GALATIANS 6:17-18 | MARKS OF A CHRISTIAN
Notes
Transcript
TEXT: GALATIANS 6:17-18 | MARKS OF A CHRISTIAN
TEXT: GALATIANS 6:17-18 | MARKS OF A CHRISTIAN
INTRO
INTRO
ILLUSTRATION: If you were to go to my families home in Indiana, to the house I grew up in and you pulled down the gravel drive to the front porch, you would have not question who house it was.
ILLUSTRATION: If you were to go to my families home in Indiana, to the house I grew up in and you pulled down the gravel drive to the front porch, you would have not question who house it was.
Hanging above the steps just below the porch overhang is a sign that says, “the Gilstraps”
It’s a clear sign of who owns that house… who it belongs to.
When you get married and you are standing at the altar, at some point during the ceremony the question is normally asked, “do you have a token to show your love?”
And you present a ring to that person that is soon to be your spouse.
Now it isn’t the ring that means your married.
No, the ring is a sign to others, I belong to someone.
It’s a marker for everyone else to see!
EXPLANATION: We’ve reached the end of our journey through Galatians.
EXPLANATION: We’ve reached the end of our journey through Galatians.
39 messages that began back on October 29, 2023.
And now here we are in the final two verses of the incredible book.
Paul is writing to these Galatian believers these final words, and in them he points them to two different signs that identify that they belong to Christ.
They are evidences of what a real Christian should look like.
APPLICATION: Friend, is there anything in your life that would point to the fact that you are a child of God?
APPLICATION: Friend, is there anything in your life that would point to the fact that you are a child of God?
For you personally, can you remember at day that you turned to Him as your Savior?
I know that I am married to Tressa… and if you asked me how I know, I wouldn’t tell you:
Because I feel like it.
Because I’m wearing a ring
Because I try to do good things for her.
No, I know I’m married to her because there was a point and time on August 6, 2011, when I said I do and made that decision to take her as my wife.
Friend, can you go to a time and a place in your mind when you accepted Him as your Savior?
That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
There has to be a time in your life when you consciously make that decision to put your full faith and trust in Him!
If you have accepted Him as your Savior, is there any evidences in your life that you are a Christian?
Is there any evidence for others to see?
There could be a number of different signs, but here as Paul finished Galatians, he gives two signs that are evidences of being a follower of Christ.
V.17, MARKS OF SACRIFICE
V.17, MARKS OF SACRIFICE
From henceforth let no man trouble me: for I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus.
EXPLANATION: There were those that had come along and questioned if Paul was really an apostle.
EXPLANATION: There were those that had come along and questioned if Paul was really an apostle.
He spoke a little about them in Galatians 2:4
And that because of false brethren unawares brought in, who came in privily to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, that they might bring us into bondage:
Now, Paul says, “I’m not going to be troubled anymore by those questioning His allegiance.”
It was clear who Paul’s life was controlled by and who he lived for because of the marks he carried on his body.
The word Paul uses for “marks” his readers would have identified as a word that related to the marking of slaves in the ancient world.
Often those who were slaves were marked with the insignia of their master.
It made clear who they belonged to.
And now, while those religious Judaizers were glorying in their flesh through the mark of circumcision, Paul was glorying in Christ by the marks that were on his body.
Just like those slaves had been marked, so Paul says he was marked because he was a follower of Christ!
Paul spoke often of his dedicated following of Christ.
I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.
For this cause I Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles,
Paul, a prisoner of Jesus Christ, and Timothy our brother, unto Philemon our dearly beloved, and fellowlabourer,
Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner: but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God;
I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called,
Paul wanted all to know, he was a willing prisoner under the control of Christ!
But Paul didn’t need to get a tattoo to show everyone he was a servant of Christ.
He didn’t have to get something burned into his skin.
Why?
Because he had enough scars from staying faithful to Christ that proved Who he belonged to.
It is likely that when Paul mentioned this reality of marks for Christ, he knew exactly who he was writing to when he said it.
In Acts 14, Paul and Barnabas had made their way to Lystra.
Through the power of God they had healed a man who had never walked before.
The crowd was stunned and the surrounded Paul and Barnabas and began to call them gods.
They quickly turned the attention away from themselves and toward Christ.
Why?
Because as Paul said in Galatians 6:14
But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.
