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The Test

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Galatians 2:4-5 [My precaution was] because of false brethren who had been secretly smuggled in [to the Christian brotherhood]; they had slipped in to spy on our liberty and the freedom which we have in Christ Jesus, that they might again bring us into bondage [under the Law of Moses].5 To them we did not yield submission even for a moment, that the truth of the Gospel might continue to be [preserved] for you [in its purity].

How would you know if you were one of the “false brethren?” Jesus offered many parables to demonstrate that there truly is a distinction between those who are born of the Spirit and those who are not. He referred to them as goats, tares, or foolish virgins. But what test could you use to detect those who were spying on your “liberty and freedom in Christ”? Paul in his letter to the Galatian believers, or followers of Jesus, provides us with a few clues.

Galatians 2:20-21 provides us with a litmus test for accurately ascertaining whether there are false brothers and sisters among us and whether or not we may also have been poisoned by their unbelief. It reveals whether or not we have yielded “submission” to those who seek to bring us back in to “bondage.” Galatains 2:20-21 states:  I have been crucified with Christ [in Him I have shared His crucifixion]; it is no longer I who live, but Christ (the Messiah) lives in me; and the life I now live in the body I live by faith in (by adherence to and reliance on and complete trust in) the Son of God, Who loved me and gave Himself up for me. 21 [Therefore, I do not treat God’s gracious gift as something of minor importance and defeat its very purpose]; I do not set aside and invalidate and frustrate and nullify the grace (unmerited favor) of God. For if justification (righteousness, acquittal from guilt) comes through [observing the ritual of] the Law, then Christ (the Messiah) died groundlessly and to no purpose and in vain. [His death was then wholly superfluous.]

This passage provides us with foundational truths for all who seek to not be in bondage ever again; those who desire to not be among the false brethren; those who don’t want to be a goat, or tares, or a foolish virgin. Paul states in verse 21 that the false brethren “set aside, invalidate, and nullify the Grace of God.” What is the Grace of God? It’s a noun and a verb. Grace is God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense. It’s the favor granted to us, by the Father to become one with Him; to be reconciled to Him; to no longer be His enemy; an enemy of HIs righteousness and truth. Yet, Grace is also a verb. It is Glorious Realities As Christ Empowers. In other words, Grace is the empowerment to do God’s will; it’s that thought you have that you should pray, get up early to spend time alone with the Lord, to read the Word, fast, memorize Scripture, go to church, witness to your neighbor, or serve others. Grace is the desire to be righteous, good, seek after God to know Him, or to seek to understand His Word or Truth. Grace is the desire to follow Jesus’ example; to submit and surrender to His teaching, and Truth.

How do false brothers and sisters set aside, invalidate, and nullify God’s Grace? The answer to that question is found in part from the paragraph above, but it is also spelled out for us in verse 20. False brothers and sisters will not seek to be crucified with Jesus but will allow the soul man to manifest and be in charge of their lives. False brothers and sisters seek to smother out the life of Christ in them, not trusting Jesus, leaning wholly on Him. They don’t because they haven’t.

Conversely, if I am living by the Law of Grace – the Law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus – I will be seeking to live for Grace’s prompting. Who is Grace? Well He is not a she. He is a Person Who makes Jesus and the Word of God known to us. (And He is Amazing!) He is the One Who led you to surrender your life to Jesus. He is the One Who talks to you more than you often know, recognize or acknowledge. He is the One Who reminds you of Scripture, prays through you, calls you to know Jesus. Hebrews 10:29 refers to Him as the Spirit of Grace. Grace is synonymous with the Spirit. Thus, to set aside, invalidate, and nullify God’s Grace is to set aside, invalidate, and nullify the Holy Spirit. As I seek to live according to Grace’s Prompting – the Holy Spirit – I will seek to be sensitive to every inclination, thought, desire, and interest – that is connected to anything of the Word, of His Righteousness, Holiness, or Goodness. I will seek to live for Jesus, and Galatians 2:20. My focus will not be on being crucified with Jesus as much as on living for Him (for crucifixion with Jesus comes through obedience and submission). You see, He died for you, and for me, and the least thing we can do is to live a life of obedience, and submission as a way of saying thank you for all that He has done and is still doing. Oh, and by the way, gratitude, the giving of overflowing thanks, is a characteristic of those who are not one of the false brothers and sisters. Obedience, and submission to the Word of God, and the Spirit of God, is thanksgiving. It is true worship (more than a song).

Ultimately the false brothers, and sisters reject the Holy Spirit. They can’t recognize, nor respond to His activity in and around their lives because they are blind and insensitive to His Person. False brothers and sisters live their lives according to the gospel of death, the soul, darkness, and all that dehumanizes mankind. They are enemies of God and of Jesus and are actually unconscious of this reality. What’s the Good News? The Good News is that if any of this convicts you that is the Holy Spirit. He convicts of sin, righteousness, and the judgment to come. The Good News is He is revealing these to you to repent of them – change your mind – change your life style and actions – and ask Jesus for forgiveness. He will forgive you in a moment because He has already taken your punishment. So, be washed in the “Water” of His Word and Spirit and be new – because He makes all things new. Are you ready for His new beginnings? He is ready for you to have them. Behold, He makes all things new. Get back up, be washed in His Blood, and overcome the accuser of the brothers through what His Blood and Spirit has accomplished for you. You are His new beginning!

