find its teachings and practices appealing. Support your answer.
2. Does Paul's appeal to the Roman saints in Rom. 12:1-2 apply to "foolish" saints today? How?

What Makes Christianity Tick

Martin Luther stood alone, like the Apostle Paul, valiantly defending the great doctrine of justification by faith, the doctrine which is at the core of Christianity. He defined a Christian as, “not somebody who has no sin, but somebody against whom God no longer chalks sin, because of his faith in Christ. This doctrine brings comfort to consciences in serious trouble.”

Paul's defence over the same issue took place some 1500 years before Luther. Paul "withstood him [the Apostle Peter] to the face" (Gal. 2:11). There was no unity here. No peace! But Paul was not the problem, though he instigated the troublous moment. It was Peter and he had to be rebuked! His behavior of separating from fellow believers on the basis of race was totally disconcerting to Gentile believers and, I might add, very dishonoring to the Lord. Paul uses the pronoun "I" twice, once in reference to Peter (2:18) and the other, to himself (2:19). In the first he points out Peter's problem of building again by his behavior what he destroyed (a legal system for approaching God). He knew better. He was saved by faith alone in Christ, not by keeping the Law - just like the Gentiles. In the second, in his own person, Paul gives us an excellent description of the mysterious life of a believer. He is crucified, and yet he lives. At the time of His salvation he was united to Jesus Christ, who now lives within the saint. The old man is crucified (Rom. 6:6), but the new man is living; he is dead to the world, and dead to the law, and yet alive to God and Christ; sin is mortified, and grace quickened. What Paul contended for is what we must today. Justification (being declared righteous by God our Judge) by faith alone makes no sense to most people. Surely, they say, we must do something about sins that remain in our lives! Paul answers this more as we will see in our continuing study of the rest of Galatians. For now he points out that he is avoiding two great difficulties:

1. That he did not frustrate the grace of God, which the doctrine of the justification by the works of the law did. "And if by grace, then is it no more of works." (Rom. 11:6)
2. That he did not frustrate the death of Christ, whereas, if righteousness come by the law, then it must follow that Christ has died in vain. Why should He be appointed to die, if we might have been saved without it?

The Harmful Influence of Careless Hypocrisy

In the November issue of Our Daily Bread was an article for the 24th entitled, Careless Preachers. Its substance was summarized in the final statement, "It's a mistake to think that we can impress the world by compromising with it." The great Apostle Peter did just that and was called to task for it by another great apostle, Paul (Galatians 2:11-13). His hypocrisy influenced a great many of the saints in the Syrian church in Antioch. Even the great Barnabas began to compromise because of Peter's actions. This is serious. Unsaved people may not be so much against Jesus as they are against hypocrisy. We repeatedly hear scoffers say, "The church is full of hypocrites!" Of course, it seems to be a good ploy to get out of their own responsibility to face up to the gospel. But let's not ignore that statement and dismiss it without taking heed lest they be true. We tend to think that it's not true of us. But let's think again. How many times have we been like the woman who glanced through her window, only to see a nosy, noisy neighbor approaching her door! Her young, impressionable children heard her as she grumbled, "Oh, no—not her again!" Whereupon she opened the door and gushed insincerely, "How very nice to see you!" Our lips and our lives often preach a mixed message. Let us be careful lest some of our friends are influenced by our careless hypocrisy.

That the Truth of the Gospel Might Continue

None of us can doubt the Apostle Paul's sincerity when he declared about the false teachers who were stirring up trouble among the saints, "To whom we gve place by subjection, no, not for an hour; that the truth of the gospel might continue with you" (Galatians 2:5). He was dead serious! He was willing to die for "the truth of the gospel." The gospel of grace was critical to him then and it should be critical to us today. Let me illustrate. A friend of mine was overwhelmed with guilt when he committed a sin. He confessed that sin to the Lord whose promise in 1 John 1:9 is "he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." He does that in grace but my friend felt that he needed to do more. So the following Wednesday he stood before the church to announce that he and his wife were going to the mission field. I knew his motive; others did not. He missed the idea that Paul fought for - the concept of God's free grace for getting saved and maintaining a Christian life. I had the opportunity later to deal with and help solve his problem. My ideas were Paul's and went along the same lines that I recently discovered in the April 2008 issue of DJ Online News. The article was entitled Guilt and Grace. I use their outline as a young lady helped her own brother who had sinned.