Shortly after, the religious crowd showed up and Acts 14:19
And there came thither certain Jews from Antioch and Iconium, who persuaded the people, and, having stoned Paul, drew him out of the city, supposing he had been dead.
They stoned Paul to the point that it appeared he was dead.
But then Acts 14:19
And there came thither certain Jews from Antioch and Iconium, who persuaded the people, and, having stoned Paul, drew him out of the city, supposing he had been dead.
And probably the most stunning part of the story was not the fact that Paul lived through the stoning… it is what the Bible says in the next verse, Acts 14:20
Howbeit, as the disciples stood round about him, he rose up, and came into the city: and the next day he departed with Barnabas to Derbe.
Paul went back to the placed that had just stoned him nearly to death and preached the Gospel to them.
Those people he preached to… Some of them were likely the same people Paul was writing to here in Galatians.
So when Paul said, Galatians 6:17
From henceforth let no man trouble me: for I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus.
They knew all about what marks Paul was talking about… He was talking about the marks of suffering and persecution he had endured for Christ.
Paul knew what it was to suffer for Christ!
Are they ministers of Christ? (I speak as a fool) I am more; in labours more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequent, in deaths oft.
Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one.
Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in the deep;
In journeyings often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren;
In weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness.
And through it all, he remained faithful to Christ.
And Paul is saying that through the sufferings… the marks… they were a testimony of who he belonged to!
APPLICATION: Christian, do you have any marks for Jesus?
APPLICATION: Christian, do you have any marks for Jesus?
I’m not talking about a tattoo with a Bible verse, anyone can do that.
Has the Christian life ever cost you anything?
Our theme for this year is “Disciple”
We want everyone who has accepted Christ as their Savior to be a disciple of Christ!
You see, being a Christian doesn’t automatically make you a disciple.
Over in Luke’s Gospel, Jesus made clear a couple things that are necessary to be a disciple: Luke 14:27
And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple.
Friend, bearing a cross isn’t for the faint of heart.
The only place you carried your cross to was to your death!
What was Jesus saying?
“Following Him is going to cost you something!”
We live in a world of convenient Christianity.
To claim to be a Christian costs you virtually nothing.
Sure if you say you are a Christian and you go to church, someone may make a sly comment at the water cooler.
Maybe the kids at school might tease a little bit.
You might have some family that gives you a hard time
But the reality is, most have no idea what it means to “take up your cross and follow Christ.”
If we were being honest this morning and I asked the question, “when is the last time you sacrificed something for Christ?”
When is the last time choosing to follow God cost you something?
When is the last time you went against your flesh, and intentionally pursued the Spirit?
Are there any marks in your life that show who you belong to?
ILLUSTRATION: When you accept Christ as your Savior, the first step of obedience following salvation is baptism.
ILLUSTRATION: When you accept Christ as your Savior, the first step of obedience following salvation is baptism.
It is an outward demonstration to others that you belong to Christ!
Just a few weeks ago in the middle of that terrible cold spell we had, I was talking with Pastor Frymier at Calvary Baptist in Bozeman.
There were three college age people at his church who had gotten saved and accepted Christ as their Savior.
They came to him wanting to get baptized… in the river!
They went out the following Sunday and broke the ice in the river and he baptized those 3 college students in his church!
It cost them something!
APPLICATION: Now I’m not saying everyone needs to go get baptized in a freezing cold river.
APPLICATION: Now I’m not saying everyone needs to go get baptized in a freezing cold river.
But if you’ve never been baptized after you got saved, maybe it’s time to put some water in the baptistry in the back!
It’s time to make a mark that you belong to Jesus!
For some, there are things in your life that are controlling you… it’s time to make a sacrifice and show who you belong to!
Young person… teenager… there may be some friends that you need to lose, or at the very least stand up to, because you need to let them know you belong to Jesus!
What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?
For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.
I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
Friend, if you have followed Jesus for a length of time and it hasn’t cost you anything, it could mean that you aren’t truly following Jesus.
I’m not saying you should have a miserable life and go live on the streets.
But the Bible is clear, if you are going to be a disciple of Christ, you have to take up your cross… and that costs something.
Paul made clear who he belonged to because of the Marks of Sacrifice
V.18, MARKS OF GRACE
V.18, MARKS OF GRACE
Brethren, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen.
