After much background and
persuasion, we might think that Paul the apostle has conveyed his
thoughts to the church members in Galatia about the false teachers
who were among them. However, when we read today's verse found in
Galatians chapter two and verse four, we will discover how Paul is so
direct about these false teachers that there can be no mistake about
his words. He wrote:
And that because of
false brethren unawares brought in, who came in privily to spy out
our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, that they might bring us
into bondage:
Paul
told us in the previous verse that his traveling companion Titus was
not compelled to be circumcised according to the law, and he begins
this verse with, “And that because of false brethren unawares
brought in,”. If the Galatian church did not know who he was
speaking of before, they do now. These are “false brethren”, and
they were brought in “unawares” which means secretly,
surreptitiously, or as one stolen in. In other words, these false
teachers were infiltrating the churches, and they were sent into the
churches on purpose. The question is, why?
Let's
look at what Paul said next, “who came in privily to spy out our
liberty which we have in Christ Jesus”. These false teachers
came in privately simply as spies to discover whether they could find
faults with Paul and the church members there. Notice, they came to
the church to do this. This is usually the way with false teachers.
They prey upon the church membership rather than take their doctrine
to the world. These “false brethren” desired to find
occasions against Paul and his companions that would prove their own
positions of being right. Their legalism held a certain standard, and
obedience to the law which they themselves could not keep would be
their measure by whether Paul and his group were true believers.
Paul
adds, “that they might bring us into bondage.” Paul tells
the church members at Galatia that these who were behind this action
had the purpose of bringing them into bondage or slavery to their
rules. The Judaizers, remember, were proponents of believing in Jesus
but also keeping the law. They desired to have Paul, his companions,
and anyone he reached with the gospel of Jesus Christ to follow the
letter of the law. This would put people back into the bondage of the
law, and therefore away from the need for Jesus Christ as Savior.
Paul calls them “false brethren”. He exposed their “spying”,
and reveals their motive all in one verse. Can we feel the tension
that he has toward them?
What
about those within our world today? Are their “false brethren”
among us as well? Are there those in the world who seek to infiltrate
the church membership and infuse them with doctrines that include the
keeping of the law, or their laws, to be truly saved? If we look
around it does seem that everyone believes themselves to be right,
and that there is no absolute gospel of any sort. However, as we
study this book to the Galatian church perhaps we will be better
equipped to know that there are imposters, posers, and false teachers
who bring pernicious words and legalisms into the church. We would
all do well to examine our own lives to be sure that we too are not
believing or behaving as one of them, and as we do, may the gospel of
the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ shine upon us all.
Next
time will see what Paul did with these false brethren, so read ahead,
and let us join together then.
Until
tomorrow...there is more...
Look for
the new devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to
Generation” in all major
bookstore
sites, www.amazon.com ; www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to
e-books, and find it
locally
at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore
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