Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this. But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate -- we can not consecrate -- we can not hallow -- this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us -- that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion -- that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain -- that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom -- and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.
Gettysburg Address,
by Abraham Lincoln
Gettysburg, PA
November 19, 1863
13For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another.
14For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
15But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another.
16This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.
17For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.
18But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.
19Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,
20Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,
21Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revelings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.
22But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
23Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
24And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.
25If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.
26Let us not be desirous of vainglory, provoking one another, envying one another.
14For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
15But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another.
16This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.
17For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.
18But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.
19Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,
20Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,
21Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revelings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.
22But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
23Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
24And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.
25If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.
26Let us not be desirous of vainglory, provoking one another, envying one another.
Galatians 5:13-26
The 150th anniversary of the start of the U.S. Civil War is April 12 of this year, so as I was thinking on the plight of the Black community in America the Battle of Gettysburg and Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address came to mind. The Battle of Gettysburg was fought on July 1,2 and 3 of 1863 in and around Gettysburg, PA. A force of 172,000 soldiers of the Union and Confederate Armies fought against each other with 7,500 deaths between the two. It was the turning point in the Civil War; from that point on the Confederate forces would always be on the defensive.
Lincoln had been invited to Gettysburg that November of 1863 to participate in the dedication of the Soldiers’ National Cemetery there. Though his speech was short in relation to Edward Everett, 2 minutes compared to 2 hours, Lincoln’s speech echoes a theme that is important to me as a Black man and a believer. The fight for liberty.
Liberty is defined as the condition in which human beings are able to govern themselves, to behave according to their own free will and take responsibility for their actions. The progression of our physical liberation as captured slaves wrapped in chains, shackled and herded onto slavers on the Gold Coast of Africa has been slow but steady. Before this battle the Emancipation Proclamation had been issued by President Lincoln in January of that year and the first all- Black regiment had been formed in March of that year also. Through the succeeding decades, Reconstruction to Jim Crow to the Civil Rights Movement, we have shaken off the physical chains and broken the shackles. Though by no means perfect, we now bask in that liberty conceived eleven score and fourteen years ago by the founders of this nation. Christian liberty is a different story. Millions of Blacks are attending church but our communities are enslaved to sin because we are losing the battle between the flesh and the spirit.
To show the spiritual bondage that envelopes the Black community I could present a lot of statistics dealing with Black crime rates, the HIV/AIDS epidemic and high abortion rates among us. But both White and Black critics would dispute the accuracy and causation of does’ numbers so I won’t. What I will show is the percentage of Black youth who listen to rap music. Remember the saying that art imitates life, well 58% of Black youth listen to it everyday and are imitating everything that they hear and see, FactSheet: Rap Music and Videos (www.cleveland.com/ news/pdf/bwsurvey_rapmusic.pdf). They are imitating fornication, homosexuality, lesbianism, bisexuality, drug dealing, cross-dressing, effeminacy, pagan tattoos and body piercing, occultism to include Egyptian symbolism, drug and alcohol abuse, murder, violence against women, profanity, glorification of prison culture, hatred of work effort and education and the list goes on, but you get the picture. Black youth are our future so their attitude toward sin will shape the course of the race.
Charles Gilmer, president of The Impact Movement, speaking on the relevance of Jesus to the Black community writes this in his article, “The Truth About Jesus," (http://www.everystudent.com/features/truth.html):
“Dr. King's appeal was to the moral conscience of the nation, based on its Judeo-Christian values. Yet, the white church failed to support his pleas for justice, freedom and equal treatment... This opened the door for those who wanted to disparage the Christian message. Many progressive whites befriended the Civil Rights leadership, becoming our allies in the struggle. Youthful leadership emerged, enraged by the cowardice and hypocrisy of the white church, to declare the need for new thinking. The new allies were quick to provide alternative ideologies, like dialectical Marxism, radical feminism and political liberalism. The patience of the previous generations began to be interpreted as weakness -- a weakness often attributed to the gentle nature of Christianity.
A generation of African Americans began to drift away from the church. These first recipients of the benefits of desegregation were facing new challenges, choosing from previously unheard of opportunities and experiencing unprecedented freedom. The nation had grudgingly removed the obstacles to broader exploration and the younger crowd was ready to wander. The black church struggled to effectively speak to those who had left its confines.
What has been the outcome? Those who have not had access or failed to capitalize on the new opportunities are left without hope for a better future. And the popular notion that Jesus has nothing to offer created a vacuum of moral authority. No longer do we look to God as the one to whom we are accountable. We are our own authority. Some even teach that "The black man is God." If this is so, then we can define our own morality, establish our own standards of behavior, and sit in judgment of everyone else. But we have failed because we are not God. No wonder drug trade is seen as an understandable and too often an acceptable career choice. No wonder teenage pregnancy continues to rise and sexually transmitted diseases are approaching epidemic proportions.”
