Faith and Freedom: Gospel of Freedom

Review:

“Penguin Impulse” Christians look like.

Review:

Gospel: Not from people or church traditions

Gospel came straight from the top!

2:1-10:

Ch. 1 Argument: The source of the Gospel didn’t come out of Jerusalem,

1. False Brothers

2. Apostle to the Gentile Clan

3. Pillar Apostles

3. Commissioned to the Jews Brother Gospel

“Nationalistic Gospel” vs. “Jewish-and Gentile-universalistic Gospel”

vv.1-3: McKnight: “Paul’s Presentation of his Message”

Barnabas: Barnabas: Jew- Levite!

Son of Encouragement

Travelled with Paul through his first missionary journey

Stoned with Paul

Titus: Greek

God sent him to Jerusalem through a revelation.

Draw up Temple Jerusalem and the ‘Building’ of the Church

Gentiles are now in, just as ‘in’. Big deal for Titus to be there.

Issue of Circumcision: It’s significance for salvation

McKnight: “Since the “pillars” of Jerusalem did not demand Titus’s circumcision, it can be assumed that they did not think circumcision was necessary for salvation. It can also be assumed that they did not think joining Judaism was necessary; Gentiles could simply turn to Jesus for their salvation by trusting in him.”

McKnight: “Furthermore, this gave Paul an even deeper argument (essentially the argument of vv. 1–10): his gospel was both independent of, and confirmed by, Jerusalem. This gave the Judaizers and the Galatians no way out.”

since the “pillars” of Jerusalem did not demand Titus’s circumcision, it can be assumed that they did not think circumcision was necessary for salvation. It can also be assumed that they did not think joining Judaism was necessary; Gentiles could simply turn to Jesus for their salvation by trusting in him.

Ch. 2: Source was endorsed and similar to the Gospel by Jerusalem. In other words, what is important about this passage is that the message Paul is preaching is in line with the message that is being preached in Jerusalem.

“False brothers”: Spies

5 to them we did not yield in submission even for a moment, so that the truth of the gospel might be preserved for you.

vv.6-10: McKnight: “Unity expressed by the Jerusalem pillars and Paul Over Paul’s Message”

Ch. 1: The source of the Gospel didn’t come from Jerusalem.

Ch. 2: The source was endorsed.

v.7-8 “Division of labor”

Lifting up Paul as one of those pillars

How would those with authority in Jerusalem respond to this Gospel?

They offered Paul the “right hand of fellowship”. Recognized the source as legit.

Stott: “It is you Galatians who are deserting the gospel; it is not I.’

Social vs. Theological Issues

Social vs. Theological Issues

Social Issues in the Church:

What do we paint in the walls?

Baptism in the church

Paint

Gay Marriage

Important event! To ensure the news is the same:

We turn on the 6 o’clock news: Same event, different news

Fake News being spread about the Good News

“Penguin Impulse” Christians look like.

Group:

Group #1: Ambassadors of the Gospel Spectrum

Group #2: Spies Against Gospel Freedom

Group #3: Apparent Pillars of the Gospel for Jews

Group #3: Group #3: Apparent Pillars of the Gospel for Jews

Gospel of Love/Tolerance

One gospel, different accents

: ‘whether then it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed.’

Martin Luther: ‘Let this be then the conclusion of all together, that we will suffer our goods to be taken away, our name, our life, and all that we have; but the Gospel, our faith, Jesus Christ, we will never suffer to be wrested from us. And cursed be that humility which here abaseth and submitteth itself. Nay rather, let every Christian man here be proud and spare not, except he will deny Christ.

‘Wherefore, God assisting me, my forehead shall be more hard than all men’s foreheads. Here I take upon me this title, according to the proverb: cedo nulli, I give place to none. Yea, I am glad even with all my heart, in this point to seem rebellious and obstinate. And here I confess that I am and ever will be stout and stern, and will not one inch give place to any creature. Charity giveth place, for it “beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things” (), but faith giveth no place.…

‘Now, as concerning faith we ought to be invincible, and more hard, if it might be, than the adamant stone; but as touching charity, we ought to be soft, and more flexible than the reed or leaf that is shaken with the wind, and ready to yield to everything.’

