Finding Freedom Part 3: Finding Freedom from Social Pressure
Notes
Transcript
Announcements:
Church work day will be Saturday, July 16th at 9AM.
The youth will be doing the service on Sunday morning July 31st.
Worship:
Holy is the Lord
Great I Am
Let It Rain
Introduction:
We are in a series entitled “Finding Freedom.” We talked in week 1 about finding freedom from uncertainty as we can be certain about God’s Word and the Gospel in the ever-changing world we live in. We just have to make sure we are believing the Gospel according to the Word of God rather than a message that makes us feel better about ourselves. We also talked about how to spot a false message because false messages always twists the truth of Jesus Christ (Son of God, died and rose) and focuses on pleasing people rather than God.
Last week we talked about finding freedom from the past. In order to be free from our past, we need to be honest with ourself and others about our past, let go of the past and who you were, and find your identity in Christ and what Gospel says about you as a result of what Jesus Christ did for you on the cross.
As we continue our series this week, the title of my message is “Finding Freedom from Social Pressure.”
This morning we will be in Galatians 2: 11-21 to talk a few moments about how we can be free from the social pressure we can experience from others.
11 But when Peter came to Antioch, I had to oppose him to his face, for what he did was very wrong.
12 When he first arrived, he ate with the Gentile believers, who were not circumcised. But afterward, when some friends of James came, Peter wouldn’t eat with the Gentiles anymore. He was afraid of criticism from these people who insisted on the necessity of circumcision.
13 As a result, other Jewish believers followed Peter’s hypocrisy, and even Barnabas was led astray by their hypocrisy.
14 When I saw that they were not following the truth of the gospel message, I said to Peter in front of all the others, “Since you, a Jew by birth, have discarded the Jewish laws and are living like a Gentile, why are you now trying to make these Gentiles follow the Jewish traditions?
15 “You and I are Jews by birth, not ‘sinners’ like the Gentiles.
16 Yet we know that a person is made right with God by faith in Jesus Christ, not by obeying the law. And we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we might be made right with God because of our faith in Christ, not because we have obeyed the law. For no one will ever be made right with God by obeying the law.”
17 But suppose we seek to be made right with God through faith in Christ and then we are found guilty because we have abandoned the law. Would that mean Christ has led us into sin? Absolutely not!
18 Rather, I am a sinner if I rebuild the old system of law I already tore down.
19 For when I tried to keep the law, it condemned me. So I died to the law—I stopped trying to meet all its requirements—so that I might live for God.
20 My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
21 I do not treat the grace of God as meaningless. For if keeping the law could make us right with God, then there was no need for Christ to die.
Transition: First of all, we need to address this one important and often neglected point:
Body:
I. There is necessity in the church to confront hypocrisy and do it the right way. (vv. 11-14)
11 But when Peter came to Antioch, I had to oppose him to his face, for what he did was very wrong.
A. We don’t like confrontation. But confrontation is necessary especially in the church when done properly as Paul did.
B. Paul could have allowed Peter to act anyway he wanted because of Peter’s position/influence in the church. Why did Paul confront Peter?
12 When he first arrived, he ate with the Gentile believers, who were not circumcised. But afterward, when some friends of James came, Peter wouldn’t eat with the Gentiles anymore. He was afraid of criticism from these people who insisted on the necessity of circumcision.
C. If we don’t confront hypocrisy in the church, it will lead others astray as well
13 As a result, other Jewish believers followed Peter’s hypocrisy, and even Barnabas was led astray by their hypocrisy.
D. Hypocrite = to wear a mask or speak from behind a mask; an actor
-it is not about promoting a standard and failing to live according to that standard: we tell our kids not to lie and we sometimes do that which doesn’t make us a hypocrite. We don’t live up perfectly to that standard we are wrong but we still strive to reach that standard.
-A hypocrite would tell their kids not to lie and tell their kids they have never told lies in their life. It is imposing a standard on others that you personally do not subscribe to.
E. When the believers came together to eat, it was probably the agape love-feasts of the early church which also probably included the Lord’s Supper too so now you have Gentiles and Jews being separated and eating at different tables.
F. Peter knew the Gentiles were saved but acted against what he knew what was right and acted as though the Gentiles were not saved. He was denying the truth of the Gospel he already knew because of social pressure. He already knew how God saw everyone and how he needed to view everyone as well because of his encounter with Cornelius:
28 Peter told them, “You know it is against our laws for a Jewish man to enter a Gentile home like this or to associate with you. But God has shown me that I should no longer think of anyone as impure or unclean.
He knew God saw Jews and Gentiles both as partakers in the Gospel. But he quickly forgot what the Lord had taught him and he tried to make the Gentile believers follow the Jewish Law in order to be made right with God.
