12/13/17

"THE EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS" Sharing And Doing Good (Ga 6:6,10) by Mark Copeland

                     "THE EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS"

                   Sharing And Doing Good (Ga 6:6,10)

INTRODUCTION

1. You will recall that the fruit of the Spirit (Ga 5:22-23) includes...
   a. Love and kindness
   b. Goodness and gentleness

2. We saw in our previous study (Ga 6:1-5) that such graces enable us
   to...
   a. Restore those overtaken in a fault
   b. Doing so with a spirit of gentleness
   c. Thus bearing one another's burdens, fulfilling the law of Christ

[Bearing the burdens of others extends beyond meeting their spiritual
needs.  As we continue in Galatians 6, we find that it also includes
addressing physical needs.  In verse 6, Paul enjoins us to...]

I. SHARE WITH THOSE WHO TEACH (6)

   A. SHARING IN FINANCIAL SUPPORT...
      1. This is the most common understanding of this passage
      2. Those who teach and preach may be supported for their work
         a. As taught by Jesus - Lk 10:7
         b. As explained by Paul - 1Co 9:3-11,14; 1Ti 5:17-18
         c. As practiced by various churches - 2Co 11:8-9
         d. As commended by John - 3Jn 5-8
      3. We should not hesitate to support those worthy
         a. Those near and far, as the Philippians did for Paul - Php 4:
            15-16
         b. Both now and in the future, as the Philippians did for Paul
            - Php 1:3-5; 4:14,18
      -- Whether as individuals or as a congregation, we can support
         those who teach

   B. SHARING IN SPIRITUAL BLESSINGS...
      1. This is another understanding of this passage
      2. Those who preach share spiritual blessings
         a. Just as those from Jerusalem shared spiritual things with
            the Gentiles - Ro 15:26-27
         b. Just as Paul share spiritual blessings with the Corinthians
            - 1Co 9:11
      3. We should make sure that we share in those blessings
         a. By full participation in the gospel of Christ 
             - e.g., 1Co 15:1-2
         b. By application of its truths and principles to our lives
            - e.g., Jm 1:21; 1Pe 2:1-3
      -- Certainly we should share fully in the blessings of the Word
         that is taught us

[It matters little whether Paul meant supporting preachers or
participating in what they taught.  Both are true, and worthy of our
consideration.  Saving verses 7-9 for a later study, let's go on to
verse 10...]

II. DO GOOD TO ALL MEN (10)

   A. TO ALL MEN...
      1. We have a duty to do good to all
         a. To those in need - cf. 1 Tim 6:17-18
         b. Even our enemies - cf. Lk 6:27-35
      2. As we have the opportunity
         a. Opportunity is determined by circumstance and ability
         b. The opportunity may be unforeseen - e.g., the good
            Samaritan, Lk 10:33
         c. The opportunity may be sought out - cf. 1Th 5:15; Tit 3:8;
            He 13:16
      3. Today we have many opportunities
         a. In our neighborhood, and around the world
         b. Made much easier through the Internet (e.g., Network For
            Good, AlertNet)
         c. There are many charities through which we can do much good
      -- Are we being careful to maintain good works, or have we been
         forgetful?

   B. ESPECIALLY BRETHREN...
      1. We have a special duty to our brethren in Christ ("the
         household of faith")
         a. For they are our true family - cf. Mt 12:46-50
         b. Kindness to them is kindness to Christ - cf. Mt 25:34-40
         c. Loving them is indicative of true conversion - cf. 1Jn 3:
            14-19
      2. As we have the opportunity
         a. Again, opportunity is determined by circumstance and ability
         b. We are given the opportunity weekly, based on ability - cf.
            1Co 16:1-2; 2Co 9:7
         c. Which prepares us for future opportunities as they arise
            - cf. 2Co 9:5; Ro 15:25-26
      3. Today we have many opportunities
         a. To support preachers of the gospel, local and foreign
         b. To help needy Christians, local and foreign
         c. The local church is designed to help brethren in need, with
            some limitation - 1Ti 5:16
      -- Are we being careful to remember the poor, especially our
         brethren in Christ?

CONCLUSION

1. Certainly there is more to doing good than meeting physical needs...
   a. The needs of the spirit should also be met
   b. Which is where the gospel of Christ excels
   c. Which is the primary work of the church - to seek and save the
      lost

2. Yet Christians who are materially blessed can easily be forgetful...
   a. Especially when we live in a country with material abundance
   b. Which is why Paul wrote Timothy to charge those who are rich, to
      be rich in good works - 1Ti 6:16-18
   c. And note that doing good is one way that we sow to the Spirit, and
      lay up treasure in heaven! - 1Ti 6:19; cf. Ga 6:7-9; Lk 12:33;
      18:22

As we therefore have the opportunity, let us be diligent to share and do
good to all...!
Executable Outlines, Copyright © Mark A. Copeland, 2016

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What Must I Know to Be Saved? by Eric Lyons, M.Min.

http://apologeticspress.org/APContent.aspx?category=11&article=895

What Must I Know to Be Saved?

by Eric Lyons, M.Min.