Were You There?

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At the heart of the city of London is Charing Cross. All distances across the city are measured from its central point. Locals refer to it simply as “the cross.” One day a child became lost in the bustling metropolis.  A city police officer (A “bobby,” as they are referred to in London) came to the child’s aid to try and help him return to his family. The bobby asked the child a variety of questions in an attempt to discover where the boy lived, to no avail. Finally, with tears streaming down the boy’s face, he said, “If you will take me to the cross I think I can find my way from there.” What an apt description of the Christian life. The cross is both the starting place of our new life in Christ, but also the place we must return to, time and again, to keep our bearings in life. – Stuart Strachan Jr.

Today marks the day of all days, called “Good Friday” by believers around the world. At approximately 7AM, Roman governor of Judea, Marcus Pontius Pilatus, sentenced Jesus to die by crucifixion. At approximately 8AM, the patibulum, or cross beam was affixed to Jesus’ shoulders through ropes, as a soldier tied a rope around His waist and led Him through the streets of Jerusalem for all to see what happens when someone defies the power of Rome. The cross beam would have weighed approximately 50-60 pounds. Around His neck was hung the titulus crucis, a sign to be nailed to the top of Jesus’ cross declaring His crime: “King of the Jews”, written in Latin, Greek and Hebrew. The site of Jesus’ sentencing is believed to have been the Antonia Fortress built by Herod the Great, and called the Praetorium by Pilate. From that site to Golgotha would have been approximately .5 miles. The weather at that time would have been hot, and dry while the road would have been unpaved, and bumpy studded with scores of crevices made by carts and beasts of burden. As one approached the outside walls of the city the road would have begun to slope upward leading to the hill of Golgotha, or Calvary (the Skull). Fluid accumulated around Jesus’ lungs, as His body was almost numb from severe exhaustion, severe mental and physical sufferings, the flogging, and the nerve-racking, and lancinating pains from the crown of thorns. Jesus fell more than once as He journeyed to the Hill, and the final fall led the accompanying soldier, the exactor mortis, to enlist Simon of Cyrene to carry His cross the rest of the way. Jesus’ robe was literally glued to His Body by the clotted blood which was ripped from His body before His crucifixion. Nailing His hands first to the cross beam, the median nerve (we know it as the “funny bone”) was pierced sending bolts of pain searing through Jesus’ arms. Several soldiers were enlisted to lift Him up to the stipes, or upright post, that was mortised at the top, allowing the soldiers to simply lift and drop the cross beam onto it. Next the soldiers affixed Jesus’ feet either to the sides or the face of the cross, and rather than placing a nail through both feet, archaeological and forensic experts, have surmised that both feet were nailed independently of one another. If the feet were nailed to the face of the cross the median nerve would have also been pierced sending shooting pain up through Jesus’ legs.

At the sixth hour, or noon, darkness covered the land. This lasted 3 hours. One teacher aptly said, If God the Father had to turn His back on His Son, no one else was going to be able to look at Him. Some would see this darkness as a sign of coming judgment. One ancient writer recorded: “When the sun is obscured, it is an evil sign to the nations….when the moon is obscured, it is an evil sign to Israel, because Israel reckons according to the moon, the nations of the world according to the sun.” It was into this darkness Jesus entered into the deepest depths of suffering, as body, soul, and spirit enter a separation between Heaven and earth, God and mankind. It was here Jesus was suspended making a way for us to leave this earth and ascend into His Presence.

At the highest point of His agony, and the filling full of all of histories sins, Jesus stretched forth and shouted in Aramaic, “Ho Mashalam!” Which is one word in the Greek: “Tetelestai!” Our English equivalent is a phrase, “IT IS FINISHED!” And as Scripture records, “He bowed His head and gave up His Spirit.” Those who owed so much that they never could repay – had their debt canceled by He Who owed nothing. He paid our debt through His sufferings, “cancelling the written code that was against us and that stood opposed to us; He took it away, nailing it to the cross.” (Col. 2:14) This is the GIFT! You can’t pay for it, or earn it. You don’t deserve it, nor can you escape it. His cross, His death, His cry, echoes through the universe as a testimony that can never be reversed.

In relation to this event thousands, and tens of thousands, have identified with their suffering Messiah declaring, along with the Apostle Paul, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live but Christ lives in me!” (Gal. 2:20). We are reminded of the old hymn which asks, “Were You There”? This African-American spiritual probably predated the Civil War, asking the obvious question, placing each person who hears the question on the witness stand. The slaves who authored this song could readily relate to the sufferings of Christ, and the brutality of slavery. In the book titled, “Stories Behind the Traditions of Easter,” the author states: “Maybe the fact that spirituals were the joint cries and shouts of Christians looking for the freedom that only God could bring gives the message of this song much more impact. None of us were there in body when Christ died, but all of us need to go there in spirit. To understand the gift of salvation, each sinner must realize that he or she is a slave to the world: only then does seeing Christ on the cross make the impact all the more real.”