MPC
10th September 2017.September 10 - Galatians 6 - "Principles and Perseverance"
MPC
10th September 2017.
Phil Campbell
Well folks, after years of pretending to be a banjo player, I've finally signed up for some proper lessons.
You may not have realised this if you saw the Spring Hillbillies at the Church Concert, but the banjo player was faking it.
It's maybe only real banjo players that can spot the difference. But the reality is, I play banjo like a guitar player. Which is in all kinds of ways not how you're meant to play banjo at all.
And so I signed up for lessons. With my teacher Gary. Who I think is exactly the kind of teacher I needed. hard to please. Hard to impress. You've got to do everything right.
And I said to him right from the start. I said, Gary, I need you to tell me the rules. Show me the basic principles. That I need to know. To really be able to play like a banjo player.
And you know what? He did. He showed me that I'm doing everything with my left hand wrong. He showed me that I'm doing everything with my right hand wrong as well. And I had to learn a whole new set of rules.
A whole different way to play. Which I've got to tell you is mind blowing. But I'm working on it. And it's worth it.
Just boil it down to the principles and rules I need to know. And I'll do it.
Now look, when it comes to Christianity I reckon people have the same sort of idea. Which is why in past generations everyone's been so keen to latch on to the Ten Commandments, and just tick them off like a to-do list. Or a to-don't do list. Maybe there's an app for that?
And yet if we've seen anything on our way through Galatians it's that Paul's been saying, the law; the Jewish rule book; it's not the way to live the Christian life.
But look, for rule people, for people who haven't sat well with that, the good news is we've got two rules for you to finish up with here in Galatians chapter 6. Or to be more precise a law, and a rule. Which ultimately are closely connected. So if you want to be a simple rules kind of Christian, listen up. Because here they are. I'm going to flag them first up; then have a look in more detail.
If it's laws you want; Galatians 6 verse 2. Paul calls it the law of Christ.
Here's what he says.
Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.
That's the law we're under. The law of Christ.
We'll come back to it.
Here's the rule. Verse 15 and 16. What it isn't. What it is.
Paul's had a lot to say about circumcision through the letter. The mark of being Jewish. The painful initiation rite; for any male outsider who wanted to join the Old Testament people of god.
Here's the rule. Follow along.
15 Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything; what counts is the new creation. 16 Peace and mercy to all who follow this rule-to the Israel of God.
Do you get that? There's a new Israel in town. The true Israel of god. And guess what. Circumcision. Uncircumcision. nobody cares any more. Here's the rule. What counts... is the new creation. That's what matters. that's what we're on about.
Now I want to unpack that in a bit more detail. Then go back to the start, the law of Christ. Because they're fundamentally connected.
Want to go back to first principles of being Christian? The law is the law of Christ. The rule is that what counts is the new creation.
And we're going to start with the rule. And work backwards.
If you were here when we looked at chapter 4; and it was the week before the Wannenburgh's visit, so you'll have to cast your mind back; you might remember I mentioned there was a word Paul used in the original Greek at four key points through the letter. The word stoicheia, which means aligning principles. The core realities.
Let me remind you.
He said if you're a new Christian in Galatia... the middle of Turkey... don't make our Jewish laws your stoichea. Your aligning principle.
He said, don't make your old idol religion your stoicheia either. You don't want that to be what keeps you in line. Instead, he said, third reference in chapter 5, instead be lined up, be aligned and walk with the Spirit instead.
Which brings us to number 4. Which I promised back then we'd come back to, and here we are. Same word. Stoicheia.
Buried in our English translations in the word follow. But it's literally be lined up by. Align by... this rule.
Peace and mercy, he says, verse 16, to all who align by this rule. Whose basic principle is this rule. And it's exactly what he's said already.
Not the Jewish law. And circumcision. Not your gentile way of lining ourselves up with your idols. But be lined up with the spirit, chapter 5. And this is the rule to align with. He's just said it in verse 15.
Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything; what counts is the new creation.
That's the rule that aligns us. The new creation. By which he means the new heart. That he's been talking about in chapter 5. The fact that when we come to faith in Christ, there's a whole new start waiting. Driven from a whole new set of attitudes.
And not by Old Testament laws and rules.
Radical words. That Judaism. That the religion he grew up with. And excelled in. Means nothing. Those dividing lines. I'm Jewish. I'm Greek. I'm Italian. I'm Chinese. I'm Australian. In Christ. he says, none of it counts. Just the new person you become in Christ. That's what counts. The new people. we become. In Christ.
Which is exactly the point he's been making in verse 11 to 14. His final word on the situation that's ripping the Galatian church down the middle. That these guys from the church in Jerusalem, they've come up here all the way to Turkey to tell people that Paul's got it wrong. To tell them that if they want to be Christian, they've got to be Jewish first. That Christianity belongs to them and it's built on rules. Rule number 1. Circumcision. Rule number 2: don't mix with anyone who's not. Remember Peter back in chapter 2? Got it so wrong. Started to withdraw from the non Jewish Christians. So as not to offend the guys from Jerusalem.
