Russ has a link to a great article from Joe Thorn over at Words of Grace Blog . Anyone who blogs needs to read this article. Let us all constantly remind one another of our responsibility to only speak that which is edifying and useful for building up one another. This does not mean we cannot critique and challenge. It simply means if we do it without love in a way that honors our Lord, it is not only useless, it is sin.
Robert
Thursday, September 15, 2005
Friday, September 09, 2005
Who CARES?
This is concerning the same subject as my previous post so I had to think of a new name! Effingham CARES had its first meeting yesterday. The time spent was very productive. We were joined by Dr. Rick Thomas. Rick is a member at Grace Community Church and is a servant of the Lord. Rick will leave tomorrow, Saturday, September 10, for Gulfport, Mississippi. There he will set up camp where he and his wife will remain for at least a month and a half. Rick will be the on-site coordinator/director for the missions teams coming from Effingham. This is where we come in. We need missions teams. This, ideally, will be a one-week commitment. We would leave on Saturday morning and return the following Saturday. If anyone is interested, please let me know ASAP. We will be announcing this at church on Sunday. Let's go serve Christ in Mississippi. More info will soon be available at www.effinghamcares.org.
Tuesday, September 06, 2005
Effingham CARES
I attended a lunch meeting today at Rincon First Baptist. Pastor Bob Rogers gracefully hosted a wonderful time of fellowship. Effingham pastors and church representatives gathered to discuss how the believers in Effingham County can come together to serve the hurricane victims in the name of Jesus Christ. Over an hour and a half the Lord blessed as we shared information and ideas. The outcome is a new organization called Effingham CARES (Christians Actively Responding to Emergency Situations). I now serve as chairman alongside a few other men who will lead this effort. We will be providing centralized giving stations as well as putting together teams of people to go serve on location. We will soon have a web site ready for viewing. Stay posted, as I will give any information updates on my blog.
Galatians 1:3-5
Galatians 1:3 -5
Perhaps the main theme of Galatians is that which was being attacked by false teachers during that time; justification by faith. False teachers, Judaizers, were teaching people they must obey the law in order to be saved. Paul wastes no time getting to the point. He begins here in his greeting setting the record straight. “Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ…” If the language here does not prove his point, the context of the rest of the verse does. Let us, however, consider the language first. We understand, I’m sure, charis. This is the word translated “grace.” Read the definition:
A favor done without expectation
of return; absolute freeness of the
loving-kindness of God to men,
finding its only motive in the
bounty and freeheartedness
of the Giver; unearned and
unmerited favor.
This word grace would have been sufficient, but Paul tacks on the phrase, “peace from God.” Isn’t it interesting he does not say peace to God? The word translated peace is the Greek word Eirene.
The word denotes the absence
of or end of strife. It denotes a
state of untroubled, undisturbed,
well-being. When it is combined
with charis it affects the character
of the person. That is, it further
defines that attribute of God,
which initiates the rescue of the
souls of men. Once again, it shows
us that it is God who has initiated
this transaction. Peace as a
Messianic blessing is that state
brought about by the grace
and loving mind of God wherein
the derangement and distress of
life caused by sin are removed. (Italics mine).
If the language has not already convinced the reader, let us move onto the context. Paul tells us how the peace from God our Father and Jesus Christ was transacted. He says it was accomplished through Christ who gave Himself for our sins. And the reason for that was to rescue us from this present evil age or world. Why do we need rescuing? We are on a sinking ship! We are on a plane that is going down! We live in a cursed world whose end is destruction. The scary part is that we deserve the end as much as anybody else. That is why this peace must be initiated by or from God. John tells us in 1 John 2:17 that the world is passing away. Oh the glorious Savior has swooped down from His heavenly abode into the depths of our wretched cave and rescued us from the most hideous of all creatures, ourselves. Let us not forget it is our sin that makes this age evil!
This was all done according to the wonderful blue print designed before the creation of the world. It was done according to the will of our God and Father. That is, it was done according to what God decided was for His good pleasure for His own glory. That means it was on His terms from the beginning. Jesus was simply following the playbook the Father had given Him. The Father was, has always, and will always call the shots.
To conclude this wonderful sermon jam-packed into two, seemingly small, verses Paul once again makes sure glory is given where it is due.
“… To whom (our God and Father) be the glory forevermore.”
The apostle Paul, through the inspiration of the Spirit, had a wonderful way of getting the point across with few words. While his greeting here is more than sincere, he is also teaching the sheep the truth.
Praise God to whom all glory is due!
Definitions taken from, “The Complete Word Study; New Testament.” Spiros Zodhiates.
Perhaps the main theme of Galatians is that which was being attacked by false teachers during that time; justification by faith. False teachers, Judaizers, were teaching people they must obey the law in order to be saved. Paul wastes no time getting to the point. He begins here in his greeting setting the record straight. “Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ…” If the language here does not prove his point, the context of the rest of the verse does. Let us, however, consider the language first. We understand, I’m sure, charis. This is the word translated “grace.” Read the definition:
A favor done without expectation
of return; absolute freeness of the
loving-kindness of God to men,
finding its only motive in the
bounty and freeheartedness
of the Giver; unearned and
unmerited favor.
This word grace would have been sufficient, but Paul tacks on the phrase, “peace from God.” Isn’t it interesting he does not say peace to God? The word translated peace is the Greek word Eirene.
The word denotes the absence
of or end of strife. It denotes a
state of untroubled, undisturbed,
well-being. When it is combined
with charis it affects the character
of the person. That is, it further
defines that attribute of God,
which initiates the rescue of the
souls of men. Once again, it shows
us that it is God who has initiated
this transaction. Peace as a
Messianic blessing is that state
brought about by the grace
and loving mind of God wherein
the derangement and distress of
life caused by sin are removed. (Italics mine).
If the language has not already convinced the reader, let us move onto the context. Paul tells us how the peace from God our Father and Jesus Christ was transacted. He says it was accomplished through Christ who gave Himself for our sins. And the reason for that was to rescue us from this present evil age or world. Why do we need rescuing? We are on a sinking ship! We are on a plane that is going down! We live in a cursed world whose end is destruction. The scary part is that we deserve the end as much as anybody else. That is why this peace must be initiated by or from God. John tells us in 1 John 2:17 that the world is passing away. Oh the glorious Savior has swooped down from His heavenly abode into the depths of our wretched cave and rescued us from the most hideous of all creatures, ourselves. Let us not forget it is our sin that makes this age evil!
This was all done according to the wonderful blue print designed before the creation of the world. It was done according to the will of our God and Father. That is, it was done according to what God decided was for His good pleasure for His own glory. That means it was on His terms from the beginning. Jesus was simply following the playbook the Father had given Him. The Father was, has always, and will always call the shots.
To conclude this wonderful sermon jam-packed into two, seemingly small, verses Paul once again makes sure glory is given where it is due.
“… To whom (our God and Father) be the glory forevermore.”
The apostle Paul, through the inspiration of the Spirit, had a wonderful way of getting the point across with few words. While his greeting here is more than sincere, he is also teaching the sheep the truth.
Praise God to whom all glory is due!
Definitions taken from, “The Complete Word Study; New Testament.” Spiros Zodhiates.
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