In my last post I talked about the main point of Galatians, which was that “circumcision” is directly opposed to the cross of Christ. Only the cross of Christ provides the righteousness that God requires. I had a few more ideas on the subject.

REVIEW: I had said that in Galatians “circumcision” serves as a metaphor for all the man-made attempts of achieving righteousness through man’s efforts and for all the religions which teach that man can become acceptable to God through his works. In Paul’s day, the only religious system that made any attempt at earning righteousness was Judaism, but today there are many such systems. All these religious systems that attempt to achieve righteousness by means of what a person does and that rely on anything that a person is or does would fall under the heading of “circumcision.”

And we had said that “righteousness” as used in the Bible is the required condition of a person where he/she is viewed by God as being completely without sin AND where his/her every thought, word and deed are perfectly in accord with the will of God.

NEW: “Circumcision” points to the self and to what I have done to earn my righteousness, but faith points to the cross of Christ and to what God has done to provide for my righteousness.

“Circumcision” 1) grossly underestimates the offense of your sin and the amount of your sin. My first small sin was an intolerable stench in God’s nostrils and sealed my condemnation. Can any number of religious works erase the offense to the Holy One of even one of my sins? 2) “Circumcision” pathetically overestimates the value of any number of “good deeds.” Do we really think that any number of good works can possibly atone for even the smallest sin? (Micah 6:6-7; Psalm 51:16-17) and 3) MOST IMPORTANT – “Circumcision” despises and rejects the shed blood of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, on the cross as God’s only means of atonement and believes that my sin-stained human works are just as effective as Jesus’ sinless, holy sacrifice to make me acceptable to God.

Why do people naturally prefer “circumcision” over the cross of Jesus Christ? The path of religion and of a righteousness that can be earned appeals to many people because religion (“circumcision”) requires no true confession of sin and no recognition of a person’s abject wretchedness (Luke 18:9-14). There is no self-loathing required and no need for repentance. I don’t have to do any embarrassing begging for forgiveness. I can keep all my pride and my dignity and my good reputation intact. No need to be plunged in the waters of baptism like those sinners. I can continue to be a clean and respectable pew-sitter, admired by others for my holiness and my goodness. The flesh loves “circumcision” and the flesh hates the admission of and the exposure of all of my most filthy sins.

But only the cross of Christ can atone for sin and only the shed-blood of the Lord Jesus Christ can wash away my wickedness,

Galatians 6:14.  “But may it never be that I would boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Galatians 6:12-15 (6:14) “But may it never be that I would boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Galatians is a book that pits circumcision as the means of EARNED RIGHTEOUSNESS against faith in Christ and His death on the cross as the means of IMPUTED RIGHTEOUSNESS. Let’s study this concept.

First we must understand that “circumcision” serves as a very broad term in Galatians. When Paul speaks of “circumcision” in this epistle, he is speaking not just about the Jewish practice of circumcision, but he is including in the word all the Jewish traditions and rituals that made up the Jewish religion. “Circumcision” is short-hand for keeping the Law and for obeying all the traditions of the elders and for observing circumcision and for keeping the Sabbath and for staying separate from all the Gentiles and so on. Basically for Paul in his context, “circumcision” is a comprehensive word for all of religious Judaism.

So “circumcision” serves as a metaphor for all the man-made attempts of achieving righteousness through man’s efforts. In Paul’s day, the only religious system that made any attempt at earning righteousness was Judaism, but that is not true in our day. In fact, all religious systems that attempt to achieve righteousness by means of what a person does would fall under the heading of “circumcision.” So today this would include Catholicism and formal Protestantism and all the so-called Christian cults and would also include any church that relies upon works and duties and external practices to make its people acceptable to God.