(1) She, like the Lord Jesus, came alongside him. She dispelled his fears by assuring him of her prayers and her struggles with similar sins.
(2) She, like the Lord Jesus, reminded him of God's grace. He was holy and blameless in God’s sight, not because he had obeyed God perfectly, but because Christ paid the penalty for his sin on the cross. More than that, God had clothed him with the perfect righteousness of Christ. He no longer held his sin—including the one he currently faced—against him.
(3) She, like the Lord Jesus, didn't discount his sin. She encouraged him to identify and accept responsibility for his sin. Knowing what God has already done for him and how He viewed Him in Christ, he was able to deal with his sin appropriately.
(4) She, like the Lord Jesus, pointed him to the Holy Spirit. She encouraged him to ask God to give him the strength and will to trust and obey Him, which He has promised to do through His Spirit.

We can be thankful for the gospel of grace that Paul fought for and helped to make available today.

Defending the Faith, A Risky Business

Life is full of risks. We take risks from the moment we step out of our bed. We take a risk when we decide on a marriage partner. We take a risk when we grow children. We take risks when we get in our car and hit the roads. Without risks we would never make progress. An old Chinese saying states, "He who stands all day on one leg never goes anywhere." Buffalo Bill said, "I had many enemies among the Sioux; I would be running considerable risk in meeting them." But meet them he must. The same was true with Paul who preached a pure gospel of grace. He would not allow for any legal rule to be added to the gospel. As such, the gospel became available to both Jew and Gentile alike. The old faithful Jews did not readily accept that new gospel. They claimed that God's people must keep the ceremonial law. Except for a two-week period when he became acquainted with the apostles Peter and James in Jerusalem, Paul did not go to that city for 14 years aftter his conversion. It took special instructions from the Lord by revelation (Gal. 2:2) for him to go as a representative to the Jerusalem Council. But when he went Paul took a risk by choosing Titus, an uncircumcised Gentile who was now a Christian, to accompany him But notice Paul's actions. He was so very-well balanced. A Christian who is willing to take risks does not mean that he is care-free. He should be directed by the Lord and act in a well-balanced way. Paul was fair with the apostles by laying out the gospel as he understood it and preached it (Gal. 2:2); he was also wise in that he asked for a private meeting with the apostles (Gal. 2:2). A public meeting with such a sensitive issue would have been a needless offense. Brothers and sisters, we need to be willing to take risks under God's leadership, but in doing so to be fair and wise in all we do.

Questions to Ponder:
1. How do you feel when your beliefs are contrary to popular opinion? What would you have done in Paul's place?
2. Would it matter to you if Paul's argument had failed? Why or why not?

Story-Telling and a Hostile Crowd

I forget who said it but someone was referring to controversy when he stated, "No matter what you say or write, there is no controversy until someone does not agree with you.” It is to our benefit that Judaizers did not agree with Paul for now we can learn from the controversy over salvation by grace or by human works. Paul deals with his antagonists in three different way, each one being a way we should use when people disagree with us. In Galatians 1-2 he answers them personally, with stories from his own experiences; in chapters 3-4, doctrinally; and in chapters 5-6, practically. Since our thoughts have brought us to Gal. 1:10-24 we should note his story-telling practice. Personal stories have a particular charm because they cannot be refuted by a hostile crowd. We might call the stories our personal testimony. Every believer has a unique testimony that he should use over and over as he witnesses to people. This is particularly useful with those who may otherwise disagree with our message. Jesus used story-telling amny times to his hostile audiences. See Luke 15, the parables of the lost sheep, the lost coin and the lost son, where Jesus thus exposed the hypocrisy of those who criticized his association with the lost. Peter used story-telling in Acts 11 to defend his action in speaking the gospel to Gentiles (Acts 10). Paul uses it here in Gal. 1:13-24. He speaks of his pre-conversion days (1:13-14)and states the obvious, i.e. that he did not learn salvation by grace alone through his commitment to legalistic Judaism. At the time of his conversion (1:15-16a) God revealed the risen Jesus to him (v. 12; 1 Cor. 9:1; 15:8; Phil. 3:12) and he learned that salvation was by grace alone. His story continues because after his conversion (Gal. 1:16-24) he "conferred not with flesh and blood." Rather, Jesus Christ was his sole teacher during a period of three years in both Arabia and Damascus and he learned that salvation was by grace alone. When people disagree with your message, try story-telling, your own personal testimony.

