True Friendship

I don't know about you, but having true friends can be hard to find.  We have all kinds of relationships but at different levels. Sure, we all have people that are our "Facebook friends" or "twitter followers" but I'm talking about friends that are committed to doing life together. I've been blessed to have friends in my life that have impacted me. God created us for relationship! "Friends will determine the direction and quality of our lives (7 Checkpoints)."

"Walk with the wise and become wise, for a companion of fools suffers harm.” Proverbs 13:20

In today's culture, it seems to me that people are becoming more isolated than ever before. We have more technology than ever before in history but it has become a mask for the real need of face-to-face relationships. What is a true friend? Is it much more than an "acquaintance?" or "facebook friend?"

Ed Young Jr. used an illustration of a swimming pool where many times the shallow end is what makes up a majority of our relationships. We can go through life wearing "relational floaties" and never reach the deep end of friendships.

What does it mean to be a friend? – a trustworthy person you mutually choose to love and to encourage in order to bring God glory. We need Christian friends to survive in a world of isolation. We were not meant to live the Christian life alone! For those of you who have been true friends to me, you know who you are!

How do we understand which friend types to avoid?

• “Take what I can get” friend - Focused upon taking what they can for themselves at any cost.
• “Be happy I’m your friend” - Insecurity leads to conforming to be accepted by the "popular" people.
• “Friends with Benefits” – the more money and toys you have, the more people want to be your friend!
• “OCD: Must-know-everything-psycho” - busy-body who loves to gossip, if they gossip, they are doing the same to you when you aren’t around.
• A gossip betrays a confidence; so avoid anyone who talks too much. Proverbs 20:19
• “Must-Do-Everything-Together” - Selfish person who controls you to be together at any cost in such a way that you lose your own personal identity.

If you pick the wrong friends, you will pay for it. “If you sleep with dogs, you are going to get fleas.” Southern Proverb. Paul told the Corinthians, “bad company corrupts good character” 1 Corinthians 15:33.

What does your friendships look like? Are you a friend that pushes people closer to Jesus?

• When a need arises, can you be depended upon to follow through? A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother" Proverbs 18:24.
• Friends will stick with you especially when you fail.
• Friends will lift you out of times of crisis.
• A friend will encourage you to live for Jesus. "Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another." Proverbs 27:17

In order to grow in our faith, we must learn how to build Christ-like relationships.

What steps can we take to move our friendship from shallow to real, creating a place of trust and accountability?

Jesus set the example of the ultimate friend, "Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends." John 15:13

Background Thoughts on Galations

Here's a few thoughts on the occasion and purpose for the writing of Galatians.  Who were the opponents of Paul in Galatia?  What was the nature of the opponents’ doctrine and how did Paul respond to it?

The book of Galatians reveals people to have been composed mainly of converts from heathenism (4:8), but partly also of Jewish converts, who probably, under the influence of Judaizing teachers, sought to incorporate the rites of Judaism with Christianity, and by their active zeal had succeeded in inducing the majority of the churches to adopt their views (1:6; 3:1). This epistle was written for the purpose of counteracting this Judaizing tendency, and of recalling the Galatians to the simplicity of the gospel.

The epistle was probably written very soon after Paul's second visit to Galatia (Acts 18:23). The references of the epistle appear to agree with this conclusion. The visit to Jerusalem, mentioned in Gal. 2:1-10, was identical with that of Acts 15, and it is spoken of as a thing of the past, and consequently the epistle was written subsequently to the council of Jerusalem. The similarity between this epistle and that to the Romans has led to the conclusion that they were both written at the same time, namely, in the winter of A.D. 57-8, during Paul's stay in Corinth (Acts 20:2, 3).

Paul’s answers the great question discussed is, Was the Jewish law binding on Christians? The epistle is designed to prove against the Jews that men are justified by faith without the works of the law of Moses. After an introductory address (Gal. 1:1-10) the apostle discusses the subjects which had occasioned the epistle. Paul continues to communicate the purpose for his writing in that salvation only comes through faith in Christ and not on any meritorious act, morality, ethnic background, etc. Paul continually points to the fact that salvation is a free gift given to man.

Conservative scholars have historically assumed Paul’s opponents were Judaizers and have interpreted the text in that light. Paul's opponents were Jew-ish Christians who sought to "Judaize" the Gentile Christians of Galatia. The Judaizers' identity best satisfies the "mirror-reading" criteria and limitations, Barclay concludes that the troublers were probably Jewish Christians who also questioned the adequacy of both Paul's apostolic credentials and the gospel he preached.

Paul always responded in a bold way but showed his love to the people through his writings. Paul always responded and showed people they were wrong, he did not back down. Paul clears up the importance of the change of the heart and how all of the customs and many laws that the Judaizers were adding to salvation, he helps them know that true salvation only comes through faith in Christ.

Thoughts on Reaching Others

If we want to impact people’s lives the way Jesus did, it is going to get messy. Jesus dealt with Pharisees, prostitutes and intellectuals. Jesus built relationships by making time for people. Our role in the world is to be “salt and light” in our actions and lifestyle. First, It is important to understand that we don’t need to force the gospel upon people. I have seen many times people make decisions based solely upon emotion and have been fed a “half-gospel” where there is no understanding of following Christ with their whole life. We must do our part of being a student of not only God’s Word but of the culture we live in. Paul did not try to “fix’ people before they came to Christ. Paul’s view on reaching people was, “I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some.”

Secondly, in order to impact our communities for Christ, we must be willing to engage them in daily conversations. We must be willing to listen to people’s physical, emotional and spiritual needs. In order to change the way people view the gospel, we need to each individual’s understanding of the gospel. Once we understand their background, we need to be faithful to present the gospel in a clear and relevant way.

Thirdly, we need to realize that we are not able to change people. We are the messengers of the gospel. Let’s just face it; people have a lot of baggage. Because of today’s culture of single family homes, depression,  and moral relativism we need to be willing to follow the Holy Spirit’s leading and keep asking wise questions to bring out people’s “hang-ups” and issues. Once people know that we care about their thoughts and feelings, we will diffuse their frustrations with Christianity and be able to help them see their true state before God.

Lastly, A misconception of evangelism that I have seen is that we must follow a certain evangelistic program in order to share the gospel. I believe it is important for believers to share their faith using their own testimony as the focus. Many times people would follow an outline and it would seem “choreographed” and not real. I am not saying that people shouldn’t follow a clear presentation with points but we must not lose our own personality as we share the truth of Jesus Christ. Dealing with people is tough, but with the power of the Holy Spirit we can see many lives changed by Jesus Christ.