Curses and Blessings Part 8

Last time we saw that one of the purposes of the law was to confine all under sin. The next purpose of the law is to keep us under guard until the faith came. To be honest with you, I’m not sure what that means. Perhaps it means that the law keeps people under control in sort of an artificial way until the reality of faith comes.
The third purpose is to be a tutor to bring us to Christ so that we can be justified by faith. The important point here is that Paul goes on to say that once faith comes, the tutor is no longer needed! Galatians 3:25. The question I have is when did faith come? Does that mean when we trust Christ and are saved? Let’s continue reading.
So the law is like the parent or guardian to an under-aged child. Galatians 4:1-3 says just as much. A child, Paul says, is not much different than a slave even though he is the heir of everything. He is under the rule of his parent until he comes of age. In the same way, when we were children we were in bondage under the elements of the world. My question is still the same – when were we children and when did adulthood come?
Paul answers that question in Galatians 4:4. He says, “But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.” Verse 7 goes on to tell us that if we are a son then we are an heir of God. Think about what that means! We are adult sons, not children. We are heirs of God with all the rights and privileges of being an adult son. The guardianship of the law has ended. It ended when Christ came.
Please don’t interpret any of this to say that we are free to live in any way we like. I’m talking about the role of the law and its place in our lives. The reason this is important is that many Christians put themselves under the law in order to try to please God in the sense of making Him happy with their level of obedience. Another motivation sometimes is to try to use the law to get their lives in order. The problem is that the law brings a curse as we have seen. In fact in Romans 7:8 that sin takes the opportunity in the law to produce all sorts of evil desire. 2 Corinthians 15:56 tells us that the strength of sin is the law. Life requires self-discipline, but putting oneself under the law doesn’t work and in fact God pleads with us not to do that. More on that next time.

Six Week Review

We’ve been working at this for six weeks now and I thought it would be helpful to summarize what we have learned.

The Christian Life – The Life in Christ

2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.

Colossians 2:6, 7a “As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him.”

Colossians 2:9, 10 “For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily, and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power.”

The Christian Life – Christ the Center

John 15:5 I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.

Philippians 1:6 Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ. Philippians 1:6 NKJV

Galatians 2:20 I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.

Let’s spend some time this week reviewing these and making sure that we can remember them when we think of the outline point.

Memorization Monday

Here is part 6 of our memorization Monday series.

This is verse 3 in the following outline point.

1. The Christian Life, B. Christ the Center


Galatians 2:20 I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.

Curses and Blessings Part 7

We’re continuing our study of God’s blessings and curses. In the Old Testament God said that those who keep the law will be blessed and those who don’t keep it in its entirety will be cursed. There are many Christians who are trying desperately to keep the law so that God’s blessing will be on their lives. They do this because this is the message to the people in Deuteronomy and Joshua. What we’ve learned in this study is that as Christians, we are children of Abraham and therefore recipients of the unconditional promise made to him and to his seed. Christ took the God’s curse on himself so that the blessing of Abraham could be ours. Galatians 3:14. There is no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus. Romans 8:1

What I’m trying to encourage you with is to realize and believe that God will not add conditions to the blessing He is giving you through His promise to Abraham. The law that came 430 years after the promise cannot annul the promise. If you’re a Christian, the discussion of God’s curse does not apply to you. Christ became the curse so that you won’t be the recipient of it.

The next question though is what purpose does the law serve? This is more than just an academic question for theologians. It has important implications in your lives and the way you choose to live your life.

The first thing the law does is to confine all people under sin. According to Galatians 3:22, God did this so that he could offer the promise of Abraham to all that believe. There is no boasting, no way for one person to do better at law-keeping than another. All are confined under sin so that anyone who believes can receive the unconditional promise God made to Abraham.

We’ll pick it up there next time.

Memorization Monday

It’s week 5 and we’re ready for our next memory verse from the Navigators original topical memory plan.
The Christian Life, B. Christ the Center

Philippians 1:6 Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ. Philippians 1:6 NKJV

Memorization Monday

We’re into week four of our Memory Monday series

This week’s verse and outline are:
1. The Christian Life; B. Christ the Center

John 15:5 I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.