Questions to Ponder:
1. If you had to argue for the reality of the gospel by giving one example of how faith in Christ has changed you, what would you share?
2. In what way is your experience of Christ an important part of your witness to others?

Fight the Good Fight but Watch Your Attitude

Paul is an apologist - a defender of the faith. In fact, he is probably the apologist par excellence of all church history. The book of Galatians is one apologetic document that came from his pen. Every serious Christian should focus on this wonderful work. We can learn much about how to defend the faith just by studying it. For example, it becomes obvious that Paul's defence of the faith was never meant to do what only the Holy Spirit can do, namely bring people under conviction of "sin, righteousness and judgment" (John 16:8-11). It is basically meant to strengthen believers. For sure, it is never meant to win an argument against an unbeliever. Josh McDowell stated, "Apologetics is not for proving the Word of God but simply for providing a basis for faith." (Evidence That Demands a Verdict, p. iii). McDowell makes the amazing observation that though the majority of those to whom he has spoken did not deny his evidence, they did not accept Christ as Savior and Lord. "This is not because they were unable to believe - they were simply unwilling to believe." (op.cit.p. i) In Galatians 1:10 Paul showed a right attitude in approaching people with the evidence concerning the truth of Christianity. We need to watch our attitude. Then in verses 11-12 he spoke to the Galatian saints who had been troubled by the Judaizers who claimed to be the true Christians. They had been influenced by suggestions that he made up his own gospel. In another article we shall see where this all went.

Questions to Ponder:
1. Why do you think Paul focused on helping the saints in the Galatian churches rather than on the unbelieving Judaizers? Was this a departure from his normal evangelistic outreach?
2. How has evidence for the truth of Christianity affected you?

How God Looks Upon a Distorted Gospel

I was only one year old in the Lord when a Christian cultist confronted me with the teaching that Christians must follow the laws of Moses. He said that we must keep the Saturday Sabbath. When I denied that, he left me with these words, "Well, I guess I'm a better Christian than you." This denial of the gospel of grace is what Paul faced in Galatia. Judaizers claimed authority from the Jerusalem church and were teaching that the Law must be added to the gracious work of Christ. The new Christians in the Galatian churches believed them and were in the process of deserting the Lord Jesus. This horrified Paul and so he moved quickly to offset the false teaching. He said, "I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!" (Gal. 2:21) To teach that human works contribute to salvation is to suggest that Christ's work was insufficient and needed to be improved on. The real question Galatians 1:6-9 poses is not why Paul became so incensed by this error, but why we, confronted with even deeper error in our own day, seem not to be shocked or dismayed at all. We accept it as a natural thing. Paul was a principled man and it has been through principled leaders like him that we have any Christianity at all today. Our easygoing tolerance is the sort of thing that could destroy it. Do you remember what the Lord said of those who cause believers to stumble? "And whosoever shall offend one of these little ones that believe in me, it is better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he were cast into the sea" (Mark 9:42)

Questions to Ponder:
1. Can you think of some modern perversions of the gospel?
2. How can one discern what is really true and avoid being led astray?

Chosen on Purpose for a Purpose (Rev. 3:7-13)

The days of the Great Reformation were special days. They were days demanding great people, people of courage, people of purpose, people on a mission. For example, the French Calvinists (c. 1547) called Huguenots, were committed to upholding Truth. They were faithful in their witness to the belief that justification was by faith alone. For this they were persecuted fiercely. Their enemies also had a purpose – to rid the earth of evangelical Christians. Special courts were set up to try heretics, who were often burned at the stake. As martyrs multiplied, so also did evangelical Christianity spread. These were aided by massive mission efforts from Geneva. This illustrates the truth that people, Christian or nonchristian, with purpose have a reason for living. They get up in the morning, rolling up their sleeves, ready to work for their cause. It is interesting that the Lord chose to plant a church on a mission in a city that had a history of mission. Our passage in Revelation 3:7-13 begins with the city first.

The city of Philadelphia was a city chosen on purpose. It was located due west some 25 miles east of Sardis and about 100 miles east of Smyrna and ideally situated as a gate to the provinces of Lydia and Phrygia. There was a highway from the Aegean Sea that traversed through Smyrna, Sardis, Philadelphia and into the two eastern provinces. It was the Pergamenian king Attalus II (159-138 BC) who had been given the name "Philadelphus," which means "brother lover" because of his love for his brother. He established the city and gave it the task of spreading Greco-Asiatic culture and language in the eastern part of Lydia and in Phrygia. So the city may well have been founded for a social purpose. The great Christian archaeologist, William Ramsey, stated that the city “was a missionary city from the beginning, founded to promote a certain unity of spirit, customs, and loyalty within the realm…” The city successfully carried out its mission as is evidenced by the fact that the Lydian language ceased to be spoken in Lydia by AD 19 and the Greek language took over. Phrygia was a different story, however. It was not converted to Greek.

