Download - Scripture Unpacked

Presentation 09
Presentation 09
Introduction
Its possible to be so caught up with Christian
truth and the need to defend it that we become
detached from the business of caring for
people. It is possible to become academically
aloof and dispassionate towards the needs of
others. This was not a pitfall into which Paul fell.
We see here his deep feeling and immense
tenderness towards the Galatians. He did not
simply wish to win a theological argument but
to help others enjoy to the fullest extent, the
blessing that was available in the gospel. Note
v19 “My dear children... In opening up his
pastor’s heart Paul appeals to them on a
number of different levels.
Presentation 09
An Appeal Against A Return To Slavery
First, in v8-11 Paul pleads with his readers
not to return to the slavery they had
formerly experienced. You will remember
that thus far in the epistle Paul has shown
that among other things the gospel of the
Lord Jesus brought to men a new status
which in turn produced a new liberty.
Hitherto, they had been in bondage to
powers of evil which had blinded their eyes
to the wonder of communion with God.
Many of these Galatians would have been
idolaters, seeking by their various efforts to
appease the gods. They had lived their lives
in craven fear and bondage.
Presentation 09
An Appeal Against A Return To Slavery
From that miserable existence they had been
delivered by the power of the gospel. They had
begun to enjoy the reality of forgiveness and the
wonder of God’s acceptance. They could have sung
with meaning Wesley’s hymn ,
“My chains fell off my heart was free, I rose went
forth and followed thee… No condemnation now I
dread, Jesus and all in him is mine! Alive in him my
living head, And clothed in righteousness divine.
Bold I approach the eternal throne, And claim the
crown through Christ my own”.
How so? Because in Christ they had a new status
and had become God’s adopted children enjoying all
the privileges and freedoms which that involved.
Presentation 09
An Appeal Against A Return To Slavery
But the picture had changed: false teachers
had come along and said that faith in Jesus
wasn’t enough. They needed more, they
needed to keep the law in order to earn
God’s approval. They needed to adhere to
the Jewish ceremonial law and be
circumcised and keep various feast days.
They were told to keep the law in order to
earn God’s approval. Paul asks, do you not
see what is happening? The powers of evil,
which once held you in bondage through idol
worship, are now poised to bring you back
into bondage through an abuse of God’s
good law.
Presentation 09
An Appeal Against A Return To Slavery
Paul is saying that by believing that it is your
law keeping that will secure your salvation,
you have forsaken the wonderful freedom
and status of sonship which God’s grace and
Christ’s death secured for you!
You have exchanged the glorious status of
sonship for the role of a slave whereby the
law will begin to do something it was never
intended to do- it will drive you to despair
by telling you that acceptance with God can
only come through your ability to keep its
commandments.
Presentation 09
An Appeal Against A Return To Slavery
Paul’s impassioned plea that they do not
return to slavery is one preachers of the
gospel continue to make when Christians
have been persuaded to transform their
faith into a set of rules and regulations; the
slavish observance of which they believe
can alone secure God’s approval. Their loss
of Christian joy can be traced to the fact
that they have turned their backs on their
freedom in Christ allowing themselves to be
brought back into bondage. Look at Paul’s
words in v.11 “I fear that somehow I have
wasted my efforts on you”. Surely that
would have shaken his readers?
Presentation 09
A Personal Appeal
Secondly, Paul makes a personal appeal, “become
like me”v12. He wants them to follow his example in
life and faith. Prior to conversion Paul had been in
bondage to the law. The gospel delivered him from
that and he wants them to share the same freedom.
Paul goes on to say, “I became like you”. What
does he mean? cf. 1 Cor. 9v19-23. Embedded
here is a principle of immense importance for
Christians. Namely, that in seeking to win others to
Christ, our end is to make them like us, while the
means to that end is to make ourselves like them. If
they are to become one with us in Christian
conviction and experience, we must first become
one with them in Christian compassion.
Presentation 09
A Personal Appeal
Paul then contrasts the Galatians’ attitude to him in the past with their attitude to
him in the present. He reminds them that when he first came to them he had a
bodily ailment. There has been much speculation
about this illness, or chronic disability. It may have
had a disturbing effect on his hearers.
Verse 15 refers to their willingness to pluck out
their own eyes for him suggesting he may have
had an eye disease. We don’t know what the
illness was but his appearance could have
caused some of his hearers to despise him.
e.g. suppose a man were to stand up to preach
but constantly stammered and stuttered might
not some of his hearers despise him?
Presentation 09
A Personal Appeal
Or, suppose someone had a nervous twitch in his eye which caused him
constantly to blink- some of his hearers might poke fun at him. Paul says, you
were able to see past my physical disfigurement to the substance of what I was
saying. You recognised that I was speaking from God and that I was a messenger
of God.
