The Fruit of Faith

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. 24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another. – Galatians 5:22-26 ESV

When we live according to or under the control of the Holy Spirit, we don’t have to worry about producing the works of the flesh. His power can only produce good fruit; those characteristics that align with God’s will and reflect godliness. Living dependent upon and in obedience to the Holy Spirit never results in either legalism or license, the two dangers facing the believers in Galatia.  And yet, like them, we can find it so easy to live according to our own sinful nature, trying to work our way into God’s good graces or taking advantage of His grace by living in sin and expecting Him to simply forgive and forget.

When we live according to our sinful nature, the outcome is always destructive, not constructive. Driven by selfishness and pride, we make ourselves the highest priority and end up using and, at times, abusing others. We tend to view others as competition. We struggle with envy and jealousy, anger and distrust. People become tools we use to get what we want and to satisfy our own self-centered agendas. Our sinful flesh has no love for God or others, it only loves self. Unknowingly, we become our own god, expecting the world to revolve around our wants, needs, and desires.

But when we live in willful submission to the Spirit of God, we find ourselves with a supernatural capacity to love God and live in harmony with others. We suddenly desire what He wants, and find joy and satisfaction in viewing others as more important than ourselves. We look for opportunities to extend grace and express love. The fruit produced in our lives becomes other-oriented instead of self-centered. It becomes uplifting and edifying, meeting the needs of others rather than feeding the insatiable appetite of self.

Paul provides us with a detailed but far from complete list of God-honoring character traits that are the by-product of the Spirit’s indwelling presence.

…the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. – Galatians 5:22-23 NLT

These divine manifestations of the Spirit’s power stand in contrast to “the works of the flesh” (Galatians 5:19 ESV), the unfortunate “fruit” of our sinful desires. When we allow our fleshly desires to control our lives, we end up producing a sordid collection of self-centered and Spirit-quenching outcomes that dishonor God and destroy the unity of the body of Christ.

…sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these… – Galatians 5:19-21 NLT

Paul’s point is that there are God-ordained laws prohibiting each of these unrighteous behaviors. Yet, even though God’s law clearly forbids such actions, our sinful flesh is drawn to them despite God’s prohibitions and warnings of judgment. Paul emphasized this strange dichotomy using his own life as an example.

I would never have known that coveting is wrong if the law had not said, “You must not covet.” But sin used this command to arouse all kinds of covetous desires within me! If there were no law, sin would not have that power. – Romans 7:7-8 NLT

The law forbids unrighteous behavior but it can do nothing to prevent us from desiring the very thing it prohibits. Even God’s warnings of judgment fail to dissuade our sinful flesh from following its selfish desires.

Yet, Paul emphasizes that when we live in submission to the Holy Spirit, what He produces in us and through us is fully pleasing to God. Not only that, there are no laws preventing this kind of behavior in our lives. The “fruit” produced by the Holy Spirit is never sinful or selfish; it is God-honoring and other-focused. Therefore, there are no laws prohibiting its presence in our lives.

But the works of the flesh are all in contradiction to the will of God and are specifically prohibited by the law of God. When we live in the power of the Holy Spirit, we are free from the law, because our lives produce fruit that is free from condemnation. Paul elaborated on this very thought in his letter to the Romans:

There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. – Romans 8:1-4 ESV

Paul encouraged the Galatians to live by the Spirit or, to put it another way, to live under His control. They could either live under the influence of their old sinful natures or under the God-honoring power of the Spirit. He wanted them to remember that those “who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there” (Galatians 5:24 ESV).

His point is that those sinful passions and desires, while not completely gone, no longer have to control us. We have an alternative resource – the Holy Spirit. Again, Paul told the Romans, “For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace” (Romans 8:5-6 ESV).

If we try to live according to the law, we will find ourselves depending upon the flesh again. Legalism will end up ruling our lives as we try to avoid bad behavior and keep God’s holy requirements in our own strength. But as Paul warned, our attempts to eliminate these forbidden things from our lives will only enflame our desire for them. The more we try to avoid what God has forbidden, the more our sinful flesh will crave it. In his letter to the believers in Rome, Paul describes his own experience with this frustrating and futile state of affairs.

I want to do what is right, but I can’t. I want to do what is good, but I don’t. I don’t want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway. But if I do what I don’t want to do, I am not really the one doing wrong; it is sin living in me that does it. – Romans 7:18-20 NLT

But legalism isn't the only risk we run. Paul also warns against the very real threat of license. For many believers, the idea of freedom from the law is highly attractive and it can produce an equally dangerous outcome. The reasoning goes something like this: If we are no longer under the law, then we must be free to do whatever we want to do. If the law is not our guardian anymore, then we can ignore all of its prohibitions and admonitions. Yet, Paul would reject this flawed and equally deadly conclusion.

If we assume that we can practice license, doing whatever we want, because we are guaranteed eternal life, then we are also allowing the flesh to control our lives. And the end result of both legalism and license is death. Our lives will be characterized by unhealthy fruit that does no one any good. But if we set our mind on the Spirit and His will for us, our lives will be characterized by life and peace, fruitfulness and selflessness, and a love for God that finds expression in our love for others.

Paul gives the Galatians an important insight into living according to the Spirit.

Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives. – Galatians 5:25 ESV

Notice the all-inclusive nature of the Spirit’s control. There is no room for compartmentalization. There are to be no hidden areas in our lives. When the Spirit is in control there is no such thing as a secular/sacred split in the believer’s life. The Holy Spirit wants to influence and infiltrate every area of our lives. He wants to control every aspect of our character, eliminating the vestiges of our old nature and replacing it with the new nature that emulates that of Christ. And it will show up in the form of fruit that is God-honoring and edifying to everyone around us: Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do; He has provided a way for sinful men and women to live lives characterized by the fruit of righteousness. His Spirit within us is the key to seeing His righteousness flow out of us. The Spirit of God is the means by which we live as children of God.

The fruit of the Spirit is the character of Christ lived out in our lives for any and all to see. It is not hidden but is visible and tangible. The fruit of the Spirit in our lives is evidence of His presence in our lives. These manifestations of the Spirit’s presence are supernatural and impossible to duplicate in our own strength. We can attempt to mimic them, but we can’t manufacture them. We can fake them, but we cannot make them. If we try to emulate them without the Holy Spirit’s help, we will end up producing conceit, anger, and jealousy.

Our self-made love will be insincere and self-serving. Our flesh-produced joy will be short-lived because it is nothing more than happiness based on circumstances. Our self-manufactured peace and patience will last only as long as our troubles stay away. Only the Spirit of God can produce in us the righteousness of Christ, and when He does, God is glorified, we are sanctified, and the lost are impacted by the love of God.

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Faith, Not Self-Effort

7 Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham. 8 And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “In you shall all the nations be blessed.” 9 So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith. – Galatians 3:7-9 ESV

In his defense of justification by faith alone in Christ alone, Paul makes a somewhat surprising argument. Having rejected the idea that adherence to the Mosaic Law was a necessary requirement for salvation, Paul brings up Abraham, the patriarch of the Hebrew nation. What makes this tactic so interesting is that Paul is using the one man that all Israelites revere, including the Judaizers, to support his argument against the need for Gentile conversion to Judaism.  

Paul refers to Abraham as “the man of faith” (Galatians 3:9) and this will become the basis of his entire argument. The question becomes: Why was Abraham considered a man of faith? Was it because of something he did? In his letter to the believers in Rome, Paul argued that Abraham was deemed righteous before God because of his faith.

What then shall we say was gained by Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh? For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness.” – Romans 4:1-3 ESV

Paul contends that it was Abraham’s belief in the promises of God that led to God’s declaration of his righteous standing. It had nothing to do with Abraham’s behavior or his adherence to a set of laws. Even back in the days of Abraham, God had operated on the singular criteria of faith. His relationship with Abraham was based on a simple promise that stated, “All nations will be blessed through you” (Galatians 3:

the Scriptures looked forward to this time when God would make the Gentiles right in his sight because of their faith. God proclaimed this good news to Abraham long ago when he said, “In you shall all the nations be blessed” (Galatians 3:8 ESV). This is a direct quote from the promise God made when He called Abraham out of Ur.

“Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” – Genesis 12:1-3 ESV

Abraham believed this promise and left Ur for the land of Canaan. There was no law involved because the law did not yet exist. Circumcision was not required because God had not yet instituted that religious rite. All that was required of Abraham was faith. He simply needed to believe God’s promise and obey God’s command. And he did.

So Abram went, as the Lord had told him… – Genesis 12:4 ESV

At this point in the story, Abraham’s “family” consisted of himself and his barren wife, Sarah. He had no children and, therefore, no heir. Yet, when God had promised to produce a great nation from him and his infertile wife, Abraham believed and set out in faith.

Paul uses Abraham’s faith-motivated actions as encouragement for the struggling Christians in Galatia.

So all who put their faith in Christ share the same blessing Abraham received because of his faith. – Galatians 3:9 NLT

He is using the Hebrew patriarch as an example of what it means to live by faith. The Galatian believers were being told that faith was an insufficient means to receive salvation. The Judaizers were telling them that circumcision was required because it was a sign of the covenant commitment to Yahweh, the God of the Jews. It was the first step in a lengthy and legalistic process toward true faith. But Paul vehemently disagreed, using their own patriarch as the proof.

A few verses later, Paul points out that Abraham was deemed righteous by God long before the Mosaic Law was given. It would be 430 years before the law was given to Moses on Mount Sinai, so there is no way that Abraham’s righteousness was tied to the law. When Moses received the promise that God would bless all the nations through him, he was 75 years old. It would be 25 years later before God instituted the rite of circumcision.

Then God said to Abraham, “Your responsibility is to obey the terms of the covenant. You and all your descendants have this continual responsibility. This is the covenant that you and your descendants must keep: Each male among you must be circumcised. You must cut off the flesh of your foreskin as a sign of the covenant between me and you. – Genesis 17:9-11 NLT

So, there is no way that circumcision can be tied to Abraham’s faith. God declared Abraham to be righteous long before He commanded the rite of circumcision. Paul clarified this point as well in his letter to the Romans.

For we say that faith was counted to Abraham as righteousness. How then was it counted to him? Was it before or after he had been circumcised? It was not after, but before he was circumcised. He received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. – Romans 4:9-11 ESV

You can see why Paul was so upset with those who had shown up in Galatia representing the party of the circumcision. They were demanding that all the Gentile converts be circumcised as a non-negotiable requirement for their acceptance into the fellowship. And yet, in his letter to the Romans, Paul clearly revealed the fallacy behind this belief. He made it perfectly clear that God declared Abraham righteous long before the requirement of circumcision had been given.

The purpose was to make him the father of all who believe without being circumcised, so that righteousness would be counted to them as well, and to make him the father of the circumcised who are not merely circumcised but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised. – Romans 4:11-12 ESV

Abraham was to be the father of many nations, not just the Hebrews. It’s important to note that God’s original promise to Abraham was made before the Hebrew nation even existed. Isaac had not yet been born.