Why is this important? Our great country of the USA, like Philadelphia, was established to fulfill a purpose. What purpose? History tells us that those who landed on our shores had the aim of evangelizing the pagan natives of the land. Contrast this with the purpose of the Spaniards who landed first in Central and South America. Their goal was to get gold. Later our country was constituted with the words in its preamble, “We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.” The purpose of our land was and still is to carry out justice, ensure peace, provide common defense, promote the welfare of all citizens and secure freedom. Successful? Yes! Within this context colleges were born. In the 17th century, Harvard University began as an Indian College to educate Native Americans. Princeton University goes back to its establishment by "New Light" Presbyterians and was originally intended to train Presbyterian ministers. Indeed, Mission Statements are essential but what good are they if not maintained?

Begs the Question: Do we know what God intends for us as a nation? Is it our intent to see that it is accomplished? Am I contributing to the advance or the demise of my great country? What must I do? What can I do?

The church in Philadelphia was a church with mission. She was reminded of this in the first few words. “These things saith he that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David, he that openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth.” For the first time in all the letters Christ identifies Himself in words that were not quotes from chapter one. This fact makes this a special church. The Lord goes out of His way to claim deity for Himself. He claims to be “holy” and “true,” words used in the Old Testament for Jehovah, Israel’s covenant God. In calling Himself Jehovah of the Old Testament, Jesus Christ guarantees blessings to His people. Furthermore, the activity of this God is to hold “the key of David.” This is a reference to Isaiah 22:22 where the Secretary of the State of Israel, Shebna, who had held the key of David was removed and his office given to another, Eliakim (22:15). The term refers to having complete control over the Messianic kingdom of David. Rev. 3:7 introduces Christ as the only One who holds control over the Messianic kingdom. He alone brings people into the kingdom of God. When the Lord Jesus gave His Mission Statement to all churches at the time of His ascension (Matt. 28:18-20) He prefaced His remarks by saying something identical. “All power is given unto me in heaven and earth.”

Why is this important? Any Christian who is looking forward to the fulfillment of the Abrahamic and Davidic covenants has been introduced to Christ for citizenship in Christ's kingdom. He "opens and no one will shut, and [He] shuts and no one opens." He is the One, the author of the opportunity of salvation. He is in possession of the gates to heaven and the gates to hell. This is His present activity, not just His ability. Men cannot claim this. Pagan gods like Janus, the two-faced god, cannot havethis. Even the pope who assumed this power cannot do it. Only the Lord Jesus who gave mission to every Christian can claim such authority. He does not even pass this key over to Christians. It is His alone, but when Christians carry out their purpose of witnessing, they can do so knowing that genuine results come from the sovereign God, their Savior.

Begs the Question: Do we have assurance of salvation? Are we faithful in our witness to the Truth?

Verses for Today: "All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.
Go ye therefore, and teach all nations …and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.” (Matt. 28:18-20)

Your Step for Today: Thank the Lord for introducing you into His kingdom. Pick out one person with whom you can share the gospel and trust the One Who holds the keys to that person’s future.

Your Prayer for Today: Give me confidence in your ability, Lord. And, also, in your present activity as I witness to the lost.

Promised and Visual Hope for Dead Churches (Rev. 3:1-6)

There is no person who can speak to our hearts as the Lord Jesus can. If He must rebuke us, He comes first with love and compassion that we, by the grace of God, should seek to follow after Him. Notice this method in each of the letters that we have considered. Each church, except the one in Smyrna, needed rebuke but He first commended them for their good actions (2:2-3, 13, 19). He is not a tyrant waiting to judge us harshly if we do not follow His leading. He wants us to be like Him and so He deals gently with us in our faults. However, there is a difference when we come to the church in Sardis (Rev. 3:1-6). He had nothing good to say to them. What about His reference to good deeds in 3:1? That is not a commendation; it is His complaint, as we learn from 3:2. There is something seriously wrong here in Sardis. This is a sad and startling complaint come from the lips of our Lord. Three principles will help us in our duty to watch what good things we have in Christ.

