Gospel

Exhausting Lies

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19When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, 20idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, 21envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God. Galatians 5:19-21 (NLT)

 

The “old me” is hanging around. It seeks to rule me and is in conflict with the “new me” created by the Spirit of God. Paul gives us a short list evidencing the old nature, but he admits the list is not exhaustive.

However, it must be said, the old nature is exhausting! That’s the surprising and enslaving feature of the old nature. Sin wears us out. And all the while it keeps feeding us the lie that we are “really living” or will be really living when we follow the desires of our sinful nature.

This kind of life truly keeps us from inheriting and enjoying the freedom and joy of the Kingdom of God made ours through faith in Jesus. Jesus says, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. 29Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30)

Faith and Friendship

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22You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works; 23and the Scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”—and he was called a friend of God.  James 2:22-23

 

Abraham believed God. This was enough.

 

Faith is the quality of relationship with God that is active, trusting, and reliant.

 

Its a quality God loves to see.

 

He counts us as friends.

 

To get the rest of the story on Abraham read Genesis 11 – 25.

Jesus came to save sinners

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12I thank him who has given me strength, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he judged me faithful, appointing me to his service, 13though formerly I was a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent. But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, 14and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. 15The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost.  1 Timothy 1:12-15

 

Here is a trustworthy saying: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.

 

Paul talks plainly about his life before receiving God’s grace through Jesus. He describes the hardness of his life: in speech, in relationship to the Church, and in general towards people he did not agree with.

 

He says he was the “chief of sinners.”

 

I think Paul is encouraging Timothy to not count anyone out as beyond the reach of Jesus.

 

Jesus came to save sinners, no matter how dramatic and spectacular their speech, violence, and intransigence.

 

Orientation, Lines, and Shouting in the Office

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25And now that the way of faith has come, we no longer need the law as our guardian.26For you are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus. 27And all who have been united with Christ in baptism have put on Christ, like putting on new clothes. 28There is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male and female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29And now that you belong to Christ, you are the true children of Abraham. You are his heirs, and God’s promise to Abraham belongs to you. Galatians 3:25-29

 

 

One of my kids was bullied, shamed, yelled at, and banished by a teacher for not colouring in the lines. It was awful. If I could have, I would have erased the lines on the paper and used them to draw a new vision of education all the way from the office to the classroom.

 

Now, I know we like our lines. They bring us some measure of comfort and normalcy. We feel threatened when someone colours outside the lines.

 

And here’s a truth, the Gospel has erased some lines we like.

 

Do you claim Jesus as Lord? If yes, get your social eraser out.

 

Paul is inviting the Galatians to a Gospel Orientation. The lines have been redrawn. Who’s in and who’s out? Who’s up and who’s down? In Christ Jesus we are in the family as equal partners no matter our race, status, or gender. The implications are dramatic. A new social code has been written through His blood. When we resist the pull of the Gospel against our social and cultural conventions that oppress and limit people based on race, status, or gender, we are fighting Jesus. We are neglecting the common ground at the foot of the Cross bought through His blood.

 

So what to do? Raise the bar of the conversation. The Apostle Paul keeps pointing to the dramatic realities of the Gospel and acting accordingly. Let’s do the same!

 

The Forgotten Context

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6For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love….

13For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. 14For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 15But if you bite and devour one another, watch out that you are not consumed by one another….

22But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. 24And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit.

26Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.

 

Have you memorized Galatians 5:22?

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.

 

We would do well to be very familiar with all of Chapter 5.

 

The Apostle Paul is in a debate regarding change dynamics. How are people who follow Jesus going to change? How will this new community of Jews and Gentiles gathered in the name of Jesus Christ embody the character of God. To be crass: One group is asking, “When will pagans start being good?” This group is arguing for conformity to the Law and to the community and cultural standards of the Jews.

 

Paul argues for a spiritual dynamism empowered by the Holy Spirit given to all those who receive forgiveness of sin through faith in the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

 

The Gospel-shaped community vision: faith, freedom, fruit.

Faith in Jesus working through love.

Freedom to serve one another through love.

Fruit borne of the Spirit’s dynamic work in our lives.

 

The Fruit of the Spirit is a vision of Gospel-shaped community. Life in Jesus’ community is the forgotten context for The Fruit of the Spirit.