Happy Mother’s Day Paul
Notes
Transcript
Today is Mother’s Day. Normally, I would not preach a mother’s day sermon. And while this isn’t really a mother’s day sermon, it does seem like a mother’s day text. Now let me explain - because you likely are thinking “How I came to that conclusion?”
In this text Paul sounds very motherly. At times he is nurturing, and at other points it sounds like he is yelling “Get back in here right this instant young man.” Specifically, how a mother might speak to their angsty teenager. Now I am not saying that the Galatians are angsty teenagers… but they have been hanging out with the wrong crowd and made some questionable life decisions.
As much as I have tried to move away from thinking that Paul sounds like a disappointed parent I’m having a tough time dividing the text any other way.
However, there is something important to be noted from this comparison. Why does Paul speak to them this way?
For those of you who are parents, or those who have parents - when it comes to tough and stern conversations - generally, they are because the parents love their children.
And yet at the same point I find myself conflicted. I know not everyone has good experiences with mothers day -some of you have lost children and mothers day reminds you of that - others of you had a bad relationship with your mother and mothers day reminds you of that.
And yet again, I think to Paul - who we have no mention of him having been married. Many believe that he was married but may have been a widower, or even that his wife may have left him after his conversion - both of those without evidence - yet still, I think, may provide a point of comfort. Paul had no children - yet his investment into the church and the training of the church are Paul’s children. So even if Mother’s Day is sour for you - if it had a first century equivalent it may have been sour for Paul as well - but he pressed in to serve the church all the more.
And so I will be dividing today’s text as if it is a heart to heart between and mother and her child. And I’m not just doing this because it is mother’s day but because of Paul’s language in verse 19.
8-11: “You’re not slaves”
12-18 “I’m not your enemy.”
19-20 “I am your mother.”
You’re Not Slaves
You’re Not Slaves
vv8-11
In verse 8, Paul directs them back to their life before Christ - when they still believed in and worshipped weak and worthless idols. In verse 8 he refers to the time before they knew God, so that he might teach them about how they are acting in the day that they do know God.
Yet Paul demonstrates that merely knowing God isn’t what is most important. But the most important part is being known by God.
In Paul’s day there was the philosophy of gnosticism. It is heresy, and completely inconsistent with Christianity. This belief was described by having knowledge, specifically special knowledge that had been revealed to them. This people would claim that they knew God - and they had a special revelation from God. Thus someone in the first century knowing God, or knowing about God would not be all to unique - but for Paul to encourages them in showing that they have the assurance that they are known by God - because they know Christ - and have been saved by faith in him.
And this language is shown elsewhere. Paul uses it as an encouragement here in Galatians - yet in other places it is used as a warning.
Knowing God is not enough, but one must also be known by God.
Jesus in Matthew 7 gives a warning for his disciples:
21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.
22 On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’
23 And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’
And then James
19 You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder!
And this fits within James -as the whole point of the letter is what does authentic saving faith look like? It isn’t just academic theological ascent - but rather saving faith is marked by Faith in Jesus that drives one to be obedient to God’s commands.
We can easily see this same sort of dilemma today - many who “know God” but their hearts are far from him. We all know people who claim to know the Bible, or know God - but really only know about God. And in many cases when pressed on basic issues of Christianity they are wrong. But because they grew up going to church, went through an AWANA program, because they took their first communion, they were catechized, maybe they were even baptized… but then their lives are far from the Lord.
And to be honest, that is the biggest fear for my own children - and it is the LAST thing I want for any of the kids in Bible Club. And I regularly pray that we do not merely fill their heads up with knowledge only for their hearts to be far from them. But the Lord saves every single person he intends to save - so we can take comfort in knowledge that it isn’t about how well we preach the gospel, but simply that we preach the gospel.
Yet that’s not the entirety of what Paul is addressing here. He is celebrating that they both know God and are known by him - and he uses this as a caution for them as they depart to errant theologies.
So while Paul celebrates that these Gentiles know God, he rejoices more that God knows them. And this he sets as the background for his following question - you know God and God knows you - so why would you return back to the weak and worthless elementary principles of the world? Why would you return to a weaker master? Why would you return back to slavery?