Later on in this same chapter, Paul divulges how God intended to make Abraham “the father of a multitude of nations” (Genesis 17:5 ESV). It would be through offspring that God would bless all the nations of the earth. But Paul’s Spirit-inspired interpretation of God’s promise is the most important part of his entire argument.

Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring. It does not say, “And to offsprings,” referring to many, but referring to one, “And to your offspring,” who is Christ. – Galatians 3:16 ESV

Paul, through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, unpacks this familiar Old Testament passage and reveals that. all along, God’s plan had been to bless the nations through Abraham by making the Messiah one of his descendants. It would be through Jesus that the nations would be blessed by being restored to a right relationship with God the Father through faith in Christ the Son.

It would be through faith in Christ’s substitutionary death on the cross that the nations would be blessed. The Jews (circumcised) and the Gentiles (uncircumcised) would discover the blessings of God through faith in His Son. Paul was adamant in his belief that righteousness was available through faith alone in Christ alone.

For the promise to Abraham and his offspring that he would be heir of the world did not come through the law but through the righteousness of faith. For if it is the adherents of the law who are to be the heirs, faith is null and the promise is void. – Romans 4:13-14 ESV

No one could ever save themselves, including the Jews. Yes, they had the law of God, but they were incapable of living up to its exacting standards. All the law could do was expose their sinfulness and condemn them as unrighteous and unworthy of God’s goodness. The law revealed God’s righteous expectations and man’s incapacity to keep them. The law made the holiness of God tangible, but also unattainable.

Now before faith came, we were held captive under the law, imprisoned until the coming faith would be revealed. So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith. – Galatians 3:23-24 ESV

Paul wanted the Galatians to realize that their salvation was solely based on faith in Jesus Christ. Nothing was missing and there wasn’t anything more they needed to do. It was the finished work of Christ and their complete dependence upon it that had resulted in their salvation. And Paul reminded them that “those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith” (Galatians 3:9 ESV).

Faith is foundational to all that we are as believers. Without faith, we have nothing. Without faith, we are nothing.

“In walking with God, a man will go just as far as he believes, and no further. His life will always be proportional to his faith. His peace, his patience, his courage, his zeal, his works – will all be according to his faith” .– J. C. Ryle, Holiness

We are saved as a result of faith. We grow spiritually in proportion to our faith. We live our lives according to faith. The author of Hebrews reminds us, “…without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him” (Hebrews 11:6 ESV).

Our works, devoid of faith, are worthless. And our faith, if not placed in the finished work of Christ and kept there, can easily transform into self-reliance – a kind of faith that seeks to earn favor with God through self-effort. At the heart of biblical faith is a God-dependence that recognizes self as insufficient and Jesus as the only solution to our sin problem.

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Legalism and License: Two Dangers for Every Believer

1 O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified. 2 Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith? 3 Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh? 4 Did you suffer so many things in vain—if indeed it was in vain? 5 Does he who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you do so by works of the law, or by hearing with faith— 6 just as Abraham “believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”? – Galatians 3:1-6 ESV

You can sense the frustration in Paul’s words as he begins his theological defense of justification by faith alone in Christ alone. From his perspective, it is as if his readers have been cast under a spell. His previous efforts, while living and ministering among them, seem to have been in vain. He had gone out of his way to convince them of the grace of God made available through the cross of Christ alone, but now they were allowing themselves to be ‘bewitched” into believing that something was missing. More was necessary. They had bought into the lie that circumcision was an added requirement for salvation but Paul’s problem was not so much with the rite of circumcision as it was with the problem of legalism.

Jesus Christ died a gruesome death on the cross to provide a means of salvation for men and make possible their justification before God. He did for humanity what humanity could not do for itself; He satisfied God. His death was an act of propitiation, fully satisfying the righteous wrath of God against the sins of mankind. And yet, here were the Galatians allowing themselves to be convinced that His death had been insufficient. The Judaizers had successfully sold their formula of faith plus circumcision.

Paul’s opponents probably accused him of being against doing good deeds. They couldn’t understand why a former Pharisee of the Jews would be so opposed to encouraging the rite of circumcision. But Paul was not against good works. He was not propagating a life of moral, ethical, and spiritual complacency. Paul’s issue is with works being tied to and made a requirement for salvation and justification. He truly believed that Jesus had done everything that needed to be done for mankind’s salvation. Jesus’ sacrificial death on the cross was fully and completely sufficient to ransom men and women from their sins and restore them to a right relationship with God.

The message of false teachers will always fall into one of two categories. Either you have not done enough to be truly saved or you don’t have to do anything now that you are saved. Theologians refer to these two extremes as nomism and antinomianism. The Greek word for “law” is nomos, so nomism means “religious conduct based on the law.” Antinomianism is “a theological doctrine that asserts the freedom of Christians from the obligation to observe moral laws” (Collins English Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers).

Two more familiar terms are legalism and license. One promotes a doctrine of salvation based on religious rule-keeping while the other encourages the rejection of any moral requirements altogether. Essentially, license propagates the idea that Christians are no longer obligated to keep God’s moral law because we have been set free from it. And while there is a degree of truth to that assessment, it can easily lead to a justification of sin and a life of moral ambiguity.

Both legalism and license share the same root problem: Self-centeredness. One places self at the center of man’s redemption, making human effort the key to salvation. The other promotes self to the point of making salvation all about self-gratification. Rather than holiness, license preaches happiness. Instead of encouraging death to self, license promotes a life of self-satisfaction.

