David Pawson - Galatians [2] - Unlocking the bible

throughout the book of Acts we see a loosening of the ties between Judaism and Christianity Steven began it and his martyrdom while he was the first martyr for this particular issue and Philip baptizing the Ethiopian eunuch took a little further and then Peter with Cornelius and soon the Jewish believers in Jerusalem were very very suspicious about this new faith being taken to Gentiles didn't seem Jewish enough for them and so finally Paul went up to Jerusalem to challenge the very heart of the church that was sending out these anti missionaries as it were who were saying it's not just enough to believe you've got to be circumcised as well and the real issue was not circumcision behind that lay the question should a Gentile become a Jew when they become a Christian the question of Judaism as such but behind that was the big issue and the real issue was salvation itself not Judaism or Samson but salvation and the whole question was is it by works or by faith or a mixture now most religions of the world are salvation by works you must pray must fast you must give arms and so on and then at the end of it all you'll get right with God you've saved yourself by your own efforts and do it yourself religion does appeal to people because it leaves them with their pride I achieved it it is self righteousness and God hates self-righteousness he'd rather deal with sin self-righteousness Jesus just couldn't get on with self-righteous people he was a friend of sinners but the self-righteous the Pharisees he couldn't get on with at all his salvation by works alone do you really have to do your best and really work hard to get there or his salvation works plus faith that's very common I was a chaplain in the Royal Air Force and I was the OD chaplain the odd bought the other denominations there was an RC Innes TV and when a new bunch of men arrived the CV would say how many of you been christened CV and he'd walk off with 70% than the RC would take off everybody with an Irish accent and I would be left I know I was left with Baptist Methodist salvation as Buddhists Hindus Muslims agnostics atheists fascinating to be chaplain to atheist you know that's another story but when the men were seated before me I you say how many Methodists and how many Baptists how many salvation has put their hands up and in the same tone of voice and saying how many Christians dead silence occasionally a lad would put his hand up and smile but usually there would go see if anybody else was and say come on you tell me how many Methodism Baptists well how many Christians and they used to say but what do you mean by Christian Padrino so well what do you think I mean and they always said the same thing someone who keeps the Ten Commandments now I guess they picked that up in church as children reading them on the wall but I said okay I'll accept that a Christian is someone who keeps the Ten Commandments how many Christians are they here and again that'd be real uncertainty and then somebody would say but Padre you can't keep them all I would say well how many do you have to keep to be a Christian they always said 6 out of 10 I said ok I accept that a Christian is someone who keeps 6 out of 10 commandments how many Christians are they here and it led to a tremendous discussion of what a Christian is now I made them do the discussion and this was what they were really struggling with see works Plus faith says do as many as you can and then have faith for what you don't manage keep as many commandments as you can and then ask God to forgive what you didn't manage to keep that is the most common understanding of Christianity that there is in our country that do-gooding then there are those who say no it's faith plus works you start with phase and then you go on to works and you keep the law after you've believed but you got to keep the law see that's what the Judaizers were saying start with faith and then keep the law and that's why Paul was going to say to the Galatians having started in the spirit II you're going to continue in the flesh because law belongs to flesh that's your effort it's not the spirit doing it in you it's you doing it and what Paul was fighting for was faith alone faith from first to last as he often puts it faith from beginning to end they said I'm not ashamed of the gospel it's the power of God that saves everyone who goes on believing there's that continues present again for it is from faith to faith faith from first to last as the NIV puts it in other words we cannot compromise on this you go on believing that's the heart of it you don't believe at the beginning and then work for it you go on believing and there's a big difference between telling people and need to go on believing and telling them they need to keep the law now huge difference so this is the real issue that Paul is fighting what he is fighting for is Christian freedom to introduce the Lord any stage is to put them under curse because the only pass mark that Jesus will accept for the law is 100% you are the keep them all or you broken the law and that's true with the traffic laws if I'm stopped by a speed cop I can submit but officer I stopped it every red light on the way here he says I don't care if you've stopped at every red light you have broken the law and that's what God says because the law is not just a string of pearls it's a necklace holiness is a complete thing if you break it at any point the pearls all folder' fall on the ground you've broken the Lord doesn't matter if you're broken one or nine or ten it's like three people stranded on a rock and the incoming tide and there's a three meter deep bit of sea now between the rock sin and a first man jumped and he only managed to jump 1/3 of the way in he drowned the second man was a better jumper and he managed 2/3 the way he drowned the third man only missed by 6 inches but he was lost too and actually keeping the Lord doesn't matter whether you managed a bit or a lot if he didn't make it 100% he just as lost as if you broke most of them that's how God thinks that's how his word