Bulletins - First Baptist Church of Huntersville West Virginia

I Thank God
He Has Made Me Glad
Because He Lives
Galatians 5:7–12 CSB
7 You were running well. Who prevented you from obeying the truth? 8 This persuasion does not come from the one who calls you. 9 A little leaven leavens the whole batch of dough. 10 I myself am persuaded in the Lord you will not accept any other view. But whoever it is that is confusing you will pay the penalty. 11 Now brothers and sisters, if I still preach circumcision, why am I still persecuted? In that case the offense of the cross has been abolished. 12 I wish those who are disturbing you might also let themselves be mutilated!
The Christian life is a marathon, we must finish well.
Paul begins with an encouragement - “you were running well” - of course the presence of the word “were” indicates that has ended.
As believers we must stay the course.
There will be hinderances and obstacles along life’s path - we must be careful.
Stay in the race; don’t let anything trip you
The race may have good moments and hard ones and it is important to not only keep running but to finish the race well.
The truth of the gospel is not only something to believe but also to obey.
Paul had laid a solid foundation in the gospel for the church at Galatia.
Even with the firm foundation the people began to compromise some of their beliefs.
Ever had an infection? - Doctors prescribe antibiotics to treat the infection and one of the main requirements is to finish the full course of the antibiotics. After a few days you start feeling better and stop taking the antibiotics - and the infection returns stronger.
Truth not obeyed doesn’t heal - it harms. The gospel must be lived, not just acknowledged.
The churches compromise on the truth of the gospel eventually led to immorality and loss of sound doctrine.
Belief without obedience is imitation, not transformation.
The slightest compromise can destroy the entire body.
The Judaizers were smooth talking and very persuasive, they used flash to distract and turn the people.
Just like leaven a little compromise can spread to mix into the entire church and thus destroy it.
In verse 12 Paul takes a very harsh stance against those who would sow compromise and add to the gospel - he basically says that they should be cut off, destroyed, or removed which would prevent them from causing further trouble
We need to deal with those who sow compromise into the body quickly and decisively.
What you tolerate today can dominate tomorrow.
A cross-less faith leaves us helpless in the face of sin and death.
The cross is an offense - sure we could skip the cross of Christ but without the cross we are lost
The cross is a scandal to those who seek a divine show-and-tell by demanding signs and wonders, also to those who love power or intellectual achievement and it is not less scandalous to those who think their works are more valuable than the grace of Christ.
The cross may be offensive but it is an offense that leads to salvation - by making the cross palatable by including personal works, we negate or abolish the cross… thus leaving us utterly helpless…
In C.S. Lewis’ The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe - Aslan (the Christ figure) takes the place of Edmund and offers himself to the White Witch - She accepts and takes Aslan’s life on the Stone Tablet and this is the turning point of the story… without it, no one is saved and victory is impossible.
Without the cross we have no victory.
Remove the cross from Christianity, and our hope collapses.
- - Galatians 5:7–12CSB
Speak to My Heart

The Christian life is a marathon, we must finish well.

The truth of the gospel is not only something to believe but also to obey.

The slightest compromise can destroy the entire body.

A cross-less faith leaves us helpless in the face of sin and death.

Galatians 5:7–12CSB