The Heart of Galatians

Recently, while I was reading Commentary on Galatians by Martin Luther, I ran across the phrase 'tyrants of men's consciences' when he was referring to the judgement and condemning attitude of some of the people during Luther's time. They were promoting intimidation to keep people in line with the religious legalism that was prevalent.

I was specifically reading about Romans 6:1-5 in the commentary. There is some puzzling language in those verses that look like contradictions:

6 Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted. 2 Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.3 For if a man think himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself. 4 But let every man prove his own work, and then shall he have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another. 5 For every man shall bear his own burden.

First and foremost, in order to understand what's written here, you have to look at the context. In Galatians 5, Paul continued to lay out the flesh vs spirit problem the Galatians were having. They were into performing according to the flesh. In the later verses of Galatians 5, he lists the fruit of the spirit which are products of the operation of holy spirit in people's innermost hearts. Galatians 6:1 starts out and closes with 'Brethren'. This book is written to brothers and sisters in Christ.

Another thing to keep in mind is that God didn't put the chapter breaks in His Word, man did. If we look at verses 25 and 26 in the previous chapter and verse 1-5 of chapter six it reads:

25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. 26 Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another.1 Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted. 2 Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.3 For if a man think himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself. 4 But let every man prove his own work, and then shall he have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another. 5 For every man shall bear his own burden.

With all that in mind, the apparent contradiction starts to untwist. We help one another with burdens ('baros' - like an overloaded ship that presses downward). We fulfill the law of Christ by loving one another and helping one another. We remind each other of the power and love of God that lifts the load. In verse 5, we read that we carry our own burden ('phortion' - like a ship that is carrying cargo, its proper invoice weight. A ship travels better with a certain amount of weight that prevents being tossed to and fro).

If someone is overtaken with a burden we help because we know that we at times deal with overloads and this happens in life. We walk by the spirit rather than by the flesh knowing that is the only way to help.  The only boasting that goes on is about God and what He is able to do.

Real Liberty

This (Galatians 5:1) verse hit home this morning in a way that I am just giddy with gratitude for God's heart!

Have you ever felt powerless and inadequate? Welcome to the weak and beggarly elements of the world! (Galatians 4:3). The book of Galatians is an important book. It exposes legalism as to its misuse. Think, for example, about the 10 commandments. Are they weak (powerless) and beggarly (inadequate)? Not really, unless one gets the idea that by observing them, one earns his way into anything. Paul made this point over and over again in Galatians.

The book of Galatians is also addressed to pagan, gentile converts. Could we describe the ways of the world as powerless and inadequate? Yup! We see it everywhere. The world has got answers for absolutely everything! Sometimes - no wait!- usually, it is very, very frustrating. I have to remind myself over and over again that man isn't the smartest firecracker in the sky always, God is!

When you combine legalism and paganism together the whole thing is insane. Enough of that!

I love that we have the privilege of prayer! It is great to talk everything over with God. I recently read an interesting quote:  "As long as you know God is for you, it doesn't matter who is against you." If you just believe the first part of that quote, power and adequacy are unequivocally yours! The second part of that quote we don't have to worry about. Human beings naturally bump each other about, so why is it even shocking that it happens (reminder to self).

Absolute true freedom comes from a loving, wonderful God who sent His son to totally free us of all that renders us powerless and inadequate. Have a truly free day!

Thankful for The Mystery

The mystery  is the great topic of the church epistles written by Paul.  Very few people really understand it completely. It is not nearly as hard to understand as it is to put into practice. Yes, it is "Christ in you" ( Romans 8:16-17, Ephesians 3, Colossians 1:27),  but what does that mean in practical living?

In Ephesians 1:18 and 19 God says:

The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints, And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power,

And there is a lot more where this comes from! What does it mean?  It says that the believer can see and know and utilize the power that God has given us.  Imagine that! If God has enlightened our eyes, and given us all this power, why don't we use it? We don't because we haven't dared to believe it! Many things in the world talk us out of it. The world is all too ready to offer alternatives to believing God. We have not been taught how to practically live it.

When I was first learning how to read the Bible for myself,  I had a wonderful friend that loved to teach the Word.  One day I asked him about something I was having a problem with and he told me he knew how much I loved God's Word and that I needed to check in with God as to how to handle the problem. (Hey! listen, I had been raised behind the altar rail in the pews and still had somewhat of a stained glass idea of religion. My friend had at one time been there too and he was an expert on how to get out of that mindset) It was a huge turning point in my approach to God. I truly began to get real answers for myself.

It starts in Romans in realizing what has been actually been accomplished for us that none of us really deserved. That includes everybody! (Mother Teresa, the Dalai Llama, even the apostle Paul are no exceptions)  Romans is the book that when we get finished reading and assimilating, we are extremely thankful. Next, there are so many things brought up in Corinthians that help people to see how to live that thankfulness and not get caught up with things that pull people down. Natural man is pretty self-centered and seeks his own remedies for fear. The culture very quickly tries to explain human nature away and make excuses for that fear.

This precious thankfulness is further protected by the book of Galatians when man attempts to outdo God in perfecting his own practice of religion. Man sets up his own levels of accomplishment and in the process pushes God aside to watch. It is brutal to others who have not reached man's estimation of what is required. God makes it plain in Galatians in clear, straightforward grace. Believing pleases Him. Sometimes people get so wrapped up with the "Believing is action" performance mentality that they forget that believing starts with 'God so loved the world'! We love Him because He first loved us (I John 4:19).

As we wind our way to reach Ephesians, the groundwork in Romans, the weeding of Corinthians and the rock removal of Galatians helps our hearts to readily receive the unlimited supply that the big heart of God offers us without reservation. God has always been faithful. The problem is not with God; it is in man's heart where the problem lies. We could blame it on someone else like Adam. ("Why wasn't he thankful in Eden?") Adam was Adam; but Jesus Christ opened a new door for each of us.  We have nobody to blame. Thankfulness starts with each of us individually and it turns everything around!