Galatians 2:14b (NLT)
14 I said to Peter in front of all the others, “Since you, a Jew by birth, have discarded the Jewish laws and are living like a Gentile, why are you now trying to make these Gentiles follow the Jewish traditions?
G. That’s legalism! Legalism is not obedience. Legalism is our relationship with God being based on what we can do for Him; not what Christ has already done for us. This is a performance trap. We get caught up in doing as many good works we can in order to be good enough to be saved. And, we also will add a few things in there for others to follow, like the Pharisees did, in order to make sure others were doing all that they could to earn salvation just to be safe; even if we didn’t hold ourselves to the same standard.
H. When we confront hypocrisy the right way (in public then confronted in public; in private then confronted in private both in love and grace), it can still not end well depending on how the other person receives it. A person’s heart can grow cold or indifferent and even result in them turning against us. That’s why Paul said:
1 Dear brothers and sisters, if another believer is overcome by some sin, you who are godly should gently and humbly help that person back onto the right path. And be careful not to fall into the same temptation yourself.
In this case, though, it seemed that it ended well as Peter preached the same message at the council of Jerusalem in Acts 15 just as Paul spoke to Peter here in Galatians 2:
7 At the meeting, after a long discussion, Peter stood and addressed them as follows: “Brothers, you all know that God chose me from among you some time ago to preach to the Gentiles so that they could hear the Good News and believe.
8 God knows people’s hearts, and he confirmed that he accepts Gentiles by giving them the Holy Spirit, just as he did to us.
9 He made no distinction between us and them, for he cleansed their hearts through faith.
10 So why are you now challenging God by burdening the Gentile believers with a yoke that neither we nor our ancestors were able to bear?
11 We believe that we are all saved the same way, by the undeserved grace of the Lord Jesus.”
Transition: Finding freedom from social pressure first has to come by being willing to confront hypocrisy and do it the right way. This leads us to our next point:
II. Let the scriptures dictate what you stand for rather than others’ and society’s popular opinion (14--19)
14 When I saw that they were not following the truth of the gospel message, I said to Peter in front of all the others, “Since you, a Jew by birth, have discarded the Jewish laws and are living like a Gentile, why are you now trying to make these Gentiles follow the Jewish traditions?
15 “You and I are Jews by birth, not ‘sinners’ like the Gentiles.
16 Yet we know that a person is made right with God by faith in Jesus Christ, not by obeying the law. And we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we might be made right with God because of our faith in Christ, not because we have obeyed the law. For no one will ever be made right with God by obeying the law.”
17 But suppose we seek to be made right with God through faith in Christ and then we are found guilty because we have abandoned the law. Would that mean Christ has led us into sin? Absolutely not!
18 Rather, I am a sinner if I rebuild the old system of law I already tore down.
19 For when I tried to keep the law, it condemned me. So I died to the law—I stopped trying to meet all its requirements—so that I might live for God.
A. We need to make sure we are measuring up with the Word of God (not our opinion) (v14a)
Galatians 2:14a (NLT)
14 When I saw that they were not following the truth of the gospel message...
B. Paul pointed out to Peter (maybe like Colombo?):
You don’t live like a Jew so why are you making the Gentiles live like Jews? (v14b)
You know we are made right with God through Christ but why are you expecting the Gentiles to obey the law in order to be made right with God? (vv15-19)
3 The law of Moses was unable to save us because of the weakness of our sinful nature. So God did what the law could not do. He sent his own Son in a body like the bodies we sinners have. And in that body God declared an end to sin’s control over us by giving his Son as a sacrifice for our sins.
C. Are we expecting others to live, act, speak or look a certain way before accepting them as a fellow believer?
28 So we are made right with God through faith and not by obeying the law.
By law, this can also mean our personal requirements as well.
D. Are we prescribing legalism rather than faith in Christ and what He has already done for us?
7 Because of his grace he made us right in his sight and gave us confidence that we will inherit eternal life.
Philippians 3:9b (NLT)
9 I no longer count on my own righteousness through obeying the law; rather, I become righteous through faith in Christ. For God’s way of making us right with himself depends on faith.
E. Are we surrounding ourselves with wise counselors who will give us sound biblical advice? Not worldly advice? Not advice to coddle us or make us feel better?
F. Peter was being pressured by the circumcised group/friends of James and succumbed to their pressure.
G. We also can be pressured by:
unbelievers (It’s OK, no one will see you. No one will know. It will be fun.”)
believers (giving advice contrary to the Word, gossiping, slander, homosexuality isn’t a sin in today’s world of tolerance and acceptance, etc.)
society in general (“There are many ways to heaven.” “Homosexuality is ok.” “Abortion is not murder.” “I can change who I am no matter how I was brought into this world.”)