says cursed be he who does not continue in all these laws to go on doing them says the scripture now that's the curse you're under if you try and keep the commandments and get to have none your own steam but the gospel has a different way of righteousness altogether then of course the obvious question is then why did God give the Ten Commandments why did he give the law of Moses at all and the answer is in Galatians the answer is it is by the straightedge of the law that we realize how crooked we are in other words it's only the law that tells you you're a sinner you don't find out how wrong you've been until you study the law of God then you discover it was introduced to prepare us for Christ by showing us that we couldn't keep that law that's why preaching the Ten Commandments can bring a person to conviction of sin because they know there's no way they can keep it especially the way Jesus reinterpreted those laws so we come to the real matter of Liberty now we've got for the first time a picture visual aids coming up that's the whole of Galatians in one picture very simple picture but I need to explain it where shall we start the three things that we're talking about are legalism liberty and license and legalism is an enemy of Liberty but what people don't always realize is that license is too and chapters 1 to 2 of Galatians talk about our liberty in Christ under the favor of the Father we were in the sunshine of his love in the freedom of the Spirit and the foundation is faith in the son so far the son and spirit are giving us the freedom of standing up here but there are two ways of losing that freedom one is to slip back into law which is a cage we're trapped in it we try and climb out but we can't you once get back under law and you're in bondage in slavery and you're under the wrath of God again because you can't keep it but there's another way to lose your Liberty and that's to slip down this side into the swamp of the flesh and that also is bondage but it's bondage to yourself this way you will invariably become in bondage to others because of their rules and regulations this way you become in bondage to your own desires and you're under the wrath of God again and you've lost your freedom have any of you ever been to striding edge in on hell Velan in the late district that's a perfect illustration because it's it's a very sharp path right along a ridge and either side are two huge hollows we call them quarries they've been hollowed out by great balls of ice in the Ice Age revolving and as the two balls revolved they leave this very sharp thing the matterhorn in Switzerland was the result of three balls of ice revolving and it leaves a three-pointed thing but the two-sided thing is two balls of ice doing this and it's wonderful to walk along the striding edge but my if you do it in a high wind the only safe way to do it is on your knees there's a moral there all right preaching again well striding edge you see it is a delicate striding edge that we walk in the liberty of the spirit it's so easy to slip one way or the other and I would say the the biggest danger to Christians in their liberty is legalism so rising Lee because license is pretty obvious it's when churches start making extra rules and regulations that you get so easily into legalism and legalism kills the spirit dead you go into a legalistic fellowship and you can tell it straight away everybody has pursed lips you know are you seeing that and there's a kind of set expression a hard expression on people's face they've got under the law again they're keeping it but oh it makes you tough makes you hard it's not the liberty of the Spirit legalism makes the whole thing a matter of rules rather than relationships that's probably the key and a person thinks they're a Christian because they're keeping the rules don't smoke don't gamble don't drink don't do this don't do that and and so they they're keeping the rules but the relationship has gone just to give you a homely illustration of this as a young man came to our church in Buckinghamshire called Donnie was a bit of a rough diamond but he came to Christ and a few weeks later he said to me David should a Christian go to the cinema on Sunday evenings when I was tempted to quote Hezekiah 3:16 which was yellow it says a Christian must not go to the cinema Sunday evenings but anyway I resisted the temptation and I said Donna I'm not going to tell you he said why not I said because you've got to find out from Jesus now if there been something clear in Scripture I would have told him because you can speak with authority where the Spirit has already spoken but as far as I know the Bible doesn't deal with that question so I said you must find out from Jesus said well how do I find out I said take him with you next Sunday night and see if he enjoys the film so the next Sunday night Don goes to the local cinema and Jared's cross there and he said to the girl in the box of his two tickets please and he was all alone at the moment you see nobody was standing with him so the girl said is your girlfriend joining you said no that's all right just there's the money community but she said there's nobody was it look he said let's not argue there's the money to ticket please well now her feminine curiosity just was not satisfied and she said well who's the other ticket for and he said well if you must know it's for Jesus and she got scared stiff she she she lifted the telephone and as and asked the manager to come down from his office so the manager came down he said what's the problem well he wants two tickets well give him two takes what do you call me des he wants one for Jesus Fisher said and now the manager couldn't handle it and he stuttered and his stamina said well he said I suppose if you want you know oh if he's willing to pay give him two tickets is a good business for us so he got the two tickets he went inside he said you sit there jeez I'll sit here and ten minutes into the film he said you're enjoying it and two minutes later came out now you see there are some people who say that's bad shepherding you should have taken