Galatians 6: I'm done with this

In Summary: Paul is wrapping up his letter to the Galatians in this chapter. Compared to some of his letters, this one ends rather coldly because it lacks any of the personal greetings of his many other letters. This is remarkable especially in light of Romans, a letter to a church he has never been to, which features a substantial greetings section.

Galatians 6 shows how different Galatians is from other letters by focusing on practical, behavior-driven content. Typically, Paul’s letters take a hard turn about halfway through (usually marked with a “Therefore” in the NASB) where the emphasis moves from doctrinally underpinning to effective implementation of the doctrinal concepts. That’s a simplification, but you will see it in Romans, 1-2 Corinthians, Ephesians, Philippians, 1-2 Thessalonians.

Galatians, though, is not about the right actions. Galatians is tailored to address a group of churches that are, overall, acting morally and near to the ideal of godliness from Scripture. Their problem is doctrinal: they are doing the right things for all the wrong reasons. That is Paul’s focus in his letter: fix the doctrine.

There are a few basic implications that he wants to address. These are how people should interact based on their standing in Christ. Notice how Galatians 6:1 speaks to sin and restoration. There are very few New Testament references to sin without restoration and Paul keeps the two rightly together here. He highlights an important truth: if you are as mature and spiritual as you claim, you should be first in line to be gracious and restorative to the sinners among you.

We could use more of this in churches today. And in church-critics of today. I find it troubling how quickly I and my fellow pastors pounce upon sinners as if they cannot be restored. The other side of the sword is also troubling: you will find few people as harsh toward fellow believers as the ones who have become “spiritual” enough to see through what they see as weak churchianity. Folks, we need to surrender to the Lord and be crucified with Christ (Galatians 2:20), not just to a cultural Jesus who we hope for wish fulfillment from, but the Jesus of Scripture.

Yet if our only method is vicious attack, then our claim to “spirituality” is sheer nonsense. If you cannot bear the burdens of that church member who cannot attend another seminar, if you cannot bear the burdens of that pastor who still believes in Sunday night services, if you cannot be a strengthening agent for the church then you are wrong. Maybe not in thought but in implementation.

In Focus: Take a quick glance at Galatians 6:17 and see what Paul says there. I think this is his “I’m done with this issue” statement. No longer is he going to argue about salvation or racism or legalism. He has been clear about it, and he has been clear about what is right. The feeling is that there are better ways to spend the time of the church, and there are: serving the Lord.

In Practice: We should consider a similar approach. Some things are not worth fighting for—and I say this in light of being graceful and restorative. But there are bounds to what a church believes, and there comes a point where we would do better to say clearly “This we believe” and allow people to choose to go elsewhere or do other things. We do no favors to the Christian faith by defining it so broadly that anyone fits.

A clear definition of what Christianity does (and does not) believe aids all. We deal graciously with those who reject it, but we are not required to define non-Christian belief and behavior as allowable in the faith just to be gracious. When people desire to come in, though, we should be open to restoration of even the most troublesome of critics and forgive as we have been forgiven.

In Nerdiness: A couple of Nerd-Points here:

1) Some take Galatians 6:11 as evidence of Paul having poor eyesight as a result of his being blinded on the road to Damascus. With all due respect, I can accept poor eyesight due to age but do not agree with the identification of residual eye problems from the Damascus Road as Paul’s thorn in the flesh. Why? Because Paul is healed by God’s command, and we do not see God healing people and leaving them unhealed. Further, such a result would have hampered Paul more socially than physically: the synagogues would likely have not allowed him to even begin speaking due to the apparent judgment of sin. More likely, Paul’s just tagging in his signature as was common, and either he wrote largely, or his amanuensis wrote small, or both.

2) Galatians 6:10 is a good guideline for how we structure aid ministries in churches. Focus on the household of faith, but help all we can.

3) I think Galatians is one of Paul’s later letters based on overall tone. He’s tired of writing and correcting the same old problems, and it shows through in his directness. Also, that would allow for the clearly large number of years in the first couple of chapters.

Devouring Ourselves: Galatians 5

In Summary: Galatians is a thoroughly-packed letter from the Apostle Paul. As with Ephesians and Philippians, I would love to see Galatians redivided into twice as many chapters, or presented straight through and you can divide it where you will.

After all, the chapter divisions are not original to the text anyway. That’s why you should always be cautious hanging too much emphasis on “this was in a different chapter!”

Galatians 5 carries on Paul’s overall theme of liberty in Christ based on the sufficiency of Jesus for salvation. This is the overall point of Galatians: that we are set free (Galatians 5:1) by Jesus. We are to walk in the Spirit, not by the Law—but also not by the flesh. This is where so many conflicts arise.

We find it far easier to walk by the Law or run to the flesh rather than live in the Spirit. The Law makes plain what we cannot do, and the flesh is generally happy doing whatever it wants as long as it goes unlimited. The Christian life, though, does not chase the pleasures of the flesh, though the Christian is set free from the Law. (Note that “the pleasures of the flesh” is a generic concept that encompasses sinful activity, not pleasing and godly behavior.)

In Focus: The focus of this passage, even with the importance of the Fruit of the Spirit passage, should drift down to Galatians 5:26. Take a look at the concept, then at any extended discussion of behavior in Christian life.

It’s easy. Search for something: modesty, homeschooling, keeping Lent, not writing all of “God,” sustainable foods, environmentalism, and politics. You can find them anywhere—or check a subgroup of “how” to do any of those. Or the latest discussion in denominational politics/theology (because as a Baptist, I’ve noticed this: we can’t separate those two things).

And what do we have?

People who become boastful and challenge or envy one another. We get angry, we get bitter. We blast those those who are successful, or those who live by the Spirit but reach differing conclusions. Someone will advocate a viewpoint, give their reasons, and the response?

Anything but gentle. Much more like a challenge to the individual expressing our discontent. Yet the command to the Galatians remains the same to us: live and walk by the Spirit.

In Practice: How, then, do we do?

First we find our own identity in Christ. You know why it does not bother me that you are bothered that I am a Baptist, homeschooling, pastor, father, husband, and sci-fi fan? Because my identity and worth is in Jesus, not your opinion. If you will find who you are in Jesus, and Galatians 5 is a great place to start, then you will be less disturbed that I chose a different education option for my children. Or that I let my wife wear pants to church. Or that I actually don’t “let” my wife do anything, because she’s a human being and we are partners in life, not boss-worker.

