We are to vote no on religion because religion produces rotten fruit...

During this election season, we have been looking at a letter in the bible called the book of Galatians, where we have discovered several reasons why we must vote no on religion. This week, I would like for us to pick up where we left off last week where we see the Apostle Paul continue to contrast a gospel centered life with a religious centered life. And as Paul continues to contrast a gospel centered life with a religious centered life, we will discover another timeless reason why we are to vote no on religion. So let’s discover this reason together, beginning in Galatians 5:16:

But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh.

Paul begins this section of his letter by commanding the members of the churches of Galatia to walk by the Spirit. The Spirit that Paul is referring to is the Holy Spirit, who takes up residence in the life of the person who believes, trusts, and follows Jesus as Lord and Leader. The word walk here refers to how one conducts one’s life in terms of how they behave and live. So this command, if it was communicated in the language we use in our culture today, would have sounded something like this: Live your day to day life in the power of the Holy Spirit so that you are controlled, influenced, and led by the Holy Spirit.”

Paul then explains that when we live our day to day lives by the power of the Holy Spirit, we will not carry out the desire of the flesh. When Paul refers to the flesh here, he is referring to our old nature apart from Jesus that is dominated by the evil and destructive power of sin. And our old nature apart from Jesus has desires when it comes to how we conduct our day to day lives. And those desires are committed to engage our head, heart, and hands in what is contrary to the claims of Christ and the message of the gospel. 

Now a natural question that arises here is “why would Paul command us to live our day to day lives under the control and influence of the Holy Spirit? I mean, just because I don’t live a life that is controlled and influenced by the Holy Spirit, that doesn’t mean that I am going to be dominated by selfishness and sin, does it?” Paul provides the answer to these questions by revealing the reason for his command in verse 17. Let’s look at it together:

For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please.

Here we see the Apostle Paul reveal the reality of spiritual warfare that occurs in the lives of followers of Jesus. This spiritual warfare involves a battle that occurs between our old nature apart from Jesus that is dominated by the evil and destructive power of sin and the Holy Spirit. Paul explains that the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit.

In other words, our old nature apart from Jesus has a strong desire to place itself in opposition to the Holy Spirit’s activity in our lives.  And is the same way, the Holy Spirit sets its desire to place itself in opposition to the evil and destructive power of sin. And because our old nature apart from Jesus and the Holy Spirit are in opposition to one another and their activity in our lives, Paul explains that the result is that you may not do the things that you please. But what does that mean?

With this phrase, that Apostle Paul is revealing for us the reality that when it comes to the spiritual war between our old nature apart from Jesus that is dominated by the evil and destructive power of sin and the Holy Spirit, we cannot remain neutral. As we have talked about throughout this series, every day we cast a ballot in an election for one of two candidates. And neither of the two candidates is neutral.

Paul’s point here is that we either cast a ballot to live our lives as followers of Jesus by the power of the Spirit in a gospel centered way; or we cast a ballot to live our lives in the power of our old nature apart from Christ in a religious centered way. There are no third party candidates. Paul then reveals for us what happens when followers of Jesus choose to cast their ballots to live gospel centered lives by the power of the Holy Spirit in verse 18:

But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law.

When followers of Jesus choose to cast their ballots to live gospel centered lives by the power of the Holy Spirit that are controlled and influenced by the Holy Spirit, Paul explains that the result is that you are not under the Law. As we previously discovered, the phrase under the Law literally means to be in subjection to the Law. To be under the Law requires that we live religious centered lives that attempt to do things for God in order to be in a right relationship with God by keeping a list of rules for God.

However, as we discovered a few weeks ago, following a list of rules will never result in us being declared not guilty of having a problem with God and experiencing a right relationship with God, because God’s standard is perfection and no one perfectly keeps their list of religious rules for God. What the Law and other sets of rules do is to reveal and provoke the selfishness and rebellion within us that we need to be rescued from.

But when we are led by the Holy Spirit; in other words, when we allow the Holy Spirit to guide us morally and spiritually, we are able to overcome the desires of our old nature apart from God. To embrace the religion of legalism that advocates faith in Christ plus works for God in order to be right with God by keeping a list of religious rules only reveals that we are living religious centered lives in our old nature apart from Jesus.

Paul’s point here is that when we live gospel centered lives that are influenced and controlled by the Holy Spirit we will win the spiritual war between our old nature apart from Jesus and the Holy Spirit’s activity in our lives. The battle is won because the Holy Spirit delivers us from the desires of our selfish and rebellious nature apart from Christ and the condemnation that results from the evil and destructive power of selfishness and sin in our lives. 

We are no longer under the condemnation that results when we attempt to do things for God by keeping a list of rules for God. Instead we are declared not guilty and are empowered to live life in the relationship with God that we were created for as the Holy Spirit leads and guides us in our relationship with Christ.