Lincoln had been invited to Gettysburg that November of 1863 to participate in the dedication of the Soldiers’ National Cemetery there. Though his speech was short in relation to Edward Everett, 2 minutes compared to 2 hours, Lincoln’s speech echoes a theme that is important to me as a Black man and a believer. The fight for liberty.
Liberty is defined as the condition in which human beings are able to govern themselves, to behave according to their own free will and take responsibility for their actions. The progression of our physical liberation as captured slaves wrapped in chains, shackled and herded onto slavers on the Gold Coast of Africa has been slow but steady. Before this battle the Emancipation Proclamation had been issued by President Lincoln in January of that year and the first all- Black regiment had been formed in March of that year also. Through the succeeding decades, Reconstruction to Jim Crow to the Civil Rights Movement, we have shaken off the physical chains and broken the shackles. Though by no means perfect, we now bask in that liberty conceived eleven score and fourteen years ago by the founders of this nation. Christian liberty is a different story. Millions of Blacks are attending church but our communities are enslaved to sin because we are losing the battle between the flesh and the spirit.
To show the spiritual bondage that envelopes the Black community I could present a lot of statistics dealing with Black crime rates, the HIV/AIDS epidemic and high abortion rates among us. But both White and Black critics would dispute the accuracy and causation of does’ numbers so I won’t. What I will show is the percentage of Black youth who listen to rap music. Remember the saying that art imitates life, well 58% of Black youth listen to it everyday and are imitating everything that they hear and see, FactSheet: Rap Music and Videos (www.cleveland.com/ news/pdf/bwsurvey_rapmusic.pdf). They are imitating fornication, homosexuality, lesbianism, bisexuality, drug dealing, cross-dressing, effeminacy, pagan tattoos and body piercing, occultism to include Egyptian symbolism, drug and alcohol abuse, murder, violence against women, profanity, glorification of prison culture, hatred of work effort and education and the list goes on, but you get the picture. Black youth are our future so their attitude toward sin will shape the course of the race.
Charles Gilmer, president of The Impact Movement, speaking on the relevance of Jesus to the Black community writes this in his article, “The Truth About Jesus," (http://www.everystudent.com/features/truth.html):
“Dr. King's appeal was to the moral conscience of the nation, based on its Judeo-Christian values. Yet, the white church failed to support his pleas for justice, freedom and equal treatment... This opened the door for those who wanted to disparage the Christian message. Many progressive whites befriended the Civil Rights leadership, becoming our allies in the struggle. Youthful leadership emerged, enraged by the cowardice and hypocrisy of the white church, to declare the need for new thinking. The new allies were quick to provide alternative ideologies, like dialectical Marxism, radical feminism and political liberalism. The patience of the previous generations began to be interpreted as weakness -- a weakness often attributed to the gentle nature of Christianity.
A generation of African Americans began to drift away from the church. These first recipients of the benefits of desegregation were facing new challenges, choosing from previously unheard of opportunities and experiencing unprecedented freedom. The nation had grudgingly removed the obstacles to broader exploration and the younger crowd was ready to wander. The black church struggled to effectively speak to those who had left its confines.
What has been the outcome? Those who have not had access or failed to capitalize on the new opportunities are left without hope for a better future. And the popular notion that Jesus has nothing to offer created a vacuum of moral authority. No longer do we look to God as the one to whom we are accountable. We are our own authority. Some even teach that "The black man is God." If this is so, then we can define our own morality, establish our own standards of behavior, and sit in judgment of everyone else. But we have failed because we are not God. No wonder drug trade is seen as an understandable and too often an acceptable career choice. No wonder teenage pregnancy continues to rise and sexually transmitted diseases are approaching epidemic proportions.”
I want to echo something that Mr. Gilmer said concerning the open door to the Black church. Progressive White and Black theology has infected the Black church with teachings that have turned it into a haven for all kinds of immoral and anti-social behavior in the disguise of civil rights and "Christian tolerance." Equally White New Age theology in the form of the Prosperity gospel, New Thought, Patriotism, Masonry, the Moral Majority and Dominionism to name a few have changed some Black churches into centers of commerce and self-help seminars. Both paths adhere to the moral theory of consequentialism, the end justifies the means, acknowledgment of the deity of Christ Jesus is optional.
I think the onslaught of all these ideologies started during the Black Renaissance of the early 1900's in the Western, Midwestern and Northeastern metropolitan areas of America. Millions of Blacks had left the Jim Crow South during the Great Migration to escape lynching and the lack of work. Returning Black service men of the Spanish-American War and World War I also were bringing back stories of receiving better treatment in foreign lands like the Philippines and France. The wholesale silence of so called "White Christian America" coupled with the inability to pursue a decent life as promised by the Bill of Rights and the Emancipation Proclamation drove Blacks to seek relief in a myriad of beliefs and philosophies. Let me interject this caveat concerning a people who try to govern themselves solely by the Bible. This is called a theocracy and is clearly forbidden by Christ in John 18:36:
Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews.
