Believe or Achieve Sanctification

Hang around a church long enough and you will find that we develop our own slang and shortcuts. The Bible speaks of hedges and protection, but the phrase “hedge of protection” does not appear in the Bible. Yet, we often pray that God will protect our children or missionaries by surrounding them with “a hedge of protection”.

You won’t find the word Trinity or the phrase “once saved, always saved” because these have developed as shortcuts to describe complex Biblical propositions.

Other slang you may hear are “went forward” or “backslide”. These describe a person who publicly responds to God’s prompting at the end of a service or someone who is not living out the Holy Spirits prompting as much as he or she once did.

“went forward” is a code for a person demonstrating repentance, and “backslide” is to allow sin to take root in a person who was once faithful. The central theme of Galatians is that backsliding from grace toward any other moral system is sin.

The last 2 chapters have ruled out justification by legalism, yet it has been a 2000 year problem of those who affirm that a person cannot be justified by following rules, somehow backslide into an attitude of Sanctification by rule following.

Define legalism – Achieve or Believe. (Grace or Pace/Credit or Merit) – it is not how we behave, but why we behave.

There are several reasons to drive the speed limit. To avoid a fine, to avoid insurance points accumulating, to keep in good graces with the Sheriff’s office, to be safe, to avoid damaging others, to keep from mom taking away your car. I’m not saying you should stop observing the rule, I am saying it matters why you keep the rule! There are several reasons to remain sexually pure.... There are several reasons to attend church... There are several reasons to be honest with your words... There are several reasons not to use you fist or weapons when angry...!

When I say legalism doesn’t produce sanctification, I am NOT saying a moral life is useless. I am saying that WHY you behave morally matters.

We teach our children here that sin is “anything we think, say or do that displeases God.” Using that definition, do you think God is displeased when His grace and His Son are diminished or ignored? The Scripture just read uses extreme labels and rhetorical question to expose how hideous this sin really is.

Transition: I do not believe it is a stretch to say, “slipping into legalistic attitude is sin” for at least 4 reasons that Paul identifies in these 5 verses. First...

Backsliding from Grace to Legalism Denies the Savior’s Death (v.1)

As we move from the first two chapters into the main meat of Paul’s letter, he uses some strong language that invokes a “Did he just say that out loud?” response.

Foolish

1. Gullible is not an attractive quality.

As an example, did you know it is impossible for a human being to touch his/her elbow with their tongue. Statistics show that most of you will try that before you go to bed tonight.

2. Comedians make a career out of derogative references to the naive. “You might be a redneck”, “Here’s your sign”, “A person who is not a redhead or brunette walks into a...”,

3. Naive is one type of foolish. This word is the negative of “to know”. Paul is not saying “you’ve been fooled once by a trickster”; but, “You have fallen hook, line and sinker. You know better but have chosen to stick your head in the sand.

Conspiracy theorists are annoying. Climate extremists (on both sides) are annoying. Those who ignore the science of gender or human genetics are annoying. Let’s not add crucifixion denyers to the list!!

bewitched

Hypnotic suggestion that causes a person to act contrary to reality.

Have you ever observed a hypnotist entertainer? A company I worked for hired a man to come to a company-wide party and hypnotized a half dozen co-workers and spouses. To me one amazing feat was how he suggested it was super cold in the heated room and they began to shiver, then they were overly warm in the same environment and began to perspire. A second impressive part of his act was when he convinced someone who was very timid that she was the greatest singer entertainer alive. His process convinced them to behave contrary to reality!

Portrayed as crucified

Paul uses these blunt words of foolish and bewitched because the truth had already been made clear.

Proegraphē προεγραφη - to set forth for public notice, show forth/portray publicly, proclaim or placard in public[i]

Newspapers, Billboards, Bumper stickers, podcasts, Media, radio, television, direct mail, Tweeted, on SnapChat, Tic Toc, Facebook and Youtube. So don’t act as if you haven’t heard it!

The Gospel that got you is the same Gospel that keeps you and it cannot exist apart from the crucifixion of Christ.

Paul is using every rhetorical device he can think of to underscore that a backslide must have happened.

Transition: The backslide is not only horrendous because it denies what they knew Jesus had done, but also impact the 3rd person of the Triune God.

Backsliding from Grace to Legalism Undermines the Spirit’s Work (vv.2-3)

How did you Get into the Kingdom? (v.2)

The Spirit of God gives!

We saw last week that the Holy Spirit convicts and draws people to the Gospel and through His baptism are people granted the kingdom of God.

How do you Fit into the Kingdom? (v.3)

Imagine being gifted 4 tickets to Disneyland. Once you walk through the gates, you get the quick impression that being here is not the end. The kids want mouse ears, your daughter wants a Cinderella wand, the wife wants pictures with Donald Duck, You pay $8 for a hot dog and $5 for a soda pop. Suddenly the free tickets are costing dad a bankroll. Dad is thinking, “the admission was covered, but it is up to me to make the experience memorable.”