EXPLANATION: Paul concludes his letter where he began his letter… talking about the grace of God.
EXPLANATION: Paul concludes his letter where he began his letter… talking about the grace of God.
Grace be to you and peace from God the Father, and from our Lord Jesus Christ,
It is the heartbeat of the letter.
Grace is something that is never deserved and cannot be earned.
It is the very thing that flies in the face of all religion, including the false teachings that were being forced on the Christians there in Galatia.
Paul would go on to say it this way in his letter to the Christians in Rome, Romans 11:6
And if by grace, then is it no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then is it no more grace: otherwise work is no more work.
It is the one thing we want more than anything.
ILLUSTRATION: When you were a teenager and you got home a few minutes after curfew, what was the one thing you wanted more than anything in the world?
ILLUSTRATION: When you were a teenager and you got home a few minutes after curfew, what was the one thing you wanted more than anything in the world?
When you didn’t get your report done in school, and you knew if you didn’t get it turned in your grade was going to plummet, what did you want from that teacher!
When you are talking with your spouse and having “intense fellowship”, and you say those words men, “That’s not what I meant”… what are you wanting?
Grace is the thing we want more than anything!
To be given what we cannot earn nor deserve.
ILLUSTRATION: I heard a preacher named Chuck Hardin once share that he has often incorporated grace in his life.
ILLUSTRATION: I heard a preacher named Chuck Hardin once share that he has often incorporated grace in his life.
He shared on a number of occasions, he had been pulled over for speeding.
When the officer came to his door, he was prepared.
He would say, “Officer, I know why you pulled me over.”
“I know that I was driving to fast and I broke the law.”
“I know that I deserve judgment and to receive a ticket.”
“And you would be right in giving me that ticket.”
“But officer, I’m asking that you would give me grace today.”
“And instead of giving me a ticket, would you give me a warning?”
He said after years, he has received many warnings… but never a ticket!
He was asking for grace!
Something he didn’t deserve.
APPLICATION: Friend, we all want grace!
APPLICATION: Friend, we all want grace!
We love grace… when we are the ones receiving it.
But while grace is the thing we want more than anything… it is also the thing that we find hardest to give to others.
Because don’t forget, grace is unmerited, it’s undeserved.
That means when that person has wronged you, and they don’t apologize… that is when we have the opportunity to give grace.
When the family member hurt you, and you want to hold onto that hurt because they don’t deserve your forgiveness… that is when you have the opportunity to give grace.
Maybe you’re here today and you are pretty sure you’ve got this grace thing nailed down.
You are quick to forgive when someone when they do something that hurts you.
But what about when they hurt someone you love… well now all the sudden grace is a lot further away.
You see in our human nature, our desire when we screwed up is that we want grace more than anything.
But in our human nature, our desire when someone else hurt us or someone we love, we want justice.
We want judgment
We want reconciliation.
We don’t want to give grace.
And yet Paul closes out his letter to the Galatian believers by challenging them, that if they want to show a real mark of being a Christian…
If they really want to make clear who they belong to.
The way they can do it is by giving grace.
Why?
Because what did Jesus say when He was hanging on the cross? Luke 23:34
Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment, and cast lots.
CONCLUSION
CONCLUSION
Friend, who do you belong to this morning?
If you claim to be a Christian, is there any proof that you belong to Christ?
Are there any marks that show you are is?
ILLUSTRATION: Abdu Oganesyan and his father were determined to keep their workshop open, despite the civil war that was destroying their Syrian homeland.
ILLUSTRATION: Abdu Oganesyan and his father were determined to keep their workshop open, despite the civil war that was destroying their Syrian homeland.
Abdu’s mother, sister and two younger brothers had moved to a larger city for safety when the war broke out in 2011, but he and his father had stayed behind to continue managing the shop.
They were also concerned about protecting the land that had been in their family since 1920, when their ancestors had fled the Armenian genocide in Turkey and immigrated to Syria.
When clashes between the Free Syrian Army, al-Nusra Front, Islamic Front and self-proclaimed Islamic State (ISIS) would erupt in their neighborhood, Abdu and his father would hunker down and try to avoid getting caught in the crossfire.
Still, they fully expected to keep the shop open until the fighting was over.
