Wednesday, September 11, 2024
You were running well. Who prevented you from obeying the truth? This persuasion does not come from the one who calls you. A little leaven leavens the whole batch of dough. I myself am persuaded in the Lord you will not accept any other view. But whoever it is that is confusing you will pay the penalty.Galatians 5:7-10
Distracted From Jesus
Paul remembers the strong faith that the church in Galatia had starting out. They had fresh fire for the Gospel, and they were unhindered in their faith, running well. But now they were getting caught up in the teachings of legalism. They were distracted by these teachings that prevented them from obeying the truth. It was not Jesus – who called them – that they were pursuing now. It was false teachings. The similarity of a little leaven leavens the whole batch of dough is in reference to a little false teaching will corrupt the whole congregation. A little false teaching can disrupt our lives, distracting us from Jesus and walking and loving like He does.
There are so many platforms today where anyone who wants to, regardless of educational accomplishment, can say whatever they believe or want people to believe. And people will believe them. They will accept their truth, without checking it against the Bible, or they choose this false truth over the Bible. Sometimes they choose the false truth because they like what it says more than they like the truth of the Bible. These modern day false teachers prevent us from obeying the truth when we choose to turn away from Jesus, just for a moment, and fix our gaze on something or someone else.
How can we protect ourselves from being distracted by false teaching? We can protect ourselves from false teachers and being distracted from Jesus by anything by abiding and remaining in Him. John 15:4 says Remain in me, and I in you. Just as a branch is unable to produce fruit by itself unless it remains on the vine, neither can you unless you remain in me. John uses the concept of "remaining" in Christ in slightly different ways, but always includes the idea of someone who expresses saving faith and "holds fast" to that belief. The ESV version says Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. When we remain or abide in something, we stay there. As a Christian, apart from Christ, not only will we not bear fruit, but we can lose our way. When we remain in Him, we stay with Him. We learn from Him – how to live and how to love – and we are not distracted by false teaching. We walk in obedience to His word. To abide in Him is to know Him. John 10:27 says My sheep hear my voice, I know them, and they follow me. Jesus is our Good Shepherd and when we know Him well, we will hear His voice over everything else, and follow Him. We will not be distracted from Jesus when we are listening to His voice and following Him.
Are you abiding and remaining in Jesus? Do you know His voice so that you can hear it above everything else?