Both of these extremes are dangerous, and Paul found himself constantly having to deal with both of them. In the case of the Galatians, the greatest threat to their faith was legalism. They had placed their faith in Jesus Christ as their Savior, but now they were being convinced that something was missing. This is why Paul asked them, “Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith?” (Galatians 3:2 ESV). The answer was obvious. As Gentiles, they had been oblivious to the Mosaic Law and had done nothing to keep any of the commands it contained, and yet they had managed to come to faith in Christ and had received the gift of the Holy Spirit. None of them had done anything to deserve this incredible gift of grace from God.

Paul took his argument a step further, asking them, “After starting your Christian lives in the Spirit, why are you now trying to become perfect by your own human effort?” (Galatians 3:3 NLT). Essentially, Paul was asking them if they thought their salvation had been up to God, but their sanctification was somehow up to them. Now that they were saved, were there some “next steps” they had to take to remain saved?

The issue Paul is raising is that of sanctification, their ongoing transformation into the likeness of Christ. Paul firmly believed in salvation by faith alone but he also believed that faith, if left alone, was not true saving faith. In his first letter to the churches in Corinth, Paul shared some stern words of warning about their lack of spiritual maturity.

Dear brothers and sisters, when I was with you I couldn’t talk to you as I would to spiritual people. I had to talk as though you belonged to this world or as though you were infants in Christ. I had to feed you with milk, not with solid food, because you weren’t ready for anything stronger. And you still aren’t ready, for you are still controlled by your sinful nature. You are jealous of one another and quarrel with each other. Doesn’t that prove you are controlled by your sinful nature? Aren’t you living like people of the world? – 1 Corinthians 3:1-3 NLT

He and Peter saw eye-to-eye on the matter of sanctification. It was Peter who penned these powerful words of admonition and expectation:

…get rid of all evil behavior. Be done with all deceit, hypocrisy, jealousy, and all unkind speech. Like newborn babies, you must crave pure spiritual milk so that you will grow into a full experience of salvation. Cry out for this nourishment… – 1 Peter 2:1-2 NLT

But Paul was adamant in his belief that good works of any kind were not an add-on to salvation. In fact, Paul believed that sanctification was also a byproduct of faith, not human effort. He wanted the Galatians to understand that not only had they been saved by faith in Christ, but their transformation into His likeness was accomplished by the very same process. That is how he could confidently tell the believers in Philippi, “I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns” (Philippians 1:6 NLT)

For Paul, there was no such thing as self-sanctification. A man can no more sanctify himself than he can save himself. God’s plan of salvation is all-inclusive and designed to culminate in a finished product that reflects His glory and Christ’s likeness. Paul wanted the Galatians to understand that God didn’t save them and then leave their spiritual transformation up to them.

Again, Paul is not discounting the role of good works in the life of the believer. He is simply emphasizing the source from which those good works are to flow. Later in this same letter to the believers in Galatia, he writes, “…the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control” (Galatians 5:22 ESV). God not only saves us; He sanctifies us.

Paul told the Corinthian church, “And the Lord – who is the Spirit – makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image” (2 Corinthians 3:18 NLT). We don’t make ourselves more like Christ; that is the Spirit’s job. Our role is to remain submissive and obedient to His activity in our lives. Paul wrote to the believers in Rome, “For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live” (Romans 8:13 ESV).

For Paul, the entire process of salvation, justification, and sanctification was the work of God. At no point does the responsibility for redemption fall on man. The only thing we are required to do is trust. We are to submit our lives to His will and relinquish our right to self-autonomy. Paul stated his position well back in chapter two: “My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” (Galatians 2:20 NLT).

Faith isn’t a once-in-a-lifetime event; it is a life-long process, orchestrated by God and powered by the indwelling Holy Spirit. Faith is a lifestyle, a way of life, and the key to our salvation, sanctification, and ultimate glorification.

The Galatians didn’t need circumcision to complete their salvation. What they needed was continued faith in the grace and goodness of God. He wasn’t done yet. Paul knew that the Galatians had not yet arrived. Their salvation had been accomplished but their sanctification was a work in process. God, through the indwelling presence and power of His Spirit, was molding each of His children into the likeness of His Son; a process that the apostle John said will one day be made complete when Jesus returns.

Dear friends, we are already God’s children, but he has not yet shown us what we will be like when Christ appears. But we do know that we will be like him, for we will see him as he really is. And all who have this eager expectation will keep themselves pure, just as he is pure. – 1 John 3:2-3 NLT

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Spiritual Complacency Can Lead to Apostasy

1 Therefore let us leave the elementary doctrine of Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, 2 and of instruction about washings, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. 3 And this we will do if God permits. 4 For it is impossible, in the case of those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, and have shared in the Holy Spirit, 5 and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come, 6 and then have fallen away, to restore them again to repentance, since they are crucifying once again the Son of God to their own harm and holding him up to contempt. 7 For land that has drunk the rain that often falls on it, and produces a crop useful to those for whose sake it is cultivated, receives a blessing from God. 8 But if it bears thorns and thistles, it is worthless and near to being cursed, and its end is to be burned.

