(1) Background to Galatians (25th January 2009) (2) Cursing preachers (Galatians 1:1-12, 8th February 2009) (3) The danger of religion (Galatians 1:13-24, 15th February 2009) (4) An unnecessary operation (Galatians 2:1-10, 22nd February 2009) (5) Justified by faith (Galatians 2:11-16, 15th March 2009) (6) No going back (Galatians 2:16-21, 22nd March 2009) (7) The cross and the Spirit (Galatians 3:1-5, 5th April 2009) (8) Faith like Abraham's (Galatians 3:6-12, 3rd May 2009) (9) A temporary job well done (Galatians 3:13-25, 10th May 2009) (10) A new status (Galatians 3:26-4:6, 17th May 2009) (11) Lifestyle slavery (Galatians 4:7-15, 21st June 2009) (12) Problems in the family (Galatians 4:16-31, 5th July 2009) (13) Tiny change, big effect (Galatians 5:1-12, 12th July 2009) (14) New life (Galatians 5:11-18, 2nd August 2009) (15) Sexual sin (Galatians 5:19, 30th August 2009) (16) Idols & magic (Galatians 5:20, 6th September 2009) (17) Relating badly (Galatians 5:20-21, 13th September 2009) (18) Partying wrongly (Galatians 5:21, 18th October 2009) (19) Love (Galatians 5:22, 22nd November 2009) (20) Joy and peace (Galatians 5:22, 6th December 2009) (21) Christian slowness (Galatians 5:22-23, 10th January 2010) (22) In step with the Spirit (Galatians 5:23-25, 24th January 2010) (23) No comparing with others (Galatians 5:26-6:5, 31st January 2010) (24) An eternal perspective (Galatians 6:6-10, 7th February 2010) (25) And finally... (Galatians 6:11-18, 14th February 2010)
Galatians is a letter written to deal with some important issues amongst a group of churches in what is, today, Turkey. But to understand this letter, we need to know how the gospel first reached these places. So this sermon simply looked at that background. The story begins with Jesus. Jesus lived, died and rose again in Israel and called mostly Jewish people to receive him as their Lord. He appointed 12 apostles to continue his work and after Jesus returned to heaven those apostles centred their work in Jerusalem, preaching to fellow Jews. In those days the work was very Israel-centred. However, Jesus never intended permanently to limit his saving work only to the Jews and so he showed his apostles by a vision (Acts 10) and by the giving of the Holy Spirit that people of every sort were to become Christians. Well after this the apostles still mostly stayed in Jerusalem, but other Christians had scattered all over the place and a church was formed in Antioch which included many non-Jews. Barnabus was then sent from Jerusalem to check this out and, greatly encouraged, he called in Saul to help teach this new congregation. In his younger days Saul – an intelligent and gifted man – was a very zealous Jew. During Jesus' ministry, Saul lived in Jerusalem, having gone there to study the Bible as a “Pharisee”. Saul was keen for all Israel to live for God and be blessed by God; Saul certainly wanted that for himself. However, being a Pharisee brought him into conflict with Jesus who was sharply critical of many of them, whom he accused – despite all their Bible knowledge – of not understanding either themselves or God. Well Jesus was executed, but to Saul's frustration that didn't shut up Jesus' followers, who claimed that Jesus was vindicated when God raised him from the dead. And then Saul heard a speech by a man called Stephen which made him livid. Stephen pointed out how the Jews had consistently failed to listen to God's leaders and had presumed on God's blessing simply because they had things like the Temple and the Law. But Stephen told them that they had failed God through their disobedience and inability to see when God was at work. Well this offended his hearers and Stephen was stoned to death. Saul approved of his murder and launched his own campaign to stamp out the Christians. However, everything then changed because Saul met the risen Jesus on the road to Damascus and in a single moment he realised how wrong he had been. But Saul repented and found forgiveness – an amazing testimony to God's grace (1 Tim 1:15) – after which he became a preacher, telling firstly Jews, and then Gentiles, about Jesus. And his work resulted in the churches of Galatia.
(1) Read through Jesus' criticisms of the Pharisees in the gospels. According to him, what were the problems with them?
(2) Then examine your own heart. Do you think or act in any similar ways to the Pharisees? Turn your thoughts into prayer.
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After Paul moved on from the churches in Southern Turkey, he subsequently heard worrying news. Preachers had arrived who were adding to the message which Paul had preached and as a result leading those churches astray. So he wrote this letter to combat the problem. In the opening verses, Paul emphasises how significant his gospel is. It comes (v1) from the two most important people in the universe: Jesus Christ and God the Father; they have appointed Paul as an “apostle” to speak on their behalf. The gospel brings grace and peace to people (v3) so that those who respond to Paul's message receive the renewing of their lives into all they should be, as a result of God's undeserved favour. And this favour was given utterly generously by God, who chose to give up his own Son to the cross to rescue his people from their sins and the ruin of this world (v4); a task the Son selflessly agreed to undertake. So that those who believed Paul's gospel now are sure that they have God as their Father (v3,4). All of this thrills Paul so much that he can only resort to praise of God (v5) before continuing with his letter. Christians must not be distracted from the wonder of the gospel. When we let other things come in and take us away from its message, then we will find ourselves losing our hope. Which is why Paul next reacts with astonishment (v6). Are the Christians in Galatia – who heard this gospel with delight a couple of years earlier (Acts 13:48) – now giving up on it? Do they really want to embrace the things which these new preachers want to add to Paul's gospel? If they do they will lose their hope because the new preachers in Galatia are preaching bad news (v7)! This situation is one from which churches are always in danger: false teachers who lead believers away from the gospel. Often such false teachers behave like the men Paul is condemning; they don't deny the gospel but they add religion to it effectively saying “Yes have faith in Christ but a real believer also does THIS.” Our minds are prone to temptation from such ideas because we have an inclination to build our hopes on ourselves: “I know God favours me because I'm a good parent, a moral person, I've got this great characteristic in my Christian life etc.” We must not do this: a Christian is saved by grace through faith in Christ (Eph 2:8). So because the false teachers were undermining his fundamental message in Galatia, Paul cursed them: calling upon God to destroy them (v8,9) And he didn't care who was offended by that curse, because Paul's concern was God not men (v10) for his message was from God not man (v1, 11, 12). Christians are to bless their enemies (Lk 6:27) but we are also to curse church leaders who add to God's gospel.
(1) In coming weeks listen to some of the pronouncements by Christian leaders who speak to the media. Are they true to the gospel? How should you pray? (2) Paul curses the preachers for their false message, but he doesn't curse the Galatian believers for listening to them. Why not?
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Paul has pointed out his gospel came from God and not from men. Why did Paul write this? Probably because the new preachers in Galatia are playing on the fact that they come from Jerusalem – home of the 12 apostles – and are telling Gentile Christians they need to become Jewish. Their “gospel” is about who you know; where you live; and what you do – all very man-centred. So Paul's emphasises the God-centredness of his gospel! But why is Paul so negative towards this other preaching? It's because he lived in this man-centred system and knows what it did to him! When young, Paul was zealous for Judaism and made great progress in its teaching and lifestyle (v13,14) But this fine life lead him to persecute God's people (v13). It didn't draw him nearer to God; it took him further away. How did it go so wrong? Jesus said of the Pharisees that “their teachings are but rules taught by men.” (Mk 7:7) In the past Paul believed that God had been gracious to Israel, giving them His covenant, Law and promises. But how could a Jewish man be sure of receiving the blessings? Paul believed he must strive to be obedient to the Law. That obedience would never be perfect, but God was forgiving. Nonetheless the harder a man tried to obey, the more assurance he could have of God's blessing. So the Pharisees examined God's Law and laid out rules to help obedience. But, says Jesus, people like Paul relied on those rules, instead of upon God, which was disastrous because rules don't change sinful hearts – as Paul's persecuting clearly demonstrated. All this shows us the great danger of religion: it leads us to rely upon ourselves rather than trusting God who alone can change us. However, Paul was saved by God's grace when Jesus met him and God then called Paul to preach this gospel of salvation through faith in Christ to people everywhere, thus fulfilling what Isaiah always said the Christ would do (v15; Is 49). And how did Paul start to do that? By staying away from Jerusalem (v16, 17). God had shown him the truth, he needed no man to teach him now. So instead Paul went off to Arabia and it was three years before Paul bothered to pay a short visit to Jerusalem, to meet up with a couple of the church leaders and get to know them. But Paul certainly wasn't looking for any man's approval. The new man-centred preachers in Galatia may boast of their Jerusalem connections but not Paul! He only stayed there briefly and was then off again into Gentile countries. Paul had clearly learned that the gospel is a matter of faith in Christ, not: who you know; where you live; or what you do. Christians must cling to the fact that God saves people through Jesus, not by any religious system.