Second we allow others to find their identity in Christ. Guess what? I will gladly tell you why I am a Baptist, homeschooling, pastor, father, husband, and sci-fi fan. And I am fine if you are none of the above—in fact, biologically, you may not be able to do a couple of those. If we are claiming the freedom to find our identity in Christ, we cannot demand others find their identity in us. That’s nonsense. We can share our reasons, but if God is big enough to guide you through His Word, He’s big enough to guide me.

Third we admit there are limits to that, bound by the clear revelation of God. This is where we get dicey, because I know fellow Baptist, homeschooling, pastor, father, husband, and sci-fi fans who can expound exactly why Scripture requires those attributes. (Well, maybe not the sci-fi.) I think that only one of these is clearly Scriptural, but only a portion of being “Baptist” at that. There are clear things that should not be our identity if we are walking in the Spirit. The Spirit does not lead us to abuse, harm, or destroy lives. That’s the work of the the thief, not the servants of the One (John 10:10) You see more in Galatians 5:19-21 that are deeds contrary to the Spirit. Beyond the clarity of Scripture, though, we should be cautious to make demands of fellow believers.

This must be part of our life considerations, lest we run afoul of Galatians 5:15 and continue to devour each other.

In Nerdiness: Notice a few things: Galatians 5:14 has Paul echo Jesus in Matthew 22:39. That’s valuable.

Also note the harshness in Paul’s tone regarding going back to the Law through circumcision. I think there’s a deeper insinuation to “castrate yourselves.” That action would eliminate reproduction. Paul wants no more generations of slaves.

Then there is this: the works of the flesh are plural and listed. The Fruit of the Spirit is singular and listed. The Christian following the Spirit grows in all areas, not just one or two. This is not a “I’m good with joy but not with patience” life. We grow in it all.

Are you my enemy? Am I yours? Galatians 4

In Summary: On background, the fourth chapter of Galatians continues Paul’s correction of the Galatian errors. He continues to work though the idea of sonship in Christ, which is very clear in the Roman world of Paul and the Galatians.

Sons were either born or adopted, but they were certain to receive the rights and benefits of their parents. Especially in terms of citizenship, which meant better access to justice, employment, and education, this inherited state was invaluable. Romans did not have open social movement: if you were born into the lower classes, you were there unless you did something amazing to merit elevation.

Or were adopted by someone who was a high-level person. The lower you were, the more you had to do for elevation. If you were too low-born, you would likely never work your way to citizenship, and you would have to attract the right person’s attention to be adopted for it.

Paul’s point in Galatians? Christians are adopted to that status as there was no way to earn it.

In Focus: No one, though, likes to be told they are not that awesome. The Galatians certainly did not appreciate it and had apparently sent some harsh words Paul’s way. How do we know?

Look at Galatians 4:16 where Paul asks if he has become their enemy by telling the truth. That’s an important idea in a society of personal relationships. An enemy is one who will not be received, will not be aided, and will face the wrath of any who are friends.

Paul, then, is asking whether or not the Galatians, having come to Christ through his effort, are now going to shut him out in all things. Enemy status should not have been attached to him for telling the truth, after all. You labeled thieves and con-men as enemies. Paul had done nothing of the sort: he had simply corrected erroneous theology and proclaimed the truth of God’s Grace.

In Practice: I hope you see where this is going. There are people who are enemies of God’s church in this world. There are wolves in sheep’s clothing who would destroy the Church of the Living God from within.

There should be no doubt that we count these as enemies until they repent and come alongside us in serving Jesus as Lord.

We cannot cast aside those who simply tell us the truth. Not those who sometimes tell us the truth, but the people in our lives who clearly articulate the Word of God when we need it. These may be teachers or preachers, parents or spouses, friends or children. There’s really no limit here. The only real issue is whether or not they tell us the truth.

And we have to learn that the truth-tellers are not our enemies, even when the truth is uncomfortable. That is a challenge for many of us to face, but a person who tells you the hard truths you need is not your enemy.

The one who lets you walk in error to destruction is.

In Nerdiness: You cannot hang too much on Galatians 4:25 and its identification of Mt. Sinai as “in Arabia” for locating Mt. Sinai. Keep in mind that Paul is thinking in terms of Roman zones, not modern country lines.

It is also worth examining how Paul uses the language of childbirth in this chapter. Consider how that affects our understanding of his harshness. Do we expect women in childbirth to always speak softly? Of course not. Likewise, Paul feels pained on behalf of the Galatians, and so should be forgiven a harsh tone.

Fools! Galatians 3

In Summary: I don’t think I can truly summarize Galatians 3. This is a chapter that begs for a sermon series on the content, and it would take a year to hit it all.

Overall, we have Paul rebuking the Galatians for going back to the law. That’s the critical point overall here: legalism, more specifically Judaizing. This was the belief that Gentiles had to become observant Jews to be good Christians, and that everyone needed to keep the Law for God to love them.

It’s a view that negates the grace of God. If the Law were enough, then there was no point in Jesus coming to die in our place. There was no point in any of it: those who wanted salvation could have simply earned it, rather than rely on the promises of God.

There is one other thing worth noting before we go “In Focus:” Galatians 3:28. Keep it in context as it addresses what there is “neither” of. This is not about the destruction of distinctions, it is about the destruction of barriers to access to God.

We now, though, move back to Galatians 3:1 as we go…

In Focus: Paul calls the Galatians “foolish” in this verse. We need to look at that, especially in light of Jesus’ teaching in Matthew 5:22 about calling people a “fool.”

That is the first issue to address. Jesus uses the Greek word “moreh” while Paul uses “anohtos” (forgive the bad transliteration, Google doesn’t like my Greek font.) It’s two separate words, with two separate connotations. “Moreh” has hints of “godlessness” or “rebelliousness” in it, especially here, while “anohtos” means something like “unsophisticated” or “uneducated.”

Leaving the linguistics, suffice it to say that Paul is not violating Jesus’ commandments here. I have heard it said that Paul is essentially calling the Galatians ignorant, or perhaps even backwoods hicks, here. Why?

The Galatians thought they were moving into deeper, more nuanced and educated views. They were moving away from a simple Gospel into the advanced concepts, developing subtly and adapting to the changing winds. After all, who would want to hold to a simplistic faith in complex times?

In Practice: We should want just that, and should do just that. Our faith is a simple one. Jesus is Lord and no one else is. Therefore, He determines the parameters of eternity, not us.

This simple faith walks in obedience and cuts across racial and ethnic lines. It cuts across stereotypes, but it also cuts against the grain of modern society. There are clearly rights and wrongs.

Anything else is foolish, and should be said to be so, just as it was in Paul’s writings. Those who would deceive are leading people to foolishness. Those who fall for it are being foolish!