9 Though we speak in this way, yet in your case, beloved, we feel sure of better things—things that belong to salvation. 10 For God is not unjust so as to overlook your work and the love that you have shown for his name in serving the saints, as you still do. 11 And we desire each one of you to show the same earnestness to have the full assurance of hope until the end, 12 so that you may not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises. – Hebrews 6:1-12 ESV

Spiritual maturity is not the result of human effort, any more than our salvation was the result of anything we had done or deserved. When the writer tells us to “leave the elementary doctrine of Christ and go on to maturity,” the Greek word he uses is pherō and it has the idea of being carried along, like passengers in a boat. It is in the passive voice and so it does not convey the expenditure of effort as much as it promotes an attitude of reliance. We are to allow the Holy Spirit of God to move us by His power into further spiritual maturity.

That doesn’t diminish our responsibility or alleviate our need for effort, but it lets us know that the end result is the work of God and not man. The Holy Spirit indwells believers in order to assist them in their quest of becoming increasingly more like Christ. But clearly, there is an expectation that believers in Christ should grow up in their salvation. The recipients of this letter did not need further instructions on faith versus works or repentance from performance-based efforts to achieve a right standing with God. It was time to move on. It was time to grow up.

The author refers to washings, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. Each of these was a teaching or belief related to Judaism. They all had their counterpart in Christianity, but there was a need for the Jews to whom this letter was addressed to understand this foundational truth in a new way. Ritualistic washings, as practiced in Judaism, had been replaced by New Testament baptism – a one-time act that was symbolic in nature. The laying on of hands in Judaism was part of the sacrificial ritual, but it carried a new meaning in Christianity. The Jewish concept regarding the resurrection of the dead and eternal judgment had been expanded and carried a clearer connotation ever since Jesus’ death and resurrection. All of these doctrines, while considered elementary by the typical Jew, would have required additional insight and instruction for the believer. There was no room for resting on your laurels or relying on old truths.

The real issue here has to do with spiritual stagnancy, which can result in the believer regressing in their faith. Earlier in his letter, the author warned his readers “So we must listen very carefully to the truth we have heard, or we may drift away from it.” (Hebrews 2:1 NLT). He also told them, “Be careful then, dear brothers and sisters. Make sure that your own hearts are not evil and unbelieving, turning you away from the living God” (Hebrews 3:12 NLT).

He is clearly speaking to believers, those who had placed their faith in Jesus, but who ran the risk of regressing in their faith because they were not pressing on and moving forward spiritually. He knows the very real possibility of believers falling away and describes them as those who “have tasted the heavenly gift, and have shared in the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come — and who then turn away from God” (Hebrews 6:4-6 NLT).

He warns that “it is impossible to bring such people back to repentance; by rejecting the Son of God, they themselves are nailing him to the cross once again and holding him up to public shame” (Hebrews 6:6 NLT). It would seem that the writer of Hebrews is dealing with extreme cases of apostasy when believers turn away from and reject Christ. He is not referring to what many of us call backsliding or periods of spiritual doubt. The seriousness of his warnings conveys the idea that he is dealing with cases of an extreme nature. His point seems to be that if you fail to grow, you will leave yourself open to apostasy. You will be vulnerable to false teaching and the possibility of turning away from the truth. This was not uncommon in the New Testament. Paul warned Timothy not to follow the example of two individuals who had wandered from the truth.

Avoid worthless, foolish talk that only leads to more godless behavior. This kind of talk spreads like cancer, as in the case of Hymenaeus and Philetus. They have left the path of truth, claiming that the resurrection of the dead has already occurred; in this way, they have turned some people away from the faith. – 2 Timothy 2:16-18 NLT

Paul also warned Timothy, “Now the Holy Spirit tells us clearly that in the last times some will turn away from the true faith; they will follow deceptive spirits and teachings that come from demons. These people are hypocrites and liars, and their consciences are dead” (1 Timothy 4:1-2 NLT). 

The author of Hebrews is legitimately concerned about the ongoing spiritual growth of his readers. Why? Because a lack of spiritual growth can have dangerous consequences. He is not saying that believers can lose their salvation. But the longer a believer wanders from the truth, the more difficult it will become for them to repent. And ultimately they will reach a point where they are living and acting as an unbeliever, and their return to Christ will appear as if His saving work was insufficient the first time. It will be like crucifying the living Lord all over again.

Apostasy makes a mockery of Christ's sacrificial death on the cross. That is why we are commanded to grow. It is a non-optional expectation for all Christ-followers. But apostasy is the very real consequence of a life of spiritual complacency. Paul tells us that when the church is equipping its people and they are ministering to one another, the result will be the spiritual maturation of all the members. And spiritual growth serves as an antidote to apostasy and a protection against false teaching.

…we will no longer be immature like children. We won’t be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth. – Ephesians 4:14 NLT

According to the author of Hebrews, believers are to keep on growing in Christ-likeness, allowing the Spirit of God to use the Word of God to change them from the inside out. This divine process of transformation is meant to produce spiritual maturity and prevent spiritual complacency. But it requires the willful participation of each believer. That is why the author conveys his strong desire that each of his readers “show the same earnestness to have the full assurance of hope until the end” (Hebrews 6:11 ESV). He wanted them to remain committed to the hope found in their faith in Christ. Their eternal future was dependent upon the saving work of Jesus, not their own attempts to keep the law or practice the rites and rituals and Judaism.

When it comes to the Christian life, you are either moving forward or going backward. There is no middle ground or state of spiritual immobility. A stagnant faith is a dead faith. It lacks power and will eventually result in spiritual regression. But those believers who maintain their hope in the promises of God made possible through faith in Christ will find all the power they need to avoid spiritual complacency and the risk of apostasy.

Then you will not become spiritually dull and indifferent. Instead, you will follow the example of those who are going to inherit God’s promises because of their faith and endurance. – Hebrews 6:12 NLT

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Re-enslaved.

