Imitation is the Solution

President Calvin Coolidge invited some people from his hometown to dinner at the White House. Since they did not know how to behave at such an occasion, they thought the best policy would be just to do what the President did. The time came for serving coffee. The President poured his coffee into a saucer. As soon as the home folk saw it, they did the same. The next step for the President was to pour some milk and add a little sugar to the coffee in the saucer. The home folks did the same. They thought for sure that the next step would be for the President to take the saucer with the coffee and begin sipping it. But the President didn't do so. He leaned over, placed the saucer on the floor and called the cat.

I thought that would be a funny way to introduce this concept that we will explore here in the next section of Galatians. Though it did not work out so good imitating the president. We should see the beauty of imitating the Apostle

Galatians 4:12–20 NLT

Dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to live as I do in freedom from these things, for I have become like you Gentiles—free from those laws. You did not mistreat me when I first preached to you. Surely you remember that I was sick when I first brought you the Good News. But even though my condition tempted you to reject me, you did not despise me or turn me away. No, you took me in and cared for me as though I were an angel from God or even Christ Jesus himself. Where is that joyful and grateful spirit you felt then? I am sure you would have taken out your own eyes and given them to me if it had been possible. Have I now become your enemy because I am telling you the truth? Those false teachers are so eager to win your favor, but their intentions are not good. They are trying to shut you off from me so that you will pay attention only to them. If someone is eager to do good things for you, that’s all right; but let them do it all the time, not just when I’m with you. Oh, my dear children! I feel as if I’m going through labor pains for you again, and they will continue until Christ is fully developed in your lives. I wish I were with you right now so I could change my tone. But at this distance I don’t know how else to help you.

Galatians 4:12–20 NLT

Dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to live as I do in freedom from these things, for I have become like you Gentiles—free from those laws. You did not mistreat me when I first preached to you. Surely you remember that I was sick when I first brought you the Good News. But even though my condition tempted you to reject me, you did not despise me or turn me away. No, you took me in and cared for me as though I were an angel from God or even Christ Jesus himself. Where is that joyful and grateful spirit you felt then? I am sure you would have taken out your own eyes and given them to me if it had been possible. Have I now become your enemy because I am telling you the truth? Those false teachers are so eager to win your favor, but their intentions are not good. They are trying to shut you off from me so that you will pay attention only to them. If someone is eager to do good things for you, that’s all right; but let them do it all the time, not just when I’m with you. Oh, my dear children! I feel as if I’m going through labor pains for you again, and they will continue until Christ is fully developed in your lives. I wish I were with you right now so I could change my tone. But at this distance I don’t know how else to help you.

Galatians 4:11-

Galatians 4:11-20

I. Become As I Am

-The way to go for the Galatians here is to imitate the Apostle who imitates Christ.

I. Become as I Am

- The way to go for the Galatians here is to imitate the Apostle who imitates Christ.

The way to go for the Galatians here is to imitate the Apostle who imitates Christ.

A. Here we see that it is not enough for the Galatians to just acknowledge that what Paul has taught them about Gospel centered justification in Christ, but also that we live in light of this Gospel centered Justification.

B. If we use simple counterexamples from what Paul said… the Galatians were not only rejecting the theology but the practice that Paul taught them. Why is this important? Paul suffered for the cause of Christ and Paul is asking them to do the same thing. Asserting… if you guys would just suffer for Christ and not turn away, then this whole controversy would be over.

C. How willing are we to suffer for Christ, by suffering for the truth of His Word? This is what Paul did.

II. You Were Welcoming

- Why are you not welcoming now, you were welcoming before?

A. You would have gouged-out your eyes if you needed to for me? What happened? You were ready to sacrifice everything for the sake of Christ when you were first changed.

