Are You Following The Gospel of Man?
Good Morning Friends,
Law keeping may keep some in proper behavior but it just does not alone show forth the maturity that Christ desires for us. Behavior motivated externally has the form of Godliness but is not true righteousness and does not heal. Faith and trust is just the beginning. We need to understand the nature of our own motivations against cultural demands and the alternative that Christ offers. Are You Following The Gospel of Man?
Scripture: Then certain individuals came down from Judea and were teaching the brothers, “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.” And after Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and debate with them, Paul and Barnabas and some of the others were appointed to go up to Jerusalem to discuss this question with the apostles and the elders. So they were sent on their way by the church, and as they passed through both Phoenicia and Samaria, they reported the conversion of the Gentiles, and brought great joy to all the believers. When they came to Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church and the apostles and the elders, and they reported all that God had done with them. But some believers who belonged to the sect of the Pharisees stood up and said, “It is necessary for them to be circumcised and ordered to keep the law of Moses.” The apostles and the elders met together to consider this matter.
Acts 15:1-6 (NRSV)
“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinegrower. He removes every branch in me that bears no fruit. Every branch that bears fruit he prunes to make it bear more fruit. You have already been cleansed by the word that I have spoken to you. Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing. Whoever does not abide in me is thrown away like a branch and withers; such branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask for whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples.
John 15:1-8 (NRSV)
For I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that the gospel that was proclaimed by me is not of human origin;
Galatians 1:11 (NRSV)
Message: Today, we push back against those who distort the truth. Today we refocus our attention on being connected to Christ and witness the Holy Spirit speaking to those who oppress the simplicity of the Gospel. Friends, to stand for truth, we must build on the foundation of the gospel, just like Paul did. That foundation consists of a heart that is centered in the gospel, abides in Christ and that communicates the Good News to others. And we would do well to examine ourselves to discern how much of the gospel of man might be mixed into the gospel of Christ in our lives. The early church had to confront the belief that unless a male was circumcised according to the custom of Moses, one could not be saved. Initially Peter would have happily circumcised all the Gentiles wanting to profess Christ as Lord. So, in today’s text from Act we see some of the very same people who hounded Jesus apparently having converted to Christianity. Well maybe they were converted, for the Spirit can change any heart, but it seems like they were essentially arguing the same things that they did with Jesus. One might wonder how they ended up in the church leadership. Maybe they viewed Christianity as a sect of Judaism, but then the nature of the church is to have both sinners and saints in the same tree. The thing is that Paul had been a Pharisee and had changed. But these Pharisees in today’s text do not seem to have changed. They argue the same kind of things that they did with Jesus, before they regarded him to be the Messiah. Presumably they have repented of their failure to recognize him and even to persecute him. And it seems that they are taking discipleship with the same zeal as they did before confessing him as the Messiah. They are ardently keeping the law as they know the Messiah would expect of his followers but at the same time in a way they are disgracing the work of Christ on the cross saying that good works were necessary for salvation and the work of Christ was not sufficient. In making a stand for Christ and Christ’s grace we must have a heart immersed in the Good News that Christ alone is sufficient. In today’s text we see the beginning of the debate that would use logic to form a Gospel. This is dangerous friends. It seems reasonable for men and women to pay due honor to their creator and provider through rituals, laws, and various forms of sacrifices. This is what honorable people do. But this falls short of what a mature ethical position would be. And they reason that if they pay the honor they owe, God will provide them the acceptance that is due them. That is the gospel, or good news, of man not of God. Jesus was a law-keeper, but one who had the right perspective on how to keep and why to keep it. We need a circumcision of the heart, not one of controlling others. Jesus attributed the motive of power control to the religious leaders in keeping, or rather in teaching others to keep, the law. He pronounced woe to the teachers of the law who loaded people with burdens too heavy to bear. He condemned the Pharisees who used their supposed religious elitism to win favors and earthly rewards. Really, do we think we can negotiate a deal with God today? Do we think we can manipulate others for earthly gains in the name of God and get away with it forever? Sure, we have a felt need for self-preservation but our relationship with God is to be much more than that. We cannot honor God with obedience because we cannot be obedient. Friends, God does not accept us because he sees the basic good in our hearts, God accepts us because of love….a love we are to receive and share.
Pray we realize that the laws of our land and people change but that the truth of Christ and our faith in that truth is permanent. Pray we take a stand for Christ. Pray we declare what is in our heart when faced with opposition to do God’s will. Pray we honor Jesus for who the Lord is, not for whatever we may conceive God to be created out of our logic alone. Pray we realize that salvation is a gift we can never earn. Pray we be a slave for Christ not a slave to the law. Pray we feel dignity in our hearts not because we have become good enough but because we have received the merciful love of the Lord of the universe. Pray our hearts feel a special knowing that we are not a child of the universe, but a child of the Creator of the universe. Pray we realize that we do not have to prove our heart is worthy enough to be accepted by God. Pray we stop trying to prove to ourselves that we are good enough or that we have enough faith in ourselves to be redeemed. Pray we turn to the One who is the lover of our souls. Pray we receive the good news from God that God so loved us that he gave his only begotten Son, that if we have faith in him he will redeem us and God, not our own emotions our logic, will transform our hearts to produce good fruits. Pray therefor we rest on the mercy of Christ and the love of God, for even that good in our hearts we might believe to be there will never be good enough without Christ.
Blessings,
John Lawson
Daily Devotionals 