Remember we were studying through Galatians? 🙂

Galatians 3:24-29

Let me put it another way. The law was our guardian and teacher to lead us until Christ came. So now, through faith in Christ, we are made right with God. But now that faith in Christ has come, we no longer need the law as our guardian. So you are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus. And all who have been united with Christ in baptism have been made like him. There is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male or female. For you are all Christians–you are one in Christ Jesus. And now that you belong to Christ, you are the true children of Abraham. You are his heirs, and now all the promises God gave to him belong to you.

I really wanted to break that whole paragraph up, but I needed to not do that. There is a well-used verse in there, and so I wanted to leave some context. Sometimes when we read the familiar we miss what it’s actually saying. I hope to not miss it again today. Now that we have read it all together, let’s try it one line at a time.

The law was our guardian and teacher to lead us until Christ came.

We have been seeing how Paul considers the law only a tool to reveal to us the need we have for God. Not only a need for him to save us, which is obviously true, but even a need for relationship with him. Keeping rules and obeying laws and striving for moral code righteousness is not what we were created for. We were made for relationship, with the primary one being our relationship with the Creator. God made a promise first to Abraham (a relational, presence sort of promise) and THEN he gave the law through an intermediary to Moses. We have seen in every way how the law is inferior to the promise, and to relationship.

And now Paul is calling the law our guardian. I love that image, that the law was guarding us from things that would harm us. It was a fence keeping us from the dangers outside, and a barrier to dangers that would presume to enter in. It is a good image of what purpose the law serves. But more fascinating that that word is the fact that he follows it with the word “until”.

Until means there was an end. That it is currently over. That it lasted until Christ came means that it is no longer needed and no longer in effect… doesn’t it?!? It is so fascinating that God could use something over generations to show us something of himself. This is not a lesson he taught in a day. This was hundreds of years of waiting, of daily and annual sacrifices (which we see in the book of Hebrews never really meant anything, at least had no power to affect any sort of change) and hundreds of years of fences, keeping us from the dangers outside of the law.

And then, at just the right time, Jesus was born to Mary. And the world was forever changed.

So now, through faith in Christ, we are made right with God. But now that faith in Christ has come, we no longer need the law as our guardian.

He really said it. He said what we all know, that we are made right with God through faith. But the words that amaze me in this section are those that carry the finality. “We no longer need the law.” We don’t? But it’s on all our buildings and in all our Sunday schools, and preached by every good preacher and sunday school teacher and parent and anyone who really believes that God means what he says. I mean, he did keep the old testament in the Bible, right? What’s Paul saying, “we don’t need the law anymore?!??!”

Well, obviously, it is still a good idea not to kill people, or to lie or steal or cheat people in any way. It’s still a good idea to respect parents and God, and to be grateful for what he has given us. Those are just truths that will live forever. Jesus said the entire universe will pass away before (the truth) of any bit of God’s law does. Truth is truth, and it always will be.

What Paul is talking about is in direct connection to our relationship with God. We used to go through a bunch of hoops to have any sort of access to God, and even then it was limited. But when Jesus came, and especially when he died that day on the cross… everything changed. It never was true that righteousness came by sacrifices or saying enough prayers or studying enough of God’s word, but something definitely changed. What was hoped for became reality. What was only a distant possibility that was believed but not perceived became a past tense piece of history. “We are made right with God (through faith in Christ).” It is finished… just like Jesus said.

And so, because of this entirely new way of thinking, we don’t need a guardian anymore, or, an intermediary between us and God.

Just wait… it gets better…

So you are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus. And all who have been united with Christ in baptism have been made like him. There is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male or female. For you are all Christians–you are one in Christ Jesus.

This is a well known passage that sometimes is used to prove a legalistic idea. Some folks use this verse as another proof text for baptism, just to show again that it’s what God needs us to do. I think in the context of our entire study of Galatians, we can see that Paul never intended that – nor I think did God. Yes, baptism is God’s design and a beautiful picture of how he buries our old life and raises us to a new one in him. Yes, it’s something every person who comes to understand Father’s love for us should do. But, if we read Galatians, and even the last sentence, it’s pretty hard to stick to a strict, legalistic, “you have to” interpretation of any part of scripture. But, that is certainly understandable as throughout the history of the church, people have swung back and forth on the doctrinal pendulum and eventually balance out in the middle again, understanding the simple truth of God so loving the world that he gave his only son that whoever believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his son into the world to condemn it, but so that the world could be saved through him. (John 3:16-17)

“So you are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus.” It is important to note that the main thing we have been talking about for the whole third chapter of Galatians is that God made a promise to Abraham, to bless all nations through his heir – that being Jesus. And this is a further embodiment of that. We who are so far inferior to God – though made in his image, we are certainly not like him – have been called by him “Children of God.” The thought of it is just insane. That we could bear some title of deity. Royalty. But we do. And not because we carefully followed some code of ethics, or did enough good to cover over the bad. No, only because we trust in the goodness of our God, do we get to call him Father.

Paul also adds the culturally important levelers of no Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male or female. We are all equal before God. He does not show favorites. We are all his favorite child! Ha! That’s incredible!

