O foolish Galatians! Who bewitches you before whose eyes Jesus Christ was graphically crucified? This only I want to learn from you: Did you get the spirit by works of law or by hearing of faith? So foolish are you? Undertaking in spirit, are you now being completes in flesh? So much did you suffer feignedly? Since, surely, it also is feignedly?
Paul to the Galatians 3: 1-4, Concordant New Testament Translation
The apostle Paul had a question for the believers in Galatia. Who was it that has deceived you {Paul to the Galatians 3:1}? How is it that you have fallen away from what you once knew? To you, whom Jesus was put to death before your very eyes {Paul to the Galatians 3:1}. Obviously, Paul had reason to believe that these Galatians had adopted another foreign gospel than that which he himself had spoken unto them. To Paul, that much was obvious. His question to them was, why? Who had filled the minds of these Galatians with another gospel, another narrative which Paul did not recognize. I use the word narrative in a two-fold purpose. For I believe that in the same way the Galatians of Paul's day were subverted by someone speaking a different gospel than the one which he brought unto them, that those within the mainstream churches of today also continue to speak with a clear false narrative as well. But, first, what is that narrative? Well, it stems from the First Ecumenical Council which convened in the year 325 at the behest of the Roman emperor Constantine. The main purpose of this gathering of church bishops was to gain and develop a consensus, narrative if you will, of how the concept of Christianity would be brought and taught unto the world. This is the same church narrative that is alive and well today within the church. This is the narrative that seemingly ignores the willing sacrifice of our Lord Jesus by continuing to proclaim that sin continues to be a roadblock in the lives of Gods children. If Paul were with us today, I'm certain that his question would be, who is it that has deceived you? Well, those who are willing to inquire will quickly discover who it is that has deceived us. That being the Nicene Creed which was established so many years ago. It is now the narrative spoken by the mainstream church.
I have a Christian friend who has a habit of pointing out that others will take "snippets" of the scriptures in order to advance their own narrative. I'm sorry, but this is exactly where the Nicene creed has brought us. For the purpose of those bishops who gathered so long ago WAS to create the narrative for teaching Christ Jesus to the world. Scriptures and gospels be damned, they wanted to tell the story their way. The result is a religion which speaks to the love and forgiveness of God, but also preaches that sin continues to be a dominant part of the life of the Lords children. My question to them has always been, if God has forgiven us, what sin did He leave us with? If Christ Jesus has given Himself that sin would be put to death, did He somehow miss the mark? Not according to the Nicene creed. For the Nicene creed speaks to the forgiveness of Christ Jesus through His death and resurrection, but also that we need to be wary of sin. How does that work? Again, just as Paul once spoke to the Galatians the truth of Christ Jesus, his words continue to echo to us today as well. For it is Paul who has spoken that Jesus died to sin "Once for all time" {Paul to the Romans 6:10}. That we, as the Lords children, died with Him on that cross {Paul to the Galatians 2:20}. So tell me, what sin remains after it has been put to death by Christ Jesus? The evangel spoken by Paul illustrates the truth of the gospel of grace we have within Christ Jesus {Paul to the Romans 6:14}. Yet, as with the Galatians of Paul's day, many continue to be led astray by the narrative spoken by those within the church. THIS is what continues to bewitch the believers of today. This is what has taken over the truth of the gospel spoken by Jesus Himself. That not only is sin still relevant, but that it is sin which has separated us from the Father Who has created us in His likeness. This is the narrative preached by the mainstream church.
For sin shall not be lording it over you, for you are not under law, but under grace
Paul to the Romans 6: 14, Concordant New Testament Translation
~Scott~
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