Galatians 2

For those of you who want to read the chapter before going on, you can find it here. For simplicity, clarity and brevity's sake I will not share all the things I found, but I will list some of the more noticeable observations I saw alongside the references. This will prevent this post being huge, whilst giving other people the opportunity to comment on things I've not written about.

Anyhow, here is what spoke to me as I spent some time in Galatians 2.

2:1-10 These verses seem to be Paul's perspective on the events of Acts 15, which is a council gathered to specifically address the question raised in Acts 15:1. Paul goes before the key apostles in Jerusalem to ensure his gospel, received by revelation from the Spirit of God, was the same as the apostolic doctrine they taught (2:1-2). Some false teachers had introduced the idea that circumcision was essential for salvation, thereby adding a requirement to the gospel of grace - and in effect stopping it from being a gospel of grace. Paul uses the argument that the other apostles didn't force his uncircumcised companion to be circumcised (2:3), even though the false teachers were seeking to add regulations to the young Christians that weren't from man, and not from God (2:4). It is against these additional requirements that Paul is opposed (2:5), and he tells the Galatians that the Apostles were in agreement with him (2:6). This agreement brings these apostles together in their shared missionary work, Peter, James and John to the Jews and Paul to the Gentiles (2:7-9). Interestingly enough, the passion of all these key apostolic figures is to remember the poor (2:10)

This section of the chapter made me think a lot about what God asks of us to follow Him. Right at the start, the only thing he asks of us is to believe in Christ crucified for our sins, raised to life and for us to follow him. There isn't anything about what we should read, where we should go, how we should dress, and what we can or cannot do. In one sense, its almost scandalous to me - the gospel of grace is clearly faith-based, not behaviour-based. But do I confuse Christian morality - or my interpretation of Christian morality - with what God asks of us, which is to simply believe and follow? Someone once said to me that "we come to God to get right." But sometimes, do I insist on myself - or others - on "getting right before they come to God?"

Not only does this have an application of salvation, but what about sanctification? About living the Christian life? Yes, of course there must be changed lives as a result of faith. But surely the changes we should look for must be internal heart changes that show themselves outwardly? If we make up standards that merely cause superficial changes on the outwards - however biblical those standards are - then are we missing the very heart of the gospel?

2:11-14 This section tells us of a disagreement between Paul and Peter (2:11). Peter was associating and eating with Gentiles - non-Jews- which was contrary to Jewish law. However Peter himself had received a vision at Cornelius' house in Acts 10 in which God had told him no longer where any kind of people 'unclean.' But certain Jewish men arrived and Peter changed his behaviour because he fell into the trap of fear of man, and therefore people pleasing. Other Jews, seeing their apostolic leader acting this way, followed suit - even Paul's companion Barnabas (2:12-13). Paul's response is fascinating, and gives us such an insight into the heart of the gospel. He argues that the gospel has set Peter free from the rigours and trappings of the Jewish Law, and he is acting hypocritically by condoning in action Jewish restrictions on the Gentile Christians (2:14).

Clearly the heart of the gospel is liberation and freedom. Freedom from the sin that destroys us, but also freedom from rules and rituals that would enslave us. The gospel sets us free from the sin that God hates and judges, and the gospel sets us free from having to earn God's pleasure through hard works and cold obedience.

For the Christian, there is no place for self-condemnation ("I'm a bad Christian, I'm not good enough") and there is no place for self-righteousness ("I'm a good Christian, I'm good enough.") Whenever we say to God "look at what I've done" - whether because we've been bad, or we've been good, his response is simple. He says "I don't care what you've done - look at what Christ has done!"

This is the gospel that brings us into reconciled friendship with the Living God. From this place of friendship, we begin to change as we walk with Him, and holiness, right-living and obedience rightly - and inevitably - follow.