This is the cry of many small voices in the modern American Church: STOP BEING FOOLISH! We sit on the fringe as the “nuanced” and “subtle” adapt to the times, as we see the truth compromised in so many diverse ways that it’s alarming. And the church keeps funding it all. We’re not talking about the heretics and the cults, the secularists and the pagans. We’re talking the books on the shelf at Christian bookstores, the speakers at conferences, the pastors in pulpits, the presidents in schools.

Oh foolish American Christians, stop being bewitched. Pick up your Bible, read it, and turn to Christ as Lord. Gather with the faithful and grow together, follow together, and worship together. And let the rest cut themselves off.

In Nerdiness:  The second half of this chapter has quite a few things to say about distinction between Jew and Gentile. There’s also a lot about how that distinction does not matter in the eyes of God, because unity in Christ is what matters.

There is the potential here for an impact on how we see the end of time. Some see that this means there is no future difference in those who are ethnically descended from Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and those who are only heirs by faith. Others do not see it as such.

I think we must be very careful to read Paul’s statements in context. He is focused here on salvation and the need for all to be saved by grace through faith. He is highlighting that both divisions need grace. Any readings on eschatology should be held loosely until confirmed through the scope of other passages.

Take a Stand: Galatians 2

In Summary: Galatians 1-2 give us a great deal more background on where Paul went and what Paul did than any of his other letters. Acts gives us much of Paul’s work in the ministry, but we see here how he spent some of his first years after salvation.

He tells how his work was approved by the Apostles, and that there were no questions about his doctrine or his practices. This is important as an aside: if the bulk of the gathering of the Redeemed has doubts about you, you should examine yourself in comparison with Scripture. The Apostles had learned from Jesus directly, and knew what did and did not matter.

At this point, Paul had no word from the Apostles or the Jewish believers to indicate he was causing problems by leading Gentiles to Christ. In fact, they even received uncircumcised Titus as a brother, showing a willingness to look beyond that long-standing cultural barrier.

Yet in the background of all this was a false teaching we refer to as Judaizing when feeling nerdy and legalism when feeling direct. It was primarily this: that to be a Christian, one first had to become a completely observant Jew. This included following all of the Law—the same Law that had been impossible to follow for centuries.

In Focus: Paul then recounts a specific incident at Antioch. He had a face-to-face confrontation with Peter, and it was not a pretty thing. Peter had formerly been open with his acceptance of Gentiles. He had no difficulties with their former lives, because they were now all one big Christ-loving family.

Then a few people came from James. We don’t know if they were sent intentionally by James to straighten things out, or if they were just known as from James. It doesn’t really matter. Peter changed his behavior on their arrival and started segregating the Jews and Gentiles again. The division was deep, and it was personal: Barnabas surrendered his efforts to reach the Gentiles to side with Peter.

So Paul confronted him, to his face. In public, in an honor society like the Roman world, this was a big deal. Paul could have been thrown out on his ear for that. Or worse—rebuked and dismissed from recognized service within the church. He stands a great risk by opposing Peter.

In Practice: Paul sees something more important than his honor here. He sees something more important than Peter’s honor. He sees something more important than visible church unity.

He sees the truth. There was, and remains, a critical need for people to see the truth more than be concerned with reputations. Truth is what mattered to Paul, even if he was rebuffed and rejected.

We desperately need to be people like that. Our churches need us to be people like that. People who will confront when the truth is at stake. People who will stand against popular leaders, visible leaders, wrong-behaving leaders, and shut them down.

Will you be one of those? Or will you quietly go along? Or worse, have you been the one who is wrong? Listen to the Pauls in your life and get back on track.

In Nerdiness: I happen to think that both Peter and Barnabas repent over this—further ministry suggests that. Also, I think there is something nerdy to examine about where Peter’s behavior took place. It looks like Antioch, but it also reads like it could be that the confrontation was in Antioch and the behavior elsewhere.

Finally, do not miss Galatians 2:20. You are not alive if you are a Christian. Christ is alive through you. Get that in your head and see what happens.

Left the Gospel: Galatians 1

In Summary: We move on from John—having finished his Gospel, I needed another place to go. I have chosen Galatians as the next New Testament book for the Through the Whole Bible series here on Learning, Teaching, and Laughing. If you don’t like Galatians, stick around! It’s a short book.

Galatians 1 opens with the standard Pauline greeting, establishing his identity, his companions, and his audience. He goes on to present a fairly normal greeting in the form of a blessing. It is a worthy exercise to compare all of the Pauline introductions in his letters, but I will not delve into that today.

The first chapter of Galatians is split between two major themes. The first theme is Paul’s frustrated amazement at how readily the Galatian churches had slid away from the Gospel. The second is Paul’s effort to demonstrate why his Gospel, his preaching, was what they should listen to.

This is the summary section, so this is the high point: the Gospel is the Gospel, and it does not change. Paul did not learn it from any earthly teacher but from God, and the Galatians need to not chase the latest winds of change that come to visit.

In Focus: Take a long, hard look at Galatians 1:6-8. Paul is astounded at the rapid departure from the truth in the church. It appears that some men had come in to the church and taught them something other than the True Gospel of Jesus.

We see several rebukes in the rest of Galatians which give us clues about who and what the problem was. It looks like it was the legalistic teaching we now call Judaizing, that is teaching that to be a good Christian, one had to obey all the Jewish Law first. (Whole books exist on the subject of this legalistic heresy, so that’s a real oversimplification.)

This false teaching was presented by people who sounded good, looked good, and preached good. Yet they were destroying the church. And there is one another issue to truly note:

Galatia’s not a town. It’s a region. This is not one church, it’s several. Rather than being self-correcting interdependent bodies, these churches had all fallen for the false teaching. We may hope there were individual holdouts, but the churches as a whole had become corrupt.

In Practice: What do we do about it? Here are three actions:

1. Know and hold the True Gospel: the grace of God, through the Blood of Christ, sealed by the Holy Spirit. That is how salvation comes, and how a relationship with God begins. If someone starts adding to that with rules, they are rejecting the Gospel. If someone starts taking away from that by, for instance, denying Jesus’ bodily resurrection, then they are rejecting the Gospel.

Reject that teaching in your life and church. Reject that person as a teacher.

2. Be wary of the fads and whims. We are so prone to this it’s almost not funny. Here is the latest and greatest…no, there is the latest and greatest. The core of who we are as Christians has not changed since Pentecost.

