The Vineyard Church of North Grand Rapids, MI

Ray Befus    Galatians 2:1-10  A Real Freedom Fighter            11 October 2009

Sing “Amazing Grace” a’capella.  Last Thursday’s GR Press headlined a story about Ken Vandermolen, an area man—my age— who, back in the cold war era, served as a US soldier assigned to guard the Berlin Wall.  “The Wyoming resident was stationed in Berlin in 1973 and 1974, when the notion of freedom in Eastern Germany and the Soviet bloc was just a whisper.  ‘I had an apartment that looked out over the Wall’ recalled Vandermolen.  ‘At night, with the windows open, I could hear the sound of gunfire.  That’s when I realized they were getting shot at for something I took for granted.  That [experience] opened my eyes to what freedom is’.”My hope is that our study of Galatians this fall will open all our eyes to what freedom really is.  The Apostle Paul was an authentic freedom fighter.  He actually fought several, intense theological and leadership battles to secure our freedom from legalism.  He never walked away from a fight in order to protect himself.  He repeatedly risked personal rejection, his reputation, and even his ministry to set you and me free from the spiritual slavery of legalism—i.e., living as though there are things we can or must do to make God love us more, to get God to continue forgiving us, to keep God’s blessing flowing in our lives, and to keep God happy enough to welcome us home when we get to heaven some day.  

This morning we’re stepping into Galatians, chapter 2.  By way of review, Paul is writing to some new, Gentile Christians who are being confused and agitated by older, Jewish Christians who are trying to convince them from the OT Scriptures that even though they’ve trusted Jesus as their Savior and have been filled with the Holy Spirit, they still need to observe at least the high points of the OT law if they really want to live in a way that is biblical and wise, that honors and blesses God, and earns God’s  continued blessing in their lives.  The central issue isn’t how a person becomes a Christian.  Everyone agrees that salvation is by grace, through faith.  The controversy over which Paul has written this letter is over the question of how Gentile Christians are to live from day to day as God’s children.  The agitators are claiming that Gentiles must live like Jews (keeping the OT law) in order to be good Christians.  Paul responds that if we add anything to simple trusting-faith in Jesus, we have turned from the Good News.  Our religion can no longer be called Christianity.  If the agitators had won this battle, Amazing Grace would never have been written.  These agitators were planting seeds of doubt in the ability of God’s grace to see us all the way home.  ‘Yes,” they agreed, “Grace is enough to get you saved, but it might not be enough to lead you home.  A little good behavior on your part will hedge your bet on grace”. 

Historically, the church of Jesus Christ has often sided with the legalistic agitators, not with the Apostle Paul.  Many of us have grown up in the belief that though it’s easy to become a Christian, it’s hard to live as one.  In fact, the Christianity that we’ve experienced is a classic case of the old, unethical bait and switch marketing scam.  The church advertises amazing grace on the front end, but once the customer comes through the front door, hand him a list of expectations and requirements that keep him off balance, insecure, and full of frustration and regret for the rest of his life. The church convinces him that Jesus‘ death on a cross wasn’t enough to close the deal with God.  Yes, Jesus paid his bill, but he still needs to leave a pretty sizable tip! The church shouts grace, but whispers law.  Get people saved and baptized, but then inform them that if they wants to be wise, to honor God, to continue experiencing a steady stream of forgiveness, to be blessed all their days, and someday meet a God who is wearing a happy face, they better stop drinking alcohol, dancing, laughing at jokes about sex, water skiing on Sunday mornings, and watching movies instead of witnessing to their neighbors. Of course you’re free to drink alcohol and go to movies, but it isn’t wise.  If you’re a wise Christian, you’ll start reading through the Bible with the rest of us, listening to Christian radio instead of Public Radio, putting more money in the offerings, and sending their children to private schools.  Wise Christian has just become a synonym for good Christian, acceptable Christian, or one of us.