Now second, we also must understand what righteousness is. “Righteousness” is an absolute term, not a relative term. You either have righteousness or you do not. It is an “either/or” situation, not a scale. It is absolute. Just as you are either righteous or you are unrighteous, so you either have the righteousness that God requires or you do not. There is no third option. There is no gray area in between. So what is the righteousness that God requires? In the Bible, when righteousness is used in a doctrinal sense it means that you are viewed by God as being completely without sin AND that your every thought, word and deed are perfectly in accord with the will of God. Thus we see that sin is the primary problem for the human who would be righteous. “How can I be righteous before a holy God when I have already sinned countless times and I know that I still wrestle against sin and I know that in my flesh dwells a constant desire to sin?” This is the critical question for every human being. Every human being must be brought to the place where they recognize their own sin and they realize that their sin separates them from the living God and brings them under His wrath and condemnation. Then how do we answer the critical question? How does the sinner obtain the righteousness of God?

In the book of Galatians and throughout all of human history there are two possible paths to obtain righteousness. One path is the path of “circumcision,” the path of relying upon the religious things that you do to remove your sin and to perfectly align your will with the will of God. So you attend church or you participate in the sacraments or you give your tithe or you do your Bible study. You do your duty, trusting that, in the end, God will see that you worked pretty hard and that you were a nice guy and you only rarely lied or cussed and you never cheated on your wife. When God compares all your effort with that of the other guys, He will certainly let you into heaven. Thus you are trusting in “circumcision” and relying on your works to make you righteous before God. “After all, it’s working hard at achieving righteousness that God wants, isn’t it?” That’s the path of circumcision.

The other path to righteousness is the path of the cross. This is the man or the woman who says, “I myself am utterly bankrupt of any and all righteousness. I am a sinner and deserve God’s wrath for my sin. I have no defense and no excuse. But I know that there is a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who came to earth and died on Calvary’s cross so that, through His atoning death and His imputed righteousness, I will be viewed as righteous by the living God. I throw myself on His mercy and on His grace and plead for His blood to avail for me.” It is the path of the cross that allows a sinner to obtain righteousness and it is this path that Paul preaches in Galatians.

So the key to understanding and applying the book of Galatians is to see the danger of “circumcision” and the freedom provided by trusting in the cross of Christ as our means to righteousness.

“For though we walk in the flesh, we do not wage war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but are divinely powerful for the destruction of strongholds.” 2 Corinthians 10:3-4

In a blog from ten days ago I talked about strongholds and introduced the idea of “stronghold demolition projects.” When we were unbelievers, we worked with the flesh to establish strongholds of sin in our lives, but now as believers we work with the Holy Spirit to pull down these strongholds. This pulling down is what I mean by a “stronghold demolition project.”

What is the plan for “stronghold demolition?” How does the believer methodically and intentionally attack these strongholds so that we live holy lives of victory over sin? How do we “put to death” in our earthly body (Colossians 3:5) these strongholds we have previously erected?

I suggest that Step One is identifying your particular strongholds, the areas of sin in your own life to which you are especially vulnerable. While all are vulnerable to all sin, it is evident that there are certain sins to which you are especially vulnerable. What areas of sin are tempting to you, so that there are times when you can hardly resist them? Or in what unrighteous acts or unholy words do you engage without even noticing it? These are strongholds. Is lust or sexual sin a temptation for you? Do you envy other people or do you crave things that others have? Are you greedy for money or do you think about money a lot? Do you spend time worrying about money or planning for ways to get more money? Anger, fear, vicious talk, foul language, lying, laziness, addiction to pleasure, boasting, pride? There are many potential strongholds and you need to ruthlessly examine your life and discover all of sin’s strongholds. If you have a trusted Christian friend, discuss this with them and have them help you identify these areas of sin.

Once you have identified your strongholds, Step Two is developing a demolition plan for how to pull down, to break down, and to destroy those particular strongholds. Note that for all these demolition projects you will need a standard set of tools: confession, repentance, prayer, focused Bible study and accountability with another Christian, along with a commitment to persevere until the victory is won or life ends.

CONFESSION: This is agreeing with God that the specific stronghold is sin. Cry out to the Lord that you know that what you are doing is sinful and you are miserable because of it. Admit unreservedly that you are a sinner and want to be free from this sin.

REPENTANCE: This involves turning from your stronghold and making a commitment to stop doing that sin and stop NOW. In repentance you commit to doing whatever it takes to prevent the sin from happening again.

