THE BLESSINGS OF A CHILD OF GOD

#1 · October 6, 2008, 11:28 am

Quote from Forum Archives on October 6, 2008, 11:28 am
Posted by: bhfbc <bhfbc@...>
THE BLESSINGS OF A CHILD OF GOD

September 14, 2008

TEXT: Galatians 4:1-20

When we look around at the condition of the Christian Church today, we can sometimes be saddened by the many differences that exist between us. There are differences concerning the purpose and mode of baptism. There are differences over the literal virgin birth of Jesus, his death, and his literal resurrection. There are those who have decided that no human being will be condemned by God. The list goes on. It just seems like the Church has become fragmented and continues to become more fragmented.

However, this is not a new phenomenon. Sadly, the Church has been engaging in doctrinal controversies for centuries. More often than not, I hear leaders of various Christian groups make their appeals that they represent the New Testament Church and that, therefore, they have the legitimate claim to this or that doctrine. Unfortunately, not even claims to being a New Testament church calm the issues because there arose division and controversy among even the real New Testament churches.

The letter to the Galatians provides proof of this. Paul wrote this letter because an issue had arisen that threatened to harm or destroy the beginning church in Galatia. After becoming a fellowship of believers through their common faith in Jesus Christ, a group known as Judaizers began to lead the Galatians astray. In a nutshell, this group taught that adherence to the old law was still necessary for salvation to be complete. They began planting seeds of doubt in that early church that caused believers to wonder about their salvation. To this, Paul admonished, You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified. (Galatians 3:1) To convince the Galatians not to be led astray by the Judaizers, Paul writes to them about the blessings of being a child of God apart from the law. I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by observing the law, or by believing what you heard? (Galatians 3:2) In Galatians 4, Paul demonstrates that the blessings of a child of God are provision, portion, and purpose.

What I am saying is that as long as the heir is a child, he is no different from a slave, although he owns the whole estate. He is subject to guardians and trustees until the time set by his father. So also, when we were children, we were in slavery under the basic principles of the world. But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons. (Galatians 4:1-5) It is beyond me to understand why God didnt complete His salvation plan at an earlier time. Why wasnt Christ sent when, say, King Saul went astray? Or at one of the other times when Israel was rejecting God? I do not understand why He didnt do that.

Nevertheless, I do recognize that when Christ was sent, the conditions could not have been better. Through their dominion over a very large part of the world, the Romans brought a reasonable peace. They created extensive trading routes which caused travel to be somewhat easier. Through the earlier influence of Greek culture, there was a common language, Greek, that many people understood. All of these factors, and more, converged to make that moment in history the perfect time for Gods Son to enter and redeem the world.

The provision for a child of God is that God does redeem. God saves. God restores. God redeemed those under the law. Without Christ, we are all under the law. At a ministers meeting, the comment was made by one member who had read a devotion from the Old Testament about how cruel some of the laws were. For instance, some sins required that the offender be taken outside the assembly and stoned to death. What would you think if you had to be one of those required to stone someone you know maybe even a family member because of his transgression? Would that not be a difficult duty? An almost impossible duty? It would certainly not be a pleasant duty. One of the other members at the meeting answered that, without the grace of God in Christ, that is how we would be. That is how we would have to be. We would have to fulfill the requirements of the law. We would be under the law. However, when the time had fully come God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons. (Galatians 4:4-5) The blessing of a child of God is His provision of saving grace.

Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, Abba, Father. So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir. (Galatians 4:6-7) The second blessing of a child of God revealed by Paul is portion. God does not give His children a partial plate; Gods children receive His full blessing. The Bible speaks of two conditions of the believer: servant or slave and son or daughter. One does not exclude the other, for the context in which each is used determines the correct application.

We are servants of Christ because we want to be. Paul was a devoted servant of Christ because he recognized the price that Christ paid for his sins. We, too, recognize the price that Jesus paid for our sins. It is an overwhelming thought and, when fully comprehended, we cannot avoid giving our devotion to the Lord like a servant or slave. We are to be devoted to the Lord.

At the same time, God blesses us as sons and daughters. We are not slaves who have no part of the masters estate. We are children who receive an inheritance. More than that, we do not even receive parts of the inheritance. All of us receive the complete inheritance! This is possible only because of Gods infinite nature and because of His desire to love us and to receive our love in return.

Paul tells us that this is witnessed by the Holy Spirits presence in our lives. Like a child who calls out, Daddy, the Spirit cries out for the Christian, Abba, Father. One so-called reality show I have watched is The Apprentice. All of the contestants always call Donald Trump, for good reason, Mr. Trump. In the first few seasons, Donald Trumps assistants on the program were two of his high level employees. They, too, called him Mr. Trump. However, it evolved that his assistants on the show were his son and daughter. They called him, Father. They were respectful, but they were not constrained to call him Mr. Trump. Because they are his children, he is their father; their dad.