In response to every expression of ancient or modern legalism, Paul declares two times in his letter, “The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love . . . God’s gracious, supernatural work within us” (5:6; 6:15). Any other church traditions, family standards, or personal rules are irrelevant to becoming a Christian and growing as a Christian.  You can adopt whatever traditions, rules, standards or values you want.  They just don’t matter one way or the other to God’s love for you.  Negatively, nothing can separate you from God’s love.  Positively, there’s nothing you can do to make God love you more than he already does, to accept you more completely than he already has, or to bless you more than he has already promised to bless you. Jesus death on a cross for you has already accomplished far more for you than all the good works you could possibly pack into your lifetime.  That’s good news, and that’s what we discover Paul has been fighting for in Galatians 2:1-10.

Chapter 2 continues the biographical summary that Paul began in chapter one.  The agitators had claimed that Paul shouldn’t be trusted because he didn’t have the authority of the Jerusalem church backing him.  Instead of becoming defensive, Paul concedes their point.  He hasn’t been commissioned by the apostles and church leaders in Jerusalem. But, Paul sees that as a positive point.  Paul has gotten his call and his message directly from Jesus himself.  Paul is not a party delegate, a denomination official, or a voice for the majority.  Paul is a servant of Jesus Christ, preaching the Good News of God’s amazing grace—the good news that Jesus revealed to him and in him. But that doesn’t mean that Paul didn’t have the blessing of the other Apostles and the church leaders back in Jerusalem.  Paul did have their blessing and, that is Paul’s point in verses 1-10.  While Paul’s message and ministry didn’t come from Jerusalem, Paul’s message and ministry did have Jerusalem’s approval and blessing.  

Paul’s writing in chapter 2 is filled with intense passion.  He is so angry that he starts sentences and doesn’t finish them, starts with nouns and adjectives and forgets to add verbs.  Bible translators have great difficulty translating Paul’s meaning, just because it’s so hard to follow him.  I’m using the TNIV because I think it’s currently the best translation of Galatians, from the standpoint of NT scholarship.  If you have a different translation, you may note some significant differences in what you’re reading and I’m reading.  That’s because Paul’s is passionately scribbling out phrases and clauses that never really become sentences. Chapter two has—historically—been very difficult to translate.  READ.

Paul wants the Galatians to know that he’s not a Lone Ranger, an independent, traveling evangelist, a theological maverick.  Even though Paul’s call and conversion didn’t come from the other Apostles and leaders in Jerusalem, Paul had their complete endorsement.  After an extended period of time preaching the gospel and planting churches, Paul was experiencing push-back from Jewish agitators.  In v. 4 he calls them false believers.  Only God knows their hearts.  These sincerely misguided people may have been true Christians, but they were teaching a false gospel and leading new Gentile Christians into bondage to OT law.  They were teaching new Christians that faith in Jesus was a good start, but faith alone isn’t enough to really honor or please God; they also needed to be circumcised, keep Kosher food laws, and maintain Saturday worship.  After fourteen years of wrangling with these agitators, the Holy Spirit spoke to Paul and called him to go to Jerusalem to settle this issue.  

In Acts 13:1-2, we read that on another occasion when Paul and the leaders in the church in Antioch were praying and worshipping together, the Holy Spirit called Paul and Barnabas to leave Antioch to preach the Gospel outside Palestine.  Early church leaders regularly sought and received prophetic words from the Holy Spirit about what do next, how to settle conflicts, and where to turn when doors of opportunity closed.  Paul received his message and mission by revelation (1:12) and, he took Barnabas and Titus to Jerusalem because of a prophetic word given by the Holy Spirit.

