“17 They zealously affect you, but not well;
yea, they would exclude you, that ye might affect them.” Galatians 4:17
There
is a vast difference between a chameleon and a lion. When a chameleon
finds himself in an uncomfortable situation or surrounding, its natural
instinct is to conform to that surrounding. Their salvation is directly
linked to their ability to be affected by their surroundings. Contrast
this with that of a lion; when they find themselves in an uncomfortable
situation their natural instinct is to stand fast and roar. Lions are
bold, strong, unbending, uncompromising, sure, steadfast; they affect their
surroundings more than they are affected by them.
In the
bold and italicized text above Paul is writing to the Galatians about a
particular issue occurring in the church. At first glance it may seem far
removed from us in these “modern” times, but in essence we face the same issue
today. The issue was basically this, there were those coming in behind
Paul sowing lies laced with a little truth, and apparently they were taking
root. By reading the scripture it is safe to assume that they were
telling the Galatians that the old Jewish law was still in effect even though
Christ came. So, the question then becomes: why would this be an
issue? Well, it was for many reasons, one of which was that the Jewish
law promoted a “sin and repent” salvation. It also belittled the power of
Jesus Christ and what His blood and His sacrifice did/does for us. The
church in Galatia was being affected by these false teachers that they were
surrounding themselves with, and it was not good for their spiritual
well-being. Now, stop and ask yourself, do you face the same temptation
today?
As
Christian’s we are called to be in the world but not of the world. Jesus
keeps us from the evil of the world by transforming that which desires the
world. However, as with the Galatians, when you begin to consistently
listen and surround yourself with the teachings of this world they will
zealously affect you. “Sin, is fine and sinning is “ok”; you are the god
of your own life, do with it what you will.” This is the world’s message
and it is loud and proud. If you listen long enough it will affect
you. Jesus teaches of love, humility, servitude, sacrifice, obedience,
goodness; he speaks of being blameless, peaceful, sober, righteous, and godly.
Ascribing under Jesus’s teaching and surrounding yourself with His message
(both in church and out of it) will affect you; and it will be well. When
you are transformed by Jesus Christ and you surrender to his will, His will
begins to take you contrary to the world. You don’t have to go out and
look for things to be contrary to, it will naturally happen, and when it does
they (being those that love the world) will begin to exclude you because you
might affect them! Praise God! Then you really have a chance to
affect them once they being to exclude you, because every deed of animosity and
rebellion expressed towards you by them is an opportunity to exemplify the
inexpressible love of God. When we Christians stand as lions in this
opportunity, gradually the undeniable love of God will be spread across this
nation and souls will be won for His kingdom; because “charity never
faileth.”
All
this can and will happen if we “stand fast therefore in the liberty
wherewith Christ has made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of
bondage.” (Gal 5:1) Satan knows this and that is why he tempts many of us,
if not all of us, to hang around the worldly crowd, sit under sin and repent
preaching, and continually harness ourselves to the church of YOU. He
does this because he knows that they will zealously affect us and it will not
be well. Furthermore, he knows that if we resolve to segregate ourselves
from such and commit to follow God, God will lead us to a place where they will
exclude us so as not to be effected, but in that exclusion they can only create
opportunity. Therefore, my brother
my sister, let us all resolve to wholly embrace the teachings of Jesus Christ
and His Holy Word, and stand in this day as a lion; for with Jesus can we
stand.
