Galatians 1:6-10

Ever since the very beginnings of the Church, there have been wolves amongst the sheep, spreading dissension and false teachings. Some of the major false teachings in the New Testament include sects known as Judaized Christianity, legalistic Christianity, and lawless Christianity, all of which fall short of the message of Christ. While Judaized Christianity isn't such a big deal in the United States, legalistic Christianity and lawless Christianity are. It is especially the latter which is beginning to thrive and grow in many churches.

A false gospel known as cheap grace is emerging. It basically says, "Since we're saved by grace, we can do whatever we want. No life-change is needed. No obedience is needed." This doctrine develops because of a faulty understanding of the New Testament and is no doubt also driven by the desire to do whatever we want. It misses entirely the gospel message of Christ, especially the gospels, where Christ demands us to become His disciples and follow Him in His Way. Cheap grace says discipleship is for the super-Christian; Jesus says there's no salvation outside discipleship!

Anyone who spread false gospels, such as cheap grace, is cursed. He or she is cursed because not only is he or she distorting the message of God, but he or she is leading others astray, pointing them down dead-end avenues and turning their eyes from the real and living God.

Galatians 1:1-5

We miss something--something huge--when we convince ourselves that Jesus' sole purpose for coming was to forgive us of our sins. When we believe this, we cling only to a half-truth. Did Jesus' death on the cross forgive our sins? Most definitely! The cross brings redemption to the table. But if we stop there, we miss something that is, in my mind, even greater: the resurrection! We often spend so much time contemplating His death and sacrifice that the resurrection is slighted. The cross is the prelude to the resurrection, for while the cross brings us forgiveness, it is the resurrection that holds the greatest blessing!

Verse 3 and 4 tell us, "Jesus Christ rescued us from this evil world we're in by offering himself as a sacrifice for our sins. God's plan is that we all experience that rescue." It's clear, isn't it? Christ's ultimate goal was delivering us from this evil world and placing us in the arms of God. That is Jesus' mission, not simply forgiveness. Through Christ's forgiveness, we are reconciled to God. Reconcilation is symbolized by Christ's bodily resurrection, and all of us can take part of this resurrection by entering the Kingdom of God: renewed intimacy with God, intimacy with others, and intimacy with creation!

We're Coming Back!

O.K., so it's been a while. That's okay. The little contemplations and meditations will be coming back tomorrow and onwards as I study through Paul's letters. I have concluded a theological survey of Galatians and plan on throwing contemplations up on this site. I would love feedback and conversation. I'm in college now and life is a little crazy--but fun--and over the summer and spring last year, life was even crazier, if it can be believed. Perhaps that has to do with why the contemplations seemed to fizzle out. Nevertheless, I am excited about exploring God's message to us, and I hope you join me for the ride. I should have one contemplation/meditation up every day or every other day, so just check in every now and then.

Blessings in Christ to all who are His disciples!

Romans 8:35-37

Last night as I crept to bed, I stopped beside Doogie as he lay sleeping in his little doggie bed. I knelt down next to him and started petting him; he woke from his sleep, looked up at me with weary eyes, and with all the effort he could muster, gently pawed my arm, silently begging for me to lie down with him. So I lay down next to him and he leaned against me and closed his eyes.

Doogie does a lot of bad stuff, but it isn't anything extreme. It's the usual stuff you expect from any household dog. Emptying trash cans, leaving footprints over the carpet, clawing at the doors, sleeping on my bed when I ask him not to. But in all of it, not once do I stop loving him. Even when I yell at him and boot him outside my love for him never fluctuates. If I'm punishing him, I don't stop loving him, and sure enough an hour or two later, I'll let him back inside and he'll be happy again. Not once, in all the bad stuff he does, does the thought ever cross my mind, that thought being getting rid of him. No matter all the bad stuff he does, I won't ever stop loving him and I won't ever consider getting rid of him. He's mine, and nothing he does is going to change that.

I think it's the same way with us and God. He loves us unconditionally; it isn't based on what we do right or what we do wrong. He doesn't love us more when we're doing good than when we're doing bad. And even when we screw up and get locked in bad habits and sinful situations, he isn't going to abandon us, and the thought never crosses his mind: he won't ever abandon us, won't ever get rid of us. We're his, and we are the only ones who will do the abandoning. We may abandon God, but God will never abandon us.

Matthew 19:27-30

Jesus has just finished his little speel saying, "If you really want to follow me, give up everything you have." Our friend Peter, being ever headstrong, elbows his way to the front and asks, face-to-face, in a way that most would declare ignorant and even foolish, "So we leave everything and follow you; now what do we get out of it?" Those around him gasp, others flinch, still some lean forward, waiting for God to rain fire and brimstone upon this infidel. Peter's eyes blaze: he has to know.

Jesus does not rebuke him, does not tell him to be more spiritual, does not chastise his deser's. Jesus says, "In the re:creation of the world, when the Son of Man will rule gloriously, you who have followed me will also rule, starting with the twelve tribes of Israel. And not only you, but anyone who sacrifices home, family, fields - whatever - because of me will get it all back a hundred times over, not to mention the bonus of eternal life. This is the Great Reversal: many of the first ending up last, and the last first."

What do we get out of it? Whatever we give up for God, he'll give it right back to us, with unbelievable interest. And we'll be able to enjoy eternal life: that doesn't just mean life lasting forever, but also life lived to the fullness. We won't spend eternity playing harps and singing in choirs in the clouds. We will dance, run, fly, swim, laugh in a new world, with new canyons and forests and oceans and wildlife. We will live a life of worship, a life of laughter in the Trinity, with no worries, no cares, no deadlines - only joy, happiness, excitement, fun. This is the reward of the one who follows Christ.