Most of us are familiar with the story of the Good Samaritan, but are less familiar with its context. In his response to the lawyer's question, "What must I do to inherit eternal life?" (Luke 10:25) Jesus has managed to get the lawyer to answer his own question (quite a feat when dealing with lawyers). His answer includes the statement, "[you shall love] your neighbour as yourself." (Luke 10:27) Wanting to set a boundary around who happens to be his neighbour, the lawyer asks the question, "And who is my neighbour?" (Luke 10:29) It was an interesting question. In the OT book, Song of Solomon, the husband addresses his wife (in Greek) with the endearing term, "Neighbour!" (Try that one at home!) Neighbour became an expression for a close relative, and the lawyer's question was to ask how close does a relative have to be in order for this command to apply. Jesus's story shows that even a despised Samaritan would know the answer - every person with whom I come in contact is my neighbour. That is the person I am to love as I love myself. Jesus extends the commandment that the lawyer sought to restrict.
Submitted by Glen Ashworth on 1 July 2010 - 11:59am
'Even the circumcised do not themselves obey the law, but they want you to be circumcised so that they may boast about your flesh. May I never boast of anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.' Gal. 6:13-14
As we have been looking at Galatians over the past few weeks and the idea that our justification is by faith alone, I have been especially aware of what I think in relation to my behaviour. I find that when I do what God wants, a thought pops into my mind saying, "You're pretty good for doing that." There is always that temptation to take pride in the good things we do. But as we have been hearing, our good behaviour can't bring about the justification we need. No matter what behaviour we may exhibit, our boast should always be in the cross of Christ because it is his death that has set us free from our bondage to sin so that we can have the joy of seeing his life, his goodness and love, come out in our lives. Praise God for what he done for us. Glen
Paul has explained that the Law is powerless to bring about a righteous life (Gal 2:16). However, he does not want Christians to think that, because of this, they no longer have any moral obligation. The righteousness given through new life in the Spirit is to be seen in both the individual believer's life and also in the corporate life of the church. It is not a matter of seeking to achieve righteousness through keeping regulations, but of choosing to live out the new life implanted by God through faith in Jesus Christ (Gal 4:6). The new life is opposed to the old life (Gal 5:17). Self-centredness has been replaced by love, dissension by peace, anger by joy, jealousy by generosity. Compare the works of the flesh in Galatians 5:19-21 with the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22-23. Which do you prefer? How then do you choose to live?
Perhaps the greatest observable impact of the gospel was the breakdown of barriers between different groups of people. On Pentecost, through the action of the Holy Spirit, people of different languages were brought together (Acts 2:9-11, Acts 2:44). Paul has recounted his chiding of Peter (Cephas) for separating himself from non-Jewish Christians (Gal 2:11-14). And now Paul explains that, because all are children of God on the same basis of faith, we are now all one in Christ Jesus (Gal 3:26). The distinctions that applied in society are now submerged in the unity of sharing in the one Spirit (Gal 3:28). The visible nature of this unity began to cause offence, first for the Jews and then for the pagans. Some saw that the very structure of society was being threatened - and they were right. The subversion of Graeco-Roman culture (based on distinctions of race, class and gender) had begun. There was no doubt that the church, though only a tiny fraction of society, impacted society far more than its numbers would warrant. Hence persecution also began. Maybe our failure to impact our own society is because no one any longer sees the church as a threat to current way of life of our own society. Max.
After almost two chapters of condemning those that preach "another gospel" (Gal 1:8-9), Paul now spells out the essence of the good news that he proclaimed. Being righteous comes through faith in Jesus Christ, and through faith in Christ only (Gal 2:15-16). Nothing can be added to what Christ has done for us. We cannot become righteous by keeping the requirements of the Law, nor by performing any ritual. Both of these are relevant for us today. We can think that , because a person leads a good life, or even an exemplary life, it would be unfair of God to reject that person. Paul would say that such an idea undermines what Christ has done for us through his death on the cross. God's offer of righteousness is based on God's grace and not on our goodness. Furthermore, there are those who would rely on baptism, or the saying of a prayer, or coming forward at a meeting, as the means whereby a person is made righteous. Again, none of these can do what God offers through faith in Jesus Christ. No performance of a ritual, whether Catholic or Evangelical, can make us right with God. We accept God's righteous through faith in Christ only. Max
What is the gospel of Jesus Christ? Paul makes it clear in his letter to the church at Galatia that there is only one gospel. Anyone who proclaims a gospel that is contrary to what the church at Galatia has received is to be accursed! (Gal 1:6-9) The authority for saying this is that the gospel that the Galatians had received from Paul was of divine origin and not human origin (Gal 1:11-12). The gospel, in this context, is not the message about the life, teaching, death and resurrection of Jesus. Paul makes it clear in his first letter to the church at Corinth, that he had "handed on to them as of first importance what [he] in turn had received." So to what does Paul refer in his letter to the Galatians? It is the outworking of who Jesus is and what he has done. It is the truth that salvation is by faith alone. It is the truth that the offer of salvation is to all on the basis of faith in Jesus. There is no other name and no other way in which a person can be saved. Max.
Submitted by Glen Ashworth on 28 May 2010 - 2:20pm
Being Trinity Sunday, the theological idea of the trinity can be seen in the readings for the week. The author of Proverbs creatively portrays that it was with wisdom God the creator made the heavens and the earth. The gospel reading has both God the Son and God the Spirit as John records the words of Jesus as he discusses with his disciples the coming of the 'Spirit of Truth'. It is incredible to think that we have been included into this truine relationship through the work of Jesus Christ. We have a foretaste of this relationship as we receive the Holy Spirit who will, 'take what is mine (Jesus') and declare it to you' John 16:14. In this way we see that we have been included into the family of God as God shares his knowledge with us. I believe this speaks to us; calling us to hear the Spirit's voice above the many voices we hear today; encouraging us to appreciate the depth of what is going on when we hear the Spirit's voice especially through scripture; and drawing us to worship God for so great a salvation as this.
On Sunday we celebrate the birth of the church. John records Jesus giving the Holy Spirit to his disciples on the day of his resurrection (Jn 20:22), while Luke identifies the giving of the Holy Spirit with the event of Pentecost (Acts 1:4-5). How do we resolve this apparent contradiction? We can liken it to human conception and birth. It is as though John is talking about the conception of the church through the Holy Spirit. It is true that the disciples receive the Holy Spirit on the day of Jesus' resurrection. However, there is little external evidence of the Holy Spirit's presence. The same is true when a baby is conceived. The evidence of conception is not immediately apparent, and the baby does not make his or her impact on the world until birth takes place 9 months later. It is as though the Church's period of gestation is the 50 days between the Passover when Jesus was killed and raised, and the subsequent Feast of Pentecost. When the Holy Spirit does come in power, the first events are that of the proclamation of the gospel of Jesus Christ in the multiplicity of languages (Acts 2:7-8) and the forming of one church made of people from these different language groups (Acts 2:44). These actions show the diversity of the witness of the Apostles and the unity that the Spirit gives across this diversity. That is the miracle of Pentecost.
The Ascension of Jesus is the forgotten feast of the church (it was celebrated last Thursday). Accounts of the Ascension are to be found in Mark (Mk 16:19-20), Luke (Lk 24:50-53) and the Acts of Apostles (Acts 1:9). In the ascension, Jesus is visibly removed from the presence of his disciples. This was a demonstration of the reality of his departure. He would no longer be present with them physically. His presence, until his return at the end of the age, was to be mediated through the Holy Spirit - the Spirit of Jesus.
