The Cost of Discount Doctrine

Intro

Good Morning Point Harbor Church.

Before we get started, If we could all turn to the Book of Galatians Chapter 3 Verse 1 or if you are looking at one of the pew bibles we are on page 1031. We as a church have been walking through the book of Galatians over the past couple of weeks and as Pastor John as said, this is a book written by Paul to the church of Galatia and Paul isn’t a happy camper at all. Paul is annoyed at the church he is writing to because they are buying into a cheap “Discount Doctrine”.

At this point in the letter, Paul moves from the logical almost legal like arguments he has been using to try and redirect the Galatian church to an appeal to the heart. This morning, I would like for us to walk through Galatians 3:1-7 together and discover:

Just how susceptible we are to buying into what we are being sold and because of that, how much we have to rely on the simple Gospel of Jesus Christ.

How important it is to mark and remember when we see the Hand of God in our Lives.

We are going to discuss the importance of using our God given wit

and the actual value of suffering.

I’m really quite excited to walk through this passage together it has so much in it and I believe that it’s going to be a blessing to us all as much as it’s been a blessing to me. So let’s read the Word of God together and pray for the message.

Galatians 3:1–7 NET

You foolish Galatians! Who has cast a spell on you? Before your eyes Jesus Christ was vividly portrayed as crucified! The only thing I want to learn from you is this: Did you receive the Spirit by doing the works of the law or by believing what you heard?Are you so foolish? Although you began with the Spirit, are you now trying to finish by human effort?Have you suffered so many things for nothing?—if indeed it was for nothing. Does God then give you the Spirit and work miracles among you by your doing the works of the law or by your believing what you heard? Just as Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,so then, understand that those who believe are the sons of Abraham.

I love the way that this passage starts. I love it because I can totally see and feel the frustration that Paul is dealing with here. A paraphrase of the first sentence here is :You idiots! Who has blinded you? While it’s not totally gracious, I have been known to communicate that way. In fact, my favorite go to when I see someone do something that I find is below their intelligence I usually ask:

“So… Does it hurt?”

they’ll usually reply with a dumfounded look...

then i’ll hit them with:

“Does it hurt to be that stupid?”

Not super gracious is it....

But I pull that out when I see that someone is having a mental gaff that is out of character for them. They know I love them, but they also know that what they just did was bad and they should feel bad.

Paul is doing the same thing here. Remember the book starts with him referring to them as “brothers”. So we know he loved them, but he needs to give them some tough love. The Galatians at this point were being sold a cheap and frankly false gospel by religious leaders that as history suggests had some motives that were less than “holy”

I want to show you guys this clip I found...

Play Video (4ish seconds)

For those of you that don’t know, this clip is from the movie “Planes, Trains and Automobiles”. The premise of the film is that these two businessmen are trying their best to get home and are having a real issue. At this point in the film, they literally have to raise money to be able to pay for the next leg of the trip.

I don’t know if you noticed, but they are selling shower curtain rings. Which can be had at Walmart for less than a dollar.

It’s easy to look at the people buying them and laugh and think “You foolish Galatians!” But.....

We are Subject to Being Sold

Right after Paul throws the church under the bus telling them that they are fools, he then asks his first of many rhetorical questions in this passage. He asks “Who has cast a spell on you”. The original language is interesting here because Paul was using a bit of “slang” for the time. Other translations have used “Bewitched” or “Clouded your mind”. But in the modern day, I think this is easily likened to a situation where we’ve been “sold” something. Like the people in the clip, they heard that Walter Cronkite blessed the shower curtain and they had to have it. We and the Galatians, will hear some mediocre or outright bad theology and get excited about it.

It’s late into 2021, because we are as inter connected as we are, it’s really easy to find bad theology. All we really have to do it download a bad podcast, watch too much youtube to the point the algorithm sends you somewhere that you shouldn’t be, or stay up too late watching spiritual channels on cable. Bad theology is all around us and everyone seems to have an angle.

Let’s all be honest for a moment here. Has anyone ever walked out of a store with something that they absolutely didn’t need, you get home and you realize... Dang it! It happened again! That salesperson got me! If you’re susceptible to false promises on a product, and I think that at some level we all are, then I think it’s safe to say that we are all susceptible to false spiritual promises when we aren’t careful.

It’s easy to, when life gets hard or the messaging gets loud to abandon the good theology you have, the faith you have and buy into something that is “less than”.

If this is a danger to us, and we should be weary of false teachers in salesman’s coats, what do we do?

Rely on the Simple

Paul said this in his letter to the Corinthians...

1 Corinthians 2:2 NET

For I decided to be concerned about nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and him crucified.

The passage we are focused on here today says “Before your eyes Jesus Christ was vividly portrayed as crucified!”. Paul is saying, Let’s forget everything that you know and have been told just for a small time here and focus on what really matters.