I think the onslaught of all these ideologies started during the Black Renaissance of the early 1900's in the Western, Midwestern and Northeastern metropolitan areas of America. Millions of Blacks had left the Jim Crow South during the Great Migration to escape lynching and the lack of work. Returning Black service men of the Spanish-American War and World War I also were bringing back stories of receiving better treatment in foreign lands like the Philippines and France. The wholesale silence of so called "White Christian America" coupled with the inability to pursue a decent life as promised by the Bill of Rights and the Emancipation Proclamation drove Blacks to seek relief in a myriad of beliefs and philosophies. Let me interject this caveat concerning a people who try to govern themselves solely by the Bible. This is called a theocracy and is clearly forbidden by Christ in John 18:36:
Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews.
When Christianity is forced upon a people you get Catholicism. Beside the other false religion of Islam, Catholicism has been one of the most destruction forces to human freedom and life known to mankind because it is the harlot church of Revelation 17:2. So I am not suggesting that some of the things that Blacks were introduced to weren’t helpful and good like St. Thomas Aquinas’ natural laws, but clearly the push was to alter or threw Christianity completely out of the camp of Black ideas. Many of the anti-Christian concepts such Communism, Feminism and Black Nationalism helped the Black community make great strides in freeing itself from White oppression but at what price? We now find ourselves somewhat like the children of Israel in 2 Kings 21:1-16 who had been delivered out of slavery in Egypt and now occupied the land of Israel but were now more evil than the heathen nations that surrounded them :
1Manasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign, and reigned fifty and five years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Hephzibah.
2And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, after the abominations of the heathen, whom the LORD cast out before the children of Israel.
3For he built up again the high places which Hezekiah his father had destroyed; and he reared up altars for Baal, and made a grove, as did Ahab king of Israel; and worshipped all the host of heaven, and served them.
4And he built altars in the house of the LORD, of which the LORD said, In Jerusalem will I put my name.
5And he built altars for all the host of heaven in the two courts of the house of the LORD.
6And he made his son pass through the fire, and observed times, and used enchantments, and dealt with familiar spirits and wizards: he wrought much wickedness in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to anger.
7And he set a graven image of the grove that he had made in the house, of which the LORD said to David, and to Solomon his son, In this house, and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all tribes of Israel, will I put my name for ever:
8Neither will I make the feet of Israel move any more out of the land which I gave their fathers; only if they will observe to do according to all that I have commanded them, and according to all the law that my servant Moses commanded them.
9But they hearkened not: and Manasseh seduced them to do more evil than did the nations whom the LORD destroyed before the children of Israel.
10And the LORD spake by his servants the prophets, saying,
11Because Manasseh king of Judah hath done these abominations, and hath done wickedly above all that the Amorites did, which were before him, and hath made Judah also to sin with his idols: 12Therefore thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Behold, I am bringing such evil upon Jerusalem and Judah, that whosoever heareth of it, both his ears shall tingle.
13And I will stretch over Jerusalem the line of Samaria, and the plummet of the house of Ahab: and I will wipe Jerusalem as a man wipeth a dish, wiping it, and turning it upside down.
14And I will forsake the remnant of mine inheritance, and deliver them into the hand of their enemies; and they shall become a prey and a spoil to all their enemies;
15Because they have done that which was evil in my sight, and have provoked me to anger, since the day their fathers came forth out of Egypt, even unto this day.
16Moreover Manasseh shed innocent blood very much, till he had filled Jerusalem from one end to another; beside his sin wherewith he made Judah to sin, in doing that which was evil in the sight of the LORD.
1Manasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign, and reigned fifty and five years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Hephzibah.
2And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, after the abominations of the heathen, whom the LORD cast out before the children of Israel.
3For he built up again the high places which Hezekiah his father had destroyed; and he reared up altars for Baal, and made a grove, as did Ahab king of Israel; and worshipped all the host of heaven, and served them.
4And he built altars in the house of the LORD, of which the LORD said, In Jerusalem will I put my name.
5And he built altars for all the host of heaven in the two courts of the house of the LORD.
6And he made his son pass through the fire, and observed times, and used enchantments, and dealt with familiar spirits and wizards: he wrought much wickedness in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to anger.
7And he set a graven image of the grove that he had made in the house, of which the LORD said to David, and to Solomon his son, In this house, and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all tribes of Israel, will I put my name for ever:
8Neither will I make the feet of Israel move any more out of the land which I gave their fathers; only if they will observe to do according to all that I have commanded them, and according to all the law that my servant Moses commanded them.