Group #1: Ambassadors of the Gospel Spectrum

vv.1-3 Then after fourteen years I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, taking Titus along with me. 2 I went up because of a revelation and set before them (though privately before those who seemed influential) the gospel that I proclaim among the Gentiles, in order to make sure I was not running or had not run in vain. 3 But even Titus, who was with me, was not forced to be circumcised, though he was a Greek

Intro to Barnabbas and Titus

Paul: Jew, Roman Citizen

God sent him to Jerusalem through a revelation.

Barnabas:: Jew- Levite from Cyprus

Son of Encouragement

Introduced in the Bible:

Introduced in the Bible:

Sold a field, brought the money and laid it at the apostles’ feet.

Travelled with Paul through his first missionary journey

“Stoned” with Paul

Titus: Greek

Faithful companion with Paul, partner in ministry

v.3: Titus: A Greek: He wasn’t forced to be circumsized

God sent him to Jerusalem through a revelation.

God sent him to Jerusalem through a revelation.

Barnabas: A Jew

v.3: Titus: A Greek: He wasn’t forced to be circumsized

Titus: A Greek: verse 3: He wasn’t forced to be circumsized

Foreign to be defined by whether or not you got cut on the 8th day of your birth!

Picture of the Temple and who can get near

Ambassadors of the Gospel Spectrum

Why?

Why?

Group #2: Spies for Slavery

Barriers in the temple kept these groups apart!

“Nationalistic Gospel” vs. “Universalistic Gospel”

What were the areas that kept humanity organized?

Ethnicity: Levite vs. Greek vs. Roman vs. Jew

Spiritual: Circumcision vs. Uncircumcision

Gender: Male vs. Female

The spiritual sign of circumcision kept people

The spiritual sign of circumcision kept people

NO MORE BOXES!

Chapter 3:27-29: For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise.

27 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise.

THE CHURCH IS THE TEMPLE

But you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, 21 in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord.

THESE THREE MEN REPRESENT THIS NEW BUILDING WITHOUT CUBICLES

Group #2: Spies Against Gospel Freedom

vv.4-5: Yet because of false brothers secretly brought in—who slipped in to spy out our freedom that we have in Christ Jesus, so that they might bring us into slavery— 5 to them we did not yield in submission even for a moment, so that the truth of the gospel might be preserved for you

Introduction to the False Brothers

“False brothers” “Interlopers” “pseudo-Christians” “sham-Christians”

LIT: “Pseudo-brothers”

PseudoEnglish: Pseudo: ‘sort of follows’

English: Pseudo: ‘sort of follows’

Greek: Liar, false

These guys were invited into the conversation, however, they were not REAL brothers.

Spies of the Freedom we have in Christ

Protectors of a “Cubicle Gospel”

To get ‘in’ is faith + circumcision. Sign of a marked people. Step backwards

Empathize with the Spies

Now, before we write this group off, let’s try to Empathize with these Spies for a moment:

Judaizers goal: McKnight: “to ‘fully convert’ to a Judaistic and nationalistic perception of the gospel.”

But think about this whole Gospel project from their perspective:

Protectors of the Past

1. Being: Identity

Power

Out of all the ethnic groups on earth, you are chosen to be holy

Out of all the ethnic groups on earth, you are chosen to be holy

ETHNIC IDENTITY

Genetics dictates you’re going to look the same

2. Behavior: Law

Your grandparents, and their grandparents for generations and generations for centuries and centuries have lived the same way with the same sense of identity.

Your grandparents, and their grandparents for generations and generations for centuries and centuries have lived the same way with the same sense of identity.

Just look at the Temple, look at it’s system, you’re telling me that God is ready to throw out this whole baby with the bath water?

YOU, out of all the people on earth, have the unique calling to remain distinct.

Surely, Jesus didn’t mean to throw out all of this!

Just look at the Temple, look at it’s system, you’re telling me that God is ready to throw out this whole baby with the bath water?

Just look at the Temple! Look at it’s system, you’re telling me that God is ready to throw out this whole baby with the bath water?

Look at it’s system, you’re telling me that God is ready to throw out this whole baby with the bath water?

