Written by: Sam Chaplin
Galatians 2 v 15-21
We were not born as non-Jewish "sinners", but as Jews. Yet we know
that a person is made right with God not by following the law, but by trusting
in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus, that we might
be made right with God because we trusted in Christ. It is not because we followed
the law, because no one can be made right with God by following the law.
We Jews came to Christ, trying to be made right with God, and it became clear
that we are sinners too. Does this mean that Christ encourages sin? No! But I
would really be wrong to begin teaching again those things that I gave up. It
was the law that put me to death, and I died to the law so that I can now live
for God. I was put to death on the cross with Christ, and I do not live any more—it
is Christ who lives in me. I still live in my body, but I live by faith in the
Son of God who loved me and gave himself to save me. By saying these things I
am not going against God's grace. Just the opposite, if the law could make us
right with God, then Christ's death would be useless.
Notes
"We'll love you just the way you are, when you're perfect." Alanis
Morissette sings so painfully of her childhood experience of imperfect love in
her song "Perfect". Nearly all the love we experience in our lives
is conditional - if we're pretty enough or clever/funny/educated/moral/immoral/trendy/street
enough then we get accepted and loved. Our experience of unconditional love is
so limited that it's no wonder we find it hard to live as Christians where the
one condition is to accept that there's nothing we can do to make God love us
any more or any less.
The apostle Paul was passionate that the Christians in Galatia should live in the wonderful freedom that God's unconditional love brings. But they were finding it so hard - they were going back to the learnt behaviour of their hearts. Rather than simply enjoying God's love, they were back trying to earn it. For them, this showed itself in trying to keep the Jewish ceremonial law from the Old Testament. They thought they needed to do this to get accepted by God.
In today's reading, Paul shows us his vision for his own Christian life - "I live by faith in the Son of God" - it's faith; a life of trusting, not trying – "who loved me and gave himself to save me" – a life of trusting that at the cross Jesus has done everything so that we can be accepted by God. He has demonstrated unarguably that written over us is the eternal word: LOVED. And it's specific and personal; it's not "loved the world" or "loved us", but "loved ME"! Insert your name into that verse instead of "me", and pray that God might open your heart to the freedom of his love for you today - just the way you are.
Prayer
Dear Jesus, thank you that you love me. Today, show me the ways I try and earn
your love. Fill my heart with fresh freedom and vitality because you loved
me and gave yourself for me. Amen
Galatians 3 v 1-5
You people in Galatia were told very clearly about the death of Jesus Christ
on the cross. But you were foolish; you let someone trick you. Tell me this
one thing: how did you receive the Holy Spirit? Did you receive the Spirit
by following the law? No, you received the Spirit because you heard the Good
News and believed it. You began your life in Christ by the Spirit. Now are
you trying to make it complete by your own power? That is foolish. Were all
your experiences wasted? I hope not! Does God give you the Spirit and work
miracles among you because you follow the law? No, he does these things because
you heard the Good News and believed it.
Notes
There are two kinds of people in this world: those who top up their petrol
tanks whenever it gets to halfway and those who think the little orange bit
at the bottom of the dial means: "You're OK for a while yet". Unfortunately,
I belong to the latter group - I call it "driving by faith" - and
there have been a couple of incidents where I've had to walk the walk of
shame with my petrol can.
One of the reasons Paul is so excited about the Christian message is that God doesn't just call us to a new life, he fills us with a new life. He gives us the resources we need to live the life of freedom he calls us to. This new life is the power and person of the Holy Spirit.
But there was a problem: the Christians in Galatia were trying to run on empty. "You began your life in Christ by the Spirit. Now are you trying to make it complete by your own power?" They were hoping that by starting to follow the Old Testament law they could really become the people God wanted to make them. Paul wants to tell them that their own effort at keeping a set of rules just isn't powerful enough - they are trying to run on empty! "That is foolish."
His answer is to take them back to what it felt like to be filled up. "Were all your experiences wasted? I hope not! Does God give you the Spirit and work miracles among you because you follow the law?"
Do you feel like you are running on empty? Are you trying to get "complete" by your own power? Open your heart to his Spirit today and ask his power to flood your soul.
Prayer
Holy Spirit, I'm sorry I've been trying to do your job. You are better at it
than me. I would like to do today with you. Please fill me with your mighty
strength that we might have a mighty collaboration in all that today brings.
Amen
Galatians 3 v 6-10
The Scriptures say the same thing about Abraham: "Abraham believed God,
and God accepted Abraham's faith, and that faith made him right with God." So
you should know that the true children of Abraham are those who have faith.
The Scriptures, telling what would happen in the future, said that God would
make the non-Jewish people right through their faith. This Good News was told
to Abraham beforehand, as the Scripture says: "All nations will be blessed
through you." So all who believe as Abraham believed are blessed just
as Abraham was. But those who depend on following the law to make them right
are under a curse, because the Scriptures say, "Anyone will be cursed
who does not always obey what is written in the Book of the Law."