On June 1, 2014, however, their plans for the future were shattered when members of the Islamic Front, composed of foreigners from Iraq and Turkey, surrounded Abdu and a Muslim employee on the street in front of their shop.
The Islamists allowed the Muslim employee to leave, but they slid a black bag over Abdu’s head, held a gun to his temple and forced him into their vehicle.
After a short drive, they dragged him into a cell, where they bound his hands and legs behind his back and sedated him until he passed out.
“I woke up in pain and started screaming,” Abdu recalled.
When one of the group’s leaders asked Abdu what tribe he was from, another militia member answered for him.
“He’s not from any tribe — he’s a Nasara[Christian],” the man said.
Enraged, the leader began screaming that they should have killed him immediately.
The following days were the most terrifying of Abdu’s life.
The Islamists hit his toes with a stick, cursing him and his parents.
They made him face a wall while they kicked him repeatedly, calling him a “Nasara pig.”
They shackled him with chains and kept him in a cell filled with mice and scorpions.
They ran knives over his legs, hands and neck, threatening to slaughter him, and every time he drank the water they gave him, he fell unconscious.
They also asked him about other Christian families and which of them had money.
On the sixth day of his captivity, Abdu’s kidnappers made him call his family while they beat him to make him scream.
They demanded the equivalent of $270,000 from his family, who had no way of paying the ransom.
Though Abdu’s family was from a Christian background, they had never attended church.
But since moving to the larger city, his sister had begun attending an evangelical church and had come to faith in Christ.
When the Islamists called with their ransom demand, she recited part of Psalm 23 and encouraged Abdu to remain hopeful because she and the church were praying for him.
“I was not yet a genuine believer at that stage,” Abdu said.
And yet, throughout his ordeal with the Islamic Front, he found himself repeating a prayer that he says he did not understand at the time: “Lord, take me out of here and I will become your servant,” he prayed.
On the evening of his 10th day in captivity, Abdu was approached by a guard who gave him the news he had most feared.
“It is over,” the man told him. “They will execute you.”
One of the Islamists removed Abdu’s blindfold, and for the first time he saw the faces of his captors, with their heads and necks wrapped in scarves.
They then loaded him onto a truck and drove to a creek, where they again blindfolded him and ordered him to kneel in the sand; he prayed they would execute him with bullets rather than knives.
Abdu began counting to 50, as they had demanded, expecting the sound of gunfire at any second.
But when he got to 10, instead of gunshots, he heard the surprising sound of their truck driving away.
In disbelief, he waited cautiously before lifting the blindfold.
When he did, he saw that he was alone … and he was free!
Within a month, ISIS had taken control of the region from Raqqa, Syria, to Mosul, Iraq, pushing out other Islamist groups and systematically removing any traces of Christianity.
Several Muslim acquaintances in town urged Abdu and his father to leave.
“As soon as Ramadan is over, there will be killing,” the Muslims told them.
On July 25, 2014, Abdu and his father heeded their Muslim neighbors’ warning, abandoning the shop they had worked so hard to keep and the land that had been in their family for almost 100 years.
They undertook a nerve-racking, eight-hour journey through the desert that required them to pass through an ISIS checkpoint, where the guard somehow failed to notice the obviously Christian names on their IDs.
When they finally arrived at a Syrian government checkpoint, the soldiers were stunned to see two Christians emerging from ISIS territory.
Abdu and his father reunited with the rest of the family, and they eventually made their way to a neighboring country, where Abdu placed his faith in Christ on Oct. 5, 2015, at an evangelical church.
During the whole ordeal, Abdu wasn’t even a Christian yet… the kidnappers just thought he was.
He soon came to forgive and even love his kidnappers.
“I started reading the Bible,” he said, “reading all about God’s love, and I thought, ‘Maybe God loves us all.’ I really felt I should love even my enemies who kidnapped me. God can judge them; I will love them.”
APPLICATION: Friend, who do you belong to this morning?
APPLICATION: Friend, who do you belong to this morning?
Are there any signs, any marks that you belong to Christ?
God may never ask you to give your life for Him…
But He is clear, if you want to be His disciple, you have to take up your cross, and LIVE for Him!
What sacrifices do you need to be willing to make for Christ?
Who do you need to give grace to in your life?
Let’s have the marks of Christ in our lives today!
