03-25-12 Truly Free Pt. 2

We come this morning

to both the last chapter in Paul’s letter to the Galatians

and to our last week in this study together.

During the past few months

we’ve joined Paul

as he has poured both his heart and his mind

into a communication with his fellow Christians in the Galatian region

that he hopes will break the power of the lie

that was attacking their walk with the King.

Because of the skillful attack

of a number of legalistic teachers who had infiltrated the church,

having begun by the Spirit,

these young Christians were now trying very hard to be perfected by the flesh.

Having entered the family of God

through simple faith in God’s assurance that Christ’s death had removed their sin debt forever,

they were now trying to maintain their union with God

on the basis of their performance.

Having begun by the Spirit

they were now trying to find perfection through the flesh.

The results, of course,

were disastrous for these believers,

as their joy and responsiveness to the love of God

was replaced by a chronic sense of failure and inadequacy,

or an equally destructive pride and arrogance based on their perceived success.

I love the way Paul explained so simply and so clearly to the Corinthians

both what we can and cannot do as God’s children.

He said,

2Co 3:5-6 Not that we are adequate in ourselves to consider anything as coming from ourselves, but our adequacy is from God, who also made us adequate as servants of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

Isn’t that great!

He starts by saying what anyone knows who has tried to live the Christian life under his own strength for any length of time...Not that we are adequate in ourselves to consider anything as coming from ourselves...

We can’t do it for God.

We can crank out some sort of little religious game

that may win us a measure of status and recognition

from those who are playing the same game,

but we can’t do anything that really matters.

We can’t fill ourselves with love for others.

We can’t conquer deeply rooted problems within our own lives

and certainly not in the lives of others.

But then Paul goes on to tell us the good news...but our adequacy is from God, who also made us adequate as servants of a new covenant...

What we could not do for God

God has done and is doing within us.

He Himself has made us adequate as a servant of the new covenant...the new agreement that God Himself established between God and us through Christ.

But then he completes the picture with that crucial final phrase -

because this new covenant is not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

Not of the letter...

We are no more able to earn God’s approval through perfect performance

as measured by the letter of the law now

than we were prior to our union with Him.

But we are adequate as servants of the Spirit of God,

an arrangement in which His Spirit dwells within us

and reshapes us and lives out through us

one step, one day at a time,

while continually bathing us in His grace,

His kindness,

His redemption.

Well, it was this truth that the Galatians had lost hold of,

and Paul wrote with the hope of breaking the power of the lie

that was stripping them of their ability to rest in the love of God for them.

As we moved through the letter

we listened to Paul offer his readers

nine reasons why they can trust the Gospel he’d preached to them

and rest in the grace of God.

And then, in the final two chapters of this letter,

Paul concludes by turning his attention

to the very practical matter

of helping his readers to see clearly

the difference between the flesh and the Spirit in their lives.

And as we moved through the 5^th chapter last week

we listened to Paul

as he offered them two vivid snapshots

of both the flesh and the Spirit.

Gal 5:19-23 Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.

And we ended last week

with Paul’s call to us

to trust and submit to the life and leadership of the Spirit of God within us.

If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.

And before we move into Paul’s final words in chapter 6

I want to say just a little bit more about that one remarkable statement.

In that one sentence

Paul gives us both the certain truth about who we are

and also the clear, simple statement of what we’re called to do because of it.

He starts with the affirmation of the truth - we do indeed live by the Spirit.

And he’s talking here, of course,

about that true, eternal life of our spirit.

When we turned to Christ

our spirit was joined to the Spirit of God.

He drew us to Himself,

cleansed our spirit from all sin forever

and then wrapped His almighty arms around us

in a way that makes it impossible for anything or anyone

to ever again separate us from His love.

And we do now and forevermore live by the Spirit of God.

It is that life of the Spirit within us

that then gives us the longing,

the hunger for a life that honors our God.

But fulfilling that longing

is very much of a daily thing.

It is in no way a choice we can make once for all time.

In fact, in truth we can only make it step by step and minute by minute.

We are who we are in Christ forever,

but because we live right now in this world

and in these bodies

what we do is a daily choice.

And so Paul gives us the second side of our relationship with the Spirit of God.

We certainly do live by the Spirit,

but we must then choose to walk by the Spirit.

And how do we do that?

Well, I’ll tell you how it plays out in my own life

and maybe it will be of some help to you.

There’s really just two parts to it.

The first is learning and accepting the goals the Spirit of God is giving me.

That’s what Paul was doing

when he gave us the definition of the fruits of the Spirit.

Those are the things I consciously choose to aim my life toward on a daily basis.

At its very core

it’s simply my choosing each day

to figure out what it means for me to most effectively love

each person I have access to - how to act in love toward them.

That’s the goal.

And though it may sound simple,

it frequently takes a lot more learning than we may at first expect.

What does it mean for you to love your marriage partner this day?

What does it mean

for you to love your 3 year old child,

or your your 13 year old child?

Those questions cannot be answered

without knowing what’s going on in their life,

what they need,

and how those needs can be met.

And then, after accepting the goals the Spirit has given me,

the second step is reaching out in dependance upon Him.

And with me,

it helps me to just put it into words.

“Lord, I don’t know how to do this.

Unless you live through me,

unless you give me eyes to see what I need to see

and words to say what I need to say,

and courage to do what I need to do

this just isn’t going to happen.

I need you desperately.”

And I do hope you can see the difference

between that

and our trying to crank out in the flesh

some sort of life that honors our God.

The true walk in the Spirit

is one that is deeply rooted

in our realization of our desperate need for Him.

There is certainly nothing even remotely passive about it.

