Dear Friends of “Dial Daily Bread,”
Can anyone follow Christ truly and not be engaged in warfare? He Himself is heavily engaged in a war known as "the great controversy between Christ and Satan." He says to us, "A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. ... Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword. ... He who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me" (Matt. 10:24, 34, 38). No room here for couch potatoes!
One area of conflict that has raged in minds and hearts for hundreds of years is "justification by faith." Yes, the battle has been going on for most of the 2000 years since Christ. One entire book in the New Testament is devoted to the conflict--the Book of Galatians. There was no way one could be a Christian then and not take a side either for what Paul declared is "the truth of the gospel" or for the false teachers who came from "Jerusalem" to oppose him. And the battle has not subsided even today! Bring up the subject in almost any church or Bible class, and you will see the sparks fly. Must the conflict go on and on forever? Or can those who choose to believe in Christ resolve the conflict and come into genuine and lasting heart unity? Is the Bible clear? Or is the very source of our faith itself muddled and confused?
God invites you to come to Him and get the issue settled once for all, so that your mind and heart are clear and your feet are set on the solid rock. David said, "I waited patiently for the Lord, and He inclined to me, and heard my cry. He also brought me up out of a horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my steps" (Psalm 40:1, 2),
Give God a day of your life and (on your knees) prayerfully read Galatians and Romans all the way through. Not somebody's paraphrase or "commentary" in which he has exercised his supposed "hermeneutic" privilege to twist poor Paul into subtle legalism; read an authentic translation, maybe more than one, for perspective (you have two eyes for perspective!), and make your choice to believehow good the Good News is.
Yes, read the Bible itself, and let the fog be blown out of your mind and heart. Don't be proud and jump to conclusions; test and re-test your convictions. We can trust the Bible! Just read it with simple common sense. Blessings!
--Robert J. Wieland
From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: December 28, 2000.
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