9But they hearkened not: and Manasseh seduced them to do more evil than did the nations whom the LORD destroyed before the children of Israel.
10And the LORD spake by his servants the prophets, saying,
11Because Manasseh king of Judah hath done these abominations, and hath done wickedly above all that the Amorites did, which were before him, and hath made Judah also to sin with his idols: 12Therefore thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Behold, I am bringing such evil upon Jerusalem and Judah, that whosoever heareth of it, both his ears shall tingle.
13And I will stretch over Jerusalem the line of Samaria, and the plummet of the house of Ahab: and I will wipe Jerusalem as a man wipeth a dish, wiping it, and turning it upside down.
14And I will forsake the remnant of mine inheritance, and deliver them into the hand of their enemies; and they shall become a prey and a spoil to all their enemies;
15Because they have done that which was evil in my sight, and have provoked me to anger, since the day their fathers came forth out of Egypt, even unto this day.
16Moreover Manasseh shed innocent blood very much, till he had filled Jerusalem from one end to another; beside his sin wherewith he made Judah to sin, in doing that which was evil in the sight of the LORD.
Will this be our fate? Statistics show the decline of the Black population and we are heading toward the total destruction of the Black nuclear family. Like a blind horse that has been lead to a waste water treatment pond in the wilderness, some in the so called Black intelligentsia tell us that some water is better than nothing. As the horse drinks from those putrid waters, it can hear the sound of something bubbling and rushing nearby. If that horses’ eyes could be opened it would see that the sound is a clean flowing river a 100 feet away. That dumb creature would have enough sense to leave that poisoned pond to drink from that river.
We must fight the urge to stay at the poison pond of humanism, ask God to open our eyes and rediscover those pure waters of righteousness. We will now look at the book of Galatians to see how to fight for freedom from spiritual bondage just as the Union army fought against the Confederate army and turned the tide of the Civil War.
The book of Galatians is called the Magna Carta of Christian liberty. The word liberty is used over 11 times. Paul defines what liberty is to a Christian in Galatians 1:4:
We must fight the urge to stay at the poison pond of humanism, ask God to open our eyes and rediscover those pure waters of righteousness. We will now look at the book of Galatians to see how to fight for freedom from spiritual bondage just as the Union army fought against the Confederate army and turned the tide of the Civil War.
The book of Galatians is called the Magna Carta of Christian liberty. The word liberty is used over 11 times. Paul defines what liberty is to a Christian in Galatians 1:4:
4Who gave himself (Christ’ death on the cross) for our sins, that
he (Christ) might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God (God the Father) and our Father (God the Father):
Therefore we can define Christian liberty as being delivered from the slavery of this present evil world system by Jesus’ death on the cross. The word deliver in verse 4 in the Greek means to tear out, to release. So it shows the violent resistance the world, the flesh and Satan puts up when a person first repents and is saved. Notice also that this deliverance only makes the unholy trio release their hands off you, but they are constantly battling to get you to come back. Now that we have the Holy Spirit inside of us (Galatians 3:1-3), He helps us in the battle to live right and we don’t need to try to keep the Law of Moses. Concerning the importance of the book of Galatians Ron Merryman writes in Galatians: God’s Antidote to Legalism, (http://gracebiblestudies.org/resources/web/www.duluthbible.org/g_f_j/galatians_into.htm):
“Galatians is such an important book that one wonders where the church and even western civilization would be had it not been written.”
“Galatians is such an important book that one wonders where the church and even western civilization would be had it not been written.”
Paul’s epistle to the Galatians is thought to be one of the first that he wrote. The message contained in it would be of monumental importance to not only the Galatians but all Gentile Christians in this key battle to shake off the Judaizers who would have them enslaved to the dead rituals of Judaism and keeping of the law of Moses. It would also be a blow against the teaching of antinomianism (license to sin) that some in the Galatian church were following. The Gentile Christians battle with these enemies of Christian liberty was first recorded in Acts 11:1- 4. If Paul’s epistle could convince the Galatians to walk in liberty, it would be a major blow to the poisonous admixture of law and grace. Paul’s message hit home and set the course for victory after victory over legalism and antinomianism.
The Battle of Gettysburg like the book of Galatians was the turning point in the Civil War. If the South had been able to continue its invasion of the North what would have been the outcome? Joseph Ryan in his article, " Prelude to Gettysburg: General Jeb Staurt’s Ride Around General Hooker June 1863" writes this, AmericanCivilWar.com, (http://americancivilwar.com/getty.html):
“In July of 1863, General Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia of 75,000 men and the 97,000 man Union Army of the Potomac, under George G. Meade, concentrated together at Gettysburg and fought the Battle of Gettysburg. Of the more than 2,000 land engagements of the Civil War, Gettysburg ranks supreme. Although the Battle of Gettysburg did not end the war, it was the great battle of the war, marking the point when the ultimate victory of the North over the South became clear to both sides alike. Here at Gettysburg, on July 1, 2, and 3, 1863, more men fought and died than in any other battle in American history.”