Some Christians think that Holy Spirit ministry was pretty much limited to the earliest chapters in the book of Acts.  So, they regard the book of Acts as exceptional, not normative.  Some Christians regard the church in Corinth as a troubled church, not a normal church, so they marginalize Paul’s teaching on the ministry of the Holy Spirit and spiritual gifts in  I Corinthians 12-14.  The interesting thing about Galatians is that this letter wasn’t written to one church, but multiple churches in the Roman province of Galatia.  Paul expected the ministry of the Holy Spirit to be a dominant expression of church life. Galatians reveals to us that the presence and power of the Holy Spirit was central to church life everywhere.  First, we read in 3;5 that Christians were regularly being overwhelmed by the Spirit, filled with the Spirit, and experiencing miracles by the Spirit. In chapter 4, Paul declares that it’s the Holy Spirit who opens the door to deep spiritual intimacy with God the Father.   In chapters 5 & 6 Paul reveals that it’s the Spirit who transforms our character into the very image of Jesus’ character.  Being consistently flooded and filled and refilled with the Holy Spirit, not keeping the OT law, is the path to holiness.  

In chapter 3, Paul communicates that just as circumcision was the sign of God’s OT covenant with Abraham, and the Sabbath was the sign of God’s OT covenant with Moses, so the outpouring of the Spirit is the sign of God’s New Covenant with us.   Yes, the presence and power of the Holy Spirit in our lives is the sign that we’re truly born again.  How could people tell that a man was a Jewish believer in the God of Abraham? He was circumcised. It was obvious, at least in the shower. How could people tell if someone was faithful to the law God gave Moses? He worshipped and did no work on Saturday (the Sabbath).  Circumcision and Sabbath-keeping were visible, outward signs of the inward, unseen reality of faith.  How can you recognize today that someone has decided to trust Jesus as his or her God?  He or she is filled with the presence, power, and joy of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the visible sign and seal of our salvation.  You can see the Holy Spirit in and on and around true Christians.  In his other letters, Paul will write, “Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is joy—visible, audible joyful talking, laughing, singing, celebrating.  Joy is visible.  It’s one of the Holy Spirit’s finger prints on our lives.  Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.  You can see and hear when a Christian is free from the fear of rejection, free to stand up and speak out, free to be transparent, free to confess weakness and sin, free to take risky steps of faith, free to be generous with time and money.  Freedom is one of the visible marks of the Holy Spirit’s presence.  And, where the Holy Spirit is present, there is power, not just talk—powerful praying, powerful serving, powerful leading (not just good intentions or doctrinal discussion).

We live in a day in which some Christians are ambivalent about the ministry of the Holy Spirit, prophetic guidance, and miracles.  They are Christian agnostics. Not Paul. The major turning points in his life and leadership were taken in response to prophetic guidance from the Holy Spirit.  So, Paul took several of his closest ministry companions (Barnabas and Titus) and went to Jerusalem to settle the issue: Do those who knew Jesus best believe that I am preaching the truth when I say that salvation and sanctification are by grace through faith alone, and that the sign of our salvation is the filling of the Spirit, not the keeping of OT law?

Jerusalem’s opinion mattered to Paul. The Apostles and leaders in Jerusalem were the people who knew Jesus’ teaching and example better than anyone else on the planet.  James, the pastor, was Jesus’ half-brother.  Peter, James, and the others had spent three full years following Jesus, listening to him teach, watching him heal the sick and cast out demons, and asking for personal explanations of things they didn’t understand.  More than that, Jesus’ had entrusted Peter with leadership of the church.  So, their endorsement had real authority.  Paul wants the Christians in Galatia to know three things that came out this meeting with Peter, James, John, and others.