The question frequently is asked by those who are contemplating becoming a child of God, “How much do I have to know in order to become a Christian?” Some feel like they have to know virtually every detail in the Bible before submitting to the Savior to get rid of sin in their lives. Others believe they need every question under the Sun answered before becoming a Christian. Some want to know about the origin of the races. Others want to know whether or not there is life on other planets. The Bible, however, never indicates that for one to become a Christian, he has to know every detail about every book in the Bible, or that a person has to be able to answer every question that arises. But what, if anything, is necessary for a person to know before becoming a disciple of Christ?
First, an individual contemplating his spiritual life must understand that the reason there is even something for him to do is because he has sinned. Everyone who has reached the level of mental maturity (sometimes referred to as “the age of accountability”) so that he or she understands what sin is (cf. 1 John 3:4; 5:17), has sinned (Romans 3:10,23; 1 John 1:8). [The one exception, of course, was Jesus—1 Peter 2:22.] Sin is that which separates man from God (Isaiah 59:1-2). For a person to be saved, he first must have knowledge that he is a sinner, and as such stands in a lost condition. One of the reasons Jesus condemned certain Jewish priests, elders, and sects was because they did not admit their sinfulness after hearing the preaching of John the baptizer (Matthew 21:31-32)—though the tax collectors and harlots (i.e., sinners) did acknowledge their sin, and believed.
Second, the one who aspires to become a Christian must know something about Jesus—the One Who came to save us from our sins (Luke 19:10; John 3:16; Romans 5:6-8). A person does not have to know every one of Jesus’ parables, or be able to quote the Sermon on the Mount, but he must know that Jesus is the Son of God Who died and was raised so that all men might have their sins forgiven and live eternally with Him in heaven (Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 2:9). In other words, before becoming a Christian, a person must have heard the Gospel (Good News) of Jesus Christ (cf. 1 Corinthians 15:1-4).
Finally, the individual who aspires to become a child of God must realize there is something for him to do (cf. Acts 2:38; 16:30; 8:36). If one understands that the Bible says he must believe that Jesus is the Son of God (John 8:24), repent of his sins (Luke 13:3,5), confess that Jesus is God’s Son (Romans 10:10), and be baptized for the remission of his sins (Acts 2:38), he or she then possesses enough knowledge to put on Christ in baptism (Galatians 3:27) and become a Christian, being added by God to the church that Christ established (Acts 2:47; Matthew 16:18; Romans 16:16).
Contrary to the belief of some, a person who desires to become a Christian does not have to know the whole Bible thoroughly before he takes action. Nor is there a need to have every question imaginable answered. The Ethiopian eunuch heard one Christ-centered lesson from Philip before asking, “What hinders me from being baptized” (Acts 8:35-36)? The three thousand on Pentecost heard only one Gospel sermon before accepting the grace of God and obeying the plan of salvation (Acts 2:41). They did not wait around for years, thinking they were not knowledgeable enough to be followers of Christ. Rather, they were convinced of their sins (Acts 2:37), heard the Gospel, believed it, and obeyed it. It is after one becomes a Christian that God commands us a person to “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 3:18), and to continue to study the Word in order to teach others (Hebrews 5:12; 1 Peter 3:15).

“If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that” (James 4:15) by Roy Davison

http://www.oldpaths.com/Archive/Davison/Roy/Allen/1940/040-Lordwilling.html

“If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that”
(James 4:15)
Believers recognize their dependence on the will of God.
James admonishes: “Come now, you who say, 'Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit'; whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. Instead you ought to say, 'If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that.' But now you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil” (James 4:13-16).

Arrogant boasting is evil.

It does not show proper respect for God.
Some people are always boasting about the great things they are going to do in the future.
As king Ahab of Israel replied to arrogant BenHadad, king of Syria, whose army God had decided to deliver into the hand of Israel, “Let not the one who puts on his armor boast like the one who takes it off” (1 Kings 20:11).
But what is so wrong with saying, “We will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit”? Many people see nothing wrong with that at all.
This is arrogant boasting because due consideration is not being given to man's dependence on God.
Jesus illustrates this truth in a parable: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded plentifully. And he thought within himself, saying, 'What shall I do, since I have no room to store my crops?' So he said, 'I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build greater, and there I will store all my crops and my goods. And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry.”' But God said to him, 'Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?' So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God” (Luke 12:16-20). 
This man did not include God in his plans. God blessed him with abundance. But rather than laying up treasure in heaven by helping the poor (Luke 18:22), he was self-centered and thought only of his own comfort. He was not rich toward God and he was not prepared to die. God calls him a fool. It is never wise to plan for this life without giving priority to the afterlife.
Jesus asks, “What will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?” (Mark 8:36).
James warns the rich that they will suffer misery if their wealth was gained unjustly: “Come now, you rich, weep and howl for your miseries that are coming upon you! Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are moth-eaten. Your gold and silver are corroded, and their corrosion will be a witness against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have heaped up treasure in the last days. Indeed the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, cry out; and the cries of the reapers have reached the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth. You have lived on the earth in pleasure and luxury; you have fattened your hearts as in a day of slaughter” (James 5:1-5).