Remember the rule? Circumcision or uncircumcision. doesn't matter. What matters is the new creation. The new Israel. The Israel of god. That's our basic principle.
Which is why as he's wrapping up the letter in his own handwriting from verse 11, he says the Jerusalem guys, they just want to impress people by means of the flesh. A religion of doing stuff. And they're only trying to make you get circumcised, verse 12, to avoid being persecuted. For the cross of Christ., which is what's brought their laws to an end. Finished.
They're inconsistent, says Paul. Don't event keep the law themselves. Yet they want you to. So they can boast about you.
Here's the thing. Paul says, I've got nothing to boast about. Because it's not about what I've done. Or achieved. It's not that I've been circumcised, or been baptised, or been to Sunday school, or become a church member, or kept the commandments; here's my boast. The only thing I've got to talk about. Verse 14.
14 May I never 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 cross. The end. Followed by that new beginning. Of the new creation; by the Spirit.
That's his boast. Which is basically that he's got zero to bring to the table.
That he's got nothing to offer towards his salvation. And his only boast is, look at what Jesus has done for me.
Which brings us then back to the law we saw in the first half of the chapter. Which is the law of Christ. Having spent the first five chapters basically trashing the idea that Gentile Christians have to take on the Jewish Old Testament laws; that Gentile Christians have got to become under the law like the Judaisers are demanding. What's the one law Paul's going to leave us with?
If the rule is that the only thing that counts is God's new creation of a new Israel with new hearts... if our only boast is what Jesus has done for us on the cross... what's the one law that we're left with? Let's step to the first half of the chapter and take a look at what Paul calls the law of Christ.
It's ultimately, when it all boils down, all about one another. All about putting the fruit of the spirit into action. As we deal with each other. In the messiness of real life.
I don't know if you've caught this, but being Christian is a team sport. So many of the Spirit Fruit we saw last week; they're all about other people.
Love. Forbearance. Kindness. Gentleness. If there's not someone on the receiving end; they mean nothing. He's such a kind person. Well, how do you know? If it's never put into action. On anyone else. Forbearance. Well, if there's nobody to show patient restraint to, nobody bugging you, what's the point of it?
And so here in some specific ways in chapter 6, Paul's going to put the spotlight on how the law of Christ. plays out. Which is in summary, the law of love he spelled out back in chapter 5. That sums up everything else.
14 For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: "Love your neighbour as yourself."
Love your neighbour new-creationally. Love your neighbour by the fruit of the spirit. Love your neighbour modelling yourself on the one who gave up his life for you.
We're going to be living as failing people with other failing people. So it's going to look like stuff like you can see in verse 1.
The U.S. Army Rangers, have a motto: "I will never leave a fallen comrade to fall into the hands of the enemy." No soldier left behind. They've got a dedicated team they call CSAR. Their combat search and rescue force. Ready to go behind enemy lines are extract trapped soldiers.
Verse 1, Paul says,
Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person... gently.
Send in a rescue mission. But do it by the fruit of the spirit. Gently. Remember that one?
So often we just turn our backs on our wounded, don't we? Walk away.
Or when we try to say something, it comes across harsh. Or judgy. As if we're better.
Which is why Paul follows up straight away by saying watch yourselves. Or you also may be tempted.
Don't play the spiritual superman. Don't do it with arrogance.
But do it this way. Verse 2. Helping each other. "Carry each other's burdens... and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ."
Humbly. Gently. Helping each other. Humbly. Gently. Stepping alongside. And sharing the load.
That's what it's going to look like to live out the law of Christ. Loving. Gracious. Humble. Teamwork. Keeping in step with the Spirit together.
Avoiding temptations. together. Picking one another up along the way.
Instead of the awful alternative he paints in verses 3 to 5.
Of thinking too highly of ourselves. Thinking we're something when we're nothing. Boasting in self; comparing yourself to other people and thinking you're pretty impressive. Don't offload that stuff, says Paul; shut up about how impressive you are and carry that for yourself.
If you reckon you're doing really well as a Christian; if you reckon you've got it all together compared to the rest of us. Guess what. we don't need to hear about it.
If you're really spiritual, verse 1, you'll be the person who's humbly and gently bending down and picking up the wounded.
Wouldn't you love to see more of that in our church? Because it's so easy for us to flaunt our bible knowledge and flaunt our piety and let everyone know we're feeling so close to god. When Paul says stick that stuff in your own backpack and leave it there. Carry that stuff on your own. And get busy about sharing other people's burdens. With humility.