It should also be pointed out here, for those who are opposed to baptism being any part of our direct relationship with God, that he does mention that it is a picture our our uniting with him. Immediately after saying that we are God’s children through faith, he expands on that and says we are like him because we are united with him, which is what we see happening when we are baptized. But I still strongly caution the proponents of “you have to be baptized to be saved” to understand what Paul is saying in the greater context of the whole chapter and even the whole letter to the Galatians.

God does not want us to have these silly arguments. He does not want us to follow the letter of the law. He does not need our performance. He knows we can’t do it. He did not put any barriers in the way to our becoming his children. We only need to trust him enough to get to know him. And as we know him, we will know eternal life. (John 17:3) It is so much about relationship, and the more we relate with him, the more we will know him, the more we will trust him, the more our lives will be transformed by him, the more we will be “made like him” as he continues to reveal his love for us that would drive him to his own death instead of ours.

Phenomenal.

For you are all Christians–you are one in Christ Jesus. And now that you belong to Christ, you are the true children of Abraham. You are his heirs, and now all the promises God gave to him belong to you.

Well! I could probably comment on this one for quite a while, but I think I will skip it. We all know how fractured and fragmented the visible body of Christ has become. There are so many “denominations” of Christians all supposing to have the fullest version of the truth. They wouldn’t really say that, but then, why do they exist? (Well, not being naive, I of course understand the human desire for power and position as well. Of course, that is a factor.) Jesus prayed we would have it, Paul says we are, no matter how we might act… we just are ONE. We can’t help it. If we are in relationship with the Father, we are all one in Christ Jesus. All of us who were baptized into him are part of one group – his body – the church.

And Paul wraps up what we call chapter three with the theme that has run throughout. A long time ago, God told a man he named Abraham that He would bless all the nations through his heir, and now Paul is saying WE are his heirs. All the promises given to Abraham – of a close, personal relationship with the Creator – are ours. Not will be if we stay clean. Not if we meet some standard. They are ours through the generous and astounding offer of the only one who can give them. They are ours.

We can have a relationship with God that is unhindered and far greater even than the one he had/has with Abraham. We have the presence of his Holy Spirit living in us! Jesus tore the curtain, the veil, the barrier that was between God and us for so long. Now there’s nothing but an open relationship between an infinitely loving Father and those whom he has called his children.

Live today knowing that through faith you are a “child of God.”

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For further study: Visit StudyLight.org

Galatians 3:19-23

Well then, why was the law given? It was given to show people how guilty they are. But this system of law was to last only until the coming of the child to whom God’s promise was made.

WHOA! What did he just say? I forgot it was so plainly spelled out. There can be no mistake here. Read those lines once more, then come back to my next sentence. Go ahead, I’ll wait. OK. Did you catch that?! The purpose of the law was not that we might have some standard to align ourselves with, or to help us gain favor with God (after grace initially establishes our relationship with him, of course…) and it was certainly not the distinguishing mark of a God-lover to adhere to its tenets. It was given to show people how guilty they are. That’s it. Paul does not say, “One of the things the law was for…” or, “Part of what God intended through the law…” He only says one thing, and leaves it at that.

But even more astounding to me than that very plain, unmistakable truth about the purpose of the law is the duration of the “system of the law”. This is the part that many Christians really don’t understand. Paul says, right there, again in plain English (well, the translation is, anyway…) that the “system of the law was to last only until the coming of the child to whom God’s promise was made.” That’s just incredible. I know that. I have understood that from the whole of Scripture, that Jesus changed everything. Paul has been revealing that all through this first half of his letter to the believers in Galatia. But, it is said so plainly here in Galatians chapter three… how can people still cling to the old system for their righteousness that was never intended to provide that in the first place? Why must people insist on living a life of fear-based performance before a terrifying deity?

Paul is telling us quite plainly that the law served (past tense) a purpose, and now the promise has been given. God has blessed all nations through Abraham’s child. Through Jesus, we have full and direct access to our Father. Unfettered. Unwavering. We are accepted, and loved and it does not depend on how closely we follow some code of law. …the law was to last only until the coming of the child. Let it go.

And there is this further difference. God gave his laws to angels to give to Moses, who was the mediator between God and the people. Now a mediator is needed if two people enter into an agreement, but God acted on his own when he made his promise to Abraham.

Well then, is there a conflict between God’s law and God’s promises? Absolutely not! If the law could have given us new life, we could have been made right with God by obeying it. But the Scriptures have declared that we are all prisoners of sin, so the only way to receive God’s promise is to believe in Jesus Christ.

Until faith in Christ was shown to us as the way of becoming right with God, we were guarded by the law. We were kept in protective custody, so to speak, until we could put our faith in the coming Savior.

Yes! That is such a cool picture of the purpose of the law. It was never intended to save, to make righteous, or to last. It was to keep us in “protective custody” until we could put our faith in Jesus. Until the plan was finished on the cross. God was looking ahead to that moment in our history when it would be finished, and he declared Abraham and others righteous (even before the existence of The Law of Moses) because of the truth of that event, even before it had happened. (This is sounding like a Star Trek episode…) We can only have access to Father through Jesus’ death on the cross. That’s it. So, righteousness is given by God, when we trust in Him, apart from the law, or anything we might accomplish.

