"Receive The Truth"

Galatians 4:13-18

13) Ye know how through infirmity of the flesh I preached the gospel unto you at the first.

14) And my temptation which was in my flesh ye despised not, nor rejected; but received me as an angel of God, even as Christ Jesus.

15) Where is then the blessedness ye spake of? for I bear you record, that, if it had been possible, ye would have plucked out your own eyes, and have given them to me.

16) Am I therefore become your enemy, because I tell you the truth?

17) They zealously affect you, but not well; yea, they would exclude you, that ye might affect them.

18) But it is good to be zealously affected always in a good thing, and not only when I am present with you.

G

od does nothing without a purpose and as long as we are willing to bow to His will, we will always be what He intends for us to be.

We are created by God that we might be His companions, but this is only possible as we are like Him. To be “like Him,” we must have His mind; must think as He thinks. Now, because God is a Spirit, His thinking is, by definition “spiritual.” This, of course, means that it is elevated above that of Man, who is natural. Therefore, God instructs us that we might get to where He is.

Truth, to many people, becomes what they believe it to be. Precisely because of this, a definite line must be drawn between what is truth and what is true.

The difference between what a human being would present as true and that which God says is truth is that what God says, He is able to “back up.” You see, while we will “repeat” that which is said and want others to believe it, only God possesses the source of truth and so only He can “back it up.”

For some reason, down through the church age, man has decided that he wants his “truth” to be that which is “comfortable.” What we seem not to understand is that “truth” becomes a lie if it allows one to do as he wants.

So how does one judge what is truth and what is not? By assessing whether or not what is being taught operates according to God’s standard!

Truth is truth because it is based upon what is according to God, rather than what is “manufactured” in the mind. Because of its representation of God, truth is not something that is eagerly embraced. Why? Because it is constant; does not change to suit our “tastes” and “wishes.” This means that when we encounter it, it is we who must change. Unfortunately, since change is so uncommon, it makes one question the sincerity of those who encounter the truth.

All too often, the truth is not received because of man’s tendency to cling to what he believes makes him who he is. You see, we take pride in what we know—when what we know is not what saved us. If we are saved, today, we are saved by faith, taking nothing away from us by believing God now.

The wonderful thing about salvation is that because it is “by faith (rather than understanding or education), anyone can believe—if willing to “get over” himself.

For our own good, when we begin to think that we know something, God frequently “mixes it up” to make sure that we are not fooled into believing that our success is of us. (Some people actually “get it” and learn humility—and some, never do.)

“Receiv(ing) the truth” of salvation means accepting what salvation is and is not. You see “feelings,” “emotions,” and “shouting” are not salvation. People who are not saved can shout.

What salvation is not is the denial of the flesh through human effort. All that God has done for us must be accepted, understood and presented as what He and He, alone, has done. You see, if one you would win to salvation is led to believe that “you” have been involved in any way, they will try to figure out what they can “do” to be as you are.

In our scriptures for today, Paul is relating to us about people who had concluded that there must have been something “wrong” with him simply to excuse themselves for not wanting to accept the truth.

Much like us, today, they too, gladly accepted the word and listened. Unfortunately, they began to listen to those who would “seduce” them into believing that what they had accepted, had become unnecessary.

It is not possible for that which satisfies the flesh to be “of God.” And what is not of God brings suffering and pain. When we choose our flesh, we will our lives with struggling and fighting. Life is “tough” enough” without the extra stress—so why not just relax?

One thing is irrefutable—only if we want to do what is “right” will we be willing to hear what God has to say. And only if we are willing to “do what God says” (that is, operate in the truth) will we be victorious.