And live out that way. The law of Christ. The law of love. The law of giving yourself up; for the sake of others.
Hear it again. It's not me saying this stuff. It's Paul.
Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. If anyone thinks they are something when they are not, they deceive themselves.
If you look at verse 6, I reckon Paul's getting personal.
Because you can see, he's the one who's been sharing the word with them. He's the one who's been their faithful instructor. He's the one they should be in fellowship with.
The question is, are they listening? The verse literally says, "But the one being taught the word, let him fellowship; let him share in all good things; with the one teaching him."
Instead of in their pride, turning to the law teachers from Jerusalem. And breaking fellowship. And withdrawing support.
It's a tough time for Paul. We've seen it right through the letter. You can see it in verse 17. "From now on, let no one cause me trouble, for I bear on my body the marks of Jesus."
I've been beaten and bruised. I've been hammered by these guys. Trouble where-ever I've gone. Because I'm preaching Christ. crucified. And not Judaism. And not law. And not self improvement. And not how to be more religious.
You can get hammered for preaching that stuff, says Paul. So from now on, Galatians, I'd like you to stop turning your backs on me. And be in fellowship with me; and support faithful gospel teaching instead. Share all good things with the one who teaches you the word.
Which is how teaching of the word is meant to be supported in every church everywhere. For ever more. The Greek word koinonia. Partnership. Fellow workers. In passing, are you doing that?
Can I ask you to double check how long it is since you've considered the level of your giving? Because if you take a moment to look at the figures on the back of the bulletin sometime, it's not pretty. Paul says here, and he says in Philippians, he says it's a partnership. In all kinds of ways. And as we're taking the step to call Doug and Marike next year, we need to step up. And share the cost.
And one last thing. We need to keep going. And not give up. Until the harvest.
Keep going. In step with the Spirit. Until what Paul calls the proper time. Because by the Spirit, one step at a time, we're planting a crop of eternal life. God's not fooling around with this stuff. He's sent his son on a rescue mission. For you. He's poured out his spirit. For you. So don't fool around, verse 7. Don't think you can mock God. If you want to just keep sowing to please your flesh; just keep going that way; there's destruction.
Keep in step with the Spirit. sow. To please the Spirit. And reap life, verse 8, as a result.
Paul says, it's all about perseverance. Which means keeping going even when you don't feel like it.
Winston Churchill famously said "Success is not final, failure is not fatal: It is the courage to continue that counts."
There's a Japanese proverb that says, "Fall seven times, stand up eight."
The apostle Paul says,
Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.
Maybe you've served and you've served and you've served and nobody's noticed. And you're tired. Maybe you've been sharing other people's burdens, and nobody's shared yours. And you're tired. Maybe you've been on the morning tea roster for 17 years; and you're disheartened because nobody else wants to help. Maybe you've been struggling to stay Godly against the same temptations for year after year. And you're just tired of it. And it's no wonder you're feeling weary.
Paul hears what you're saying. He knows what it's like. But he says, what a tragedy when you hear about the farmer who walks of his farm in the drought. Just a month before the rain comes. And there's a bumper crop. Press on with forbearance. It's a fruit of the spirit. And keep on looking for every opportunity you can to do good.
Because that's what we do, isn't it? At every opportunity? That what the Spirit's growing in us.
Take a look at verse 10. And notice that it's not that we have to do everything for everyone. I mean, that's just impossible. Guaranteed burnout in the first five minutes. Look how he puts it.
10 Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.
As you have the chance. As you see the need. As something comes on your radar; as the opportunities arise; let us good to all people. And especially your church family.
This is the fruit of the spirit with work-boots on. This is Ron and Jan Gibson and Brent and Campbell Sanders and Matt Williams and Louise helping Bonnie George's mum and dad clear Bonnie's house last Sunday afternoon. As they're struggling with their grief.
This is the countless opportunities you spot and you grab to do something good. Not because you're under the law. But because you're free. Free to serve. You were called to be free. Free from the law. Free from idol worshipping religiosity. But don't use the freedom to indulge yourself. Galatians 5 verse 13. Don't use your freedom to indulge the flesh. Rather, serve one another humbly in love. It's the law of Christ. In action.
So don't give up! Stay strong. Live free. Don't let go of the gospel. Don't be a slave to the law. Don't listen to the kind of people who are going to come and tell you otherwise.
Because there are only two rules. The law of Christ. Serve one another in love. And the biggest basic principle of all, that it's not if you're Jewish or Gentile that counts, or anything else. What counts is the new creation; that God is working in human hearts. By his spirit. As people turn to his son.
That's our message. That's Galatians. And we've made it to the end. Thanks for being part of the ride these last few months; thanks for the conversations and the feedback.
Before we share the Lord's supper together, let's end with Paul's closing words in verse 18,
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. be with your spirit, brothers and sisters. Amen.