Now, I don’t completely follow Paul on the first part of this section. He seems to be pointing out the difference between the Law given to Moses and the promise made to Abraham in the way it was presented. The Law was given to angels to give to Moses, so, there was a go-between. But God handled it himself with Abraham. To me, this is very much like our connection with him through Jesus. After Jesus had died on the cross, we had full access to God, as God himself had bridged the gap between us. But before that, he had a system of priests and such in place. A mediator. That is what the law was all about. A separation between God and Man. But the “promise”, made before the law was given, was directly from God himself to a man, no mediator. Which is exactly what we have today with God through Jesus. HE is our mediator.

Again, the clear truth presented here, and indeed through the whole letter up to now is: the Law was never intended to save us. Never. It wasn’t even given, dare I say, to be obeyed. God wanted us to see we can not be righteous on our own. “It was given to show people how guilty they are.” God intended for us to fail. He knew we would. That’s why the Lamb was slain before the foundation of the world. The promise to give us life (not a chance to earn it) was given, and then the code of law. The law was given to prove that our own efforts are worthless, meaningless.

God wants us to know we can’t do it without him. And we don’t even need to try.

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For further study: Visit StudyLight.org

Galatians 3:15-18

Dear brothers and sisters, here’s an example from everyday life. Just as no one can set aside or amend an irrevocable agreement, so it is in this case. God gave the promise to Abraham and his child. And notice that it doesn’t say the promise was to his children, as if it meant many descendants. But the promise was to his child–and that, of course, means Christ.

I love the first line Paul uses. It is how I try to live my life everyday; understanding God and living “everyday life” with him. Not doing spiritual things at spiritual times and then considering the remaining time and activities as somehow my “real” or “everyday” life. But seeing God in the mundane, in the ordinary. I believe he is there, perhaps even more than in what we consider sacred?

Paul’s “everyday” example was that of an irrevocable agreement. Irrevocable is a strong word. It seems to me that today we are far less inclined to see an agreement as irrevocable. I do not know the statistics for sure, but the numbers I have heard regarding divorce rates lately are staggering. It’s almost more certain now that you will get a divorce than the possibility that you will remain married. But the Jewish culture, an irrevocable agreement was exactly that: Irrevocable.

This section of Galatians is fine-tuning Paul’s argument that life in God can not be earned. He mentioned a bit earlier in this chapter that God had promised to bless all nations through Abraham. Specifically through his child. There was a whole story of the struggle to take God at his word there, with Abraham and Sarah being without child and about 9000 years old. They even came up with a clever scheme to “make” a baby on their own, so God could keep his promise. But in his timing, God provided a child for Abraham. When he did, they could not take any credit for it. It was impossible for them to have a child, but with God, Jesus said, “Nothing is impossible.”

It was true in their case for a literal child from God, and it is true in our case as Abraham’s descendant, his “child”, has made it possible for us to break free from sin, death and even the law and be restored to complete friendship and intimacy with God. That is what Jesus was referring to when he said those words above. He was asked how can anyone “enter the Kingdom of heaven?” His reply focused as Paul does on God’s work and not ours. We get so good at pretending to be righteous that we even begin to believe it ourselves. We think maybe we can succeed at keeping the law. Maybe we can actually be righteous on our own. Maybe we can have a child, thought Sarah & Abraham. But it was never possible to be righteous by keeping the law. The child, and His righteousness come straight from, and only from, God.

“For no one can ever be made right in God’s sight by doing what his law commands. For the more we know God’s law, the clearer it becomes that we aren’t obeying it.” – Rom 3:20

This is what I am trying to say: The agreement God made with Abraham could not be canceled 430 years later when God gave the law to Moses.

Notice the historical footnote? I thought that was cool to remind us that all of these events are historical and even marked off by years. Paul mentions that Moses received the law 430 years after Abraham received the promise. Thought that was a neat side bar. 🙂

God would be breaking his promise. For if the inheritance could be received only by keeping the law, then it would not be the result of accepting God’s promise. But God gave it to Abraham as a promise.

The Jews loved Abraham. He was the “Father” of their nation. He was greatly revered. But perhaps even greater was their adoration for Moses. He had spoken face to face with God, he was a great leader, and he was the one who received and passed on the Law to them. (You wouldn’t think that would be a good thing at first glance, would you?) And that might be what was so well received. Abraham received a promise from God. It was nebulous, undefined and with no specific time of implementation. Moses was told “Do this,” and “Don’t do that.” Now that’s what we like to hear! Something clear and defined and doable! Give me some laws! I can keep ’em!

But that was never the intent of the law. Consider what Paul said in his letter to the Romans quoted above. “The more we know God’s law, the clearer it becomes that we aren’t obeying it.” Ha! Exactly! In Hebrews it mentions that sacrifices could never save us and Paul mentions elsewhere that the law was never intended to save us, only to point out that we can’t do it on our own.

If there is one common theme throughout history it’s this. God wants us to know that we need him. And he does not leave it there, like some oppressive captor who holds your very life in his hands. No, he is not waiting for us to come to our senses and come groveling to him on hands and knees begging for a crumb or a drop of water. He loves us… completely. As ugly as we can get, he still loves us. Gave up his own life to prove it. He knows that we can not survive on our own. We will never repair our relationship with him on our own. We can not. It is impossible. But just like with Abraham & Sarah, and just like countless other stories in scripture, God has shown that with him, nothing is impossible. Nothing.

