Real Life Faith: Pursuing Authentic Christianity. Week 1

Good morning, today we are beginning a new series, it’s only a 3 week series, so it’s a tad shorter than usual. I had originally planned on doing a 3 week series on some of Jesus’s parables, but I felt led in a different direction. This series is titled Real Life Faith: Pursuing Authentic Christianity. Over the next few weeks we will be talking about fear, shame and guilt…along with other, similar topics. We will be hoping around different books in the Bible for this set of sermons. Today, we are going to be looking at a portion of Galatians Ch. 2. This series is less about theology, doctrine and things of that nature, rather, it’s all about practical, everyday things that keep us from living in the freedom that Christ offers us when we submit our lives to Him. More specifically, today, we are going to be focusing on different types of fear, shame, fear of man, people-pleasing, all of which can be a major issue in the lives of believers.

PRAY

Have you ever thought about the things or situations in your life that cause you the most fear? Quite a few years ago, before Sam set off and got married, we were sitting down watching this program called “obsessed” on A&E. This show was all about people who have extreme fear of everyday objects. On particular episode, the show introduced guy named Chad. He had a really bad case of O.C.D., in which he would preform these rituals for hours a day, trying to keep “bad luck” from affecting him. I actually found a clip of the show. I can’t show it all, because at one point in the show Chad actually sees an El Camino and flips out, starts cussing.

SHOW CLIP: 4 minutes.

On one hand, it’s hard not to chuckle at parts of that. I’d be lying if I said my son and I didn’t laugh, especially when he actually sees an El Camino driving down the road. But, I don’t know about you, but during the clip, it’s hard to not recognise the pain that Chad is experiencing. A number of years ago, there was a movie put out, staring Bill Murray and Richard Dryphus. In the film, Richard D. plays a very successful psychotherapist who just recently published a book. Bill Murray plays a mentally challenged patient with extreme OCD, like Chad. Well, long story short, the Dr. takes his family on vacation and of course, the character with OCD tracks him down and inserts himself in the Dr.’s family.

SHOW CLIP: 2 minutes

While the clip we watched of Chad shows how difficult it is to deal with that level of fear, the movie shows how hard it is on the people trying to help people like Chad.

Now, while it’s possible that someone here, or someone that will watch this sermon online is dealing with an extreme case like what we’ve talked about (and if that’s the case, then I urge you to get professional help), more than likely, none of us are dealing with such extremes. That said, we all deal with the issue of fear. After all, even in extreme cases, where people have crippling phobias, the root of the problem is fear, fear that something bad will happen if we do not take control of the situation.

One of the great things about God’s Word is that it shows us what the human condition looks like. Starting in the very beginning of the Bible, we see people who are dealing with fear. You might be asking: what about the fear of the Lord? The Bible tells us to have a proper reverence and fear of God…this is very true. In my conclusion I will be discussing the difference between the fear of the Lord and the type of fear that is manifested as a result of our fallen nature, because there is a difference.

Part 1: Examples of Unhealthy Fear In Scripture

Genesis 3: 8-10

8 In the cool of the evening, the man and his wife heard the Lord God walking around in the garden. So they hid from the Lord God among the trees in the garden. 9 The Lord God called to the man and asked him, “Where are you?” 10 He answered, “I heard you in the garden. I was afraid because I was naked, so I hid.”

Why was Adam afraid? He was afraid because he and Eve did something the Lord commanded them not to do. As a result of this disobedience, fear, worry, anxiety, guilt and shame entered into the human condition. All of which did not exist in humans before Adam and Eve chose to sin. Adam said: I was afraid, because I was naked! Was Adams nakedness the true cause of his fear? No, it was the sudden realization that he and his wife were naked…they had been naked this whole time, yet they had no fear. We are going to get into this more, later on in the year when I do my series on Genesis, but I did want to mention it, as it’s important for us to recognise where all fear originates from, not just the good kind of fear that keeps us safe, but also the negative type of fear that keeps us bound. Prior to the fall of man, fear was not part of the human condition. Yet, once it does enter into humanity, it is a major driving force in most of the things we do.