And think of it in exactly that language… consider someone is in enslaved. They get their freedom… and after a while they decide “you know what - I don’t like this freedom anymore - how about I got back to slavery”… Actually we don’t have to picture it… Look to Numbers 14…
This is exactly what the Israelites did not long after the were freed from Egypt.
Following the report of the spies concerning the land of Canaan the Israelites
1 Then all the congregation raised a loud cry, and the people wept that night.
2 And all the people of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron. The whole congregation said to them, “Would that we had died in the land of Egypt! Or would that we had died in this wilderness!
3 Why is the Lord bringing us into this land, to fall by the sword? Our wives and our little ones will become a prey. Would it not be better for us to go back to Egypt?”
4 And they said to one another, “Let us choose a leader and go back to Egypt.”
And the reader should see this text and think: How foolish can you be? They were treating you horribly. You had to make bricks without straw the work conditions were terrible, they were killing their sons - or trying to - And yet a few weeks later they get report of the people in the land of Canaan in the midst of that they want to go back to slavery.
Paul shows them that conversion to Christianity is freedom. And desiring to keep the law for salvation is slavery.
They have been liberated from their slavery to sin, and their slavery to idols. They are not moving to another enslavement. It’s not a spiritual slave trade - they have been liberated from slavery. But they are freed to serve Christ.
So he asks them - do you really want to go back to that/do you really want to return to a life of slavery?
Verse 10 might seem like a random interjection by Paul…
10 You observe days and months and seasons and years!
While Paul could be referring to pagan traditions, it seems much more likely that he is referring back to the Jewish feasts and festivals. I say this because of the context of the book. The Passover was connected to circumcision. So it would not be much of a stretch to see that they would be insisting not only on the cutting of the flesh but also the other aspects of the Jewish religion.
Verse 11 -
Have I labored in vain?
I’m sure every parent has felt this at some point. Maybe with potty training, or teaching their children to ride a bike, or maybe teaching your child to read. Have I wasted my time with you?
But at the same point, while Paul may have felt this way at the time - I think we should reasonable conclude that no he did not labor in vain.
His boldness to proclaim the gospel, to teach them about Jesus, and to correct them is not for nothing. It never is.
I’m Not Your Enemy
I’m Not Your Enemy
Paul in verse 12 turns to a personal aspect with them. He calls them to remember back to when he was among them. He was there with them in suffering - and Paul is appealing to them. He mentions that they did him no wrong, but they care for him. He is not their enemy.
verse 13-15 -
Paul may be angry with them be he remembers them fondly. They cared for him in the midst of his illness. We do not know for sure what this bodily ailment that Paul suffered was. Many think that it may have been some sort of eye condition because of his comment in verse 15 - where he states that they would have willingly done an eye transplant for him. Paul even states that they received him as God’s messenger - as an angel - as Christ himself. Now to clear up potential confusion - Paul is not by any means calling Jesus an angel. Jesus is not an angel. That word could be translated messenger - but it is more likely that Paul is making an argument and then using emphatic language to show how welcoming they were to him.
Almost as if he is saying “You welcomed me as a friend - NO as your own family.” You welcomed me as an angel - no closer than as angel - you welcomed me as you would have welcomed Jesus.”
And this previous relationship between them is core to Paul’s letter here. He cares for them. And they care for him.
If someone you do not know corrects you, you are likely to ignore it, or take the correction with a grain of salt. But if someone you dearly love and respect, corrects you - you take it to heart.
Part of the reason that Paul is willing to go out and correct them in their errant theology is because he loves them. The world around us has developed this idea that if you love someone you let them believe wrong things if it makes them happy. And in turn we allow them to
Which is the heart of verse 16. Paul asks the question “Have I become your enemy for telling you the truth?” This is of course a rhetorical question - they have not become his enemy. But they are not receiving the truth well.
There used to be a general rule of pleasantry that you don’t talk religion and politics. And if you do you’re an enemy. But we don’t treat someone who stops you from accidentally walking in front of a bus as an enemy. So why do we do that when it comes to someone’s eternal salvation? People don’t like being told to repent, nor do they like being told they are wrong. But that doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t do it.
