Galatians. .Week 3. .Fast Fact. .

So. .
as I have been reading the book of Galatians. .
I was provoked to catch the definitions of some really important words. .
I have a LARGE vocabulary. .
I LOVE using unusual words. .
BUT. .I find that, when my kids ask me to define them. .
I CAN’T. .I KNOW what they mean. .
but I can’t EXPLAIN what they mean. .anyone else have that trouble?
There were several words in the book of Galatians. .
that I had similar experience with. .
Except. .that I THOUGHT I knew what they meant. .
I wanted to be sure that I UNDERSTOOD what they meant!
So I did a little study to clarify them. .

I gave up a long time ago, thinking that everyone else should understand what I thought they should understand. .
and so it won’t hurt for us to review these concepts. .
if you already understand them all. .
just skip down to the fast fact and flip us an answer!!

The first word that I thought worthwhile of defining was GOSPEL. .
found in Galatians 1:6. .
I sort of knew what that was until a few years ago. .
when I heard a definition and explanation that I just hadn’t ever gotten before. .
One that just made it go. .CLICK!
The excerpt I share today is from Nelson’s New Illustrated Bible dictionary. .

GOSPEL: The Greek word translated as gospel means “a reward for bringing good news” or simply “good news.” In His famous sermon at the synagogue in Nazareth, Jesus quoted Isaiah 61:1 to characterize the spirit of His ministry: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel (good news) to the poor” (Luke 4:18). The gospel does not reveal a new plan of salvation; it proclaims the fulfillment of God’s plan of salvation that was begun in Israel. .was completed in Jesus Christ. .and is made known by the church. The gospel is the saving work of God in His Son Jesus Christ and the church. The gospel is the saving work of God in His Son Jesus Christ and a call to faith in Him. Jesus is more than a messenger of the gospel; He IS the gospel. His life, teaching, and atoning death declared the good news of God. In turning from grace to a legalistic system of salvation by works, the Galatians had ignored the significance of the death of Christ.

So the next word then is faith (2:16). .
FAITH. .trust or belief. .
More accurately. .
Hebrews 11:1 states this. .
Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. (ESV) or stated in NIV Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. .

What should we have faith IN??
Ourselves?. .
often times I ACT like I am the one who is in control of my life, but no, that is not the answer. .

Our family and friends?
It’s good to have them to fellowship and sharpen ourselves with, but humans are human. .
they can mislead us and disappoint us. .

Our churches and priests/preachers?
These are good things. .
things ordained by God to teach us and shepherd us, and we should have FAITH that they are teaching us accurately and not leading us astray. .
but we should still heed John’s warning in 1 John 4:1 Do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God. .

Our faith. .
THE faith that Paul is talking about in the book of Galatians. .
must be in God. .the FATHER. .the SON. .and the HOLY SPIRIT. .
that He is who He says He is. .
and His promises. .
that He will do what He says He will do! 

I like this little paragraph from John MacArthur on Galatians 2:16. .
Only faith in Christ Jesus can bring a person the gracious gift of righteousness that provides forgiveness and salvation. Faith in Christ is NOT mere intellectual assent to the fact that Jesus died and rose for man’s sin but is personal trust in His death to remove and forgive one’s own sins. It is TOTAL commitment to submit to Him as Lord.

BELIEVING that Jesus died for your sins is ONLY faith. .
if that is the ONLY card that you are standing on at the end of the day. .

When we are banking on the good things that we do. .
the amount of money that we donate. .
the classes that we lead. .
the number of times we have sat in a church pew. .
to get us into eternity. .
Isaiah 64:6 reminds us. .
that those things are like filthy rags
 (which the literal meaning of that. .filthy rags. .was the equivalent of used tampons or pads. .I am NOT kidding). .

I don’t know about you all. .
but I have wavering moments. .
when I think. .
HOW can it be that simple??
 But Jesus himself, assures us that it is THAT simple!

I heard a teacher once talk about a survey he did at the mall. .
asking people HOW they get to heaven. .
the number one answer was. .
IF I AM A GOOD PERSON. .
and, sadly. .that is NOT correct!!
One must be saved by FAITH. .
the whole concept that we are defining as a result of our study of the Word.

And. .
I might throw in. .
we can ONLY get faith for ourselves. .
I can ask God to give you faith. .
but you won’t get it unless you want it for yourself. .
I didn’t get my faith because my parents had a faith. .
or my husband had a faith. .
you aren’t grandfathered into faith. .
you don’t inherit faith from a church or a person. .
Faith isn’t always passed on from God to the whole family or your whole community or your whole church. .
Faith is ONLY acquired on an INDIVIDUAL basis. .
when someone desires it. .
Romans 10:17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the Word of Christ. .
additionally Galatians 3:2 also tells us that. .
You received the Spirit because you BELIEVED the message you HEARD about Christ NLT, which is also translated Did you receive the Spirit by law or by HEARING with faith ESV (bold print, mine).

Both of those passages (and there are many other verses that also substantiate this) suggest that we EACH have to DO something to get the faith initially. .
You can be EXPOSED to the faith of someone else. .
and it may look desirable enough that you want to get a faith of your own. .
but the bottom line is this. .
at some point. .
you HAVE to recognize your role as a sinner. .
and your need for a Savior. .
and you must seek God out to receive your free gift of salvation!!!
Which is what I put my FAITH in!

Soooo. .
I got a little windier than I intended to be today. .
but I think that is enough food for your thought life today. .
There were a couple more words that I wanted to work with. .
but we will save them for another day. .

So. .on to the Fast Fact. .

What is your ALL TIME Favorite song??

TOTALLY. .
Eye of the Tiger!!
They used to play that song for us as we left for Cross country meets in high school. .
and we would listen on our little foam-covered headphones from our walkmans. .
RETRO!
It was a LOT harder for two people to listen at the same time than it is now!!
 It’s on my ipod in my workout playlist. .
I don’t know. .it COULD be talking about the war against Satan. .

It's the eye of the tiger, it's the thrill of the fight
Risin' up to the challenge of our rival
And the last known survivor stalks his prey in the night
And he's watchin' us all through the eye of the tiger

Risin' up, straight to the top
Had the guts, got the glory
Went the distance now I'm not gonna stop
Just a man and his will to survive

It's the eye of the tiger, it's the thrill of the fight
Risin' up to the challenge of our rival
And the last known survivor stalks his prey in the night
And he's watchin' us all through the eye of the tiger

I’m risin’ up. .straight to the top. .IN THE HAND OF GOD!! Because HE is the last known survivor. .and we’ll be right next to Him in the end!!
Now. .try and get THAT out of your heads!! Enjoy your day!!