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Who Cut You Off?

Who Cut You Off?

Words of Faith 6-14-19

Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy © 2019

Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com

Faith Fellowship Church - Melbourne, FL

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Galatians 5

      [7] You were running a good race. Who cut in on you and kept you from obeying the truth? [8] That kind of persuasion does not come from the one who calls you. [9] "A little yeast works through the whole batch of dough." [10] I am confident in the Lord that you will take no other view. The one who is throwing you into confusion will pay the penalty, whoever he may be.

 

       I suspect that at some point in his life, Paul was a jock.  We don't know for sure, but it would make sense because he loved to use athletic imagery to describe the Christian life.

       Paul talked about running to win the prize, training carefully, never running aimlessly, and carefully disciplining himself (1 Cor. 9:24-27).  He made it clear that he never wanted to run his race in vain or for no reason (Gal. 2:2).  He spoke of straining toward the prize that God had set out for him (Phil. 3:13-14).  He spoke of fighting the good fight and finishing the race of faith (2 Timothy 4:7).  

       Here Paul used another image from athletics, but it was a negative one.  Don't get cut off by a cheater.

       This image was powerful, that of someone breaking in and cheating in a race. You started out well!  You were running a great race.  Who cut in on you and kept you from obeying the truth?  Who cheated you out of your prize?  The image was that of illegal interference in a race.  No one likes to be robbed of victory, but that was precisely what was happening to the Galatians.

       Someone had hindered them. The verb enkopto is a military term.  It means to set up an obstacle or break up a road. In this context, it refers to illegal interference of a runner who cuts in ahead of another and thereby disadvantages him. But the violence of the word should not be missed.  Who broke up your road?  Who destroyed your path?  Who put the obstacle in your way?

       Paul answered the question.  Such a "persuasion" did not come from the one who first called you.  This was not from God.  This was a deception.  From time to time we will speak to someone who was called by God, but now they are deceived.  They claim that "God" is calling them to something that God would never ever call them to do.  It is so obvious that this cannot be from God.  Such was this case.  The Galatians were not hearing from the one who first called them. 

        In fact, Paul saw this as "a little yeast" that "works through the whole batch of dough.”  It was an image that Jesus had used to describe the Pharisees.  The point was that false teaching, like yeast, grows and affects everything it touches. This was why Paul was so alarmed at the state of affairs in the Galatian churches.

        It is the nature of evil to spread, but Paul was actually confident that the Lord would triumph in this situation. I am confident in the Lord that you will take no other view. The one who is throwing you into confusion will pay the penalty, whoever he may be.  He was sure that the Galatians would return to a right mind and that the false teacher, whoever he was or however vital he may have seemed to be, would suffer God's judgment.

        For us?  Paul would surely caution us in our modern and postmodern era.  He would call us to take care that having started an excellent race for Jesus; we do not allow deception to cut in on our path and steal away our victory.  Paul would warn us that a little bit of untruth will quickly spread.  We must take great care to proclaim and protect the truth of the Gospel as we rejoice in the life it gives.

 

         Father God, thank You for the race set out before me.  Keep me true to the path.  Keep me on the journey.  Remove the obstacles and do not let me be deceived.  I rejoice in the life that I have come to know in You. In Jesus' Name.

 

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The Words of Faith devotion is published five days a week by E-mail, and our website, and our church app, excluding Federal holidays. Please feel free to forward this devotion to a friend who might be blessed by this devotion. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture is quoted from the New International Version (R) of The Holy Bible. Copyright (c) 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved. Words of Faith (c) 1997, 2010 Jeffrey D. Hoy. All rights reserved. Permission is granted to forward this copyrighted material or use portions of it with appropriate notation of the source for non-profit purposes.  

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