Rēad to Read …Again
Daily Reading: Galatians 1-3
Galatians 1:3
Grace be to you and peace from God the Father, and from our Lord Jesus Christ,
Oliver B. Green said of Galatians, “Galatians is a small book that destroys the giant of man-made religion.” Instead of writing to one church, in this book the apostle Paul writes to several churches in the area of Galatia which is on the western border of modern-day Turkey. This short book is an excellent dissertation on the true Gospel of faith versus man-made works for salvation. In its opening greeting, the apostle makes a statement that is as easy to overlook as the words “Dear Mr. So and so” on letters today. His salutation is not mere rote, but rather a doctrinal statement so grand that it could be said that it is the primary message to the redeemed children of God.
He extends to those to whom he writes a prayer that God’s grace and peace would be with them. Yes, he is about to expose false teaching, yes, he will write some harsh things, and yes, he will make enemies with his words. But his desire is that those who have trusted Christ in those churches would continue to trust Christ in faith, while not adding to, nor taking away, anything from the glorious doctrine of His Gospel.
He is not alone. Other New Testament writers wrote basically the same salutation to their audiences. While to the lost the saving knowledge of the Gospel is God’s primary message, it could be that this is our heavenly Father’s primary thoughts toward the saved. That they would receive and live in light of His grace, peace, and mercy. Think about this often-repeated salutation at the beginning or end of the vast majority of the New Testament books.
From Romans to Revelation there are twenty-two books. Twenty of those the writers begin or end with a similar salutation. Paul, John, Peter and the writer of the book of Hebrews, all used alike greetings. The only author in this section of the New Testament that does not include this sentiment is James. Hebrews only lists grace, III John only lists peace, the other books use at least two of these godly gifts; four use all three (I Timothy, II Timothy, Titus, and II John.)
If repetition is the key to learning, and it is, the Holy Spirit wants New Testament Christians to learn something. It is our mandate from Him to extend to all the saved God’s grace, mercy and peace. This writer can think of no other oft repeated message in the New Testament to believers. At least none that are as clear cut as this one.
Having learned these facts from study years ago, it has become a guiding light for messages, teachings, devotional writings, and the Bible Edge radio program, to extend to all the saved a desire for God’s grace, mercy and peace to be upon all who hear or read. Again, yes, a thousand times yes, pastors, missionaries, evangelists, and preachers of all types must deal with difficult messages, Paul did. But he and the other New Testament writers seemed to never stray too far away from their goal: that God’s grace, peace, and mercy would be real in the life of every believer.
Dr. William T. Howe
Commentaires