The first principle is that a church can be dead. This is where any church must begin. Each must ask the question, Are we a dead church? The church in Sardis was dead (3:1) as evidenced in their works that failed to please Christ (3:2). Why did Christ use the term “dead” for Sardis when He did not for the churches in Thyatira and Laodicea? Did they not also have serious problems? I suppose it is because neither of them had ever known such glory as the Sardian believers did at the beginning. Now they had nothing. It is like the contrast between life and death. Just as the city had a significant fame as a royal city, and now was nothing, even so the church’s loyalty and service to Christ was in the past. Now they were nothing. They had “a form of godliness but [denied] the power thereof” (2 Tim. 3:5).

Why is this important? The great majority of Christendom today has only the form of godliness. They have no power. For example, how much of Protestantism today knows in practical experience the truth of justification by faith which was the Bible doctrine upon which Protestantism was founded? Very little! It is a truth that has been lost to vast areas of organized Christendom. The Reformation began well but later deteriorated into different religious systems. Where Truth is absent the religious body is spiritually lifeless. Many of those groups are today working toward an organic union that Protestants and possibly Roman Catholics will call Christian. But if they succeed in doing this, they will still be dead. It is a far cry from the “unity of the Spirit” spoken of by Paul in Eph. 4:3 and the unity Christ prayed for in John 17:21-23. In their organization, they will still be dead.

Begs the Question? Are we dead – without knowing it? Do we break the bread at Communion and at the same time feed upon Him? We have worship services, but do we really worship? What about our giving to the Lord’s work? We may give regularly, but do we do it out of a sense of duty or because we love the Lord? How about our prayer lives? And our work on church committees? Is it pleasing to Him? Does not God speak of of a?

A second principle is just as important. A dead church can be revitalized (3:2-3). The only hope for the Sardian church at that time and for Protestant churches today is to turn to the Lord “who holds the seven spirits of God and the seven stars” (Rev. 3:1). If the Sardian church is strong, it is because Christ has sent His Spirit to encourage and quicken the Sardian believers; if they are dead like the city, it is because in judgment He has withdrawn His Spirit from them. In fact, the Lord gives five imperatives that, if obeyed, would awaken the church to new life. (1) They must “watch” (3:2-3). The pastors must watch over themselves, know the state of their flocks, teach the Truth and see to it that the laws of Christ’s house are practiced. The members must watch over their own attendance, their observance of the ordinances and their prayer life. (2) They must “strengthen the things that remain” (3:2). They cannot strengthen good works nor the graces of the Spirit. But they can strengthen the Truths of the gospel that they embraced at the beginning. (3) They must “remember” (3:3). This not only refers to the doctrines of grace she had heard at the beginning but the manner in which she heard them [with attention, reverence, humility and without prejudice]. (4) They must “hold fast” (3:3) those doctrines though everybody else despises them and they are ridiculed as fanatics. (5) They must “repent” (3:3).

Why is this important? It is good that hope is offered to churches that are floundering. Some have recovered from the near-death experience and are showing signs of spiritual life. However, some do not. Sadly, the longevity of life for all evangelical churches is 50 years.

Begs the Question? How old is our church? How does she compare favorably with her beginning in matters of doctrine and practice? What past successes has our church had that might give us such comfort and confidence that we become careless? Are we moving forward? What excuses might our church give for no longer being a living, vibrant church?

Let’s go one step further and add another principle worth keeping. A dead church can revive and earn a reward (3:4-6). Paul refers to this principle in his discussion on marriage in 1 Cor. 7:13-14. He states that unsaved spouses and children are “sanctified” by the presence of the Christian in the home. He did not mean they were saved. The idea of sanctification simply means to set apart for some use. By the believer’s presence the unsaved in the home are set apart for a gospel ministry of the Holy Spirit. Here is the hope of the Sardian church. They had “a few people … who [had] not defiled their garments; and they will walk with [Christ] in white” (3:4). That remnant sanctifies the majority who were defiled. Who knows but the dead might live. Like the believers who are assured of being clothed in “white raiment,” the dead members might seek life in Him who has “seven Spirits of God.

Verse for Today: "Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted.” (Gal. 6:1)

Your Step for Today: In a prayerful attitude, ask the Lord what role you might have in helping your church overcome the tendency to lose life. Seek out one friend who will agree with you on this and help you to carry out that role.

Your Prayer for Today: Ask the Lord to make the members of your church sensitive to the Spirit so that they might know if they are just going through the motions spiritually and have no real spiritual vitality.