(1) What man-made rules might some modern Christians impose on people as necessary for somebody if they are to be regarded truly as a Christian? (2) In what ways can you encourage yourself each day simply to look to the Lord Jesus for forgiveness and hope for the future?
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In chapter 2 Paul continues looking back to his early years as a Christian preacher. He remembers his days in Antioch: the first city which saw a church that really united Jews and Gentiles (Acts 11:20). It must have been an exciting but also difficult time as new Christians learned to love people from utterly different cultures to their own. That revolution, however, was not appreciated by all and some arrived from Jerusalem who wanted to end it. They believed that if Gentiles were to be followers of Christ then they needed to become Jewish. So although they came as brothers, they turned out to be false – spying on Antioch in order to try and change it (2:4). Sometimes people join churches and then use devious means to turn Christians to their own ideas; such people must be resisted by the leaders as Paul did (2:5). Now in Antioch the issue which summed up the confrontation was circumcision (2:3,7,8): Paul would not teach Gentiles Christians to undergo this operation, which shocked the infiltrators from Jerusalem. The sign of circumcision goes back to Abraham: God promised that through his family the world would be saved (Gen 12). Circumcision was a constant reminder (Gen 17) to Abraham's family to look for the conception of a child who would fulfil God's promises; it also showed that salvation would only come through painful sacrifice. But this meant that circumcision was always temporary: only needed until the saviour came and fulfilled God's promises through his death. Which meant that after the saviour came, the children of God would simply be recognised by their faith. But in fact, as Paul later says, this was always the case anyway: Abraham himself was a man of faith (3:7). Paul had seen this to be true amongst the Christians in Antioch and so he resisted the “false brothers” (2:5) and would not circumcise Gentile Christians. Nonetheless, this left a problem in Paul's mind: did these “false brothers” represent the thinking in Jerusalem? So 14 years after his conversion, he now decided it was time for a big visit (2:1). He went there with Barnabus, bringing a gift having heard a prophecy about famine in Israel (2:2; Acts 11:28) And he took Titus with him, who was a Gentile Christian. This would really test the apostles' attitude: would they insist on Titus being circumcised? But to Paul's relief they didn't! Rather they completely agreed that his approach to Gentile evangelism was correct and Titus went home unharmed (2:3, 6-9) All they asked was that Paul should help the poor, which Paul was delighted to do since it expressed unity between the Gentile and Jewish believers (2:10). Christians are united by our faith in Christ and cultural differences must not divide us into separate churches.
(1) Is it right for a church to split up or have separate meetings for different cultural subgroups in the church? What guides us in this? (2) Which fellow Christians do you find it hardest to love? What are the reasons and what should you do about it?
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In the first century some Jewish Christians found the conversion of Gentiles difficult to cope with. They felt that Gentiles needed to move closer into Judaism, taking on issues like circumcision. But when this arose at the first really mixed church in Antioch, Paul rejected the idea. He was sure that faith in Christ alone was all that was needed. A view which the apostles in Jerusalem agreed with, when Paul visited them. However, after Paul returned to Antioch, Peter came to visit (2:11). Initially Peter rejoiced in the free mixing together of Jews and Gentiles in that large church (2:12). But then others arrived from Jerusalem who didn't approve, and their concerned comments intimidated Peter (especially since they knew James). Indeed he was so worried that he backed away from mixing with the Gentile Christians (2:11-12). This hypocritical behaviour (at odds with what Peter knew in his heart) lead other Jews astray resulting in a cold chill developing in the relationships between Jews and Gentiles in the Antioch church (2:12-13). Now Peter was wrong, but we should appreciate the pressure he felt. Much of his life was still lived amongst Jewish friends & family – both Christians and non-Christians. So if people heard bad reports about his conduct in Antioch it could cause problems. Also Peter had a personality weakness which lead him to be intimidated in certain pressurised contexts (Mk 14). So Antioch was a hard test for Peter. This teaches us that church leaders, and other believers, will fail us at times. We must not be surprised because churches are full of recovering sinners. That recovery process takes time: some sins are not quickly removed from us, by God. This reminds us that forgiveness is constantly needed by Christians: forgiveness from God, from others and towards others. However, when a fellow believer is seriously going wrong they need telling and so Paul did just that, reminding Peter how he “lived like a Gentile” (2:14). In other words, Peter accepted that faith in Christ was the heart of the gospel; he had preached this to Gentiles; and they'd received the Holy Spirit and baptism. In these events Peter had acted like a Gentile, so why did he now – by his conduct – encourage Gentiles to adopt Jewish ways? Paul then emphasised his point by reminding Peter how they'd both learned, through contact with Jesus, that even though faithful as Jews they remained condemned by God as sinners and hence needed a different way to be “justified” – to have God judge in their favour. This was through faith in Christ, which is the only way to escape the punishment of God. All Christians must keep this truth before them, not putting their hope anywhere else.
(1) How do you think the idea which Paul preaches in this passage – justification through faith in Jesus Christ – can help you in day-to-day life? (2) Have you forgiven other believers who have let you down and now apologised? Or are you holding any grudges? Have you an unforgiving spirit?
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During his visit to Antioch, Peter started to back away from Gentile Christians. Through the influence of others, Peter became worried about the effects all this Jew/Gentile mixing might have in Jerusalem. The result was pressure upon the Gentiles to take on practices which were distinctively Jewish. But Paul reminded Peter (v16) that he had learned not to put his hope in those things. Once Peter had lived in a Jewish world which believed that faithful Jews would receive God's favourable judgement (be justified) on Judgement Day. But when he came to know God's Messiah – Christ Jesus – he had to change his thinking. Peter heard Christ approve of John the Baptist's condemnation of Israel. He saw Christ go to “sinners” (unfaithful Jews) and tell them that God's kingdom was for them. He heard Christ preach that people needed to put their faith in him if they wanted God's blessing. Peter saw “good” Jewish leaders hate, lie and murder God's Messiah. Peter had his own heart exposed as sinful and corrupt. Through all these means Peter learned that mankind is lost in wickedness and only faith in Christ can save anyone; faithfulness to God's law cannot do it. Which is the message Peter then preached both to Jews and Gentiles. So in v16 Paul is reminding Peter of what he had learned from being with Christ: no-one is justified through the works of the law but only through faith in Christ. And if Peter tries to reinstate Jewish faithfulness as necessary then he's going to get himself into deep water. Firstly, he's going to be condemning Christ, who lead him to eat with sinners in the first place (v17). Secondly, he's going to be condemning himself, because of all the laws he's broken since coming to faith in Christ and following Christ's example (v18). It's crazy for Peter to do this. There can be no going back to that old way of life which relied upon law-keeping – that old life is dead (v19)! After they had met Christ both Paul and Peter realised that what the law taught them was that they were sinful failures who needed a Saviour. And especially the cross showed them that. If law-keeping could work then Christ never needed to die (v20-21). But the fact that God's Messiah did die under the curse of God's wrath proves that all people are sinners who need someone to rescue them. Paul knows that his old life was horrible and wicked: it deserved to die. And it did, but not with Paul suffering the consequences! Instead Christ took Paul's old life to the cross and suffered for him (v20). So Paul cannot and will not go back to his old life, it would be to despise God's grace (v21). Christians must set their eyes upon Christ and find all their hope through faith in him, not in the lives which they live.
(1) Read through one of the gospels and make a note of Christ's dealings with Peter. Note down the lessons Peter learnt about himself and others. (2) What issues today may stop Christians in the same church from mixing together? Does Paul's teaching here help?