The Battle of Gettysburg like the book of Galatians was the turning point in the Civil War. If the South had been able to continue its invasion of the North what would have been the outcome? Joseph Ryan in his article, " Prelude to Gettysburg: General Jeb Staurt’s Ride Around General Hooker June 1863" writes this, AmericanCivilWar.com, (http://americancivilwar.com/getty.html):
“In July of 1863, General Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia of 75,000 men and the 97,000 man Union Army of the Potomac, under George G. Meade, concentrated together at Gettysburg and fought the Battle of Gettysburg. Of the more than 2,000 land engagements of the Civil War, Gettysburg ranks supreme. Although the Battle of Gettysburg did not end the war, it was the great battle of the war, marking the point when the ultimate victory of the North over the South became clear to both sides alike. Here at Gettysburg, on July 1, 2, and 3, 1863, more men fought and died than in any other battle in American history.”
A victory at Gettysburg would have galvanized Southern sympathizers in the North to declare a truce. This couldn’t be. America’s Declaration of Independence and Bill of Rights would have been so much paper if the North didn’t see this through to victory over slavery and succession.
The enormous casualties of the Battle of Gettysburg showed the South the resolve of the North to go the distance to achieve this. Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address gave voice to that resolve, fulfilling John Brown’s December2, 1859 prophecy:
“2 December 1859 I, John Brown, am now quite certain that the crimes of this guilty land: will never be purged away; but with Blood. I had as I now think: vainly flattered myself that without very much bloodshed; it might be done.”
The enormous casualties of the Battle of Gettysburg showed the South the resolve of the North to go the distance to achieve this. Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address gave voice to that resolve, fulfilling John Brown’s December2, 1859 prophecy:
“2 December 1859 I, John Brown, am now quite certain that the crimes of this guilty land: will never be purged away; but with Blood. I had as I now think: vainly flattered myself that without very much bloodshed; it might be done.”
I will now look at some of the parallels between the Battle of Gettysburg, Lincoln’s address and Galatians 5:13-26, that can help the Black community achieve Christian liberty. Abraham Lincoln had signed the Emancipation Proclamation in January 1863 abolishing slavery in all Union states. Blacks were now free from their evil masters and the laws governing slavery. The Union Armies would now have to conquer the Confederate states to free the slaves there. Starting at Galatians 5:13 Paul tells the Black community that we have been called to Christian liberty by God. This means that the sin principle in our flesh no longer has legal claim over us for Romans 6:1-12 says:
Rom 6:1 What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?
Rom 6:2 God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?
Rom 6:3 Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?
Rom 6:4 Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.
Rom 6:5 For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also [in the likeness] of [his] resurrection:
Rom 6:6 Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with [him], that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.
Rom 6:7 For he that is dead is freed from sin.
Rom 6:8 Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him:
Rom 6:9 Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him.
Rom 6:10 For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God.
Rom 6:11 Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Rom 6:12 Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof.
We also are free from having to follow the law of Moses or any other set of rules in our battle against sin in our flesh for Romans 7:4-6 says:
4 ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ; that ye should Wherefore, my brethren be married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God.
5 For when we were in the flesh, the motions of sins, which were by the law, did work in our members to bring forth fruit unto death.
6 But now we are delivered from the law, that being dead wherein we were held; that we should serve in newness of spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter.
Rom 6:1 What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?
Rom 6:2 God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?
Rom 6:3 Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?
Rom 6:4 Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.
Rom 6:5 For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also [in the likeness] of [his] resurrection:
Rom 6:6 Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with [him], that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.
Rom 6:7 For he that is dead is freed from sin.
Rom 6:8 Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him:
Rom 6:9 Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him.
Rom 6:10 For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God.
Rom 6:11 Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Rom 6:12 Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof.
We also are free from having to follow the law of Moses or any other set of rules in our battle against sin in our flesh for Romans 7:4-6 says:
4 ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ; that ye should Wherefore, my brethren be married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God.
5 For when we were in the flesh, the motions of sins, which were by the law, did work in our members to bring forth fruit unto death.
6 But now we are delivered from the law, that being dead wherein we were held; that we should serve in newness of spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter.
Paul warns the Black community against antinomianism which he goes into detail later. He tells us to serve each other in love.
Never has there been a battle in American history that has shed as much bloodshed as the Battle of Gettysburg has. The Union soldiers gave their blood in sacrifice for the liberation of the Black slave and the preservation of the Union, for if the sins of slavery were to be cleansed they had to be cleansed by blood. And the blood indeed flowed across the fields, valleys, hills and ridges of Gettysburg, PA.
