Real Authority

"when Peter came to Antioch, I had a face-to-face confrontation with him because he was clearly out of line." - Galatians 2:11(MESSAGE)

Valid authority in the Church derives from following the truth.

Those aligned with God's word are to be honored and followed,¹ those who don't are to be resisted, sometimes even publicly, regardless of their name, rank, or history.

The apostle, Paul, wrote

"Let me be blunt: ... If anyone, regardless of reputation or credentials, preaches something other than what you received originally, let him be cursed ... If my goal was popularity, I wouldn't bother being Christ's" - Galatians 1:9-10a (MESSAGE)

This doesn't mean arguing every little point. The Brethren church has a wonderful saying,

In essentials, Unity;
In non essentials, Liberty;
In all things, Charity."

All valid authority comes from adherence to God's word, not an ecclesiastical or educational title.

- fritz

^{1 - 1st Timothy 5:17}

The Galatians Tree

Paul's letter to the Galatians represented, graphically, as a Tree.

The World, evil or just misunderstood?

"Grace be to you and peace from God the Father, and from our Lord Jesus Christ, Who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father:" - Apostle Paul (Galatians 1:3-4 KJV)

Here's the crux of our struggle - We see our world not as evil but just in need of reform. We want to enjoy all the good this world offers and fix its problems.

God's answer is not reform but deliverance.

Our sins render us unable to escape, like a man trying to pull himself up by his own bootstraps.

Jesus gave himself for our sins¹ , puts us into His Kingdom² to obey His laws³ , to extend His rule where we have responsibility and authority⁴ , and to live as ambassadors for Christ⁵ to others who are, likewise, in need of deliverance.

¹ - "Asking the Wrong Questions"
² - Colossians 1:13
³ - James 1:25
⁴ - Like the centurian in Acts 27:43
⁵ - 2^nd Corinthians 5:20

- Fritz