God promised the bless all nations through Abraham’s child. You have access today to that promise. A full, uninhibited, completely restored relationship with the Maker of the Universe. He is King of kings, and he laid down his kingship to get dirty and experience life as a commoner, and ultimately even die as a criminal for you. And me.

We can’t do it on our own. We can’t be good enough, or smart enough, or clever enough. But he has offered us wholeness, completeness, life as it was meant to be for us. If we just accept his offer, and trust his work in us, we can experience freedom and joy and life to its fullest potential.

I promise.

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For further study: Visit StudyLight.org

Galatians 3:10-14

But those who depend on the law to make them right with God are under his curse, for the Scriptures say, “Cursed is everyone who does not observe and obey all these commands that are written in God’s Book of the Law.” Consequently, it is clear that no one can ever be right with God by trying to keep the law. For the Scriptures say, “It is through faith that a righteous person has life.” How different from this way of faith is the way of law, which says, “If you wish to find life by obeying the law, you must obey all of its commands.”

Wow. The onslaught continues. Paul now goes so far as to tell the self-righteous, law-keeping “older brothers” (from the “Prodigal Son” story) that they are not only not blessed, they are cursed! How can you tell someone who spends all of their time trying to be good that they are cursed? What a crushing blow that is! The complete opposite of what they are striving for, because they are living the complete opposite of life in the Kingdom.

In God’s kingdom, we live by faith. We are made righteous (far beyond what we could ever hope for) by our faith in the One who is Righteousness. We are made righteous in his eyes by trusting in Him for every part of our lives, our food, our clothing, our drink, our shelter… and our spiritual wholeness. The righteousness is declared not by our efforts, or merits, or by the proclamation of some other person of any societal stature. It is declared before the universe was formed by the One who made it all. Ephesians 1:3 says that in Jesus, we are “holy and without fault in his eyes.” Again, it just has nothing to do with us.

That is so hard to accept. It must. We must have to do something. But the more I read in Scripture, and especially as I just read these words penned by Paul, I only see God saying, “Stop trying so hard!!! It is finished. The work is complete. You are righteous, but not by your own efforts… by your faith in me. Who I am and what I have done, and can do.” Such a difference. The pressure of successes or failures are greatly diminished by the knowledge that God is the one working in us. That the work of salvation is complete, and the process of growth is not powered by our own strength of will and determination and ability, but by his work in us, as we remain in him. (John 15) That is why Paul says, “How different from this way of faith is the way of law.”

The other word that stood out so clearly is “ever”. Ever is a strong word. Ever, never, forever. These are words of completeness beyond our comprehension. They are absolute. And Paul says that, “it is clear that no one can ever be right with God by trying to keep the law.” Ever. No matter how hard you try, or how good you are, you just can’t.

Now, if you’re like me, you’ve heard this all before. You know that your entrance into the Kingdom is “not by works that no one may boast” and that it’s by Jesus’ work on the cross, not your own effort that you are saved. But, if you’re like me, you also persist in this strange notion that you must maintain a level of goodness to retain your position in God’s kingdom. You wouldn’t go so far as to say you need to “earn it”, but you live as though you need to prove you were “worth saving”. Right? I still catch myself trying hard to do things because I want God to think I’m good… I want him to like me.

Duh! HE DOES. How much more does He need to do to show me that?! He gave up being God to be like me so that he could get beaten and mutilated and on top of that bear the guilt of EVERY person who ever lived all the way to his death. And every word he breathes is life and refreshing and true and for me. Plus, I have seen him working in my life, not just in the stories of the Bible. In my life. He has shown me again and again that he loves me not because I maintain some standard of conduct or behavior… just because I am his. He made me, and he loves me.

Shouldn’t that affect my daily behavior and attitude? Yes! That’s what Paul is trying to get through to the Christians from Galatia.

But Christ has rescued us from the curse pronounced by the law. When he was hung on the cross, he took upon himself the curse for our wrongdoing. For it is written in the Scriptures, “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.” Through the work of Christ Jesus, God has blessed the Gentiles with the same blessing he promised to Abraham, and we Christians receive the promised Holy Spirit through faith.

Besides the recurring theme of being made right with God by his doing not ours, Paul revisits the idea that this “new wine” is for all. Not just the people who currently owned the title, “God’s Chosen People”. The Gentiles are in on this too. For us, it may be better not just to think of blacks in the 60s (as that is almost a distant past). Perhaps it may help us to think of relatively recent stories like Jeffrey Dahmer, who was disgustingly evil, yet received Jesus’ offer of forgiveness before he was executed for his crimes. Or maybe any one of the terrorists who carried out the insidious plot to bring down the world trade center. What if one of them were to humbly realize the love their Father has for them and return to him, being “made holy and without fault” in His eyes in the process? Would you accept that? Could you? Aren’t some people beyond the scope of grace? Aren’t some things too awful to be forgiven?

