The weather people say it's supposed to rain today and for the next 7 days; but, we don't care because....we're in Galatians! Today's text is Galatians 2. Grab your Bible. (I was reading from The Message version this morning.)
I am not envious of those believers charged with establishing the "early Church". It would have been impossible without the Holy Spirit, which is why Jesus and Father sent Him. Man would have totally fouled things up, on his own. Even so, because Christianity was born out of Judaism, there was an extreme amount of human pressure to force Christ's gospel back into the mold of the "old covenant", the "old system". But, Jesus had made it plain He came to fulfill the Law and the Prophets (Matthew 5:17), and to establish a new covenant (Hebrews 9:15). In addition to fulfilling the Old Testament Messianic prophecies, Jesus refined and clarified the Mosaic law, as evidenced by the many times He quoted the Old Testament and then added, "But I say unto you..."
The nexus of this Galatian conflict was in the conversion of Gentiles to the Christian faith. In essence, the Jewish believers wanted the Gentiles to become Jews first (bound by the Mosaic law), and then to become Christians. However, the Lord had made it clear to Paul (and then later to Peter) that this legalistic, intermediate step was unnecessary. Paul described those Jews who advocated this position of legalism as "reduc(ing) us to their brand of servitude".
Paul was well-aware of the pitfalls of this false teaching because he had been an "expert in the law" before his conversion (Acts 22:3). This danger is why he avoided Jerusalem, for the most part, for the first 15 years (or so) of his ministry to the Gentiles. And, even on those two occasions when he did go to Jerusalem, verses 1-5 of chapter 2 make it plain that he carefully considered how to approach this delicate, ethnically-charged situation. The Holy Spirit was at work though. Verses 8-10 tell us that consensus was reached between Paul, representing the ministry to Gentiles, and the Jerusalem church pillars: Peter, James and John. So, by verse 10 we think, "It's all well and good. Done deal." Not so fast.
We see legalism (servitude) rear its ugly head again in verses 11-13. This straying from the truth of the Gospel involved even Peter and Barnabas, stalwarts of the faith. We must guard our hearts, as this demonstrates that even the most "set apart", consecrated, dedicated leaders can be susceptible to doctrinal error. Satan is wily and knows our weaknesses. No one is immune to temptation in this regard. God will, in those cases, often use a Christian brother or sister to show us from Scriptures how to "get back on the straight and narrow". Thank God for His wonderful mercy!
What is this "old system", this "servitude"? In verses 15-16, Paul points out that Jews were given the best set of rules and laws this world has ever seen! After all, these law code served as God's tool to preserve the Jewish way of life for thousands of years. However, as good as it was for that purpose, it was absolutely lousy at producing righteousness in the lives of the rule-followers. In fact, keeping the law in every aspect was an impossible task that produced anxiety and bondage....slavery, if you will.
The way of Christ Jesus is not servitude, but rather, servanthood. The difference is more than mere semantics. The difference goes to the very root of each behavior. While the actions may look identical on the outside, they are produced from diametrically opposed motivations. Servitude is born out of fear of punishment for wrongs done; servanthood is born out of a heart of gratitude for sins forgiven.
Years ago, as a teenager, I selected Galatians 2:20 as my "life verse". You old Christians - - - do you remember when doing this was "a thing"? Goodness gracious...the prideful trappings we adorn ourselves with....At any rate, let's look at verses 19 through 21:
19 For through the law I have died to the law, so that I might live for God. I have been crucified with Christ 20 and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. 21 I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died for nothing.
The unbelieving, scoffing world does not understand this. It is counterintuitive to their "me-centered" belief system. Unbelievers see Christians and immediately see servitude (or worse, hypocrisy); sometimes, they see accurately, because not all who claim the name of Jesus Christ are actually His. (But, that's another topic for another day. ) At any rate, what the world should be able to see is our servanthood.
What should servanthood look like? What should it be? (This hearkens back to being a bondservant, the blog topic of a couple days ago.) It begins with recognizing that true righteousness is bestowed on us solely by our perfect Savior, since perfection is something none of us can attain on our own (Gal. 2:16). And, perfection is what is required by our holy Father God (Leviticus 11:44). Once we have "thrown in" with Jesus Christ, accepted His perfect sacrifice on our behalf, we begin to realize the enormity of this gift of God, eternal life. This realization produced gratitude and love!
Servanthood is a heart reaction first, a reaction that produces love actions - - service done from a heart filled with love and thankfulness that all our sins have been forgiven. The resplendent walk is a series of day-to-day decisions of servanthood, of crucifying my selfish desires to the cross and allowing Christ to be evident, to be seen in my life.
In John 10:10, Jesus calls a life of servanthood "the abundant life". The Message version puts it like this:
I came so they can have real and eternal life, more and better life than they ever dreamed of.
Not bondage! Not servitude! Instead..."mo' and better"! Who doesn't want that?!
Good morning, Father God. Thank you for always being swift to commune with Your children. Thank you for the liberty that is mine through Your Son, my Savior. This is abundant life, the only life worth living. I am so very, very grateful for this precious treasure you lavished on me, one so unworthy of Your grace. My heart is full of gratitude and love today, and this spurs me on to a new day of service. Though I may stumble, I know that your forgiveness is ever available. You will be quick to hear my confession, dust me off, clean me up, pat me on my spiritual butt and send me off again to serve You more. What a loving Father You are! In Your Only Son's name I pray, amen.
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