In Galatians 5:14 Paul tells the Black community that we are to love our neighbor as our self. Who is my neighbor was the question that the lawyer asked Jesus in Luke 10:29. After Jesus recited the parable of the Good Samaritan to him, he answered the question himself; the Samaritan that showed mercy. We as a Black community have lost our sense of neighborliness and mercy toward each other and other races. To be fair we don’t live in the same environment that our parents and grandparents grew up in where you could leave your doors unlocked or go for a stroll at midnight. But neither was the time of the Good Samaritan. In fact it was probably more dangerous. The point isn’t the environment or the condition of the victim but the willingness to show mercy where we can. Let’s start in our own homes first. Black fathers and mothers that have abandoned your children go back and help them. Let’s crush this "Stop Stitching" madness that allows crime and violence to breed in our families, churches and communities and put ourselves out there by reporting known and suspected incidents to law enforcement to investigate. If we see a need such as a family needing food lets stop to help them on the spot and stop waiting for a church or government agency to help. If you come across an accident and you can safely pull over to help, do it. There are countless things that I can mention but you get the meaning; help where you can, show mercy where you can. Be prepared for sacrifice and maybe even a little blood shed.
As we know the nation was divided over the issue of slavery and succession, which brought about the Civil War. The South was trying to get Northern sympathizers (Copperheads) to put pressure on the Lincoln administration to call a truce by taking the offensive and invading the North. A truce would allow slavery to continue in the Confederates states. Jefferson Davis and the rest of the antebellum South had wrapped itself into a cocoon, and was trying to morph into a separate nation. One side had to be victorious because Balkanization of the America continent was not an option. To his credit Abraham Lincoln put forth the Union argument in an articulate, balanced and firm manner which left room for the South to capitulate.
In Galatians 5:15 Paul warns the Black community about the battle between trying to live free in Christ Jesus with the assistance of religious and philosophical mandates, e.g. Christian liberty and religion. They won’t mix, so be prepared for battle but don’t let the warfare consume you, keep your humanity.
Both sides thought its cause to be mandated by God, but it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see that the North’s cause was morally and ethically based; the liberation of a people and preservation of unity. The South on the other hand wanted chattel slavery to continue and to dissolve the Union. Without the strong hand of Abraham Lincoln and the abolitionist movement Jefferson Davis and the Confederate forces would have prevailed over the Union forces. The Battle of Gettysburg, though not the final battle, helped the Union army get and keep the offensive against the Confederate army. Lincoln’s decision to sack the by the book General George McClellan and replace him with more linear thinking commanders helped the North win at Gettysburg.
Paul shows the Black community the cause of all the warfare in Galatians 5:16 and 17; the battle between the flesh (our sin nature) and the Spirit (the Holy Ghost). As we know when one is born again the Holy Ghost, the third person in the triune Godhead, comes to live inside this fleshly body. But the sin nature inside that fleshly body must be killed everyday because it is always trying to get the upper hand again for Romans 8:1-14 says this:
1There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
2For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.
3For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:
4That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
5For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit.
6For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.
7Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.
8So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.
9But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.
10And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.
11But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.
12Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh.
13For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.
14For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.
Never has there been a battle in American history that has shed as much bloodshed as the Battle of Gettysburg has. The Union soldiers gave their blood in sacrifice for the liberation of the Black slave and the preservation of the Union, for if the sins of slavery were to be cleansed they had to be cleansed by blood. And the blood indeed flowed across the fields, valleys, hills and ridges of Gettysburg, PA.
In Galatians 5:14 Paul tells the Black community that we are to love our neighbor as our self. Who is my neighbor was the question that the lawyer asked Jesus in Luke 10:29. After Jesus recited the parable of the Good Samaritan to him, he answered the question himself; the Samaritan that showed mercy. We as a Black community have lost our sense of neighborliness and mercy toward each other and other races. To be fair we don’t live in the same environment that our parents and grandparents grew up in where you could leave your doors unlocked or go for a stroll at midnight. But neither was the time of the Good Samaritan. In fact it was probably more dangerous. The point isn’t the environment or the condition of the victim but the willingness to show mercy where we can. Let’s start in our own homes first. Black fathers and mothers that have abandoned your children go back and help them. Let’s crush this "Stop Stitching" madness that allows crime and violence to breed in our families, churches and communities and put ourselves out there by reporting known and suspected incidents to law enforcement to investigate. If we see a need such as a family needing food lets stop to help them on the spot and stop waiting for a church or government agency to help. If you come across an accident and you can safely pull over to help, do it. There are countless things that I can mention but you get the meaning; help where you can, show mercy where you can. Be prepared for sacrifice and maybe even a little blood shed.