PRAYER: To demolish a stronghold, you must get the Lord’s power. Prayer calls on the Lord to come to your aid and to give you His power to resist the sin and instead to destroy all desire to sin again. Pray to the Lord to give you the power to conquer the flesh and to hunger for holiness and for righteousness.

BIBLE READING AND MEDITATION: To pull down a stronghold, saturate your mind with all that the word of God has to say about that stronghold specifically and about sin in general. The more your mind is filled with the words of Scripture, the more aggressively you will be pulling down strongholds. Reading and meditating on Scripture strengthens your spirit and increases your distaste for sin. In Psalm 51:7, David said, “Purify my with hyssop and I will be clean; Wash me and I will be whiter than snow.”

ACCOUNTABILITY WITH ANOTHER BELIEVER: Find another believer whom you trust and ask them to keep you accountable on the demolition of this stronghold. That person can help you stay focused on the tasks and tactics that you need to do to gain the victory over the stronghold.

PERSEVERANCE: You must realize that, just as it took time and energy to erect these strongholds, so it will take diligence and perseverance to demolish them. Application of these tools for pulling down strongholds must persist for the long-term if there is to be victory.

THE ULTIMATE VICTORY: You will know that you have reached victory when you have built an altar to the Lord where there once stood a stronghold of sin. This is the ultimate victory, not only that you have demolished the stronghold such that there is no longer evidence of its existence in your life, but even more than that, that there is now a beautiful altar of obedience and holiness where there once stood a temple of wickedness. Saul the Pharisee, the enemy of Jesus Christ and the most self-righteous of all men, became Paul the bond-slave of Jesus Christ and became a man who sought holiness and the righteousness that is found in Jesus Christ. Just so, the believer can pull down a stronghold of sin in their life and in its place erect an altar to the Lord. This is the victory that we can have in Christ. SDG rmb 10/11/2015

In the book of Hebrews, the author’s exhortations come to the reader accompanied by an implied warning. The exhortations of Hebrews expect and, indeed, demand obedience, and if there is not obedience to the commands of the Lord, the implied warning is that you may not be a true believer. The unsettling feature of Hebrews is that the author repeatedly gives explicit warnings to his readers which say to them that, while they may think they are saved and while they may be hanging out with true believers and while they may basically look like real Christians, their hearts may have never been changed and they are still going to face the God who is terrifying (10:27, 31) and who is a consuming fire (12:29). The burning issue in Hebrews that accompanies the warnings and the exhortations is, “Have you truly come to saving faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, or are you still trusting in your performance or your pedigree?” Have you drawn near to Christ or will you be found to have come short? For there is an eternal difference between those two positions.

It is noteworthy that Jesus also explicitly warned about the coming judgment and about the need to come to Him with unreserved faith. While the Lord offered salvation full and free to all those who would bow the knee to Him and worship Him as Lord and Savior, He also made clear that all those who would not worship Him would perish and would experience the terrifying wrath of the living God.

Indeed, the entire Bible is full of warnings to sinners, declaring to them their unrighteousness, proclaiming the holiness of God, and warning of the judgment to come. Thus the Bible urges sinners to confess their sins to Yahweh and flee to Jesus for refuge and cry out for mercy. Those who throw themselves on Jesus to be saved will receive an indescribable reward and those who do not fly to Jesus will receive terrifying judgment.

[As a side note, it is ONLY IN THE BIBLE that man is warned about his unrighteousness and his peril. Only in the Bible will anyone ever find these warnings. No other work or writing by man has these warnings. Man is godless and blind and remains forever so except for God’s revelation in the Bible. That is why it is incumbent upon all those who have the Scriptures to communicate them to other people, so that men and women who are perishing may be warned and may have the opportunity to turn from their wickedness and their sin and be saved from the wrath to come.]