Curses and Blessings Part 6

We’re going through a very important study on God’s blessings and curses and how we fit. If you haven’t read the previous posts, it’s very important that you do so.
Last time we concluded that we as Christians are heirs of God’s promise of blessing to Abraham and his seed. This promise predates the law and the law cannot mitigate in anyway that promise.
An interesting question that Paul foresees then is what is the purpose of the law. He answers that question in verses 22-24 of Galatians 3. First he says that it confines all under sin. In other words, the law lays down the standard and no one lives up to it. Therefore all have sinned and fall short of God’s glory.
Second, before faith came we were kept under guard by the law and kept for the faith that should be revealed afterward. Before faith came the law had a guardianship role to keep people under control. A question you should ask yourself is what is the timeline involved. In other words the law guarded before the faith came. When did the faith come? When did that guardianship end?
Third, the law was a tutor to bring us to Christ. Again he says that when faith came, the tutor relationship ended. When did that faith come? We’ll look at the timing of this more later. What I want us to see now is that the purpose of the law had nothing to do with giving salvation because it can’t do that. It doesn’t even have anything to do with spiritual growth. As you will recall, Paul asked that question in verse 3. His conclusion was that the law does not perfect us. The law’s responsibility was to confine all under sin and to guard and serve as tutor until the time that faith comes. Next time we’ll look at that timing more closely.

Memory Monday

We’re into week three of our Memory Monday series.

This week’s verse is for the same outline point as last week:
1. The Christian Life; A. The Life in Christ.

Colossians 2:9, 10 “For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily, and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power.”

Curses and Blessings Part 5

My goal in sharing this Bible study with you is so that as faithful men we might be able to understand how some of the crucial teachings of Scripture fit together. If we are to be the kind of leaders God wants us to be in our homes and churches, but can’t accurately interpret the Scriptures, how can we be faithful to what is handed down to us from previous generations? So we continue our study of the curses and blessings.
The point in the last post was that God had made a promise to Abraham and his seed. Nothing could cancel that promise, not even the law. But what does that have to do with us?
To answer this I’d like to put Galatians 3:26 and 29 together. Basically God is saying that we are sons of God by faith in Christ. If we are Christ’s then we are heirs according to the promise. He had summarized this earlier in verse 14. “…that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.” The blessing of Abraham… That blessing is ours!
So let me summarize what we have so far. God has issued blessings and curses. Those who don’t keep every bit of the law are under a curse. God’s blessing was upon those who obeyed perfectly. There are basically two ways to live, either by faith or by law. That’s what we learned from Galatians 3:10-12. These are mutually exclusive. Living by law puts you under the curse because there is no one who can keep it perfectly. We can’t be under it and then somehow claim exceptions because we are a Christian.
The Christian answer is that God blessed Abraham and his seed unconditionally. The law that came later could not cancel that blessing otherwise God would have been a liar in making such promises to Abraham. If I’m a Christian, I am an heir of that blessing because I am part of Abraham’s seed. That means that the promise that I am a recipient of supersedes and precedes the giving of the law. There’s nothing in the keeping or the not-keeping of the law that can affect my status of blessing given by the promise of God. There is no curse hanging over the Christian. Let your mind and spirit think on this.
We’ll explore some of the repercussions of this truth next time.

Curses and Blessings Part 4

It’s really important that you follow Paul’s logic for the teaching we are developing from Galatians chapter 3 so I encourage you to go back and read the previous posts.
In Galatians 3:15 we read that even men’s contracts are binding. We know that to be true in our culture. When you sign a contract, it is a binding agreement. Therefore it is even more so if God makes the contract. God made a contract with Abraham and his seed. It’s interesting here to see that Paul says, “It does not say seeds as to many.” Doesn’t that show something of the importance of words in the Bible? Paul assumes that when he reads “seed” it means seed and not “seeds”. Nothing can void the contract which God gave to Abraham and his seed.
This is where the real crux of the argument begins to come into play. This is such an important truth I hope that you will take the time to really think about what is happening here. Galatians 3:17 tells us that the law which came 430 years after the promise to Abraham cannot annul or cancel the promise which God had made. Why? Because God’s Word and promises are certain and binding. If man’s contracts cannot be abrogated, how much less can God’s? What Paul is saying is that if God were to give the blessing of the inheritance based on the law, then it wouldn’t be the result of a promise any more, but God gave it as a promise and so the law has nothing to do with it.
The question arises though in what that has to do with us. God had made these promises to Abraham and his seed, so where do we fit in and why should it matter?