responsibility for his decision I believe it was good shepherding see because that's the liberty of the Spirit it's so easy for me to make a new rule and I'm not saying it's wrong for a Christian to go to the cinema but for him Jesus said not for you you see now this is the liberty of the Spirit it's not doing what you want and it's not doing what others tell you it's letting the spirit guide you see the real freedom as Paul says in this letter is not the freedom to sin but it's the freedom not to that's real freedom no unbeliever has that freedom that's the freedom that once for us but it's so easy to try and stop people going into the flesh by putting them under law that's the only answer some fellowships have do you did you see that trying to protect their members from doing this and getting into this swamp without realizing that that's just as bad as this and legalism is just as much an enemy of Liberty as license now have you followed that that's the whole argument of Galatians and the chapters simply chapters 1 & 2 talk about this Liberty chapters 3 & 4 talk about the legalism that can spoil it chapters 5 & 6 talk about the opposite danger so Paul is actually fighting on two fronts and that is the real problem that on most issues you find yourself fighting on two fronts to keep the truth to keep Liberty and walking that striding edge is really quite a delicate operation so let's look at these three things how we're doing for time we're all right first of all let's look a bit more closely at legalism circumcision is the first link in the chain for those Galatians it would be the beginning of legalism you must do this and it is not part of the gospel and they'd have to keep all the rest but won't people take advantage when you tell them the knot on the law won't they become lawless and one of the opposite area that errors is antinomianism have you heard that word or you don't really need to know it but anti against no mune ISM Norma's law it means that if you tell people they're not under law won't they go and sin and some people you see with their little minds can only see these two as the alternatives that if you don't give them rules they're going indulge themselves amazing how churches develop rules and regulations when I was a Methodist minister there was a book half an inch thick called the constitutional practice and discipline of the Methodist Church it's now three and a quarter inches thick there are 40 loose leaf pages added every year listen if rules and regulations could bring revival the Methodists would leave its standing but it doesn't happen that way how easy it is to try and regulate it and give rules for this that and the other and think that somehow our organization will bring life it doesn't Liberty brings life and God set us free to be free watch legalism like a hawk if you slip into it you invariably become hard and hypocritical because you dare not tell other people if you're breaking the law just don't admit it in case you thought to be unsound if you heard that word legalism let's look again at license yes there is a real danger on this side and Paul says the works of the flesh beware of them there's a swamp it's another form of slavery it's sticky sucking filth it's easy to slide into it and very hard to get out of and the works plural notice the works of the flesh some are pretty crude promiscuity are catism drugs he lists the modern ring to all this and then there are the subtle ones quarreling rivalry jealousy envy prejudice now there's a pretty subtle ones but that's the swamp of the flesh now notice that he is Paul arguing like mad about circumcision but he's talking about those who are just disagreeable either way whatever issue is under discussion who are constantly dividing people into parties and groups that's another thing you know what Paul is talking about I'm sure this divisive nough sis awkwardness this the kind of personality that has so many corners you can't get near them kind of person who has faith to move mountains but leaves them in everybody else's path do you know the kind of person feather one or two in every fellowship it's of the flesh it's subtle but it's works of the flesh now what happens says Paul when somebody slips into this and I'm afraid it's constantly happening when there's some scandal in your fellowship some scandal about a televangelist what should the others do and Paul in a most solemn statement he says if it's occasional if they've just slipped into it then pick them up quickly because you might have slipped a lot of banana skins on the Christian Road he said if someone has slipped into sin the rest of you get around and pick him up and be humble as you do so because it might be you but he says habitual sin is quite a different matter someone who slips into this pick him up quickly get them back in the fellowship get them healed but if someone deliberately and willfully goes on wallowing in this then he says whatever amends shows that will he also reap and he's got a very solemn statement if they go on in there they will not inherit the kingdom now here again as a note I've sounded before which is one of the things that Christians are wrestling with today this one saved always saved thing but listen to Paul after listing the works of the flesh that go on here he says I warn you as I've warned you before those who go on doing these things will never inherit the kingdom of God now he's talking to believers here he's not talking about those who slip into it and who need picking up quickly but those who wallow in it and go on say I'm all right I've got my ticket to heaven and Paul says you're not all right you won't inherit the kingdom now that's just one of his warnings it's a very serious one you can slip into legalism you can slip into licence and you need to be pulled out quickly out of both but if you deliberately and willfully choose to live there either in the cage or the swamp then you don't inherit the kingdom and that's a serious warning we all need to hear but now let's look at the Liberty which is the beautiful side of it all the freedom not to sin isn't that a