Now you might be wondering “Well Dave that sounds all fine and great, but how do we know who is winning the war? How do we know when we are living gospel centered lives that are influenced and controlled by the Holy Spirit? How do we know when we are living religious centered lives in our old nature apart from Christ? If those questions are running through your mind, I want to let you know that those are great questions to be asking. And in the remainder of this section of this letter we are going to see Paul answer those questions. And in his answer we see Paul reveal another timeless reason why we are to vote no on religion. And that timeless reason is this: We are to vote no on religion because religion produces rotten fruit.

You see, so often I have heard followers of Jesus attempt to answer these questions by pointing to emotions. In other words, I have heard followers of Jesus explain that they evaluate whether or not they are living gospel centered lives that are walking in the power of the Spirit because of how they feel. But how do you know that the feeling you are experiencing is the Holy Spirit’s activity or heartburn from the pizza you ate last night?

The timeless reality is that it is not feelings that determine whether or not you are living gospel centered lives that are influenced and controlled by the Holy Spirit. Instead, as we will see Paul reveal for us, it is the fruit, or what is produced, from your life that determines whether or not you are living gospel centered lives that are influenced and controlled by the Holy Spirit.

Tomorrow, we will begin to see Paul reveal and contrast for us the fruit, or what is produced, from a life that is influenced and controlled by the Holy Spirit and a life that is influenced and controlled by our old nature apart from Jesus….

The Destruction of Spiritual Growth and Our Relationships with Others...

This week, we have been looking at a section of a letter in the Bible called the book of Galatians where a man named Paul was revealing the reality that relying on religion results in destruction. Wednesday, we saw that relying on religion results in the destruction of our relationship with Christ and God’s grace in our lives. Today, we will see Paul reveal a third area that is destroyed when we rely on religion in Galatians 5:7:

 You were running well; who hindered you from obeying the truth? This persuasion did not come from Him who calls you. A little leaven leavens the whole lump of dough. I have confidence in you in the Lord that you will adopt no other view; but the one who is disturbing you will bear his judgment, whoever he is.

Paul confronts the members of the churches of Galatia with a compliment and a question: “You were running well; who hindered you from obeying the truth?” In other words, the apostle Paul is saying “you were making progress when it came to your relationship with Christ; you seemed to be growing spiritually. So what happened? Who is influencing you is such a way that you are no longer making progress when it comes to your relationship with Jesus? Who is influencing you so that you are no longer following the claims of Christ and the message of the gospel?”

And here we see Paul reveal for us a third area where a religious centered lifestyle results in destruction in that religion results in the destruction of spiritual growth. For some in the churches of Galatia, the influence of those who were advocating a religious centered lifestyle resulted in their abandonment of a gospel centered life to instead embrace the religion of legalism. For others in the churches of Galatia, the influence of those who were advocating a religious centered lifestyle resulted in the stagnation of their spiritual growth. There were doubts; there were questions that needed to be answered. 

Paul begins to answer those questions and doubts in verse 8. First, Paul explains that this persuasion did not come from Him who calls you. In other words, Paul is stating that the point of view that was being advocated by those who were proclaiming the false gospel of religion and promoting a religious centered lifestyle did not find its origin in God. The point of view that was influencing the members of the churches of Galatia so that they were no longer growing spiritually was not from God who had chosen to reveal His transformational intervention and activity through His Son Jesus to them.

In verse 9, Paul uses a popular proverb to drive home the danger of the false gospel of religion that was destroying their spiritual growth: “A little leaven leavens the whole lump of dough.” Now leaven was a piece of fermented dough, which when mixed into a batch of dough, would cause it to rise. Paul is reminding them that a little leaven will mix through and spread through the rest of the dough and ferment the entire dough.

In the Bible, leaven is often used as a word picture for sin; so what Paul is explaining to the members of the churches of Galatia, and us here today is that a little of the sin of the false gospel of religion in the church will mix its way through the entire church and infect the entire church with sin. And this infection was already beginning to spread with the result that there was a destruction of the spiritual growth of the members of the churches of Galatia.

After driving home the danger of the false gospel of religion, Paul encourages the members of the churches of Galatia by explaining that he was convinced that those who were followers of Jesus would not embrace the religious centered lifestyle that was being proclaimed and promoted but would instead remain firmly committed to living a gospel centered life that was driven by a confident trust in the claims of Christ and the message of the gospel.

However, for those who were causing inward turmoil and confusion by preaching the false gospel of religion and promoting a religious centered lifestyle, Paul explains that they will be required to pay the penalty that comes with being judged as being under condemnation as a result of rebelling and rejecting God’s message of rescue through the claims of Christ and the message of the gospel. Paul then transitions to defend himself against an accusation in verse 11:

 But I, brethren, if I still preach circumcision, why am I still persecuted? Then the stumbling block of the cross has been abolished.