2:15-21 Paul writes about his, and perhaps some of his readers - and Jews from birth, and therefore not "Gentile sinners" (2:15). But he himself talks about a person becoming justified - declared totally innocent of sin - not by obeying the rules of the Old Testament - the 'law' -  but through wholehearted faith and trust in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. He himself has placed his faith in Christ, and therefore concluded that the law can never declare someone innocent in God's eyes (2:16). However, just in case some would argue the Cross can never justify someone and actually leads them to live lives of total sin, Paul responds by saying that this isn't the case - the gospel transforms lives, and therefore Christ is not a servant of sin. (2:17). He would be a sinner if he preached the end of the relevance of law, but still observed the law to become righteous - right before God. This is what the false teachers, and Peter, had been guilty of doing. (2:18). But by following the law, Paul could never keep it because his human nature meant he sinned - and our sin kills us. The law simply sends us more speedily to our death, by giving us the rules that we ultimately break. But as Christians, we have been crucified with Christ and are joined with Jesus who now lives in us. We no longer live life under our own power and strength, fighting the demands of the law, but through Jesus living in us. He is now our master, and He gives us power to live life by faith, and changes us from the inside out to actually and ironically fulfill the demands the law might have had on us. The phrase "the Son of God... who loved me and gave himself for me" reminds us again that the Cross was sacrificial and substitutional (2:19-20).  Paul's conclusion is that obeying rules makes the grace of God obsolete. If we could become right before God by doing the right thing, then the Cross had no purpose whatsoever (2:21).

This section reminded me of the kindness of God - He made the way to Him to be based on belief, not behaviour. I could never have met the standards of the law - when I look at the Ten Commandments which summarise the law, I can't even keep the first one! But God stepped in because he wanted friendship with me, so made a new way for me to relate to him. He provides me with everything I need to please God - he lives in me and changes me from the inside out. Knowing God is no longer about following a cold set of rules that are impossible to keep, but through a warm, loving friendship! This has made me vigilant to watch how I do things when walking with God. Yes, sinful habits. But also formula - am I formulaic in my prayer life, in my Bible reading, in my worship, even in my participation in Church life?

Even as a Christian, I don't want to slip into a kind of law and ritual based relationship with God which is really no relationship at all. God has clearly given me something so much better!

Currently listening to: All Star United - Superstar from International Anthems For The Human Race

Galatians 1

For those of you who want to read the chapter before going on, you can find it here. For simplicity, clarity and brevity's sake I will not share all the things I found, but I will list some of the more noticeable observations I saw alongside the references.

1:1: Paul is the author of this letter, and clearly sees his apostleship as not being given to him by men, but as a divine appointment from God. He states, quite clearly at the beginning of his epistle, that his authority doesn't come from men but from God. This is an interesting point when it comes to this and other writings of Paul: do I read them as words from God, or from a man?

1:3-4: The use of the words 'gave himself for our sins' speaks to me of two things; sacrifice and substitution. Jesus gave himself willingly and deliberately of his own free will. But he gave himself for my sins, to take their penalty - which is therefore my punishment - on himself in my place, as my replacement and my substitute. For those of us aware of the current discussion about Penal Substitution, this is an interesting verse.

But why did Jesus do this? The verse tells me: 'to deliver us from the present evil age.' 'Deliver' can mean 'to release or to set free.' One reason Jesus gave himself was to set me free and release me from this present evil age. His death was self-sacrificial and the ultimate demonstration of love, because he wanted me to be rescued from the darkness of the world. Clearly, this verse shows me that the world is an evil, dark place and has always been - and will always be. As a Christian, I should no longer feel at ease here - it is no longer Home for me. Do I still have an affinity for some things in this world? Yes. Am I too earthly focused and not heavenly minded enough? The answer must be yes!

This is all 'according to the will of our God and Father' - the Cross was God's idea, to rescue us from our ourselves.

1:6 I find the phrase 'him who called you in the grace of Christ' fascinating. The person who calls another takes initiative - they make the first move. So God made the first move towards me, when He called me! The grace of Christ - the undeserved, unearnable kindness of God - means that when it came to my salvation it was God's idea, his initial action and he came to me. God Himself pursued me! The Cross was his idea, to win me. He made the way possible, then ran after me to win and woo me!