I believe Paul revisits this idea not only to continue the proof that God wants them to accept the people the Jews previously thought “unacceptable” but also to further reveal the depth of God’s grace. If it’s not about what we do, then it’s not about what we have done. No matter who we have been or what we have done, we are eligible to live the life of freedom that is offered in Jesus. He does not love me any more than he loves Osama Bin Laden. Not any bit more. He does not love Jeffrey Dahmer any less. To say this does not excuse the behavior of men who carry out such gruesome acts against other people, it only points out that God does not have favorites, and it has nothing to do with how good I am.

The law only reveals God’s holiness and my unholiness. It reveals my inability to ever be righteous on my own. Paul says I can’t. No one will ever be made righteous by observing the law. Ever.

So let’s stop trying so hard on our own, and explore together with Jesus the deep waters of the grace and freedom of life in him.

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For further study: Visit StudyLight.org

Continuing with my study of and comments on the book of Galatians…

Galatians 3:5-9

I ask you again, does God give you the Holy Spirit and work miracles among you because you obey the law of Moses? Of course not! It is because you believe the message you heard about Christ.

In the same way, “Abraham believed God, so God declared him righteous because of his faith.” The real children of Abraham, then, are all those who put their faith in God.

What’s more, the Scriptures looked forward to this time when God would accept the Gentiles, too, on the basis of their faith. God promised this good news to Abraham long ago when he said, “All nations will be blessed through you.” And so it is: All who put their faith in Christ share the same blessing Abraham received because of his faith.

This is interesting today, in that I was just writing about an experience I had this morning that reminded me of the finality of Jesus’ work on the Cross. I was reminded that no matter how hard I try or don’t try, as long as my faith is in me, I will fail. But if my faith is properly placed in the one who can actually effect change in my life, then I will “receive the same blessing” that Paul talks about here.

What a slap in the face this was to all that the devout Jewish people had known and been taught. They had a rich heritage of God working amongst them. Their genealogies were teeming with examples of super men and women of God. Pride was abundant as each family gloried in the accomplishments of many of their ancestors for God. They also took great pride in the fact that God had chosen them. They did nothing to earn that. It was simply by God’s choice that they were “The Chosen People”. Still, how could that not emote some sort of pride in you?

So Paul is saying now that “the real children of Abraham” are “those who put their faith in God.” Ouch. It’s probably akin to us finding out that we are not Christians because we go to church every week, but because Jesus lives in us and we in him. That can be quite a startling revelation as well. And on par with this particular slap in the face.

Paul does not mean to belittle Abraham. He commends him as one who was righteous before God. He simply is reminding us that God did not think Abraham to be righteous because of the great things he was able to do, or the way he kept the law, or by any thing that he said or did. It was not Abraham’s abilities that made him righteous before God. It was, “because of his faith.”

But the question was directed at us as well. Does God give us the Holy Spirit or work miracles among us because we obey the law of Moses? Or because we do what our Sunday School teachers taught us was “what God wants”? Or because we live by the “Golden Rule”? “NO!” Paul emphatically declares. No. It’s not because of what you do! That should be good news, but here Paul uses these life-giving words to scold the Christians in Galatia, and even many of us today! We still try to earn it. We can’t accept a gift. It can’t really be free. We know it. Life does not work that way. But Paul is saying it does. It does.

As if tearing down the idols of their faith were not enough, Paul takes one more swing. “God would accept Gentiles, too.” WHAT!??! That was too much for their Jewish ears.

Thankfully, I have grown up in a society that many have tried hard to create. One where people are really equal, regardless of skin color or background. I am not naive enough to believe that is universally true, but a cursory look at our nation 40 years in the past tells me we have come quite a long way. I would imagine then that this is akin to that environment, only much worse (if that were possible.) Blacks were not equal citizens. In any way. Much the same, the Gentiles had no claim to God. The Jews were the chosen people… too bad for all else. There were some exceptions, should a gentile choose to undergo many rituals and purifications to be deemed worth to be a second-class Jew. But, they were certainly not first class citizens in God’s kingdom. Nor would they ever be.

Paul says differently, not because God changed his mind and finally decided to accept the Gentiles. Not because the Gentiles had a change of heart and came groveling to him for acceptance. It was shocking news to the good Jew because the good Jew was still trying to earn favor with God! Paul says that even the filthy Gentiles can get in on this life of freedom in God because it’s not about what you do, or who you were born to… it’s all about who you put your faith in.

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For further study: Visit StudyLight.org

Galatians 3:1-4

Oh, foolish Galatians!

Another translation reads, “You stupid Galatians!” A nice intro line… 🙂

What magician has cast an evil spell on you? For you used to see the meaning of Jesus Christ’s death as clearly as though I had shown you a signboard with a picture of Christ dying on the cross. Let me ask you this one question: Did you receive the Holy Spirit by keeping the law? Of course not, for the Holy Spirit came upon you only after you believed the message you heard about Christ. Have you lost your senses? After starting your Christian lives in the Spirit, why are you now trying to become perfect by your own human effort?

Paul revisits his previous discussion regarding our inability to earn favor with God by keeping the law. Peter had realized that was not the way it works, and had so “discarded” the Jewish laws, but he was beginning to pick them right back up again. Apparently, that notion was quite prevalent in Galatia. Paul not only calls them stupid, he says again, “Have you lost your senses?!” Obviously, he is incredulous.