Apparently, there were people who were accusing Paul of also preaching the false gospel of religion. There were those who were trying to influence others to embrace the false gospel of religion by explaining, “Well Paul is preaching and saying the exact same things that we are saying”. Paul’s response to their accusation is straightforward and to the point.  His response, if communicated in the language we use in our culture today, would have sounded something like this: “Really. You are really going to say that I am preaching the same message that you are. Well if that is the case; if I am proclaiming the false gospel of religion, then why are all you guys continually harassing me for the message that I am preaching? Because, if I am preaching the same message of religion that you are preaching, then my message would not be causing such a ruckus and offense that is resulting in the opposition and persecution that I face”.

You see, Paul was not preaching the same message that they were preaching, because the timeless reality is that the preaching of the claims of Christ and the message of the gospel arouses opposition from those who want to live religious centered lives. This accusation also leads Paul to respond with one of the strongest statements recorded in the entire Bible. Let’s look at that statement together, beginning in verse 12:

 I wish that those who are troubling you would even mutilate themselves.

Now the word mutilate here literally means to cut so that there is a separation. Paul’s response to their accusation was to wish that those who were promoting a religious centered lifestyle would attempt to circumcise themselves and then use a little too sharp of a knife so that they would end up being eunuchs. I wish Paul would tell us how he really feels. Who says the Bible is boring reading. Paul then concludes this section of this letter by addressing the opposite end of the spectrum of a religious centered life in verse 13:

For you were called to freedom, brethren; only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. For the whole Law is fulfilled in one word, in the statement, "YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF." But if you bite and devour one another, take care that you are not consumed by one another.

Here we see Paul turn his attention to the members of the churches of Galatia who were abandoning a gospel centered lifestyle to embrace the religion of license. As we have discovered, the religion of license maintains that as a result of God’s grace, we can do whatever we want and still be right with God. Paul responds by stating that while they were called to freedom; only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh. In other words, Paul is explaining that while the message of the gospel provides us freedom from the slavery that came about from attempting to do things for God by keeping a list of religious rules for God, we are not to respond to that freedom by allowing our old nature that is dominated by the evil and destructive power of sin to become active and dominate how we live our day to day lives.

Because when we allow our old nature that is dominated by selfishness and rebellion to dominate our lives, we will live selfish, narcissistic lives. We will be driven to please ourselves and place ourselves above others. Instead of embracing the religion of license that is driven by our old selfish and rebellious nature to please ourselves and place ourselves above others, Paul calls for the members of the churches of Galatia to through love serve one another. Now this love is an other-centered regard and affection for others that places others before ourselves. When Paul states that we are to serve one another, this word literally means to conduct oneself in total service to another.

Now, if we are brutally honest with ourselves, a natural reaction that arises here is “Why? Why should I place others before myself? Why should I serve others?” Paul provides the answer to these questions in verse 14 by pointing to a letter that is recorded for us in the Old Testament letter called the book of Leviticus. In Leviticus 19:18, we see God command the Jewish people to love their neighbor as yourself. Paul’s point here is that the entire Law is summed up and fulfilled when we love our neighbor as ourselves.

If we loved our neighbor as ourselves, would we break any religious rules? Would we lie? Cheat? Steal? Sleep around on our spouses? Love completes the Law; a life driven by love will be a life that fulfills the Law’s requirements. However, Paul explains “But if you bite and devour one another, take care that you are not consumed by one another.” The phrase bite and devour one another is a word picture of the discomfort and destruction that results when we engage in selfish and spiteful strife. When we are involved in division and dissension that arises from our selfishness that is released from the religion of license, the result is that we can tear one another to pieces, can’t we? That is the word picture Paul is painting here.

And it is this word picture that reveals the fourth area where a religious centered lifestyle results in destruction in that religion results in the destruction of our relationships with others. A religious centered lifestyle will destroy our relationships with others because, whether it is the religion of legalism or the religion of license, religion leads to comparison. And the comparison that flows from religion will only lead to either a life of pride or despair. Pride because we think we are better than others; despair because we are not measuring up to others.

And both the pride and despair that flows from a religious centered life will destroy our relationships with others. That is why, in verse 15, Paul tells the members of the churches of Galatia to watch out and look out when it comes to a religious centered life, because a religious centered lifestyle of license will destroy and consume community.

And that is why we must vote no on religion. We are to vote no on religion because religion results in destruction.  Religion results in the destruction of our relationship with Christ. Religion results in the destruction of God’s grace in our lives. Religion results in the destruction of spiritual growth. And religion results in the destruction of our relationships with others.

So how are you casting a ballot and voting? Are you voting to live a religious centered life that embraces either the religion of legalism or license? Or are you voting to live a gospel centered life that places their confident trust in Christ and strive to follow the message and teachings of Jesus by faith in the power of the Holy Spirit?

The Destruction of Our Relationship with Christ and God's Grace...

