A short line today, our Text for the Lesson, but still the Word of God!

Paul writes to the Galatians: “This persuasion cometh not of him that calleth you.” (King James Version, Galatians 5:8)

By “persuasion” here Scripture means the “philosophy” (not necessarily “theology,” because it did not come from God’s Word) that is leading these fairly young Christians away from the Cross and backward toward the Law! 

My computer (Greek) lexicon says the word (“peismone”) is derived from “peitho,” certainly meaning “to persuade” but in the sense “of faith, of belief!”

That “persuasion” which the Galatians have been recently taught (really, just rank “heresy”) … and have begun to accept as truth! Some of them anyway are being quasi-persuaded!

But Paul is telling them, in no uncertain terms, that this kind of thinking does NOT come from the Lord, the Lord who saved them!

And if something is not “God-approved,” I think we can safely label it “devil-approved!”

The verb “called” (“kaleo”) is the first “hint” of salvation in any man’s or woman’s life! The Holy Spirit “convicting” (gently “nudging”) a sinner toward Jesus. So that sinner can “believe” on the Lord Jesus Christ and “be saved!” This is WHY Jesus came to die, isn’t it?

Folks, there are some things we can just “know” are not of God!

Now 1st John 4:1 comes to mind. “Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.”

Wow!

Paul is here being the consummate leader!

Encouraging his converts to NOT be “carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive.” Ephesians 4:14

Occasionally it might not hurt us Christians to read/study a book like “Chaos of the Cults,” learning the basics of what the false teachers are advancing in our day.

Why?

So we can avoid those wicked “persuasions” that invariably detract from the Glory of Jesus Christ our Saviour, our ONLY Saviour!

Amen!

— Dr. Mike Bagwell