It’s not just telling ourselves that we can’t change ourselves

so whatever happens is all on God

and then allowing our random flesh impulses to drive our lives.

Neither is it our frantically trying to recreate our lives

through our own flesh efforts.

It is, in fact, a conscious, daily battlefield

in which we aggressively seek the mind of the Spirit

and then choose to place ourselves into His hands,

depending upon Him to do through us

whatever needs to be done.

And I do hope you see the contrast Paul is presenting his readers

in these final two chapters.

He spends the first four chapters

attacking their frantic efforts to do in their own strength

what only God can do through them.

And then in these final two chapters

he tells them that it’s not that they are to do nothing,

but rather that they are to do

the only thing they truly can do -

seek and discover the mind of their God

and then aggressively follow His leadership in their life.

OK, having brought us to this point,

Paul has just a few more things he wants to give his readers

before he ends his letter.

The next thing he does

is to give them the correct approach

first of all to their fellow Christian who’s struggling,

and then the correct approach to themselves.

In 6:1-2 he says,

Brethren, even if anyone is caught in any trespass, you who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness; each one looking to yourself, so that you too will not be tempted. Bear one another's burdens, and thereby fulfill the law of Christ.

And I do love what he says there...restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness...

Do you see it?

That’s our bathing the relationship in kindness and compassion,

not making them a public spectacle,

not shredding them for their failure,

but reaching out in whatever way we can

to make it easiest for them to return to the grace of their God,

bearing the burden they cannot currently carry because of the weight of their sin.

Love them back into health.

This is a fascinating passage, isn’t it?

I find it interesting

that nearly every time I’ve heard discussions about dealing with a person’s sin

within the context of the local church

the first place we go is to those passages that talk about openly confronting the sin

before the whole congregation.

But the truth is

that is the very last place we should go.

Paul’s comments right here

give us the place where we start...restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness; each one looking to yourself, so that you too will not be tempted...

And what does it mean for us to bear the burdens of those who are struggling?

Well, a big part of it is our doing whatever we can

to help minimize the effects of the other person’s sin.

Sandee and I have a close friend who lives outside.

We were talking with her recently

about a friend of her’s

who has chosen to walk out of her marriage.

She’s just decided it’s no longer meeting her needs

and she’ll be happier without the baggage of a husband and two young children.

Our friend has responded in part

by reaching out to those two children,

intensifying her love and compassion for them,

making sure they are always included, welcomed in her home.

That’s bearing one another’s burdens,

doing what she can

to minimize the effects of her friend’s sin.

And then in the next three verses

he calls us to look at ourselves in the process.

For if anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself. But each one must examine his own work, and then he will have reason for boasting in regard to himself alone, and not in regard to another. For each one will bear his own load.

He knows all too well

the vulnerability that creeps into our lives

when we are near a struggling brother or sister,

the vulnerability to view ourselves as being in some way superior to them

because we have not done what they have done.

And if it takes root within us

we become the greater sinner

because we allow a spirit of pride into our life,

a spirit that will poison both our own life

and the lives of everyone we get near.

There, but for the grace of God go I.

Then, in verse 6,

there is a single statement

that, for obvious reasons, I like very much indeed.

Paul says, The one who is taught the word is to share all good things with the one who teaches...

You see, as the ultimate teacher of all times,

Paul knew how very much it helps

to know that the teaching is making a difference

in the lives of those who hear.

And I will tell you honestly

that I am a wealthy man indeed.

Throughout the years that I’ve been teaching here at PBF

many of you have gone out of your way

to let me know when some teaching has helped.

And I want you to know

that I could not adequately express to you

how much that helps me and encourages me.

We live our lives at war

and every choice we make

and every word we speak

that makes it a little easier for the brother or sister next to us to keep fighting

is an act of great kindness.

And with this single comment in verse 6:6

he’s telling us how we can feed the feeders.

Then, in verses 7-10

Paul offers the people of God strong reassurance.

Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary. So then, while we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, and especially to those who are of the household of the faith.

Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary.

Do you know what that is?

That is the voice of our God through Paul

telling us that our acts of kindness, and compassion, and grace, and love

matter more than we will ever know.

It truly does change lives - both our life and the lives of those we get involved with.

There is nothing magic about this.

There is nothing complicated or confusing

about loving the people in your life.

And it matters more than we will ever know this side of eternity.

And in that last sentence of that section

I see Paul restating

the heart of what he’s really wanted to say to the Galatians

throughout this entire letter.

You see, their point of focus had gotten all messed up.

They’d been sucked into hideous battles over religious rules and systems,

things that led only to turmoil and division.

And to all such stupidity

he ends his letter with a clear, simple reminder

of what our true calling is.

So then, while we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, and especially to those who are of the household of the faith.

And then, in the final few verses of his letter,

Paul once again allows it to become very personal indeed.

He lays out a vivid contrast between himself

and those who were troubling the Galatian church.

In verses 6:11-18 he says,

See with what large letters I am writing to you with my own hand. Those who desire to make a good showing in the flesh try to compel you to be circumcised, simply so that they will not be persecuted for the cross of Christ. For those who are circumcised do not even keep the Law themselves, but they desire to have you circumcised so that they may boast in your flesh. But may it never be that I would boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. For neither is circumcision anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation. And those who will walk by this rule, peace and mercy be upon them, and upon the Israel of God. From now on let no one cause trouble for me, for I bear on my body the brand-marks of Jesus. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brethren. Amen.

He says, “Look at my life and my love for you,

and then look at the lives of those who are troubling you.

Who do you trust?

Whose life do you trust?

Whose message do you trust?

Whose love do you trust?

But may it never be that I would boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world...The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brethren. Amen.