Galatians 4:1-20

Before you Gentiles knew God, you were slaves to so-called gods that do not even exist. So now that you know God (of should I say, now that God knows you), why do you want to go back again and become slaves once more to the weak and useless spiritual principles of this world? – Galatians 4:8-9 NET

Why would anyone who had been set free from slavery ever voluntarily subject themselves to it again? That is Paul's question in this section of his letter. He reminds the believers in Galatia that they were at one time slaves to the basic principles of this world. In other words, they had been subject to the sad state of affairs made possible by the fall. They had been under the constant influence and control of Satan, their own sinful flesh and the world. At one time they had been slaves to their so-called gods – gods that didn't even really exist. Theirs had been a pointless and hopeless existence attempting to search for release by turning to false gods that offered false hope. But Paul reminds them that "in the fulness of time" – at just the right time – God sent his Son to buy them freedom. Jesus Christ had bought them out of slavery and set them free. As a result, they were no longer slaves, but God's own children, adopted into His family. They knew the one true God and He knew them. But now, as a result of the influence of the Judaizers, these so-called Jewish believers who were attempting to convince the new converts in Galatia that they must keep the law and adhere to the rituals and requirements of Judaism, the Galatian Christians were becoming enslaved again. Paul accused them of "trying to earn favor with God by observing certain days or months or seasons or years" (Galatians 4:10 NLT).

Paul plead with them to live in freedom, not slavery. He begged them to not return to the same kind of slavery from which Christ had set them free. Paul's greatest desire was that Christ would be fully developed in their lives. But he knew that a return to those basic principles of this world would hinder their spiritual growth. Even as believers, we are all still under the influence of Satan, our sinful flesh, and the world. We can still fall prey to the temptation to earn favor with God through our own self-effort. The enemy would love nothing more than to enslave us again to a life of works and pride-based effort. He wants us to see God as a task-master who demands what we can't deliver. He wants us to live in fear of God, not as children, but as slaves. Satan doesn't want us to see ourselves as God's children, but as His powerless pawns, condemned to try to keep Him pleased in order to escape His punishment and earn His favor. But Paul won't stand for it. And while he can't personally visit them, he does the next best thing – he writes them and pleads with them. He speaks truth to them. He exposes those who would do harm to them. Because unless they learned to embrace their freedom in Christ, they would never truly grow in Christ. Those who see themselves as slaves will tend to live and act as slaves. But those who truly understand that they have been freed from the basic principles of this world will enjoy all that freedom brings. They will relish their status as children of God. They will take advantage of His indwelling Spirit and allow Him to do in them what they could never have done on their own.

Father, we live in a fallen world and we are surrounded by the basic principles of this world. Ever since the fall, mankind has been in a hopeless quest to rectify their relationship with You. They have been searching for You. They have been trying to figure out to fix all that is wrong with them and with the world in which they live. But You have provided the solution through Your own Son's death. You have set us free from having to search for a solution or from having to earn back Your favor. But it is so easy to fall back into that old mindset. It is so easy to think that nothing is free and we must do something to get You to love us. But it's all a lie. Keep us focused on the truth. Keep us aware of the fact that we are free in Christ. Amen.

Faith.

Galatians 3:23-29

Now before faith came we were held in custody under the law. being kept as prisoners until the coming faith could be revealed. – Galatians 3:23 NET

There is an interesting thing happening in what Paul is saying in these verses. We know that he is talking about faith and juxtaposing it against any kind of merit-based salvation. Paul is contrasting the faith required to believe in Jesus and accept Him as your Savior and the false gospel of works being taught by the Judaizers. But if we're not careful we could easily turn faith itself into a kind of works that is based on our own human effort. We can make it all about OUR faith and wrongfully conclude that it is still about us having to DO something to merit salvation. Then we can end up in scary places, comparing the amount or degree of our faith as compared to other Christians. We can wrestle with the size of our faith and wonder if our faith is large enough, strong enough or sincere enough. But in verse 23 Paul states, "Now before faith came..." I think it strange that he would be talking about the faith of the Galatian Christians. He tells them that they were being held prisoner under the law "until the coming faith would be revealed." Is Paul saying that they were prisoners until they could muster enough faith to believe? Has the ball been in their court all along and they just didn't have enough faith? More and more New Testament scholars are making the determination that the faith Paul is talking about is the faith of Christ, not faith in Christ. When Paul says, "Now before faith came," he is speaking of the faith of Christ, or better yet the faithfulness of Christ. It was Christ's faithfulness to God and His faith in God that qualified Him to be our sinless substitute on the cross. He was completely faithful to the law. He never wavered in faith or doubted the plan of God for His life. He was obedient to the point of death. His faith in God was so great that He willingly gave His life, knowing that God would raise Him up three days later. It is the faith and faithfulness of Christ that set us free, not our own limited faith.