Reject the fallacy that old ideas must be discarded. The oldest and best must be maintained—for the Lamb was slain from the foundation of the world.

3. No amount of personal charisma or perspective should draw a church from the Truth to another person. This is Paul’s plea about letting the one who draws the church away be “accursed.”

If an individual demands that the church be about him (or her) and not about Jesus, then they need to be cut out.

For further info: I have preached some of Galatians before. Here are the posts with those sermons.

In Nerdiness: Galatians is a fun book to take apart nerd-style, because it starts with a great mystery: Which Galatia?

At various times, Galatia was a region that was larger or smaller, generally in what is now Turkey. There are theories on whether Galatians is targeted at North Galatia or South Galatia—the mountainous region or the coastal one. I’m inclined toward the South Galatia view, but uncertain about it.

The other great question in chapter one is where all Paul went after his salvation, especially the three years in Galatians 1:17-18. Is he in Arabia the whole time, or just not in Jerusalem? There is much debating there as well.

I am a big fan of digging into these questions, but do not lose sight of Galatians 1:24: if people are not glorifying God because of you, no nerdiness is enough.

Sermons 3-13

 

Morning Audio Link Here

Evening Audio Link Here

Morning

““For through the Law I died to the Law, so that I might live to God. “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me. “I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness comes through the Law, then Christ died needlessly.” ” (Galatians 2:19–21, NAS)

We must understand some truths here:

I. We do not have a life any longer

a. Our life was, by law, forfeit for our sins

b. We deserved death

c. When Christ went to the cross, we are supposed to count ourselves as having gone as well

II. The life we have now is not our own

a. Christ lives in us

b. We live in the flesh

c. Yet that life in the flesh is to belong to Christ

III. Why?

a. Because He loved us

b. He gave Himself up for us---

i. (Can give without loving, but not love without giving—Amy Carmichael, missionary)

IV. What does our love return to Him?

a. The life we have now

b. Not merely a life of Law

c. But a life of righteousness, given by Christ

V. Attempting to live in obedience does not undo the Gospel of the Cross

a. Righteousness does not come through the Law

b. Righteousness comes from being crucified with Christ

VI. Christ did not die needlessly

a. Yet you might live needlessly

b. Surrender to Him

c. Live in Obedience

Evening:

“But when Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned. For prior to the coming of certain men from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles; but when they came, he began to withdraw and hold himself aloof, fearing the party of the circumcision. The rest of the Jews joined him in hypocrisy, with the result that even Barnabas was carried away by their hypocrisy. But when I saw that they were not straightforward about the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas in the presence of all, “If you, being a Jew, live like the Gentiles and not like the Jews, how is it that you compel the Gentiles to live like Jews? “We are Jews by nature and not sinners from among the Gentiles; nevertheless knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the Law but through faith in Christ Jesus, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the Law; since by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified. “But if, while seeking to be justified in Christ, we ourselves have also been found sinners, is Christ then a minister of sin? May it never be! “For if I rebuild what I have once destroyed, I prove myself to be a transgressor. ” (Galatians 2:11–18, NAS)

Two separate points to grasp here:

I. Rebuking leaders

a. Basics:

i. Recognize, first of all, that even great lights of the faith can make mistakes

ii. Recognize that there are none who have overcome sin perfectly (except Christ)

iii. Recognize that Peter was capable of making a mistake

b. For those who lead

i. If Peter can falter, so can you

ii. If Peter can take correction, so can you

iii. If Barnabas could be led aside, you can lead others aside

iv. If Barnabas could be led aside, you could be led aside too

c. For those who notice the sin

i. Public sin that leads people astray requires public repentance

ii. Public sin that threatens the Gospel must be addressed

iii. Public sin may require the uncomfortable role of public rebuke

iv. This is not being judgmental if it’s obvious

d. What to do?

i. Be clear on the Gospel

ii. Stand clearly for the Gospel

iii. Speak clearly the truth

iv. Address---actions, attitudes, appearances

v. Not---motivations or the unseen

vi. Passionately but under control

II. Racism/Culturalism

a. This cannot be overstated from this passage:

b. No one culture or race is preferred by God

c. The Law condemns all

d. Grace extends to all

e. Separating over preferred culture and ethnicity is sinful

f. We dare not treat anyone as if Christ did not die for them because of their ethnic background

Sermons—March 6

 

First of all, I apologize for the lesser audio quality. My digital voice recorder disappeared off of my desk this week, so I had to use my cell phone voice-notes app to record this. So, it's an open microphone on the whole church instead of a clip-on mic. There's a good bit of background that you'd need a professional to filter. Let me know if this qualifies as "better than nothing" or as "don't bother" so I know how to proceed until my voice recorder comes back.

Sunday AM Audio Link

Sunday PM Audio Link

“But it was because of the false brethren secretly brought in, who had sneaked in to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, in order to bring us into bondage. But we did not yield in subjection to them for even an hour, so that the truth of the gospel would remain with you. But from those who were of high reputation (what they were makes no difference to me; God shows no partiality)—well, those who were of reputation contributed nothing to me. But on the contrary, seeing that I had been entrusted with the gospel to the uncircumcised, just as Peter had been to the circumcised (for He who effectually worked for Peter in his apostleship to the circumcised effectually worked for me also to the Gentiles), and recognizing the grace that had been given to me, James and Cephas and John, who were reputed to be pillars, gave to me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship, so that we might go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised. ” (Galatians 2:4–9, NAS)

I. No place for secret agendas

a. There should be no secrecy in the body of Christ

i. There are times for confidentiality:

1. Counseling

2. Personal problems

ii. However—secrecy:

1. Secret business actions

2. Secret plans by the preacher

b. We should be willing to allow our intentions and desires to be known

i. Even if we think they are silly

ii. It is better to deal with open truth

II. No time to yield the truth

a. While we must take the time to determine the truth

b. The Truth is found in the Word of God

c. When someone undermines the truth it must not go un-addressed

III. No regard for reputations

a. Truth is truth—

i. It does not matter who moves away from it-

1. Notable apostates

2. Descendants

ii. It also does not matter who actually supports it

b. The most important issue is what the Lord Jesus Christ has said

IV. How does this matter to us?

a. We are not the only followers of Christ in this world

i. We need to:

1. Fellowship for our own sake

2. Work together to accomplish God’s commands

3. We need to determine who we can work with and not work with

ii. We must:

1. Filter our own influences

2. Be wary of bad influences

a. Date-setters

b. Prosperity gospel

b. We must look to our church and the decisions we make as a church

c. Where do we stand?

i. If truth isn’t important, what is?

ii. We have one thing to hold on tightly: the Truth of Christ

d. If you have no truth, what do you have?

