GracePointe Church of Christ in Elizabethtown, PA

Paul’s impassioned plea to the Galatians is one that we can listen to and learn from as we strive to lead others to Christ with varying success rates.  First, Paul asks them to imitate his practices, to learn how to once again renounce the law and seek Christ.  The reason Paul does this is because he has a goal in mind, one that contemporary readers can share with him.  Our goal should be to form Christ in others, and the way we do that is by sharing the experience of faith with each other. This growth is never easy or a constant movement in the right direction, so it will be painful and take a lot of work and patience. Paul shows both concern for the Galatians as he pokes at them for their “turning back” or reverting. 

This beautifully written passage shows the inclusion of God by calling all people the “sons” of God, which seems like an exclusive term given that slaves, women, and Gentiles are all addressed.  But the term “son” goes beyond patriarchal language and biological make-up to show the special relationship that all those “in Christ” (emphasis on baptism) have with God.  To be a son means (1) being intimate with God as a son would a father, (2) being free from the curse of the Law, and (3) being lead by God’s Spirit. This allows the church to continue on joyously and confidently.  

Paul makes the bold claim that we are no longer under the supervision of the law. Those who have put on Christ no longer live in the guilt of their sin exposed by the law, and so anything that creates a way back into that system is negating the work of Christ and the freedom of the Spirit. The law is not the end game, it points us to Christ. As we live in response to God, our faith calls us to obedience…but we do not turn to the Law to receive instruction, we turn to the Spirit of God who teaches us to love God and love others. (As the Spirit grows in us, we realize that against such things there is NO LAW)  Even in our handling of the New Testament texts, we must move from a law-centered people to a Spirit-centered people. 

Paul reads the Bible through a certain lens, and it is important that we understand that lens so we can enter into his letters with an understanding of his approach to the Old Testament.  Many readers of the Bible approach it in an individual manner, meaning that we read for personal guidance, growth, and gratitude.  This is good and we should do this, but there is, in addition to this, a covenantal manner in which we should also read the Bible.  That is to say, The covenant with Abraham sets the story of the Bible as one continuous unfolding history of the revelation of God, and all other moments, like the covenant with Moses, must be seen as a part of this larger narrative.  (As is the Covenant with David). We must understand the Promise to Abraham if we are to understand Jesus and the mission of God throughout the entire Bible into today’s mission.  More than a collection of devotional readings to make us feel better about today’s particular challenge, the Bible is the unfolding story of a committed God who works throughout history to keep His promise to Abraham - one that blesses the world. 

Paul makes a claim that we all believe, but few rarely practice. The Gospel is for all people, even the ones we would rather not accept.  For Galatia, that meant the Gentiles were accepted like the Jews, without the pre-existing condition of circumcision. As we think about our cultural and social context, we know that the Gospel is for all and finds them as they are, offering grace to those who accept the message of Jesus.  When we decide that Jesus loves a certain type of person over another type of person, then we are beginning the descent into the same disease the Jews had - they aren’t good enough for Christ, and Christ cannot accept them.  All sinners are cursed, and Jesus became that curse so that all the cursed might have the hope of Life in the Spirit - let’s be a conduit and not a barrier.    

Paul focuses on the experience of the Galatians in a comparison between obeying the law of Moses and believing what they heard about Jesus…at the center of this is a question about what exactly prompted the powerful outpouring of the Spirit in the congregation.  Paul knows it was the acceptance of the Gospel of Jesus and not the strict obedience to the Law.  But this is what legalists try to do, they try to claim that it is strict obedience that gives you the right relationship with God, and it is like they are in a “bewitched” state in which the experience of the Spirit is somehow connected to their own exceptionalism. How do we balance our “human efforts” with the rest we receive in Christ?  

Conversion, for all of us, is a movement away from guilt to a status of acceptance by God. Once we understand by reflection on the condition of our sinful selves, and the sacrifice of Jesus, then we can joyfully obtain the forgiveness offered to us by God. We are not saved by God to live a life of lawless wickedness, but we cannot likewise appeal to some set standard of conduct “law” as making us right before God…or Christ died for no reason.  Paul makes no mistake that the people of God are those who have been transformed by his grace and now live their lives differently…that is, FOR GOD. We delude our relationship with God if we think we can live how we want and God can adjust. We also delude the gospel when we think that our rules are superior to other denominations and don’t learn to appreciate the expressions of faith they enjoy. We have been Crucified!  

Paul confronts Peter in one of the most famous moments of accountability in the Bible. According to Paul, Peter behaves in a way that displays his cultural imperialism. In his refusal to eat with Gentiles, Peter upholds practices that are designed to protect the Jewish privileged status before God.  Peter forgot, in that moment, that God’s plan for the salvation of the world included all people, nations, tribes, and tongues, and Peter was too nearsighted in his application of the gospel as he feared what other Jews might think.  When we “draw back and separate ourselves” we are no longer on a Spirit-led mission, but a self focused preservation of our most ungodly traditions to prove our status before God over others. 

Paul tells of his successful ministry among the Gentiles, and the threat of those who were spying out the freedom they had in Christ.  In every generation of the Church there are those who believe they are called to keep the church pure and unstained from the world by opposing innovation and change.  The debates over music styles, projection systems, and community centers built by churches are all examples of places where our social ideas have become theological mandates.  Paul appeals to the fellowship he was given by pillars of the Judea Christian movement - namely Peter, James, and John - and shows that while their spies try to stop of the leading of the Spirit in a new way, others saw it as a legitimate work of God.  For Christian Freedom, we must learn that we have different styles, and when we see MY STYLE as the true way, we are supplanting Christ and putting our preferences on the throne of heaven. (Yikes)  

Paul makes clear that any message or effort that seeks the approval of friends, family, spouses, and wins approval from a group of people is not the goal of the gospel.  The goal of the gospel, and the goal of ministry is to serve Jesus and please God.  If people approve of us, but God does not, then what good is our work.  If God approves of us, but people do not, then we are being faithful to our calling.  If God approves of us, and people also approve of us, then we have a community of mutual accountability in the Spirit who has brought us together. (13-24) Paul reflects on his conversion and concludes that what mattered the most to him no longer matters, and now there is a new priority!  This is how Paul sees all converts of Christ, leaving behind the important defining identities of the past and rooting themselves in the new identity of Christ, which includes for Paul the Mosaic law and the practices of the Pharisees.  We exchange the faith of our Fathers with faith in the Father!  Paul would question the commitment of the 21st century Church because we have believed a cultural gospel that calls us to be saved but spin our stories to require little moral and ethical change.  I have heard Christians tell me, “People don’t really change, so don’t expect too much.” Paul would disagree with this based on his own life story, and He begs us not to buy into this.