The world at the time of Christ was not totally bleak, or monstrous. I know what the gospel of Christ is intended to do, and at the same time I know that human beings are what we've always been. In a day and age where fewer people have a faith in anything beyond themselves, we can see the darkness that surrounds that lack of faith. The headlong plunge into carnality is revealed in Paul's letter to the Galatians. As we learned from our Brother Colby, the Galatians were all about themselves. Parties, orgies, sexual promiscuity, killing, self-abasement, violent outbursts, and lawlessness were the normal way of life. Then came the gospel!
Looking at the gospel from our distant vantage point, it is impossible to imagine what it must have felt like to those first few converts as they felt Holy Spirit begin His work in their hearts. Try to imagine how strange they must have seemed to old friends and family as their lives reflected the work being done in them. To a world filled with carnality on all sides, these first believers must have seemed crazy.
If you think about it, the gospel had to be the craziest idea ever floated in a sea of ideas. God could have simply spoken a word and every one would have done what He commanded. He could have sent in an angelic army and subjugated everyone to His will. He could have winked us all out of existence and started over again. Instead, He gave us a gift of love.
In Paul's letter to the Galatians, he makes it clear that the law imprisons us, but faith in Christ sets us free. The ultimate expression of love is freedom. As I look at the world around me today, I see humanity turning their back on the freedoms they once enjoyed under the gospel of Jesus Christ. The more secular we become, the darker the repression becomes.
For tomorrows men's group, allow yourself some time today to read Galatians 3 and see how Paul was addressing the specific culture of Galatia.
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