Memorization Monday

This is the second in the Monday series encouraging scripture memorization and meditation.

This week’s verse is for the same outline point as last week:
1. The Christian Life; A. The Life in Christ.

Colossians 2:6, 7a “As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him.”

Curses and Blessings Part 3

We’re continuing our study on God’s blessings and curses and our relationship to them. It will work best for you if you have your Bible open in order to follow the logical discussion that the Apostle Paul is presenting in Galatians 3. According to verse 10, what is the standard for avoiding the curse? The standard given there is that we must continue in all of the things written in the book of the Law. We’re not allowed to deviate from it to either side. We must hit the nail on the head every time. That leaves us in a precarious situation, doesn’t it?
Basically there are two ways to live life. Paul explains this in verses 11 and 12. In verse 11 he tells us that one way is to live by faith. The just shall live by faith. The other way, given in verse 12, is to live by the law. He says very clearly that the law is not of faith because those who does them shall live by them. The “them” I take to mean all of the commandments in the law. So you can live “by faith” or “by them, the commandments”.
What’s interesting to me here is that Paul seems to be saying that these are two mutually exclusive ways of living. We’re not going to get into a long discussion here about whether we should be obedient to the law of God because I think Scripture obviously says we should, but there appears to be a way of living which is law based and it not right for the Christian. I think this will come out as we go along, but you read in verse 10 that those who are of the works of the law are under a curse. So that can’t be where God wants us to be.
Verses 13 and 14 summarize the upcoming argument. This argument is the Christ became the curse so that the blessing of Abraham, which includes the promise of the spirit would be ours through faith.
We’ll pick up here next time.

Memorization Monday

I realized lately that I have to get back into the Scripture memorization/meditation routine. I’m going to start by reviewing verses I learned during my college years.

The outline and verses I’ll be using are taken from The Navigators Topical Memory System that I used as a college student. You can find their current system here. (I’m using the New King James Version in all of these verses.) The roman numerals and letters indicate the position of the verse in the topical outline.

I. The Christian Life
A. The Life in Christ

2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.

Curses and Blessings Part 2

In the last Joshua post I began a series called Blessings and Curses. I said at the time not to look for daily posts, but I had no idea it would take me ten days to get to the next one. I do hope to do better.
Our study jumps from Joshua 8 where Joshua had obediently divided the people into two groups to proclaim the blessings and curses of God. This has a lot to do with us in spite of the fact that we might not think so. Go back and read the first article in the series to catch up with today’s lesson.
In Galatians 3:2 Paul asks the question, “Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law or by the hearing of faith?” The answer to the question should be obvious – by the hearing of faith.
In verse 3 he asks another question. “Having begun in the Spirit are you now made perfect by the flesh?” The answer should obviously be “no”. So we begin by faith and we are perfected through faith. In order to illustrate this point, Paul brings up Abraham in verse 6. He tells us that Abraham believed God and it was counted as righteousness for him. Stay with me now because I know some of you are not used to thinking through the details of Paul’s argument.
In verse 7 he tells us then that those who are of faith (like Abraham was) are the sons of Abraham. God had promised Abraham that all nations would be blessed through him and verse 9 tells us the conclusion to this section: Those who are of faith are blessed with believing Abraham. This then sets up the basis for the argument Paul is going to use in the rest of the chapter and it is an extremely crucial argument if you want to understand your relationship to the blessings and curses of God.

Curses and Blessings Part 1

Today is the first of several posts in a series discussing the God’s curse on mankind and the way out from under the curse into God’s blessing. I taught this series a couple of months ago in the adult Sunday School class in our church and believe it is one of the most important concepts I have ever covered. Don’t look for daily updates because things are starting to get busy as I get ready for another school year, but hopefully at least once a week I’ll be able to post the next section.

We begin in Joshua 8:30. If you read this section you will see that Joshua split the people up and sent half to Mount Ebal and the other half to Mount Gerizim. I know that’s not the most interesting beginning and you may be tempted to tune me out, but please stay with this series and follow the logic of God’s truth.

In Deuteronomy 27, Moses commanded this event. The people on Mount Gerizim were to read the blessings that you read in chapter 27. The people on Mount Ebal were to read the curses. You’ll notice that God’s blessing included every facet of life. Similarly the curses. Notice the curse in verse 26: “Cursed is the one who does not confirm all the words of this law.” Paul picks this up in Galatians 3:10, “For as many as are of the law are under the curse; for it is written, ‘Cursed is everyone who does not continue in all things which are written in the book of the law, to do them.’”