And why not? They know the answer to his question. Of course they did not receive the Holy Spirit by keeping the law. They know about grace. They have experienced it. They have lived it. But it just makes sense that God should want something of us in return, doesn’t it? Since he gave so much for us, shouldn’t we give in return? Is that too much to ask?

I love my son, Ian. He’s almost six and a half years old. He is quite intelligent, witty, and just fun to be around. But not always. This past week or so has been hard. He has made many, many poor choices. We have had to enforce some rather stiff consequences to help him snap out of his disobedient spirit. In that time, there were often times that I was angry. Admittedly, that’s probably not good. I am certainly a human Father, and not perfect in love like our Heavenly Father. But at the same time, did I cease to love Ian? No, I loved him all the more at times. I longed for a restoration of the relationship that his poor choices had damaged. And at times, I would try to do things that showed him how much I love him. The consequences are in place to help him understand there are repercussions to his actions. His choices, and they are definitely his choices, he can not be forced to do the right thing, will affect people around him. For good or for bad, there will be effects from his decisions. Consequences help teach him that.

How does that fit with grace, though? Aren’t we teaching him what the Galatians are thinking? Yes, God loves me, died on the cross, gave me his unconditional love… BUT… in real life you have to do what’s right and not do what’s wrong, right? That is certainly a struggle in trying to help such a young mind comprehend the vastness of God’s grace. I can’t comprehend it in my first 30 years… how could I expect to easily communicate it to my six year old???

But the key is the transition. Paul will touch on this in the upcoming chapters of Galatians. The law (rules, consequences, etc.) points out to us that we can never measure up by our own efforts. The law was in place for a long time. God was not different. He did not change his mind and send Jesus to change everything. Jesus said he “fulfills” the law. The law is not bad, it just has no power to make us complete. It was only meant to show us God’s holiness, and our inability to attain it.

So along comes Jesus, revealing the deeper truth of the Kingdom – it’s not us… it’s him. Perhaps some folks understood that already. Hebrews 11 goes through a litany of incredible names who were “counted as righteous” because they believed God. Not really for what they did, though the two are quite closely linked. Each time they are credited as being righteous because of their faith that GOD would do something amazing. Putting complete trust in him, not themselves.

The people Paul is addressing had known that same thing. He points them back to the cross. They knew what it meant. The finality, the completeness of it. But they were slipping back into the “do-it-yourself” mode from which Jesus had tried to dislodge them.

There is no harm in wanting to love God and do nice things for him. I love it when my children do. But I do not base my continuing relationship with them on what they do for me. Our relationship is not performance oriented. Nor is our relationship with our real Father.

Paul says quite clearly, “You began by God’s Spirit, now do you want to finish by your own power?” (TEV)

Amazing words from a couple millenia past. Still today I am trying to finish by my own power. I was reminded of it again yesterday by a verse I saw on my computer. Try as I might, I am not the producer of all good things in my life – Father is. Every good and perfect gift comes from him. Including our very relationship with him. He is the initiator, and that is so freeing! I didn’t do anything to earn this favor with God… he did! Why, if I knew that, and accepted that when I first discovered this truth… why would I want to revert to living life under my own power?

You foolish Greg!

You have suffered so much for the Good News. Surely it was not in vain, was it? Are you now going to just throw it all away?

As a little addition, a reminder to these people, Paul mentions their suffering. They had chosen to believe and live something that was not popular. In those days, the cost could be your life. But they knew the truth of what they had heard, and abandoned everything to live in that Good News. Now Paul says they are in danger of “throwing it all away.” I don’t believe Paul is hinting here that the Galatians are teetering on eternal damnation – losing their salvation. First, that’s not what he’s talking about in context here. He is trying to get them to live in the freedom they once knew. But also, if he really was saying that, “Straighten up, or you might lose it all!” wouldn’t that fly right in the face of everything he has said so far?

But we definitely fall into that trap still today. We read the “commands” of scripture and we throw them over our shoulder as a huge weight we must bear. A task that, with God’s help, we will complete. And not only do we shoulder this burden ourselves, we at least encourage others to voluntarily do so, and often employ a dose of guilt to ensure that they do. Perhaps that is the very thing Paul is addressing in this group of believers so long ago. So close to the physical reality of Jesus’ life and death amongst them, yet so easily slipping back into the earn-God’s-favor way of living.

It’s not by works, that no one may boast. It is the free gift of God.

You began by God’s Spirit; do you want to finish by your own power?

I don’t.

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Galatians 2:11-21

But when Peter came to Antioch, I had to oppose him publicly, speaking strongly against what he was doing, for it was very wrong.

This is definitely something I struggle with. Paul seems to have no problem taking his brother to task about an area that at least in his own mind is clearly wrong. I think before Jen & I were married, and I was a bit younger and perhaps less wise, I would have charged in the same way Paul does. I knew what was right, and everyone else needed to know it too! I think that is Jen’s picture of me still. She is quite the opposite, detesting all forms of conflict, and avoiding them at all costs. I think she has softened me a bit, which is good. I have learned restraint from her. My struggle though, is when should we step in, and when should we show restraint. When is enough enough?

