The Sufficiency of Christ

Last week, we started a new series on Galatians. Following on the heels of Habakkuk, where we saw the people of Israel were wandering from God, and worshipping other gods. Habakkuk, and the other prophet of his day, Jeremiah, were calling people to repent, to renew their commitment to worshipping God and serving Him only.

It is wrong for us to assert that the global pandemic is a result of sin. In Jesus, we are living in a new covenant in His blood. God does not treat us the way we deserve—instead He poured out His justice on Jesus our Saviour. Nevertheless, whenever we see major events, such as the pandemic, reactions to injustice, racism, poverty, hatred, discord, we need take action.

No, I don’t mean we need to get caught up in irresponsible behaviour. I’m not suggesting that we need to jump on the bandwagon of the day.

Rather, these are moments for personal reflection, personal examination. We need to ask ourselves, “Am I right with God? Is my understanding of God and His salvation shaped by his Word, or by the culture of the world we are living in? Am I living for Jesus, or for myself? Am I truly loving others, or am I still harbouring racist thoughts, disparaging thoughts? Are my words seasoned with God’s love and truth?”

As we can see in Paul’s letter to the Galatians, it doesn’t take a major event to cause Christians to be led astray. There will always be people inside churches who are trying to add things to following Jesus. If we do not know the truth of God’s Word, we will be swayed by them.

This is why we need to be growing into maturity, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, no longer children, no longer tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes (Eph. 4:13-14). Only by being grounded in knowledge of God’s Word and the gospel, will we avoid being just like the Galatians, willing to add onto Christ, something of our own making, our own observance.

We pick up here in chapter two, Paul’s continued defence of his authority to preach and teach the one true gospel—which, as we saw last week, he’d received directly from Jesus himself. Surely that proved his authority, right?

But you know how it can go. In some places, and at some times, for some people, that wouldn’t be good enough. You have to have the right connections to the right people. That’s what the agitators were claiming—they had the backing of the disciples in Jerusalem!

So Paul begins this chapter with his human bona-fides, but he is clear about what he thinks about human influence. He took Barnabas and Titus, and appeared to the most influential of the disciples. They accepted Paul’s ministry plan, and they, the big wigs, didn’t even require Titus, a Gentile to be circumcised! If they didn’t, why are these guys requiring it of the Galatians? In that instant, Paul utterly destroyed the agitator’s claims!

And yet, these agitators, identified by Paul as false brothers, slipped in. They wormed their way into the meeting in order to stir things up, to spy and to try to take away the freedom we have in Christ.

What about freedom? This is a pretty big deal right now. Many of our usual freedoms have been taken away. Some people are making a big deal out of having to wear a mask, or not having to wear a mask. You can find compelling science on all kinds of perspectives, even opposite perspectives—just look at how we’ve flip flopped from one side to the other regarding margarine vs butter, or eggs and cholesterol.

Mask or no mask, make up your own mind, and be done with it. Don’t look down on others. Exercise your freedom in Christ, not for licentiousness, but for concern for your fellow believers. Protect them, show love to them, care for them. Christianity isn’t about self, it is about loving God and loving our neighbour.

Paul says the same thing elsewhere about the non-essentials, eating meat, observing the sabbath, observing festivals. None of these things really matter, as they are merely the outworking of what God is doing in our hearts. But when people begin requiring them, as these agitators were doing with circumcision, then it becomes a problem. They were claiming that they had a greater standing with God because of their outward faithfulness.

But, Paul teaches us, God shows no partiality. Even the so called influential ones added nothing to Paul’s credibility—he had all the credibility in the Lord, and that’s exactly what Peter and the others saw in Paul. So, they blessed him and encouraged him to continue his ministry and to remember the poor.

And yet, these trouble makers, these agitators, were becoming quite influential. They were so convincing, that even the Apostle Peter was beguiled. But Paul set him straight. You cannot come to faith by the Spirit, and then somehow begin to think that you can live your life of faith apart from the Spirit, by your own works.

Honestly, that’s what a lot of Christians are doing. They are not walking or living by the Holy Spirit. Rather, they are living by their own strength, their own will and determination. That’s not how it works. That’s essentially saying that Jesus needs your help to save you, he needs you to make yourself more like him. Let me ask you, can you make yourself more like Jesus? Only Jesus can make you more like Jesus.

So, what justifies us? It is what we do? Is it circumcision? Is it wealth? Is it health? Is it the songs we sing? Is it our attendance? Is it our birth? Is it by observing the law? No, it is none of those things. Justification goes like this. You’re in court. The charges have been laid: you are guilty of hating God and your neighbour. You accept it, guilty as charged. But when sentencing comes, the Judge says, “You’re free to go, another has taken your punishment upon himself.” Did you do anything to earn your freedom? Did you pay any of the punishment? Did you shed your blood? Did you sacrifice yourself? No. Can you do anything to make yourself more justified, more set free? No!

All who believe that God, in his mercy, placed his just wrath upon his own Son in our place, are justified.

That means we have died to the old order of things. The things that we are tempted to hold onto: prestige, money, external faithfulness—the very thing that Paul used to hold onto: his being a Hebrew of Hebrews, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Pharisee, zealous in all things for the Lord.

He turned his back on all those things, he died to them. For none of them could ever compare to Christ. He died even to the law, so that he could live to God. For he discovered that God is now in him. God in him, gave him understanding of the law. That to live for God, is to obey the law.

Like Paul, we all have to be crucified with Christ—that is, to have Jesus take away all our falsehood, all our pretences, all our delusions, all our strivings, to take them with him in his death by crucifixion, and in their place, to have Christ’s righteousness, Christ himself living in us.

That’s what it means. We no longer live to ourselves, or for our selves, or by ourselves. We live with Christ in us. And the life we live in this flesh, until we die or Christ returns, we live by faith in the Son of God, who loved us and died for us.

Jesus created you. He knows everything about you. He loves you, and he willingly died for you. He did not die for you so that you would remain trapped in law, or trapped in an old cycle of striving, and proving yourself, or trying other things. Jesus died for you to live you life, and life to the fullest.

Having received grace, don’t be trading it in for works righteousness. If anyone could be made righteous through the law, then Christ died for no purpose. No one can be justified, made righteous through the law. No one can. So Jesus came to make us righteous.

So, what are you thinking? Are you tempted to go the way of the Galatians, and trade your life in Christ, for a false gospel? Are you willing to believe that God is partial? Are you willing to think that you, who are born in sin, who are guilty, deserving of death, can somehow, by some thing, or some observance earn your right to heaven? Do not believe that!

Instead, simply receive Christ. Receive what He has done. He is all sufficient! Don’t even think about adding to what Christ did. He is perfect. His sacrifice was perfect. He is all sufficient. Re-read last month’s devotional in the Today booklet by Pastor Brian Kuyper, meditate on the sufficiency of Christ. Think on these lyrics from our song of response, “with every breath I long to follow Jesus, for He has said that He will bring me home. And day by day, I know He will renew me, until I stand with joy before the throne. To this I hold, my hope is only Jesus, all the glory evermore to Him. When the race is complete, still my lips shall repeat: Yet not I, but through Christ in me! Amen!

Lord, transform us from the inside out. Show us your truth. Show us the sufficiency of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. In his name we pray, Amen.