Rejecting the poo-message - now what? The poo-free Gospel part 2

The subject question of this post is somewhat ambiguous, but follow through to the the end if you already know the answer.

Between rejecting the corrupted, mixed-Gospel and accepting the Gift Gospel-message of unconditional love, there is a part that Paul explains so beautifully to the Galatians (and us). In this post we continue from where we left in the previous post. (see the previous post here)

You'll remember that Paul was referring to the undiluted word of Truth (2 Corinthians 2:17, James 1:21), mixed with nothing but Faith (Hebrews 4:2).

In the previous post we caught up with Paul explaining how that there is an accursed Gospel preached by trouble-makers, mixing the pure Good-News Gospel with poo (law, rules and doctrine), the latter being a toxic, deadly mixture that should be discarded immediately. We were reading what he said in The Message Translation.

In this post we look at Paul’s explanation on what to do once we’ve decided to reject the poo-induced Gospel to receive the pure Good-News-Gospel. This time we’ll read from both The Message and the KJV.

Our freedom is center to it all 

We are in Chapter 5 with Paul explaining.

Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage. Galatians 5:1 KJV

(If you decided to skip to the end, then you will probably miss the build-up to the conclusion … but I will give you a hint already …)

Paul is saying that we should accept the liberty of Christ (His finished work) and not become entangled (burdened) with anything else that will burden us.

Let’s get back into The Message translation, reading in chapter 5

Christ has set us free to live a free life. So take your stand! Never again let anyone put a harness of slavery on you.

I am emphatic about this. The moment any one of you submits to circumcision or any other rule-keeping system, at that same moment Christ’s hard-won gift of freedom is squandered. I repeat my warning: The person who accepts the ways of circumcision trades all the advantages of the free life in Christ for the obligations of the slave life of the law.

If you attempt to keep the law, you depend on your own effort

I suspect you would never intend this, but this is what happens. When you attempt to live by your own religious plans and projects, you are cut off from Christ, you fall out of grace. Meanwhile we expectantly wait for a satisfying relationship with the Spirit. For in Christ, neither our most conscientious religion nor disregard of religion amounts to anything. What matters is something far more interior: faith expressed in love.

The One who called you, is the One Who did a perfect job!

You were running superbly! (With the Pure-Good-News-Gospel)

… but …

Who cut in on you, deflecting you from the true course of obedience? This detour doesn’t come from the One who called you into the race in the first place. And please don’t toss this off as insignificant. It only takes a minute amount of yeast, you know, to permeate an entire loaf of bread. Deep down, the Master has given me confidence that you will not defect. But the one who is upsetting you, whoever he is, will bear the divine judgment.

The tiniest bit of of poop in the brownie still contaminates it!

…

You have it, now live it!

It is absolutely clear that God has called you to a free life. Just make sure that you don’t use this freedom as an excuse to do whatever you want to do and destroy your freedom. Rather, use your freedom to serve one another in love; that’s how freedom grows. For everything we know about God’s Word is summed up in a single sentence: Love others as you love yourself. That’s an act of true freedom. If you bite and ravage each other, watch out—in no time at all you will be annihilating each other, and where will your precious freedom be then?

But, how will we manage to do this?

My counsel is this: Live freely, animated and motivated by God’s Spirit. Then you won’t feed the compulsions of selfishness. For there is a root of sinful self-interest in us that is at odds with a free spirit, just as the free spirit is incompatible with selfishness. These two ways of life are contrary to each other, so that you cannot live at times one way and at times another way according to how you feel on any given day. Why don’t you choose to be led by the Spirit and so escape the erratic compulsions of a law-dominated existence? Galatians 5:13-18

And Paul’s last words in Galatians sums it up

May what our Master Jesus Christ gives freely be deeply and personally yours, my friends. Oh, yes!

Once the corrupted Gospel message is rejected, we accept the liberty of Christ (His finished work) and are no longer entangled (burdened) with anything else that may burden us.

Next, we'll we looking at the Gospel in it's most simple form. Don't miss our next post!