B. We read this account today and maybe not see what is striking about Paul’s appearance. When he came to the area, he had the appearance of a marked man. He had a bodily ailment. He mentions that they were tempted to turn away because of it. But the illness was a blessing

C. This theory was advanced by W. Ramsay, who surmised that Paul may have contracted malaria when he first came into the swampy region of Pamphylia in southern Asia Minor. This was the occasion when John Mark became disillusioned with missionary life and returned home to Paul’s great consternation (). It may have been that Paul’s original plan was to travel westward toward Ephesus and Greece but that he was redirected because of his illness toward the higher terrain around Pisidian Antioch. There, high above sea level, he found a more congenial place to recuperate. On this theory Paul may still have been in the grips of a terrible fever when he first began his preaching mission in Galatia.

D. How many of us ever thought that things that happen to us are for the purpose of others rather than ourselves?

This theory was advanced by W. Ramsay, who surmised that Paul may have contracted malaria when he first came into the swampy region of Pamphylia in southern Asia Minor. This was the occasion when John Mark became disillusioned with missionary life and returned home to Paul’s great consternation (). It may have been that Paul’s original plan was to travel westward toward Ephesus and Greece but that he was redirected because of his illness toward the higher terrain around Pisidian Antioch. There, high above sea level, he found a more congenial place to recuperate. On this theory Paul may still have been in the grips of a terrible fever when he first began his preaching mission in Galatia.

George, T. (1994). Galatians (Vol. 30, pp. 322–323). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.

E. The sickness was a stumbling block for many. Some scholars will say that in the ancient world grave suffering indicated that you stood on the wrong side of the gods; your physical afflictions were treated as a telltale sign of divine retribution. Perhaps you were even under a curse, and the gods were set on punishing you—and anyone else associated with you.

F. But the Galatians were different… This way of putting things together would have been natural for the Galatians. They would have had every reason to shun this sickly Jewish preacher from Tarsus. Yet they didn’t reject him but gladly received him. Neither did they “scorn or despise” him; literally they didn’t try to ward off evil by spitting in his presence (4:14). On the contrary, they embraced Paul as God’s very own messenger—“as an angel of God,” yet more than that, “as Christ Jesus” (4:14).

But in the ancient world grave suffering indicated that you stood on the wrong side of the gods; your physical afflictions were treated as a telltale sign of divine retribution. Perhaps you were even under a curse, and the gods were set on punishing you—and anyone else associated with you.

Wilson, T. (2013). Galatians: Gospel-Rooted Living. (R. K. Hughes, Ed.) (p. 158). Wheaton, IL: Crossway.

G. This was a risky decision for the Galatians, since their conversion would lead to greater challenges. For their commitment to Paul’s gospel would have brought some social fallout and perhaps outright persecution, whether from their own pagan friends or associates, local Jewish authorities, or some combination of the two.

This way of construing things would have been natural for the Galatians. Consequently they would have had every reason to shun this bedraggled and disfigured Jewish preacher from Tarsus. Yet they didn’t reject him but gladly received him. Neither did they “scorn or despise” him; literally they didn’t try to ward off evil by spitting in his presence (4:14). On the contrary, they embraced Paul as God’s very own messenger—“as an angel of God,” yet more than that, “as Christ Jesus” (4:14).

H. Also, by embracing Paul’s gospel the Galatians had to relinquish the worship of other deities, which would have made continued participation in at least some of the cultic and civic activities of their communities much more difficult, if not impossible. (Like celebrating certain holidays today). Their sitting loose to their ancestral traditions and social responsibilities would have inevitably raised a few eyebrows.

This was a risky decision for the Galatians, since their conversion would inevitably lead to greater challenges. For their adherence to Paul’s gospel would have entailed some measure of social fallout and perhaps outright persecution, whether from their own pagan associates, local Jewish authorities, or some combination of the two. On the one hand, by embracing Paul’s gospel the Galatians had to relinquish the worship of other deities (4:8, 9; cf. ), which would have made continued participation in at least some of the cultic and civic activities of their communities much more difficult, if not impossible. Their sitting loose to their ancestral traditions and social responsibilities would have inevitably raised a few eyebrows.

Wilson, T. (2013). Galatians: Gospel-Rooted Living. (R. K. Hughes, Ed.) (p. 158). Wheaton, IL: Crossway.

