This is the first sermon in the series entitled "Seven Letters From Jesus" based upon the seven churches of Revelation. For each of the seven churches, or letters, there is a different situation, a different name for Jesus and a different application for today. This Sunday, Pastor Jim looked at the first church: Ephesus.

This is the first sermon in the series entitled "Seven Letters From Jesus" based upon the seven churches of Revelation. For each of the seven churches, or letters, there is a different situation, a different name for Jesus and a different application for today. This Sunday, Pastor Jim looked at the first church: Ephesus.

Galatians is about Jesus - plain and simple. This week Pastor Jeremy continued explaining the difference between legalism and grace. To put it simply, legalism is Jesus PLUS man made regulations.

Legalism is widespread and often seems very promising. However, it always is a means of exerting control over people and often leads to bickering and strife within the church. It is in fact prideful and full of false wisdom and false humility.

Pastor Jeremy clarifies the difference between bearing each other's burdens and every one carrying their own load. He goes further to emphasize that fulfilling Christ's Law is mundane. It is not glamorous or heroic. He also gives a warning not to let our pride get in the way of bearing one another's burdens. Essentially guiding us in how we as Christians should respond and act towards other Christians who have sinned.

Galatians is about Jesus - plain and simple. This week Pastor Jeremy continued explaining the difference between legalism and grace. To put it simply, legalism is Jesus PLUS man made regulations.

Legalism is widespread and often seems very promising. However, it always is a means of exerting control over people and often leads to bickering and strife within the church. It is in fact prideful and full of false wisdom and false humility.

Pastor Jeremy clarifies the difference between bearing each other's burdens and every one carrying their own load. He goes further to emphasize that fulfilling Christ's Law is mundane. It is not glamorous or heroic. He also gives a warning not to let our pride get in the way of bearing one another's burdens. Essentially guiding us in how we as Christians should respond and act towards other Christians who have sinned.

Our text this week deals with living so as not to gratify the sinful nature. The Apostle gives us several insights into how to live holy lives; lives that are not deadened by the awful effects of sin. Basically his advice is to live by the Spirit. Or to put it in other words, keep in step with the Spirit. Or to say it even another way, live up to your position in Christ. When we are living as Spiritual people we will not succumb to the old way of living in bondage to our old selves, our old natures.

Paul contrasts the acts of the sinful nature with the fruit of the Spirit. Anyone in their right minds would choose to live the way of the Spirit. All those acts of the sinful nature only lead to hurt and despair. The Fruit, on the other hand lead to the kind of life we want to live. This way of life is only possible by the work of the Spirit in us as he does his good work of transforming us from the inside out.

We have a part to play in this transformation. We must keep in step with the Spirit and cooperate with his good work in us. In the end, if we live like this, we create a community in harmony and balance as we accept and enjoy our unique identities. Any community that lapses into trying to follow the law ends up nit picking and provoking one another in a continual contest to see who can be the most worthy of God's gifts. This is indeed so contrary to the Gospel's purpose.

Questions for Discussion:

1. Slide 2-3. Why do some followers of Jesus lapse into allowing their sin natures to control them? Is it more difficult today to live free from the awful effects of our sin natures?

2. Slide 9. When Pauls says "live by the Spirit" it is a continuous, ongoing verb tense in the original language. What does it mean to "keep on living" by the Spirit?

3. Slide 10-12. Discuss the differences between the fruit of the Spirit and the acts of the Sinful Nature.

4. Slide 13-14. What part do we play in crucifying the sinful nature?

5. Slide 15. Why do you think Paul finds it necessary to warn the Galatians about those who live according to their sinful natures?

6. Slide 16. How can you tell if the Christian community that you belong to is legalistic or grace based?

Our text this week deals with living so as not to gratify the sinful nature. The Apostle gives us several insights into how to live holy lives; lives that are not deadened by the awful effects of sin. Basically his advice is to live by the Spirit. Or to put it in other words, keep in step with the Spirit. Or to say it even another way, live up to your position in Christ. When we are living as Spiritual people we will not succumb to the old way of living in bondage to our old selves, our old natures.

Paul contrasts the acts of the sinful nature with the fruit of the Spirit. Anyone in their right minds would choose to live the way of the Spirit. All those acts of the sinful nature only lead to hurt and despair. The Fruit, on the other hand lead to the kind of life we want to live. This way of life is only possible by the work of the Spirit in us as he does his good work of transforming us from the inside out.

We have a part to play in this transformation. We must keep in step with the Spirit and cooperate with his good work in us. In the end, if we live like this, we create a community in harmony and balance as we accept and enjoy our unique identities. Any community that lapses into trying to follow the law ends up nit picking and provoking one another in a continual contest to see who can be the most worthy of God's gifts. This is indeed so contrary to the Gospel's purpose.

Questions for Discussion:

1. Slide 2-3. Why do some followers of Jesus lapse into allowing their sin natures to control them? Is it more difficult today to live free from the awful effects of our sin natures?

