During this election season, we are looking at a letter
in our Bible called the book of Galatians. Last week, we discovered that we are to vote no on religion because
religion results in alienation, while the gospel results in reconciliation. Whether
it the religion of legalism or the religion of license, every religious system
can only enslave us and restrict us in a way that results in our continued
alienation from God. God responded to our alienation from Him as a result of
our selfishness and rebellion by sending His Son on specific mission to solve a
specific problem. A problem that we caused; a problem that separated us from
God; a problem that religious based performance could not solve, because
religion only further alienates us from God; a problem that only God, in a bod,
could solve. Only God’s message of rescue through the claims of Christ and the
message of the gospel can rescue us from the selfishness and rebellion that
alienates us from God and bring us into the relationship with God that we were
created for as children of God.
This week, I would like for us to pick up where we left off
last week, where we will see Paul continue to provide evidence to prove that a
religious centered life results in alienation from God, while a gospel centered
life results in reconciliation with God. And it is in the evidence that Paul
provides that we will discover another timeless reason why we are to vote no on
religion. So let’s look at the evidence together, beginning in Galatians 4:8:
However at
that time, when you did not know God, you were slaves to those which by nature
are no gods. But now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by
God, how is it that you turn back again to the weak and worthless elemental
things, to which you desire to be enslaved all over again?
Paul begins this section of his letter to the members of
the churches of Galatia by revealing a significant problem that had arisen in
their midst. Before exposing the nature of the problem, however, Paul first
reminds them of the stark contrast of their religious centered lives before
hearing the claims of Christ and the message of the gospel. As we discovered
last week, at just the right time, the time that God had previously set in
advance, God sent forth His Son, Jesus Christ entered into humanity so that we
could be rescued from the selfishness and rebellion that separated us from God
and so that we might receive the adoption as sons. Jesus entered into humanity
so that He could live the life that we refused to live by following all of
God’s commandments, all of the time, so that He could then allow Himself to be
treated as though He lived our selfish and sinful lives, so that God the Father
could treat us as though we lived Jesus perfect life.
Paul wanted the members of the churches of Galatia to
clearly understand that it is not what we do for God that results in us
experiencing a right relationship with God; it is placing our confident trust
in what Jesus Christ has done for us that results in us experiencing a right
relationship with God. And when we place our confident trust in what God has
done through Jesus life, death, and resurrection by believing, trusting, and
following Jesus as Lord and Leader, we are no longer enslaved by our religious
performance that only results in us being further alienated from the family of
God. Instead, we have been adopted into the family of God, in spite of our
performance.
Here, however, we see Paul remind the members of the
churches of Galatia that before they came to know Jesus and the message of the
gospel, they were slaves to those which by nature are no gods. In other words,
prior to encountering the claims of Christ and the message of the gospel, they
lived their lives in total service to the false religious systems that claimed
to worship God, but in reality did not worship god.
Paul then confronts the members of the churches of
Galatia with a powerful question that exposes a significant problem in verse 9:
“But now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how is
it that you turn back again to the weak and worthless elemental things, to
which you desire to be enslaved all over again?” As we discovered last week,
the weak and elemental things refer to the elementary forms of religion that
had come to dominate the world and that enslaved and restricted humanity from experiencing
the relationship with God that they were created for.
Paul’s question, if communicated in the language that we
use in our culture today, would have sounded something like this: “now if you
say that you have come to know Jesus
through the message of the gospel; if you say that you have responded to what
God has done to take the initiative to rescue you from your religious centered
lives that enslaved to you to the false gospel of religion; how is it that I
hear that you are turning from living gospel centered lives that are driven to
respond to what God has done for us through Jesus by placing our confident
trust in Jesus and His message and teachings by faith to instead choose to
willfully enslave yourselves all over again in a religious centered life that
is attempting to do things for God in order to live in a right relationship
with God? How can it be that you are turning away from living gospel centered
lives to now embrace living religious centered lives?” After asking the question
to expose the problem, Paul then reveals the evidence of the problem in verse
10:
You observe days and months and seasons and
years. I fear for you, that perhaps I have labored over you in vain.
In verse 10, we see Paul reveal
for us the reality that the members of the churches of Galatia had begun to
observe the legalistic traditions of the religious systems that they had
supposedly been freed from. But what
exactly is Paul referring to when he talks about them observing days and months
and seasons and years. Most likely, these four terms refer to the many
different religious observances and seasons that were a part of the Jewish
religious calendar and that were required to be observed under the Jewish
religious system in order to be considered to be in a right relationship with
God.
Paul’s point here is that the
members of the churches of Galatia embracing and participation in these
legalistic religious observances revealed that they were embracing the religion
of legalism. The members of the churches of Galatia had moved from gospel
centered living to a form of religious centered living that called for works
for God plus faith in Christ in order to be in a right relationship with
God.
And because the members had
moved from gospel centered living to religious centered living, in verse 11,
the Apostle Paul proclaims, “I fear for you, that perhaps I have labored over
you in vain.” Verse 11 literally states “I am afraid that my work with you may
be wasted if you revert back to the religion of legalism.” You see, Paul was
afraid that all of the physical, emotional, and spiritual energy that he had
expended with the members of the churches of Galatia had produced no result.
Paul was afraid that instead of embracing that claims of Christ and the message
of the gospel, the members of the churches of Galatia had simply added the
gospel to the list of things that they needed to do for God in order to be
right with God. And as a result, Paul was afraid that they were still enslaved
in the religion of legalism and still separated from God as a result of their
selfishness and rebellion.
Tomorrow, we will see Paul reveal
the depth of his concern for the members of the churches of Galatia…
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