New Creations in Christ

"But God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. ¹⁵ For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but a new creation."

Galatians 6:14-15

Being a disciple of Jesus begins with personal transformation by the Holy Spirit--not behaviour modification as some people imagine.  Better behaviour is not the end God is looking for in us, though that is something that is often emphasised.  What can result is spiritual pride for the good things you do and the bad things you avoid.  This also leads to our "walk" being up and down depending on our performance rather than being compelled by God's love to walk worthy of Him.

Paul wrote the letter of Galatians to Christians who has veered from salvation by grace through faith in Jesus to a return to the Law and legalism--that our good standing with God is secured by effort to keep the law.  One fact emphasised during His Sermon on the Mount was Jesus did not save souls to empower us to keep the Law of Moses, for He holds His disciples to a standard of righteousness that is higher than keeping the letter of the Law.  The Law forbade adultery, but Jesus explained the man who looks with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart.  No law has the power to change the hearts, minds and habits of mankind:  but Jesus can and does.

While we are called to follow the godly example of Jesus Christ, He does not want us to mimic or ape Him without understanding.  Any Pharisee can keep the letter of the Law and add countless more laws and conditions to it according to human wisdom.  Rather than boasting of being circumcised according to the Law of Moses, Paul's boast was in the cross of the LORD Jesus Christ, the demonstration of His love and power to save lost sinners.  The Gospel makes new creations by faith in Jesus, and efforts to keep the Law of Moses still never saved a soul.  This is why the condition of our hearts is critical for Christians, for copying Jesus does not mean we know Him any more than an ape wearing a suit has fashion sense.  Those who mimic their way through a "Christian" life without inner transformation will hear from Christ, "Depart from Me; I never knew you."

Being physically circumcised or uncircumcised did not avail anything, nor did this emphasis benefit the Galatians or the proponents one bit.  If anything it indicated pride, self-righteousness, fear of being disfellowshipped or excluded, and a lack of faith in salvation by the Gospel of Jesus alone.  It is important we do not fall into the opposite error, thinking ourselves better or someone else lesser due to legalism.  Being made new creations by faith in Jesus, we are to walk in newness of life that hears and obeys the commands of Jesus.  It is the love of God, not a Law, that is to govern our interactions with others so God may be glorified, so He might increase and we might decrease.  Our integrity ought to spring from a heart transformed by God's love and walking according to the guidance and the convictions of the Holy Spirit--not by peer pressure, fear of failure, or to impress others--but because we are new creations by faith in Jesus.

Know God Rules

At the Friday night Bible study we spoke of the personal relationship David had with God, for he referred to the LORD in Psalm 59 as "my strength," "my defence and refuge" and "my God of mercy."  As enemies surrounded him like a pack of feral dogs baying for his blood, David desired they would be scattered and their alliance disbanded so they would "...know that God rules in Jacob to the ends of the earth" (Psalm 59:13).  It is remarkable that God's strength and mercy demonstrated by scattering David's enemies would be a global testimony, but here we are speaking of these qualities of God's unchanging character thousands of years later, the LORD David called "my Shepherd."

David's desire was that all the world would know the God who rules in Israel and is sovereign over all.  When the children of Israel and the Philistines set themselves up on mountains opposite one another and Goliath defied the armies of the living God, David was indignant no one stood up to face him.  He received permission from king Saul to face Goliath in battle by faith in God who delivered him from lion and bear.  The champion of Gath cursed David by his idols, and David boldly stated his purpose in fighting Goliath to his face in 1 Samuel 17:45-47:  "Then David said to the Philistine, "You come to me with a sword, with a spear, and with a javelin. But I come to you in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. ⁴⁶ This day the LORD will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you and take your head from you. And this day I will give the carcasses of the camp of the Philistines to the birds of the air and the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel. ⁴⁷ Then all this assembly shall know that the LORD does not save with sword and spear; for the battle is the LORD'S, and He will give you into our hands."

David's faith in God made this conflict in the valley of Elah an incident of universal importance.  This was not merely a shepherd boy contending with a larger, more accomplished and better kitted warrior, but a showdown between the idols of Philistia and the living God of Israel.  The impact of David's victory over Goliath was enabled by God who reigns in Israel and is sovereign over all the earth.  By David felling Goliath with sling and stone, those who assembled would know without a doubt God does not save with sword and spear for the battle is the LORD'S.  The Israelites looked at the size of Goliath's sword and shield and marvelled over the weight of his spearhead and armour.  They had forgotten that God would fight their battles, and thus no weapon formed against them would prosper.

As God's people by faith in Jesus, we too can have the approach David did to make the conflict in the valley of Elah a divine concern by desiring God to be glorified so all the earth may know there is a God in Israel.  The immutable, eternal, omnipotent and living God remains on the throne to this day, and the battle is the LORD's.  Those who trust in themselves, their swords or their allegiances will fail, but they who trust in the LORD will walk in His victory according to God's strength and mercy.  May it be our testimony of God my strength, my defence, my shield and refuge, my God of mercy who rules to the ends of the earth, that He is worthy to be praised be heard by all the earth for ages to come.