3. Preservation of what’s Most Important

Ok, ok, we’ll move on from this… BUT, there’s one non-negotiable: Circumcision!

Circumcision:

Sign of the Covenant: Ticket inside God’s Called People.

EVERY MALE ALWAYS:

You can see the Judaizers pointing these Bible passages out to the Galatian churches… “See, it’s right here! Paul just didn’t get it right… He doesn’t have the backing of Jerusalem, you know… He’s hasn’t presented the full gospel to you. It has to be more than just faith, you’ve got to express your faith with your body as well.

: Every male throughout your generations, whether born in your house or bought with your money from any foreigner who is not of your offspring, both he who is born in your house and he who is bought with your money, shall surely be circumcised. So shall my covenant be in your flesh an everlasting covenant.

: “So shall my covenant be in your flesh an everlasting covenant. Any uncircumcised male who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin shall be cut off from his people; he has broken my covenant.”

Not just about maintaining power,

Not just about pumping their pride,

Not just about giving up their prestige,

I think they were genuine in their attempt to hold on to what was Biblical. This grace takes everything we have ever known, this grace strips us away from all of our most dear traditions! This grace strips us of our identity, our purpose, our place, our calling, our everything! Surely Jesus didn’t intend to strip us of everything...

Giving up traditions is hard!

Modern Example: Infant Baptisms

Big Deal

Babies wear the gown. Family all walked in together. Grandmothers brought the baby in. Family all sat in the front rows together.

Professor: Don’t invite family to baptisms!

Hard to die to traditions that have nothing to do with the Bible!

Spies Against Freedom in Christ

Spies FOR Freedom in the Law

Lines were blurred, I think…

Law was their comfort, their identity, their purpose. They couldn’t let everything be fufilled in Christ

Lines were blurred, I think…

What do you hold on to that gives you identity apart from Christ?

Picture of the Cross creating a rainbow of color

Church Traditions

Human Sexuality: Fulfilled in Christ

Social Issues:

Social Issues:

Verse 5: Theme of the Letter? 5 to them we did not yield in submission even for a moment, so that the truth of the gospel might be preserved for you.

Verse 5: Theme of the Letter? 5 to them we did not yield in submission even for a moment, so that the truth of the gospel might be preserved for you.

Group #3: Apparent Pillars of the Gospel for Jews

vv.6-10: And from those who seemed to be influential (what they were makes no difference to me; God shows no partiality)—those, I say, who seemed influential added nothing to me. 7 On the contrary, when they saw that I had been entrusted with the gospel to the uncircumcised, just as Peter had been entrusted with the gospel to the circumcised 8 (for he who worked through Peter for his apostolic ministry to the circumcised worked also through me for mine to the Gentiles), 9 and when James and Cephas and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that was given to me, they gave the right hand of fellowship to Barnabas and me, that we should go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised. 10 Only, they asked us to remember the poor, the very thing I was eager to do.

Love how Paul describes the Apostles:

Apparent because the Spies for Slavery put them on a pedestal. Many did, BUT, as THEY ADDED NOTHING TO ME (v.6)

“Apparent” Pillars: ANOTHER CUBICLE!

Spies for Slavery put them on a pedestal.

BUT, God SHOWS NO PARTIALITY! NO Cubicilization of the Gospel

Many did, BUT, as THEY ADDED NOTHING TO ME (v.6)

The apparent pillars agreed that their calling was equal (but different) and their message was the same (but preach to different audiences)

Response of the Gospel was not to preserve the past, but to do things like serve the poor.

We aren’t saved by circumcision, we are saved for good works

Apostle’s could have said a lot:

BUT, just don’t forget to make sure you do Lord’s Supper each Sunday

Make sure you teach the Bible

Huge challenge here! Go ahead, preach the Gospel, just don’t forget the poor.

Huge challenge here! Go ahead, preach the Gospel, just don’t forget the poor.

Application #1: Are there ways you can be a Spy of the Freedom of Christ?

What have you not invited Christ to fulfill in your life?

Look for opportunities to impose your cubicle gospel on others.

Closet Spy of the Freedom of Christ?

Do you struggle with a “Cubicle” Gospel mentality?

