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“From
Beginning to End”
Galatians
3:1-5
"1You
foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before
your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly
portrayed as crucified. 2I would like
to learn just one thing from you: Did you
receive the Spirit by observing the law, or by
believing what you heard? 3Are you so
foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are
you now trying to attain your goal by human
effort? 4Have you suffered so much
for nothing—if it really was for nothing? 5Does
God give you his Spirit and work miracles among
you because you observe the law, or because you
believe what you heard?"
There
has always been confusion about what it means to
be a Christian and how to live the Christian
life ...
1
Peter 5:8-10
“8Be
self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil
prowls around like a roaring lion looking for
someone to devour.”
What
happens when faith is replaced by:
legalism
emotionalism
formalism
mysticism
1.
What is a Christian?
C onfess
B elieve
A ccept
R eceive
“believing
what you heard”
( Galatians
3:3,5)
Acts
16:30,31 - “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you
will be saved”
Romans
10:9,10 - “9That if you confess
with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe
in your heart that God raised him from the dead,
you will be saved. 10For it is with
your heart that you believe and are
justified, and it is with your mouth that
you confess and are saved.”
“receiving
the Spirit”
(Galatians
3:3)
Romans
5:1-2,5 - “since
we have been justified through faith, we£
have peace with God through our Lord Jesus
Christ … God has poured out his love into our
hearts by the Holy Spirit”
John
1:12 - “Yet
to all who received him, to those who believed
in his name, he gave the right to become
children of God”
Romans
8:16,9; 1 John 4:13
Ephesians
1:13-14 - “And you also were included in
Christ when you heard the word of truth, the
gospel of your salvation.
Having believed, you were marked in him
with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a
deposit guaranteeing our inheritance”
“The
Holy Spirit is not the goal of the Christian
life but is its source.
He is not the product of faithful living
but is the power behind it.
A higher level of living does not bring
the Holy Spirit; rather submission to the Holy
Spirit, who already indwells the believer,
includes a higher level of learning.”
2.
Why do we find it hard to live by faith?
“Who
has bewitched you?”
bewitched
– “to charm or fascinate in a misleading
way”
Obstacles
to Growth
S
uffering
T
emptation
F
ear
P
ride
Matthew
13:18-22 - “18“Listen
then to what the parable of the sower means: 19…
the evil one comes and snatches away what was
sown in his heart … 21…When
trouble or persecution comes because of the
word, he quickly falls away. 22…
the worries of this life and the deceitfulness
of wealth choke it, making it unfruitful.”
Matthew
26:69-75 - “69Now
Peter was sitting out in the courtyard, and a
servant girl came to him. “You also were with
Jesus of Galilee,” she said… 70But
he denied it before them all. “I don’t know
what you’re talking about,” he said…
75Then
Peter remembered the word Jesus had spoken:
“Before the rooster crows, you will disown me
three times.” And he went outside and wept
bitterly.”
Ephesians
2:8,9 - “8For
it is by grace you have been saved, through
faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the
gift of God—9not by works, so that
no one can boast.”
3.
How can I do what’s right?
“attaining
your goal” (3:3) - “to
bring through to the end”
Philippians
1:6
“being
confident of this, that he who began a good work
in you will carry it on to completion until the
day of Christ Jesus.”
Do
I know what it means to:
Confess?
Believe?
Accept?
Receive?
How
am I trying to “attain the goal”?
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