Even some of the greatest champions of the faith had struggles with fear. We do not have to go forward in the Bible to find an example, we don’t even have to get out of the book of Genesis.

Genesis 12: 10-13

10 There was a famine in the land. Abram went to Egypt to stay awhile because the famine was severe. 11 When he was about to enter Egypt, Abram said to his wife Sarai, “I know that you’re a beautiful woman. 12 When the Egyptians see you, they’ll say, ‘This is his wife!’ Then they’ll kill me but let you live. 13 Please say that you’re my sister. Then everything will be alright for me, and because of you I will live.”

Abraham was truly a mighty man of God, the patriarch of the nation of Israel, the father of 2 major world religions: Judaism and Islam. More than once we see Abraham struggle with fear, yet we also see in him, examples of mighty faith. This goes to show us that fear is something that can affect anyone. In the passages above, Abraham feared for his own life. As a result, he was willing to deceive the Pharoah in Egypt. Abraham is very fortunate that God is a God of mercy and grace, even in the O.T.

I could read you dozens of scriptures about men fearing in an unhealthy way. I won’t take time to read many, but I do want to give you a a couple of examples before I dive into our main text. One good example of ungodly fear is what we see in Saul, as it relates to David.

1 Samuel 18: 6-12

6 As they arrived, David was returning from a campaign against the Philistines. Women from all of Israel’s cities came to meet King Saul. They sang and danced, accompanied by tambourines, joyful music, and triangles. 7 The women who were celebrating sang,“Saul has defeated thousands but David tens of thousands!” 8 Saul became very angry because he considered this saying to be insulting. “To David they credit tens of thousands,” he said, “but to me they credit ⌞only⌟ a few thousand. The only thing left for David is my kingdom.” 9 From that day on Saul kept an eye on David. 10 The next day an evil spirit from God seized Saul. He began to prophesy in his house while David strummed a tune on the lyre as he did every day. Now, Saul had a spear in his hand. 11 He raised the spear and thought, “I’ll nail David to the wall.” But David got away from him twice. 12 Saul was afraid of David, because the Lord was with David but had left Saul.

For those of you who have been coming on Wednesday, you will recognise the context of these passages. You see, Saul (the king of Israel) became very jealous of David. Verse 12 sums it up well by saying: Saul was afraid of David. In the case between Sual and David, Saul’s jealousy was rooted in fear- Saul feared that David was favored over himself. Fear that David would be more popular, fear that God preferred David.

Fear was a major problem in the life of King Saul. Right before Saul ended up dying, it was fear that caused him to consult a witch, rather than wait on instructions from the Lord.

1 Samuel 28: 4-7

4 The Philistines assembled and camped in Shunem. Saul also assembled the whole Israelite army, and they camped at Gilboa. 5 When Saul looked at the Philistine army, he was very afraid—terrified. 6 He prayed to the Lord, but the Lord didn’t answer him through dreams, the Urim, or prophets. 7 Saul told his officers, “Find me a woman who conjures up the dead. Then I’ll go to her and ask for her services.”

Shortly after this, in 1 Sam. Chapter 31, Saul and his 3 sons were found dead due to injures from the battle. King Saul was driven by fear.

Another example is found in the prophet Elijah. This story is found in the book of

1 Kings: 19: 1-5

Ahab told Jezebel everything Elijah had done, including how he had executed all the prophets. 2 Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah. She said, “May the gods strike me dead if by this time tomorrow I don’t take your life the way you took the lives of Baal’s prophets.”

3 Frightened, Elijah fled to save his life. He came to Beersheba in Judah and left his servant there. 4 Then he traveled through the wilderness for a day. He sat down under a broom plant and wanted to die. “I’ve had enough now, Lord,” he said. “Take my life! I’m no better than my ancestors.” 5 Then he lay down and slept under the broom plant.