2. Slide 9. When Pauls says "live by the Spirit" it is a continuous, ongoing verb tense in the original language. What does it mean to "keep on living" by the Spirit?

3. Slide 10-12. Discuss the differences between the fruit of the Spirit and the acts of the Sinful Nature.

4. Slide 13-14. What part do we play in crucifying the sinful nature?

5. Slide 15. Why do you think Paul finds it necessary to warn the Galatians about those who live according to their sinful natures?

6. Slide 16. How can you tell if the Christian community that you belong to is legalistic or grace based?

It might be a surprise to some modern day people, but Christianity is a liberating faith. Instead, many people today look at Christianity as a bunch or rules and regulations representing anything but freedom. To the First Century Jew, Christianity looked very much like freedom. It meant they didn't have to observe all the Jewish laws. But today, at a time when people are pretty free to ignore any religious laws, Christianity looks like entrapment and oppression. So in what way is the Gospel truly a message of freedom? Perhaps more than any other thing, we can see that followers of Jesus are free from the captivity and slavery of sin. By this I mean that while people today relish their freedom, so often they use that freedom to enslave themselves to the many vices that are so prominent in our culture. Addictions, phobias, and compulsive disorders are rampant in our culture, because freedom can be a dangerous thing. It can often lead to enslavement in a variety of forms.

In our text the Apostle warns the Galatians to use their freedom to love one another. In other words, instead of using their freedom to indulge themselves, they should use it to serve one another. Freedom brings a certain kind of potential; a certain new-found capacity for the once held captive. One could use that freedom to indulge oneself by wildly abandoning any moral law or by throwing off any authority or ruling administration or simply by becoming lazy and ignoring the world's problems. And Christians down through the ages have opted for these kinds of liberties. Paul wouldn't recommend it. Nor will the Spirit pull us in those directions. Instead we will make our lives count for something by loving our neighbor and serving those in need. This way of living pays dividends in the end. It stores up treasures in heaven. It avoids all the negative consequences of sin and it allows us to live the way Jesus lived. This is what really counts.

Questions for Discussion:

1. Slide 2-3. What are some examples of supposed freedoms that lead to slavery? Why do you think Christianity is so often not associated with freedom in Postmodern North America?

2. Slide 4-5. Have you recognized your own tendency to slide into this abuse of freedom? Why does it happen and what did you do to arrest your slide? How would you advise others who are abusing grace?

3. Slide 10. Discuss freedom as a launching pad for neighbourly love? How does our freedom allow us to love others?

4. Slide 11-12. If we use our freedom to enslave ourselves to loving others, how is that different from the slavery out of which Christ saved us? How does the idea that "loving one’s neighbor fulfills the law" nullify the argument of the Judaizers who were so concerned about the law?

5. Slide 13. How would you explain this idea of freedom to a brand new Christian? What would you warn him or her about and what would you encourage him or her to focus on?

It might be a surprise to some modern day people, but Christianity is a liberating faith. Instead, many people today look at Christianity as a bunch or rules and regulations representing anything but freedom. To the First Century Jew, Christianity looked very much like freedom. It meant they didn't have to observe all the Jewish laws. But today, at a time when people are pretty free to ignore any religious laws, Christianity looks like entrapment and oppression. So in what way is the Gospel truly a message of freedom? Perhaps more than any other thing, we can see that followers of Jesus are free from the captivity and slavery of sin. By this I mean that while people today relish their freedom, so often they use that freedom to enslave themselves to the many vices that are so prominent in our culture. Addictions, phobias, and compulsive disorders are rampant in our culture, because freedom can be a dangerous thing. It can often lead to enslavement in a variety of forms.

In our text the Apostle warns the Galatians to use their freedom to love one another. In other words, instead of using their freedom to indulge themselves, they should use it to serve one another. Freedom brings a certain kind of potential; a certain new-found capacity for the once held captive. One could use that freedom to indulge oneself by wildly abandoning any moral law or by throwing off any authority or ruling administration or simply by becoming lazy and ignoring the world's problems. And Christians down through the ages have opted for these kinds of liberties. Paul wouldn't recommend it. Nor will the Spirit pull us in those directions. Instead we will make our lives count for something by loving our neighbor and serving those in need. This way of living pays dividends in the end. It stores up treasures in heaven. It avoids all the negative consequences of sin and it allows us to live the way Jesus lived. This is what really counts.

Questions for Discussion:

1. Slide 2-3. What are some examples of supposed freedoms that lead to slavery? Why do you think Christianity is so often not associated with freedom in Postmodern North America?

2. Slide 4-5. Have you recognized your own tendency to slide into this abuse of freedom? Why does it happen and what did you do to arrest your slide? How would you advise others who are abusing grace?

3. Slide 10. Discuss freedom as a launching pad for neighbourly love? How does our freedom allow us to love others?

4. Slide 11-12. If we use our freedom to enslave ourselves to loving others, how is that different from the slavery out of which Christ saved us? How does the idea that "loving one’s neighbor fulfills the law" nullify the argument of the Judaizers who were so concerned about the law?