In Deuteronomy 30:19 God pleads with them to choose life. The choice is before them – life or death. What would they choose?

We’ll pick this up next time because we want to see what this all has to do with us. If you’re thinking that since this is the Old Testament it has nothing to do with us, think again. Paul deals with this thoroughly in Galatians and the truth is encouraging and liberating.

The Wages of Sin

After the victory at Jericho, the Israelites felt pretty confident about the next battle at Ai. What most of the people didn’t know is that one of the men had taken some things from Jericho as spoil. God had commanded them to take nothing but to burn everything.

When the Israelites went to attack Ai, they were soundly defeated. Obviously God wasn’t with them on this venture. When Joshua asked the Lord why such a defeat, God told them about Achan’s sin and disobedience.

There are several things we can learn from this. First, our sin affects everyone. Even for so-called secret sins, we shouldn’t think that others in the body of Christ are not hurt. This is a spiritual battle we’re in and there are spiritual consequences that we may not be able to see.

Israel’s response to this revelation was to repent. There was repentance, humility and a sincere concern for God’s name and His glory. Repentance and sorrow weren’t enough, however. Action had to be taken. Achan had to get specific about his sin explaining how he had seen then taken and hidden the loot.

What was the result for Achan? He and his entire family were put to death. This reminds me that God is serious about sin. Romans 3:23 tells us that the wages of sin is death. Those of us who know that Scripture well repeat it so easily and without feeling, but I wonder if we really understand the impact. The sins you and I commit are enough to cause us to be stoned as Achan was. Somehow I don’t think we look at it that seriously.

Finally, I’m reminded of the awesome grace of God toward a sinner like me. Second Corinthians 5:21 says that Christ was made sin for us so that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him. Galatians 3:10 explains how He was cursed for us so that we would be released from the curse. I Peter 2:24 tells us that He bore our sins on the cross. “Sin has left a crimson stain. He washed it white as snow.”

Memorization/Meditation Plan Coming

I hope your summer has been going well. I’ve been busy with a family trip to South Carolina, a train trip with my wife to Denver and an extended family campout at Spring Mill State Park in Indiana. If you see me personally, don’t ask about the 8 hour wait for the train in Denver or the invasion of the raccoons at Spring Mill because if you do, you’ll hear the long versions of both entertaining stories. Spring Mill, by the way is a very nice park with lots to do for the whole family.

One of the spiritual disciplines that we as faithful men ought to have is Scripture memorization and meditation. When I was in college and for a time thereafter, I used the Scripture memory plan published by the Navigators. What I liked about this plan was the outline of biblical topics that went with it. My intention is to go back through and focus on those passages and I invite you to do that with me. Beginning in September I’m going to use each Monday as the memorization/mediation day. I’ll post the verse for the week and the outline points that go with it. If you’d like to be emailed that information each Monday, let me know. Otherwise I just encourage you to check the blog on Mondays to find out the verse of the week.

Each month or so I pick a verse that I can use in praying for you and others in my life. This time I’m looking at Epesians 3:18, 19. Paul prayed that they “may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height – to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.” Take some time to think through all of the “impossible” things being prayed for here for real people, especially the part of being filled with all the fullness of God!

People don’t like to read long emails so I’ll quit for now. Remember if you want the memorization emails, let me know.

Have a great week.

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God is in Control

Last time I mentioned that the purpose of engaging the enemy in a battle and winning that battle is for the glory of God. As I grow older I’m learning that all of the struggles and battles in our life all funnel down to our response to what God is doing in our lives and whether we will trust Him and obey Him in them. So often we want to focus on the circumstances and the other people involved. We wonder why we are being treated unfairly or why the other person doesn’t have to be all that they should be. We find this often in the struggles in marriages. When we counsel one partner to be obedient to God and respond the way God would have them to, he/she usually wants to know what if the other person doesn’t do what they are supposed to do. It’s relatively easy to be obedient when the other people and circumstances in our lives are the way they should be. What’s difficult is when things don’t seem to be lining up fairly.

Do you remember when Jesus was telling Peter how he (Peter) would die in John 21:21? Peter pointed to John and asked, “What about that man?” Basically Jesus’ answer was to forget about John and follow Christ. That is exactly what God wants from each one of us. He wants us to obey at the point of the testing.