If you have never read the story of Elijah and the prophets of Baal, I would encourage you to do so sometime this week. In the story (1 Kings 18) Elijah goes up against the prophets of a god named Baal, who was worshiped by a lady named Jezebel. King Ahab and Queen Jezebel served as leaders of the northern kingdom of Israel during a time of much evil in the land. King Ahab was an Israelite king who married a Sidonian woman named Jezebel and became involved in worshiping Baal, the god of her people. Ahab built a house to Baal in the capital city of Samaria and made an Asherah pole as a tool of pagan worship. We are told, “Ahab did more to provoke the LORD, the God of Israel, to anger than all the kings of Israel who were before him” (1 Kings 16:33). Jezebel was likewise known for her evil actions. She was the daughter of Ethbaal, king of the Sidonians. Well, everything comes to a head in Chapter 18 of First Kings. Elijah kills some 400 prophets of Baal. After that, Elijah begins to fear the repercussions of Jezebel and flees into the mountain. Now, I can completely understand why Elijah did this. Jezebel was very powerful. What makes this story stick out is that in one moment, Elijah is full of power and boldness, but in the very next moment, he is running from fear. We are no different today.

So, those are a few example from the O.T., but, what about the N.T.? I think we can all understand just how different things were back, before Christ came onto the scene, but what about believers who operate under the New Covenant of grace? Well, there are some differences, but our fallen human nature is still the same. This is why I started with Adam and Eve-because our fear is the result of sin.

Let’s take a look at

Part II

Galatians 2: 11-14

I’ll read it first, then I’ll give you some context, so we can better understand what is going on.

11 When Cephas came to Antioch, I had to openly oppose him because he was completely wrong. 12 He ate with people who were not Jewish until some men James had sent ⌞from Jerusalem⌟ arrived. Then Cephas drew back and would not associate with people who were not Jewish. He was afraid of those who insisted that circumcision was necessary. 13 The other Jewish Christians also joined him in this hypocrisy. Even Barnabas was swept along with them.

14 But I saw that they were not properly following the truth of the Good News. So I told Cephas in front of everyone, “You’re Jewish, but you live like a person who is not Jewish. So how can you insist that people who are not Jewish must live like Jews?”

Earlier this week I talked about these passage in my Pastor’s B log, so, if you’ve read that, you know where I’m going. So, here we have a situation in which Peter is being confronted by the Apostle Paul…not in private either. Why would Paul do that? Why did Paul feel that the situation was so bad, that he had to confront Peter in a public way-no doubt embarrassing him in front of the people who valued Peter’s leadership. Perhaps to some of us this may have seemed a tad harsh of Paul, to rebuke Peter publicly. Well, Paul had a very good reason for this, if you understand what was going on and what was at stake. To fully understand, we have to dive into the historical and cultural context of the situation.

Paul was writing this letter to the Galatian church.

Galatians 1: 1-2

From Paul—an apostle ⌞chosen⌟ not by any group or individual but by Jesus Christ and God the Father who brought him back to life— 2 and all the believers who are with me. To the churches in Galatia.

Paul always began his Epistles in one of two ways: To the Romans and the Philippians, to Titus and Philemon, he introduced himself as a servant, or prisoner of Christ. To the Corinthians and the Ephesians, to the Colossians and the Galatians, he presented himself as an apostle. Why? Because to those who embraced and welcomed his ministry, he was a servant; but to those who challenged his authority, he was an apostle, a “sent one” of Jesus Christ. Thus, even the opening verse of this letter underscores the fact that Paul’s enemies—those who taught the “three R’s of religion”: rules, regulations, and rituals—sought to undermine the ministry of grace in the region of Galatia by questioning the authority of Paul. This still happens today. When someone wants to subvert a ministry, he invariably slanders the minister—especially if he can’t argue proficiently against the doctrine. Paul’s enemies were no exception. They continually challenged his authority, saying, “He doesn’t have the credentials to teach as he does.”

So, Paul know that this letter will be read aloud to those who support him, but also to those who question his authority. In the opening part of Galatians, Paul is recounting his call to be a messenger for Christ, giving a brief rundown of how he came to be recognised as an apostle. At the end of Ch. 1, Paul talks about the first time he met Peter. Chapter 2 opens us with Paul telling the people about a more recent event..but in doing so, he highlights just how many years he has been serving as a co-laborer with the other Apostles.