One of the main take aways that We should have from Paul’s boldness in Galatians is that we should not fear correcting the false or faulty religious views of others - ESPECIALLY when those views are a rejection of the Gospel -
You are no more an enemy of someone for telling them that their sins will warrant them an eternal damnation unless they repent and believe in Jesus, than you are for telling someone that they are going to get hit by a truck and die unless they get out of the road. The only difference is that everyone person you know or encounter will stand before God at the end of their life
Yet the message we have is good news - they don’t have to be a slave to sin anymore - Christ brings freedom and eternal life. That is good news - there is no reason that anyone make you out to be an enemy for that.
But sinners love to sin - so they will. But that shouldn’t prevent you from sharing the gospel. That shouldn’t prevent you from telling others of the wonderful good news of what Jesus has done for sinners.
But Paul doesn’t just leave it there… he goes further on to reveal the danger of this “other gospel” that is being preached among them and the nefarious plans of those preaching it.
Verse 17 reads a little odd:
17 They make much of you, but for no good purpose. They want to shut you out, that you may make much of them.
They are elevating these brothers so that they might deceive them, and then once they are shut out from the Christian community they
I see this a lot when people begin to entertain errant theologies. Here’s an example: a persons family member comes out as gay. They now have the choice to choose between their faith and their family.
Verse 17 - they want to disqualify them from among the brethren so that they might seek them instead.
Things haven’t changed much.
For the last section today, Paul’s language becomes a lot more clear concerning how I have divided the text today. And why I have come to the conclusion that this is a mother’s day text. First he refers to them as “my little children”…
I Am Your Mother
I Am Your Mother
19 …
Then
Paul makes a comparison here that might make a few of you mothers raise your eyebrows - but before approaching this with skepticism consider that maybe he has a point…
19 my little children, for whom I am again in the anguish of childbirth until Christ is formed in you!
Paul compares his anguish here to childbirth.
And now while this might sound to some of you like the phrase “the pains of labor are so severe that a woman can almost understand what it is like for a man to have the flu.” That’s not what how we should read this. Remember that this is an angry letter from Paul, but it’s also a very emotional letter from Paul.
Paul yearns for them to be more conformed to the image of Christ. His desire for them to be more Christlike is on par with the pains of childbirth. He is having labor pains until
If you’ve ever experienced or seen childbirth then you know that’s really powerful language… if you haven’t take my word for it.
The final statement of Paul’s angry yet loving rebuke here is that he is perplexed about them. Which is a phrase that ought to sting for them. Yet even Paul acknowledges that the letter itself guides the tone. Yet Paul isn’t so mad that he doesn’t want to see them - he is angry and grieved but he wishes to be among them that he might speak to them differently.
Before I conclude, I want to take a moment to recap:
Paul begins by celebrating that these young believers know God and are known by God. And yet throughout the scriptures we see a tension there.
Be certain that you do not merely boast that you know God. Does God also know you? Is your faith merely marked by knowledge of the Bible? Does your knowledge of God drive you to repentance, to obedience? What is the basis for your faith? Is it that you know things about the Bible or that you believe in Jesus Christ as Lord and savior who has died in your placed and raised from the dead.
If you know God then you will be seeking to forsake sins and pursue righteousness. If you do not know God, and are not known by God then you are still in enslaved to your sins. You are held captive by sin - like an addiction you sin continues to draw you back in - but if you turn away from your sin, confess your sin, turn to Jesus and place your faith in him as savior - you will be set from.
For those who are in Christ, that is already true of you. You are not a slave anymore - you are free. Do not seek to return to sins that you have been freed from. Do not seek to return to the law that Christ has fulfilled to be enslaved once again.
If you are indeed in Christ then model the boldness of Paul to declare the truth in hard moments. Truth telling is not the role of an enemy - truth telling is the duty of a friend. You don’t have to be someone’s mother to correct them, or to love them. You do not need to love someone to correct them. But you cannot love someone if they are in open error and you refuse to correct them.
Remember that Paul was grieved that they might be more conformed to the image of Christ.