As we know the nation was divided over the issue of slavery and succession, which brought about the Civil War. The South was trying to get Northern sympathizers (Copperheads) to put pressure on the Lincoln administration to call a truce by taking the offensive and invading the North. A truce would allow slavery to continue in the Confederates states. Jefferson Davis and the rest of the antebellum South had wrapped itself into a cocoon, and was trying to morph into a separate nation. One side had to be victorious because Balkanization of the America continent was not an option. To his credit Abraham Lincoln put forth the Union argument in an articulate, balanced and firm manner which left room for the South to capitulate.
In Galatians 5:15 Paul warns the Black community about the battle between trying to live free in Christ Jesus with the assistance of religious and philosophical mandates, e.g. Christian liberty and religion. They won’t mix, so be prepared for battle but don’t let the warfare consume you, keep your humanity.
Both sides thought its cause to be mandated by God, but it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see that the North’s cause was morally and ethically based; the liberation of a people and preservation of unity. The South on the other hand wanted chattel slavery to continue and to dissolve the Union. Without the strong hand of Abraham Lincoln and the abolitionist movement Jefferson Davis and the Confederate forces would have prevailed over the Union forces. The Battle of Gettysburg, though not the final battle, helped the Union army get and keep the offensive against the Confederate army. Lincoln’s decision to sack the by the book General George McClellan and replace him with more linear thinking commanders helped the North win at Gettysburg.
Paul shows the Black community the cause of all the warfare in Galatians 5:16 and 17; the battle between the flesh (our sin nature) and the Spirit (the Holy Ghost). As we know when one is born again the Holy Ghost, the third person in the triune Godhead, comes to live inside this fleshly body. But the sin nature inside that fleshly body must be killed everyday because it is always trying to get the upper hand again for Romans 8:1-14 says this:
1There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
2For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.
3For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:
4That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
5For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit.
6For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.
7Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.
8So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.
9But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.
10And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.
11But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.
12Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh.
13For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.
14For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.
At the beginning of our Christian walk the flesh was always getting the upper hand just like the Confederate forces were victorious over the Union forces at the beginning of the Civil War. We look to the law to keep us in line just as General George McClellan looked to Army manuals to command his troops and looked sharp in his uniform. Outwardly he looked the part but he was an empty suit because he could not command troops on the battlefield where it counts. And for the first few years of the war the Union forces paid dearly even though they had superior forces. Abraham Lincoln had to constantly fire McClellan, bring him back again and command him to go on the offensive against the enemy. Paul also was frustrated with the Galatians for fighting an ineffective war against the flesh using the law when they had the Holy Spirit dwelling inside. Paul our Abraham Lincoln is there with stern warnings to not give up and to fight back against the flesh by taking the offensive in the Spirit, because the flesh is wily and crafty like General Robert E. Lee was against the Union forces.
Then one day we stop looking to the law for victory like Lincoln stopped looking to General McClellan and fired him once and for all. After much maturing in Christ we start letting the Holy Spirit that has been living inside of us led us into battle and victory against the flesh (See 2 Peter 1:3-9) like General Winfield Scott Hancock did against General Lee in the Battle of Gettysburg. General Hancock was a great field commander who thought on his feet and used the Union forces effectively against his adversary. We get and keep the upper hand against our adversary the flesh, after our Gettysburg. Not sinless perfection, but a confidence in the Holy Spirit inside us for victory over sin, and the Holy Ghost (Holy Spirit) inside us for personal relationship and fellowship. We are actually letting Him led us as Galatians 5:18 says and we are cultivating the 9 fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22 and 23 in our homes, churches and community, this is from Wilmington’s Guide to The Bible:
Then one day we stop looking to the law for victory like Lincoln stopped looking to General McClellan and fired him once and for all. After much maturing in Christ we start letting the Holy Spirit that has been living inside of us led us into battle and victory against the flesh (See 2 Peter 1:3-9) like General Winfield Scott Hancock did against General Lee in the Battle of Gettysburg. General Hancock was a great field commander who thought on his feet and used the Union forces effectively against his adversary. We get and keep the upper hand against our adversary the flesh, after our Gettysburg. Not sinless perfection, but a confidence in the Holy Spirit inside us for victory over sin, and the Holy Ghost (Holy Spirit) inside us for personal relationship and fellowship. We are actually letting Him led us as Galatians 5:18 says and we are cultivating the 9 fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22 and 23 in our homes, churches and community, this is from Wilmington’s Guide to The Bible:
· love (divine concern for others)
· joy (inward peace and sufficiency)
· peace (a confidence and quietness of the soul)
· longsuffering (patience, endurance without quitting)
· gentleness (kindness)
· goodness (love in action)
· faith (dependability)
· meekness (subdued strength)
· temperance (self-control)
Just like the Union forces relentlessly pursued the Confederate forces we can start winning the victory over the works of the flesh in Galatians 5: 19-21 in our homes, churches and community, this is from Wilmington’s Guide to The Bible:
· adultery (sexual sins between married people)
· fornication (sexual sins between unmarried people)
· uncleanness (impurity)
· lasciviousness (sensuality)
· idolatry (worship of idols)
· witchcraft (Greek is pharmakeia, which can refer to sorcery and/or drugs)
· hatred (enmity)
· variances (Greek is eris, referring to the god of strife)
· emulation (rivalry, jealously)
· wrath (temper, outburst of anger)
· strife (factions, cliques)
· seditions (divisions, dissensions)
· heresies (sects)
· envyings (coveting)
· murders (unlawful killing)
· drunkenness (rendered helpless by strong drink)
· revelings (carousings, orgies)
The institution of slavery produced nothing but the works of the flesh. From rape, kidnapping, murder, torture, heresies, religious hypocrisy along with the things mentioned on the above list, the Southern cause was anti-Christ in nature according to Galatians 5:21. The Black community’s participation in these things today means that we are headed down the path of destruction also if we don’t mortify the deeds of our flesh.