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Paul, in Galatians 2, uses his confrontation with Peter at Antioch as an example of his dealings with the false teaching which is now affecting the Galatian churches. Later (we know from Acts 15) Peter would stand firmly with Paul on this matter. However, at this point Paul does not record the outcome of his challenge to Peter but instead returns to addressing the Galatians directly. He starts with his shock at how dim-witted they are being by listening to those who want Gentiles to become Jewish. It almost seems as though they've been mesmerised! (3:1) So Paul reminds them of his message of a crucified saviour. Don't they see the difference between Paul's message and the words of these new preachers? Don't they realise how the cross exposes human wickedness and shows the need for our old sinful lives to die, otherwise we'll face the condemnation of God (2:20-21)? Don't they remember how Paul's plain preaching provoked a reaction in some Jews which showed the truth displayed in the cross that we all, including circumcised religious people, need forgiveness (Acts 13)? Like all Christians, the Galatians needed to keep the cross at the heart of their faith because it makes plain the truth about ourselves and about our God. If they remembered the cross they wouldn't be bothering with circumcision! But they also wouldn't be bothering with circumcision if they remembered how Paul's message of the cross brought to them a whole new life. By believing, not by cutting flesh, they received the Holy Spirit (3:2). God's gift to all who put their faith in Christ is the Holy Spirit, who begins to work great changes in their lives (5:22-25). And there is no greater gift than to have the Holy Spirit at work within us. It is simply foolish for the Galatians to listen to these preachers who are promising extra blessing from God if they'll just get to work with their scalpels. What greater blessing can there be than to have the Spirit? Or do the Galatians imagine that they can add to the work of Spirit (v3)? Is it really the case that God doesn't think of people who have his Spirit within them, as not yet fully-fledged members of his family? No, this is foolishness! The Galatians cannot add anything to what God has done for them, rather they must simply strive to keep in step with the Spirit (5:25). So having already suffered for the message of the cross, they must not now give up on that message and think their sufferings pointless (3:4) It was by believing that they gained the Spirit, and even saw miracles (3:5). Christians must be wary of preachers telling them about new techniques to gain God's better blessing. We already have the Spirit and must simply live by his power, with our eyes on the cross.
(1) Have you ever been drawn by some technique which promises a better Christian life? Were there any dangers within it? (2) What does the Holy Spirit do for Christians? Read through Galatians and ponder what Paul tells us about the Holy Spirit's activity in our lives.
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The new preachers in Galatia were misleading Gentile Christians by telling them to adopt a Jewish lifestyle and probably claiming the support of the Bible in doing so – they were simply obeying the Old Testament (OT)! But Paul disagrees and in this part of the letter he shows how they're misunderstanding the OT. Paul begins with Abraham – maybe because his opponents were saying that circumcision made them true “sons of Abraham” – and he points out that Abraham gained righteousness when he believed God's promise (Gen 15). In other words, when Abraham trusted God's words about a future for him and his descendants, God then said that he would not condemn Abraham, as he would the evil Canaanites, but rather would judge in his favour. So God's blessing came to Abraham when he believed God (3:6) and it had no connection with circumcision, which God only required later (Gen 17). Hence, says Paul, the true “sons of Abraham” are actually those who exhibit the same faith as Abraham (3:7). Which may include anyone – Jew or Gentile – since God had earlier said that through Abraham all nations would be blessed (3:8) – again a promise with no link to circumcision (Gen 12). Abraham's story, then, was about faith and the circumcision preachers have misunderstood it. But they've misunderstood even more, so Paul next quotes three OT verses from the Law and the Prophets. He points out that God had an agreement with Israel which required full obedience in order to receive blessing (3:10). There was, of course, mercy built-in: sacrifices and restitution to deal with some sins (although not all since some brought execution), but even then the Israelites had to be obedient in doing what was required. So the whole arrangement depended upon human ability: fail to obey in any way and you invited trouble (Deut 27:26). But the lesson of history is that Israel couldn't do it: the sinful human heart cannot keep to a set of laws, no matter how good they are. Israel's prophets saw, and spoke about, this and so Paul quotes one of them (3:11): Habakkuk. As Habakkuk watched the Babylonians bringing God's wrath on Israel, he cried out for mercy (Hab 3:2) and he believed that God would not condemn those who were trusting in him (Hab 2:4). But he knew that was where hope lay: faith in God, not a fresh attempt to obey the covenant (3:12) Yet, the Galatian preachers want to continue trying to obey the old, failed agreement, and even bring the Christian Gentiles into it too! This is folly. We are only to find our hope of God's favour through faith in Christ. And we must not turn practices which God has only given to some (eg circumcision) into necessities for all. We need faith, like Abraham.
Can you think of any lifestyle choices which you would regard, in the light of the Bible, as good but which you also know are a matter of choice for Christians? Can you think of any ideas or attitudes which fall into the same group? Are you ever in danger of making them into necessities for other Christians?
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Galatians 3 sees Paul correcting the wrong interpretation of the Old Testament (OT) which the new preachers are teaching in Galatia. In doing so Paul is not explaining everything Christians need to know about using the OT law, but rather is dealing with one particular error. The problem is this: the new preachers want to continue Israel's agreement with God. But that contract failed, leaving the Israelites cursed – to which the only solution was Christ's substitutionary death upon the cross (v13). That solution, however, worked perfectly, making Jewish folk – who put their faith in Christ – righteous, resulting in them receiving the Holy Spirit and going out to tell the whole world about Christ (v14). Thus God's promise to Abraham (Gen 12) was fulfilled, and people everywhere were rescued from God's wrath on Adam's sin. But what about all the other things God told Abraham's family to do, like circumcision? Weren't they the terms & conditions of the promise? No, they were for other purposes. God's promise had no small-print added later (v15). His promise that he would, one day, give Abraham a descendant who would become the saviour of the world (v16-18) was graciously unconditional. But why did God bother giving the law at all then, if it doesn't add to the promise, and in fact brings cursing? Paul's answer is the law came because of the time delay between Abraham and Christ (v19; 23-23). Left to themselves Abraham's family would turn away from God and forget his promise to save them; they would fail to have faith like Abraham. So God put his law into place temporarily to control the situation until Christ came and saving faith could begin. That's why the law agreement came via intermediaries (v19,20): it was in order to distinguish it from the straight promise which God had already made directly to Abraham. None of this means the law is bad, of course; but in a sin-damaged world, the law couldn't grant righteousness (v21). Rather, it could only perform the different function of imprisoning the Israelites so that they didn't ruin themselves before Christ arrived (v22-23). Or to put that another way, the law behaved like one of the harsh slave guardians who made sure that Roman children went to school (v24-25): keeping the Israelites on track (which as OT history shows, required a lot of hard work) until Christ entered the world. A temporary job which the law performed admirably (v25) since some were ready to trust Christ when he came to Israel. People often think that laws, rules and education can save us from our sinful ways – whether in society, family, church or personal lives. But as Israel's history shows: it's not true. We need Christ graciously to save us.
(1) Think about your everyday conversations with others. How might you discuss the failure of rules and laws with them, and highlight the need of a Saviour? (2) The history of Israel before Christ lasted for many hundreds of years. What Biblical reasons would you give for God taking so long?