God makes us His children. Not only that, God makes us heirs. And not only that, as His heirs, we receive His whole inheritance. The blessing of a child of God is His full portion of salvation.

Those people are zealous to win you over, but for no good. What they want is to alienate you from us, so that you may be zealous for them. It is fine to be zealous, provided the purpose is good, and to be so always and not just when I am with you. My dear children, for whom I am again in the pains of childbirth until Christ is formed in you, how I wish I could be with you now and change my tone, because I am perplexed about you! (Galatians 4:17-20) The third blessing revealed in Pauls letter is purpose. This is a blessing because God wants us to be zealous for the right purpose. Zeal alone is not sufficient. We are seeing much religious zeal around us today, but since the purpose is wrong, it results in destruction. Those about whom Paul was writing were full of zeal, but they were mistaken. They sought to pull the Galatians back into the days before Christs salvation. They sought to return the Galatians to the days when those seeking God had to fulfill the requirements of the law. That was a burden before, and it was a burden again.

In fact, it was a false teaching. It was a denial of the finished work of Christ. What these false prophets taught was that Jesus did not fulfill the law. Instead, it was still up to the believer to fulfill the law. The Judaizers purpose was to draw believers away from Christ.

In contrast, Pauls purpose was to see Christ formed in every believer. This is a common theme in his letters. Romans 8:29: For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. Ephesians 4:11-13: It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare Gods people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. Colossians 1:27: To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. Conforming to Christ, not mens wishes, is the purpose to which God calls every believer. The blessing of a child of God is the purpose to which He calls us through salvation.

The situation that the believers in the Galatian church faced was not all that different than what we still face today. There are still those who seek to draw believers away from Gods saving grace by making adherence to the law our focus. The fact remains that we are saved by the blood of the Lamb, not by animal sacrifice, circumcision, or any other prescribed ritual. Paul wrote that he was perplexed by anyone who would seek to revert back to the law after having been given the free grace of Gods salvation. But that is the power that some false teachers can have over others.

Just as the situation that Paul faced in his day is still a reality in our day, so is Pauls solution. We must remember the blessings of being a child of God: the provision of saving grace, the full portion of salvation, and the purpose to which God calls us through salvation. So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir.

Rev. Charles A. Layne

First Baptist Church

PO Box 515

179 W. Broadway

Bunker Hill, IN 46914

765-689-7987

bhfbc@bhfirstbaptist.com

www.bhfirstbaptist.com
-- To unsubscribe, send ANY message to: abesermons-unsubscribe@welovegod.org   

Posted by: bhfbc <bhfbc@...>

September 14, 2008

TEXT: Galatians 4:1-20

When we look around at the condition of the Christian Church today, we can sometimes be saddened by the many differences that exist between us. There are differences concerning the purpose and mode of baptism. There are differences over the literal virgin birth of Jesus, his death, and his literal resurrection. There are those who have decided that no human being will be condemned by God. The list goes on. It just seems like the Church has become fragmented and continues to become more fragmented.

However, this is not a new phenomenon. Sadly, the Church has been engaging in doctrinal controversies for centuries. More often than not, I hear leaders of various Christian groups make their appeals that they represent the New Testament Church and that, therefore, they have the legitimate claim to this or that doctrine. Unfortunately, not even claims to being a New Testament church calm the issues because there arose division and controversy among even the real New Testament churches.

The letter to the Galatians provides proof of this. Paul wrote this letter because an issue had arisen that threatened to harm or destroy the beginning church in Galatia. After becoming a fellowship of believers through their common faith in Jesus Christ, a group known as Judaizers began to lead the Galatians astray. In a nutshell, this group taught that adherence to the old law was still necessary for salvation to be complete. They began planting seeds of doubt in that early church that caused believers to wonder about their salvation. To this, Paul admonished, You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified. (Galatians 3:1) To convince the Galatians not to be led astray by the Judaizers, Paul writes to them about the blessings of being a child of God apart from the law. I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by observing the law, or by believing what you heard? (Galatians 3:2) In Galatians 4, Paul demonstrates that the blessings of a child of God are provision, portion, and purpose.

What I am saying is that as long as the heir is a child, he is no different from a slave, although he owns the whole estate. He is subject to guardians and trustees until the time set by his father. So also, when we were children, we were in slavery under the basic principles of the world. But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons. (Galatians 4:1-5) It is beyond me to understand why God didnt complete His salvation plan at an earlier time. Why wasnt Christ sent when, say, King Saul went astray? Or at one of the other times when Israel was rejecting God? I do not understand why He didnt do that.

Nevertheless, I do recognize that when Christ was sent, the conditions could not have been better. Through their dominion over a very large part of the world, the Romans brought a reasonable peace. They created extensive trading routes which caused travel to be somewhat easier. Through the earlier influence of Greek culture, there was a common language, Greek, that many people understood. All of these factors, and more, converged to make that moment in history the perfect time for Gods Son to enter and redeem the world.