 

Sunday Evening:

“They only asked us to remember the poor—the very thing I also was eager to do. ” (Galatians 2:10, NAS)

I. This is not a command of works to be done:

a. How do we know?

b. Asked---not commanded

c. Paul is also eager, not hesitant, to do this.

II. Who are “The Poor”?

a. Those without money (duh.)

b. Effectively, those without the means to provide for their needs

c. Why are they in this situation?

i. Willful religious poverty (but see 2 Thessa 3:10)

ii. Persecution (See John 9)

d. Most likely: these poor are in that situation because of being ostracized for their choice to follow Christ.

III. Paul is eager to do this:

a. He’s already thought of this—note the also

b. The presence of agreement: they asked the very thing he’d already thought of doing

IV. How about us?

a. Are there poor for us?

i. Certainly there are the financially poor---

ii. There are those who have given themselves and hope of wealth for the service of the Gospel

1. Your pastor is NOT one of them

2. Missionaries

3. Pastors in diverse situations:

a. Many foreign nations

b. Some frontier parts of the US

iii. How can we remember them?

1. PRAYER

2. Financial support

3. Personal effort

b. Support for the persecuted

Sermons February 27

Morning audio link: Galatians 2:1-3

Evening audio link: Acts 15

Click "Launch Jukebox" and it should play.

If that's not working click here and play the ones you want to hear. "Amen" the good ones!

Also, there should be a display on the right-hand side of this blog showing 3 sermons where you can play them directly from here.

Morning:

“Then after an interval of fourteen years I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, taking Titus along also. It was because of a revelation that I went up; and I submitted to them the gospel which I preach among the Gentiles, but I did so in private to those who were of reputation, for fear that I might be running, or had run, in vain. But not even Titus, who was with me, though he was a Greek, was compelled to be circumcised. ” (Galatians 2:1–3, NAS)

Facts:

The Acts conference in Acts 15 is what Paul is referring to here.

There were some basic questions that needed answered: for people forgiven by the grace of God, how much of the Law were they bound by?

The Acts discussions ended with these conclusions: the whole law does not apply, especially to Gentiles. There were a few issues given as commands: don’t eat blood, food sacrificed to idols and abstain from sexual immorality. These instructions were simple, practical, and valid.

What wasn’t mandated was circumcision. Now, a little background: Genesis 17 shows circumcision as the outward sign of the covenant God made with Abraham. Exodus 12 shows us that participating in the Passover was only allowed for those who had undergone circumcision (male members of a family had, at least).

This action was the gateway into Jewish life. It was not considered an option. It was done for baby boys at 8 days of age, and for any other males when they tried to enter Jewish life.

At the time, it was a big deal. It remains such within Jewish circles, though not so much outside of them. What had really elevated circumcision in Jewish life was that the Greeks/Romans didn’t do it.

Circumcision had been the command of God to the Jewish people going back to Abraham. 2000 years at this point. It had been an internal, almost privately Jewish practice until about 300 years before the time of the church. Then, as Greek practices and culture took root, it became evident that there was a cultural clash. Some Jews began to not circumcise to fit in, others even had the procedure ‘reversed.’ Thus circumcision grew in importance. By this time, there has begun an insistence by some that to become a Christian, one first had to be a Jew, so those who were coming to Christ were being told by a group of teachers called “Judaizers” that they had to be circumcised first.

One thing to note: this grew out of the changing perception of circumcision: from a shared, private devotional act towards God into a public demonstration of Jewish-ness. While our Christian faith has publicly demonstrable components, we do this not to please others or to show off ourselves, rather we do to please God and show forth His glory.

The overall debate boils down to this question:

How righteous must a person be before God? How righteous before God’s grace is enough?

The answer given to Paul is what we see recounted here: Titus is acceptable without going through the steps of becoming Jewish.

The principle is not that the Law is bad or useless---only that the Law cannot make you a Christian

Only the Spirit of God can do that.

The apostles met, prayed, considered and discussed and came to this conclusion:

“After there had been much debate, Peter stood up and said to them, “Brethren, you know that in the early days God made a choice among you, that by my mouth the Gentiles would hear the word of the gospel and believe. “And God, who knows the heart, testified to them giving them the Holy Spirit, just as He also did to us; and He made no distinction between us and them, cleansing their hearts by faith. “Now therefore why do you put God to the test by placing upon the neck of the disciples a yoke which neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear? “But we believe that we are saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, in the same way as they also are.” ” (Acts 15:7–11, NAS)

Now that we have settled what they decided, what about us?

Realistically, there’s not too many people roaming Arkansas insisting that you must be circumcised to be saved.

Yet we do have our own public signs of holiness we want to see—

Can she be saved if she has a nose ring? Can he!?!?! Oh, they’ll take it out when they’re saved.

Saved people never touch alcohol, tobacco, whatever---

How can you be depressed? You must not really be saved!

Here is what truly matters: obedience to Christ.

It does not matter whether we’re rich or poor, whether we are religious or not.

Our outside view of other people’s lives does not give us the ability to determine who will be saved and who will not. Rather it is the power of the spirit of God to save all who are called by his grace.

We must avoid the mistake of turning the Gospel of Jesus Christ from the work of God’s grace into behavior modification. While the gospel results in certain actions those actions do not replace the change of heart those actions do not replace the work of the spirit of God in your heart. Those actions rather are the fruit of the change from God has made in our lives.

We must guard in our church and in our lives against allowing rules to overcome relationships.

1. Cannot replace our relationship with God
2. Cannot replace our relationships with each other
   1. With our spouses
   2. With our children
   3. With our parents
   4. With our church family
3. Cannot replace our relationships with the world
   1. With the lost
   2. With the culture
   3. With the government

The question forced to answer today is simply this “have I accepted God’s grace?” have you come to God recognizing that only his grace is enough for you? We must make certain that we have not come without expecting to be rewarded for ourselves when we have nothing to offer.

So the question today is really and truly all about you and whether you’ve come to God on your own or through the blood of Jesus Christ.

Let’s pray.

Evening:

Tonight I want to us to look back at acts chapter 15. This is the story of the council in Jerusalem that Paul talked about in Galatians two.

We looked a little at this in the morning, mainly in context of what in meant for salvation.

Tonight, though, I want us to consider what this may hold for us in terms of solving problems in a church.