I. In spite of all this, the Galatians’ embrace of Paul is more than an embrace of his gospel, it was an embrace of the life that comes from faith in Christ. It is an embrace of his, carrying the cross daily way of life, as one who suffers for Christ Jesus. It was an embrace of the Christian life and not just its doctrine.

Wilson, T. (2013). Galatians: Gospel-Rooted Living. (R. K. Hughes, Ed.) (p. 158). Wheaton, IL: Crossway.

And yet the Galatians’ embrace of Paul is more than an embrace of his gospel. It is an embrace of his cruciform way of life, as one who suffers for Christ Jesus. And thus Paul would say to the Galatians what he says to the Thessalonians: “And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you received the word in much affliction, with the joy of the Holy Spirit” ().

III. What Has Happened?

Wilson, T. (2013). Galatians: Gospel-Rooted Living. (R. K. Hughes, Ed.) (p. 159). Wheaton, IL: Crossway.

- There is a real difference with you now and it is not good.

A. Clearly, however, something has happened to the Galatians. Paul sees a marked difference, first of all, in their response to suffering. They’re no longer blessed by hardships. Hence Paul’s rhetorical question: “What then has become of your blessedness?”

B. This is a tough one. Do we see hardships as a blessing? Do we find persecution to be to difficult to endure?

Wilson, T. (2013). Galatians: Gospel-Rooted Living. (R. K. Hughes, Ed.) (p. 159). Wheaton, IL: Crossway.

C. Paul now thinks that they see him as an enemy. Paul also sees a shift in their attitude toward him. They began hot but have gone cold, now they are hostile. “Have I then become your enemy by telling you the truth?” (4:16). Although the Galatians were previously willing to gouge out an eye for Paul, now they won’t loan him a dime. Now they see him as an enemy? What has happened?

Paul also sees a shift in their attitude toward him. They began hot but have gone cold, even hostile. “Have I then become your enemy by telling you the truth?” (4:16). Although the Galatians were previously willing to gouge out an eye for Paul, now they won’t loan him a dime.

D. An enemy because I am telling you the truth? Ever had anyone become your enemy because you just spoke to them the truth?

Wilson, T. (2013). Galatians: Gospel-Rooted Living. (R. K. Hughes, Ed.) (p. 159). Wheaton, IL: Crossway.

E. How did this all happen? False teachers. This is the danger of false teachers. This is why it is important to know what we believe and why we believe it. I seriously have watched this stuff destroy lives.

F. What false teacher do here… 2 fold. They flatter you. They make much of you. And, they try to shut you away from those who will help you.

G. And their intentions? No good purpose. They are self serving and are doing it for all the wrong reasons. They want you to make much of them. With carefully chosen Bible proof-texts and fancy-sounding theological arguments, the agitators have put up an impressive front and are now poised to take full advantage of the Galatians. Every heretic has his scripture.

With carefully chosen Bible proof-texts and fancy-sounding theological arguments, the agitators have put up an impressive front and are now poised to take full advantage of the Galatians.

H. But for Paul it’s all a farce. The agitators are only playacting; they’re concealing their actual designs behind the veil of their earnest appeals.

Romans 16:17–18 NLT

And now I make one more appeal, my dear brothers and sisters. Watch out for people who cause divisions and upset people’s faith by teaching things contrary to what you have been taught. Stay away from them. Such people are not serving Christ our Lord; they are serving their own personal interests. By smooth talk and glowing words they deceive innocent people.

But for Paul it’s all a farce. The agitators are only playacting; they’re concealing their actual designs behind the veil of their earnest appeals (cf. , ).

Wilson, T. (2013). Galatians: Gospel-Rooted Living. (R. K. Hughes, Ed.) (p. 160). Wheaton, IL: Crossway.

I. False teaching is bad news. All it does is bring confusion and contention. This is happening a-lot today. All over the place we are seeing this. The reality is that the church has seen it all the time.