Galatians 2: 1-2

Then 14 years later I went to Jerusalem again with Barnabas. I also took Titus along. 2 I went in response to a revelation ⌞from God⌟. I showed them the way I spread the Good News among people who are not Jewish. I did this in a private meeting with those recognized as important people to see whether all my efforts had been wasted.

Here, Paul is talking about the work that he did during his first missionary journey. During this (what is referred to as the) Jerusalem Council, Paul has to address some issues related to legalism. You see, the early Jewish converts had hard time with the non-Jewish converts no following certain parts of the law of Moses. If you’ve read Paul’s letters, you will know that Paul addressed this issue many times.

So, Paul continues to tell the people about what happened while at the Jerusalem council. Then Paul says

Galatians 2: 7

7 In fact, they saw that I had been entrusted with telling the Good News to people who are not circumcised as Peter had been entrusted to tell it to those who are circumcised.

Then, shortly after this, Paul goes into the brief interaction that we read between himself and Peter.

Paul had been working very hard to convince the early church that the New Covenant completely fulfilled the requirements of the Old Covenant. Meaning, no longer did a person have to keep the outward rules (that makes a person righteous), such as circumcision and not eating certain foods. Unfortunately, there were many Jews that were having a really tough time accepting the non-Jewish converts to Christianity. To give you an example of just how hard it was, let’s quickly look at an example from the life of Peter.

This comes from Acts Ch. 10, the passages states that Peter was hungry and wanted to eat, but the Lord put Peter into a trance, then gave Peter a vision.

Acts 10: 11-16

11 He saw the sky open and something like a large linen sheet being lowered by its four corners to the ground. 12 In the sheet were all kinds of four-footed animals, reptiles, and birds.

13 A voice told him, “Get up, Peter! Kill these animals, and eat them.”

14 Peter answered, “I can’t do that, Lord! I’ve never eaten anything that is impure or unclean.” [a]

15 A voice spoke to him a second time, “Don’t say that the things which God has made clean [b] are impure.”

16 This happened three times. Then the sheet was quickly taken into the sky.

Up to this point in Peter’s life, Peter was still following the rules set forth by Moses. These rules were designed to separate the Jewish people from pagan nations. Peter had yet to understand that the death of Christ fulfilled all of the requirements of the law of Moses. No longer did a person have to follow these type of rules. We can see Peter’s reaction to the idea that it’s now “OK” to eat “unclean” food.

Peter did catch on and later on in the chapter, Peter declares,

Acts 10: 27-29

As Peter talked, he entered Cornelius’ house and found that many people had gathered. 28 He said to them, “You understand how wrong it is for a Jewish man to associate or visit with anyone of another race. But God has shown me that I should no longer call anyone impure or unclean. 29 That is why I didn’t object to coming here when you sent for me. I want to know why you sent for me.”

It’s hard for us to recognise just how difficult it was for the early Jewish converts and the early non-Jewish converts to get along. This issue was a major stumbling block in the early church. The Jews were (frankly) very racist against anyone that was not born a Jew. Meanwhile, the Greek culture looked down on the Jewish community because the Jews were unwilling subjects of the Roman empire…they were exiles, wanting to get their land back from the Romans…so there was so much animosity going on beneath the surface. Meanwhile, God had called the apostle Paul to try and bridge the divide between the two cultures.

The closest thing that you and I can imagine would have been what it was like (here in the U.S.) after the civil war. Imagine someone trying to start a multi-cultural church in rural Alabama back in the late 1800’s. In the church you had newly freed slaves and their former "owners” trying to attend the same church. There would have been deeply held issues brimming just below the surface…issues that only Christ was capable of dealing with. Now imagine that among the people attending the church were troublemakers…those who did not want to see such unity.

Well, for the lack of a better example, that we can understand today, that is exactly what was going on. Now, with that in mind, imagine a scene in which one of the main leaders of the church were to do what Peter did in Galatians Ch. 2.

Let’s now look back at this account from Paul and examine it with (hopefully) a better understanding.

