Red Pill or Blue Pill?

Introduction

So we have finally come to the end of Galatians! It’s been a long journey through this book, but I hope you have found it helpful in learning about what Christianity is truly about.

Now, at the end of this letter, Paul finally comes to his conclusion. And in these last concluding verses, Paul is not only offering encouragement, but he is also giving a warning. After explaining what the gospel is - which is that we are saved by the grace of Jesus Christ alone and not by our own works - he is now saying we have 2 choices. We now have to make a choice about how we want to live our lives.

Do you guys know what this movie is? (Show video)

This is one of the most iconic scenes of all movie history! This movie is called the Matrix, where people lived in a simulated alternate reality, because the real world has been taken over by robots. And to stop the humans from fighting back, the machines trap the humans in a simulated reality. And the movie is about Neo realising that he’s living in a simulated reality, and he’s trying to get to the real world through a guy named Morpheus. And at the end of the movie, we come to this really famous scene (show picture of blue pill, red pill).

The character Morpheus, offers the main character Neo, a choice between the blue pill and red pill.

The red pill will let Neo go back to reality. But this reality is a painful and harsh and difficult reality, but it is the truth.

The blue pill will let Neo stay in his simulated reality. It is a happy, and secure place, but taking the blue pill means Neo will remain in a fake world.

And although today’s passage is about a completely different topic, after preaching the great gospel message of Jesus Christ, Paul ends his letter to the Galatians by showing them they have two choices between two radically different lives, similar to choosing between the red pill and blue pill of the Matrix.

So let’s see what these two completely different lives are.

Read Galatians 6:11-18.

1. Blue Pill - Living in the Flesh

So Paul is saying, you now only have two options of how you are going to live life, a red pill or blue pill:

Either you live by the flesh, or

You you live by the cross of Christ alone

What does it mean to live by the flesh? Read Galatians 6:12 “12 It is those who want to make a good showing in the flesh who would force you to be circumcised, and only in order that they may not be persecuted for the cross of Christ.”

To live by the flesh means that you are focused a ‘good showing in the flesh’. This means that you are focused on the external things: what you do, your outward acts.

Remember, the book of Galatians is about the question of how are we saved? And Regardless of whether you are a religious or not, everyone is seeking to be saved in some way. Everyone wants security, ultimate happiness and meaning, and identity. And for Christians, they not only want these things, but they also want to be accepted by God. Being saved includes all these things.

And to live by the flesh, means you find ultimate happiness and meaning, your identity, and your security, and even being accepted by God, by your own works. You have to perform, achieve, earn, to get all these things.

You get top grades and try to get into the best uni, for your identity, so that you feel good enough. But if you don’t, you feel worthless and inferior to everyone else.

You try hard in sports, so that you become the best and feel good about yourself. But if you don’t, you feel like you are not unique, and feel bad about yourself.

You feel like you are only accepted by God if you do enough good things, when you are a good enough person, to earn his love. It’s like an exam, where you have to perform well enough to earn the right to become God’s child.

Living in the flesh means you are not saved by God, but you try to save yourself.

And living by the flesh in this way, where you try and save yourself, means that you are controlled like a puppet. You become a slave.

Have you ever thought that about yourself? That you are a puppet? A slave?

If you think about the things we want in life, they are all things the world tells us are important and valuable. What really drives you? What drives and motivates your thoughts and your actions, are the things that you think are good: money, a good university, a good job, lots of friends, a good reputation, respect from others, the latest fashion brand, the latest drink that’s trending on TikTok. And we want these things because everyone else wants these things - so our desires are controlled by other people; we are controlled by the world. We are enslaved to the world.

So much of this world today is about ‘you do you’, ‘just be yourself’, ‘live your best life’. But this is all fake, because when people try to live as themselves, they just become copies of other people and values in this world.

This is the life of the flesh - a life of being controlled, slaves to the values and patterns and ways of the world.

This is the way that Paul is warning against. Having heard the gospel, Paul in his final part of the letter, is saying don’t live this way. So then what is the other way of living? What is the other pill that Paul wants us to take?

2. Red Pill - Living by the Cross of Christ Alone

Paul doesn’t want us to live by the flesh, but by the cross of Christ alone. This is the other pill that Paul wants us to take.

What does it mean to live by the cross of Christ alone?

First, it means we no longer rely on what we do to save ourselves, but we rely on Christ alone to save us.