This week, we are looking at a section of a letter in the Bible called the book of Galatians. Yesterday, we saw Paul explain to the members of the churches of Galatia that when they began to identify themselves with the religion of legalism that was based on one’s performance for God instead of trusting in Jesus performance for us, Christ was of no benefit. Christ could no longer provide assistance or aid because they were no longer trusting in Christ but in their performance for God. Paul revealed for us another timeless reason why we are to vote no on religion in that we are to vote no on religion because relying on religion results in destruction. In Galatians 5:2-15, we are going to see Paul reveal for us four different areas where a religious centered lifestyle results in destruction. We see Paul reveal the first area in Galatians 5:4:

 You have been severed from Christ, you who are seeking to be justified by law;

To understand what Paul is communicating here, we first need to define some terms. As we discovered earlier in this series, the word justified is a legal terms that literally means to be declared not guilty of something, in this case having a problem with God. So when Paul talks about “you who are seeking to be justified by law” he is referring to those what were attempting to be declared not guilty of having a problem with God as a result of their selfishness and rebellion by attempting to keep the list of religious rules that were recorded in the law. And those rules needed to be followed perfectly.

Paul paints a graphic word picture with the practice of circumcision to reveal the first area where a religious centered lifestyle results in destruction: you have been severed from Christ. Paul’s point is that those who strive to be declared not guilty of having a problem with God by keeping a list of rules for God are estranged and separated from Christ. Christ no longer has anything to do with a religious centered person and their desire to be in a right relationship with God.

And it is here that we see Paul reveal for us the reality that religion results in the destruction of our relationship with Christ. The religious centered lifestyle does not live in a genuine and authentic relationship with Christ, because they do not need Jesus and they do not trust Jesus. They may attempt to use Jesus, but at the end of the day, a religious centered life of legalism trusts in their performance for God and not in Jesus. Any and every relationship will eventually be destroyed if there is a lack of trust. And a religious centered lifestyle severs and destroys a relationship with Jesus. Paul then reveals a second area where relying on religion results in destruction, beginning in the second half of verse 4:

you have fallen from grace. For we through the Spirit, by faith, are waiting for the hope of righteousness. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything, but faith working through love.

Paul explains to the members of the churches of Galatia, and us here this morning, that for those who strive to be declared not guilty of having a problem with God by keeping a list of rules for God, you have fallen from grace. But, this morning, what does it mean to fall from grace? And how do you fall from grace? When Paul states those who being circumcised in order to identify with the Jewish religious system had fallen from grace, he is revealing the reality that they had experienced a change for the worse from a previously favorable condition. That previously favorable condition was the result of God’s grace, or God’s transformational intervention and activity in their lives.

Paul here is revealing for us a second area where a religious centered lifestyle results in destruction in that religion results in the destruction of grace in our lives. Because they were no longer trusting in God’s transformational activity through Jesus life, death, and resurrection, they were no longer experiencing God’s transformational activity in their lives. The members of the churches of Galatia who had embraced religious centered lives were no longer experiencing the state of receiving forgiveness and a right relationship with God.

 

In verse 6, Paul contrasts the position of those who had embraced a religious centered lifestyle with those who embraced a gospel centered lifestyle. For the person who had embraced a gospel centered lifestyle, they looked forward with a confident expectation of their future as a follower of Jesus who was in a right relationship with God here on earth and for all eternity. Empowered by the Holy Spirit, those who embrace a gospel centered lifestyle are driven by a state of devotion to Christ that is based on their confident trust in the claims of Christ and the message of the gospel.

Paul then provides the reason for this confident expectation of their future as a follower of Jesus in verse 7. What matters when it comes to a right relationship with God through Jesus Christ is neither circumcision nor uncircumcision. In other words what you attempt to do for God by keeping a list of religious rules does not mean anything when it comes to experiencing a right relationship with God. Instead, Paul tells us that what matters when it comes to experiencing a right relationship with God is faith working through love. What matters is a state of devotion to Christ that is based on a confident trust in the claims of Christ and the message of the gospel that results in us revealing and reflecting the love of Christ to God and one another.

You see, while religion destroys God’s grace in our lives, a gospel centered life reveals and reflects God’s grace in our lives. God’s grace is powerfully revealed when we live gospel centered lives that are driven to respond to what God has done for us through Jesus by being devoted to confidently trust Jesus and show our love for Jesus by how we love others.

Friday, we will see Paul reveal two other areas that are destroyed by religion…

A Destructive Situation...

During this election season, we have been looking at a letter in the Bible called the book of Galatians, where we have seen a man named Paul provide several reasons why we are to vote no on religion and instead live gospel centered lives that are driven to respond to what God has done for us through Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection by placing our confident trust in Jesus and following His message and teachings by faith.

This week, I would like for us to pick up where we left off last week. And as Paul continues to contrast a gospel centered life with a religious centered life, we will discover another timeless reason why we are to vote no on religion. So let’s discover this reason together, beginning in Galatians 5:2:

Behold I, Paul, say to you that if you receive circumcision, Christ will be of no benefit to you. And I testify again to every man who receives circumcision, that he is under obligation to keep the whole Law.

Paul begins this section of his letter to the members of the churches of Galatia with two statements involving circumcision. As we have previously discovered in this series, circumcision is a surgical procedure that involves removing the foreskin from the male genitals with a surgical knife, or in this case, a knife made of stone.

