I love the Lord.  But does it really make a difference what I watch, the music I listen to, or the internet sites I go to?  Even though it was written 2000 years ago, Paul’s letter to the Galatians still speaks to us today.

You were running a good race.  Who cut in on you and kept you from obeying the truth?
Galatians 5:7

You were running a good race – past tense.  That sounds ominous.  The question is; how are you going to finish?  After all, it’s not about how you started off your race, it where you finally end up.

Paul sees that these people had left the path.  The problem is that it doesn’t take much.  You could be only one degree off course, but after traveling in that direction for a while, you could be miles away from your planned destination.

They had let someone cut in on them.  They allowed somebody to lead, who wasn’t supposed to.  Because of that, they were losing the truth.

The word, obey, literally means to be convinced, assured or confident in.  So what Paul was saying is that by listening to this person, they were losing confidence in the truth they originally received from the Apostle.  Why was this happening to them?  Could it happen to you?

That kind of persuasion does not come from the one who calls you.  “A little yeast works through the whole batch of dough.”
Galatians 5:8-9

The issue is that now there are two signals being followed.  There’s the One who calls us – the Holy Spirit.  But there’s also someone trying to take us in a different direction.  This is where we start leaving the path.

The problem starts when we don’t listen with a critical ear.  What do I mean by that?  I’m talking about being convinced that Scripture and what the Holy Spirit has taught me is the truth.

Unfortunately, there are Christians who will hear something different.  Then their first thought is, “It sounds logical.  I wonder if that’s true.  I’ll have to think about that.”  When you think like this, you’ve allowed someone to cut in front of you.

Critical thinking doesn’t allow for that.  When you hear a teaching that doesn’t line up with the Word, you immediately label it as a lie.  You can then, through prayer and the study of Scripture, receive insight and understanding as to exactly why this teaching is not the truth.

Paul talks about this in regards to the spiritual weapons we’ve been given.

We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.
2 Corinthians 10:5

This is what has to happen with the lies that bombard us each day.  The media provides a constant stream of ideas that, left unchecked, will ruin our faith.  We must be on our guard to protect the truth that we’ve received.

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.
Galatians 5:10

The truth beats the lie every time.  I believe that these Galatian Christians came back to their senses after hearing the truth in this epistle.  I also believe the same for us.  Being forewarned is being armed and ready.

Question: How is a half-truth worse than a total lie?

© Nick Zaccardi 2017