lovely freedom you are free now in Christ not to sin you don't need to say yes as Paul puts it in I think his letter to Titus he said we have been given the grace to say no which somebody else said is the finest contraceptive for the unmarried that they've ever come across given the grace to say no you're free to say no not beautiful right well let's now look what happens up here though I can't put it on this diagram but you can see it on here there's a path along the top and we need to keep moving as I've said earlier we need to walk in the spirit and as you walk in the spirit something beautiful happens fruit groves in your life you cannot produce the fruit of the Spirit you can produce the works of the flesh but you can't produce the fruit of the Spirit but as you keep walking along that striding edge the fruit grows in your life and there is only one fruit with nine flavors whereas there are many works of the flesh there's only one fruit singular but it has nine flavors now there is such a fruit in Spain and in the Mediterranean it's called mysterio deliciosa says anybody eaten it could I see you have so they will believe me and you take a bite and it tastes like an orange you take another bite it tastes like a lemon and it's got all different flavors in it mysterio deliciosa what a wonderful name for that fruit I wanted somebody to say that had it because they wouldn't believe me otherwise the thing was a preacher story you know daddy were you was that story true or were you just preaching said a little boy terrible so the fruit of the spirit nine flavors and all the flavors grow together that's how you tell the fruit of the Spirit you see some of those flavors you do see in unbelievers don't you some unbelievers have joy others have peace but you'll never see all nine together except in Christ and those filled with the spirit and walking in his spirit you might see three or four in a good unbeliever but all nine growing together is proof that the Spirit is in that person's life and that they're walking in the spirit and the nine flavours relate you to God other people in yourself three of those flavours love joy and peace bring you into perfect harmony with God the next three patience kindness and goodness bring you into right harmony with other people and then faithfulness meekness and self-control bring you into a good relationship with yourself what a lovely fruit they are now then the fruit are limited of course without the gifts of the Spirit as the gifts are inadequate without the fruit you know if I went to hospital to visit a sick person I could show them all the fruit of the Spirit I could show them love by visiting them and joy by cheering them up and peace by calming them down and next patients by listening to all the details of their operation kindness by giving them a bunch of grapes goodness by offering to look after the children faithfulness by visiting them every day self-control by leaving when the nurse said visiting hours are over and no no I miss run out faithless meekness meekness by leaving when the nurse tells me and self-control by not eating the grapes now you see I have I have demonstrated all the fruit of the Spirit in that visit but I haven't healed them if that's a gift of the Spirit we need both the gifts and the fruit never put these against each other but Paul says as you walk in the spirit the fruit grow and he uses the word walk here in two different ways in fact two different words unfortunately again your English translation probably has walked both times at the end of chapter 5 it says walk in the spirit in in chapter 6 it says walk in the spirit in the Greek chapter 5 walk is para Petach walking peripatetic walk about what the Australians talk about walk about it means to go for a walk by yourself like an Aboriginal but in chapter 6 the word walk is March in the spirit in step with others interesting there are two kinds of walking in the spirit let's walk in the spirit when were by ourselves and there's walking in step with the rest of our Christian brothers and sisters we need both true Liberty is walking along that height in step with your brothers and sisters walking in the spirit together so that's the message of Paul's letter to the Galatians and I think it's one of the most relevant letters it's not the most comfortable letter but I would share the opinion of those who say this letter is the Magna Carta of Christian Liberty I really believe that's a wonderful title for it if you want to know where we stand for freedom this is our freedom north a lot of people are standing for other kinds of freedom good or bad but the freedom we stand for is the freedom not to sin the freedom the liberty of the Spirit to keep out of that cage called legalism and out of that swamp called license and keep up there on the heights enjoying the sunshine of God's favour why is this so relevant well sadly legalism is still with us it's all over the place people trying to get to heaven by their own works or even having started in faith going back to works which is tragic the late dr. W E Sangster went to visit a woman in hospital was dying and he said to her are you ready to meet God what will you say when you meet God and she held up Warren hen she said I'm a widow I've brought up five children had no time for church or Bible or anything religious but she said I've done the best for my children and when I see God I'll just hold up these hands and he look at these hands and he'll understand now what would you have said to a woman like that well dr. Sangster was a great Christian preacher even preaching to one and he just said - you're too late dear it too late she said what you mean what he said that somebody got him in front of you and he's holding up his hands in front of God and God has eyes for no other she said what you mean and he was able to tell her don't put your trust in your hands put your trust in his hands see legalism is still with us it's rife the average Britisher thinks being a Christian is being kind to grandmother in the cat you know the kind of thing that's what they think I'm as good a Christian