The book of Hebrews repeatedly and explicitly warns those who may be pretending to be believers of the peril of their position and it declares to those who remain rebellious against the gospel that their destiny is a terrifying judgment, but it also assures those who have come to Jesus with a whole and sincere heart that they have been delivered from the wrath of God and have come to Mount Zion and been saved.  SDG rmb 10/10/2015

“For though we walk in the flesh, we do not wage war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but are divinely powerful for the destruction of strongholds.” 2 Corinthians 10:3-4

These are certainly verses that speak of warfare. These verses speak of conflict and struggle and battle. Instead of placidly drifting along, Paul presents the Christian life as one in which there is a striving against sin and a striving against the forces of evil as the believer presses toward holiness. And at the very center of this warfare are strongholds. The disciple is to be destroying or pulling down strongholds. So I want to speak about strongholds.

What are strongholds? When some speak of strongholds, they have in mind an ethereal realm of angels and demons waging a cosmic battle over earthly geographies to see whether good or evil will prevail. While this idea of “stronghold” may apply in some situations, there is in it very little practical value. It sells books with its fantastic clashes in the heavenlies, but it does not help the disciple in his or her daily striving toward holiness. So this is not the stronghold I have in mind.

Instead, here is my definition of “stronghold:” A stronghold is “an area in a believer’s life where the flesh still has enough strength to consistently cause the believer to sin and to be disobedient to the revealed will of God as commanded in His word.” There are many areas of sin where this can be manifested: fear (of any kind), anger, lust and immorality, drunkenness, greed/coveting, lies and deception, laziness, wasting time, pleasure-seeking, wasting money, and evil-speaking are some of the sins that come to mind, but this list is far from exhaustive. A stronghold in your life is an area of moral evil and sin that you built in your past and that still has the power to take you into that sin today. These strongholds must be destroyed.

How and when are strongholds established? Strongholds are established and constructed in the years that the person is an unbeliever. The flesh is the project manager in these “stronghold construction projects,” and your environment and your personality will determine the particular strongholds that you will build. Some build fortresses of greed and stealing and cheating and lying. Others build strong towers of lust and immorality and revel in the sensual wickedness of this world. Some build fortresses of fear or anger or drunkenness that wreak havoc in their lives. The point is that while you are an unbeliever, the flesh is actively constructing these strongholds of sin and training you to indulge in these sins. When you indulge in the sin, the walls and the foundation of the strongholds are made more secure and are made less vulnerable to attack. And so by this process of building the stronghold of sin and then drawing you back into that sin over and over again, the flesh establishes these strongholds in the unbeliever’s life.

But then the person hears the gospel of Jesus Christ and they confess their sins and repent of the evil of their past and repent of their sins and they commit to follow Jesus no matter the cost for all of eternity. What happens to those strongholds that the flesh so carefully constructed in your life? What happens when the Holy Spirit comes into your life at salvation? The truth is that initially very little happens to the strongholds. For the new believer, these sinful habits and automatic evil responses of the past remain just as active and just as powerful as before. Yes, it is true that your desire for sin has been radically decreased and your hunger for righteousness has been birthed, but the flesh is still right there to oppose all godly actions and to draw you back into those carefully constructed strongholds of sin.

What, then, must the new believer do with these strongholds? Are they to remain in control of the new believer as they were in control when he was an unbeliever? May it never be! The believer has the power of the Holy Spirit to conquer the flesh and the new believer has been set free from their slavery to sin (Romans 6), so the new believer is no longer at the mercy of the sinful desires of the flesh. Rather the new believer (and the young believer and the mature believer) must set about a lifelong series of “stronghold demolition projects,” with the Holy Spirit as the project manager. (Consider Judges 6 when Gideon rose to pull down the altar of Baal or 2 Kings 23 when Josiah broke down the high places and the altars and the sacred pillars and the Asherim in Judah. These are Old Testament pictures of pulling down strongholds in the life of the believer.)

So one of the most important parts of the process of sanctification is “stronghold demolition projects.” As the unbeliever cooperated with the flesh in their construction, so the believer works with the power of the Spirit in the demolition of strongholds. Some of the strongholds will come down quickly and remain heaps of rubble, but others are resistant to all but the most determined efforts to pull them down and to destroy them. The demolition of these stubborn strongholds requires persistence and ongoing repentance and prayer. All the most potent demolition weapons need to be employed for some of these strongholds, but they must be pulled down if the believer is to live a holy life that pleases the Lord (Hebrews 12:14).