The reason that circumcision was so significant was that circumcision was a covenant sign that identified the Jewish people as being God’s people. Circumcision was a religious act that was required to be performed under the Law so that you would be able to be identified as being right with God as part of the Jewish religious system. Circumcision was something you did for God in order to be in a right relationship with God.

What was happening in the churches of Galatia was that some members of the churches were being influenced by the false gospel of the religion of legalism that was being promoted by the Judaizer’s. Now the Judaizers taught that to become a Christian, one must follow the Mosaic Law’s standards and become circumcised. The Judaizers were legalists who advocated a faith plus works basis for salvation. In other words it was faith in God plus what you did for God by keeping a list of rules for God that resulted in a right relationship with God. It was the Judaizers who were mesmerizing the members of the churches of Galatia to abandon a gospel centered lifestyle for a religious centered lifestyle. And as a result some members of the churches of Galatia we being circumcised.

Paul responds to this situation by explaining that if you receive circumcision, Christ will be of no benefit to you. Now this little phrase, no benefit, conveys the sense of being unable to provide assistance or aid. Paul’s point here is that if the members of the churches of Galatia chose to abandon a gospel center lifestyle and instead identify themselves as being a part of a religious centered lifestyle through circumcision, then Christ would no longer be able to provide assistance or aid when it came to the problem of selfishness and rebellion that separated them from God.

Now you might be thinking to yourself “why not? I mean Dave, why would Jesus be no longer able to provide assistance or aid if someone chose to embrace a religious centered life of legalism that involved faith in Christ plus works for God in order to be in a right relationship with God?” If that question is running through your mind, I want to let you know that it is a great question to be asking.

Paul provides the answer to that question in verse 3: “And I testify again to every man who receives circumcision, that he is under obligation to keep the whole Law.” When Paul uses the word obligation here, this word refers to one who is under obligation in a moral or social sense to do something. And for the person who received circumcision, the moral obligation that they were under was to keep the whole Law. When Paul refers to the Law here, he is referring to the first five books that are recorded for us in our Bibles today, which the Jewish people referred to as the Law or the Torah;

The point that Paul is making here is that those who were circumcised in order to identify themselves as a part of the Jewish religious system were entering into a covenant relationship with God that required them to be perfectly obedient to all of God’s commands. You see, God made it clear to the Jewish people that His standard was perfection and by being circumcised in order to identify with the Jewish religious system, you were agreeing to that standard. And the Jewish people, when they entered into that covenant relationship, agreed that the consequence for failing to perfectly keep God’s commands was to receive divine condemnation for their disobedience.

God’s standard was clearly communicated from the beginning and has not changed. To be in a right relationship with a perfect God requires perfection. So, when the members of the churches of Galatia began to identify themselves with the religion of legalism that was based on one’s performance for God instead of trusting in Jesus performance for us, Christ was of no benefit. Christ could no longer provide assistance or aid because they were no longer trusting in Christ but in their performance for God.

And here we see Paul reveal for us another timeless reason why we are to vote no on religion. And that timeless reason is this: We are to vote no on religion because religion results in destruction. In Galatians 5:2-15, we are going to see Paul reveal for us four different areas where a religious centered lifestyle results in destruction.

Tomorrow, we see Paul reveal the first area where relying on a religion results in destruction…

We Are To Vote No On Religion Because Relying On Religion Results In Slavery...

This week, we have been looking at a section of a letter in our Bibles called the book of Galatians. Wednesday, we saw a man named Paul explain that the claims of Christ and the message of the gospel provide us the opportunity to be freed from the slavery of the religion of legalism so that we can experience that forgiveness and freedom that comes when we live in the relationship with God that we were created for as a part of the family of God. Today, we will see Paul transition to address a situation that was occurring between those who embraced a gospel centered life and those who embraced a religious centered life in verse 29:

But as at that time he who was born according to the flesh persecuted him who was born according to the Spirit, so it is now also. But what does the Scripture say? "CAST OUT THE BONDWOMAN AND HER SON, FOR THE SON OF THE BONDWOMAN SHALL NOT BE AN HEIR WITH THE SON OF THE FREE WOMAN." So then, brethren, we are not children of a bondwoman, but of the free woman.

Here we see Paul point the readers of his letter back to the story of Sarah and Hagar. In Genesis chapter 21, we read that after fulfilling His promise to Abraham and Sarah through the birth of Isaac, while Abraham and Sarah were overjoyed with the birth of Isaac, Ishmael did not share their enthusiasm.  Ishmael did not share their enthusiasm because Ishmael knew that he had just lost out on the inheritance and the privileges had previously been coming to him. And Ishmael responded to this situation and to his loss by mocking and attempting to abuse Isaac. And like any mom, Sarah is very upset at this turn of events. We see Sarah and God’s response recorded for us in Genesis 21:10-12:

Therefore she said to Abraham, "Drive out this maid and her son, for the son of this maid shall not be an heir with my son Isaac."The matter distressed Abraham greatly because of his son. But God said to Abraham, "Do not be distressed because of the lad and your maid; whatever Sarah tells you, listen to her, for through Isaac your descendants shall be named. "

Paul quotes the story to reveal the reality that, just as it was for the children Isaac and Ishmael, it is for those in Paul’s day and throughout history. Just like Ishmael and Isaac, those who are enslaved in a religious centered lifestyle will often harass and even be abusive to those who embrace a gospel centered lifestyle. And the harassment and abuse that gospel centered people receive from religious centered people can cause us to question how we are voting when it comes to living a life as a religious centered person or as a gospel centered person.