Let’s set the stage here with some basic understanding:

1. Christianity was, initially, viewed as the next step of Judaism

2. As that started to change, with Gentiles being added to the church, this led to some difficulties

a. Gentiles did not hold to all of the cultural laws of the Jews

b. There were questions of how everyone should behave

3. The church then had to solve the problem of division.

a. Imagine the challenge of something so simple as a meal---

b. Times of worship

4. What did they do?

a. Gathered the leaders of the church

b. This is a little different than the last major problem

i. Acts 6->appointment of deacons to address complaints and practical issues

ii. Acts 15->questions of theology

iii. Acts 6 lends itself to understanding that we all vote to solve problems

iv. Acts 15 shows us that matters of truth are not decided by majority vote.

5. What should we do?

a. Work together on practical matters

b. Consult others that understand the truth

c. Then, however, Stand, alone if necessary, on matters of the truth

6. Then, be public with our understanding of truth.

Feb 20 Sermons

I've got a morning outline and audio from morning and night. I am trying a new audio host, so there may be a minor glitch while I work that out. If you want to listen and can't, let me know either via email or comment, and I'll see what's wrong and try to fix it.

Morning audio link here (Click the "Headphone" icon to listen)

Evening audio link here (Click the "Headphone" icon to listen)

(other note: if you really like it, click the "Amen" button. That will let me know you like it!)

“I was still unknown by sight to the churches of Judea which were in Christ; but only, they kept hearing, “He who once persecuted us is now preaching the faith which he once tried to destroy.” And they were glorifying God because of me. ” (Galatians 1:22–24, NAS)

I want us to look at 2 people today. The first is the Apostle Paul, so as we come to the text, let’s see what Paul’s been saying:

I. Paul has described his background---

a. Religious

b. Yet sinful

c. Rejecting God Almighty

II. Paul has described his salvation—

a. Called through His grace

b. The Son revealed in Him

c. //refer to Paul’s experience: how did he meet Christ?

III. Paul describes his life since salvation\

a. Personal seeking of understanding

b. Learning from others

c. Spreading the Word

IV. Paul has not:

a. Sought his own glory

b. Sought to draw attention to himself

c. Did not seek to clear his name

d. Did not embellish his evil

e. Did not hid his evil

V. Paul has simply focused on this: They were glorifying God because of him

So who else do we need to look at today?

Who else? You. Me. This is not a day for “I wish _____________ had been there, they needed that sermon.” This is about you:

I. What is your background?

a. Just the facts

b. Simple and short

II. When did you meet with God?

a. How did He call you through His grace?

b. How did you meet Christ?

III. Who have you been since then?

a. How have you grown?

b. What is God doing in you?

c. You may not remember what life was like before---you should, however, be able to see that you are growing

IV. What you cannot do:

a. Seek your own glory

b. Draw attention to yourself

c. Spend more time on sin and Satan than on God

d. Embellish your pre-Christian life

e. Cloak your pre-Christian life

V. How will God be glorified in your story?

a. You’ve got to tell it!

b. I challenge you to go home and write it down

c. Yes, today.

What if you don’t have one?

What’s missing?

Are you missing growth? Have you been away from God’s people and need to recommit yourself to follow Christ as part of His body on earth?

Are you missing helping others see God’s glory? What do you need to do?

Are you missing the first meeting? If you have never come face to face with the grace of God, then today is that day for you. It is not simply that you’ve been here and now you can go home and go on with life: today is your day to meet with God, to encounter His grace.

Sermon outline February 13

Sorry for no audio. The person responsible for recording it screwed up the recording. And yes, that would be me.

“For you have heard of my former manner of life in Judaism, how I used to persecute the church of God beyond measure and tried to destroy it; and I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my contemporaries among my countrymen, being more extremely zealous for my ancestral traditions. But when God, who had set me apart even from my mother’s womb and called me through His grace, was pleased to reveal His Son in me so that I might preach Him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult with flesh and blood, ” (Galatians 1:13–16, NAS)
Forgivable History:

1. Prior beliefs:
   1. Apparently Scriptural:
      1. Paul acknowledged the Old Testament and all the Jewish Law
      2. Paul was zealous for the Law
   2. We come from various spiritual backgrounds
      1. Non-Christian
         1. Muslim
         2. Jewish
         3. Atheist
         4. Buddhist
         5. Hindu
         6. Cults
      2. Christian (though sometimes just in name)
         1. Catholic
         2. Methodists
         3. Protestants
         4. Baptists
   3. We have often come from these backgrounds having thought we were pleasing God within them
   4. Or we have had no interest in pleasing God anyway
2. Prior Behaviors
   1. Improper
      1. Immoral
      2. Unethical
      3. Whatever we chose
   2. Proper
      1. Moral
      2. Ethical
      3. Attempting to live a standard—whether based on misunderstood godliness or human efforts
   3. Either way: our lives were based in ourselves
3. We were called through His grace:
   1. First, unto salvation:
      1. We all need it: without faith, it is impossible to please God (Heb 11:6)
      2. That faith is a gift from God (Ephesians 2:8-9)
      3. So, we have not pleased Him, and we are His enemies
   2. Second, unto unity of service
      1. Notice the reference to Saul’s persecution of the “Church” of God, not the ‘churches’ like he addressed the letter to:
      2. We as God’s people should be unified in our service of God together
   3. Third, unto solitary mission:
      1. That the Son of God be revealed in us
      2. In our love
      3. In our action
      4. In our faith
4. Transition to invitation time
   1. Surrender
   2. Prayer
   3. Share

Sermons

There aren't sermon outlines, but there is audio. So, here you go:

Morning Sermon Audio Link

“For I would have you know, brethren, that the gospel which was preached by me is not according to man. For I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ. ” (Galatians 1:11–12, NAS)

Evening Sermon Audio Link

“For the choir director. A Psalm of the sons of Korah, set to Alamoth. A Song. God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change And though the mountains slip into the heart of the sea; Though its waters roar and foam, Though the mountains quake at its swelling pride.Selah. There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, The holy dwelling places of the Most High. God is in the midst of her, she will not be moved; God will help her when morning dawns. The nations made an uproar, the kingdoms tottered; He raised His voice, the earth melted. The Lord of hosts is with us; The God of Jacob is our stronghold.Selah. Come, behold the works of the Lord, Who has wrought desolations in the earth. He makes wars to cease to the end of the earth; He breaks the bow and cuts the spear in two; He burns the chariots with fire. “Cease striving and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” The Lord of hosts is with us; The God of Jacob is our stronghold.Selah. ” (Psalm 46, NAS)

And now, a message from our sponsors: Ok, not our sponsors. So far, though, this was one of my favorites on the Superbowl last night.

