Has anyone accused you of being a little 'fickle' on occasion? Maybe you know someone who is a little bit on the 'fickle' side - constantly changing their mind, not very steadfast in their determination, erratic in their choices. Fickle people are very unstable - they lack solid roots. It is easy to get a little off-course when we lack foundation - when our roots aren't firmly planted in truth. When there is an intentional 'twisting' of the truth about Christ, in any form it may come, there is a chance the 'roots' one has planted may get challenged a little. Adding anything to the perfect work of the cross of Christ is just wrong, but how many times are we guilty of 'adding to' the required 'works' a believer must do to be 'right with God'? We are being 'fickle' whenever we do!
I can't believe your fickleness—how easily you have turned traitor to him who called you by the grace of Christ by embracing a variant message! It is not a minor variation, you know; it is completely other, an alien message, a no-message, a lie about God. Those who are provoking this agitation among you are turning the Message of Christ on its head. Let me be blunt: If one of us—even if an angel from heaven—were to preach something other than what we preached originally, let him be cursed. I said it once; I'll say it again: If anyone, regardless of reputation or credentials, preaches something other than what you received originally, let him be cursed. (Galatians 1:6-9)
Fickleness is the likelihood of change. In other words, if the chance presents itself, we will change! This is dangerous when it comes to our beliefs. We need to be assured of what we believe and then stand on it! No one should come along with a "new revelation" and then sway us into changing our beliefs. As we study the Word, we are gaining an understanding of the truths contained within - learning little by little how God works, what he values, and where he will not allow us to cross the line. We 'study' to be assured of our beliefs - knowing exactly what we stand upon and what we stand for - so we will not go through life "changing" at the drop of a hat.
If "variant messages" existed just after Christ walked this earth, how many different variations to the true message of God's love do we have today? Lots - too many to count! As time goes on, new "twists" come, bending the Word of God to please the intentions of a man's heart, instead of allowing the Word of God to bend our hearts toward the intentions of God's heart! This is why we need to be on-guard when considering new truth. We need to learn to be students of the Word, taking what we learn, comparing it to the Word, and then allowing God's Spirit to affirm or deny the teaching. It is how we protect ourselves from teachings that will ultimately eat away at our foundation and cause a lack of stability in our lives.
All other teachings are to be cursed. Those are strong words, but we must note Paul did not just say them just once! He was making a point. Fickleness is the state of being so casual in our beliefs that we actually are totally changeable without even really realizing it. We are not to be so impressionable. We are to have our allegiance well-established and then stick with it. Does that mean we never consider a new way of seeing a passage from scripture? Absolutely not, but we learn to "test" it against what we already know, what the other portions of scripture teach, and the confirmation of the Spirit of God in our lives.
Did you realize the underlying cause of fickleness is perversity? According to Webster's, this is the underlying root of this word. Simply put, because the heart is not pure, we struggle with remaining steadfast! I do believe scripture teaches the heart is deceitful, so it makes it really difficult for us to really know it (Jeremiah 17:8-10)! We can count on this: God knows our heart and it is HIS business to help keep our heart on track! Sometimes we need to do a "reality check" with the teachings we have come to embrace. It will do us well to consider them in light of the intention of scripture. Considering the tendency of our heart to follow after stuff that is deceitful, we need God's help to help us understand scripture. When we engage in this purposeful exploration of the teachings we come across, we begin to formulate a solid foundation upon which we can build. So, explore, but be careful what you embrace! Just sayin!
I can't believe your fickleness—how easily you have turned traitor to him who called you by the grace of Christ by embracing a variant message! It is not a minor variation, you know; it is completely other, an alien message, a no-message, a lie about God. Those who are provoking this agitation among you are turning the Message of Christ on its head. Let me be blunt: If one of us—even if an angel from heaven—were to preach something other than what we preached originally, let him be cursed. I said it once; I'll say it again: If anyone, regardless of reputation or credentials, preaches something other than what you received originally, let him be cursed. (Galatians 1:6-9)
Fickleness is the likelihood of change. In other words, if the chance presents itself, we will change! This is dangerous when it comes to our beliefs. We need to be assured of what we believe and then stand on it! No one should come along with a "new revelation" and then sway us into changing our beliefs. As we study the Word, we are gaining an understanding of the truths contained within - learning little by little how God works, what he values, and where he will not allow us to cross the line. We 'study' to be assured of our beliefs - knowing exactly what we stand upon and what we stand for - so we will not go through life "changing" at the drop of a hat.
If "variant messages" existed just after Christ walked this earth, how many different variations to the true message of God's love do we have today? Lots - too many to count! As time goes on, new "twists" come, bending the Word of God to please the intentions of a man's heart, instead of allowing the Word of God to bend our hearts toward the intentions of God's heart! This is why we need to be on-guard when considering new truth. We need to learn to be students of the Word, taking what we learn, comparing it to the Word, and then allowing God's Spirit to affirm or deny the teaching. It is how we protect ourselves from teachings that will ultimately eat away at our foundation and cause a lack of stability in our lives.
All other teachings are to be cursed. Those are strong words, but we must note Paul did not just say them just once! He was making a point. Fickleness is the state of being so casual in our beliefs that we actually are totally changeable without even really realizing it. We are not to be so impressionable. We are to have our allegiance well-established and then stick with it. Does that mean we never consider a new way of seeing a passage from scripture? Absolutely not, but we learn to "test" it against what we already know, what the other portions of scripture teach, and the confirmation of the Spirit of God in our lives.
Did you realize the underlying cause of fickleness is perversity? According to Webster's, this is the underlying root of this word. Simply put, because the heart is not pure, we struggle with remaining steadfast! I do believe scripture teaches the heart is deceitful, so it makes it really difficult for us to really know it (Jeremiah 17:8-10)! We can count on this: God knows our heart and it is HIS business to help keep our heart on track! Sometimes we need to do a "reality check" with the teachings we have come to embrace. It will do us well to consider them in light of the intention of scripture. Considering the tendency of our heart to follow after stuff that is deceitful, we need God's help to help us understand scripture. When we engage in this purposeful exploration of the teachings we come across, we begin to formulate a solid foundation upon which we can build. So, explore, but be careful what you embrace! Just sayin!
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