Audio readings: Psalm 107:23-32 Galatians 2:1-10 Isaiah 36, Isaiah 37
GALATIANS 2
“Horses for courses” – as Paul sort-of said. He was recognised as the chief apostle to the Gentiles (non-Jews), whilst Peter was the chief apostle to the Jews. Paul’s qualifications for apostleship had been attacked by certain Judaistic elements in the Galatian churches, on the basis that he was not an ‘original’ and also that his gospel was a watered-down version of the discipline required by the Law. Paul spends this chapter countering those two points. He had specifically travelled to Jerusalem to check with his fellow apostles that he was not being heretical in any way. This showed Paul’s humility and his confidence in his gospel. The following truths were discovered:
- The Jerusalem apostles did not insist on Titus (a Gentile) being circumcised;
- Paul’s message of grace was not contradicted, and nothing needed to be added to it;
- God does not have a favourite people!
- James, Peter, and John (the key leaders in Jerusalem) recognised Paul and Barnabas as equals to them in every way;
- The gospel includes a compassionate, active concern for the poor in society.
Later, Paul shows himself of equal authority to Peter when he rebukes him for a lack of integrity and an outbreak of hypocrisy. Out of fear, Peter had behaved differently when alone with the Gentile believers, compared to when there were some strict Jewish Christians present. A lack of integrity and consistency across our personal lives is a serious drawback to the gospel. Let us examine ourselves to see if we are different people at work, at home, in church gatherings, and in our neighbourhoods etc. If the Holy Spirit prompts us to be more consistent, then listen carefully and ask for prayer from your fellow believers. Avoid hypocrisy at all costs!
Then we come to the heart of Paul’s gospel, that made it distinct from anything that had ever been said before in history: A person is made acceptable to God by believing in Jesus Christ alone – without any contribution from the works of the Law. He says that three times in verse 16.
If the true gospel is preached correctly, and God’s grace is emphasised as it should be, then it will nearly always raise the question: “So does that mean that we can just sin all we like and still be saved?” If that question is asked of you, you know that you are on the right track as a preacher or witness. When other Christians start accusing us of preaching ‘cheap grace’, we should not be worried!
And the answer, in the purest sense is “Yes, we can”. If we are forgiven, then we are completely forgiven – past, present, and future sins. Whatever we do, we cannot out-sin the Saviour. Not for Paul is the unbiblical, satanic doctrine of “damnation until our next confession”. We have been set free forever! The price has been paid forever. Our future sins were included in the original price paid. We are forever free!
However, a genuine faith also comes with a new birth, a change of heart and a hungry desire to obey and please the Lord Christ. So the genuineness of our saving faith is always evidenced by a hatred of sin, a strong desire to please God, an affinity to God’s people, and a servant heart that loves others and denies self. Paul puts it this way: “I have been crucified with Christ and I (the old Saul) no longer live, but Christ lives in me…” (v20).
So the answer to: “Can we believe and just do what we like?” is: “Yes you can, but No I can’t” – not if you have real faith inside you. This is the paradox of the gospel. Paul holds the line, though, that obedience to the Law of Moses does nothing to obtain for you the grace of God. If it did, then do you really think that the Father would have put his Son through all that suffering? Would you have?
ISAIAH 36 and 37
The prophecy takes us – for now – back with a bump to a world of pain, famine, and fear. Sennacherib, the hated king of Assyria is about the besiege Jerusalem and Hezekiah’s armies and people, with a view to mutilating some, killing others and enslaving the rest. The commander of the forces of evil mocks the people of God and questions whether their God can possibly save them now. The temptation is to give in to their fears and surrender, to cut their losses. “Have the gods of any nations ever delivered their lands from the hand of the king of Assyria?” As we see in the next few chapters, the wise and faithful leader – King Hezekiah – keeps faith with his Lord, even when things are getting so desperate and seem to be following the prediction of the enemy commander. The darker the situation gets, the more that Hezekiah puts his trust in God. It seems a million miles from a broken, besieged Jerusalem to that City of God, but in reality, it is only just around the corner, out of sight. Keep the faith! (We find parallel accounts of this story in 2 Kings chapters 18-20 and 2 Chronicles 32).
When Hezekiah heard the Assyrian commander’s threat on behalf of the King of Assyria, he did the right thing: he humbled himself, dressed for mourning, fasted, and went to seek the Lord in his temple. And he sent word to Isaiah to the effect that the King of Assyria had insulted the Living God and needed to be taught a lesson. The reply came via Isaiah, telling Hezekiah not to be afraid, and that He, the Lord, would deal directly with the King of Assyria.
Fulfilment of the promise started to happen swiftly, and the besieging armies almost immediately withdrew – but not before Sennacherib had given a final parting insult to God and Hezekiah, telling them that ‘he would be back!’. Again, on hearing this message, Hezekiah went and humbled himself before the Lord; his prayer is instructive for us, since it embraces two opposite truths: “Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, enthroned between the cherubim, you alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth…” (37:16) and: “It is true, Lord, that the Assyrian kings have laid waste all these peoples and their lands…” (37:18). The prayer recognised the majesty, the power, and the sovereignty of the Lord, and it was realistic about the human opposition that Judah faced. Prayer needs to be truthful and realistic, whilst still leaving room for faith in the miraculous. Joining these two thoughts together, Hezekiah prayed: “Now, Lord our God, deliver us from his hand, so that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you, Lord, are the only God.”
And so, because Hezekiah had prayed for God’s honour and glory to be seen, the Lord responded and declared that he would put up with Assyrian ridicule no longer! And that he would defend Jerusalem for the sake of his glory and for Kind David’s sake. God put to death 185,000 enemy soldiers and forced the end of the war. The King of Assyria retreated home to Nineveh in shame and was killed with the sword by his own sons.
The Big Picture 