However, Paul points to this story to reveal the reality that the religion of legalism and the message of the gospel cannot coexist. In other words, you cannot live a gospel centered life and a religious centered life. In addition, God does not divide His blessings between those who live religious centered lives and those who live gospel centered lives.

God accepts those who live 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 following His message and teachings by faith. And God rejects those who live religious centered lives that place their confident trust in what they do for God by keeping a list of religious rules for God.  Paul then concludes this section with a command that reveals for us another timeless reason why we are to vote no on religion:

 It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery.

Now this command, if communicated in the language we use in our culture today, would have sounded something like this: Since Christ came to set you free from the slavery that came about from attempting to do things for God by keeping a list of religious rules for God, remain firmly committed to live gospel centered lives that are driven by a confident trust in Jesus and that strives to following His message and teachings by faith. Do not allow yourself to become enslaved in a religious centered life that keeps you separated from God.

And it is here that we see Paul reveal for us another timeless reason why we are to vote no on religion. And that timeless reason that we are to vote no on religion because relying on religion results in slavery. Paul used the story of Sarah and Hagar as an analogy to express the timeless truth that religion enslaves us. Paul wanted the members of the churches of Galatia, and humanity throughout history to clearly understand that when we choose to live a religious centered life that attempts to do things for God in order to be in a right relationship with God by keeping a list of religious rules for God, we become enslaved by the religion of legalism. And the slavery that results from attempting to do things for God in order to be right with God instead of trusting in God and the promises of God only reveals the selfishness and rebellion that separates us from God.

Because, as we previously discovered, God’s standard has been clear from the beginning and has not changed. To be in a right relationship with a perfect God requires perfection. And because nobody is perfect, religion can only reveal that they have a huge problem with God because every human being on the planet ends up breaking a rule on their religion’s list. Only God’s message of rescue through the claims of Christ and the message of the gospel provide us the opportunity to be freed from the slavery of the religion of legalism so that we can experience the forgiveness and freedom that comes when we live in the relationship with God that we were created for as a part of the family of God.

So how have you been casting your ballot? How have you been voting? Have you been casting your ballot and choosing to vote to live a religious centered life that attempts to do things for God in order to be in a right relationship with God by keeping a list of religious rules for God? Because, as we have seen, a religious centered life based on keeping a list of rules for God enslaves us into the religion of legalism.

Or have you been casting your ballot to vote for a gospel centered life that free from the slavery of the religion of legalism so that we can experience the forgiveness and freedom that comes when we live in the relationship with God that we were created for as a part of the family of God?

A Tale of Two Covenant's...

This week, we are looking at a section of a letter in the Bible called the book of Galatians. Yesterday, we saw a man named Paul share the story of Sarah and Hagar. Instead of waiting and trusting in God and His promises, Abraham and Sarah decided that they would help God out by doing something for God, which resulted in the birth of a son named Ishmael. Instead of trusting God, Abraham and Sarah decided to do for themselves what God had promised that He would do for them. However, even though they had attempted to do for God what God promised to do for them through Abraham’s activity with Sarah’s slave, God is a promise maker and God is a promise keeper.

And a little later in the story, we read that Abraham, who was 99 and Sarah, who was 90 and on the other side of menopause, acted with confident trust in God and His promises that demonstrated their faith. And God, just as He had promised, graciously intervened in a supernatural way to provide for them a son, named Isaac. Unlike Ishmael, who was the result of their attempts to do something for God, Isaac was the result of them placing their confident trust in God to do what only God could do.  

Today, we will see Paul transition from this story to the situation in the churches of Galatia in verse 24:

This is allegorically speaking, for these women are two covenants: one proceeding from Mount Sinai bearing children who are to be slaves; she is Hagar. Now this Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia and corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is in slavery with her children.

Now to understand what Paul is communicating here, we first need to define some terms. When Paul states that this is allegorically speaking, he is letting the members of the churches of Galatia know that he is going to use the story of Sarah and Hagar as an analogy to express a truth that he wanted to convey to them. You see, when people ask me if I take the Bible literally, my response is that I take the parts of the Bible literally that are meant to be taken literally. The Bible is composed of many different types of literary genres and here Paul is making an allegorical analogy to reveal a truth.