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All people have a particular status, or place, in the world which comes from their background, nationality, economic circumstances and so forth. But here Paul tells us that Christians are people with a new status, and a marvellous future, given to them directly by God. Now previously, in Galatians, Paul explained how the law was Israel's “guardian” (v24-25) so that the promise given to Abraham was not lost before Christ came. Without the law and its sanctions to restrain them, the Israelites would have completely rebelled against God in sin; but the law held them back. However, it was never the solution to sin: something much greater was needed to save people from God's judgement. That greater something was the coming of Christ. Now when a person puts their faith in Christ, they undergo a very real change in life because they become joined to Christ and are therefore God's son (v26). Paul uses strong terms to describe this unity with Christ: we are “baptised into him”; “clothed with Christ” (v27). In other words, when God looks on Christians, he sees his son. As a result God pours onto them all his planned blessings and so we can say that no matter what status they have in human society, Christians have a high position with God because of Christ (v28). This means that to Christians will come the renewal of the world which God promised to Abraham (v29). But all of this depends upon Christ and so before he came the Israelites had to be enslaved for their own good. Although in possession of Abraham's promises, they weren't ready to enter into full ownership of the inheritance God was giving (4v1-2). So they were put under the control of the law which meant their physical lives had to be lived carefully: eating this food, not that; wearing these clothes, not those; keeping to this calendar; and so forth (v3). But then Christ came. He was born as a physical son of Abraham and therefore also lived under the control of the law (v4). Christ, however, was not a sinner and his choosing to live this way was not to control him, but rather so that he could rescue others. One with the Israelites in their circumstances, Christ took his people's sins onto himself and bore the due punishment, thus redeeming (freeing) them from their sin and their need of slavery under the law (v5). Those Israelites who trusted Christ could therefore enter into the promised inheritance as the full, grown-up sons of God and indeed God confirmed this by pouring his Spirit into their hearts, bringing them to address God as their father (v6). This, then, is the new status which Christians now have and therefore we don't need to fear others, or the future, or be in slavery to the world. We have confidence because we are, by God's grace, his sons.
(1) Take time to read through the law in the Old Testament. Think about the ways in which the lives of Israelites were put under control. What can we learn? (2) Why not use your prayers in this coming week to think about God's adopting you as one of his children. Give thanks for all the blessings this brings.
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When Paul first preached in Galatia he didn't allow non-sinful lifestyle issues to trouble him, and so mixed freely with Gentiles. Before believing in Christ he would have been very careful about socialising with non-Jews, but that had now changed. However, the new Jewish preachers in Galatia were saying otherwise: lifestyle mattered! Now in his letter Paul has been counteracting that in various ways, most recently (ch 3) by discussing God's Law in the Old Testament. Why did God give this agreement full of rules? Answer: to restrain Israel from sin, lest the promise given to Abraham be lost before Christ came – God's Law enslaved rebellious Israel. It could never give eternal life because it couldn't forgive sins or change hearts. But the Law's commands and punishments could limit sins' power in Israel. It was a prison. Which makes it hard for Paul to understand why Gentile Christians now want to embrace it. Jesus freed Jewish Christians from their prison and made them God's children (4:5). Gentile believers have now joined them in God's family so that together they call God their father (4:6). Gentile Christians really will inherit all the promises of God just like Jewish believers in Christ (4:7). So why go back into a form of slavery? These Gentiles have already lived in slavery, because before Christ their lives were dominated by belief in false gods which shaped their whole lifestyle as they: offered sacrifices; performed rituals; bowed to statues; feared magic; ate certain food and many other things besides. But Christ released them from this slavery to nonsense, by bringing them into a wonderful relationship with the true and living God (4:9). Which makes Paul wonder (4:9) why, having been released from one form of slavery – Pagan – they now want to embrace another form of slavery – Jewish. Hence Paul is frustrated by their new desire to worry about Jewish calendar dates (4:10). Is that all it means for them to be the children of God? Is that what Jesus saved them to do? If so then Paul has been wasting his time (4:11). Therefore, Paul pleads with them to stop this silliness and look back at how he put away lifestyle issues when he came among them and they should do the same (4:12)! Don't they remember how they loved Paul's message then? Even though he was sick and unimpressive, they rejoiced in the gospel and loved Paul for bringing it. (4:12-15). They knew such joy – why are they giving it away? Paul's warning remains important. People are still enslaved by lifestyle whether through religion, superstition or obsession with the world (Mt 6:25-34). But Christians have been set free by Jesus and we mustn't recreate such lives but rather enjoy our freedom and preach it to others.
(1) Examine your own life. Are there any aspects to it which make you a slave to your lifestyle? What should you do to break this slavery? (2) Christians cannot use the law in the way the Israelites did, since its task was to enslave them. So how should we use it? Read Matthew 5 and ponder this.
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Millennia ago God promised Abraham a great family which would receive His blessing. In Galatians Paul says this has come true through the Christian gospel: all who come to faith in Christ join this family. But the new preachers in Galatia are denying this, saying that Gentile Christians have made a good start but fully entering Abraham's family means taking on the Jewish life. These preachers have made the Galatians suspicious of Paul (4:16), even though his message hasn't changed and they know from their own experience its life-changing power (4:14-15). So the new preachers passionate activity in Galatia is not doing good: they are dividing God's family, simply to get disciples for themselves (4:17). This deeply upsets Paul. He wishes that Christians did live zealously – all the time, whoever is leading them – so long as they have the right target for their zeal: Christ (4:18-19). The Christian's concern in life should be to live a Christ-like life, full of the Spirit. But the Galatians in their new obsession with Jewishness (4:10) are moving away from that, undoing all Paul's work and leaving him feeling like a woman who thinks she's given birth only to discover that it hasn't happened and labour is ongoing (4:19). So Paul is at a loss. Like any good parent, he wants to sort his children out and hence this letter, but will it help? Really he'd rather just travel over and speak face-to-face (4:20). Sadly Christians go off the rails in ways which take them away from Christ. It's important we pray for, and speak to, Christians who are in such danger to nip problems in the bud. However, Paul can't go to Galatia so he continues the letter by playing upon their new Bible skills (4:21). They've learned about Abraham from the preachers, but don't they remember he had two sons? One was born to a slave-mother, Hagar; the other to his wife, Sarah (4:22). The first was conceived normally; the second only as a result of God's intervention (4:23-24; Genesis 16-21) Taking this figuratively (presumably a technique the new preachers use) Paul sees two types of people being set up by God through Abraham: slave and free. But who would the slaves be? Obviously the Israelites, as Paul argued earlier, since they're the natural-born children like Ishmael and were desert people like Hagar, having received their covenant at Sinai (4:24-25). Whereas Christians are the free children born by heaven's intervention; gathered by God's power after Israel failed, as Isaiah said (4:26-28; Is 54:1). So it turns out that Paul is in line with the Old Testament and the best thing the Galatians can do is kick out the divisive preachers who are behaving as true Ishmaelites! (4:29-31) Christians should rejoice in being God's chosen, miracle-born children, and so live a heavenly life of holiness, like Jesus.
(1) Read the story of Abraham's family in Genesis. What lessons can we learn in the light of Paul's teaching here? (2) Think about the way that God brought you into his family and give thanks.
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Sometimes it only takes an apparently small act to do a huge amount of damage – one tiny spark may set a great forest burning - and Paul speaks in just this way at the start of chapter 5. He begins with a strong assertion of Christian freedom. This freedom is in contrast to the slavery into which God put the Israelites (3:23). The Israelites' lifestyle was designed to restrain sinners who were prone to turn away from God. But then Christ came to forgive and change people so that they now wanted to serve God. Therefore Christians don't need Israel's prison-cell lifestyle. However, this doesn't mean Christians ignore the Old Testament (OT) but that rather we learn how to live from it in a a new way and not simply by becoming Jewish – something Paul will develop later on in chapter 5. But for now Paul strongly states, from his own experience, that Gentiles who are circumcised in acceptance of Jewish living, are losing Christ (5:2). Paul solemnly warns that embracing Judaism means taking on the whole agreement (5:3) and therefore going backwards in God's plans. It means giving up on God's mercy and seeking final judgement through law-keeping (5:4). But the only way to get a favourable final judgement in God's court-room is by being joined to Christ by faith. Paul's sure of this for himself and the work of the Spirit in his life confirms it (5:5): he's relying upon Christ for righteousness. God's final judgement of us hangs upon our relationship to Christ not the state of our genitals (5:6). We must rely solely upon Christ to save us, not on things we do. Well the Galatians once knew this and were running the Christian race fine, but somebody has tripped them up! (5:7) But it isn't Paul and it certainly isn't Christ (5:8): do they imagine Christ would grant them the Holy Spirit when they believed and only later mention that without circumcision they haven't got real hope? No, it is others who are spreading this “little additional teaching” through the churches (5:9) and thus poisoning them. But whoever is the big man at the top, the Lord himself will ultimately protect his people and bring judgement on the trouble-makers (5:10). So they'll not hear of circumcision from Paul, but rather only the cross – even though such preaching brings him much trouble (5:11). And as for the new preachers, the best thing they can do is not stop at the foreskin with their knives but go up a bit further (5:12)! With painful imagery Paul ridicules them for their foolish understanding of the OT. We must be wary of zealous “Christians” who come and divide the church, undermine the elders and turn Christians away from trusting in Christ alone, by emphasising human actions. They should be told, in no uncertain terms, to leave.
