Focal verses: 9, 12, & 16-20
9 But now that you
know God—or rather are known by God—how is it that you are turning back to those weak and
miserable forces? Do you wish to be
enslaved by them all over again?
12 I plead with you, brothers and sisters, become like me, for I became
like you. You did me no wrong.
16 Have I
now become your enemy by telling you the truth?
17 Those
people are zealous to win you over, but for no good. What they want is to
alienate you from us, so that you may have zeal for them. 18 It is fine to be zealous,
provided the purpose is good, and to be so always, not just when I am with you. 19 My dear children, for whom I am again in the pains of
childbirth until Christ is formed in you, 20 how I wish I could be with
you now and change my tone, because I am perplexed about you! Galatians 4:9, 12, & 16-20 [NIV]
Paul
wrote this letter to the Galatian Christians to combat new teachings of which they
became aware. The new teachers said before the Galatians became true Christians,
they had to become Jews first by following the laws God set up for the Israelites.
The outward expression of being part of God’s chosen people was circumcision.
Paul explained in the first seven verses of this chapter that no works by man could
help them gain their salvation from sin and death. The other thing he said was
by choosing to follow the Law for salvation, they chose to enslave themselves
again instead of accepting the freedom God gave them by His grace through faith
in His Son, Jesus Christ.
Beginning
with verse nine, Paul beseeched them not to turn back from the way they knew
God and were known by Him to the old way, the laws of God given for the
establishment of His nation, Israel. Those laws, Paul said, were “weak and
worthless elemental things.” They enslave people to trying to earn salvation by
working for it. Yet salvation can never be attained by the works of human hands
since humankind is fallible and sinful, but Jesus Christ is not. That makes God’s
plan of salvation through Jesus Christ perfect.
In
verse twelve, Paul begged the Galatian Christians to be as he was just as he
became as they were. This verse can confuse us so let us consider it closer.
Was Paul saying he became doubters and waffled on the means of his salvation?
No, he was not. He meant in this verse that the Galatians became as he was when
he spoke to them about salvation through faith in Jesus Christ. They realized
they did not have to be Jews to become Christians, but that God gave His grace
for every person. Paul, who once was a chief Jew, a Pharisee, gave up his
tradition of keeping the laws of God to accept God’s grace gift by faith in His
Son, Jesus Christ. He understood that the Law could not provide salvation and
he taught that to everyone, including the Galatians. So then what did Paul mean
when he said he became as the Galatian Christians were? He meant that instead
of making them become as he once was, a Jew, he, by believe in Jesus Christ, became
as the Galatian Christians were, non-Jewish believers. Paul did not rely upon
the laws to make him a Christian, but only the grace and mercy of the Father through
His Son, Jesus Christ. Paul gave up his Jewish-ness to become a Christian. In
that way, he became like the Galatian Christians who were never Jews and became
Christ-followers.
Paul
was adamantly against the teachings the Judaizers brought to the Galatian
Christians. Why did he say they were teaching this added step to become a
Christian? Paul said in verse seventeen, “They eagerly seek you, not commendably,
but they wish to shut you out so that you will seek them.” The teachers who taught
contrary to what God provided, salvation by grace through faith, wanted to be
commended by other people for understanding better and deeper what it meant to
be a follower of Jesus Christ. They added on more things to become a Christian
hoping to gain notoriety and fame. Do we have any preachers in our day who do
this? Do they preach you must give more money to be blessed more by God? Do
they say you must worship or fast a certain number of times a year, month or
week, for example, to be in God’s will? We must stop and seek God for ourselves
to determine if what they teach is in line with God’s revealed Word, the Bible,
or if it is contrary to God’s teaching. When the veil tore upon Jesus Christ’s
death on the cross, we each we enabled to speak to God for ourselves to ask Him
His way. Listen, if someone teaches something that sounds odd and off from what
you have read in the Bible, seek God to understand if it is truth or manmade
rules. This is what the Judaizers were doing with the Galatian Christians. They
added rules for a person to become a Jesus follower. God did not require these
rules for them to become Christians.
In
verses nineteen and twenty, Paul expressed that he continued to labor for the
Galatian Christians even though he was not with them. He wanted them to be
formed into the image of Christ – for them to grow in Christlikeness. Paul
expressed his concern and stated he was “perplexed” about the Galatians. He
reacted like a teacher, even a parent. These people were Paul’s children in
Christ. He taught them and brought them before the Lord Jesus. Paul corrected
them and showed them God’s way verses manmade ways to salvation and eternal
life with God. He wrote and encouraged them and prayed for them. Paul desired
to be with them to protect them from false teachings. We can identify with
these feelings. If you have children whether young or adult, you continue to
raise them in a moral and, hopefully, Christian way so they will grow up to be
strong Christians and good citizens in the world. Teaching is not a one-off
event, but requires encouragement, explanation, prayer, intervention, and sometimes
punishment to convince the child of the necessity and purpose of the godly lifestyle
and walk.
Perhaps
you had people intervene in your life in the past who taught you about God and
the salvation He gives through His Son, Jesus Christ. You probably did not hear
about the Gospel once and then lived a perfect life from that point forward.
God sent people into your life who helped you mature in your walk. Maybe they
even corrected and chastised you to help you get back on the godly path. God
used these people in your life as He used Paul in the lives of the Galatian
believers. The Christians whose lives intersected with yours, cared and prayed
for you. Some may still remember you and pray for you when the Holy Spirit
prompts them. This is most definitely how Paul felt about the Galatians.
On
the other hand, maybe you have never stopped to hear and consider or no one
came into your sphere to tell you about the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Today and
this week with these lessons, you have heard the Gospel. Because of the sinfulness
of humankind and the inability for imperfect humans to work their way to
perfection to be in the presence of Holy God, God provided the perfect sinless
sacrifice for our wrongs/sins so we could be in His presence. The sacrifice He
gave was His Holy Son, Jesus Christ who was sinless and perfect. His life paid
the price for the just judgment we deserve for our sins. God provided this
sacrifice because He loves you and each of us. He wants to be in a relationship
with you but could not because He, being holy, cannot be in the presence of
sin. With His Son’s sacrifice, sins are removed, people are cleansed from evil,
when they admit they are sinners, believe Jesus Christ is God’s Son given as
the sacrifice for their sins, and confess Jesus Christ is Lord of their lives. That
is the simple Gospel. You can do nothing to earn salvation, but because God
loves you, even as you are now with your sins, He provided the sin sacrifice
through His Son’s death. God provided a way for you to be with Him forever with
His Son’s resurrection from death. When you believe in Jesus Christ as your
Lord and Savior, you inherit the kingdom of God – power over sin and death, and
eternal life with Him.
Do not let people of the
world tell you you must do more and be more for God to love you and accept you.
God loves you already and is waiting for you to turn to Him. Maybe you need to
confess your sins to Him because you are already His child, but have let your
sins build a wall between you and God. Or, maybe you have not trusted in Jesus
Christ and you need to do that now accepting Him as your Savior and Lord,
giving Him your life. Whatever you need to do, now is your time to choose. What
will you decide?