First, these men who understood Jesus’ Gospel and Kingdom better than any others did not require Titus to be circumcised (v. 3).  Barnabas and Paul were both Jews; they had been circumcised as infants.  But Titus was a Gentile outsider.  His parents probably thought the act of circumcision was barbaric and unnatural.  The leaders and Apostles did not require Titus to be circumcised.  They did not rule that circumcision was required of this Gentile Christian.  Their decision clearly implied that indeed, circumcision is irrelevant to honoring or pleasing God, being forgiven or being blessed. Second, the leaders and Apostles in Jerusalem did not add anything to Paul’s message (v. 6).  They didn’t communicate that salvation is by grace through faith, but it would still be wise to stay away from pork, make-up, alcohol,  dancing, and modern translations of the Bible. Third (v. 9), they welcomed me into their circle of leadership (right hand of fellowship).  They recognized me as a peer and, they confirmed that they believed that Jesus had given me this special assignment: to preach his gospel among the Gentiles.  So Paul is communicating to the Galatians, “I received my message and mission from Jesus, but I’m not a maverick or a Lone Ranger, ministering independently of the rest of the Body of Christ.  The Good News I preach is the same Good news that Jesus’ preached and the rest of the Apostles and church leaders are preaching.  My message is from Jesus himself and I have the endorsement of those who knew Jesus better than anyone else—Peter, James, John and other pillars in the Jerusalem church”.

This meeting was a huge moment in Paul’s life and ministry, and it should forever shift the way we read the Bible.  Paul’s writings are not an echo of OT law (as if Moses gave us the OT law and Paul gave us the NT law).  Rather, Paul’s writings are designed to help us understand and apply Jesus’ gospel to our lives.  Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection forever changed the way we read the Old Testament.  We need to be discerning in this year’s spiritual growth project—i.e., reading through the Bible.

There’s much that we can learn about God and his ways from the OT—his heart and his holiness, his sensitivities and his desires, his vision for our lives and his tenacity in pursuing his plan to bless all people.  OT law is interesting and sometimes even inspiring.  But you must never forget that Jesus, in his death on the cross, fulfilled all the requirements of the OT law.  The requirements of the OT law are now irrelevant to becoming a friend of God, receiving his forgiveness, living in his acceptance, honoring and pleasing him, enjoying his blessing and, spending eternity in heaven.  Don’t buy pictures or engravings of the Ten Commandments and hang them in your family room. Instead, buy a plaque that displays Jesus’ Blessings in the Sermon on the Mount.   Be discerning when you quote OT instructions and warnings to your children.  Read them the Parable of the Prodigal Son, or the Parable of the Extravagant land owner who paid all his employees the same wage.  Tell them the story of Jesus’ rescuing the woman caught in adultery and appointing Peter, the cowardly betrayer, as the head of his church.  Tell them how Paul was the worst of sinners, but because of God’s great grace was chosen to become an apostle of grace to us and outsiders everywhere.

The entire OT looks forward to Jesus and, the entire NT is an explanation and application of Jesus’ example and teaching.  The way to honor and bless God in this New Covenant era is to trust and follow Jesus in the power of the Holy Spirit.  OT law is history and, modern day legalisms are irrelevant.  Sure, sin can destroy you and all that is good.  But, the way to deal with sin is not to keep lists on yourself.  The way to overcome sin is not to set up bigger and higher boundary markers.  The way to overcome is to make much of Jesus’ cross and the filling of the Holy Spirit.  Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection have changed the entire orientation of our faith and growth as Christians.  Our faith is all about knowing, trusting, and following Jesus in the power of the Holy Spirit.  There is nothing else, nothing more.  Just Jesus.  Trusting him.  Following him.  Partnering in ministry with him.  There are no rules or formulas, traditions or laws that can help you with this.  The key is just trusting-fatith, working its way out in love (empowered by the Holy Spirit).

Brennan Manning concludes his book The Ragamuffing Gospel with these memorable lines: Christianity is not primarily a moral code but a grace-laden mystery; it is not essentially a philosophy of love but a love affair; it is not keeping rules with clenched fists but receiving a gift with open hands”.  That’s worth writing in the cover of your Bible!  This is why it matters whether we open our hearts to God in worship, rather than just watching and listening to the band.  This is why it matters when we open our hearts and pray our heart’s longings, rather than just listening to a pastor pray.  That’s why it’s better to come forward after a service like this to ask for prayer—a fresh filling of the Hoy Spirit—than just to rededicate ourselve to working harder and doing better in our private lives.

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