It Doesn't Pay to Copy the Failures of the World (Rev. 3:1-6)

Today we consider a new church in the list of seven that the Lord addresses. Verses 2 and 3 of Rev. 3:1-6 set the tone for today’s lesson: “Be watchful … If therefore thou shalt not watch.” Other versions have “wake up,” (NAS, NIV, NLT, RSV). I don’t like that translation because it loses the thought of a sentinel’s duty. “Watch” is better. The guard’s job is to be alert to encroaching danger and, if needed, to alert the others. The issue in Sardis has to do with failing to be alert, neglecting one’s duty. What was true in the history of the city was true of the history of the church there. Neglect! Dereliction of duty! The theologian and Bible teacher Dr. S. Lewis Johnson entitles this passage, “Sardis: a Model of Past Glory.”

I. Sardis, the city, neglected its duty and lost its glory. In the sixth century B.C. there was no greater city than Sardis. It was the capitol of the kingdom of Lydia. It was the residence of the kings of Lydia, Croesus being one of them. His name is proverbial for his immense wealth. Cyrus is said to have taken $600 million worth of treasure from the city when he captured it in 548 B.C. Its fertile land and its ideal location made it a very important commercial city. The upper city (acropolis) was on a hill that towered 1,000 feet above the valley. It gave the city an almost impregnable stronghold. There was no city greater, but this was all lost through the failure to watch. The acropolis was successfully scaled in 549 B.C. by a Median soldier and in 218 by a Cretan. The Ionians burned the city in 501 B.C. but it was quickly rebuilt and regained its importance. In 334 B.C. it surrendered to Alexander the Great. Just 80 years before Christ wrote this letter the city was destroyed by an earthquake and never recovered its former glory.

II. Sardis, the church, neglected its duty and lost its glory. There was a Christian church in this city. Indeed, most of the citizens worshipped at the temple of Artemis, the goddess of fertility, and honored Hera, the goddess of marriage and Demeter, the goddess of the fruits of the earth and paid their vows to the divine Roman emperor. However, God wonderfully raised up a company of believers in Jesus Christ who formed a local church. How glorious is that thought! God raised up a people for His name in a community of Jews and pagans. God built His church in that city but much like the city itself, they failed to watch and so, lost their glorious start. Jesus said, “I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead” (3:1) “I have not found thy works perfect before God” (3:2). There was activity in the church, but the activity was not coming to perfection. They were not getting the job done. Nothing they had done from their beginning had succeeded in establishing and grounding them in the faith. Remember this church follows the one in Thyatira like the Reformation followed the Dark Ages when the Roman Catholic Church reigned. Martin Luther describes the church in Sardis as suffering from spiritual dry rot. That’s interesting since the church in Sardis describes the conditions following the great Reformation in the 16th century. The city’s greatness lay in the past; so did the church’s.

Why is this important? There are churches like this today. Their greatest moment was the fleeting blaze of their momentous beginning. Since then they have not amounted to much. There were several converted at first, they readily put up a meetinghouse and called a preacher. However, soon after that things began to dwindle. Some may have become discouraged from the ridicule of former friends. Others lost their time for Bible study, prayer, evangelism and the assembling of themselves with other believers.

Begs the Question? How can a church be dead and not know it? Do others see us or our church as alive? How? What are the evidences?

III. Sardis, the church, has a Savior who can restore them to former glory. The Lord identifies Himself as the One “who hath the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars” (v. 1). This is a reference to the Holy Spirit in the fullness of His power. See Isaiah 11:2. The Lord has that power as He comes to His struggling churches. The church can be reached only through the powerful Lord working through “the seven stars” who are the messengers or pastors of the churches. The pastors must be submissive to Him and they much preach His Word faithfully if the churches are to be revived. If they fail to “watch” and alert the congregation to the enemy, if they strive to avoid being offensive to their pagan environment, the church will die. Christ is able to restore us again.

So then, we must be vigilant. If we do not hold fast to Truth, we will lose the glory gained by those who preceded us. Next week we will consider the power that our omnipotent Savior gives to struggling churches.

Verse for Today: "For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them. Therefore watch, and remember, that by the space of three years I ceased not to warn every one night and day with tears." (Acts 20:29-31)

Your Step for Today: List at least three ways that you can alert your Christian friends to the attacks of antichristian forces.

Your Prayer for Today: Pray that churches in our land may be vibrant in their Christian witness and continue to be able to worship, work and witness.