The Pride Test

I came across a good warning against pride coupled with relevant questions for personal examination.  Due to our human condition, all people experience problems with sinful pride, and if we do not believe we have a problem our condition is even more dire.  Even those who acknowledge their tendency towards pride do not realise how naturally entrenched pride is in our perceptions, thinking, speech and actions.  Based on the principle held forth in Romans 2:1, our disdainful perceptions of others as proud, boastful and arrogant reveals these are our personal practices as well.

J. Oswald Sanders wrote this in Spiritual Leadership concerning pride and the danger it poses--especially for Christians in leadership:

"The very fact that a man has risen to a position of leadership with it attendant prominence tends to engender a secret self congratulation and pride which, if not checked, will unfit him for further advancement in the service of the kingdom, for "everything that is proud in heart is an abomination to the LORD" (Prov. 16:5).  Strong and searching words, these!  Nothing is more distasteful to God than self-conceit.  This first and fundamental sin in essence aims at enthroning self at the expense of God.  This was the sin that changed the anointed cherub, guardian of the throne of God into the foul field of hell, and caused his expulsion from heaven.

Of the myriad forms which this sin assumes, none is more abhorrent that spiritual pride.  To be proud of spiritual gifts which God has bestowed, or of the position to which His love and grace have elevated us, is to forget that grace is a gift, and that all we have has been received.

Pride is a sin of whose presence its victim is least conscious.  There are, however, three tests by means of which it can soon be discovered whether or not we have succumbed to its blandishments.

The test of precedence.  How do we react when another is selected for the assignment we expected, or for the office we coveted?  When another is promoted and we are overlooked?  When another outshines us in gifts and accomplishments?

The test of sincerity.  In our moments of honest self-criticism we will say many things about ourselves, and really mean them.  But how do we feel when others, especially our rivals, say exactly the same things about us?

The test of criticism.  Does criticism arouse hostility and resentment in our hearts, and cause us to fly to immediate self-justification?  Do we hasten to criticize the critic?" (Sanders, J. Oswald. Spiritual Leadership. Marshall Pickering, 1986. Pages 142-143)

David sang in Psalm 139:23-24 concerning his need for God's insight and perspective into his heart:  "Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me, and know my anxieties; ²⁴ and see if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting."  It is one thing to know we are proud or anxious, and it is another thing entirely to be divinely empowered to forsake these sins and walk in God's wisdom.  God is gracious to test us so we might see our need for His gracious help to identify sin, repent and walk in the way worthy of God's redeemed forever.

Saved For God's Sake

Some people are really into saving stuff.  They cannot bear the thought of throwing away items they or someone else could possibly use someday.  I have seen people go into the bin to stuff they believed had value just to store it and collect dust.  It did cost money at one stage, so people hold onto it.  In the trash of others some see dollar signs, and others have dreams of restoring dilapidated furniture or making artwork that never seems to happen because they are in the business of acquiring--not giving things away.  I remember walking into a storeroom and seeing hundreds of dusty old plastic chairs stacked to the ceiling.  No one had sat on those chairs for a very long time, and there was a reason they had been replaced.  Why they had been saved without a practical purpose was the question burning in my mind.

Christians are people who are no strangers to saving.  We have been saved from sin, death and hell by faith in Jesus Christ, and we desire others would be saved too.  The Bible teaches us this is good and aligns with the will of the Father in the context for praying for all people in 1 Timothy 2:3-4:  "For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, ⁴ who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth."  Like people who save items they value from landfills, so we are to be those who reach out to save people from eternal destruction by sharing the Gospel--pulling them out of the fire as it written in Jude 23.  It is common for people to express great concern to me about unsaved loved ones and how they worry they will face God's wrath poured out on the world during the Great Tribulation.

All this focus on saving from wrath, sin and death is warranted, yet it is only one side of the story--and the less important part.  God's desire is to save us from death and hell, but He desires to save us for His glorious purposes, so we can share a relationship with the living God today.  God is not like a hoarder who loads a truck to save potentially valuable or useful stuff from ending up at the tip and packs his garage and house full.  He is not content to gather up souls off the scrap heap to save us from hell and then stuff us into an empty space in the closet or attic without further interactions.  He gives us a seat at His table for fellowship; He spends time speaking with us and listens to our concerns.  God gives us spiritual gifts with the filling of the Holy Spirit and makes us stewards of His kingdom.  He adopts us, not to keep us from going into a home for orphans, but because He has chosen us as His beloved children to dwell in us and we in Him by faith.  God has saved us to do good works He has ordained for us to do (Eph. 2:8-10).

Are you more concerned about people being saved from hell forever or that they be saved for a relationship with God today?  For as much as we care about people, shouldn't we love God enough to want people saved for His sake--since that is why He sent His Son Jesus to die and atone for sinners?  We want to see people saved when God wants people saved for His good and glorious purposes that include them.  He desires a personal relationship with us where He puts in all the work to reach out, to speak, listen, never forgets us, delights to do things together and remains faithful forever--and that we would freely love Him and others as He loves us.