Christ’s church is not confused! – Galatians 5:6-16
Christ’s church is not confused! – Galatians 5:6-16
By Pastor Lee Hemen
March 8, 2020
Have you ever thought you were doing the right thing but in reality it was for the wrong reasons? We can fool ourselves into thinking that God’s will is what we like or what we want and when we do we might be guilty of trying to do the right thing for the wrong reasons. As we search for a new pastor we want to make sure that we are not trying to get our way instead of seeking the Lord’s will for our church. We should not be confused in doing what God desires.
The church in Galatia had gotten itself all tied up in what they thought was the correct way of living for the Lord but in reality it was from the wrong reasons. They were confused and not doing what the Lord desired. Paul wanted them to come together in the Lord to do the will of God, let’s see how Paul clarified their confusion…
READ: Galatians 5:6-16
Paul understood that all believers were God’s children “through faith in Jesus Christ” (Galatians 3:26) and in fact now there was “neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female” for all believers are “all one in Christ Jesus. (Galatians 3:28 NIV)” Therefore there should be no confusion in the church because…
I. The love of Jesus is all we need! (Vv. 6-9)
For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love. You were running a good race. Who cut in on you and kept you from obeying the truth? That kind of persuasion does not come from the one who calls you. “A little yeast works through the whole batch of dough.”
1. As we have learned before, Paul had grown up in a religion that had a whole lot of rules and regulations. And now these same folks who acknowledged Jesus wanted to bring back the old way of doing things. It was Jesus plus doing things. Paul would have none of it because he understood that when Jesus hung on the cross and said, “It is finished!” he had meant the entire law and God’s perfect plan. Everything God had been doing was completed in Jesus! So Paul bluntly tells these religious compromisers that “in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value”! Their old ways were done! Paul reminded them that “The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.” That love, as we learned last week, is the sacrificial love of Jesus! Paul was a tad bit angry because these people had placed their faith and trust in Jesus but were now heading back into a way that would require them to try again to earn their salvation. He tells them, “You were running a good race. Who cut in on you and kept you from obeying the truth?” I betcha they were embarrassed like little kids caught with their hands in the cookie jar. Paul understood quite well what was going on here and he tells them, “That kind of persuasion does not come from the one who calls you.” Any faith that requires Jesus plus something else is not faith alone in Christ alone! Paul quotes Proverbs to them: “A little yeast works through the whole batch of dough”, reminding them of what a small thing can do to adversely influence their faith. The love of Jesus is all we need!
EXAMPLE: When I was little we owned a boxer dog named Duke who diligently followed me everywhere. From the time I was four-years-old right up until I went to elementary school Duke was my constant loving companion. My mother never worry about where I was or what I was doing, unlike today, where parents are arrested for letting their kids play at the neighborhood park by themselves! The believer’s and the church’s constant companion is Jesus. Therefore isn’t it great to know that the love of Jesus is all we need!
Paul understood that the only one who wanted to throw Jesus’ church into confusion was Satan. After all he was a Father of Lies and a deceiver from the beginning. So Paul knew that…
II. Following Jesus does not bring chaos! (Vv. 10-12)
I am confident in the Lord that you will take no other view. The one who is throwing you into confusion will pay the penalty, whoever he may be. Brothers, if I am still preaching circumcision, why am I still being persecuted? In that case the offense of the cross has been abolished. As for those agitators, I wish they would go the whole way and emasculate themselves!
1. Such false teaching as the Galatians was beginning to embrace of Jesus plus something else did not originate in the God who had called them. Paul wanted them to have a firm foundation in what they believed so that they would not be easily uprooted into false teaching about Jesus. So he writes, “I am confident in the Lord that you will take no other view.” By showing his confidence in them he hoped they would develop confidence again in their faith in Jesus alone. He was confident the Galatians would share his views and that the false teacher would suffer judgment: “The one who is throwing you into confusion will pay the penalty, whoever he may be.” Paul did not know who it was that was throwing them into confusion but it did not matter, he was wrong and they needed to understand this. Paul therefore appeals to them as “Brothers” in Christ. Fellow believers should understand and come alongside one another to walk together in their faith. In fact, Paul rhetorically asks, “if I am still preaching circumcision, why am I still being persecuted” by those who still do believe in the false teaching of following Old Testament laws! Paul retorts that “In that case the offense of the cross has been abolished.” In other words Jesus did not have to die an ignoble death but he did in order to do away with obedience to set of rules and laws that could never save anyone! It did not make sense. Paul is furious, and rightly so. By their false teaching they were throwing new believers into confusion about the saving grace of God! Paul angrily remarks, “As for those agitators, I wish they would go the whole way and emasculate themselves!” Wow, pretty harsh words but they were needed because Paul knew that following Jesus does not bring chaos!
