NEEDS OF A HEALTHY MINISTRY (4)
Scripture: Galatians 2:1-11
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Needs of a Healthy Ministry (4)
Series: Galatians
Robert Dawson
Galatians 2:1-11
Have you ever had a nagging pain? Problem? Annoyance? Maybe it was a toothache, a stubbed little toe, a slipped disc, bruised ribs or something as innocuous as a fly or gnats that wouldn't leave you alone. No matter what you ate, how you sat, walked, laid down or how often you fanned them away the problems lingered. That can get very frustrating and even discouraging.
Life is full of nagging pains, persistent problems and recurring annoyances. So is ministry. This is something Paul was familiar with. I would imagine, like the rest of us, Paul wished this wasn't the case. Out of the starting blocks of ministry Paul knew what it was to face the same problem over and over again. Every time he would plant a new church, start a new work, a group of people we know as the Judaizers would show up peddling a tainted Gospel. They tainted the Gospel, not by what they subtracted from it but by what they added to it. These mavens of misinformation corrupted the faith by adding good works, law keeping or religious traditions to the message of free grace and faith that Paul had been preaching.
Paul was fighting hard to maintain the purity of the Gospel message, especially in the churches he had planted and invested in. Some of you may remember the scare surrounding Tylenol back in the early 80s. Someone got into some of the bottles and laced them with cyanide. Seven people died. After that the pharmaceutical industry created protective measures to insure the safety of the medicines we take. They saw the need for tamperproof bottles.
Like that tainted Tylenol, to change the contents of the Gospel, by addition or subtraction, was spiritually dangerous. Tampering with the Gospel affects the believer on so many levels.
- Its issue is not just salvation (how one comes to God) but also sanctification (how God works in us), the practical outworking of our faith. Salvation not only comes ...
Series: Galatians
Robert Dawson
Galatians 2:1-11
Have you ever had a nagging pain? Problem? Annoyance? Maybe it was a toothache, a stubbed little toe, a slipped disc, bruised ribs or something as innocuous as a fly or gnats that wouldn't leave you alone. No matter what you ate, how you sat, walked, laid down or how often you fanned them away the problems lingered. That can get very frustrating and even discouraging.
Life is full of nagging pains, persistent problems and recurring annoyances. So is ministry. This is something Paul was familiar with. I would imagine, like the rest of us, Paul wished this wasn't the case. Out of the starting blocks of ministry Paul knew what it was to face the same problem over and over again. Every time he would plant a new church, start a new work, a group of people we know as the Judaizers would show up peddling a tainted Gospel. They tainted the Gospel, not by what they subtracted from it but by what they added to it. These mavens of misinformation corrupted the faith by adding good works, law keeping or religious traditions to the message of free grace and faith that Paul had been preaching.
Paul was fighting hard to maintain the purity of the Gospel message, especially in the churches he had planted and invested in. Some of you may remember the scare surrounding Tylenol back in the early 80s. Someone got into some of the bottles and laced them with cyanide. Seven people died. After that the pharmaceutical industry created protective measures to insure the safety of the medicines we take. They saw the need for tamperproof bottles.
Like that tainted Tylenol, to change the contents of the Gospel, by addition or subtraction, was spiritually dangerous. Tampering with the Gospel affects the believer on so many levels.
- Its issue is not just salvation (how one comes to God) but also sanctification (how God works in us), the practical outworking of our faith. Salvation not only comes ...
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