1:15 I was set apart before I was born! This is amazing - in God, I've always had an eternal destiny! In a mystery I shall never understand, he chose me to always be with Him. Nothing I did influenced this decision, because I wasn't even born! So my salvation is nothing to do with me, and everything to do with God. Of course, this throws up many questions about people who have not been chosen. But it also raises up another I can overlook: why did He choose me? Its a wonder, and something that amazes me.

Paul also comes back to this theme of 'calling.' He clearly has a high view of his destiny, and the sovereignty of God. Do I? Its amazing how often when things go pear-shaped that I begin to doubt God's will for me, or God's ability to bring his will about.

1:16 This verse suggests that for salvation to happen, God must reveal His son to us. Salvation comes from revelation, not from education. As much as research, study or questions are good, ultimately spiritual birth comes from the spiritual unveiling of eyes. In my evangelism, maybe if I did more praying for revelation and less arguing, things might go a different way.

I love Paul's logic - he was saved, so he could tell others. This is such a challenge to me in my cosy eternal blanket. I've been saved for mission!

 

Of course, there is much else in this chapter about the nature of religion, Paul's ministry and his revelation. But the main thread of this chapter alongside these themes seemed to be that our salvation is a gift of kindness from a loving God, who despite our darkness and ignorance chose to send his Son as a replacement for the consequences of our evil. We didn't ask or earn this, but he chose to do it because he wanted friendship with us. Even on its own, this theme in this chapter has enough to ponder, pray and praise through!

But enough of what I think. What do you guys see?

Currently listening to: Jason Upton - He Had To Have You from Key Of David

The Road Through Galatia

One of the things I've felt challenged on recently is my study of scripture. My Old Testament knowledge is patchy as best, whilst my New Testament understanding is perhaps simply a list of proof-texts to reinforce views and practices I adhere to.

A couple of verses that have been living with me for a number of months is John 5:39-40. Jesus enters into a dialogue with the Pharisees, who clearly knew the scriptures excellently. Yet He rebukes them for not recognizing the scriptures for what they really are: a signpost to Him.

This has had me thinking for quite a while: have I made the Bible an idol? Have I elevated the scriptures to something they were never meant to be? In my absolute adherence to the authority of scripture - my belief that all the words in the Bible are God's words, with the appropriate standing - have I lost something? As Jesus reminds us, the Bible points to a person, not to a system.

I have therefore decided that I would get into the text myself, and simply see what it says. In this sense, I am simply working through a chapter verse by verse or section by section, and noting the flow of the writing, and any findings of note. I am not used any kind of commentary, reference book or authored work as an accompaniment - not because I reject their works, but because I do not want to be coloured by another person's perception. My goal is to get into the 'heart' of the text, and be in a position where the Holy Spirit, who wrote scripture, guides and speaks to me.

I understand this will be a somewhat self-centric exercise, as my interpretation of scripture is shaped by my internal bias, teachings, experiences and preference. But I hope that there may be some things of value for others. Although primarily, the value will be for me first and foremost.

I have started with the book of Galatians, purely because it is short and a Pauline Epistle. I will post a summary of my study through chapter one shortly. And of course, feel free to comment or read along!

Currently listening to: Jimi Hendrix - Voodoo Child from Jimi Hendrix: His Greatest Hits

Mark Driscoll Preaches The Cross

Mark Driscoll is one of my current favourite preachers and authors, although one who seems to generate an amount of controversy around himself.

He recently preached at Destiny Church Edinburgh on the person of Jesus, and his work on the cross.

Adrian Warnock was there, and has notes from the evening. I wholeheartedly recommend reading this article for the great truths contained therein!

If that wets your appetite for more of Mark Driscoll, he also has a blog, found here, that is updated periodically.

Currently listening to: Manic Street Preachers - La Tristesse Durera (Scream to a Sigh) from Forever Delayed

Free Stuff

Its true, free stuff is great. But tons of free stuff actually isn't free. I remember an episode of Pinky & The Brain where this was illustrated perfectly. Brain, that night, decided to take over the world. Again. His diabolical scheme involved making an exact replica of the Earth out of paper mache complete with landmasses and buildings before moving it into touching distance of the real Earth. Pinky and he would then then hold a free T-shirt giveaway on the fake earth to draw the whole of the worlds population to hop worlds, in a deluded consumer frenzy. This would leave the the real Earth ripe for conquest.