EXAMPLE: When the world seems to want to spiral away I remember Jesus in the midst of the storm telling the wind and waves, “Quite! Be still!” (Mark 4:39) and when he calmly told his disciples, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me.” (John 14:1) Paul wrote: “For God is not a God of disorder but of peace. (1 Corinthians 14:33 NIV)” As we look for a new pastor we should remain calm and realize God is in control because following Jesus does not bring chaos!
Paul knew that the presence of Jesus should influence his body the church and even though we are set free from our sin we are to live for him. The church for Paul should be resolute and we see that…
III. We live by the Spirit’s freedom! (Vv. 13-16)
You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love. The entire law is summed up in a single command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” If you keep on biting and devouring each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other. So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature.
1. The Old Testament laws had become chains that had enslaved God’s people. They never were meant to do so but they had become this very thing. They were given to Israel in order for them to show the rest of the world what it meant to walk with God by faith. They were never meant to be a strict set of rules that one had to robotically follow in order to garner God’s grace. Now that Jesus had come, their faith set them free from these chains! Paul reminds them, “You, my brothers, were called to be free.” So why were they willingly being enslaved again? To willingly go back was inconceivable to Paul and he saw it as a sin. To be so spiritually insecure was sinful because they willingly tossed aside faith in Jesus alone for works! Therefore Paul writes that they should not use their “freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love.” They were to love God by giving their selves to Jesus by faith and they were to love one another. If they wanted any kind of “work” to do Paul tells them that “The entire law is summed up in a single command: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” It could never save them but at least their focus would not be on following a set of laws which led to disputes among them. Paul warned that “If you keep on biting and devouring each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.” The cause of Christ would be ruined. Instead they needed to do like we need to do and “live by the Spirit” and they would “not gratify the desires of the sinful nature.” Paul knew we live by the Spirit’s freedom!
EXAMPLE: The world does not understand how the church is the body of Christ. But we do. We can walk in faith and be assured that God is in the details; he is in control. As we pray together and stay unified encouraging one another we can know without a doubt that we are walking in the Spirit of God. As believers we can be excited and full of joy knowing that we live by the Spirit’s freedom!
Conclusion:
The love of Jesus is all we need! Following Jesus does not bring chaos! We live by the Spirit’s freedom!
---
This article is copyrighted © 2020 by Lee Hemen and is the sole property of Lee Hemen, and may not be used unless you quote the entire article and have my permission.
By Pastor Lee Hemen
March 8, 2020
Have you ever thought you were doing the right thing but in reality it was for the wrong reasons? We can fool ourselves into thinking that God’s will is what we like or what we want and when we do we might be guilty of trying to do the right thing for the wrong reasons. As we search for a new pastor we want to make sure that we are not trying to get our way instead of seeking the Lord’s will for our church. We should not be confused in doing what God desires.
The church in Galatia had gotten itself all tied up in what they thought was the correct way of living for the Lord but in reality it was from the wrong reasons. They were confused and not doing what the Lord desired. Paul wanted them to come together in the Lord to do the will of God, let’s see how Paul clarified their confusion…
READ: Galatians 5:6-16
Paul understood that all believers were God’s children “through faith in Jesus Christ” (Galatians 3:26) and in fact now there was “neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female” for all believers are “all one in Christ Jesus. (Galatians 3:28 NIV)” Therefore there should be no confusion in the church because…
I. The love of Jesus is all we need! (Vv. 6-9)
For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love. You were running a good race. Who cut in on you and kept you from obeying the truth? That kind of persuasion does not come from the one who calls you. “A little yeast works through the whole batch of dough.”
1. As we have learned before, Paul had grown up in a religion that had a whole lot of rules and regulations. And now these same folks who acknowledged Jesus wanted to bring back the old way of doing things. It was Jesus plus doing things. Paul would have none of it because he understood that when Jesus hung on the cross and said, “It is finished!” he had meant the entire law and God’s perfect plan. Everything God had been doing was completed in Jesus! So Paul bluntly tells these religious compromisers that “in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value”! Their old ways were done! Paul reminded them that “The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.” That love, as we learned last week, is the sacrificial love of Jesus! Paul was a tad bit angry because these people had placed their faith and trust in Jesus but were now heading back into a way that would require them to try again to earn their salvation. He tells them, “You were running a good race. Who cut in on you and kept you from obeying the truth?” I betcha they were embarrassed like little kids caught with their hands in the cookie jar. Paul understood quite well what was going on here and he tells them, “That kind of persuasion does not come from the one who calls you.” Any faith that requires Jesus plus something else is not faith alone in Christ alone! Paul quotes Proverbs to them: “A little yeast works through the whole batch of dough”, reminding them of what a small thing can do to adversely influence their faith. The love of Jesus is all we need!