Sermons January 30 Galatians 1

Morning Sermon Audio Link

Evening Sermon Audio Link

Note: Don't be mislead by the early AM posting times on the blog. Much of what I write is done the day or two before and then I schedule it to post at about the same time every day. That's at least my goal. So, no, I'm not up posting sermon outlines at 4AM. I try to do this before I go to bed Sunday Night. I don't always, but I try.

Morning Outline:

“I am amazed that you are so quickly deserting Him who called you by the grace of Christ, for a different gospel; which is really not another; only there are some who are disturbing you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed! As we have said before, so I say again now, if any man is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you received, he is to be accursed! ” (Galatians 1:6–9, NAS)

Fundamental: Abandoning the truth of the Gospel is exactly the same as abandoning the Lord Jesus Christ.//You cannot “respect Jesus of Nazareth” and reject the Gospel

All parts of the Gospel: Depravity of man, necessity of atoning sacrifice

1. Abandoning the message of salvation by grace: when we add works, we lose Jesus Himself

2. Abandoning the exclusivity of the Gospel: when we believe that the Cross was unnecessary, we desert Him who died for us

Fundamental: The truth of the Gospel is independent of the messenger

1. Messengers may change: some may have once preached truth but now don’t: change the channel now.

2. Don’t focus on the messenger: should the messenger fall short, God’s truth

Application:

1. Accept the Gospel: Surrender to Christ as Lord

2. If we accept that the Gospel is the only way to salvation: what price is too high to restrain us from telling the world?

3. Compare what people teach and preach now to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Hold to the standard of the Word

4. Be certain that you are not the stumbling block

5. Don’t let a constantly shifting world shift your Gospel---let it remain fixedly His Gospel

 

Evening Outline:

“For am I now seeking the favor of men, or of God? Or am I striving to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a bond-servant of Christ. ” (Galatians 1:10, NAS)

I. Paul has been, apparently, accused of having preached ‘grace’ to receive people’s approval

II. He is asking the Galatians to consider if he is now seeking man’s approval or God’s.

III. He then highlights the critical issue:

a. It is not always possible to please God and man

b. So, we must choose

IV. Is our goal in life to please people?

V. If we have been bought by the blood of Christ, it cannot be our goal to please men

VI. What does this mean for us?

a. At church:

i. We will not always be happy in church

ii. We are here to serve God

iii. We are here to please God

1. If these ideas result in us also pleasing mankind, great

2. If not, tough break

b. At work:

i. You do understand you don’t work for your boss, right?

ii. You work for Jesus Christ, your Master

iii. Please your Master and forget your boss’s opinions

1. Given that pleasing your Master results in:

2. Integrity

3. Industriousness

4. Intensity of effort

c. At home:

i. Husbands: you are not here in to please your wives

ii. Wives: you are not here to please your husbands

iii. You are both in your home to please Christ

1. In how you behave

2. In how you treat each other

iv. Children: you have to obey your parents because God commands it

v. Parents: your goal is not to raise kids that are:

1. Good students

2. Good mannered

3. Good citizens

4. Rather: that please God

5. If the first 3 happen, great (and they generally will)

d. At life:

i. What parts of your life are you trying to hold on to?

ii. Let it go…be obedient.

Sermons January 23: Galatians 1:1-5

LONG POST WARNING!!

I've been writing out more of my sermons, even though I don't preach it word-for-word from what I write. It helps me wrestle out some of the thoughts more clearly. The evening sermon is still more of a short outline. I'll post it first, then the morning preaching guide.

I'm in Galatians.  Here are the audio links to the:

Morning Sermon on Galatians 1:3

Evening Sermon on Galatians 1:4-5

“Paul, an apostle (not sent from men nor through the agency of man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised Him from the dead), and all the brethren who are with me, To the churches of Galatia: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for our sins so that He might rescue us from this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be the glory forevermore. Amen. ” (Galatians 1:1–5, NAS)

Evening Outline:

January 23 PM Galatians c1v4t5 FBC Almyra

Rescued from this age, the evil one, for that age, where He is and His glory is unconcealed

4 who ^agave Himself for our sins so that He might rescue us from ^this present evil ¹age, according to the will of ^our God and Father,

5 ^to whom be the glory forevermore. Amen. ^[1]

I. Like the Galatians, we live in evil times—in fact, we live in the same “evil age” that the Galatians did: The age after Eden and before Paradise.

a. Evidence?

i. 53 million babies killed in the womb

ii. School shootings

iii. Government corruption

b. More evidence?

i. Religious apostasy

1. Predators in churches

2. Use of the church for personal riches

ii. Religious insanity

1. Date-setting apocalypse

2. Syncretism

II. We cannot get out of this on our own

a. We don’t always want to like we ought to want to

b. We don’t know how to anyway!

III. Jesus Christ came

a. First, to seek and save the lost

b. Second, though, to show us the way home

IV. WE HAVE BEEN RESCUED FROM THIS AGE!

a. While we sojourn on this earth

b. Our residence is in heaven, our citizenship there

c. When there is a conflict, home should win in our hearts

V. The non-accident of the Gospel:

a. “Gave Himself up”

b. “According to the will of our God and Father”

c. There was no other plan from the foundation of the world

d. Christ’s sacrifice was not:

i. Plan B

ii. An Accident

iii. A tragedy

VI. The glory of God

a. “Forevermore”= “Age of Ages”

b. We have been rescued from the evil age to the age of ages

c. To worship and glorify God

---

Morning Preaching Guide:

Sunday AM January 23 Galatians 1:3

“Paul, an apostle (not sent from men nor through the agency of man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised Him from the dead), and all the brethren who are with me, To the churches of Galatia: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for our sins so that He might rescue us from this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be the glory forevermore. Amen. ” (Galatians 1:1–5, NAS)

Highlight Verse 3: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Introductory material:

Now that I’ve been here as your pastor for a few months, and we’ve upped the lighting here on the platform so you can actually see me, it’s time to share a few, well, secrets with you about preachers.

These aren’t dark and dirty secrets or anything like that. I certainly wouldn’t want you to have to sit through all the dark and dirty secrets of preacher lives, and it’s not about how, secretly, while we won’t cancel church for the Superbowl, a lot of us really think it wouldn’t hurt.

