Galatians - by Matt Cramer
8th June 2008
Worship videos and audio can be found after the sermon notes...
Father, thank You that all that we do is a result of You working in our lives. You want to speak through me. Speak to our hearts. Amen.
I went to Moody Bible Institute – there we had to sign a student life contract – how we would operate as students. I must have been successful, because I graduated. But beyond that there was a moral code we operated by - Don’t drink, Don’t Smoke, Don’t chew – and don’t date women who do – and I knew I had found my wife, as she met those criteria.
For those who have had experiences with the Christian fundamentalism or legalism, you know the pressures the Christian community can put on you.
Paul’s letter to the Galatians – deals with this legalism. I want to accomplish two things – to give an overview of Galatians and to give us some practical things we can do.
Galatians was written during Paul’s first missionary journey.
Acts 13-14, Paul visits Lyconium, Derbe, Lystra – he preaches for a while, gets kicked out – and goes to the next town. Then he goes back and checks up on them. – That shows how bold Paul can be.
The letter of Galatians is in response to the Judaizing Legalists. Paul preaches true freedom and true grace
Judaizers teach two things
They claim that Faith in Christ saves, if accompanied by the Law
And that Paul is preaching a license to sin.
This is a medium sized epistle. First you have the historical narratives – the Gospels and Acts. Then you get Paul’s letters – which are put in by size – biggest letter first.
Go Eat Pork Chops – Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians.
John Stott – Commentary on Galatians – 3 main points at issue and vital issues in the church today.
First – Authority – How do we know what and whom to believe?
Second Salvation – how can we get right with God?
Holiness – 5 and 6 – How can we control our lives and live
Personal
Theological
Practical
Galatians 1:1 Paul, an apostle
Right out of the gate, Paul asserts himself – he is an apostle.
People are questioning his apostleship. We see in
1 Cor. 15 – 7-11 – where his apostleship comes from.
7 then He appeared to James, then to all the apostles; 8 and last of all, as it were to one untimely born, He appeared to me also. 9 For I am the least of the apostles, who am not fit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 10 But by the grace of God I am what I am.
After that, he takes another swing at the Judaizers – sent not from Man or from Men, but from God.
The Judaizers boasted that their authority was from the local synagogues – or Temple – or Jerusalem - so Paul has to defend his authority.
The next two chapters are Paul’s history and autobiography. Paul mentions a few times, his God given authority
1: 11 I want you to know, brothers, that the gospel I preached is not something that man made up. 12 I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it; rather, I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ.
15 But when God, who set me apart from birth and called me by his grace, was pleased 16 to reveal his Son in me so that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I did not consult any man, 17 nor did I go up to Jerusalem to see those who were apostles before I was, but I went immediately into Arabia and later returned to Damascus.
2: 8 For God, who was at work in the ministry of Peter as an apostle to the Jews, was also at work in my ministry as an apostle to the Gentiles.
2: 20 I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. 21 I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!"
The Judaizers were questioning Paul’s authority and adding extra things on the new believers – we have to be careful not to add anything to the code of conduct.
Paul’s thesis statement?
Gala 2: 15 "We who are Jews by birth and not `Gentile sinners' 16 know that a man is not justified by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by observing the law, because by observing the law no one will be justified.
In chapters 3 and 4, he will expand that idea. Paul’s frustration is piqued in Chapter 3
3:1 You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified. 2 I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by observing the law, or by believing what you heard? 3 Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort?
He is frustrated with them. He is addressing both the Judaizers and the Gentile believers.
As evidenced by the first missionary journey – and a need for the letter, there is indeed a Christian community in this region. They have experienced God’s grace, but the legalists are leading them astray. They are in the church promoting a certain formula - Christ + The Law = Justification and Salvation.
Paul argues with them from the Old Testament…
Gal 3: 6 Consider Abraham: "He believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness."
That comes from Genesis 5:6 The true gospel was announced to Abraham.
8 The Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: "All nations will be blessed through you." 9 So those who have faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.
Those verses are Genesis 12:3, 18:18, 22:18.
Gal. 3: 13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: "Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree." 14 He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.
The Law is seen as a curse. Christ became a curse to redeem them. So that Abrahamic blessing comes through Christ to the Gentiles.
For Paul, the new formula is, Grace + Faith = Justification.
Next service, I’ll have the high school students in front of me – we looked through the book and had them do some study of their own. We spent the entire year on the Book of Galatians. The purpose of the Law is to reveal sin for its sinfulness. It can’t save us – it condemns us. Christ sets us free from legalism.
Gal 5:1 It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.
The Judaizers said that Paul proclaimed lawlessness
Are we free to sin? Paul refutes this claim.
Gal 5:13 You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love. 14 The entire law is summed up in a single command: "Love your neighbor as yourself." 15 If you keep on biting and devouring each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.