Notes
What's the difference between a yoghurt and an Australian? Leave a yoghurt
long enough and it will grow some culture! (Sorry Ozzies… a bit.)
In Galatia, these non-Jewish Christians desperately wanted a bit of Jewish culture in their lives. They'd come in through the back door of Paul's Christian message and now they were learning about this whole Jewish culture of temples and sacrifices and circumcision and food laws. In fact they'd started to take their focus off Jesus as the way to get right with God and some of them were trying to keep the Old Testament law.
Paul's answer is that they're not Jewish enough! He takes them right back to the Jew of Jews - the daddy of Judaism, Abraham - and he says, "Do it like the daddy!" "Abraham believed God … and that faith made him right with God." How did Abraham get right with God? Was it by getting circumcised? All he did was to believe … and at that moment he was declared "RIGHT WITH GOD". "So all who believe as Abraham believed are blessed just as Abraham was." This is for all cultures: "All nations will be blessed through you."
The moment we first believed, "RIGHT WITH GOD" was declared over our lives. We don't have to DO anything. We don't even have to clothe ourselves in another culture, be that Judaism or our own local church culture. Perhaps you don't feel "right with God" today; that you've blown it again; that this time you've got to do something to show God you really are serious. Listen to his declaration: you don't have to DO anything. When you trust Jesus, you are declared "RIGHT WITH GOD!"
Prayer
Father, what a rich heritage you have given me! Thank you for my Father Abraham
who just believed you and everything changed. I decide to walk into this
day standing tall in my heritage and knowing that the only opinion of me
that matters says: "RIGHT WITH GOD". I praise you! Amen
Galatians 3 v 11-14
Now it is clear that no one can be made right with God by the law, because
the Scriptures say, "Those who are right with God will live by trusting
in him." The law is not based on faith. It says, "A person who
obeys these things will live because of them." Christ took away the
curse the law put on us. He changed places with us and put himself under
that curse. It is written in the Scriptures, "Anyone whose body is displayed
on a tree is cursed." Christ did this so that God's blessing promised
to Abraham might come through Jesus Christ to those who are not Jews. Jesus
died so that by our believing we could receive the Spirit that God promised.
Notes
Quite a few years ago my brother-in-law swigged a load of his mum's Bailey's
one night. And so she wouldn't notice, he topped it up … with lemonade!
Bad move - Bailey's and lemonade don't mix! It all got a bit gross.
Just like Bailey's and lemonade - or oil and water, or perhaps more accurately fire and hay - the Bible says that our God, who is perfect and whose standards are perfection, cannot dwell with impure, failing human beings. His justice would condemn us; his purity would consume us.
Nowhere is God's purity and his justice more clearly seen than in the Old Testament law. There we see his standards and shudder. It towers above us and shows us how far we've fallen. In fact, it pronounces a curse over us: "CONDEMNED TO DIE". The Christians in Galatia had chosen to have a go at living by the law, of trying to measure up in the hope that if they did, God would take them in. You can see why Paul was so anxious to write to them, because if they chose that route the only words they'd hear would be the curse - because they simply couldn't measure up.
What are the four first words you should learn in any foreign language? They really come in handy if you ever go travelling: "MY FRIEND WILL PAY."
What are the four words that you need when approaching the God of blazing purity? "My friend will pay." When Jesus died, "he changed places with us and put himself under that curse". "Christ took away the curse the law put on us." Jesus died our death so that we could mix with the maker of the universe. Spend some time in silence and remember whom you approach in prayer.
Prayer
Holy God, thank you for the lovely familiarity you call me into. Forgive me
when I forget to mingle the friendship with trembling. Thank you for my friend
who has paid in full. Amen
Galatians 3 v 15-18
Brothers and sisters, let us think in human terms: even an agreement made
between two persons is firm. After that agreement is accepted by both people,
no
one can stop it or add anything to it. God made promises both to Abraham
and to his descendant. God did not say, "and to your descendants".
That would mean many people. But God said, "and to your descendant".
That means only one person; that person is Christ. This is what I mean: God
had an agreement with Abraham and promised to keep it. The law, which came
430 years later, cannot change that agreement and so destroy God's promise
to Abraham. If the law could give us Abraham's blessing, then the promise
would not be necessary. But that is not possible, because God freely gave
his blessings to Abraham through the promise he had made.
Notes
There's nothing like having a few friends round for lunch and setting up the
BBQ. But it's almost impossible to organise because our English weather is
like a box of chocolates - you never know what you're gonna get.
The great revelation of God to us is that he is not like the weather. He does not blow hot and cold towards us. He doesn't have a bad hair day. He is the same yesterday, today and for ever. He is constant in his love towards us, in his daily offer of forgiveness, and you always know what you're gonna get.