JESUS DIED FOR YOU

Jesus died to take the wrath of God for your sin off of you! Because of Jesus’ death the “wages of sin” that’s spoken about in Romans is now paid.

“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life”

it doesn’t say the gift of God is eternal life available to you by, more prayer, better prayer, more money or even as the Galatians were experiencing, any of the Jewish Law.

We are bombarded with, Pay this, Pray that, come here, listen to this podcast, “Footsteps” and it can be a lot to take in!

But, we need to remember the simple and life giving truth that God sent Jesus to die for you and for me so that we would be saved by belief and faith in Jesus alone. Church, we need to rely on the simple because...

When we Forget, we Get Confused

Let’s go back to the text for a moment!

Galatians 3:3 NET

Are you so foolish? Although you began with the Spirit, are you now trying to finish by human effort?

Galatians 3:5 NET

Does God then give you the Spirit and work miracles among you by your doing the works of the law or by your believing what you heard?

As many of you know, I am an avid drinker of coffee. I’m not someone who drinks a gallon a day, but I do like one in the morning and after lunch.

During the pandemic, I really tried to hone my craft of making coffee. I started really getting into it with buying gear, and fixing broken stuff. I was on youtube learning about pressure and grind size and experimentation. I had gotten to the point where I was trying to apply all the things that had been told to me all at once to get a good cup of coffee. It turned my coffee making into a chore. I remember one Sunday morning things weren’t working for me as expected so I got frustrated and went to church with an empty cup, after burning through a half a bag of coffee.

Then I went to a great coffee shop in the area, saw a barista make me a cup without all the red carpet poking around and it was a wonderful cup of coffee. I forgot that all I was doing was pushing hot water through ground coffee. I turned it into something that it didn’t need to be.

V. 3 Paul reminds them that the work in their hearts, the saving grace of God. That work began with who? The Spirit.

Paul is saying “Hey! God started this! You think that you can finish it by working harder?”

Church, do not forget who started the work in you. There is nothing you can do to get more saved than you are now. Do you believe that Jesus died for you? Do you believe that Jesus’ death paid the debt of your sin? Good. You’re in. The rest is up to the Holy Spirit to sanctify.

I’ve heard so many times “it’s not working, nothing changed” or “I accepted Christ but everything is still a mess”. It’s true, accepting christ does not make all your troubles suddenly leave the room. But what it does do it put the God of the universe in your corner to help you navigate the season of life you’re in now and the one that you are going to be in later.

Further! Just as much as good works won’t sanctify us quicker, we can’t sanctify the people around us by doing anything at all. Your kids, your spouse your parents your boss won’t be sanctified quicker without the Holy Spirit. Don’t try to the Holy Spirit for someone else to make them a better person. You’ll do a bad job!

Then in v5 Paul says “remember all that cool stuff that was happening when you all believed? Do you think that all that was happening because of all the law you were following? or because you believed?

The grace, peace of God and power of the Spirit that you have recieved in whatever small way or large way was given to you solely because of the work that was done on the cross. NOT BECAUSE OF YOU.

So what do I do? How do I determine what I should believe in?

We are allowed to use Logic in our walk with Christ.

There is a quote I read that I absolutely LOVE

One of the most dangerous dichotomies in the Christian life is for the spiritual to be divorced from the doctrinal, experience from theology.

Timothy George

Just because you feel something does not mean it’s “true” - The heart is deceitful above all things.

Just because it sounds “about right” and “spiritual” does not means that it’s true.

When we are grappling with what to believe and who to trust and what we should do when we are struggling we should use our Logic and God Given wit to determine who and what should be believe.

Remember this

“Prayerful questioning is the antidote to questionable doctrine”

When we are learning and growing and looking for God it’s normal to look for books and podcasts and even youtube videos to bolster teaching we are receiving and even to try and find encouragement. But when we hear something fishy, we should be able to look at what God has done in our lives. What the word of God actually says and come up with a reliable answer to the question “is this real”.

If you need help with that, because it can be hard, come have a meeting with us because...

Christ did not die for senseless suffering.

Galatians 3:4 NET

Have you suffered so many things for nothing?—if indeed it was for nothing.

Believing and proclaiming the gospel of Christ is rife for prosecution.

Hati and Afganistan

The same was true in the time of the bible, likely more so. We are so blessed....

If you wear the Jesus T-Shirt, you’re going to deal with some issues because of it.

If you’re going to suffer because of the Gospel don’t you want to suffer for the real thing?

Suffering is only worth the Full Reward

Weight Lifting Story

Galatians 3:6 NET

Just as Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,

Let us then church, using all God has given us experence the full reward...

The Full Reward is relationship with God, by Jesus through faith.

Galatians 3:7 NET

so then, understand that those who believe are the sons of Abraham.