Take a look at verse 24: "Thus the law had become our guardian until Christ..." Our subjection to the law was in place until Christ came. He is the one who set us free. It is belief or faith in His faithfulness that is the point here. In verse 25 Paul says, "But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian." Now that Jesus has come and lived a perfect life of faith, faithfully keeping the law of God and obediently following the will of God, He has satisfied the just penalty that God had imposed on mankind. He has provided a way for us to be made right with God. We can be declared righteous, not based on anything we have done on our own, but simply by having faith in the faithfulness of Christ. We must believe that what He has done has been effective and requires nothing more from us. In verse 26 Paul says, "For in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God through faith." While our faith certainly plays a role, it is the object of our faith that must be the focus. It is the faithfulness of Christ that gives our faith its power. Paul seems to be saying that if the Galatian believers put their faith in the wrong thing – like circumcision – it will be ineffective. What gives our faith its saving power is the faith of Christ, exhibited in His death on the cross. It is not the size, but the object of my faith that matters. Prior to Christ's coming, a Jew could put as much faith as he wanted in the hope that obedience to the law could save him, but it would never happen. The Pharisees had faith in the law. They had faith in their own ability to keep the law. But their faith was misplaced. It was all about them, when Jesus told them that it had to be all about Him. Our faith must be in the faith and faithfulness of Christ. It is what He has done that saves. It was He has accomplished that sets us free from the law. In verse 27, Paul tells us that we have been clothed in Christ. We now wear His righteousness, not our own. It is that fact in which we place our faith. I stand before God clothed in the righteousness of Christ, and do not have to depend on my feeble attempts to manufacture righteousness. Apart from Christ, all my best efforts are as filthy rags in God's eyes. But thankfully, I don't have to place faith in my efforts, but in the faithfulness of Christ alone.

Father, never let me mistakenly make all this about my faith. It is not the degree of my faith that counts, but the object. Don't let me try and take credit for anything I do. It is all because of what Christ has done for me. It is because He was faithful that I can even have faith. He has provided me an object in which to place my faith that can actually deliver. Thank You. Amen.

A Kingdom and A Cause.

Matthew 20:1-19; Mark 10:17-31; Luke 18:31-34

"Is it against the law for me to do what I want with my money? Should you be jealous because I am kind to others?” – Matthew 20:15 NLT

Jesus is on His way to Jerusalem. His time on earth is coming to a close. His mission is reaching its final conclusion. And as He journeys toward His final destination, He continues to teach His disciples, attempting to prepare them for what they will face when they reach Jerusalem, and to equip them with an understanding of His Kingdom. All of this will be needed when He returns to His Father in heaven, leaving them to continue His ministry as His ambassadors and messengers.

Chapter 20 in Matthew follows nicely after the incident with the rich young man who came to Jesus asking, "What good deed must I do to have eternal life?" (Matthew 19:16 NLT). His view of the Kingdom of God was based on earning and effort, and he was not alone. The disciples held the same view, because it was prevalent among the people of Israel. Their religion had become performance-based and was based on a concept of earning and reward. This young man had come looking for one more thing that he must do to secure eternal life for himself. He was probably wanting assurance that he had already done all that was necessary, and was basing his belief that he was in God's favor on the fact that he was richly blessed by God in this life with "many possessions." Therefore, God was surely going to bless him in the next life. But Jesus broke the news to him that all his possessions were useless to him in either this life or the next. He told the young man to sell all that he had and give it to the poor and follow Him instead. But the man walked away sad. The cost was too high. The commitment too great. His wealth had become his savior and security.

Now Jesus tells His disciples a parable that is designed to give them a better understanding of the Kingdom of God. He compares it to a landowner who went out early one morning to hire workers for his vineyard. Through the course of the day, at nine o'clock, Noon, three o'clock, and as late as five o'clock in the afternoon, he hired workers and promised to pay them all "whatever was right at the end of the day" (Matthew 20:4 NLT). When he came upon the group, he had asked them why they weren't working and they replied, "Because no one hired us" (Matthew 20:7 NLT). This is an important point, because it indicates that these individuals wanted to work, but were deemed either unqualified or incapable. But this landowner was willing to put them on his payroll and invited them to join the others in the vineyard.

At the end of the day, he had his foreman call all the workers in and had him pay each of the workers their wages, starting with the ones who he hired last and working up to those who had put in a full-day's worth of work. To the surprise of the latecomers and the consternation of those who had worked all day, each received the same amount of money. When those who had worked all day saw that the latecomers had received a full-day's pay, they expected to get a bonus for all their hard work. But their pay was no bigger or smaller. So they complained to the landowner, making sure he understood that they had put in greater effort and therefore, deserved greater pay. The complained of injustice and demanded justice. But the landowner defended his actions and let them know that he was fully in his rights to do with his money as he saw fit. They had received a fair day's wages for a full day of work. They had not been cheated or treated unfairly. These people had lost sight of the fact that, until that morning, they were unemployed and without any waged, but the landowner had hired them sight unseen and offered them the opportunity to work for him. And they had received the benefits of accepting the landowner's invitation. It seems that these people thought their pay was based on their effort and the amount of work they had performed for the landowner. In the story, Jesus makes it clear that each was payed, not based on the amount of work done, but based on the grace of the landowner. Remember, this is a story about the Kingdom of God. The issue is effort and earning versus grace and the unmerited favor of God. In Jesus' day, the Pharisees and religious leaders thought that their place was secure because they "worked" for God. They believed that their pious lifestyle secured them a place in God's Kingdom. But Jesus assures the disciples that that is not how things work in God's economy. His is a grace-based economy. God can and does invite anyone into His Kingdom that He so chooses. It is not based on their worthiness, hard work, status in life, talents, or treasures. It is not based on how gifted they are or how much they can give. It is completely based on grace. Paul reiterated this point when he wrote, "God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can't take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it" (Ephesians 2:8-9 NLT).