EXAMPLE: When I was little we owned a boxer dog named Duke who diligently followed me everywhere. From the time I was four-years-old right up until I went to elementary school Duke was my constant loving companion. My mother never worry about where I was or what I was doing, unlike today, where parents are arrested for letting their kids play at the neighborhood park by themselves! The believer’s and the church’s constant companion is Jesus. Therefore isn’t it great to know that the love of Jesus is all we need!
Paul understood that the only one who wanted to throw Jesus’ church into confusion was Satan. After all he was a Father of Lies and a deceiver from the beginning. So Paul knew that…
II. Following Jesus does not bring chaos! (Vv. 10-12)
I am confident in the Lord that you will take no other view. The one who is throwing you into confusion will pay the penalty, whoever he may be. Brothers, if I am still preaching circumcision, why am I still being persecuted? In that case the offense of the cross has been abolished. As for those agitators, I wish they would go the whole way and emasculate themselves!
1. Such false teaching as the Galatians was beginning to embrace of Jesus plus something else did not originate in the God who had called them. Paul wanted them to have a firm foundation in what they believed so that they would not be easily uprooted into false teaching about Jesus. So he writes, “I am confident in the Lord that you will take no other view.” By showing his confidence in them he hoped they would develop confidence again in their faith in Jesus alone. He was confident the Galatians would share his views and that the false teacher would suffer judgment: “The one who is throwing you into confusion will pay the penalty, whoever he may be.” Paul did not know who it was that was throwing them into confusion but it did not matter, he was wrong and they needed to understand this. Paul therefore appeals to them as “Brothers” in Christ. Fellow believers should understand and come alongside one another to walk together in their faith. In fact, Paul rhetorically asks, “if I am still preaching circumcision, why am I still being persecuted” by those who still do believe in the false teaching of following Old Testament laws! Paul retorts that “In that case the offense of the cross has been abolished.” In other words Jesus did not have to die an ignoble death but he did in order to do away with obedience to set of rules and laws that could never save anyone! It did not make sense. Paul is furious, and rightly so. By their false teaching they were throwing new believers into confusion about the saving grace of God! Paul angrily remarks, “As for those agitators, I wish they would go the whole way and emasculate themselves!” Wow, pretty harsh words but they were needed because Paul knew that following Jesus does not bring chaos!
EXAMPLE: When the world seems to want to spiral away I remember Jesus in the midst of the storm telling the wind and waves, “Quite! Be still!” (Mark 4:39) and when he calmly told his disciples, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me.” (John 14:1) Paul wrote: “For God is not a God of disorder but of peace. (1 Corinthians 14:33 NIV)” As we look for a new pastor we should remain calm and realize God is in control because following Jesus does not bring chaos!
Paul knew that the presence of Jesus should influence his body the church and even though we are set free from our sin we are to live for him. The church for Paul should be resolute and we see that…
III. We live by the Spirit’s freedom! (Vv. 13-16)
You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love. The entire law is summed up in a single command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” If you keep on biting and devouring each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other. So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature.
1. The Old Testament laws had become chains that had enslaved God’s people. They never were meant to do so but they had become this very thing. They were given to Israel in order for them to show the rest of the world what it meant to walk with God by faith. They were never meant to be a strict set of rules that one had to robotically follow in order to garner God’s grace. Now that Jesus had come, their faith set them free from these chains! Paul reminds them, “You, my brothers, were called to be free.” So why were they willingly being enslaved again? To willingly go back was inconceivable to Paul and he saw it as a sin. To be so spiritually insecure was sinful because they willingly tossed aside faith in Jesus alone for works! Therefore Paul writes that they should not use their “freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love.” They were to love God by giving their selves to Jesus by faith and they were to love one another. If they wanted any kind of “work” to do Paul tells them that “The entire law is summed up in a single command: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” It could never save them but at least their focus would not be on following a set of laws which led to disputes among them. Paul warned that “If you keep on biting and devouring each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.” The cause of Christ would be ruined. Instead they needed to do like we need to do and “live by the Spirit” and they would “not gratify the desires of the sinful nature.” Paul knew we live by the Spirit’s freedom!
EXAMPLE: The world does not understand how the church is the body of Christ. But we do. We can walk in faith and be assured that God is in the details; he is in control. As we pray together and stay unified encouraging one another we can know without a doubt that we are walking in the Spirit of God. As believers we can be excited and full of joy knowing that we live by the Spirit’s freedom!
Conclusion:
The love of Jesus is all we need! Following Jesus does not bring chaos! We live by the Spirit’s freedom!
---
This article is copyrighted © 2020 by Lee Hemen and is the sole property of Lee Hemen, and may not be used unless you quote the entire article and have my permission.
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