Anyway, my point is this: free stuff gets peoples attention. I often approach the promise of free stuff with a funny concoction of optimism and cynicism. I'm thinking "really?!" as well as "realllllyyyyyyyyyyyyy........" As my old manager used to say, "if its too good to be true, it probably is!"

However, once in a while something comes along that confounds my expectations. I therefore take great pleasure in introducing you to E-Sword. E-Sword is a Bible study software package with an impressive array of features, free to download from the net. It truly, truly is free. I promise you. Its customizable as well, as you can choose from a variety of Bible translations, Bible dictionaries and Bible commentaries from all sorts of learned people. Of course, there are a handful that you must pay for if you wish to download them, but there is an impressive selection of free quality ones to warrant downloading the program anyway.

You can explore the site, and download the program and your choice of additions from here. If you don't have a Bible program installed on your computer and want one, go for this. I've used it for a while now for study, sermon preparation and general devotions. I've found it simple to use, clear to read and fully customizable with the regular updates and frequently released additions. Sadly it is only available for PC right now.

If you need any recommendations for Bible translations, dictionaries or commentaries then feel free to drop me an email at ant@anthilder.co.uk. But I hope you find this free resource a blessing!

Sliding Doors

So, I've been back a week. What have I been doing? I've been helping out a friend's business, doing some Systems Process Mapping, which has been interesting - just seeing if there is anything that can be changed in the business that can make it more profitable and streamlined. It feels great to be doing something that feels like a 'proper job' again.

In other news, God has been leading me with some clear direction. Whilst I was in SA, I felt God say to me that He wanted me to be back in Hastings for a season, where I grew up. Which is fine, but I did advise the omniscient, all-knowing Lord Of The Universe that this would mean me needing somewhere to live. Sure enough, He kindly provided somewhere - and like all His gifts, it is a perfect and pleasing gift of grace. At my grandmothers funeral last Monday - which I led and went fine by the way - family members asked me if I wanted to move into my grandmothers house on a short term, rent free basis, to keep it livable whilst its on the market to sell. The house is a detached four bedroomed bungalow, set within an acre of gardens and woodland. In every way it is perfect for me - it is in the middle of Hastings, the only costs I'd have would be general utility bills, and it has its own woodland for me to have my beloved prayer walks through.

However, there is more. Within ten minutes of arriving at church last Sunday, I was approached by three different leaders individually regarding the student and twenties work there. They all asked me if I wanted to get involved in a key leadership role. So it seems God has made the way for me there.

Of course, a season is indefinable in length, but a season always brings about changes. With a four bedroomed house I'm thinking of lodgers who can give me an income on top of my work. In the 20s group are three guys I've identified as leaders, and in general conversation they've all expressed an interest in moving in with me. I'm almost not surprised anymore at how God does things in His perfect way. Please note, I said 'almost...'

Other opportunities have come my way including a couple of evangelistic ministry things they want me to do, and a couple of teaching slots. All out of the blue, and people approaching me rather than me seeking it.

I'm still very much taking steps of faith. And I have lots of things I'm unsure about. But I think I can only be obedient in what God has already said to me. Why will he speak to me about other things when I've not honoured him in what he has already revealed to me? Psalm 119:105 tells us that God's word is a lamp to our feet - it guides our steps. But a lamp only shows us the ground we stand on, and the ground to step onto. As I step forward, I've got no doubt God will speak to me about the next step. But I need to step first. After all, 2 Corinthians 5:7 reminds us that as Christians, we walk by faith and not by sight. Sometimes choices seem crazy or limited. Doors seem shut or even non-existent. But faith trusts that God will act on our behalf, and I'm realizing more and more than God loves challenging our minds and rationality in how He does things, to show us time and time again that He is God. And He can do things how He wants, when He wants, in the way He wants!

Jesus said in Mark 10:27 that all things are possible for God. I wonder if sometimes, He brings us into a situation where we need to be reminded of this very fact. He's doing that to me right now. And I bet I'm not alone. Is there anything in your life that you know if God doesn't step in, its hopeless? Is he is doing the same thing with you? Is he calling you back to a place where you stop leaning on your own understanding and walking by sight, to the simple trust of a pilgrimage of faith?