In other words, when should I allow events to play out and let God work in my brother’s heart, and when should I step up and stop the injustice or wrong thinking or sinful behavior for the good of the perpetrator and the church and everyone around him? When is it time to put an end to the bad?

Paul says, “I had to oppose him publicly” meaning to me that it was not his first choice, but that the wrong was so bad, it needed to stop then and there. I admit, I don’t know what offense is so evil that it must be halted publicly and immediately – short of someone beating or threatening the life of another perhaps. If someone’s name is being dragged through the mud, do I step in? If I know someone is involved in a behavior that is contrary to God’s best for them, do I step in? At what level of offense or wrongness do we need to take action? What was it that Paul saw that was so destructive it had to stop then and there?

Let’s find out…

When he first arrived, he ate with the Gentile Christians, who don’t bother with circumcision. But afterward, when some Jewish friends of James came, Peter wouldn’t eat with the Gentiles anymore because he was afraid of what these legalists would say. Then the other Jewish Christians followed Peter’s hypocrisy, and even Barnabas was influenced to join them in their hypocrisy.

When I saw that they were not following the truth of the Good News, 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 trying to make these Gentiles obey the Jewish laws you abandoned? You and I are Jews by birth, not `sinners’ like the Gentiles. And yet we Jewish Christians know that we become right with God, not by doing what the law commands, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be accepted by God because of our faith in Christ–and not because we have obeyed the law. For no one will ever be saved by obeying the law.”

Whoa. Stinging words to a keeper of rules. Even though we know it… some of us really like rules. We like to have the boundaries. A clear-cut path to follow to a right standing with God. But Paul blasted that out of the water with his last statements. “We become right with God, not by doing what the law commands… No one will ever be saved by obeying the law.”

Did he say ever? This is the same man who “beats his body” into submission to Christ, who talks of working out our salvation in fear and trembling, and other such references to a very work-oriented righteousness. How can Paul understand this dichotomy he seems to espouse? How can he say things that seem to be so opposed?

First, they are not opposed. Jesus definitely showed us that it’s not about how clean we can get, or anything we can do to make ourselves presentable before God. That all comes from him. Before we meet him, and forever after. He also made it clear that so many things can bring us down. That there is a right way and a wrong way. That there are things that are good for us, and things that are bad for us. That his laws and his truth will stand forever as a testament to what is right, not as a set of iron shackles to forever imprison us to a performance-based righteousness.

Paul saw Peter, who knew the freedom Jesus’ taught and lived it out everyday, not only reverting to rule-keeping behaviors, but imposing that on those around him. Legalism. Take the standard presented by God, and the personal conviction in your heart and slap it on everyone else, requiring from them more strict adherence to this standard than even you are willing to give. It is performance-driven, guilt-laden, burden-bearing drudgery. Not a joy-filled, freedom-living adventure with a loving Father, the reality I believe Jesus tried to demonstrate. Peter was trying to restrict the freedom of the non-jewish believers with already fulfilled laws that existed not to bring about righteousness of themselves, but to point a people to the Giver of Righteousness. He already knew and had experienced that truth, but was now afraid, in Paul’s words, to live it out.

Again Paul mentions “the Truth” of the Good News. Do you recall from chapter one, where Paul said he wanted to preserve the truth of the Good News. To me, that means doctrine, dogma… legalism even. Passing down a set of rules that must be strictly obeyed. But to Paul, the truth was the freedom. He wanted to preserve the freedom of the life we have in Jesus. Now he says it again. Peter and his gang, including Paul’s friend Barnabas, were separating themselves from the other believers because of an “act of righteousness” that gave them claim to some sort of superior righteousness. (Odd, in that it was nothing that they did. Boys were circumcised on the 8th day after birth. They can’t rightly claim such an “act”, now can they?)

Paul strongly refutes such wrong thinking by saying, “we… know that we become right with God … by faith in Jesus Christ.” He is not teaching them, but reminding them. He wants them to remember the truth they have already heard. Their freedom is not because they are circumcised or specially chosen or have kept any set of laws. (Paul even reminds Peter that he discarded the Jewish laws. Another interesting aside in that there are many today who get ruffled a bit when talk of the old testament laws not being applicable today…) Freedom has come from a restored relationship with God through Jesus Christ. Not by anything we have done, or will do. Not by cleaning up our act and hanging out with the right people. It is the free gift of God, so that no one can boast.

No one will ever be saved by obeying the law. We can’t dress well enough, speak well enough, act well enough, think well enough, do enough community service, or other acts of worship. We are justified by our faith in Jesus, in what HE did for us. Done. Over. It is finished. Now, we get to live it. In freedom. Together.

But what if we seek to be made right with God through faith in Christ and then find out that we are still sinners? Has Christ led us into sin? Of course not! Rather, I make myself guilty if I rebuild the old system I already tore down. For when I tried to keep the law, I realized I could never earn God’s approval. So I died to the law so that I might live for God. I have been crucified with Christ. I myself no longer live, but Christ lives in me. So I live my life in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I am not one of those who treats the grace of God as meaningless. For if we could be saved by keeping the law, then there was no need for Christ to die.

