The Amish Voice 3
especially the trendy and expensive type. Many are judged for what
they wear on the outside and not for what dresses the heart.
Finally, how we invest our financial resources tells a lot about
what we consider important. Our culture is one that promotes “me
first” and then others if anything is left over (by accident).
Some would respond and say, “But we don’t have idols. We
are
civilized.” However, the evidence is clear: anything that is placed
before Jesus Christ is an idol. Let this rule of thumb keep you from
the sin of idolatry.
APPLICATION 1:
What most people worship is only a creation of their own mind’s.
They have an idea of god, who he is and what he is like, and they
worship that idea. Few ever seek God’s revelation of Himself in Jesus
Christ. If men really believed that Jesus Christ was the living
revelation of God, then they would study Him and His life, seeking to
know Him with every ounce of energy they had. But few ever do, and
this failure is a clear indication that they do not believe, not really.
The point is this: since the unbeliever does not believe in Jesus
Christ, the One who came to reveal God to the world, then whatever it
is that he worships is false—a false god. It is a figment of his
imagination, only an idea in his mind. Whether a man bows to an idol
or not, he is merely worshipping his own idea, thought, concept, and
imagination.
“
For as I passed by, and beheld your devotions, I found
an altar with this inscription, TO THE UNKNOWN GOD.
Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto
you” (Ac.17:23).
“
That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens
from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the
covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the
world” (Ep.2:12).
APPLICATION 2:
Every believer needs to remember where he came from before he
came to know God. God has been most merciful to us all; therefore,
we must never forget that Jesus Christ has purged us from our sins.
“
According as his divine power hath given unto us all
things [God and His blessings] that pertain unto life and
godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to
glory and virtue” (2 Pe.1:3).
2.
LOOK AT YOUR PRESENT LIFE: YOU KNOW GOD AND
ARE KNOWN BY GOD (v.9).
You are given the most wonderful privilege of knowing God, or
more accurately stated, you are known by God. Think about the
glorious privilege of knowing God and being known by God Himself!
As R.A. Cole points out, when a person accepts Jesus Christ as
His Savior, he comes to know God personally not just intellectually—
but in a much deeper way, for in the Bible “to know” means far more
than just intellectual knowledge. It means an intimate relationship;
that is why the Bible uses the word
know
to express the most intimate
relation between man and wife: “And Adam knew Eve his wife; and
she conceived”(Ge.4:1).
However, note a critical point. When a person
turns away and
separates himself
from the world to know God, the most wonderful
thing happens: God accepts him, becoming a Father to him and
knowing him as His son or daughter. The person becomes known by
God. This is exactly what Scripture says:
“
Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye
separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing;
and I will receive you, and will be a Father unto you, and ye
shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty”
(2
Co.6:17-18).
Again, imagine the glorious privilege of such a precious
relationship! Not only to know God as Father but to be
known by God
as His son or daughter!
“...
I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name;
thou art mine” (Is.43:1).
APPLICATION:
Believers should constantly look at their present lives—the glorious
salvation God has given them: the privilege of knowing Him and of
being known by Him. But note: we must always remember that we do
not come to know God by our own efforts or works, not by doing the
best we can and obeying the law, as important as all these are. We
come to know God through justification, that is, by faith in Jesus
Christ and by faith in Him alone.
3.
CONSIDER YOUR TURNING BACK (vv.9-11).
1.
Note a critical point: the Galatians were about to turn back to
the elementary things or notions about God. Does this mean they
were about to turn back to their pagan, idolatrous worship? No, that
QUESTIONS
:
1.
What does it mean to “know God”?
2.
What can you do in order to know God better?
3.
Who do you know personally who knows God well? What qualities
does he have which strike you? How did that person come to have
those character traits?
QUESTIONS
:
1.
What advantages does a believer have over an unbeliever? Do
you make the most of these advantages, or do you slip back
into the same patterns of your former life?
2.
Why do people create gods? In what way is this also a tempta-
tion to you?
3.
Where is the Christian believer to go in order to know who God
really is? Do you make it a regular habit of doing this? Why or
why not?
