Tag Archives: Galatians

Tony Funderburk Posted on by

I read the phrase, works of the law, this morning, and the theme song from the TV show COPS popped into my head. Bad boys, bad boys, whatcha gonna do?

Bad boys need to know works of the law ain’t the way to go.

By the way, according to Jesus Himself, all boys are bad boys. In case you didn’t already know, works of the law is just another way of saying things you do or good deeds. Or in street talk, you might hear stuff you does with the word stuff being replaced by filthy language, of course.

And the reason I say those so-called good deeds ain’t the way to go is because that’s exactly what Paul said when he wrote a letter to the Galatians. Here’s a direct quote:

“…knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law; for by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified.”

That’s a crystal clear statement.

So, why do many, if not most, Christians seem to prefer the bondage of the law? I’ll tell you why I think they do. Because then it takes the responsibility of their sins off their own shoulders and sloughs it off to God.

But maybe you disagree with that. Maybe you believe that getting baptized, tithing your 10%, and doing good deeds in your community is somehow a “necessary” extension of your faith. It isn’t.

Those things certainly aren’t evil. And they won’t get you banned from Heaven. But they won’t get you into Heaven either. And calling them an outer expression of your inner commitment doesn’t change those facts at all.

So, my recommendation is to read Paul’s letter to the Galatians again. And be sure to ask the good Lord to open your eyes, fully, to his message. You might even see the Bible’s plot, twist and find…

Freedom

Faith working through love…
Let’s praise God for our liberty…
Christ paid off our debt…
Only in Him are we truly free.

Love leads into joy…
Law leads back into slavery…
God gave us The Way.
Just believe, and we’re truly free.

Freedom from the law that kills,
Freedom with our own free wills,
Freedom from the world of sin…
Just let Jesus in, let the joy begin
Share a hopeful grin, with the Lord “We Win”!
Praise God for what we can become
With our freedom.

What law couldn’t do
Jesus did with finality.
He rose up from the dead
And promised the same life for you and me.

So we have…

Chorus…instrumental…chorus twice    © 2010

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Tony Funderburk Posted on by

Oh foolish Americans. Who has hypnotized you so that you don’t even recognize the truth? And why, since you’ve known such incredible freedom, do you prefer to return to bondage?

Yeah, so many foolish Americans fall for lies.

Actually that’s not quite accurate. Because they willingly JUMP into the lies. And they willingly give up freedom after freedom. And it might sound counterintuitive, but they do it because they’re selfish.

They don’t love their neighbors. In fact, more and more Americans want their own selfish lifestyles to be paid for BY their neighbors. And this isn’t something I made up. It’s happening. Right now. In YOUR hometown. And all across this once great land of ours. Well, it used to be ours.

My wife and I just spent some time driving across a lot of America. And we noticed how just about every city, town, and village had a lot of “now hiring” signs. When I say “a lot,” I mean it almost seemed like more businesses were hiring than not.

But that’s mainly because of how many people would rather get a regular check from “the government” than get a job and earn.

I know, as one my regular readers, you’re not one of those foolish Americans who like to steal from your neighbors. But I wouldn’t be surprised if one of your neighbors was one of them. And if you smell pot drifting from somewhere on your street, it’s virtually guaranteed that your neighbor’s a thief.

Anyway…

Enough of my selfish lifestyle rant.

Just for your information, tomorrow I’m presenting the start of a study in Paul’s letter to the Galatians. Read my first sentence again, and you might see the veiled reference to what Paul told them.

And I’m gonna share every part of this study from a love your neighbors perspective. I know this isn’t enough advance notice for you to join us. But if you’re interested in connecting with this study, let me know. It’ll be on Sundays (go figure). And it’ll be about how love did…

What law couldn’t do
Jesus did with finality.
He rose up from the dead
And promised the same life for you and me.
(from the song, “Freedom”)

Stay tuned,

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You probably remember at least one movie like this. A couple of guys constantly fight each other. Each wants to be the alpha male. And they can’t stop. Almost every scene they’re in together is either an actual physical fight or an exchange of verbal “pleasantries.” Until a powerful enemy, they both hate, shows up. Then, they have to band together to vanquish the evil. And they end up as friends. Or something close to that.

It’s interesting how that band together theme comes up so often.

And I’ll bet there’s only a tiny fraction of people making movies who understand where it originates. But I’ll also bet YOU know. Right?

Yeah, there’s actually a law that tells us to band together.

But most people, in the world, break that law every day. And most of those people couldn’t care less. Because they think there’s no punishment for breaking it. And that’s because they don’t they “feel” punished. But nothing could be further from the Truth.

Just in case you’re scratching your head, right now, and wondering what law I mean, it’s the one Paul talked about. He said, “For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ But if you bite and devour one another, beware lest you be consumed by one another!”

Wow. That sure stirs up some ominous word pictures.

Like those pictures, you’ve probably seen, of a snake eating itself. And it’s sad to think of how many people of the world are content to essentially do the same thing to one another.

And what’s so sad about it is that it’s all so easily avoidable. All the heartache. All the despair. And all the lack of trust and compassion. It could all be avoided by obeying that one law. “Love your neighbor as yourself.” But that kind of love isn’t natural. No. It’s supernatural. It’s a gift from God. And all you gotta do is ask for it.

I asked for it a long time ago. And He gave it to me. Because love flows freely from Him. That’s why I sing…

🎶 Because You love me so…in spite of all You know…
Because You did the most that You could ever do…
Because I clearly see…evidence of You in me…
Because I can love…I do love…You! 🎶

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What if joy were against the law? Sounds crazy, I know. But play along for just a bit. And let’s pretend that somehow that kind of law was pushed through congress. What would you do?

If joy were against the law, would you break it?

The law that is. Would you break it? Could you break it?

I believe, and I hope I’m not alone in this belief, that there are plenty of people, right here in “the land of the free and the home of the brave” who’d obey that law. And mostly because they wouldn’t be able to not obey that law.

Because you can’t remove the only source of true joy from your daily life without dire consequences. At best, your ability to press on is compromised. And, at worst, you can’t even find a good reason to press on. And that’s because your spirit is practically null and void.

There are lots of sad examples in the world of music. Stories of pain and heartache. Reports of too much drinking, drugs, and a total disregard for what’s good, healthy, and productive. And it doesn’t matter what music you prefer. Rock-n-roll, country, classical, jazz, hip-hop, blues, etc. etc. etc. They all have their (un)fair share of despair.

Because they turned their backs on, and souls away from, the comforting Spirit of God.

It’s fairly easy to spot someone who’s done that.

Just look at the evidence Paul shared for the fruit of the Spirit. He wrote this to the people of Galatia…

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.”

And when you have that Spirit in you, that fruit can be unstoppable. In fact, it’s the only way you’ll be able to cope with, and overcome, the world that wants to rob you of your joy. And when they outlaw everything good (and they will), you’ll be able to righteously break those sordid, stupid “laws.”

Love leads into joy…
Law leads back into slavery…
God gave us The Way.
Just believe, and we’re truly free.

Stay tuned,

Tony Funderburk signature logo

Get my Rhyme & Reason Podcast delivered (free) right to your device.

My books are also on Amazon.com or Apple Books

Grab yourself an un-cool T-shirt

Or how about some music for kids