The Christians in Galatia were starting to believe that the classic authentic religion was found in obeying the Old Testament law, and this message of Paul's of "freedom from the law and the unconditional acceptance of God for those who simply believe" was some new "easy" kind of religion made up to appeal to non-Jews. Paul wants to tell them that God doesn't change. This has always been his heart; this has always been the message! And he takes them back to Father Abraham - the Jew of Jews! God promised Abraham that he would bless the world through Jesus. "The law, which came 430 years later, cannot change that agreement and so destroy God's promise to Abraham."
God has always been good news and his heart has always been to bless all nations. Perhaps you feel like God has changed in the way he feels towards you, that somehow he is disappointed or let down or frustrated. An eternal moment was captured when the Father ran out to embrace his prodigal son, and his heart towards you hasn't changed. He runs to embrace you today. As you come to him today, you know that's what you're gonna get.
Prayer
Precious Father, forgive me when I think your love for me is like my love for
you. Thank you that your heart has always been to bless the world. I rest
my heart in your presence today and choose to live today with your words
of blessing over me. Amen
Galatians 3 v 19-20
So what was the law for? It was given to show that the wrong things people
do are against God's will. And it continued until the special descendant,
who had been promised, came. The law was given through angels who used Moses
for a mediator to give the law to people. But a mediator is not needed when
there is only one side, and God is only one.
Notes
I've just started going out with a delightful girl - thought I'd let you know.
But since we've been together I've had this horrible experience. I live with
a few other guys and it's a guy's house - a little hygienically challenged
- and I'm OK with that. But when the girlfriend turns up - suddenly I look
at the floors and notice the crud, and as if from nowhere I'm aware of the
dust on the skirting boards, and then she heads for the bathroom! Aaargh!
I am suddenly aware of our desperate need for a cleaner.
In today's passage Paul is trying to explain one of God's intentions behind giving the Old Testament law. He says: "It was given to show that the wrong things people do are against God's will." Before the law was given, humanity was getting on with life pretty much oblivious to the fact that they were ignoring God and damaging each other. The idea behind the law was that humanity would notice the crud in their lives and their inability to deal with it. It was there to show them their desperate need of a Saviour. "Until the special descendant who had been promised came" - it was there to prepare the world for Jesus. So to the Galatians, who were trying to use the law to get accepted by God, Paul says: it's not there to clean you up; it's there to show you your mess!
Since becoming a Christian, do you find yourself even more aware of the wrong stuff you do? Today don't walk around feeling rubbish and condemned - this just shows you how much you need Jesus. He doesn't show us our sin to rub it in; he shows us our sin so he can rub it out.
Prayer
Thank you, Jesus, that you are fully sufficient for me. Thank you that every
possible reason I can think of for you to condemn me and not totally accept
me was taken by Jesus on the cross. Today, I choose to live in your forgiveness
and freedom. Amen
Galatians 3 v 21-25
Does this mean that the law is against God's promises? Never! That would be
true only if the law could make us right. But God did not give a law that
can bring life. Instead, the Scriptures showed that the whole world is bound
by sin. This was so the promise would be given through faith to people who
believe in Jesus Christ.
Before this faith came, we were all held prisoners by the law. We had no freedom
until God showed us the way of faith that was coming. In other words, the law
was our guardian leading us to Christ so that we could be made right with God
through faith. Now the way of faith has come, and we no longer live under a
guardian.
Notes
" Don't discuss theology when you are driving" - I think this should
be a new government safety campaign. OK, so I was on the motorway, far too engrossed
in some discussion, then I looked up and realised the traffic in front of me
had stopped! Thankfully, we just about skidded to a stop before I hit the car
in front, so no one got hurt. My friend's car, that I was driving, didn't look
too good, though! If you were trying to help me out, possibly the worst thing
you could have given me at that point in time would have been a copy of the Highway
Code. At that point it would not have helped! All it could do was show me what
a bad driver I was.
The Christians in Galatia were desperate to be rescued, but they'd stopped trusting that Jesus was the only one who could do that for them. Instead they thought that maybe if they followed the Old Testament law, that would do it for them - they could become the people they wanted to be. Paul is passionate for these Christians to really become the people God made them to be, so he tells them: "the Scriptures showed that the whole world is bound by sin". The law is about as able to rescue you and mend you as a Highway Code book can reshape the front of my friend's car! It can't bring you life!
What are you looking to today to bring you life? Who or what are you putting in Jesus' place? It/they will fail you because it/they are not Jesus, and only Jesus can rescue you and mend you and bring you life.
Prayer
Lord Jesus, I return to you again. I'm sorry for looking to (name it/them)
to rescue me/mend me/bring me life. It/they were not meant for that and it's
unfair of me to place that burden on them/it. You alone are my rescuer and
I love you. Thank you. Amen
word-on-the-web uses the Scripture text taken from the Youth Bible, New Century Version (Anglicised Edition) copyright 1993 by Word Publishing Milton Keynes