Apparently our server is down again this seek, so all I have is the printed version of this sermon. Sorry for the inconvenience. Email calebjohn.schaller@gmail.com if you really want the mp3 and I'll send it to you. -Pastor Caleb Schaller
SERMON:
About 2,600 years ago the king of Judah
was assassinated. Upon his death, his eight year old son, Josiah, became king.
Now I’m sure that Josiah had caretakers. People tasked with the job of training
this child to become a just leader. Josiah had help.
But I wonder how much just being a
prince changed this child. Imagine his inner thoughts. I am a prince. I have
been born of a king. I will be king one day. No man will question me. I must
protect and guide this people. They will look to me as to a father.
Imagine that was you. Wouldn’t your
royal status change the way you looked at the world? The way you responded to people?
The way you carried yourself? The way you thought about everything?
▬
Today we continue our study of Paul’s
letter to the Galatian Christians. In chapter three Paul lays out the proper
mindset for a Christian to have. The
right way for us to view the world. When followers of Christ wake up every
morning we ought first to think: “I am a child of God, the Greatest King, by
faith in Christ Jesus”.
Galatians 3:23-29 (ESV)
23 Now before faith came, we were held captive under the
law, imprisoned until the coming faith would be revealed. 24 So then, the law was our guardian until Christ
came, in order that we might be justified by faith. 25 But now that faith has come, we are no longer
under a guardian, 26 for
in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. 27 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ
have put on Christ. 28 There
is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and
female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s
offspring, heirs according to promise.
▬
The false teachers that had
infiltrated the congregations at Galatia were teaching the people that they need
ed to earn forgiveness from God by observing religious rules and ceremonies. In
our reading for today Paul lays out a defense against this gospel corrupting
idea. Paul clusters together a group of pictures which illustrate the truth of
the gospel.
The truth of the gospel is this. Through
faith in Christ Jesus, sinners are reborn into the royal family of God. There
is no need for us to atone for our sins. Jesus has already erased the
record of our sins by his death on the cross. By faith in HIM we are the
forgiven children of God—NOW.
The first of the pictures that Paul
uses to illustrate our status before God is the image of a “pie-dah-go-gos”. In
Paul’s day, a “pie-dah-go-gos” was a guardian, or supervising babysitter. This guardian
“was
a man, usually a slave, whose task it was to conduct a boy to and from school
and to supervise and direct his general conduct” (Greek-English lexicon of
the New Testament: Based on Semantic domains).
One Greek dictionary
says the following about these “pie-dah-go-gos”:
“Among the Greeks
and the Romans [this] name was applied to trustworthy slaves who were charged
with the duty of supervising the life and morals of boys belonging to the
better class. The boys were not allowed so much as to step out of the house
without them before arriving at the age of manhood” (Enhanced Strong’s
Lexicon).
The congregations at Galatia were mixed.
They all trusted in Christ as their Savior, but some were ethnically Jewish,
others were ethnically non-Jewish (or “Gentile). It seems that Paul is talking
more directly toward the Jewish Christians here. He talks about law of God as
the heritage that Jews had for years. But Paul wants them to have the proper
view of God’s laws.
Paul says that the proper way to view
the body of laws that God had given to the nation of Israel is to see them like
a “pie-dah-go-gos”. Like a guardian that should be obeyed, but that was primarily
there to get you where you need to go. This guardian had limited authority and
ability, and before long his authority would end. The authority of the law
comes to an end when it brings people to Christ and the forgiveness that is
found in his cross.
▬
The false teachers were saying that you
could actually keep the law. And by keeping the law you could be declared
righteous before God. Paul says, “No way!” The purpose of the law is to lead
people to Christ, but only Christ can justify a sinner. Only Christ can say
“This one is innocent, for I have suffered for his sins”.
How silly it would be for one of those
old Greek slaves to assert authority over a child who had grown into manhood.
How silly it would be for a “pie-dah-go-gos” to claim, “I used to have
authority over you, so I still do. Go get me my slippers”. The master would
merely laugh.
This is how Paul teaches us to respond
to the law when it tries to condemn us for our sins. We should laugh and say,
“Law, you used to rule over me, but by faith in Christ I am now a Son of God.”
The law does indeed lead people to see
their sins, and the need for a Savior. But in the presence of Christ that
supervising babysitter is dismissed.
▬
Paul then moves on to give another
illustration of what the gospel of Christ does. Verse 27 say…
“For as many of you as were baptized
into Christ have put on Christ” (Galatians 3:27 ESV).
I recently read about some studies that
were done in connection with clothing and how it can significantly alter a
person’s behavior.
“In the
first experiment, 58 participants were randomly assigned to wear either a white
lab coat or street clothes. They were then subject to an incongruity task in
which they had to spot items that didn't belong to a set (for instance, the
word "red" written in green ink). Those in white coats made half as
many errors as those in street clothes” (Clothes Make the Man—Literally by
Jordan Gaines).
Maybe you’ve experienced the
confidence boosting power of a new dress, or a new suit, or some other fresh threads.
Maybe for you it’s new shoes, or make-up, or having your hair cut. Our
perceived appearance alters our mindset and confidence.