as anybody who goes to church when they say that they're right into legalism I've got to tell them that only a hundred percent is good enough for heaven and if you if you go there like you are now you're going to ruin for everybody else in churches - churches are so prone to add their own rules to their membership I mentioned four steps up to the front door repent believe you have ties and receive the Holy Spirit there should be no more steps to the front door of the church nothing more the staircase is inside a lot of other stairs to climb up insiders we'll see when we get to 1 Peter or 2 Peter but they're only four steps outside but unfortunately we have the spectacle of churches who say you've got to be confirmed by Bishop oh you've got to be there so you've got to be that you've got to be committed you've got to accept the leadership you've got and all sorts of commitment is being added to the steps outside the household of God those steps come inside and we should add no more than the scripture to the door of the household of God our way into legalism and our last license is still with us there is still those who think that adultery by an unbeliever will take them to hell but adultery by believers okay there are still those who believe this and who believe that sin in believers is somehow excused you may lose a bit of blessing or you may lose a bit of reward but you can't lose you to get to heaven Galatians deals of that very firmly and says you don't inherit the kingdom of God if you deliberately go back to this you stay up here and you walk with others along striding edge the wind of the Spirit blowing in your face and the sunshine and God's grace upon you and you make it well now I've got just a few minutes left have I I think I better read to you a bit of Galatians it's such an exciting but listen to Paul's pleading my brothers I beg you please stand with me after all I was willing to identify with you you've never heard me before you know it was because of physical illness that I first came to tell you the good news my condition must have been a real trial to you but you never made fun of it no were you even disgusted with me indeed you gave me a welcome fit for a heavenly messenger or even the Messiah Jesus himself you were so pleased and proud to have me where have all those feelings gone I recall vividly that you wished it was possible to donate your eyes for transplanting in me now you seem to suspect me of being your enemy is that because I've been so honest with you I know that these others are keen to make a fuss of you but their motives are not good they want to have you all to themselves so that you will make a fuss of them don't get me wrong special attention is always fine provided the intentions are right you are my special concern even when I'm not actually with you my own children I feel like a mother struggling with the pains of childbirth until Christ is brought right out in your lives I just wish I could be with you at this moment so that you could hear the change in my tone of voice I really am at my wit's end to know what to do about you you feel the heart of Paul there what an appeal that is so my brothers God meant you to be free on the other hand don't make this freedom an excuse for indulging your old self use it to show your love for others by putting yourselves at their service for the whole law can be expressed in just one principle namely you are to care for your fellow man as much as you do about yourself but if you snap at each other and pull each other to pieces watch out that you don't end up by exterminating each other altogether the approach I'm advocating is to let God's Spirit decide each step you take then you just won't try to satisfy the desires of your old self whose cravings are diametrically opposed to what God's Spirit wants and vice versa the two are incompatible which is why you find you can't always do what you really want to if the spirit is leading your life you have nothing to fear from the law he finishes the letter don't be under any illusions no one can turn that their nose at God and get away with it it is a universal law that a man must reap exactly what he's been sowing if he cultivates his old self he will harvest a character that has gone rotten if he cultivates God's Spirit that spirit will produce a life of lasting quality so let's never get fed up with doing good one day there will be a grand harvest if we don't give up so whenever we get the chance let's give as much help as we can to everybody and especially to our immediate fellowship of fellow believers immediate family of fellow believers look what's sprawling letters I use in my own handwriting it is those who are concerned about outward appearance and like to show off who are pressurizing you into being circumcised their real object is to avoid the unpopularity associated with the cross of Jesus even though they observe circumcision they don't seem to bother much about the rest of the Jewish law they only want to get you circumcised so that they can brag about the number of converts to their ritual never let me boast about anything or anybody except the cross of Jesus through that execution I am now dead to society and society is dead to me our standing in Christ is neither helped by being circumcised nor hindered by remaining uncircumcised what really matters is being made into a new person inside all who live by this Prince of simple principle will receive the undisturbed harmony and undeserved help of God as will the true Israel from now on let no one interfere with my work again I have the marks I want on my body I'm branded with scars gained in the service of Jesus may the love of Jesus our divine master and anointed Savior fill your inmost being my brothers so be it that's just a bit of the letter one of the most powerful letters you'll ever read try and read it in a modern translation as well that's all for now god bless you you

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Keywords: David Pawson (Person), Galatians

Id: 1QTio7vjFYQ

Length: 36min 39sec (2199 seconds)

Published: Mon Aug 05 2013