5. Slide 13. How would you explain this idea of freedom to a brand new Christian? What would you warn him or her about and what would you encourage him or her to focus on?

As discussed in the series thus far, false teachers (Judiazers), have infiltrated the church at Galatia teaching a gospel which says in addition to believing in Christ you must also obey the Law of Moses and be circumcised. Of course this is opposite to the gospel Paul taught. Salvation is through faith in Christ, not by works.

The essence of our text this morning asks the question, "How good do I have to be in order to be accepted by God?" A common question many people would have today. The Judiazer’s say you must keep the law. Paul says it is all about faith.

To deconstruct the argument of the Judiazer's Paul uses two basic counter arguments. First, he uses the personal experience of the Christians at Galatia when they came to Christ (vs. 1-5) . Secondly, he uses theology / scripture to show that salvation is by faith alone (vs. 6-14).

Personal Experience: (vs.1-5)

Through a series of rhetorical questions Paul challenges the Galatians to think back to when they first came to Christ and Christ's crucifixion was clearly and loudly proclaimed. Did they receive the Spirit by works or by faith? They began with the Spirit, why now try and attain your goal through works? Your decision to accept Christ has caused you hardship and suffering – was that all in vain? Has God blessed you and worked miracles in your life – because you are so good – or is it because He is good?

Questions for discussion:

1. How good do you have to be in order to be accepted by God?

2. Have you ever known someone who came to Christ and then went off track? They went from simple faith in Christ to a position of legalism and works? If possible, share the story (in a general way – without mentioning names).

3. What is our motivation for living a holy life?

Scripture / Theology: (vs. 6-14)

The Judiazer’s would hold up Abraham as the model of a righteous man and tell the Christians at Galatia they should be like Abraham – a Jew, one who was circumcised and a keeper of the law. To deconstruct this argument Paul uses Abraham and through scripture teaches that Abraham's faith preceded his circumcision, his nationality, and the law. True descendants of Abraham are not flesh and blood, but rather those who trust the promises of God and put their faith in God.

Paul also talks about the law in these verses, and using Old Testament scripture, points out to the Galatians that those who choose to live by the law must live by the whole law, which is impossible for any human to do, and anyone who doesn't is cursed. He then points to Jesus – this is why Christ became a curse – to free us from the curse of the law.

Questions for discussion:

1. What is the meaning of baptism?

2. What is your definition of 'legalism'?

3. Why did Jesus become a curse? What does this mean?

4. How does the truth, I am saved by faith not works, make a difference in my life today?

As discussed in the series thus far, false teachers (Judiazers), have infiltrated the church at Galatia teaching a gospel which says in addition to believing in Christ you must also obey the Law of Moses and be circumcised. Of course this is opposite to the gospel Paul taught. Salvation is through faith in Christ, not by works.

The essence of our text this morning asks the question, "How good do I have to be in order to be accepted by God?" A common question many people would have today. The Judiazer’s say you must keep the law. Paul says it is all about faith.

To deconstruct the argument of the Judiazer's Paul uses two basic counter arguments. First, he uses the personal experience of the Christians at Galatia when they came to Christ (vs. 1-5) . Secondly, he uses theology / scripture to show that salvation is by faith alone (vs. 6-14).

Personal Experience: (vs.1-5)

Through a series of rhetorical questions Paul challenges the Galatians to think back to when they first came to Christ and Christ's crucifixion was clearly and loudly proclaimed. Did they receive the Spirit by works or by faith? They began with the Spirit, why now try and attain your goal through works? Your decision to accept Christ has caused you hardship and suffering – was that all in vain? Has God blessed you and worked miracles in your life – because you are so good – or is it because He is good?

Questions for discussion:

1. How good do you have to be in order to be accepted by God?

2. Have you ever known someone who came to Christ and then went off track? They went from simple faith in Christ to a position of legalism and works? If possible, share the story (in a general way – without mentioning names).

3. What is our motivation for living a holy life?

Scripture / Theology: (vs. 6-14)

The Judiazer’s would hold up Abraham as the model of a righteous man and tell the Christians at Galatia they should be like Abraham – a Jew, one who was circumcised and a keeper of the law. To deconstruct this argument Paul uses Abraham and through scripture teaches that Abraham's faith preceded his circumcision, his nationality, and the law. True descendants of Abraham are not flesh and blood, but rather those who trust the promises of God and put their faith in God.

Paul also talks about the law in these verses, and using Old Testament scripture, points out to the Galatians that those who choose to live by the law must live by the whole law, which is impossible for any human to do, and anyone who doesn't is cursed. He then points to Jesus – this is why Christ became a curse – to free us from the curse of the law.

Questions for discussion:

1. What is the meaning of baptism?

2. What is your definition of 'legalism'?

3. Why did Jesus become a curse? What does this mean?

4. How does the truth, I am saved by faith not works, make a difference in my life today?