The realization that the flesh can’t be cleaned up but must be crucified daily (see Galatians 5:24) allows us to rid ourselves of all religious ceremonies, acknowledgments (titles), creeds, fleshly covenants and so-called spiritual exercises which are all covered in Galatians 5:26. The Confederate church was guilty of all these and more but yet it said the South had the mandate from God to enslave other human beings, shame on you E.M. Bounds.
We can live in the Spirit according to verse 25 by making sure that we have been born again of the Spirit (John 3:5, 6), that we are continuously being filled with the Spirit (Ephesians 5:18) and that we pray in the Spirit (not unknown tongues) (Ephesians 6:18). To walk in the Spirit is simply to allow the Spirit to manifest in us the things mentioned in verses 22 and 23; the 9 fruit of the Spirit.
The Union victory at the Battle of Gettysburg was won at great cost to both sides. Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address speech had to acknowledge the North’s victory, acknowledge the valor and great loss of life on both sides, but also acknowledge the monumental tasks which still laid ahead in the nation’s quest to allow all men to experience the fruits of liberty. Lincoln’s speech inspired the Union forces to keep fighting to sign this testament in their blood. The Black community will never forget the hills, ridges and fields of Gettysburg which were stained red with blood to help bring about our liberation.
Just as the battle and speech marked a turning point for our liberty, Paul’s letter to the Galatians can be a turning point to us in our fight for Christian liberty. We have been using carnal means in our fight but to no avail. Social programs, higher education, economic development, political power, achievements in sports and entertainment, social activism and churches on every corner are not the answer. The Black community must learn anew what it means to live in the Spirit and walk in the Spirit. Sadly, when we had nothing we had no trouble. Like the nation of Israel in the Old Testament, sometimes we serve God best when we have nothing but Him. My contribution to help turn it around is to start challenging the dead and the dying facets which are antithesis to Paul’s thesis in Galatians 5:16, "This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh." Even so come quickly Lord Jesus!
The realization that the flesh can’t be cleaned up but must be crucified daily (see Galatians 5:24) allows us to rid ourselves of all religious ceremonies, acknowledgments (titles), creeds, fleshly covenants and so-called spiritual exercises which are all covered in Galatians 5:26. The Confederate church was guilty of all these and more but yet it said the South had the mandate from God to enslave other human beings, shame on you E.M. Bounds.
We can live in the Spirit according to verse 25 by making sure that we have been born again of the Spirit (John 3:5, 6), that we are continuously being filled with the Spirit (Ephesians 5:18) and that we pray in the Spirit (not unknown tongues) (Ephesians 6:18). To walk in the Spirit is simply to allow the Spirit to manifest in us the things mentioned in verses 22 and 23; the 9 fruit of the Spirit.
The Union victory at the Battle of Gettysburg was won at great cost to both sides. Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address speech had to acknowledge the North’s victory, acknowledge the valor and great loss of life on both sides, but also acknowledge the monumental tasks which still laid ahead in the nation’s quest to allow all men to experience the fruits of liberty. Lincoln’s speech inspired the Union forces to keep fighting to sign this testament in their blood. The Black community will never forget the hills, ridges and fields of Gettysburg which were stained red with blood to help bring about our liberation.
Just as the battle and speech marked a turning point for our liberty, Paul’s letter to the Galatians can be a turning point to us in our fight for Christian liberty. We have been using carnal means in our fight but to no avail. Social programs, higher education, economic development, political power, achievements in sports and entertainment, social activism and churches on every corner are not the answer. The Black community must learn anew what it means to live in the Spirit and walk in the Spirit. Sadly, when we had nothing we had no trouble. Like the nation of Israel in the Old Testament, sometimes we serve God best when we have nothing but Him. My contribution to help turn it around is to start challenging the dead and the dying facets which are antithesis to Paul’s thesis in Galatians 5:16, "This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh." Even so come quickly Lord Jesus!
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