We are free from the Law by way of salvation, but we are not free to break the Law, but to fulfill the Law of Christ. This is not done through human effort, the Christian life, that is – but through the Spirit.
Galatians 5:16 So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. 17 For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law.
25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.
6: 8 The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.
That is our overview of Galatians –
Personal application –
Galatians 6:1 Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted. 2 Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. 3 If anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself. 4 Each one should test his own actions. Then he can take pride in himself, without comparing himself to somebody else, 5 for each one should carry his own load.
In these verses, we have a concrete example of what it means to serve one another in love –we see the dual application of mutual accountability and personal responsibility.
Those of us who have been through fundamentalism and legalism know the pressures that can be put on us by the Christian community. I have erred on the too much grace side.
Yesterday, I went golfing. This is not good for anyone’s Christian walk. It was a scramble – there is a lot of community involved here – Galatians 5:19-21 – I won’t read those – but you’ll get it when you read it.
Has anyone seen the movie Zelig? He blends into his surroundings? That can be me.
I was struck by the parallels of the Christian life and the Golf game. Key word – Inconsistency. – You get to the first tee – and everyone is watching – and I hit it 20 feet. Then on the next tee – no one watching – they used my best drive of the day – go figure – where was the audience?
Occasionally, we hit that great shot – but oftentimes, we are way off. GOLFING IS BAD! THAT IS WHY I PLAY HOCKEY.
Paul assumes that in the Christian walk there is going to be sin and failure. Paul assumes there will be burdens. And they are talked about in Chapter 6...
Galatians 6:1 – Brothers...
Notice the first and last word of the chapter (not counting the Amen) are brothers. There are three things that will allow the believer to experience the life of Christ. If someone is caught in a sin…failure, burdens, addictions, …He is giving the community some advice, ways to bear with one another. These are intended to be dealt with in the context of Christian community.
2 Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.
Restore – used of mending a net – or resetting a broken bone. Gently – the skill required to mend a net – but probably used in reference to the fruit of the spirit mentioned in earlier verses.
In high school – my family ordered a pool table – and the night before it was to arrive,
I was playing soccer – and I fell back and broke my right arm. The bones split and overlapped. It was nasty. So now, I have to experience a doctor gently restoring my arm. The doctor had in mind to pull my arm apart to try to set it. That didn’t work. So they put me under and put weights on until it lined up. So I got to watch my family play pool and couldn’t join them for the first six months!
The command is positive – DO restore gently – DO NOT stand and do nothing. DO NOT Stand and condemn. DO NOT gossip.
Dietrich Bonheoffer – My wife has reminded me to not get into death and martyrdom. I won’t do that. I’ve provided that info in the back. He was a German theologian – involved in a plot to get Hitler assassinated. He is a seminary professor on the run. Kept getting hauled back to Germany to deal with what the brothers were going through.
He wrote two books that everyone should read:
The Cost of Discipleship – what the Christian life should be like and addresses this freedom to sin.
Second book: Life Together – another book he wrote – to those on the run in Germany. In reference to some of what we read in Galatians.
Even when sin…sinning brother still a brother…neither of us can live by our own words and deed – but only that one word that binds us together – forgiveness of sins in Christ.
Reproof is unavoidable…admonition and rebuke. Nothing can be more cruel …
We need to carry each others burdens.
2 Cor. 7: 6 But God, who comforts the downcast, comforted us by the coming of Titus,
We can go to God and ask for comfort – but a lot of times, that won’t just drop from heaven, but from seeking out a brother or from a brother coming to you and offering comfort.
John Stott – it shows that to love one another may lead not to a heroic deed of self-sacrifice, but the mundane, less spectacular…burden bearing.
DB: Thus, the bearing of burdens…
The brother is a burden to the Christian precisely because he is a Christian.
The Christian must bear the burden of a brother. It is only when he is a burden that he is really a brother.
Third thing we learn - Each one should carry his own load.
Not a contradiction to verse 2 – the burden is a heavy weight that takes multiple people.
Load = like a backpack that one can carry. Each individual is responsible for his own actions – but how often can we express our faults to one another?
The fellowship bears the sin of the brother, he is no longer alone with his evil…can be a sinner and still enjoy the grace of God…He can confess his sin, and in this very act find fellowship. The sin concealed separates him from the fellowship – sin confessed helps him to find true fellowship with the brethren in Jesus Christ. Moreover…full congregation.
I’ve been lucky here – at Grace Summit – I’ve been swinging on the spiritual pendulum. Spiritual highs – to having like this golf game – blending in with the crowd and inconsistent. I have experienced this balance. I have been caught doing some stupid stuff by those here. I thank this church for the grace that I have experienced through the brothers here. Being involved in a men’s group – where we look at the issues that affect a man’s life – Accountability – where we can share the dirt, grime, muck, filth in our life., and not judges, but restored gently. If it weren’t for a place like this – I don’t know where I would be … Everyone needs a place to do that.