Gospel of Grace

Today we continue our study of Paul’s letter to the church in Galatia. Paul is writing to people he loved. He knew them and they knew him, loved him, and cared for him. They loved him so much that if it had been possible, they would have gouged out their eyes and given them to him, so as to free him from the bodily ailment he suffered. But it was that very ailment that brought him to them.

They received him, as an angel of God, they received him as Christ Jesus himself! Though his time with them was a huge burden to them, physically, financially, socially, they counted everything as gain because they gained Christ himself, they gained freedom, true freedom, they gained true love and life with God!

So, out of this incredible love for them, out of a deep desire to preserve them in Christ, Paul comes to them pleading with them, cajoling them, at turns harsh, and brutal—you foolish Galatians, at turns, loving and kind—you who showed such amazing love to me, who welcomed me, embraced me, boldly received my message, received the Gospel of Christ, hear what I am saying to you!

Paul spends this entire chapter, reinforcing what he taught in the last chapter. He reminds them of where they came from saying, “formerly, when you did not know God, you were enslaved to those that by nature are not gods. Here he is addressing the Greek converts to Christ, the Gentiles. They were enslaved to false ideas and philosophies to believe in those that by nature are not gods—demons and gods of man’s imaginations.

But then, when Paul came, they came to know God, or rather, to be known by God—and I need to stop here for a second, please bear with me.

Throughout the scriptures, there is a recurring theme. We first see it in Genesis 1:1 “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” By the way, Genesis chapters 1 & 2 are not about creation as much as they are about God, and what he has done.

Then, we see how God interacts with human beings. God came to Adam and Eve in the garden after they’d sinned, after they’d rebelled against them. God came to Noah, God came to Abram and called him out of all the inhabitants of Ur. God chose Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, he chose the younger twin. God chose David the youngest son. God chose. God chooses, God calls out.

Then, there’s God’s repeated actions on Israel’s behalf. Were the people, condemned to a life of slavery in Egypt able to overthrow the Egyptians? No, they were not. God rescued them by his almighty power.

God, acts. We respond. God chooses us, God calls us out, then we respond. That’s what Paul is reminding the Gentile Christians in Galatia. That’s what he’s reminding the Jewish Christians in Galatia. God acts, we respond. That’s what God is calling us to respond. The word church literally means, “called-out ones”. throughout scripture, God acts first, and then we respond.

Therefore, by that reasoning alone, any form of works righteousness, whether that is from paganism, Judaism or any ism is useless. How can we make ourselves right with God when, as Paul so clearly states in this letter, that it is God who makes us right with him?

Paul is impressing on them, on us, this truth: God is the one who chooses. Do you remember, on Father’s Day, we watched a video. It showed two beautiful kids who were talking about their dad. Then they revealed that they were adopted. Their dad chose them.

That’s what God has done for you, for me. He chose you. There is nothing you can do to make him love you less, there is nothing you can do to make him love you more.

He has given you status as sons and heirs. He bestowed that upon you. We are no longer under the law, which acted as a guardian and a manager until the time of maturity came, which was when Christ set us free from the elementary principles of the world—freedom from bondage to things that have the appearance of wisdom, like “Do not touch, do not taste,” but have no effect whatsoever in actually controlling the sinful heart and its desires.

Instead, we have received the Spirit. The Spirit, in contrast, grows us into maturity so that we have, by that same Spirit, the ability to turn our backs on our sinful thoughts and desires, and turn instead to true living.

God the Father pours His Holy Spirit in us, the Spirit of his Son into our hearts so that we cry, “Abba! Father! So we are no longer slaves to sin.

The self-proclaimed super-apostles were trying to make the Christians, Jewish and Gentile Christians alike, slaves again, and not free people. They were convincing the Greeks to undergo circumcision, and the Jews to observe all the old ceremonial laws.

Paul bluntly asks them, “Have I become your enemy by proclaiming the truth? They make much of you, boasting about you to your face, but behind your back they do not actually care about you at all! All they want is for you to make much of them! You are nothing more than feathers in their cap.” The super apostles—so called, always made much about themselves and their accomplishments, their credentials. They were tireless self-promoters. Not so with Paul.

Paul came to them, and now writes to them with straight up truth. Paul lovingly looks at them with the affection of a mother giving birth. It is causing Paul pain to see them being led astray by these false teachers! He is doing everything he can to say to them, “Do not listen to them! They are not teaching you the truth. They are claiming to do so, but they are not from God, nor are the serving God. They are using all kinds of godly terms, but it is not for God’s glory, it is for theirs!”

Paul is deeply worried that they are in danger of turning away from the truth they had already received and were growing boldly in, when he was with them. But now he’s hearing how easily they are being led astray! His heart breaks for them!

Brothers and sisters, let it not be so for us! Let us humbly, cautiously remember that we are as susceptible to similar things? Instead, let us do what the Bereans did. When they received Paul’s teaching, they diligently searched the scriptures in order to determine if what he was teaching was true.

Let us do the same! Let us dig deeper into God’s Word, comparing everything we are taught with it. Let us search the scriptures to be sure that what we are learning is the truth.

But what if we discover we are not receiving the truth? Are you willing to approach your leaders and say so? If I or another am teaching a gospel different from the one that Paul the apostle has taught in this book, specifically in this letter, then let me be eternally condemned. Do not take everything you hear from this pulpit at face value, listen hard. Compare it to the scripture, compare it with the truth. And then, only then, accept it.

Paul concludes this chapter with the illustration I alluded to last time, which was expanded on in the Beyond Sunday Podcast, and which Josh and I might dive into deeper this week.

In Abraham were two children. One was illegitimate, born of a slave woman, Hagar. The other was legitimate, born of Abraham’s wife, Sarah. One was the child of the promise, one was a child of the law.

Now, it is true that all the children of Abraham have received a blessing. But only those who are children of the promise receive the blessing to everlasting life.

In this congregation, we practice infant baptism. For we believe that being a child of God, a child of the promise, is the work of God. So we bring our children to the Lord, to receive the promise, through, the water of baptism. That promise—the promise of being chosen by God is given to them.

But here’s the thing. By nature, we are born as slaves to sin. So while that child remains a child, he or she is both a child of the promise, and a child of the slave. But when that child, through the constant teaching of his or her parent or parents, of the whole family, the constant teaching of the church, the result is that the child, having grown up in the promise, knowing the promise, lives as a child of the promise. Because God has chosen that child first, the child responds to God.

Please listen carefully, I am not implying, nor am I stating that simply because a child has been given the sign of baptism that that child is therefore saved. That would be the same as saying circumcision saves you. Then we wouldn’t need Jesus, we’d just need to sprinkle water on people.

Identity matters. Knowing who you are, or whose you are matters. If you grow up being told that you are nothing, your life has no meaning, no importance, no value, no hope, no future, and all you get is this life now, what impact would that have? But if you grow up being told, “You are precious, you have meaning, you are important—so important that Jesus chose to die for you, you have value because Jesus saved you, you have hope, you have an eternal future, don’t worry about this life right now, the next life to come makes this one look like a mist that appears in the morning, but by the afternoon has burned away, wouldn’t that have an even more powerful impact?

As adopted children, our identity isn’t something we make up. It is something we receive from our adoptive Father. We belong. We are free. We are home. We are at rest.

In Christ alone our hope is found. He is our light, our strength, our song. No guilt in life, no fear in death This is the power of Christ in me. From life’s first cry to final breath, Jesus commands my destiny No power of hell, no scheme of man Can ever pluck me from his hand. Till he returns or calls me home Here in the power of Christ I’ll stand.”

Amen.