Saying 'Lord willing' recognizes our dependence on God.

“Instead you ought to say, 'If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that'” (James 4:15).
Our lives are in the hand of God. He “gives to all life, breath, and all things” (Acts 17:25). As Solomon says, “No one has power over the spirit to retain the spirit, and no one has power in the day of death” (Ecclesiastes 8:8).
Our lives are short. “For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away” (James 4:14). Job says, “My days are but a breath” (Job 7:16).
God has established a maximum lifespan, but there is no guaranteed minimum. Today can be the last day for any one of us. Thus we “ought to say, 'If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that'” (James 4:15).

Paul submitted his life and plans to the will of God.

When Paul was zealously persecuting Christians, he mistakenly thought he was doing the will of God (1 Timothy 1:13). Because of his sincerity, God intervened that he might truly know His will. The preacher, Ananias, informed Paul: “The God of our fathers has chosen you that you should know His will, and see the Just One, and hear the voice of His mouth” (Acts 22:14).
Paul began many of his letters with, “Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God” (see the first verses of 1 and 2 Corinthians, Ephesians, Colossians and 2 Timothy).
When he departed from Ephesus on his second missionary journey, he told the brethren, "I must by all means keep this coming feast in Jerusalem; but I will return again to you, God willing" (Acts 18:21).
He wrote to the brethren at Corinth: “But I will come to you shortly, if the Lord wills” (1 Corinthians 4:19).
To the saints at Rome he wrote: “For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of His Son, that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers, making request if, by some means, now at last I may find a way in the will of God to come to you” (Romans 1:9, 10). Near the close of the letter he asked them to pray with him “that I may come to you with joy by the will of God” (Romans 15:32).
These statements show that Paul was ever conscious of his dependence on the will of God.
On the way to Jerusalem after his third journey, he told the brethren at Ephesus: “And see, now I go bound in the spirit to Jerusalem, not knowing the things that will happen to me there, except that the Holy Spirit testifies in every city, saying that chains and tribulations await me. But none of these things move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God. And indeed, now I know that you all, among whom I have gone preaching the kingdom of God, will see my face no more” (Acts 20:22-25).
As he neared Jerusalem, when he was at Philip's house in Caesarea, a prophet named Agabus revealed what would happen to Paul: “When he had come to us, he took Paul's belt, bound his own hands and feet, and said, 'Thus says the Holy Spirit, “So shall the Jews at Jerusalem bind the man who owns this belt, and deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles.”' Now when we heard these things, both we and those from that place pleaded with him not to go up to Jerusalem. Then Paul answered, 'What do you mean by weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.' So when he would not be persuaded, we ceased, saying, 'The will of the Lord be done'” (Acts 21:11-14).

What have we learned from the Scriptures about our dependence on the will of God?

It is evil to arrogantly boast about what we are going to do in the future without consideration of the brevity of life and the providence of God. When we qualify our plans with 'Lord willing' we recognize our dependence on God. We can look to the apostle Paul as an example of someone who was ever conscious of his life being circumscribed by the will of God.
“Come now, you who say, 'Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit'; whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. Instead you ought to say, 'If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that'” (James 4:13-15). Amen.
Roy Davison
The Scripture quotations in this article are from
The New King James Version. ©1979,1980,1982, Thomas Nelson Inc., Publishers.
Permission for reference use has been granted.

Published in The Old Paths Archive
(http://www.oldpaths.com)

The person behind the idea by Gary Rose

What a great idea; painting will never be the same again! The person who thought of this must be very smart! Which makes me wonder: What are smart people really like and can those of us that are not-so-gifted really understand them?

For that matter, lets take that thought a little farther and ask: Can we really understand God?

Consider this passage from the Bible...


Ephesians, Chapter 1 (WEB)

  3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ,  4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and without defect before him in love, (emphasis added vss. 3,4) 5 having predestined us for adoption as children through Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his desire,  6 to the praise of the glory of his grace, by which he freely gave us favor in the Beloved,  7 in whom we have our redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace,  8 which he made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence,  9 making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he purposed in him  10 to an administration of the fullness of the times, to sum up all things in Christ, the things in the heavens and the things on the earth, in him.  11 We were also assigned an inheritance in him, having been foreordained according to the purpose of him who does all things after the counsel of his will,  12 to the end that we should be to the praise of his glory, we who had before hoped in Christ.  13 In him you also, having heard the word of the truth, the Good News of your salvation—in whom, having also believed, you were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit,  14 who is a pledge of our inheritance, to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of his glory. 


When I was 18, I thought I was smart- then I had kids and realized I wasn't. Now that I have grandchildren and a great grandchild, I fully understand that I am not all that bright!!!

Time has a way of showing you truth; eternity reveals God! True wisdom is God's wisdom, for the almighty thinks on a cosmic scale, beyond time and space, from the smallest molecules to the grandest concept of the universe!

How can a person understand a being capable of such things? Well, we can understand the Bible and gain some insight into God, but for me- show me Jesus!!! One good example is worth ten times ten thousand words.  Jesus lived, died and lives again. Those who follow him have hope and all the blessings listed in the Ephesian passage.

Now, there is something really smart!!!!