Instead, this is just a few secrets about preaching itself. If you’ve listened closely over the years, you’ve realized that most sermons are the same. Really, they are. It’s not that we all pull from the same website, although all sermons should be coming from the same Source. But there are just some rampant similarities to every sermon you hear preached. Here’s how a sermon goes:

I. Introduction story, which is optional

II. Scripture passage

III. Prayer

IV. Preacher explains the text:

a. Who wrote it

b. Who read it

c. What happened

d. Why it happened

V. Preacher then explains the meaning behind the text

Note that Scripture has, in essence, unchanging meaning in each passage. The application of that meaning may change, but what God intended remains the same.

VI. Preacher now explains why that meaning matters to the current audience

VII. Preacher gives audience a list of application points related to why the meaning matters

VIII. Those application points are, really, these things:

a. Surrender to Christ as Lord

b. Live like you’ve surrendered to Christ as Lord

i. Alone

ii. At home

iii. At church

iv. At work

v. At everywhere else you ever go

That’s it.

So, to break up the monotony, I’m going to preach differently today. Let’s go backwards. Not backwards so far that we do the invitation now, unless there are folks that know, right now, that they need to publicly profess Christ, ask for baptism, ask for church membership, or otherwise share a decision with the church family. We’ll come back, though, to that, in case you come to one of those conclusions in the next little while.

We’re going to start with application.

I recognize that the little preaching primer I gave you was a little generic, but the application part is still highly relevant. The idea in preaching is help you find the specific applications of each text for yourself, because I can’t possibly know what 50-60 people each individually have to do in relation to the text. However, the applications I listed I know need to happen:

First of all, there is no place in Scripture that does not resound with the holiness of God and the sinfulness of man. If you do more than pick out a few happy lines in the midst of the whole, you’ll constantly encounter that people go through life expected to be in fellowship with God, but not. That we were made to reflect His image, and that we’re marred, warped, like a damaged mirror reflecting Him. All of Scripture points us to Christ on the Cross and not in the tomb, paying for our sin, to bring us forgiveness. Surrendering to Christ as Lord is not merely a good choice or a nice thought, but necessary. Not to make this life easier, but to have any hope that the next one will be tolerable. Eternity is spent either in the presence of God’s love and holiness or His wrath. You can surrender now or wish you had then. And until you have, that’s really the application of everything in Scripture, that’s the answer to every question you put before God: surrender. If you try and practice Christian morality without Christ in you, you’ll get either a Pharisaic legalism or a cultural shifting morality, but you won’t be saved from your sins or at peace with God.

The second application point is this: live like it. For many of us, we hear the “live like it” as a command to attempt the moral behavior of a Christian, the outward practices of a Christian, and the spiritual appearance of Christianity. Now, there are, truly, morals, practices, and spiritual habits that are characteristic of followers of Christ.

Yet that’s not truly where the application of Scripture begins. You can attempt to control behavior, but the work of God’s Holy Spirit begins in our hearts. No more than you’ll eat dinner today by smearing it on your skin, but rather you put it inside you and allow it to nourish and work from the inside out, spiritual application is the same way. We strive to behave, but first we must allow ourselves to be changed.

We are not supposed to be earning God’s favor. Rather we are living up to His gift of favor to us. Since His gift to us is greater than we will earn, we have a better attitude about our obedience. We are not short-tempered with our fellow Christians, we are not angry towards the lost. These attitudes are replaced by encouraging others in growth and lovingly sharing the truth of the Gospel with our lost neighbors, near and far. We will worship humbly with our whole hearts, and dedicate ourselves to serving the Lord with gladness rather than burden.

Why?

Galatians 1:3-> Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

I. Grace: this is the word for unmerited favor at the hands of a greater party. It’s an unearned effort on the part of someone with more power, authority, and strength to strengthen and support a weaker party. It’s used 155 times in the NT, by nearly every author of the New Testament. In the Greek-speaking world, this was what you sought from a ruler when you were in a bind.

a. It’s also related to the Greek word for joy

b. And the word that we translate as “spiritual gifts”

II. Peace: Remember those angels talking to that batch of night sheep watchmen? “Glory to God in the highest. And on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased”(LK 2:14). Peace. Not peace just in the sense of not at war, but peace in the sense of good relationships, right relations. Peace, not the “we avoid each other to get along” but “we can’t wait to be together” relationship.

III. To you: or in you (it’s a dative). Importantly for us, we need to see that this is one of the places that proper English fails Bible translators these days. “You” isn’t the right translation here. “Y’all” or even “All y’all” is the right word, because, you see, English lacks a difference in you-singular and you-plural. It’s all just you. Us Southern folks, though, have this down: we can tell if you mean one person or lots of folks: am I addressing “you” or “y’all”?

a. This is to y’all.

b. It’s to the church together. We need to understand that, while Paul may hope that the church would be left alone by the world, he’s not wishing for peace with everyone around them. He’s calling on the church together to be at peace with each other.

c. He’s pointing out that grace is a part of the whole church, is a gift to the entirety of the family of God. You don’t get more than the person next to you or the person in that other church over there. You get all you need, and they get all they need. He’s pointing the Galatians to the truth that all of them need grace, even the holiest of them.

IV. From God our Father

a. Our Father: Great or small, the same God is above every one of us. We may be older children or younger, smarter or not, but we’re all still one step behind: He is still the Father.

b. From God: what Jesus died to bring us is the grace and peace that is a gift from the Creator God of the Universe. Our relationship is not with a portion of who God is, but is with all of God.

c. And the Lord Jesus Christ (see above)

V. In all, this is a normal greeting from Paul in his letters. Here are some facts to gather from it:

a. The letter is to the saved ones in Galatian churches: “Our Father” shows us that

b. Paul is emphasizing God’s grace to them

Why does this matter to us?

To remind us that we are in need of God’s grace and peace as well. The consistent repetition of this greeting in almost all of Paul’s letters shows that no matter the church, the people need to remember God’s grace and peace. Need to experience those things, to live in light of those.

Live in light of knowing you are not earning God’s favor, but rather already have it.

Your neighbors in the church already have it. They didn’t need more than you did, either. They needed Christ to die for their sins. So did you. So bickering and envy and judging your neighbor’s worthiness to know God is out.

Your neighbors out of the church need to accept it. Most of them don’t know, though, that the church isn’t after them to change their behavior, but rather to see their hearts change to be like Christ. Will you tell them?

Will you extend grace to the people around you? Your family? Your friends? Your enemies? God has extended it to you, and if grace and peace are in your heart, they’ll show through into your actions.

Those actions will include being a part of the body of Christ, committed to a church that serves God.

We’ll live in the joy of knowing peace with God.

Do you have that peace? Do you have the relationship with God? You need that. You cannot earn it or make it happen any way other than His way.

Do you have that peace with others? Do you have God’s people in your life? You need them.