Paul says, this is how you aught to
see yourself—covered over with Christ Jesus. When God sees you, he sees the
perfect, sinless, Son of God. “For as many of you as were baptized into Christ
have put on Christ.”
We probably don’t think back to our
baptism enough. But what power and assurance are there! In our baptism we find
God’s love and mercy. We find God reaching out and taking us to be his own. In
baptism God reaches out and gathers sinners to himself and makes them part of
HIS family.
The Bible says that baptism creates
and seals faith in Christ. And with faith in Christ, we are covered in Christ.
And if we’re covered in perfection and goodness, then the law doesn’t have
anything to accuse us of. We’re holy before God, because Christ covers us.
▬
This whole Christ-covering-us thing
has huge implications for our daily life. But it also impacts the way we view
the Christians beside us. In verse 28 Paul writes…
“There is neither Jew nor Greek, there
is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in
Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:28 ESV).
The false teachers in Galatia were
encouraging an attitude of division in the congregations. An attitude that
ranks people according to “good”, “better”, “best”. But Paul says that we
should see our fellow Christians as they truly are—one in Christ Jesus.
Through faith we are covered with
Christ’s righteousness, and so are our fellow Christians. We should see them
like God sees them—as holy in Christ.
All the distinctions and labels that we
puts on one another fade away before the throne of God. As far as forgiveness, and
salvation, and value is concerned, in Christ we hold the same high status.
We all have different strengths, abilities,
and talents, and that’s fine. God is the one who distributes those talents and
gifts as HE sees fit. But in the realm of salvation—we stand shoulder to should
with our brothers and sisters in Christ. There is no room for racism, sexism,
or any other kind of caste system.
▬
It appears that the false teachers in
Galatia were advocating a caste system of sorts. One that put Jewish Christians
above Gentile Christians. Their claim to superiority was most likely founded in
the fact that they were Abraham’s descendants.
God had promised Abraham that all the
nations of the earth would be blessed through one of his descendants. This of
course, was Jesus, the Savior.
This was a great honor that God had
given to Abraham and his descendants. And yet as they clung to this prestige,
their hearts changed. After centuries the Jews began to consider themselves
God’s chosen people—not because of God’s grace, but because of their worthiness.
The Bible teaches that it was a great
blessing to be the physical descendants of Abraham. They were the caretakers of
the Old Testament scriptures. They were the nation from which the Savior would
come. But the Bible also says…
“…not all who are descended from
Israel are Israel. 7 Nor because they are his descendants are
they all Abraham’s children…”
(Romans 9:6-7 NIV).
Just before our sermon reading, Paul
wrote…
“7 Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of
Abraham. 8 And the
Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached
the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “In you shall all the nations be
blessed.” 9 So then,
those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith” (Galatians 3:7-9 ESV).
And the final verse of our reading for
today echoes this, saying…
“And if you are Christ’s, then you are
Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise” (Galatians 3:29 ESV).
All that these passages do is point
out that while it was an honor to be a physical descendant of Abraham, it was
vastly more important to be a spiritual descendant of Abraham. That is, someone
who had the same FAITH as Abraham. One who trusted in the Messiah that had been
fortold.
Think about what this revelation did
for the Gentile Christians in Galatia. It had been suggested that they were
less than the Jewish Christians. That they needed to earn their way up the
ranks somehow by their deeds. But Paul says, NO. To be a physical descendant of
Abraham is an honor, but to be a faith-descendant, THAT is what makes you an
heir to the promise.
▬
When I was a kid, I remember my father
telling me, “Remember who you are” one night before I went to hang out with
friends. Maybe your parents told you the same thing, “Remember who you are”.
That little phrase means a lot. It means, don’t shame your family. It means, speak
and act honorably. Be the person that God wants you to be.
But I want to turn that phrase around
for you today. “Remember who you are” is a law statement. It’s appeals to our
desire to not mess things up. But I would tell you to “remember who you are”,
dear Christians, as a way of encouraging you.
Remember who you are. You are a grown Christian. The law
has lead you to Christ, and Christ has declared you free from sin and guilt.
Live in peace, not fear.
Remember who you are. You are baptized. You have been
clothed with Christ’s righteousness. None of your sins are visible to God
anymore. Live in joy, not fear.
Remember who you are. You are one of the redeemed. They
stand beside you with their own strengths and weaknesses, with their own gifts
and faults. Love them as Christ loves you, and forgive them always. Live in forgiveness,
not judgment.
Remember who you are. You are a spiritual child of Abraham.
Were he to meet you today on the streets of heaven, he would recognize you as
one of his people. People who trust in the Messiah to wash their sins away.
▬
At the end of little Josiah’s reign,
the Temple of God had been restored. The idols had been thrown out of it. The
altars around Jerusalem that had served to honored false gods had been torn
down. The people had been led back to the word of God, and to the precious promises
that had been almost forgotten.
I’m not sure how much of Josiah’s
reign sprang from him simply seeing himself as royalty. But I know that God had
Paul emphasize the pictures of our text for a reason. God wants us to see
ourselves as HIS royal family. For when we do, it changes the way we see the
world.
Remember who you are. By faith in Christ, you are a child of
God. Let this thought be your first thought. By faith in Christ, you
are a child of God, and one day you will live with him in his kingdom, forever.
Amen.
The peace of God which surpasses all
understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
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