In the next blog we will explore a project plan for destroying strongholds.

Wednesday of this week, September 23, was Yom Kippur, the Jewish celebration of the day of atonement. In our day, Yom Kippur is an almost exclusively Jewish holiday when the obedient Jew goes to temple and fasts and prays and does various rituals to get forgiven by God. Even for dedicated Jews, the real significance of the day is lost in a haze of readings and rituals, but for the Hebrew in the days of Solomon’s temple, this definitely was not the case.

Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, was for the Old Testament Jew the most solemn and holy day on the Hebrew calendar. This was the one day of the year given by Yahweh that allowed for the atonement of sins through the shed blood of a sacrificial animal. Only on this day, the high priest was allowed to enter the holy of holies, into the very presence of God, carrying the blood of atonement, the blood that God would accept for the forgiveness of sins. The high priest needed to sprinkle the blood on the mercy seat in the prescribed way and in the prescribed order so that Yahweh would accept the offering and grant forgiveness of sins for another year. This atonement was only effective for one year. It was required that the day of atonement, Yom Kippur, be observed every year without fail.

As part of the procedure for the atonement, there were also two goats who were brought to the high priest. A lot was cast and one goat became a sin offering for the LORD and one was a scapegoat who was presented alive before the LORD and then sent out far away into the wilderness. The goat of the sin offering was slaughtered and its blood was taken by the high priest into the holy of holies and was sprinkled on the mercy seat to make atonement for all the people. The high priest then came out of the holy of holies to where the scapegoat awaited. The priest laid his hands on the head of the live goat and confessed over the goat all the iniquities and transgressions of the sons of Israel, so that those sins were transferred to the scapegoat. Then the scapegoat, bearing on itself all the iniquities of the people, was carried away into the wilderness, into a solitary land, never to return or be seen again.

This was the procedure that Yahweh had given to provide for atonement. This was a deadly serious day, for if the procedure was not followed, Yahweh might not forgive and there was no other means of atonement. This was the only way available for sin’s atonement, and all the Hebrews knew that God was a consuming fire if His wrath was not appeased.

But now there is no temple and there is no holy of holies. There is no high priest and there are no goats for animal sacrifice. There is no blood to appease God’s wrath and there is no wilderness into which to send the goat of the removal. So if God’s only prescribed means of atonement is gone so that the Day of Atonement cannot be rightly practiced, how can there be forgiveness of sins? Are we doomed to be condemned for our sins?

No, we are not doomed to condemnation, for Yom Kippur was only instituted for a time as the means of atonement year by year until the final and full atonement might be offered. But now the final Day of Atonement HAS come and has been accomplished once for all time, so that there is no longer a need for a temple or a high priest or the holy of holies or the sacrificial blood of animals. Jesus Christ has fulfilled all the shadows and types of Yom Kippur by the means of His atoning death on the cross. Jesus was the goat of the sin offering, shedding His blood to be the sacrifice for sin that Yahweh required, but Jesus was also the goat of removal, the scapegoat who carried our sins far away from us, as far as the east is from the west. Jesus Christ was also our High Priest, entering the heavenly holy of holies on our behalf, to appear before God and to sprinkle His own sinless blood on the mercy seat so that we could be forgiven. Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of Yom Kippur, for He is our atonement, the one who takes away our sins.

So the next time that Yom Kippur rolls around on your calendar, remember that the real and final Yom Kippur has been accomplished by the Lord Jesus Christ on Calvary’s cross, and then talk to a Jewish person about how their sins can be taken away forever.

SDG rmb 9/25/2015

I have wanted to begin a series of blogs on Psalm 40. This beautiful psalm is one that I am trying to memorize and I have begun my meditations on this psalm to find the true and deep meaning of David’s words, inspired by the Holy Spirit.

“I waited patiently for the LORD.” Psalm 40:1

I want to meditate on ‘patiently.’ David waited patiently for the LORD. This Hebrew word can mean either ‘patiently,’ which is the NAS translation, or ‘intently.’ Here I am going to consider the word as meaning ‘patiently.’