First, Paul states that these women serve as an analogy to two covenants. Now a covenant refers to a decree from God that establishes a relationship between God and humanity. One covenant, Paul explains, is represented by Hagar and proceeds from Mount Sinai bearing children who are slaves. Here Paul is referring to the covenant that God made with Moses and the Jewish people that is recorded for us in the second letter in our Bibles, called the book of Exodus, in Exodus 19-24.

In Exodus 19-24, we see Moses go up to meet with God on Mount Sinai, where he was given the Law, which contained the list of commandments that revealed to the Jewish people God’s nature, God’s character, and the type of nature, character, and conduct that humanity would need to possess and display in order to live in a right relationship with God. It was the Law that formed the Jewish religious system. And it was the Law which Paul refers to as bearing children who are to be slaves. But what does that mean?

Paul here is revealing the reality that attempting to do things for God in order to be in a right relationship with God by keeping a list of religious rules for God, in this case the Law produced people that were enslaved by the religion of legalism. Just as Hagar was a slave, attempting to do things for God in order to be right with God instead of trusting in God and the promises of God results in slavery to the religion of legalism that can only reveal the selfishness and rebellion that separates us from God.

Paul then makes application of his analogy by explaining in verse 25 that Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia and corresponds to the present Jerusalem. Paul’s point here was that just as Hagar was a slave, the Jewish people who attempted to do things for God in order to be right with God, by keeping the commandments of the Law were enslaved by the religion of legalism. Paul wanted the members of the churches of Galatia to clearly understand that the Jewish people were enslaved by the religion of legalism and separated from God. Paul then transitions to talk about the second covenant in verse 26:

But the Jerusalem above is free; she is our mother. For it is written, "REJOICE, BARREN WOMAN WHO DOES NOT BEAR; BREAK FORTH AND SHOUT, YOU WHO ARE NOT IN LABOR; FOR MORE NUMEROUS ARE THE CHILDREN OF THE DESOLATE THAN OF THE ONE WHO HAS A HUSBAND." And you brethren, like Isaac, are children of promise.

Here we see Paul contrast the Jewish people that attempted to do things for God in order to be right with God and were enslaved by the religion of legalism with the Jerusalem above. You see, the present earthly Jerusalem served as the center for the Jewish religious system that represented the covenant that God made with Moses on Mount Sinai.

However, the Jewish people took that covenant and responded by becoming enslaved in the religion of legalism. By contrast, the Jerusalem above was a place of freedom from the slavery that comes from attempting to do things for God by keeping a list of religious rules for God through the religion of legalism. But, this morning, where is this Jerusalem above? What is Paul referring to here?

When Paul refers to the Jerusalem above, he is referring to the covenant relationship that God offers to all humanity through Jesus life, death, and resurrection. Paul is reminding the members of the churches of Galatia, and us here this morning that the spiritual and eternal kingdom of Heaven first arrived when Jesus entered into humanity and will come in its fullest sense when Jesus returns to earth to defeat selfishness, sin, and death.

Paul’s point here is that the claims of Christ and the message of the gospel provide us the opportunity to be freed from the slavery of the religion of legalism so that we can experience that forgiveness and freedom that comes when we live in the relationship with God that we were created for as a part of the family of God. Paul uses the analogy of this Jerusalem above as our mother to reveal that we become a child of God by trusting in what God has done for us, not in what we do for God.

Paul then quotes from a section of the Old Testament letter the book of Isaiah. In Isaiah 54:1, the prophet Isaiah predicted and proclaimed that there would be a future day when Jerusalem would be restored from captivity and be blessed with fruitfulness and children that would make up for those that were lost as a result of God’s right and just response to their selfishness and rebellion. Paul then takes this Old Testament quotes and applies it to reveal that God’s new covenant through Jesus life, death, and resurrection would result in a fruitfulness and blessing of people becoming a part of the family of God through faith in Christ.

Just as Sarah rejoiced with joy at the birth of Isaac, who was the result of them placing their confident trust in God to do what only God could do; just as Sarah’s children were more numerous than those of Hagar, who were the result of their attempts to do something for God; followers of Jesus who have placed their confident trust in what God has done for us through Jesus life, death, and resurrection have the freedom and the victory over the slavery of the religion of legalism.

Paul then reinforces this reality in verse 28. Like Isaac, those who place their confident trust in the claims of Christ and the message of the gospel are a part of the family of God. Paul is asking the members of the churches of Galatia: “After having the opportunity the experience the freedom and forgiveness and comes through placing your confident trust in what God has done through Jesus, why would you then go back to the religion of legalism that only enslaves you once again and separates you from God?”

Friday, we will see Paul transition to address a situation that was occurring between those who embraced a gospel centered life and those who embraced a religious centered life…

 

A Story Fit For Reality T.V....