Let’s read Galatians 6:14 “14 But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.”

Paul says he will boast in not what he has done, but what Christ has done. Paul realises that to be saved, we can’t rely on ourselves - we can only rely on Christ. He realises whatever we do is not enough - at the end of the day, no matter how hard we try, our efforts, our performance, is not enough for us to secure that ultimate happiness, meaning, security, identity, and most importantly, salvation. Only what Christ has done on the cross can give these things to us.

So Paul says don’t rely on the things that you do; rely on the cross of Christ alone. Only what Christ has done on the cross can:

Give you your ultimate identity, because it is through the cross that we are called as God’s children, no matter who we are or what we’ve done.

Give us our ultimate meaning and happiness, because the cross puts us in right relationship with God, which is the ultimate happiness and meaning, far beyond anything else this world can offer us.

Give us true salvation, because only the cross can save us from our sins.

So what does this mean for you? When it comes to your happiness, security, identity, meaning in life, nothing that you do matters:

Your exams are not important. You are anxious because you fear doing bad on the exams; you fear not doing as well as your friends; you think you are only valuable or have worth as a person if you do well in your exams. But that’s not true - Christ has already called you his precious child. So your exams are not important for these ultimate things, because no matter how well you do in your exams, that is not going to bring you ultimate and final security and happiness.

And the same thing applies to not only exams but also your popularity, your ability in sports, the opinions of others around you - none of these are important, because none of these can give us what Christ has already given us on the cross -> true life, right relationship with God, a new identity, and a new goal in life.

This means you are free! Paul says ‘the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world’. Paul is saying the values and pressures of this world - the things the world tells us are important - no longer has no power over me now, because the only thing that is important to me is our Lord Jesus Christ, and what He has already given me and promises me. What the world tells me what I should be or should be doing, is all meaningless, because I have Christ.

I’m not saying that we can now just drop and stop all these things. It doesn’t mean we all of a sudden stop studying, or stop going to school. What I’m saying is that these things no longer determine who we are. We are not enslaved to these things for our happiness, our identity, our security.

And if we are not slaves, what are we? We are a new creation - see Galatians 6:15 “15 For neither circumcision counts for anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation.”

The life of the flesh, being slaves to what the world tells us, is to live in an ‘outside-in’ way - we need our achievements, the approval of others, to give us identity, happiness, security on the inside.

But the life of the cross of Christ, is a new creation - it is an ‘inside-out’ way. God changes us radically on the inside as new beings, with new desires and goals in life. And the inside change causes the outside change. We still study hard, we still make friends, we still go to uni, and get jobs. But we no longer do it to achieve our ultimate happiness and meaning, but we do it because we are a new creation. God gives us a new hear to love him, and now we study hard, work hard, play hard, to bring glory to God, and to live for God’s purposes according to His instructions in the Bible, not my own.

This is the way of the cross of Christ: the life of complete freedom from the values and pressures of the world. We no longer need our achievements and the approval of others. We already have it all in Christ. We are a new creation. Christ has already achieved all the ultimate things we need in life for us on the cross - all we have to do is trust and rely on him rather than ourselves.

Conclusion

So how will you live your life? Which pill will you take today?

Will you continue living constantly anxious and insecure, because you feel you aren’t good enough, or performing well enough, or comparing yourself to others, or you fear you won’t meet expectations? Will you live the exhuasting life of constantly relying on your own strength to obtain the ultimate things in life for yourself?

Or will you rest in Christ alone? Will you be free, confident, fearless, knowing that you already have all these ultimate things in Christ? Knowing that nothing in this life, nothing that happens to us, and nothing that we do or achieve, can change the fact that Christ has already given all these things to us?

Paul is asking you to take the right pill today. Remember you are a new creation, God’s precious child, living for God and his kingdom and his glory alone, no longer living for the things the world tells us are important.

Questions

Imagine yourself in 10 years. What kind of person do you want to be? What will you be doing? What are the things you have? Who are the people around you? And then ask yourself, why? Are these desires possibly the pressures and values this society has placed on you?

The gospel has already given you ultimate happiness, identity, security, meaning in life, and salvation. You are a new creation. If we no longer need our achievements, the approval of others, and the things of this world, for any of these things, how does this change what you desire? Does this change the picture of who you want to be in 10 years?

Throughout Galatians, what is the key thing you have learnt?