Galatians 2: 11-14

 When Cephas came to Antioch, I had to openly oppose him because he was completely wrong. 12 He ate with people who were not Jewish until some men James had sent ⌞from Jerusalem⌟ arrived. Then Cephas drew back and would not associate with people who were not Jewish. He was afraid of those who insisted that circumcision was necessary. 13 The other Jewish Christians also joined him in this hypocrisy. Even Barnabas was swept along with them.

14 But I saw that they were not properly following the truth of the Good News. So I told Cephas in front of everyone, “You’re Jewish, but you live like a person who is not Jewish. So how can you insist that people who are not Jewish must live like Jews?”

Imagine you are Paul, working hard to establish functional, godly relationships amongst the early church converts and you hear about this. Worse yet, you learn that one of the pastors engages in the activity. Paul was rightfully angry. It would have been different if person wasn’t someone as influential, like Peter…but it was. Paul knew the sway that Peter held over the people in the church. Also, we have to understand that this was Paul’s home church, so Paul felt that extra responsibility towards the people who attended. Secondly, Peter’s fear caused him to lead other’s astray, in a very public manner. This is why Paul felt it necessary to confront Peter in the manner he did. This wasn’t some private meeting in which Peter’s fear caused an issue, it happened publicly and caused people to follow Peter’s example. Had Paul not addressed this in a public fashion, it may have caused a massive rift in the church.

In vs. 14, Paul says:

But I saw that they were not properly following the truth of the Good News. So I told Cephas in front of everyone, “You’re Jewish, but you live like a person who is not Jewish. So how can you insist that people who are not Jewish must live like Jews?”

What Paul is saying here is that Peter had already understood that there was no longer a difference between the Jews and non-Jews. God had revealed that to him and Peter had acknowledged this in front of a number of people…so Peter knew better. But, if Peter knew better, why would he make this mistake? Was it just a matter of good ol’ fashioned favoritism? Did Peter simply prefer the company of Jews over that of Gentiles? Well, this is a debated topic, but in my opinion, the text gives us our answer for why Peter did what he did...

He was afraid of those who insisted that circumcision was necessary

Sometimes we can overthink these complicated situations, when the answer is staring at us right in the face…Paul wrote that Peter feared the Jews. Is Paul trying to suggest that Peter was physically afraid of the men…like they would beat him up if he sat with the gentiles? Of course not, Peter never comes across in scripture as one that is fearful of someone in a physical manner.

The particular word for fear is used many times in scripture and has many different contexts. So, while it is possible that Paul was trying to convey that Peter simply preferred or favored the Jewish men, I do not believe that it what was going on. I’m not saying that Peter didn’t have a certain amount of preference, but I believe that Peter gave into a common fear, that we all can experience when in certain situations, in which we want to impress certain people…the fear of man. I might be able to go more toward the notion that Peter simply preferred to be with Jewish people if Peter had not already recieved the revelation from God and openly admitted that there is no difference between Jew and non-Jew. In addition, Part of Paul’s rebuke was that peter was being a hypocrite…that when these men weren’t around, Peter had no problem being with the gentiles…therefore, Peter knew that God did not prefer one over another. God had already dealt with Peter’s instinct to “prefer” Jews over Gentiles…in this scenario, and the way that Paul presents the situation is that Peter found himself wanting to impress these men. The reason for that is because Peter “feared” their opinions.

Part III:

Conclusion

So, if Abraham and Peter, and many other great men from the Bible can have times in which they express fear, we must recognise our own tendency towards unhealthy fear. As we all know, fear can manifest itself in many different ways. In the book of Genesis, Adam was afraid because he was naked…his fear was based upon shame, shame that he did something that God told him not to do. In the case of Abraham and Elijah they feared for their physical safety. With Peter, Paul wrote that he feared the visiting Jewish men…again, causing some debate as to the root of the fear, but it appears as though Peter was preferring the Jews due to an unhealthy fear of man, wanting to impress them. It’s clear from scripture, that regardless of the type or where it may come from, fear can cause us to do stupid things and step out of God’s will for our lives. In certain cases, fear can be absolutely crippling, affecting every area of our lives. Then, as a result of that fear, we can withdraw from people, we can seek to exert control over situations and relationships in order to try and minimize our fear. We think, well, if I can just maintain control of everything, I won’t need to face those moments where I am not in control. A great many pastors struggle with 2 types of fear…fear of man and fear of losing control…combine those two and you are looking at a person who must micromanage everyone around them, yet, are afraid to say “no” to the people who might cause a problem.