Sometimes other areas of our life are in good shape, but God points at one particular area and says, “What about obedience here?” Are we responsive in that area?

The real question comes down to this. Do we trust God? God’s ways and our ways differ. (Isaiah 55:9) When the situation seems not to have an answer, it probably doesn’t.

Only God can change people – and He can change them. (Proverbs 21:1) Nothing is outside of His capabilities and knowledge. Sometimes we look at God as though He were as frustrated by situations in life or the world as we are. The truth is that God is never frustrated. He accomplishes all He desires to do. (Daniel 4:34) His wisdom is unsearchable and perfect. (Romans 11:37) There is no flaw or missing links in His thought process.

When the battles are great or the circumstances seem impossible, think on the truths that I have just outlined for you. Everything is under control. Do you remember what happened when Paul asked repeatedly for a certain physical problem to be taken away? God did not remove the problem. He just said, “My grace is sufficient for you.” (2 Corinthians 12:9) Are you ok with that?

Lessons From Jericho

In Joshua chapter 6 we find the story of the battle of Jericho. Most of you know that story well and so I’m not going to go into the details much. If you are unfamiliar with those details, I recommend that you read it over so that you know how the battle unfolded.

As the Israelites walked around the walls of that great city, they must have been impressed with its size and impregnable strength. One wonders why God would make them just walk around the city once each day for six days. We don’t know that answer for sure, but I think it was to show them how humanly impossible it was to defeat the city and its inhabitants.

Many of the situations we face in life are that way. They seem to loom as obstacles that we cannot overcome. Some of the difficult situations in life involve other people. One of the things we should learn early in life is that you can’t change other people. You can’t get inside of them and turn a screw that will make them love you or make them more cooperative. They make decisions for their own reasons and there seems to be little we can do to change that.

The city of Jericho was to be conquered using God’s methods. God has given us everything we need in His Word for life and godliness. So many times we rely on our own logic or the teachings of psychology or sociology or other man-made system to accomplish what only God can do. Having said that though, we need to observe that they did not do nothing. There was a plan and it involved following obediently in the carrying out of that plan. Our problem, especially as men, is that we don’t take the time to learn God’s Word well enough to learn its principles and the spiritual guidelines for living victoriously. I suggest that if you don’t have a systematic plan to read and study the Bible, you should begin one right away.

Second Corinthians 10:4 tells us that the weapons God has given us are not fleshly and worldly, but are spiritual and are mighty through God for the tearing down of strongholds. Jericho was certainly a physical stronghold and in our lives we have spiritual strongholds. It would be a good exercise to list several strongholds the enemy has in your life and then take steps to apply God’s Word as a weapon to tear those strongholds down.

Keep in mind the purpose of the victory. It is always for the glory of God. Many times we are hoping for victory so that we will feel better or so that our relationships will be healed. But God wants to be glorified in our lives in whatever we do and we should see that goal as the supreme purpose for undertaking and winning a spiritual battle.

Spiritual Victory

Last time we saw Joshua responding to the Captain of the Lord of Hosts. When asked whose side He was on, the Captain responded, “No. I am in charge.” What is this host that He was commander of?

In 2 Kings 6:17 we read of an incident where Elisha was surrounded by an enemy and yet he says, “Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” Then his servant’s eyes were opened and he saw that the mountains were full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.

There is a spiritual battle going on. Zechariah 4:6 tells us that it is not by might nor by power but by my spirit, says the Lord. In 2 Corinthians 10:4 we read that the weapons of our warfare are not fleshly, but might through God for the pulling down of strongholds.

We should remember that this is a real battle but it is a spiritual battle. We do not wrestle against flesh and blood but against principalities and powers. Ephesians 6:4.

Many times we try to use psychology and human methods to try to solve our personal and family problems, but they are usually spiritual battles. We often try to grow our church or change people’s lives by human means. None of this produces real and lasting results. We need to know the Word and then in faith be obedient to it.

Joshua’s encounter gives us four principles. First, realize that Christ claims authority to command. Second, our response is to submit and worship. Third, we need to ask, “What is your word to us?” Then respond in obedience. And finally, acknowledge the holiness of God and obey Him.

May we as men who desire to be God’s faithful men follow these principles in our daily lives.