(1) What apparently small things could cause a great deal of trouble in a church? Use your thoughts to pray for the safety and unity of our church. (2) Give yourself time to think about God's judgement day and His examination of your life. See why you need to place all your trust in Christ for that day.
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Jesus Christ has brought new life to his people by dealing with all that has spoiled the world and by providing the resource for a new way of living – our passage discusses both. In 5:11 Paul picks up on rumours about him: that he is two-faced and actually preaches circumcision when it suits him. Possibly this gossip came from incidents similar to Timothy's circumcision in Acts 16: Paul was willing to snip Gentiles if it helped with being amongst Jewish people. But the accusations are wrong because Paul never preached circumcision as necessary for our pleasing of God. Rather his message was always the cross, with the result that he was persecuted. Why did the cross offend Paul's Jewish listeners? Because they couldn't believe God would curse Messiah and when Paul explained that Messiah was the substitute for his people, facing God's wrath which they deserved, then that offended even more because it was saying that for all their covenant and law-keeping, the Israelites were not righteous. The cross sounded a death-knell for Judaism's boasts about themselves and God. At the heart of Christianity stands the cross and it offends human pride. The cross tells us that we're sinners facing an angry God who wants to bring just punishment upon us. But the cross also tells us that God, in his grace, has dealt with this punishment himself, in order to rescue us. The cross gives us a low view of ourselves and a high view of God, but people dislike that wanting to think well of themselves (1 Cor 1:18-31). However, this is Christianity and Paul, for one, would not play down the cross. And then in 5:13 Paul returns (see 5:1) to the theme of the freedom brought by the cross. What does the Christian life of freedom look like? The new preachers say “a mess” and want to reinstate the Law to fix it. But Paul says something different: freedom produces a community shaped by loving service. This is because having dealt with sin and the curse, Christ then gives a new resource to his people so that they live well: the Holy Spirit. Christians do not live carelessly, resting upon human abilities and desires (“flesh”, 5:13) but rather seek to live loving others. Thus we achieve the life which God's Law always promoted (5:14) but which, by itself, it could not create within fallen people. And the Galatians need to get back to this because their listening to the new preachers is only resulting in a nasty conduct (5:15). However, a loving life is only possible through Christ: listening to him; praying; receiving from him the Spirit's help (5:16-17). So the Galatians must stop trying to mix Christ and the Jewish system together (5:18). Being a Christian is not about what we can do, but about what Christ has done, and is doing, for us.
(1) What do people think about Jesus' death upon the cross in our society? Are they offended by it? Why? What's the best way for us to talk about the cross? (2) In what ways are Christians misunderstood today? What rumours pass around about us which simply are not true? Turn your thoughts into prayer.
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When Paul went to Galatia he preached to the pagans about their ignoring of God and worshipping of made-up gods, and that God now called them to turn to himself (Acts 14:15-17). He told them to do this through faith in Jesus Christ, who had died upon the cross to bring forgiveness and new life to his people (Gal 3:1). Those who believed Paul's message had their lives changed as the Holy Spirit worked amongst and within them (3:2-5): they now worshipped the one true God and they sought to live for his pleasure. Real Christians are those who have had the living God break into their lives. But now in Galatia new preachers are damaging the wonderful message Paul brought by telling Gentile Christians that they will only be truly blessed by God if they became Jewish. In saying this they are overturning the heart of Paul's preaching which was God-centred: telling how we need God to rescue us. The new preaching is man-centred, telling how we have to change first before God will bless us. Well in chapter 5 Paul spells out this key difference by identifying two ways to live: by the Spirit's power or in our own power, which he speaks of as the “flesh” (5:16). Paul preached the former, the new preachers are encouraging the latter, and the two are opposites (5:17) – you either rely upon God OR you rely upon yourself.. And the second is disastrous, as Paul now points out using his list of v19-21. With 15 examples (he could have given many more) Paul speaks of mankind's obvious failure to live well, despite millennia of religious and moral codes which were supposed to change people. Relying upon ourselves hasn't worked! Paul's first three items speak of this with regard to sexual desire. This powerful appetite runs deep within human beings but it cannot be relied upon; everyone knows it needs some restraint or it ruins us. Summing up its problems Paul speaks of “immorality”, where we engage in sexual behaviour of a sort which we weren't designed for. He speaks of “impurity”, where we tarnish and damage ourselves through wrong conduct. He speaks of “debauchery” where we loosen the restraints and recklessly pursue excessive behaviour. All of these were visible in Galatia, just as they are in our own sex-obsessed society. But our so-called “sexual freedom” has failed to bring joy and happiness into life; rather it has left many with scars, sadness and regrets. Through faith in Jesus Christ, however, people can be forgiven and empowered to live in a new way where the sexual desire plays its true, God-given role. The Galatians discovered this; so can we. Christians should live their daily lives with the Holy Spirit's help, not trusting themselves, and thus maintain right sexual conduct.
(1) The gospel is all about God's grace: his salvation given to people who deserve nothing from him. Take time to praise and thank God for his generous mercy. (2) Read 1 Corinthians 7 and think about its application to your life. How should your behaviour change? What particular help do you need from the Holy Spirit?
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Paul teaches that you can either live by the flesh or by the Spirit, but you cannot do both (5:17). To live by the flesh is to rely upon human thinking, desires and abilities in life. This is how most live, following religions or cultures that human beings have invented. Yet this approach has never solved sin (5:19-21). On the other hand, to live by the Spirit is to trust Christ for forgiveness and then living as we should (5:22-23) through the help of the Holy Spirit – although this does not happen overnight (5:16-17). Now in 5:19-21 Paul gives 15 examples of the problems of fleshly living starting with sexual sin. Sexual desire is a gift from God, but it can easily deviate into wrong behaviour: “immorality, impurity and debauchery”. The Galatian Christians came to see this and escaped from it when they believed in the Lord Jesus and received the Holy Spirit. However, Paul doesn't stop with sexual sin but turns, in v20, to other forms of misbehaviour: idolatry and witchcraft. People know that life is special and that aspects of life like justice, beauty and love are not just the chance products of evolution but actually come from a higher source of life which should be known and honoured. This desire to worship was put into us by God when he made us to know Him. It has, however, deviated away from our creator, into the many different and contradictory ways people now worship: religions, cults and beliefs of every sort, attached to a variety of invented gods or powers, which often lead people into nasty or ridiculous practices. This is idolatry. But people do not stop with idolatry but go on to try to manipulate the unseen powers in various ways to gain benefits. This is witchcraft. As pagans the Galatian Christians had lived deeply in such a dark world, worshipping their idols in the temple and using or fearing the power of magic. But through Paul's preaching they were brought to know the real God and could trust the Lord Jesus to defeat all the powers of evil, such that they had no need of magic, and no fear of it either. Paul doesn't want them to lose that hope, by listening to the new preachers and their message of living by the flesh. Today Christians must continue to resist idolatry. Jesus said that he alone is the way to God (John 14:16) and we must believe that, putting away any thoughts of other ways. We must also reject any attempts to manipulate unseen powers (superstitions, horoscopes etc.) But beyond these dangers, we must also watch for subtler forms of idolatry where other things replace God. Both Jesus and Paul especially warned us about material goods and lifestyle (Mt 6:24; Col 3:5). We must always be watching to see if anything is challenging God's primary place in our lives (Lk 10:27).
(1) What particular idols do you feel are honoured and worshipped in our society? Do Christians fall into this idolatry? (2) In what ways do people today try to manipulate their world through magical means? Do Christians ever try and do the same?
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“Love your neighbour” first appears in the Old Testament (Lev 19:18) but is then quoted 7 times in the New, including Gal 5:14 where Paul tells us that it sums up all God's other laws. It's a commandment which if kept by all people would create a world of peace, satisfaction and happiness. But it isn't kept because people's inclinations lie elsewhere, as Paul describes in our verses. Words 6 to 13 in Paul's list of the “works of the flesh” (5:19) name some of the bad characteristics of human relationships. First up is “hatred”, that sense of hostility which we can have towards another person. Sometimes this is long-lasting: people we consistently reject; sometimes it's short-term: when something happens to trigger passing hatred against another. Then Paul speaks of “discord”, that willingness to quarrel and get one up on other people. Followed by “jealousy”, where we resent the success of others and find ways to bring them down and proudly push ourselves. “Fits of rage” is that capacity some have to let rip with their anger easily and without concern for whether it is justified or not. On the other hand “selfish ambition” is often cold and calculating, as a person takes whatever ruthless steps they wish in order to benefit themselves. “Dissensions” speaks of how we love to put blocks up between ourselves and treat others as opposition. This is generally connected to “factions” where we put ourselves into groups which separate us from other groups that we regard as enemies. Finally Paul speaks of “envy”, which occurs in many ways and is our resentment against others who have things in their life which we would prefer to be ours and not theirs. So Paul lists these eight traits and they are a devastating description of human relationships, for all of us fall into one or more of these ways. They are seen in children's playgrounds and adult's workplaces. The Galatians knew them only too well from their pagan days of the past. But sadly they knew them also in the present for their churches were now showing these traits (5:15) thanks to the divisive and fleshly teaching of the new preachers! How can we counteract these sins breaking out in our own lives? Firstly, we must honestly look for ourselves in this list and not apply the words only to others. Secondly, we must listen to the rebukes of others which tell us when we are misbehaving in this way. In Leviticus the commandment to “love you neighbour” is put in the context of receiving rebukes (Lev 19:17). Thirdly, we must give real apologies, without excuses, to others and seek the Lord in repentance for our sins, asking for the grace to defeat them. Lastly, we must practise right behaviour (5:22-24) and so leave no space for sin.
(1) Examine your own heart and life in the light of Paul's list. Is there anybody to whom you should apologise? What repentance do you need to offer? (2) How common are these sins in churches like our own? When churches go wrong are these sins always involved?
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Sometimes Christians are accused of being boring and failing to enjoy life. The accusation is false. But it is true that Christians are careful about how we live because of sin. We know that we cannot trust our desires, but need to be changed by Jesus Christ so that we live rightly. However, sometimes Christians become distracted so that they lose sight of the seriousness of sin. This was happening to the churches in Southern Turkey where new preachers were promoting “being Jewish”. So in Galatians 5, one the things Paul does is to remind his friends of the seriousness of sin, listing out (in 5:19-21) common temptations with which we're all familiar; each group of temptations flows out from good desires which have been damaged by our rebellious hearts. Firstly, he lists sexual desire; then the desire to worship; thirdly: relating to others. And now Paul completes his list with the desire to be sociable, speaking of “drunkenness, orgies, and the like.” We like to get together with one another over food and drink, although we vary as to the particular types of get-together we prefer. Jesus himself was willing to spend time with people in this way, such that his enemies accused him of being a “glutton and drunkard” (Mt 11:19). This rumour was entirely wrong, however it does point out how the desires of people have been damaged by sin. It is sometimes the case that we push our conduct to excess: eating and drinking too much, we are prone to greed and drunkenness. Indeed, people are even proud of such behaviour, claiming it as a “good night out”. This is true of Britain today; similar conduct was also seen in the Roman Empire of Paul's day. But living in this way can be very damaging to our lives, as any number of medical staff, policemen, broken families and ruined people could testify to. So why do we do it? Because our desires have gone wrong. We were made in the image of God, but God is never seen pursuing self-centred overindulgence or excusing his conduct because of loss of control. So neither should we! We were not designed for this and it's shameful and damaging to us when we do it. Furthermore, due to sin we find some parts of life hard to deal with – such as relationships and work – and so resort to drink and food to cover over our problems; to “help” us cope with them. But, as Paul says, Christians must resist such behaviour. Why? Firstly, because we take sin very seriously – it denies us a place in God's kingdom (v21). Secondly we aim to cope in life with the Lord's help, not by overindulging. Thirdly, we don't play with temptation but rather take radical action against it (Mt 5:29-30). Fourthly, we seek to be sociable without pandering to sin (1 Cor 5:9-13) – like the Lord Jesus.
(1) When are you most tempted to overindulge in food, drink and behaviour? What can you do to resist the temptations? (2) Are you a good example to other Christians of proper conduct in this area? Or could your attitude lead others to behave wrongly?
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Love is being undermined in the churches of Galatia (5:15). New preachers are teaching Gentile Christians about the vital importance of the Jewish way of life and this divisive idea is damaging Christian relationships. But even worse, it is also misleading Christians into thinking that godly living is attainable by natural human abilities – the “flesh” . Paul, however, knows this is impossible (v17) since the flesh is damaged and prone to ungodly behaviour (v19-21) which undermines love: good desires have been twisted. This is seen in our damaged sexual desire which causes many upsets and problems. It's also seen in our desire to worship which has generated false and competing religions. It's seen in our capacity for friendship which has twisted into hatred, envy and division. It's seen in our sociability, which has deviated into excesses like drunkenness. All these are opposed to loving our neighbour as ourself (v14) and God is utterly against them (v21). So what is the route to godliness? The new preachers claim that trying harder at law-keeping will do it, but that's nonsense because it relies upon the “flesh”. Rather the only hope is to seek God's help, finding forgiveness through faith in Christ and receiving the Holy Spirit to make life new (v6; 16). And from v22 Paul shows what such a life looks like, as he describes the “fruits of the Spirit”. The image is of a church being like a fruit tree which you know is alive by the fruit it produces. The question is: do the Galatian churches (and do we) show fruit – godly characteristics in life? Paul begins his list of fruit with “love”. This is not simply warm feelings for others but rather seeking their best. Often by “love” we mean selfishness: loving somebody is linked to the good they do for me. But the love which God desires wants what's best for others, no matter what they have been towards me. This is the love God has shown. He gave his Son to the cross to save his people. What from? Our own sins which God finds repulsive and worthy of judgement. Yet instead of sending all to hell, God chose to save some at great cost to himself. Likewise, Christians are to love others – no matter how they make us feel – by seeking their best. “Love your enemies”, said Jesus (Lk 6:27). This does not mean always being “nice” since love will say hard things to a person who needs to hear them. But it does mean giving time and resources to helping others, and doing so even when they let us down. Such love is hard work and we will not feel like doing it; we'll often feel the opposite. That's why it is only possible through faith in Christ. We must centre our lives on him: trusting him, learning from him and asking for his power. Only then will the Spirit's fruit of love grow in our lives.
(1) How much are you relying upon Christ in your day-to-day life? What's hindering you from living by faith in him? What needs to change? Pray about these things. (2) Read the gospels and watch the Lord Jesus in action. What can you learn about loving others from his example?
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God's Holy Spirit has breathed new life into Christians. But how do you detect that life? By its fruit (v22) which means: in attitudes and conduct. A church is like a fruit tree: if you can't find any of the Spirit's fruit, then the Spirit must have gone, leaving the church dead. (Rev 3:1). Now in Galatians 5 Paul lists 9 examples of such fruit starting with love. Christians are to love: seeking the best for others. We naturally, and rightly, want what's best for ourselves; the same standard must apply in our conduct towards others (Mk 12:31): this is love. However, love was vanishing in the Galatian churches (v15) due to the new preaching which (a) split Christians into Jews and Gentiles, claiming Jews would know more blessing; and (b) turned Christians' attention away from the Saviour and towards themselves because God's blessing all depended on what they did. But love isn't the only fruit which Paul mentions; he has 8 more starting with joy and peace. Now Christian joy and peace does not mean a happy life without worries. Sin and trouble afflict our lives, making us serious, sad and concerned; Jesus warns Christians plainly to expect this. So in what way do Christians experience joy and peace? The answer comes on two levels. Firstly, on the human level, joy and peace come from Christian love. When Christians seek the best for one another, they will work together and support one another in unity. Such loving unity produces joy (Phil 1:4) and peace (Eph 2:14). And in fact, on the other hand, when Christians fight one another it produces the opposite: sadness and tension. So if a Christian currently feels no joy or peace, he must ask if he is loving others. Of course, other do not always return our love – that happened to Jesus. But we must press on and, like Jesus and Paul, will ultimately find others loving us, bringing joy and peace. However, joy and peace do not only operate at the human level; there is also a higher source for Christians and that is our relationship with the Lord himself. Life can only be all it should be, in close, ongoing relationship with the Lord (Jn 15:4-5). Being with Jesus the first disciples had experiences like: learning about God; having their lives changed; receiving kindness; and knowing God as Father. Jesus' disciples today walk with Christ in the same way, although now we do so by faith not sight. And Jesus promises that those who do so will find joy (Jn 16:22) and peace (Jn 14:27). But how does that promise come true? It does so when we fix our hearts and minds on the hope Jesus has brought. We will live resurrected lives with him in the new heavens and earth, and it will be wonderful! It's holding onto that hope, as we walk with Christ, which brings us joy and peace now.
(1) Read through John's gospel and see what it meant for the disciples to spend time with Jesus. Then think about how Christians today can know similar experiences in their relationship with Christ. Are you finding this in your life? If not, why not? (2) Set aside time to pray for the other Christians in the church that they would stay close to the Lord Jesus in their lives. Ask the Lord to grant them joy and peace in their walk with him, particularly those who are unhappy or troubled. (3) Make note of some of the good things in the future new heavens and earth, using the descriptions in Revelation 21 and 22. Give thanks to the Lord for this future hope. How can you use these thoughts to help you have hope in daily life? (4) Maybe you know people who have no joy or peace. How can you use what you've heard to communicate the joy and peace of knowing Christ, whilst being realistic about life? Make plans, and then look for an opportunity to speak to them.
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In some parts of life (not all) God calls Christians to respond slowly and the final six “Fruits of the Spirit” in v22/23 are an example. Paul is writing to churches torn apart by bad preaching (v15); in his letter he has counteracted this false teaching in various ways. Most recently he has highlighted the new attitudes and conduct created by the Holy Spirit within Christians (v22-23), and which the new preaching is destroying. The first fruits Paul describes are love, joy and peace, which are linked: it's as Christians love God and their fellow believers, that they find joy and peace. However, the other fruits are also linked to love, albeit differently. The next six are the practical characteristics which a Christian will need if he/she is going to love others in the real world where love is difficult. What makes it so? Sin and its effects upon us. We are damaged people in many ways and this makes it difficult for others to love us. How are people damaged and therefore difficult to love? Firstly, there is plain sin where a man or woman disobeys God: such actions make us unloveable and require a rebuke, which can sour a relationship. Secondly, even when a Christian has repented of sin, it's hard for the wronged person to forgive and forget because emotions may still be running high. Thirdly, alongside clear sins there are many small misbehaviours which are too numerous to keep pointing out, and yet they cause frustration and irritation. Fourthly, people are prone to frames of mind – like constant negativity – which makes loving them hard. Fifthly, people get confused and live foolishly, which strains relationships with others. All these, and other factors besides, come from the damage of sin and make people hard to love. So how do Christians cope with such issues? They respond, like God, with slowness. Slow to bring ultimate punishment, Christians patiently give others time to repent of sins and change. Slow to pay back trouble for trouble, Christians instead give kindness even to enemies (Lk 6:35). Slow to respond just from their feelings, Christians rather ask what good way God would have them act. Slow to destroy relationships, even where misbehaviour has occurred, Christians remain reliable and faithful to others. Slow to expect too much of others too soon, Christians are gentle towards others (Mt 11:29). Slow to let their passions run, Christians are carefully self-controlled. Such slowness is how God has treated us – not bringing us to Hell the moment we first sinned, but mercifully working to save us, purely out of His grace. Christians must imitate God in this and by the Spirit's power, these fruits can be produced within us. And when they are, then we shall truly love, and know joy and peace.
(1) Find in the Old Testament examples of where God shows the characteristics listed in 5:22-23. Examine the contexts in which God behaves in these ways. What can these examples teach you about living out these fruits of the Spirit? (2) Read through the gospels and see the Lord Jesus in action. Can you highlight times when he showed these fruits, for he was a man full of the Spirit. What effect did his conduct have on others? What can you learn from his example in this? (3) Examine your own heart and life. What about you makes it hard for others to love you? Repent of your sins, failure, weaknesses by apologising for them and seeking out how you may change with the help of God. (4) Which particular fellow Christians, or indeed others, do you find it hardest to treat with love? Identify which particular traits you need to help you and turn these into prayer. Look for answers to your prayers in the way you treat these others.
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Paul tells us that Christians have had part of their lives executed. This follows on from his two lists in v19-23. The first list covered those desires, attitudes and behaviours which people find natural and yet which are wrong. The second list described the new way of life made possible through Jesus Christ and his gift of the Holy Spirit – a way of living of which Paul writes “against which there is no law” (v23). Earlier Paul wrote about how God gave His law to the ancient Israelites as an agreement to keep them under control until the coming of the promised saviour to Israel, who would deal with the worldwide problem of sin (chapter 3). But now that saviour, Jesus, has come. Hence the restraining agreement is no longer needed since Christians have been forgiven and enabled, by the Holy Spirit, to live life properly. In other words, those showing the fruits of the Spirit do not need laws to control them! Indeed, says Paul, the fleshly ways which the law held back in the ancient Israelites have been executed in Christians – they are dead (v24)! However, does this mean Paul thinks Christians live perfectly? Clearly not, otherwise he would never have written this letter including verses like v21. So what does he mean? To help us understand we can think of a boy who reaches the age of 18. Officially, before the law, he is now an adult; yet he may still look and act like a boy in many ways. Only gradually over time will he change from being a boy who “works, drives, votes and shaves” into a full man with all the responsibilities and ways that implies. In similar fashion this is true of Christians. Jesus died on the cross to take away our sins completely: God sees us as free from sin and not due any punishment. But the reality of our daily lives must catch up with our official “status”: we must live as holy people. Paul's imagery here should be taken to heart. God wanted His people's sins dead and so He put his Son to death to achieve that. In the light of this, Christians must take sin deadly seriously, making no excuses but rather following the Spirit (v25) and living holy, God-pleasing lives. But how can this be done: how can we keep in step with someone who is invisible? The answer links into what Paul has already said. We keep in step by: denying ourselves what angers God (v19-21); and doing what does please him (v22-23). It all comes down to the small, and big, choices we make every day. Each day we'll face choices where wrong desires can motivate us into sin; with the Spirit's help we must reject those dead paths. Each day we'll face opportunities to show the Spirit's fruit; with the Spirit's help we must take them up. This is not easy, often involving painful situations. But by the Spirit's power, new life can spring up within us.
(1) Read through the accounts of Jesus' death in Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Think about what he passed through in order to save you from sin. Turn your thoughts into praise, prayer and a determination to live for him. (2) In your life what areas need to change? Make one of them the special subject of your repentance and prayers this week. Then look carefully for those moments when God is calling you to resist the sin and, with the Spirit's help, fight against it. (3) Which of the Spirit's fruit do you need more practice with? What opportunities has God give to you to work at this behaviour? Prayerfully make use of those opportunities in the coming week. (4) Do Christians in our society take sin seriously enough or have we been affected by the casual attitudes of those around us? In what ways should we speak more earnestly about sin amongst ourselves and to people who are not Christians?