Some might say that to live devoid of any responsibility to the law, just lavishing in God’s grace, that we are in some way despising God. His laws are forever true, so he must mean for us to submit to them. Yes, his law is forever true, but what does it mean to submit to it? Do it, or else? Or, follow this truth, and you will experience the life I intended for you? I see God’s laws as warnings, or even like those video game secrets where you can find the hidden cool parts of the game by knowing certain tricks or moves. God has given us clues as to how life works best. He has already said, as Paul found out, that we can’t earn righteousness by keeping those rules. If so, Jesus would not have had to die. Some of us who were diligent enough, and who tried the hardest and were perhaps even predisposed toward more righteous behavior would reach the finish line, with our A+ papers in hand, and pass on to life forever in God’s eternal kingdom. The rest who couldn’t keep up with the demands of his laws would be doomed to rot forever in hell. That’s how a performance-based system would work. And there would be no need for a savior. If even one person could do it without him, Jesus would not have needed to die.

But he did. Cause we can’t. Ever. No matter how hard we try. Paul said, “What if… after you stop trying to do it yourself, and realize it’s only from God… what if you’ve been down that path and you are still sinning??? That’s a great question. One I still do not completely understand. What I see Paul saying here this time is that we actually become more guilty as we revert to the old way of striving to keep the rules. To do the right. In doing that, we only condemn ourselves all over again. We might feel like we are somehow making up for the fact that we are still sinners… but in fact we are only making it worse by living under the same laws that condemned us before.

The answer is the new wineskin. The complete renewing of our minds. The new paradigm. Where no longer are we made righteous by our performance (since we never were in the first place) but we live in the reality that God truly accepts us as we are. We don’t have to prove to him that we can do it, because the truth is we can not. If we try to, we will only experience the condemnation that the law brings. The Truth of the Good News that Paul keeps trying to get us to see is the freedom of knowing that Jesus is the Righteous One, and in fact he is our Righteousness.

That’s so weird. But really, really cool.

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Galatians 2:6-10

And the leaders of the church who were there had nothing to add to what I was preaching. (By the way, their reputation as great leaders made no difference to me, for God has no favorites.)

Paul continues his message to the believers in Galatia that his message is straight from Jesus, and supported by all the well-known Followers of the Way. The church in Jerusalem had a reputation I am sure. It was where it all began. Where Jesus was killed. Where he got back up. It was where the Holy Spirit made his impressive first appearance in the new Church, and thousands were convinced of the truth of what Jesus said and about who he was. So, obviously the church in Jerusalem, where many of the apostles, men who were with Jesus, and were still actively relaying his teachings… obviously this place would be a bit higher on the spiritual ladder by a rung or two.

That’s why Paul adds his parenthetical comment. He wants to dispel that idea of certain believers being better than others, either to each other or even to God. God has no favorites. But, we do… don’t we? Aren’t there churches out there today whom we all try to emulate? Aren’t there believers whom we look up to, and hang on and believe and put into practice their every teaching? Aren’t there even people within our own local group of believers whom we hold as “more spiritual” than others? Step outside of the spiritual realm for a moment, and don’t we do that in other ways? Don’t we have levels for people? Places on the rung of social, economic, even racial status? Yes, we have favorites.

Paul wanted something different for the church. He knew that God has no favorites. We are all equal to him. We do not earn his favor, or better or worse standing by who we are, or what we do. It was all given to us by him, and our relationship with him does not proceed from our actions, but from his. An important point to those believers who were elevating the Jerusalem church leaders to a status they did not merit (nor most likely did they want). And an important point to us today, as we tend toward the same misconception.

They saw that God had given me the responsibility of preaching the Good News to the Gentiles, just as he had given Peter the responsibility of preaching to the Jews. For the same God who worked through Peter for the benefit of the Jews worked through me for the benefit of the Gentiles. In fact, James, Peter, and John, who were known as pillars of the church, recognized the gift God had given me, and they accepted Barnabas and me as their co-workers. They encouraged us to keep preaching to the Gentiles, while they continued their work with the Jews. The only thing they suggested was that we remember to help the poor, and I have certainly been eager to do that.

An interesting tag line to more “proof” of his message. He concludes his resume with the only suggestion that the other apostles had for him: to help the poor. What an interesting thing to add! Was Paul not concerned with that before they reminded him, or is it more important than the other stuff he had been teaching people? Perhaps both?

It’s easy for us to get so caught up in “getting people saved”, that we overlook their needs now. Jesus was so, so good at not doing that. He helped people understand and see the unseen Kingdom, and at the same time showed them that God loves every bit of them. He healed people. He touched people. He laughed and cried with people. He did not have money, so he did not give people wealth (though he did give Peter money in the mouth of a fish once, to pay the taxes…) – but he did help them. The poor in spirit. The poor by society’s standards.

Often today, the ministry we call “benevolence” is overlooked or a fraction of the overall budget at best. That is not the fault of our churches. Institutions and large organizations can not meet the needs of people. They can not love someone who has been beaten down by life, someone who made poor choices and now suffers the consequences. But we can. We… the Church can. And we mustn’t overlook that.

It is important to tell people the message that God so loved the world … and whoever believes… will not perish. But, perhaps Paul was reminded – as are we – that Jesus wasn’t just concerned about the hereafter… but also the herenow.

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