I can wait patiently for the Lord because I am confident that the the LORD hears my voice now, and I know that He will answer me in His perfect time. No matter my personal feeling of urgency, I know that the LORD is aware of the full panorama of my circumstances and knows the outcome already. And so I approach His throne and wait patiently for His answer. I can be patient because I have seen Him answer countless times before. I can be patient because I know He wants the best for me. I can be patient because He cares for me and has compassion for me. I can wait patiently because I trust the promises of His word. I will wait patiently because this waiting tests and strengthens my faith. I will wait patiently because part of the joy of waiting is the extended fellowship with Him that comes during these times. I will wait patiently for Him because another part of the joy is anticipating His perfect answer in His perfect time. And so “I waited patiently for the LORD.”

SDG rmb 9/24/2015

Jesus is talking to the crowd and someone yells out, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me!” What appears to be a cry for justice is turned into a teaching on greed. Let’s learn from the Master.

The man in the crowd appears to be crying out for fairness and justice, but in fact it is just his greed disguised. His father’s inheritance has rightly gone to this man’s brother per the father’s will or per Jewish custom, and he wants that money. He thus pretends to be the one who was wronged and calls on Jesus to be his advocate to get the money. All this is motivated by evil greed, the love of money.

(12:14). “Man, who appointed Me a judge or arbiter over you?” Jesus stops the man in his tracks and He exposes the man’s greedy heart, but He does much more than that. Knowing that all people are naturally greedy, Jesus tells a parable about a man whose greed cost him his eternal soul, because he focused on the earthly and temporal, rather than the heavenly.

“Beware, and be on your guard against every form of greed; for not even when one has an abundance does his life consist of his possessions.”

This is the HEART OF THE PASSAGE and the disciple must pay careful attention to what Jesus is saying here.

“Beware” This is a word that implies that DANGER is near. Pay attention, disciple of Jesus, because we are talking about a spiritual danger. Be alert! Get you radar on!

“and be on your guard against . . .” Get your shield up and put your helmet on and take a defensive stance now, because you are in enemy territory and the attack can come at any time.

“(against) all kinds of greed/every form of greed.” Greed lurks in your heart, taking many forms and wearing many disguises and hiding in the shadows of respectability. The disciple must uncover and expose all greed, no matter how cleverly disguised.

Greed is manifested in his life by his coveting of the the inheritance. His brother has gotten something that he wants for himself. I want, I want, I want. This is the chant of the greedy. He wants something and he is not happy until he gets it.

Jesus is warning His disciples of this threat. The disciple must examine his heart and find out how greed and covetousness are manifested in his own heart and life. The disciple must become a greed detective, seeking and finding clues about his own greed and then cutting it out of his life.

Greed is a danger for the disciple of Jesus because:

First, Satan seeks areas of greed in our life to use those as entry points into your life. If he can gain access through greed, he can cause other sin and damage. Beware and be on your guard against greed!

Second, greed can destroy your testimony for the Lord Jesus. When the world sees greed in the one who claims to follow Jesus, it gives them an opportunity to blaspheme (Romans 2:24; 2 Samuel 12:14). Beware against greed!

Third, greed will corrupt and undermine the other graces of the life of faith, unless it is aggressively rooted out. All sin feeds the flesh and leads to other sins. Greed, which is idolatry (Col. 3:5), will pollute and corrupt the walk of the disciple. Seek out greed and when you find it, then confess it to the Lord and repent of it. Beware!

Here is the lie: “Money and power and possessions makes you important. Without those, you are nothing.” The flesh delights in this lie and uses these falsehoods to create discontent, which leads to greed. But consider that Jesus had almost nothing and yet He was the most significant person who ever lived on earth. Jesus had virtually no possessions and yet He was the most content man of all time. Jesus trusted His Father to ordain all things for His good.

Our significance is in the Lord, our trust is in the Lord, our hope is in the Lord, and He will supply all our needs according to His riches and glory. The disciple accepts what His Lord supplies and the disciple accepts what the Lord allows.

SDG rmb 9/24/2015