The Spirit of God grows!

Growing in Grace is NOT a matter of attending the right marriage conference, carrying the right leatherbound Study Bible, wearing crosses in your ears or around your neck, getting right spiritual tattoo or t-shirt.

The Same spirit who adopted you, is the same Spirit who nurtures you into becoming someone who delights in God’s presence and mission.

Transition: Sometimes the nurture that the Spirit uses to grow us comes through hard trials.

Backsliding from Grace to Legalism Negates the value of Suffering (v.4)

Purpose, motive, results seems important to Paul. He was worried about his own effort being useless in ch.2, now he is worried that the suffering by the Galatians was useless.

The word he repeats is vain.

Leaving Judaism for the Way of Jesus generated all sorts of bullying.

Jobs were lost, real estate transactions were denied, social standing was revoked, privileges (food distribution) were rescinded.

The Galatians endured all that bullying, now they were giving in to the demands of the bullies.

“If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em” became the mantra, rather than “If we just endure in the end we will be proven right”.

How severe was the suffering they were ignoring?

in Acts 13–14 there is a great deal of opposition to the gospel. In Pisidian Antioch the Jews “stirred up persecution” and forced Paul and Barnabas to flee (Acts 13:50); in Iconium there was a plot to stone them and they were forced to leave (14:5–6); and at Lystra Paul was stoned and left for dead (14:19–20)[ii]

Transition: Getting stoned and left for dead is too traumatic to act as if it never happened.

Backsliding from Grace to Legalism Denies God’s Supply (v.5)

Are you really ready to forego God’s comforting Spirit and Powerful miracles for what you can accomplish yourself?

If somehow you can do it on your own and don’t need these gifts that only God supplies, why did we spend 5 minutes in pastoral prayer?

We gather in prayer because we DEPEND UPON God’s ability to comfort and power to act in the situations that concern us.

He who supplies – brought to you by these (this) sponsors

This word was used to describe the sponsors of a Greek drama troupe. E.g. without these supplies it is impossible for the show to go on!

It is God who makes sanctification possible. Without His involvement (which happens by believing, not achieving) you will never mature into who He wants you to be.

Transition: If we wish to avoid the foolishness of the Galatians, Here are 4 steps you can choose to take. To avoid foolishness, we must pursue wisdom. Here are 4 suggestions...

Conclusion:

Steps to Avoid Legalistic Sanctification

‌Choose to wisely pursue a Right view of God

‌Choose to wisely pursue a Right view of Grace

‌ One of my concerns with popular music (of many genres) is the promotion of what I’ll call the frat boy or Honky Tonk lifestyle. It is the idea that a person can booze it up, get in fights, and act immorally on a regular basis as long as he says Jesus, mutters a prayer or attends church every once in awhile. I wish more athletes who mention God in an acceptance speech, would recognize that the same God is present in their locker room celebrations or their relationship with a girlfriend.

We must remember that God’s grace is not only amazing after we sin, but was very costly before we sin. Yes, His grace is abundant, sufficient and freely bestowed; but that is NOT an excuse to treat it cheaply.

During my lifetime I have watched opinions change regarding pre-born life. An “illegitimate” pregnancy was a consequence to be prevented or hidden. Now anonymous mail order deliveries can “erase any product of conception.”

When we treat alcohol, anger and intimacy casually, it is not much of a jump to a wrong view of God’s grace.

‌‌Choose to wisely pursue a Right reason for Obedience

We can now obey because we are loved, not in order to increase in being lovable.

‌‌ I have had a lifelong struggle with one phrase. It even slipped out just over a week ago. I say too often, “I love you when...”

A right view of God and His grace, enable us to obey out of love, not obligation!

Choose to wisely pursue a Right attitude toward Others

When I first see you as someone who is living within the grace and forgiveness of God, I will not impose my expectations on your behavior.

Legalism is like children playing in the attic who find a chest of old clothes. They put on the top hat or the oversized dress. They put the pearls around their neck, paint lips and eyelids with make-up. They try walking in the heels or the boots that are too big. Legalism is like dressing up with tobacco, alcohol, or language we’ve heard some adults use and thinking we look mature. Rather than playing dress-up (it is cute when children do it, it is pitiful/sinful when we do it!), let us wisely allow the grace of God and the Spirit of God to truly make us mature!

Song of Response #333.... “His Way with Thee”

[i] Arndt, William, Frederick W. Danker, Walter Bauer, and F. Wilbur Gingrich. 2000. In A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, 3rd ed., 867. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. [ii] Osborne, Grant R. 2017. Galatians: Verse by Verse. Osborne New Testament Commentaries. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.