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The Amish Voice 5
He replied, “Northern conservative fundamentalist Baptist, Great
Lakes Region, Council of 1912.”
I said, “Die, heretic!”
2
2 From
New Republic
. Selected from Leadership
,
Fall '92, vol.13 #4, p.47.
Too many churches and too many relationships are split over
insignificant matters! In Christ, we are brothers and sisters. We
must focus on our oneness in Christ, not on our differences. We
have too many things which unite us with other Christian believers
to let the petty things divide us from His Body.
QUESTIONS:
1. What are some of the petty things which divide the body
of Christ?
2. What part does spiritual pride play in dividing true
Christians? What kind of role does God want you to play
to bring unity to your church?
3. How hard is it to accept Christians who are of a different
race? Why is racism such a problem in some churches?
What is God’s answer to this sin?
4. FAITH IN CHRIST MAKES US HEIRS OF THE PROMISE
(v.29).
How do we know that we are justified by faith instead of by the
law and by doing the best we can? Because faith in Christ makes us
heirs of the promise.
Remember the promise made to Abraham: the promise of God’s
blessing, of God’s presence and leadership, of being accepted by
God and given the privilege of living forever in the land of Canaan
(the type and symbol of heaven, of the new heavens and earth).
The point is this: Jesus Christ is the heir of Abraham; therefore,
if a person is
in Christ
, then he inherits the promise made to
Abraham. He inherits the promise of God’s acceptance, of
righteousness, and of living forever in the new heavens and earth as
a son of God.
“For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to
fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby
we cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit itself beareth witness with
our spirit, that we are the children of God: and if children,
then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so
be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified
together”
(Ro.8:15-17).
QUESTIONS:
1. According to Scripture, who is the heir of Abraham’s
promise? How does this inheritance apply to the Christian
believer?
2. What guarantees has God given to the Christian believer
that make His promises available today?
SUMMARY:
As you picture your life on a road map, are you on course,
trusting and living for God? Or have you focused your eyes on the
things of this world?
God is the supreme, all-knowing Guide who will never lead you
astray. Listen to these lyrics from the pen of Christian song writer
Michael Card:
To hear with my heart,
To see with my soul,
To be guided by a hand that I cannot hold,
To trust in a way that I cannot see,
That’s what faith must be.
3
Written by Michael Card.
That’s What Faith Must Be
(Birdwing Music
[a division of The Sparrow Corporation] and BMG Songs, Inc./ Mole
End Music [ASCAP], 1988).
How do you lay hold of the benefits of faith in Christ?
Remember that...
1. Faith in Christ frees us from the supervision of the
law.
2. Faith in Christ makes us children of God.
3. Faith in Christ makes us one: eliminates all
distinctions and prejudices.
4. Faith in Christ makes us heirs of the promise.
PERSONAL JOURNAL NOTES
(Reflection & Response)
1. The most important thing that I learned from this
lesson was:
2. The area that I need to work on the most is:
3. I can apply this lesson to my life by:
4. Closing Statement of Commitment:
Attention!!!
Dear Student of the Bible:
As you have already experi-
enced from these studies in
Galatians, the author and
teacher is a gifted man of
God and has done a tremen-
dous job at teaching us from
the Scriptures.
If you have been blessed by
these studies and are inter-
ested in having all the arti-
cles in book format, you can.
Except for a couple Old Tes-
tament books of the Bible,
you can now order the entire
Old and New Testament
Preacher’s Outline and Ser-
mon Bible
commentary set.
Just go to page 6 of the
Amish Voice and look at the
full page ad that explains
how you can order.
Praying God’s very best on
your life. —Joe Keim