Galatians 4:1-20 is an exciting place to be! In this passage of Scripture, Paul the apostle tells us how we are free as sons and heirs in Jesus Christ (4:1-7). He begins to illustrate what it means to be an heir of God using an illustration of a Roman father with his son. The son is like one of the slaves although he owns everything. And at the appointed time of the father the son inherits everything. Then Paul speaks of how we were slaves of sin by nature prior to our salvation (4:8-11). He reminds the Galatians that there was a specific change that took place in their lives; this change was from darkness to light, from sin to sainthood. Because they had fallen away from the very message of the Gospel, Paul then wants to know if they are with him or if they have become his enemy (4:12-18). He tells them that they were once his friends because they had accepted the Gospel of Jesus Christ that he preached. Now that they had moved towards a totally different gospel (which is not another gospel at all!), they have become his enemies. But Paul was willing to stay the course with them (4:19-20). He was not willing to leave them as unwanted children. He was willing to stick with the Gospel of Jesus Christ and to continue to teach and relate to the Galatians the freedom in the sufficiency of Christ that they once believed. (Listen to the message here: http://deniliojgorena.sermon.net/da/1199867373/play.)
Exodus 2 was our text on Sunday evening. An incredible story of how Moses was adopted by the Pharaoh’s daughter. A beautiful story to read and to know during this month that has been declared to be National Adoption Awareness Month (see Gov. Rick Perry’s Declaration here: https://djgorena.com/2012/10/29/november-2012-national-adoption-month/). Moses was born to a Levite couple, Amram and Jochebed (see Exodus 6:20). The Pharaoh wanted all Israelite baby boys to be killed because he was afraid that the Israelites were becoming too large for Egypt to handle. He was concerned that they would one day turn on him and his people and take over the land. Moses’ parents, however, saw how beautiful he was and kept him in secret before his mother built an ark and put in the Nile River. As the story progresses rapidly, we see Moses coming upon a fight between an Egyptian and a Hebrew. He killed the Egyptian and buried in the sand. The next day he sees two Hebrews fighting each other and wants to know why they are fighting against each other? After all, they’re brothers! Then one turns and says to him, “Who are you to tell us to stop fighting with each other? Are you going to kill one of us like you did the Egyptian?” Moses, frightened about this discovery decides to flee to Midian. There he marries his wife and lives with her family. (Listen to the message here: http://deniliojgorena.sermon.net/da/1199867441/play.)
What a great start to a great week! On Sunday morning, November 11, 2012, the topic was Paul the apostle’s application of what he had been writing to the Galatians. They were truly going astray as they were leaving what they had believed — the Gospel of Jesus Christ — and were turning to the Mosaic Law. This happening still occurs in the Church today. Legalism comes to the forefront of some Christians whether it is intentional or not. The problem with legalism is that it changes the very message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. If He is not sufficient for salvation, then certainly the Law cannot be sufficient. After all, if you live by the Law you will be judged by the Law. And this means that you will utterly fail because no one is able to keep the Law perfectly.
D.J. Gorena 