The provision for a child of God is that God does redeem. God saves. God restores. God redeemed those under the law. Without Christ, we are all under the law. At a ministers meeting, the comment was made by one member who had read a devotion from the Old Testament about how cruel some of the laws were. For instance, some sins required that the offender be taken outside the assembly and stoned to death. What would you think if you had to be one of those required to stone someone you know maybe even a family member because of his transgression? Would that not be a difficult duty? An almost impossible duty? It would certainly not be a pleasant duty. One of the other members at the meeting answered that, without the grace of God in Christ, that is how we would be. That is how we would have to be. We would have to fulfill the requirements of the law. We would be under the law. However, when the time had fully come God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons. (Galatians 4:4-5) The blessing of a child of God is His provision of saving grace.

Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, Abba, Father. So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir. (Galatians 4:6-7) The second blessing of a child of God revealed by Paul is portion. God does not give His children a partial plate; Gods children receive His full blessing. The Bible speaks of two conditions of the believer: servant or slave and son or daughter. One does not exclude the other, for the context in which each is used determines the correct application.

We are servants of Christ because we want to be. Paul was a devoted servant of Christ because he recognized the price that Christ paid for his sins. We, too, recognize the price that Jesus paid for our sins. It is an overwhelming thought and, when fully comprehended, we cannot avoid giving our devotion to the Lord like a servant or slave. We are to be devoted to the Lord.

At the same time, God blesses us as sons and daughters. We are not slaves who have no part of the masters estate. We are children who receive an inheritance. More than that, we do not even receive parts of the inheritance. All of us receive the complete inheritance! This is possible only because of Gods infinite nature and because of His desire to love us and to receive our love in return.

Paul tells us that this is witnessed by the Holy Spirits presence in our lives. Like a child who calls out, Daddy, the Spirit cries out for the Christian, Abba, Father. One so-called reality show I have watched is The Apprentice. All of the contestants always call Donald Trump, for good reason, Mr. Trump. In the first few seasons, Donald Trumps assistants on the program were two of his high level employees. They, too, called him Mr. Trump. However, it evolved that his assistants on the show were his son and daughter. They called him, Father. They were respectful, but they were not constrained to call him Mr. Trump. Because they are his children, he is their father; their dad.

God makes us His children. Not only that, God makes us heirs. And not only that, as His heirs, we receive His whole inheritance. The blessing of a child of God is His full portion of salvation.

Those people are zealous to win you over, but for no good. What they want is to alienate you from us, so that you may be zealous for them. It is fine to be zealous, provided the purpose is good, and to be so always and not just when I am with you. My dear children, for whom I am again in the pains of childbirth until Christ is formed in you, how I wish I could be with you now and change my tone, because I am perplexed about you! (Galatians 4:17-20) The third blessing revealed in Pauls letter is purpose. This is a blessing because God wants us to be zealous for the right purpose. Zeal alone is not sufficient. We are seeing much religious zeal around us today, but since the purpose is wrong, it results in destruction. Those about whom Paul was writing were full of zeal, but they were mistaken. They sought to pull the Galatians back into the days before Christs salvation. They sought to return the Galatians to the days when those seeking God had to fulfill the requirements of the law. That was a burden before, and it was a burden again.

In fact, it was a false teaching. It was a denial of the finished work of Christ. What these false prophets taught was that Jesus did not fulfill the law. Instead, it was still up to the believer to fulfill the law. The Judaizers purpose was to draw believers away from Christ.

In contrast, Pauls purpose was to see Christ formed in every believer. This is a common theme in his letters. Romans 8:29: For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. Ephesians 4:11-13: It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare Gods people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. Colossians 1:27: To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. Conforming to Christ, not mens wishes, is the purpose to which God calls every believer. The blessing of a child of God is the purpose to which He calls us through salvation.

The situation that the believers in the Galatian church faced was not all that different than what we still face today. There are still those who seek to draw believers away from Gods saving grace by making adherence to the law our focus. The fact remains that we are saved by the blood of the Lamb, not by animal sacrifice, circumcision, or any other prescribed ritual. Paul wrote that he was perplexed by anyone who would seek to revert back to the law after having been given the free grace of Gods salvation. But that is the power that some false teachers can have over others.

Just as the situation that Paul faced in his day is still a reality in our day, so is Pauls solution. We must remember the blessings of being a child of God: the provision of saving grace, the full portion of salvation, and the purpose to which God calls us through salvation. So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir.

Rev. Charles A. Layne

First Baptist Church

PO Box 515

179 W. Broadway

Bunker Hill, IN 46914

765-689-7987

bhfbc@bhfirstbaptist.com

http://www.bhfirstbaptist.com

-- To unsubscribe, send ANY message to: abesermons-unsubscribe@welovegod.org