In the correct manner, our fear of the Lord can lead to wisdom and righteousness; in the wrong manner, fear can lead us away from God. The key for you and I is to point that fear in the right direction.

What does pointing our fear in the right direction mean?

Psalm 111: 10

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; All those who follow His commandments have a good understanding; His praise endures forever.

Psalm 128: 1-2

Blessed is everyone who fears the Lord, Who walks in His ways. 2 When you eat the fruit of the labor of your hands, You will be happy and it will go well for you.

Luke 12: 4-5

4 “Now I say to you, My friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body, and after that have nothing more that they can do. 5 But I will warn you whom to fear: fear the One who, after He has killed someone, has the power to throw that person into hell; yes, I tell you, fear Him!

The word for “fear” in the O.T. can be defined as: To morally revere, while the word in Luke is the same word for fear that we read in Galatians. To have a holy reverence and respect for. Except, in the case of Peter, in that instance, we wasn't fearing the Lord, he was having reverence for man, which caused him to lead others astray. So, yes, we are most definitely called to reverence and respect God. It is similar to how a child “fears” his father. Should this be an unhealthy fear? Of course not, although sometimes this can happen if a dad does not follow instructions given to him in scripture

Ephesians 6:4

4 Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.

A famous philosopher, Bertrand Russell once said:

“Religion is based mainly on fear … fear of the mysterious, fear of defeat, fear of death. Fear is the basis of the whole thing.… Science can help us to get over this craven fear in which mankind has lived so long.”

Russell was a staunch atheist who was born in 1872 and died in 1970. He was very popular among his peers when he made this comment. While this may surprise you, I actually agree with him, but not in the way he would expect. First, I agree that Religion is based on fear…but that’s about it. What Russell didn’t understand is that authentic Christianity is not a religion, it’s not about people blindly following some distant or non-existent God. Authentic Christianity is about you and I having a personal relationship with the creator of the universe. A God that so loved His creation that He sent His only son to die for the sins of man. Authentic Christianity provides freedom from the type of fear he is referring to. Also, while he could not have known this at the time, science and technology (while it has done a fair amount of good for humanity), ultimately, science and technology has attempted to do exactly what he predicted…to lead mankind away from God,but the result of that is the exact opposite of what He though would happen, people today are far more fearful and anxious than ever before.

There is only one way that we can overcome the unhealthy fear that plagues society as a whole and that keeps people bound on a daily basis.

In 1 John Chapter 1, the author is talking about loving one another, he says this:

1 John 4: 17-19

17 By this, love is perfected with us, so that we may have confidence in the day of judgment; because as He is, so also are we in this world. 18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love. 19 We love, because He first loved us.

Whether it’s fear of something bad happening, fear of the unknown, fear of what other people will think, fear of someone hurting us physically or emotionally, even an unhealthy fear that God will do something bad to us if we sin, shame and jealousy, which are often a result of fear…all of these things put a barrier between us the the perfect love of the Father. When we act out on our fear, we are saying to God that we must take control of the situation.

The good news is that the only fear we need in our lives is the kind that reverences God…that kind of fear has the power to dispel all other kinds…as perfect love (which only comes from the father) casts out fear. So, if you have found yourself struggling with any of the types of fear we talked about today…shame, fear that spurs on jealousy, fear of man, fear of losing control, even an unhealthy fear of the God that loves you…then you need to ask the Lord to help you in this area. Be intentional with your prayers and handing that fear over to the Lord. Then, when situations come up that normally trigger that fear, you begin to make the right choice.

This is a process, like anything else…we all have areas in our lives where fear can manifest…perhaps it’s fear of being broke…having no money. That can be crippling and cause us to be greedy.

Let’s Pray