I often hear people make statements like this:  I just wish we could all go back and be more like the early church.

My response is, “REALLY?  Have you read the Bible?  The early church was nuts!”  Don’t get me wrong, the book of Acts is an awesome account of God moving in a powerful way.  To me, the book of Acts is more like the story of REVIVAL: everyone is excited, everyone is on board, the money situation is good, and people are getting saved.  If you’re reading Acts, you’re thinking the church is in good shape.  You read Romans, and you’re enlivened by the doctrines we hold dear.  Then you get to 1 Corinthians…and you start to see the effects of real life.

God continues His majestic work throughout the rest of the New Testament, but a little bit of management is in order.  In the book of Galatians, we see Paul’s only epistle that doesn’t begin with a word of encouragement.  The Word of God gets right to the point.  

Galatians begins by reminding believers that Jesus Christ paid the price for sins, and follows with a quick rebuke.  Basically:  YOU HAVE BEEN SO QUICK TO TURN AWAY FROM THIS TRUTH.  It was true then, it is true today.  What makes us so easily swayed?  The Galatians in particular, were turning from the amazing beauty of God’s grace to legalism.  Why do we make it harder on ourselves?

It’s such a testimony to the Holy Spirit of God that He has kept the church on track through the centuries.  We must always fall back on Him as our refuge, our strength, and our source of Truth.