Transition: So first of all, we need to be willing to confront hypocrisy and stand up for what is right no matter who it may be. Secondly, we need to allow the scriptures to be our measuring stick in order to know what is right and what is wrong; not giving into the pressures of unbelievers, believers or society. Lastly,...
III. We need to remember that we are justified by faith in Jesus Christ and that results in living for Jesus Christ (vv.16-21)
16 Yet we know that a person is made right with God by faith in Jesus Christ, not by obeying the law. And we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we might be made right with God because of our faith in Christ, not because we have obeyed the law. For no one will ever be made right with God by obeying the law.”
17 But suppose we seek to be made right with God through faith in Christ and then we are found guilty because we have abandoned the law. Would that mean Christ has led us into sin? Absolutely not!
18 Rather, I am a sinner if I rebuild the old system of law I already tore down.
19 For when I tried to keep the law, it condemned me. So I died to the law—I stopped trying to meet all its requirements—so that I might live for God.
20 My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
21 I do not treat the grace of God as meaningless. For if keeping the law could make us right with God, then there was no need for Christ to die.
A. VV. 16-19: Paul reemphasizes justification by faith which is the theme for Galatians. In general Jews were not as sinful as the Galatians were, at least not on the outside. Their culture and traditions seemed better. They had more “good deeds.” But even so, Paul states that they knew salvation was by faith, not by works or by the law. This is the doctrine. They agreed on the doctrinal level, but we saw that the application of that doctrine was faulty. To correctly apply that doctrine to their lives demanded that they treat Gentiles the same (since both were lost and both needed grace and neither could save themselves.)
B. All of us would agree with this doctrine, right? So that brings us to a question: Do you look down on unbelievers? Are you prejudiced toward certain people? Whether on your own or because of social pressure?
C. VV. 20-21: What should the Galatians do with everything they learned? What should we do and how should we live? The answer is not the old “sin more so that grace may abound” idea. We are now free. We are free of the Old Testament law. We are free of the idea that we must earn our salvation. We are free of the guilt and despair that comes from constant failure. We are free to serve God with the right motivation. That motivation is our love for Him and our response to His love for us, not a desire to earn our salvation, which is impossible. This freedom must not be used as an excuse for sin. Neither can we be successful by our own strength. And that also frees us from social pressure to do anything contrary to the Gospel.
1 Well then, should we keep on sinning so that God can show us more and more of his wonderful grace?
2 Of course not! Since we have died to sin, how can we continue to live in it?
3 Or have you forgotten that when we were joined with Christ Jesus in baptism, we joined him in his death?
4 For we died and were buried with Christ by baptism. And just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father, now we also may live new lives.
5 Since we have been united with him in his death, we will also be raised to life as he was.
6 We know that our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin.
Conclusion:
No one is perfect and, therefore, it is important to confront believers when they profess to be a Christian but their lifestyle doesn’t measure up to the Word of God. We are quick to address the “BIG” sins of drugs, alcohol, homosexuality, sexual immorality in the church while we allow gossip, anger, backbiting, resentment, slander, etc. to continue because we don’t want to offend someone or others tell us its not a big deal.
We need to get back to holding the Word of God as the standard to live by and, as a result, it will free us from the social pressures of making others happy or fulfilling the need to fit in. We also need to make sure we aren’t enforcing anything on others that isn’t lining up with the Word of God. Being saved by grace through faith isn’t for you and me but for anyone and everyone who calls on the name of the Lord for they will be saved the same way!
Paul, even though he probably wasn’t excited about doing it, confronted Peter knowing that he was not living according to faith in Christ but to the legalism of the law.
I pray we will be more concerned about a person’s relationship with God and their influence on others, so when a situation comes up that needs to be addressed, it will be addressed in love and grace but addressed nonetheless in order to hold the standard of the Word of God high and eliminate the influence of social pressure we may experience from unbelievers, believers and society.
I would like to end this morning with a couple of questions:
Are you compromising the gospel by living inconsistently? Maybe giving in to social pressure whether by family, co-workers or even church people?
Do you proclaim that God reaches out to everyone yet act like some people are not “worthy” of salvation?
Do you talk about unity but instead of building bridges you blow them up?
Do you say you want to reach others with the message of God’s grace and yet relate to others in a non-loving way?
If you answer yes to any of these questions, you need to work on your consistency. You are drifting like Peter, and your behavior is going to lead others to compromise their faith.
Our challenge is to proclaim Christ to all people. We are called to love the unlovely, the difficult, and even the exasperating. We do this not because it is easy . . . we do it because this is the way Jesus loved us. Because He loved us we can now be forgiven and made new. We can know the joy of living in relationship with the Lord right here and right now. That kind of love should motivate us to love each other, even in confrontation.