During this election season at the church where I serve we have been involved in a sermon series entitled vote no on religion. During this series we have been looking at a letter that is recorded for us in the New Testament in our Bibles called the Book of Galatians. And just as it was for the members of the churches of Galatia, we discovered that, every day, we cast a ballot in an election for one of two candidates. Either we choose to live our day to day lives as a gospel-centered person whose life is driven to respond to what God has done for us through Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection by placing our confident trust in Jesus and following His message and teachings by faith. Or, we choose to live our day to day lives as a religious centered person who follows one of two different forms of religion.

As we have seen throughout this series, there are several reasons why we must vote no on religion. This week, I would like for us to pick up where we left off last week, where we will see Paul continue to try to convince the members of the churches of Galatia to vote no on religion. And once again, we will discover another timeless reason why we are to vote no on religion. So let’s look together at what Paul has to say next, beginning in Galatians 4:21:

Tell me, you who want to be under law, do you not listen to the law?

Paul begins this section of his letter to the churches of Galatia by asking a question: “Tell me, you who want to be under law, do you not listen to the law?” When Paul refers to the Law here, he is referring to the first five books that are recorded for us in our Bibles today, which the Jewish people referred to as the Law or the Torah. The phrase under the Law literally means to be in subjection to the Law. In other words, to be under the Law required that a person followed all of God’s commandments that were recorded in the Law, all of the time.

When Paul asks “do you not listen to the Law?”, he is asking “Do you hear and understand what the Law really says? So you say you want to live a religious centered life that follows the religion of legalism, by keeping all of the commandments of the Law. Do you really understand what the Law really says about how one experiences a right relationship with God?” Paul then points the members of the churches of Galatia to a story that is recorded for us in the Law in Galatians 4:22:

For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by the bondwoman and one by the free woman. But the son by the bondwoman was born according to the flesh, and the son by the free woman through the promise.

Paul points the members of the churches of Galatia, and us here today, to the story of Sarah and Hagar, which is recorded for us in the very first letter of the Bible, called the book of Genesis. In Genesis 15, we see God remind Abraham, who was 86 years old, of His promise to make Him a great nation that would leave a great legacy. Abraham responds to God’s reminder with a question “How is my reward going to great? I am 86 and have no children. I am getting old. You are going to have to give the reward to my servant.”

God then makes an amazing and seemingly impossible promise to Abraham. Your servant will not be your heir. No, Abraham, you and your wife Sarah will have a child and your legacy, your descendants, will be too great to count. However, ten years after God had made this promise, Abraham and Sarah still had no children. And after waiting ten years for God to fulfill His promise, Sarah became impatient. We read what happens next in Genesis 16:1:

Now Sarai, Abram's wife had borne him no children, and she had an Egyptian maid whose name was Hagar. So Sarai said to Abram, "Now behold, the LORD has prevented me from bearing children. Please go in to my maid; perhaps I will obtain children through her." And Abram listened to the voice of Sarai. After Abram had lived ten years in the land of Canaan, Abram's wife Sarai took Hagar the Egyptian, her maid, and gave her to her husband Abram as his wife. He went in to Hagar, and she conceived; and when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress was despised in her sight. And Sarai said to Abram, "May the wrong done me be upon you. I gave my maid into your arms, but when she saw that she had conceived, I was despised in her sight. May the LORD judge between you and me." But Abram said to Sarai, "Behold, your maid is in your power; do to her what is good in your sight." So Sarai treated her harshly, and she fled from her presence.

Now who says the Bible is boring; you really should read it sometime. I mean this has all the makings of a reality T.V. show, doesn’t it? “God is not moving fast enough, so sleep with my female slave; that should turn out well”. Instead of waiting and trusting in God and His promises, Abraham and Sarah decided that they would help God out by doing something for God, which resulted in the birth of a son named Ishmael. Instead of trusting God, Abraham and Sarah decided to do for themselves what God had promised that He would do for them.

However, even though they had attempted to do for God what God promised to do for them through Abraham’s activity with Sarah’s slave, God is a promise maker and God is a promise keeper, as we see a little later in the book of Genesis, beginning in Genesis 18:9, when the Lord and two angels visit Abraham and Sarah:

Then they said to him, "Where is Sarah your wife?" And he said, "There, in the tent." He said, "I will surely return to you at this time next year; and behold, Sarah your wife will have a son." And Sarah was listening at the tent door, which was behind him. Now Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in age; Sarah was past childbearing. Sarah laughed to herself, saying, "After I have become old, shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?" And the LORD said to Abraham, "Why did Sarah laugh, saying, 'Shall I indeed bear a child, when I am so old?'  "Is anything too difficult for the LORD? At the appointed time I will return to you, at this time next year, and Sarah will have a son."

And, a few chapters later in Genesis 21, we read that Abraham, who was 99 and Sarah, who was 90 and on the other side of menopause, acted with confident trust in God and His promises that demonstrated their faith. And God, just as He had promised, graciously intervened in a supernatural way to provide for them a son, named Isaac. Unlike Ishmael, who was the result of their attempts to do something for God, Isaac was the result of them placing their confident trust in God to do what only God could do.

Tomorrow, we will see Paul transition from this story to the situation in the churches of Galatia…