Click the Pic and join with me and others from Princeton Alliance Church for 25 days of service this Christmas. Let us know how you service goes here at martyrpriest.com. Follow me on twitter to hear about my experiences.
As a kid, I didn’t like salad, or “rabbit food,” as my brother and I affectionately called it. Now that I’m grown I enjoy a good salad and appreciate that it’s a healthy choice. The transition came over time and by taking a series of steps. At first, my mom gave me carrots or celery, and while I wasn’t crazy about these, I could handle one vegetable at a time. Then I graduated to carrots and lettuce with toppings that interest a youngster, like shredded cheese, croutons and bacon (because everything’s better with bacon). As time progressed, so did the makings of my salad. Before I knew it, I was a “leaf eater.”
Now that I have kids of my own, I get it. Taking it one step at a time is not only effective but it’s wise. I can help my kids make good choices on their own by coaching them to take small steps forward, like eating one vegetable at a time, for instance.
In Galatians 5 Paul makes reference to what he calls the “fruit of the Spirit.” These are the character traits that should mark the life of a follower of Jesus: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.
Let’s make sure we hear what Paul is saying. He is making reference to a spiritual fruit salad rather than a spiritual fruit tray… and trust me, there’s a huge difference between the two. If we read this and think “spiritual fruit tray,” then we consider the list and select one, maybe two, to sample and enjoy but leave the rest on the tray for others. This is not what Paul is saying. He is urging us to have all of the fruit of the Spirit displayed in our lives. With this understanding, our bowl is filled with all of the fruit, and we enjoy all of the offerings of the Spirit of God.
Maybe you’re thinking that it sounds too difficult to reflect all of the fruit of the Spirit in your life. Just remember the salad analogy of adding one vegetable at a time. I’d like to suggest a similar approach to the fruit of the Spirit. Ask God to give you the courage to become more peaceful or more patient. As you progress ask God to stretch you in another area. Before you know it, you will be growing in all of the areas of concern to the Spirit of God.
Community Questions:
What are some of the dangers facing us if we treat the fruit of the Spirit as a fruit tray rather than a fruit salad?
Which has been the most difficult fruit for you to develop? Why?
What is your “favorite” fruit? What are you doing to excel in that area of your life?
The Victoria and Albert Museum of Art and Design in London is a globally known and respected art museum. In fact, it’s one of the best. But tucked among the famous works both old and new is a very unique gallery. It’s the forgers’ gallery— a collection of fakes so expertly created that they are considered “museum worthy” knockoffs.
These works fooled all but the most expert connoisseurs of art. Yet, despite their believability, they weren’t genuine works of art. They were imposters. They were in and of themselves nothing. Because they were not real, original or inspired, they were worthless. Although many of these worthless knockoffs produced great price because they fooled the eye, in the end the legitimacy of each (or lack thereof) was discovered.
In Galatians 4, Paul talks about the danger of spiritual forgery. He stresses to the Galatian church the true goal of the message of Christianity: that Christ is formed in us. (Galatians 4:19) The Galatian church was receiving a different message from others about the true goal of the Christian message, and it was deceiving them. It looked similar to them, but when scrutinized by Paul, it was shown to be a fake. Paul said, “They eagerly seek you, not commendably, but they wish to shut you out so that you will seek them.” The goal of these spiritual forgers was to have the Galatians buy into their message. The problem was that their message was not true.
Forgeries have long existed in art and in church. Our goal is to become knowledgeable enough about our faith to spot imposters. We do this by studying the Word of God, and by allowing Christ to be formed in us as we understand and act on His words and ways. The more Christ becomes part of who we are, or is “formed in us,” the more we will be able to spot a fake. We become who we follow, so spotting a spiritual forgery can be a matter of life and death.
Community Questions:
How can memorizing scripture help us spot a fake?
What are some current or past forgeries that have caught you off guard?
What are the implications of 2 Timothy 4:1–4 both, on the reality of forgeries and the responsibility of believers?
I can vividly remember it. My parents hosted a barbeque in our backyard and invited all of our friends. It was a true celebration. I had graduated from high school.
Graduation is a right of passage for many teenagers. No more classes, no more tests, and most importantly, no more teachers. Graduation is a liberating experience.
The Apostle Paul would agree. He well understood what it meant to be under the authority of a teacher. But while you and I may have fond memories of our childhood teachers, Paul’s spiritual instruction came at the hands of a harsh tutor. “Before this faith came, we were held prisoners by the law, locked up until faith should be revealed” (Galatians 3: 23–23, NIV). The New American Standard version says we were “kept in custody under the law, being shut up to faith….” The Law served as the tutor to lead us to Christ. The Law is no friend. The Law is our custodian: that which holds us, instructs us and keeps us until we are ready to be on our own.
But gratefully, Paul doesn’t end his statement there. In verse 25 he goes on to say, “Now that faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor.” He explains that through Christ, our graduation day has come. It is faith in Christ that has freed us from the custody of the Law. The same excitement—that same electricity and freedom that we felt the day we graduated from high school—pales in comparison to the freedom we experience through faith in Christ.
I hope you can vividly remember it….that day you were released from the Law. That day when, through Jesus Christ, you were set free. It’s something worth celebrating.
Questions:
1. How can we keep the memory of our “spiritual graduation” vivid and exciting in our everyday lives.
2. Is there a particular feeling or memory you associate with life prior to your “spiritual graduation”?
3. Do you feel the phrase: “spiritual graduation” well represents salvation? Why or why not?
At times, confrontation is necessary; but it’s never fun. Christians don’t like to talk about confrontation very much, and if we do, we downplay it or vilify it. Yet both of these options fail to do justice to the fact that confrontation is necessary and biblical. In Galatians 2 the Apostle Paul boldly confronted the Apostle Peter for his decision to live under the law. If we look carefully, I think we can see some principles worth implementing when it comes to godly confrontation.
1. Godly confrontation is direct.
“When Peter came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he was clearly in the wrong” (Gal 2:11). Paul said Peter made poor decisions that hurt his Christian walk and witness. The first step Paul took was to be direct with Peter and tell him what he was doing wrong. Not only does this approach have biblical precedence in Matthew 18:15-17, but it is the best way to avoid miscommunication. For many of us, direct confrontation can be difficult. We would rather send an email or a letter, or make a phone call. But every method other than face-to-face contact can be miscommunicated. Let’s take a cue from Paul.If we see a fellow Christian messing up, let’s make a point of getting some face time with them.
2. Godly confrontation is biblically based.
Paul was certainly a “type A” personality. He was opinionated, as was Peter. Can you imagine the conversations had one been a Yankees fan and the other a Mets fan? Watch out! But when it came time for Paul to confront Peter, notice that he only did so when Peter was clearly outside the bounds of Christian living. When we confront other Christians we need to take a moment to ensure the issue is truly based on Scripture and not preference.
3. Godly confrontation has restoration as its goal.
Paul did not make this confrontation out to be a, “I’m right and you’re wrong” conversation. For Paul it was not about being right. It was about getting right, and there’s a big difference between the two. When we confront to be right, we are dividing the camp. We are turning the one we are confronting from “erring friend” into “opponent.” But when we confront to get right we realize that their error could just as easily be our error. There is a humility that enables us to remain friends. Paul was not trying to win, Paul was trying to correct, and that made all the difference.
Confrontation may not be fun, but if we desire to be a true disciple of Jesus we must be ready to confront and correct. The time may come when we ourselves need some guidance.
Community Questions:
