Commitment vs. Surrender

Everyone on the planet knows and feels that something is missing from their lives.  They don't know quite what it is, but the search to have the void filled and find completion is seemingly never ending.  People look for completion is things like vocational, educational, recreational, spiritual, relational, possessional (is that a word?), or moral achievement.  Basically, the thought is this: if I can just make the right commitments to get what I want, then I'll be happy and complete and this empty feeling will go away.  But the problem is that people suck at keeping commitments.  Whatever rules we have imposed on us or that we impose upon ourselves will be broken.  We just can't keep our commitments.

This is what Paul confronts the Galatians with in Galatians 3:1-14.  As Paul instructed them previously that it was their faith in Jesus that justified them (positionally made them right with God), it was that same faith that sanctifies them (grows them to be more like Jesus).  To think that you get "in" by faith, but then have to "work" to stay in and grow is the equivalent to being a fool and allowing someone to bewitch or deceive you.  It would be like starting a road trip by fueling up with gas, but halfway through believing someone who tells you that you should use root beer to fuel your car.  Totally foolish! As a car is built and designed to run on gas, Christ-followers are built and designed to run on faith.

To prove his point, Paul takes the Galatians back on a journey with Abraham, who is the father of the Jewish nation.  His point is that God called a pagan idolater named Abram to follow him, and it wasn't because of anything that Abram did to earn this relationship with God (Genesis 12:1-3, Joshua 24:2).  Then, even after his call, Abram still wasn't the poster child of a worshipper of the One True God, for he was a liar, a coward, pimped out his wife, made bad real estate decisions, and simply didn't lead like God called him to (see Genesis 12-14). Still, God initiated a covenant with Abram and only God ratified the covenant, because he knew that Abram would be unable to (Genesis 15:5-18).  The only thing that was credited as righteousness to Abram was his faith.  Why is all this Abraham talk important?  Because it showed the Galatians that it is clearly not keeping law that justifies or sanctifies you, as illustrated from the very beginning with Abraham; and it shows us that when God makes a promise to bless everybody (including you and me), he always keeps his promises.  We are "children of Abraham" because of our faith, not our good works, achievements, or commitments.

Paul goes on to show that when we impose law or have law imposed upon ourselves, the very law we live by is the very law that will kill us because of our inability to keep it.  We are, in effect, "cursed".  A loose paraphrase of the Leviticus 18:5 that Paul quotes in 3:12 would be "if you live by the sword, you'll die by the sword."  And mostly keeping the law, mostly keeping our commitments doesn't but it, either.  James 2:10 clearly says that breaking even the smallest of the law is worthy of the punishment for breaking all of the law.  

So what are we to do?  How are we to live for God? Well, Paul is clear: we are to live by faith.  Ok, so what does that look like?  Aren't there still expectation to live up to?  Yes, there are.  But we don't do anything.  Jesus does it for us.

Here's where the beauty of the gospel shines brightly.  Jesus became a curse for us.  He legally took our penalty.  He took our sin, we are given his righteousness.  God's justice and mercy work in complete harmony. So, we are to "live by faith."  Meaning, every moment of every day is lived in surrender to Jesus.  When we surrender, we give up our will to the will of another.  This means that our faith in Jesus is not just what initially saves us, but also continually saves us and becomes the fuel for our everyday lives.  Jesus just didn't die for our sin nature, but for our sin.  So everyday becomes a rhythm of confession-repentance-reconciliation-rejoicing.  Our justification is secured at the moment of salvation, and then our sanctification grows.  So by daily (or hourly, or minute by minute) reminding ourselves of the gospel, we let go of all of our commitments and promises we can't keep anyway, surrender our will to Jesus, and the let the Spirit do His work in our lives.  2 Corinthians 3:18 loudly resounds this work of sanctification: we are transformed more and more into the image of Jesus NOT by our efforts, but by the work of the Spirit in us!

A life of faith is not marked by empty promises and unkept commitments that result in guilt, shame, and condemnation.  A life of faith is marked by surrendering our will to Jesus, empowered by the Holy Spirit, which results in love, joy, serving, and missional living because you are just so thankful.

Living in Line

Think of a time that you found yourself in conflict with somebody and you had to confront or be confronted.  What was the motivation?  What was at stake?  Was it something like integrity, reputation, pride, protection, respect, or jealousy?  Those are some usual motivators for our confrontation.  We read about a confrontation between Paul and Peter in Galatians 2:11-14.  Peter was missional engaging the Gentile Christians until Jewish Christians from Jerusalem came along.  His hypocrisy even effected a rock-solid guy like Barnabas.  Paul sees this and confronts Peter, but not on the basis of any of the reasons we listed above.  According to verse 14, Paul confronted Peter because his "conduct was not in step with the truth of the gospel."  The gospel was Paul's motivation.  The phrase "not in step" in Greek is literally "walking in line" (orthopodeo - like how an orthodontist straightens crooked teeth).  What this practically means is that the gospel is simply not just a truth to be believed by the non-Christian, but a truth to be infused into every area of the Christian's life.

Through the rest of chapter 2 (verses 15-21), Paul teaches the theology behind the confrontation.  In it, he communicates the "heart of the Gospel": justification through faith in Jesus.  Justification is a legal term which means "being declared righteous; a person is no longer liable to any penalty, but is entitled to all the privileges due to one who has kept the law."  Biblically, it means that you status before God is one of acceptance.  Justification fixes both problems that sin causes: alienation from God and becoming a subject of God's wrath.  Being justified means that we are brought near to God and his wrath is removed from us.

So how are we justified, that is, how are we accepted?  Is it like college where we fill out forms, send in transcripts, have interviews, and pay money?  Not at all.  Romans 8:33 is clear that it is God who justifies, not us or anything we do. Galatians 2:15-16 are clear that it is specifically faith in Jesus that justifies us.  A few interesting things from these verses: 1) "justified" is in the past tense; meaning that through faith it has already happened, not something we still seek; 2) in the Greek, the article "the" (as in 'the law') doesn't exist; so Paul is saying that it isn't just Jewish ceremonial law that he's addressing, it's any type of moralism/works that we can come up with; and 3) in verse 16, "faith in Jesus" could also be "faithfulness of Jesus", emphasizing the fact that salvation & justification is totally God-centered; where our faith is weak and small, it is Jesus' complete faithfulness that paves the way for our justification.

And by no means does this "passive righteousness" give us any licence to abuse it and sin all the more.  This is the argument that Paul addresses in verses 17-18 of Galatians 2.  Reflecting Romans 6:1-2, Paul is saying that if a person's life is continually marked by sin - selfishness, arrogance, pride, sleeping around, addiction, whatever - with no remorse or transformation, then there's really no true faith in Jesus.  This person has "proved to be a transgressor."

Remember, this is about "living in line" (v. 14) with the gospel.  That our total lives are affected by this justification.  Galatians 2:19 says that we now free from following rules to please God, for our faith in Jesus is what pleases Him; and through that faith we have new hearts that have a desire to please Him.  We now "want to" obey without feeling like we "have to".  Galatians 2:20 communicates this new life that we have.  All of our sin was put to death on the cross with Jesus and doesn't define us because Jesus does.  And even though we "live in the flesh" (with all of the struggles with sin we still face), we live by faith in Jesus which empowers us for living; fueled by Jesus' great love of his sacrifice.  And if we don't live in faith, verse 21 soberly says that what we are practically saying with our lives is that Jesus died for nothing, and we erase his grace out of our lives.

So what are the practical implications of being justified by God through faith in Jesus?  It all has to do with 4 views - 4 frameworks that we function out of:

1. God's view of us is that we are a loved and accepted child - a full member of the family - with ALL of the privileges entitled to it.
2. Our self-view becomes that we are loved and accepted, and we are marked by "humble confidence" - humbled by God's love, and confident of His work in and through us.
3. Our view of others is transformed from what people can do for us to how we can love them because of what God has done for us.
4. Other's view of us simply doesn't matter like it used to! We don't have to live in fear of man or to please man, because the God of the universe is pleased with us already because of Jesus, and we live to please him and to be his servant.

How do you identify the areas of your life that aren't "living in line" with the gospel?  Remember, this whole section of God's Word was drawn out from a conflict (between Paul and Peter).  I would then say that areas of regular conflict in your life expose the areas that aren't in line with the gospel.  And it's not about you just trying to correct your course; you can't...in fact, you've probably been trying and it keeps not working.  It's simply recognizing your inability to do so and believing in Jesus as your only hope. God then justifies you, empowers you with His Spirit, frees you from fear, and you live confident in your acceptance.

May grace be with you.

Humiliation vs. Humility

When was the last time you were humiliated?  What about the last time you were humbled?  Yes, those are two separate questions.  Humiliation and humility are not the same thing.  Humiliation is brought about by things like guilt, embarrassment, ridicule, defeat, or even abuse.  My freshman and sophomore high school football teams combining for an 0-16 record is pretty humiliating. Humility, on the other hand, comes from being overwhelmed by things like love, grace, mercy, and generosity.  When a financial need for Delta was made public the other month, some fellow church planters in our church planting network, Acts 29, brought our need to their elders and we received a number of financial gifts.  It was a very humbling experience to be the recipient of such love and generosity.

Galatians 1:13-2:10 shows us a very personal snapshot of how the gospel was working in and through Paul.  While there are many things that could be pointed out and talked about in this section, I think the one key theme that stands out is that of gospel humility.  When the gospel does it's work in and through people, humility happens, and humility begins to produce some very godly fruit.

In Galatians 1:13-23, Paul tells of his conversion and very early ministry.  In one amazing sentence, he communicates the height of his moral character and the depth of his depravity (v. 13-14).  Paul could have honestly said that he was moral enough to not need the gospel, yet depraved enough to not deserve it.  Then he unpacks the beauty of God's love and grace in verses 15-16 in that it simply pleases God to pour His grace out on people and love them.  And the result that this type of grace-induced humility brings?  A changed life, as noted in verse 23.

Now, it's so easy for people to look at the "triumphs" of others, champion the human spirit, and worship the gifts and abilities of others.  Athletes like Labron James, who come from humble beginnings yet achieve super-stardom, are caught saying very self-promoting things like "There are few people that can take over a game, and I'm blessed to be one of them."  Paul could have been accused of this type of self-promotion in telling his dramatic story.  But we have to look at the result of his story; how people responded to it.  Galatians 1:24 is clear that a truly humble result of a changed life is that God is glorified, not a person.

In the beginning of chapter 2, Paul fast-forwards his story about 14 years, and shows him and his ministry partners going to Jerusalem.  He wanted to find out if their message was to have been "in vain" (2:2).  This is a little perplexing, for according to Galatians 1, Paul is very confident in the pure gospel message.  What was at stake here was the "truth of the gospel preserved for you" (2:5).  Paul, an apostle called by Jesus himself, wanted to check off with the leaders of the church - Peter, James, and John - which was headquartered in Jerusalem.  If these "pillars" (who were still sinful, human beings) had begun to preach, like the Judaizers, that you needed to do something in addition to having faith in Jesus (in this case, adhere to Jewish ceremonial law), then the fruit of Paul's gospel message was in jeopardy.  That is the "vanity" that Paul was concerned about.  He saw a potential church split, and desperately wanted to avoid it.  But because Paul was a man humbled by the gospel, that resulted in a spirit of submission, in him going to the leaders of the church.

A glorious thing happened during this meeting, which I believe was a reference point for Paul as he wrote Ephesians 4:1-3.  Peter, James, & John "added nothing" (2:6) to Paul's message!  They agreed that faith in Jesus alone is what causes God to accept us.  This was symbolized by the "right hand of fellowship" (2:9), which saw Paul and the Jerusalem leaders bond together, and also symbolically deny the false teachers.  The humility all these men had before God and his gospel resulted in great unity.  Sadly, Paul's fears still came true, as our time is perhaps the most divided time in church history with the three main tribes of Catholic, Orthodox, and Protestant plus the countless denominations.  This makes the message of Galatians of utmost importance - that we lay aside meaningless traditions and distinctions that distort and reduce the gospel of Jesus.

This brings us to Galatians 2:10.  At first read, it seems a little odd - sort of out of place - even borderline "legalistic".  So what gives with the serve the poor thing?  Actually, this verse unlocks the whole theme of humility for the passage.  Serving the poor is instrinsic to gospel humility.  God has always wanted his people to care for the poor (Leviticus 23:22). Jesus said that his ministering to the poor was a fulfillment of him being the messiah (Matthew 11:1-6). Paul mandated that Christians and their churches serve the poor when he spoke with the Ephesians elders (Acts 20:35).  The early church was made up of both rich and poor, and was a great picture of how unity can be achieved amongst social classes (Acts 4:34-37).  And Jesus, in his greatest collection of teachings called the Sermon on the Mount, said that the poor in spirit are the ones who are blessed (Matthew 5:3), and serving the poor reminds us of our spiritual poverty.  Galatians 2:10 is not an "add on" at all. Serving the poor is a natural expression and result of gospel humility. 

But we get humility all wrong.  We confuse it with humiliation.  We run away from it and become self-righteous.  We over-do it and play the self-pity card.  So what are we to do?

Nothing.  God has to do it in us.  Which is exactly why Jesus came.

Philippians 2:7-11 shows us this.  He was humble because we couldn't be.  He was obedient because we wouldn't be.  He brings unity because we won't.  And he will be glorified because he alone is worthy.

That is the ultimate result of gospel humility!

Confronting Gospel Confustion, part 2

Now that the probable issue regarding the Galatians' problems have been exposed (see yesterday's post), Paul unpacks 4 truths of the gospel (and us).

Truth 1: There is only 1 true gospel, but people will distort it - Galatians 1:6-7

Jesus Himself made the biggest exclusivity claim regarding salvation in John 14:6, and that is the message that Paul preached to the Galatians.  The eye-opening thing here is that Paul uses some strong words ('deserting', meaning going completely AWOL; and 'distort', meaning a complete reversal).  Paul was saying that if you add anything to Jesus' gospel (religiosity, morality, etc.) you are in fact leaving the gospel entirely!  It's practically saying, "Jesus, you are not enough, your sacrifice was not sufficient."  So even a "distortion" of the gospel of Jesus is on the same plane as following another faith system.  Scary stuff!  James Montgomery Boice has written, "embracing legalism is rejecting God."

Truth 2: No one is exempt from the temptation to distort the gospel - Galatians 1:8-9

Paul says that the penalty for distorting the gospel is to be "accursed".  This word in original Greek is 'anethema', which means "being devoted for destruction with no hope of being redeemed." And Paul quickly points out that the Galatians should reject anybody that distorts the gospel, even himself or an angel!  No one is beyond this.  Because of our sin, we all are at risk of polluting the gospel.  We need to be honest with our depravity and weigh all voices (including our own) against the truth in scripture.

Truth 3: The gospel's biggest enemy is man - Galatians 1:10

Too often people think the opposite of God is Satan.  This is untrue on a couple levels.  First and foremost, God is Creator, and Satan was a part of creation.  Aside from possession, Satan has no ability to "make us" do anything.  All he (or one of his henchmen demons) has to do most often is just nudge us in the right direction and leave us to our sin.  CS Lewis demonstrated this beautifully is his classic work, "The Screwtape Letters." As we seek to please ourselves or another person, we cease being a servant of Jesus; for our greatest joy as servants of Jesus is to please Jesus.

Proverbs 14:12 clearly says that man's ways (our thoughts, ideas, feelings, etc) lead to DEATH.  Yet, a few verses later in Proverbs 14:27, it's clear that God's ways lead to LIFE.  There is no middle ground, as Peter said in Acts 5:29.  Pleasing man functionally makes us an idolater and no longer a worshipper of Jesus.

Truth 4: God reveals the gospel to us - Galatians 1:11-12

Paul communicates how we come to know the gospel.  He first tells us three ways we don't learn it, and the only way we do.

First, the gospel is not according to man (v. 11). Our humanistic philosophies or logic are not the gospel.

Second, the gospel is not received from man (v. 12). We don't get the gospel from human osmosis, human transmission, or just by parroting some teacher we've heard.

Third, the gospel is not taught (v. 12). A systematic presentation or apologetic argument won't get someone to believe the gospel.  It's not just a mental exercise.

Fourth, the gospel is revealed to us (v. 12). Jesus will reveal his gospel to us.  We need to experience the gospel.  It's important to note here that our experience needs to be weighed according to the Bible (1 John 4:1-3), we do not weigh scripture against our experience, for that leads to untruth and men-centeredness.

A heart (and head) knowledge of the true gospel is central to everything - for without it we have no true wisdom or discernment to judge the people and situations that enter our lives that can lead us away from Jesus.  We need to be honest with ourselves, be humble before God, and pray that God plants the truth of his gospel in our lives.

Confronting Gospel Confusion, part 1

In Galatians 1:6-12, Paul literally comes out swinging in his confrontation of the Galatians' abandonment of following the gospel of Jesus Christ and their embracing of the legalism the Judaizer's (traditional Jews who now follow Jesus, but mandate the keeping of ceremonial Jewish laws) are pressuring them with.  He uses some pretty strong language like "astonished" and "deserting" and "distort" and "accursed" (we'll unpack those tomorrow).  What I'd like to address now is what I believe to be the reason for the Galatians' turning to legalism.

Think about this: a person or situation that has entered your life and caused the very foundational beliefs of your life to be shaken.  I suppose this could be a good thing, say, like the birth of a child - makes you do a reevaluation of everything.  But typically these are stressors in your life: job change or loss, moving, relational breakdown, or some kind of financial crisis.  When one of these stressors comes into your life, where do you run?  What do you go to in order to find relief and peace?  If you run to anything other than the gospel of Jesus you are being an idolater, for you are looking to something other than Jesus to be your Savior.  Idols are what are called "functional saviors."  Another way to define them is "something you life for, and feel that you can't live without."

Tim Keller says that there are three main categories of idols: personal, religious, and cultural. Personal idols include things like: money, romance, looks, sex, self-expression, or your kids (this list could go on).  Religious idols can be truth (you love your theology so much that you forget about grace), spiritual gifts/experience, or morality (following the rules, serving, giving, avoiding sin and sinful people).  Cultural idols can be things like what family you're a part of (or not), political affiliation, ideologies, or even geography (living in a certain part of the country will bring you 'salvation' and fix your problems).   The times in our lives that idols take center stage is at times of distress - when our world gets turned upside down.

I think this is what happened to the Galatians.  Paul planted the seed of the gospel in them, and it was just beginning to take root to grow, but it was still a tender, young plant.  People (Judaizers) came into their midst and shook them up with their message of legalism (you need to add to the gospel of Jesus) and the Galatians took the bait and were running to an idol of religious moralism.  Paul hears of this and confronts their idolatry with the gospel (see Galatians 1:3-5).

So, when your life has gotten shaken up, where have you gone?  Have you run (or are you currently running) to some functional savior?  Has this crisis exposed a shallow belief in the one true gospel of Jesus?  If so, take heart, for God in his mercy has given us Pauls' letter to the Galatians to help us repent and course-correct.  What Paul unpacks through the rest of verses 6-12 are 4 truths about the gospel and people.  We'll take a look at those tomorrow.