Progress Check

Yes, I'm back. Well, I've been back for about four days now. So I thought I'd tell you all about some really deep truths you're craving to know about. Yes, how I'm doing on my list of things-to-do from my last post.

My landlady now reads this, so there are certain things that may or may not be different from the truth. This may or may not be obvious, but suffice it to say she is a lovely, beautiful lady who never beats me. By the way, if anyone has a place spare - even a cellar or kennel, email me.

1. Get a hair-cut.

This hasn't happened yet. Because, if I'm honest, the weather here is so cold that having a mane works for my benefit. I'm still acclimatizing, you see. The fact that my back is peeling is evidence of this. I'm like a skin-shedding snake-boy.

2. Sleep in my own bed

Of course I've done this. Four times. If I hadn't, you'd all be asking whereabouts I was sleeping!

3. Drink a stupid amount of pure, fresh apple juice

Done. I've also drunk Wittard's Hot Mint Chocolate, made using milk not water! Milk based chocolate drinks are vastly superior to H20 potions. Trust me on this.

4. Watch Match Of The Day

I've yet to complete this task. My inevitable social promiscuity is the reason, pure and simple. 

5. Read the whole of the Sunday papers one afternoon, then snooze afterwards

I bought a copy of the Sunday Mail, but haven't read it yet. But I will, oh yes.

6. Read the two issues of FourFourTwo that I've got through the post, but not read.

I only have one. Kaka is on the front cover. He's a Christian, you know. And a rather good footballer. I need to have a day in reading I think.

7. Go to the best church in the world the first Sunday I'm back

It was so good to see old friends and be back at my spiritual 'home,' where I grew up. The sermon was one of the best I've heard about Breaking Bread. I recommend you download it, and others, here.

8. Visit all my friends, invite myself round for dinner with them and bore them with all my stories. And yes, even you Toby!

I'm in the process of doing this. I've even opened diplomatic channels with Toby to have a catch up. I say with Toby, but I really mean his wife, because she is the organized one. But to be fair, Toby is a rockstar.

9. Sit with my mum and show her all my photographs. No, she's not seen any of them, the poor woman.

I have many photos. My mum loved them, my dad was looking around the room thinking of ways he could knock himself out. Enough said.

10. Take the dogs that I really don't like out for a walk in beautiful, peaceful, muddy, wet, glorious English woodland

Something on my list I've actually done. Hurrah! It was a lovely walk, the dogs didn't try to lick me - which might have something to do with the fact I wouldn't let them within ten foot of me - and I had a lovely pray walking around English woodland, with the sound of browning leaves being crunched underfoot. Beautiful. 

11. Smoke a cigar with a couple of friends

This is going to be done tonight. I have a Montecristo I will indulge myself in. This will also happen on Friday with my friend Glenn.

12. Open all my post

I've half achieved this. Which means I've ignored all the bills and bank statements, and just opened all the Amazon parcels, and various lovely things lovely people sent me.

13. Eat saveloy and chips

I'm not ashamed or embarrassed to say that this is the first thing of my list I accomplished. I had two saveloy's as well. And large chips. All after I'd had a nice steak meal cooked for me Friday night. I couldn't pass up the opportunity, you understand. It is also worth noting that how we use our time reflects our priorities. If this is true, and I prioritized eating a couple of seasoned, boiled pork sausages then I really need to get out more.

14. Buy some jeans and some shirts and have a wardrobe clear out

Still to do. I have to be in the mood for shopping. And I'm not.

I have my grandmothers funeral today - she passed away whilst I was away in South Africa, but I didn't say anything at the time to you all because, well, you just don't, do you? I'm fine - it happened in what seems a long time ago now so I've gone through many of the emotions. I'm conducting the service, then we will have the wake afterwards so it will be a long day.

On that note, I should go and get myself ready. I haven't moisturized yet this morning....

Currently listening to: Kings Of Leon - Fans from Radio 1's Live Lounge Vol 2