Grace + Box

Do you struggle with a “Cubicle” Gospel mentality?

Grace + Cultural Expectations Box

Penguin Colony Impulse:

Attempt to put boundaries around the Gospel

‘Yes’ to God’s grace, but also a yes to now fitting into Christian culture:

I don’t want people to look the same. I don’t want to dictate what people should look like. I don’t want to come across as someone who draws the line between people who belong and people who don’t belong.

Penguin Colony Impulse:

Church attendance

When was the last time I saw so-and-so in church?

Christian music, Christian movies, can only hang out with Christians

How much people spend on cars or clothes

Yes to God’s grace, but because you’re black you go to ‘that’ church, or because you’re Hispanic, you go to that church.

Like, how big is your understanding of grace?

Sinner’s Prayer

Penguin Colony Impulse:

Penguins can’t help but look all the same,

Gotta look the same, skwak the same, wobble the same

They gotta act the same, vote the same, love the same

Application #2: Bounded Sets vs. Centered Sets

Grace + Religious Requirements Box

“I can’t believe she would wear that to church.”

Church attendance

Being too reformed

CLICK

“That family never serves.”

“

Christians vs. Non-Christian

Looking down on other denominations for:

Weekly Lord’s Supper

Not being reformed: All mature Christians should become reformed

Gotta look the same, skwak the same, wobble the same

‘Yes’ to God’s grace, but also a yes to now fitting into Christian culture:

Grace + Personal Value System Box

“

‘Yes’ to God’s grace, but also a yes to how I think you should dress and talk and behave.

“Can you believe she calls herself a Christian and she wears that!”

I don’t want people to look the same. I don’t want to dictate what people should look like. I don’t want to come across as someone who draws the line between people who belong and people who don’t belong.

This is how Spies of the Gospel Work

A Christian Anthropologist named Paul Heibert wrote an article in 1978 called “Conversion, Culture and Cognitive Categories.” In this article, Paul wrote about the difference between bounded sets and centered sets.

Bounded Sets:

Happy Feet: Penguin who dances rather than squacks. A penguin who looks different on the outside- he’s the one who becomes a hero.

How do you fix this?

Spies of the Gospel: Grace + Box

1) Emphasis sameness

Same practices

Same beliefs

2) Static: Once you’re in, you’re in!

Evangelism! Get them in!

The externals define who is and who is out.

3) Even within the boundary sets there are boundary sets!

a) Governed by the same external pairings:

“Putting folks of all kinds on stage with you, all colours, shapes, sizes, presenting them as equals, another critic may have even called it a celebration of humanity.”

Bounded Sets vs. Centered Sets

Power to those who define the boundary!

Like, how big is your understanding of grace?

When we define the boundaries, and we define who’s in and who’s out based on external observations, what we wear, how we practice church, than we start playing the role of High Priest. We become Spies of the Freedom of the Gospel, defining what ‘Christian’ looks like based on external expectations.

You allow Jesus to fuilfill everything!

Bounded Sets vs. Centered Sets

Application #2: How big is your understanding of grace?

Challenge with grace is that it goes against every grain in our body!

We want to contribute

We want to manipulate the process

We want to control the outcome

How big is your concept of grace? NOTICE, I’m not asking how big your concept of sanctification is! I’m not talking about discipleship and how being a Christian certainly does impact cultural expectations, religious requirements and our value system.

Bounded Sets vs. Centered Sets

The focus is grace! Is your concept of grace big enough to include everything!

Quote from The Greatest Showman:

1) Emphasis sameness

Same practices

Circus Performing: “Putting folks of all kinds on stage with you, all colours, shapes, sizes, presenting them as equals, another critic may have even called it a celebration of humanity.”

Same beliefs

2) Static: Once you’re in, you’re in!

Paul: “Putting folks of all kinds on stage with you, all colours, shapes, sizes, presenting them as equals, another critic may have even called it a celebration of grace.”

Evangelism! Get them in!

The externals define who is and who is out.

3) Even within the boundary sets there are boundary sets!

Personal Vision of Resurrection Life Church:

- Oranges, apples, pears. You don’t want to mix and mingle because they don’t fit.