As Jesus made His way to Jerusalem, He was giving His disciples an intensive crash-course in the Kingdom of God. Their views were going to have to change. But it was going to be difficult for them. They were not going to get it at first. In fact, each time Jesus tried to inform them that He was on His way to Jerusalem to be unjustly tried and killed, they didn't understand. Luke tells us, "The significance of his words was hidden from them, and they failed to grasp what he was talking about" (Luke 18:34 NLT). But in time, they would discover that things in the coming Kingdom were going to be a lot different than they ever expected. Humility would replace pride. The first would be last and the last first. The self-righteous would be left out and the repentant sinners included. God's Kingdom would be grace-based, and made freely available to all who would simply believe.

Father, I can't thank You enough that inclusion in Your Kingdom is based on grace and not effort. Because otherwise, I would not be included. I have done nothing to deserve Your good favor. My status as one of Your children is solely based on the work of Christ on the cross, and not on anything I have done or attempted to do for You. All of my works are as filthy rags in Your eyes. But the righteousness of Christ has been credited to my account. His work, done on my behalf, is what secures my relationship with You. And I did nothing to deserve it. Amen.

With God, Everything Is Possible.

Everything Is Possible.

Matthew 19:16-30; Mark 10:17-31; Luke 18:18-30

Jesus looked at them intently and said, “Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But with God everything is possible.” – Matthew 19:26 NLT

If we keep the verse above within its context, Jesus is addressing the issue of salvation. Of course, we could easily say that it could apply to just about anything. With God, everything really is possible. But Jesus made this statement in answer to a question from His disciples. They had asked, "Then who in the world can be saved?" They were confused over an exchange between Jesus and a young man who had come asking what he must do to have eternal life. His exact question was, "Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?" (Matthew 19:16 NLT). In other words, he was looking for a task to perform or a deed to do. His was a performance-based mindset where actions resulted in rewards. We learn a little later that he is a wealthy young man "for he had many possession" (Matthew 19:22 NLT). His life had been a testament to earning through effort. Sure, he could have inherited all that he had, but he somehow knew that if he wanted something of even greater value – eternal life – he was going to have to DO something to earn it.

Jesus knew his heart. He knew him to be a type-A, driven individual who would take seriously any word of advice or five-step formula Jesus might give him. So Jesus simply answered, "Keep the commandments." Being a cut-to-the-chase kind of a guy, the young man asks, "Which ones?" He didn't want to waste time with any commandments that weren't going to count in his quest for eternal life. So Jesus lays out a few. "You must not murder. You must not commit adultery. You must not steal. You must not testify falsely. Honor your father and mother. Love your neighbor as yourself." (Matthew 19:18-19 NLT). To which the man proudly replied, "Done that! What else?" Now, let's be honest. Do we really think this young man had kept all these commandments? I'll spot him the first two, but I can't believe he never stole or testified falsely, or that he always honored his father and mother and loved his neighbor selflessly. He may have thought he had kept these commandments, based on his own criteria or standard, but the chances are high that he had not. Jesus' response to his question, "What else?" is very interesting. "If you want to be perfect, go and sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me" (Matthew 19:21 NLT). Notice the word, "perfect." In the Greek it is the word teleios and it means "wanting nothing necessary to completeness." It is the same word used by Jesus in His Sermon on the Mount when He said, "But you are to be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect" (Matthew 5:48 NLT). The idea is to be complete, lacking nothing. God is perfect, whole, complete, and lacks nothing. This man had it all from a worldly perspective, but was lacking one thing: Eternal life. He was not perfect. And interestingly, Jesus told him to sell all that he had and give the money to the poor. Jesus challenges him to let go of all the things he had pursued in search of the perfect, complete, whole life and give it away. And He follows that up with an invitation to follow Him. Perfection, completeness and wholeness will never be found in this life short of selling out to follow Jesus. Now, this is not a universal teaching truth from Jesus that every single individual must sell all their possessions and give away their money before they can follow Him. He knew this man's real problem. He was in love with the world and his wealth. He had spent years seeking perfection and completeness in material things. Giving all that up was not a possibility for this man, and so we're told "he went away sad."

Then Jesus makes a statement that shocked the disciples, because it went against all that they had been taught. It contradicted their view of life in the Kingdom of God. Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, it is very hard for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of Heaven" (Matthew 19:23 NLT). They believed wealth was a sign of God's blessing. Now Jesus was telling them that wealth was actually a deterrent to eternal life. Why? Because wealth or material things can easily become a means by which we seek perfection or completeness. Just one more thing. Just a little bit more money. Just a slightly bigger house in a slightly better neighborhood. Just a little bit newer and nicer car. Just a few more additions to the wardrobe. But back in His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus had taught, "So don't worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we drink? What will we wear?’ These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need" (Matthew 6:31-33 NLT). Jesus was inviting this man to do this same thing. He was challenging him to stop worrying about money and stuff, and to start truly seeking God's Kingdom, instead of his own.

But when the disciples ask who in the world can be saved, Jesus tells them the most important truth in this entire conversation: "Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But with God everything is possible" (Matthew 19:26 NLT). Salvation is a work of God, not man. We can't save ourselves. It is an act of God made possible through the shed blood of Jesus Christ. This man couldn't earn it or perform some take to merit it. He was going to have to give up all his self-effort and throw aside all that he put his hope in and had based his future on, and turn to Jesus as the only way to eternal life. From a human perspective, salvation is impossible. It is out of our hands and beyond our reach. But God has made it possible through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, His Son.

Father, thank You that You don't require us to earn our salvation, because none of us could pull it off. We are incapable of living sinless, perfect lives apart from the redemptive work of Jesus Christ. But Father, there are still so many things that distract us from leaning completely on You. We can still put way too much hope in the things of this world and forget that the most important objective of our lives is holiness, not happiness. Keep us focused on building Your kingdom, not our own. Amen.