Treasured Truth

As we learn more about how we can transition from doctrine to duty, Pastor Ford will explain that what’s learned in the holy place, should be lived in the marketplace.  So, he’ll encourage us to take what we are learning in church with us and share it with the world.  If we were doing that more often, then more people would be attracted to what we have and want to become a part of the church themselves.

In the passage we’ll be studying today from Galatians 5, Paul says, “Stand fast therefore, in the liberty wherewith Christ has made us free.  And be not entangled again, with the yoke of bondage.”  So, Pastor Ford will explain what he means is that the law doesn’t empower us, it enslaves us.  And if we try to follow the law, we end up with legalism, rather than liberty.

Pastor Ford will help us understand that when we are not keeping the Lord’s commandments, we are not loving Him.  What does it mean for us to be committed to Jesus Christ?  It means we love what Jesus loves and we hate what Jesus hates.  That’s when we know we’re committed to Christ.

Have you ever been received a pardon, but refused it?  Today we’ll hear about a man named George Wilson, who did just that.  And Pastor Ford will explain that there are too many people who are like that.  God gives them the pardon they need, but they reject His offer.

As we conclude the message on the perfect storm, Pastor Ford points out that God uses storms in our lives to correct us, protect us, and perfect us.  And ultimately, we are able to prevail through life’s storms, not in our own power, but in His power.

As our study continues in Galatians chapter 4, we’ll see today that just like Abraham and Sarah received a promise from God, we all, as believers, have received a promise too. It’s the promise that we will be delivered from the penalty of our sins through grace.  The new covenant frees us from the law and now we have the hope of salvation, but it’s only found in grace.  To find out more about God’s free gift of grace,  join us for today’s Treasured Truth.

Salvation is by grace.  So, in salvation, you don’t help God out.  As we look at the passage we’re studying today, Pastor Ford will explain that Paul is saying the promise God made to Abraham and Sarah is very much like our salvation.  God does not need our help to perform anything or to bring anything to pass, no matter what it is.  He does not need our help to save us.

As we continue to look at the story that Paul allegorizes in Galatians chapter 4, we’ll see that he wants to help the Galatians understand that they are trying in vain to get salvation from the law, when the law was never designed to give us our salvation. We can’t get salvation by the things that we do.  And that’s Paul’s entire argument—salvation is by grace alone.

As we continue to look at this old story with a new meaning, Pastor Ford will remind us that Biblical hermeneutics follows a simple formula—when the literal sense makes plain sense, seek no other sense, lest you abandon common sense and end up with nonsense.

In Galatians chapter 4, Paul takes the Old Testament story about Abraham, Sarah, and Isaace and allegorizes it.  Today we’re going to go into this passage and see what timeless truths Paul is trying to get us to understand by giving this old story a new meaning.