How fortunate people are who, when a preacher is preaching
in the power of God’s Spirit, are able to see past the
external appearance of the man and hear God
speaking to them. Scripture has a high view of
preaching. That’s why preaching is so
important and why preachers are constantly
coveting the prayers of others for their
preparation and delivery of God’s word.
Presentation 09
A Personal Appeal
Paul asks, what happened to the warmth you once had for me the same, warmth
that Jesus himself would have been shown were he to stand in your midst?
Where is all the blessing and joy you knew then? You have
lost it because you have questioned the gospel I preached
to you. And I, who was once so warmly received, am
now considered your enemy. Why? Was it because he
had been telling them some home truths?
Some people can’t bear the truth. Some people
who if dealt with fairly and squarely will never
again appear in church, they cannot bear
unpalatable truth from any quarter.
Presentation 09
A Personal Appeal
Others may find God’s word painful and embarrassing.
They may fume but then come back later and say,
“Although I was absolutely furious with you at the
time, I’ve thought about what you said and its what I
needed to hear, thank you!”
Others make an enemy of the preacher because he has
been courageous enough to tell them the truth. We
should pray that God will keep our hearts open to the
truth however sore and humiliating it might be for us.
None of us like to admit we have been in the wrong
that is part of fallen human nature. We need to see
that it is God’s truth that enables us to enjoy the
fullness of liberty which is ours as the children of God.
Presentation 09
A Personal Appeal
In v17ff Paul’s attention turns to the false teachers, the translation is awkward and
could read either, “those who made much of you,” or, “those who paid court to
you”. Paul is accusing the false teachers of flattering the
Galatians insincerely in order to win them over to their
perverted gospel. They may have fawned and fussed over
them but their real motive was to shut the Galatians out
from Christ and from the freedom Christ brings.
When Christianity is seen as freedom in Christ [which it is]
Christians are not in subservience to their human
teachers, because their ambition is to become
mature in Christ.
Presentation 09
A Personal Appeal
But when Christianity is turned into a form
of bondage to rules and regulations, its
victims are inevitably in subjection, which
manifests itself in their being tied to the
apron strings of their teachers.
This was true in the middle ages. It is true of
some church fellowships today where a
bondage to one form of legalism or another
is often experienced. And where those in
charge demand a personal loyalty which
supersedes loyalty to Christ. And indeed, in
such situations the Christian often feels torn
between two loyalties.
Presentation 09
A Personal Appeal
Paul does not want to win the Galatians allegiance to himself
but to Christ. He does not want to tie these Christians to his
apron strings. He will not be satisfied until Christ is formed
in them. He likens himself to a mother in labour and the
pain and birth-pangs which she endures to bring a child
into the world.
That he says is how I travail for you, says Paul, such is my
ardent desire and agonising in prayer to see evidence of the
life of Jesus formed in you. More so for Paul had already
been in labour for them at the time of their conversion but
now their backsliding has caused him another confinement.
He is in labour again such is the measure of his love and
faithfulness for this people close to his heart.
Presentation 09
A Personal Appeal
John Calvin wrote: “If ministers wish to do any
good, let them labour to form Christ, not to
form themselves in their hearers.”
The Christian minister, office bearer or
Christian worker should endeavour to follow
Paul’s example and be preoccupied with
people’s spiritual progress and care nothing
for their own prestige. He should not exploit
young converts to his own advantage but seek
to serve them for their good. He should not
use them for his own pleasure, but be willing
on their behalf to endure pain. He should long
to see Christ formed in them and to that end
be ready to agonise for them in prayer.
Presentation 09
A Personal Appeal
Do we know anything of this agonising for
others? It is comparatively easy to criticise
those who have lost their way spiritually but
it is immensely costly to be prepared to
agonise for them in prayer. The labour ward
in the church of Christ is the one we least
want to visit and yet it is there that new life
begins.
The Psalmists writes,
“Those who sow in tears will reap with songs
of joy. He who goes out weeping carrying
seed to sow, will return with songs of joy
carrying his sheaves with him”. Ps.126v5
Presentation 09
A Personal Appeal
The difference between Paul’s genuine
pastoral concern and the concerns of the
false teachers is now made abundantly clear.
They sought to dominate the Galatians in
order to cultivate their own prestige and
position.
In contrast, Paul longed that Christ would be
formed in them and to that end he was
prepared to sacrifice himself including his
prestige and reputation for them. God grant
all who are engaged in Christian ministry and
service a Paul-like concern! For it echoes the
concern of Jesus for his church cf. Jn. 17
Presentation 09