GracePointe Church of Christ in Elizabethtown, PA

Our desire to help people grow starts with our thankfulness for all at that God has done for us, then moves to all that God can do for others, and we want to connect the powerful, grace giving God to those around us…we pray for people to KNOW…and let’s make sure we are not simply talking about book smarts, but a tangible experience of the Living God in our lives. The Church is to be the “fullness of Him who fills all in all,” this sounds like an opportunity to rise to the vision God has for us.  

Introduction to our Theme for 2024 - Deepen

A year-end review of our theme for 2023, "Freedom in Christ." 

So what does a church look like when it is being led by the Spirit and stays “in step” with the Spirit?  Well, it looks like a balance of giving and receiving from each other as we live  the life of the Spirit.  We seek to restore with gentleness (a fruit of the spirit) and we bear each other’s burdens as we attend to our own struggles.  We realize that our actions and behaviors go beyond ourselves into the lives of others, and we love others by the way we treat them…both in respect to their Spiritual life and the treatment of sin among us.  This is a call for real spiritual community, not legalistic cultic enterprise!   

What is Life in the Spirit?  Do we trust the Spirit of God as a moral guide for our lives?  So many of us, who claim to have the Spirit of God don’t even understand the significance of life in the Spirit and trade in the Spirit of God for some rule guide or catechism that teaches us how to behave as a Christian.  Paul clearly says that it is the Spirit’s job, and anything we put in the place of the Spirit’s work and guidance separates us from the life God wants for us.  We return to the flesh, and we wonder why we find ourselves in the battle against the flesh.  But notice Paul says that the “fruit” of the Spirit are not under the law nor can any law come against it.  Fruit is something produced, not achieved…and it is only by the Spirit that fruit can be grown, and this list in Galatians is a good list, but not an exhaustive one.  Therefore, we are charged to keep “in step” with the Spirit because when we do not do so, factions, splits, relationship issues, personality issues, and “fleshly” works take us captive…In the Spirit, there is no room for fleshly indulgence, the Spirit produces holiness and godliness in our lives. 

We have arrived at the essence of Paul’s message to the Galatians, that in Christ, we have true human freedom.  The value of “freedom” is a favorite for our nation, and the American view of freedom has been the foundation for the American dream, a rallying cry for times of war, and plea of those seeking rights.  We all want freedom.  The biblical view of freedom, however, is much different than our cultural view, and so this lesson will explore what Paul means when he asserts that true freedom is found in (1) trusting, loving, and obeying God through Christ and in the Spirit, (2) loving and serving others, and (3) living before God with a clear conscience as we grow in holiness and love. As American Christians, we must live in the freedom of Christ, and not be enticed by the cultural definitions of freedom that produce something far different than what the Bible, and Paul, had in mind.

Paul uses an analogy of two sons, one born of Hagar the slave woman and one born of Sarah the free woman.  He goes on to assert that while Ismael will never be Isaac, that didn’t stop him from persecuting Isaac. The son born of the slave woman will never be the son of the free woman, and those who insist on legalism will never be the true fellowship of the Spirit and we can expect some persecution from such “brothers” who don’t understand the Freedom of Christ. (Persecution is opposing a Christian for either obeying God or for declaring God’s will and truth) — When this is done, it is offensive to both the sinner outside the promise of Christ, and the legalist trying to earn the acceptance of Christ.