I don’t want people to look the same. I don’t want to dictate what people should look like. I don’t want to come across as someone who draws the line between people who belong and people who don’t belong.

- Organ Church

- Church plant vs. Established church

- Piano church

- Guitar with drums church

Only people I don’t want to be here:

- Permitted to Drink church

- Communion every Sunday church

False teachers

- Communion with wine vs. communion without wine Church

- Baptism as baby Church

- Culture and Language:

Wolves in sheep’s clothing

Black church

White church

Hispanic church

Resurrection Life: A Centered Set:

- Defined by the center: The Center creates the definitions and objects are defined by its proximity to the center.

- Clear Division (boundary), but defined by movement of things

- Centered sets reflect variation within a category.

Within the boundary sets, there may be many who are far away from the center!

o Within the boundary sets, there may be many who are far away from the center!

- Dynamic Sets.

But the problem with bounded sets is that there is way too much power given to the boundary. It really isn’t defined by faith in Christ Alone, it’s defined by externals alone.

That makes our external behaviors secondary to the unity and gravity of the center.

Worse yet, there is way too much power given to those who define the boundary! When we define the boundaries, and we define who’s in and who’s out based on external observations, what we wear, how we practice church, than we start playing the role of High Priest. We become Spies of the Freedom of the Gospel, defining what ‘Christian’ looks like based on external expectations.

Worse yet, there is way too much power given to those who define the boundary! When we define the boundaries, and we define who’s in and who’s out based on external observations, what we wear, how we practice church, than we start playing the role of High Priest. We become Spies of the Freedom of the Gospel, defining what ‘Christian’ looks like based on external expectations.

When we create systems that show us who is in Christ and who is outside of Christ, we play God.

We may be doing our best to live within these boundaries, but as a friend of mine wrote this past week, “The best way to be bad is to try too hard to be good.”

When we create systems that show us who is in Christ and who is outside of Christ, we play God.

- We like this way of thinking because it creates comfort zones.

- We like this way because it’s easier to define yourself with what your against compared to what your for. The Canadian border is sort of like this. We often define ourselves by saying not American…

- And to make this leap is easy. If all I have to do is step inside the circle. The gap between who’s in and who’s out really isn’t all that large of a chasm. I just have to look a certain way or behave a certain why. We really don’t need a mediator to make me a Christian if I can just step across this line by myself. Say this prayer, and I’m in. Look this way, and I’m in. But remember, the whole point of this sermon is that Christ is our High Priest, he’s the one who brought us a chasm of sin and death we could never ever cross!

Bounded sets are filled with cultural clutter, and the challenge in this way of thinking is the work sifting through that clutter. As clean and crisp as this looks from the outside, a person can hide within it as a cultural Christian. What is Gospel and what is control is fuzzy…

That’s where the concept of Centered Sets is so helpful. It’s not a person analogy, but it’s a helpful corrected. We need to start thinking in terms of Christ as Center. That he defines, not us.

Christ controls. Not us. Christ brought you to him. Christ presents us to God without the clutter.

That makes our external behaviors secondary to the unity and gravity of the center.

Klyne Snodgrass: Christ is the ‘place’ where believers reside, the source in which they find God’s salvation and blessings, and the framework in which they live and work.

And so as we leave this morning, consider how your life would look differently if you were truly defined by the center?

FREEDOM to MOVE TOWARDS THE CENTER:

Sacrifice! (GIVE TO THE POOR!)

What do you hold on to that gives you identity apart from Christ?

Is there a church tradition that you hold right next to Jesus?

You skin tone

Picture of the Cross creating a rainbow of color

Church Traditions

Human Sexuality: Fulfilled in Christ

Universal Calling: Just don’t forget about the poor!

Why is this thrown in there?

Leaders of Jerusalem endorsed his message. Good… However, doesn’t that mess up the argument from chapter 1? How does this all fit?

v.7-8 “Division of labor”

Ch. 2: The source was endorsed.

v.7-8 “Division of labor”

Lifting up Paul as one of those pillars

How would those with authority in Jerusalem respond to this Gospel?

They offered Paul the “right hand of fellowship”. Recognized the source as legit.