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Jesus spoke against sin and lived as God desires. This could have made him proud and dismissive of others who failed God. In fact he was gentle and generous to sinners because he also preached grace: the forgiveness of sins. Paul's words here show that Christians should be like Jesus. In 5:24 Paul wrote of our sins being crucified: they've gone. Yet all Christians know that we continue to commit sins: our daily living has not yet caught up with our standing before God. So what do we do about this? We must “keep in step with the Spirit” (v25). How? Well, whenever we face choices – big or small – we must go in the direction which the Bible teaches will honour God. Every day choices will come our way and we must go where the Spirit would have us go: away from sin and showing His fruit – for example: when a flash of hatred crosses our minds, we don't indulge it but rather remember to love even our enemies. But this is very hard and the fight to do this goes on right through a Christian's life. What we must remember is that it can only be won in God's strength: we cannot change ourselves; rather we trust Him to change us, as we follow Him. However, there is a danger attached to this and that's pride: where we compare our “living for God” with how well other Christians are doing. This is happening in Galatia (v26) due to the new preaching which is separating Christians into those who have God's full blessing (because of circumcision etc.) and those who don't. Such preaching is destructive, and so Paul calls for change. He pleads that if any believer is actually going wrong in how they live then the task of others is not to divide from them and condemn them, but rather gently to show them how to return to godliness (6:1). That's the way of the Spirit and indeed that was Jesus' way (a man full of the Spirit). Jesus saved sinners – patiently and mercifully restoring them to a relationship with God. Indeed the people Jesus condemned strongly were those who in their pride thought they were doing pretty well already, when compared with the “sinners”. Well like Jesus, Christians are to help others: lifting from their shoulders those difficulties which hinder their lives (v2). The new preachers think Jewish law will change lives; Paul points out that only Christ's law (being like him) can do it. So his readers must dump better-than-them attitudes (v3) because comparing ourselves to others is at best foolish and at worst proud (v4,5). Rather we are to test ourselves by God's standards, repent of where we fail, seek to follow the Spirit and help others to do likewise. Jesus did everything he could so that sinners could be forgiven and have a new life (Mt 11:28-30). Others should find that Christians live like him.
(1) Reflect upon last week and see those times when you had to choose between your desires and what the Spirit would have you do. Which one did you choose? Turn your reflections into prayer. What lessons can you learn for the coming week? (2) Look through the four gospels at Jesus dealing with people. What different approaches does he use? What causes him to select between them? Turn what you see into praise to Christ for his humility, gentleness, wisdom and grace. (3) In what particular ways today might Christians adopt a “better-than-you” attitude. Can you see anything of this in your own life. If so then repent and seek change. Pray for the church that such ways would not be found amongst us. (4) Think about the Christians you know. What burdens do they have which cause them difficulties in living for God? Apart from prayer, what else could you do to help one or other of them? What's stopping you from helping?
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In Galatia churches are being divided by preachers who say non-Jewish Christians must embrace Jewish lifestyle if they want God's full blessing. This disunity has lead to awful behaviour amongst the believers (4:16; 5:15, 26) – the opposite of what the Spirit desires (5:22-23). Paul, who established these churches, feels the problem (6:17) intensely and v6 seems to reflect this, although it is hard to be sure since there are various ways to interpret it. One option is that Paul is telling the churches to care for their leaders, maybe because the disunity and arguments have been leaving pastors with limited support. Another option is that he's encouraging the Galatians to help the churches in Israel who first sent them the gospel, maybe because the new preaching of “it's better to be Jewish” is dividing the Gentiles churches from those in Israel. However, a third, more personal, option is also possible and that is Paul speaking of how these believers no longer stand with him in the Lord's service; Paul taught them of God, but they will not share their lives with him any more. Whichever is correct – and all reflect wider New Testament teaching – Paul next issues a stern warning in v7. These believers may be messing Paul around, but they cannot do the same with God! The life they choose, they will get, for God ensures that we reap what we sow. So if the Christians keep up with behaviour which indulges their damaged desires and attitudes (5:19-21) then it will spiral them downwards into corruption (v8), leaving them further damaged. The new preachers have been sowing disunity amongst them and they're reaping a crop of misery, anger, conceit and envy, which will only get worse if it continues. Too often we do not think about the consequences of our actions because they're what we desire. But sin always spirals downwards and not only in this life: the spiral ends up in Hell where people get what they always wanted. Those who sow a life without God, reap the harvest of it: eternal destruction. However, there is a better way and Paul is calling his Christian friends back to it: walking with the Spirit (5:25). Making choices every day to pursue godliness as taught by Christ and made possible by the power of the Holy Spirit. It's tough living this way but it's worth it (v9). Paul calls these believers, and Christians today too, to take those daily decisions to live doing good to others, especially fellow Christians who are now their family (v10). This section shows us that we must have an eternal perspective on life; seeing daily life in the light of a future which never ends. We must ask if our actions are headings towards hell or heaven. Then repenting of our sin, we ask Christ for forgiveness and the Spirit to help us live rightly.
(1) Do you think much about judgement, heaven and hell? In what ways do you think you can encourage yourself to live your life with an eternal perspective? Why not pray over this during the coming week? (2) How seriously do you take the Christian's duty to provide for leaders, and for needy Christians? Think and pray about how you use your money, time and other resources. Are you doing good to all people especially believers? (3) Find other parts of the Bible where the imagery of sowing and reaping is used (eg Matthew 13). Is the language being used in the same way as by Paul here, or differently? List out the various ways this picture is applied by Scripture. (4) Do you know any churches which have the problems of disunity which we find in Galatians? What advice would you give them on the basis of this letter? How will you pray for them in the future, having heard Paul's words here?
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As he ends his letter, Paul stops using a secretary and writes the final words himself (v11), summarising his concerns and trying, once more, to mend the broken churches of Galatia. Emphasising what he's saying by using large letters (v11), he launches again into an attack on the demand that Gentile Christians be circumcised (v12). Circumcision was part of the means God used to keep the Israelites under control in the time between Abraham and Jesus (3:23-29); it is not necessary for Christians. When faced with a Bible command we always ask two questions to help us obey it: (i) What was its original purpose? (ii) How has Jesus changed it? In the light of these circumcision is clearly unnecessary. So why are the new preachers taking the opposite view? Paul says they are trying to make a “good impression in the flesh” (v12). Our flesh – our natural abilities and ways – is damaged; as a result life is full of sins and we are unacceptable to God (5:19-21). World religions and philosophies believe the answer to this is in our hands: we solve it through moral living or religious activity. But Christianity preaches our abject hopelessness and need of a saviour. That saviour is Jesus who took his people's sins onto himself and suffered their punishment on the cross, to set them free. This message, however, undermines human pride and so provokes opposition, which is why the new Galatian preachers are preaching circumcision. They are Jews who believe in Jesus, but who are also fearful of the trouble caused by the cross since it implies faithful, non-Christian Jews aren't doing enough to be accepted by God. So they teach Gentile circumcision as a sop to their fellow Jews. By telling them “it's ok we insist Gentiles be circumcised” (v13) they can give them back some pride and prevent trouble. But Judaism doesn't save – even those who respect the law, cannot keep it (v13)! The only hope is the cross (v14). If people want to be circumcised then that's fine, so long as they don't think it counts for anything with God; the key thing is to have a place in the next world (v15). God is going to create a new world, where he will live with his people. Jesus in his resurrection is the first sign of that: he died to this world and its sin, and rose again with a future-world body. One day all his people will have the same; but only faith in this crucified saviour can get us there. Paul (v16) can live at peace with anyone who believes this – even his fellow Israelites – for it is his passion: indeed he has literally lived a crucified life (v17; Mt 10:38-39). So he wants his brothers to stop adding to his pains, but rather live under the grace of Christ (v18). Christians must live knowing that in Christ we have started a new life, and look forward to all that will mean one day.
(1) Read the accounts of Jesus' resurrection in the gospels. What was different about him during those days? What was the same? Can we learn anything from them about our own future resurrection bodies? Read 1 Corinthians 15 and see how Paul talks about our future bodies. Turn your thoughts into praise and thanks to God. (2) It cost Paul to live for Jesus. Does your own Christian life have any cost? Or do you always find ways to skip persecution? Are the ways you find right, or wrong like those of the false preachers? Examine your life and then pray. (3) Think about leaders of churches known to you. What do you think frustrates them and causes them trouble? Pray for these leaders. (4) Look up some hymns and Christian songs about Jesus dying on the cross. Use this week to think about their words and then sing them. What do they teach you? In what other ways can you give concentration to the cross of Christ?
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