Modern Day Galatians

 Modern Day Galatians Galatians 3:26-29 One of the great experiments when it comes to nationality is the American Experiment. The American Experiment is unique because it intentionally brings people from all walks of life and from every nation under the banner of a single flag. This experiment brought people together who would pledge allegiance to a single flag even though their backgrounds were different, unique, and diverse. We acknowledge our differences by defining our original heritages to our current nationality with terms such as Irish American, German American, Hispanic American, or African American. When people do this, the 1st word identifies the uniqueness. The 2nd word identifies the unity. Whatever you are, based on culture, background, location, and history, is brought under the banner of the United States of America. This has been referred to as an experiment because an experiment is when you observe something, finds flaws, make corrections, and try again. The American Experiment attempted to have a United States, even though the people seeking to be united were different. What the American Experiment represents from a cultural, historical, and geographical perspective to this nation, the church of Jesus Christ was meant to be for the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. People from all different backgrounds and cultures, all pledging allegiance to the cross. One day every knee will bow to Christ as Lord and King, but until then, that day seems to be getting further from people's minds. The killing of George Floyd is tragic, and the violent protesting and looting is uncalled for. But racism goes back much further, and the fact that people know when something unjust has occurred, instinctively tells us that because we seek justice, there must be a just God. We want the law upheld, so there must be a supreme Law giver. People know the difference between right and wrong, and even in this world of so-called "New Tolerance," where if it feels right do it, we still see people wanting the law to be upheld. Our desire for justice is but a shadow of Jesus Christ, who is Just and Righteous in Himself. All lives matter because all are made in the image of God. Genesis 1:27 says, "So God created mankind in His own image; in the image of God He created them; male and female he created them." The imago Dei, which is Latin for Image of God, means that all of humanity, the entire human race, is made in God's image. No, we don't look like God. That's not what the imago Dei means. Being made in God's image means we share certain characteristics with God. We can think, feel, love, remember, decide, and get angry. Now, after the fall of mankind, sin entered the world, and our imago Dei, our image of God, was dulled and became dim. Christians still bear God's image, but because of sin, we're just a reflection of what we will become once we reach the other side of eternity. Christian or not, we all bear God's image. Our Creator made that clear, "In the beginning!" But sin separates us from our Holy God, and people quickly forget their relationship to God and to each other. That's why when you turn to the New Testament, Acts 17:26 says, "From one man He made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth." "From ONE MAN God made all the nations." So what is our relationship with each other, to this issue of race? Simple one thing, the human race. The problem is, sin separates us from God, and by being separated from God, people start thinking that they're the king of the hill. They break the first commandment of having "No other God's" by making a god in their own image, themselves. And if you're king of the hill, then that must give you the right to look down upon others, and push them around. But people forget, or they don't want to acknowledge, that there is One who stands on a much higher and holier hill then you do. The hill of Calvary reaches heaven because the One who stood upon it bore the cross for your sin. That's why Galatians 3:26-27 says, "So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ." For those of you who call yourselves a Christian, you cannot love God and hate people! Through faith, you're all children of God. We are brothers and sisters in Christ. Man, woman, black, white, French, German, it doesn't matter. Faith unites us into the Body of Christ where we become one. That's why Jesus said in Matthew 5:23-24, "If you're leaving your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift and first go and be reconciled to them." Christians cannot hate our brothers and sisters in Christ, and we can't hate our neighbor, which is everyone else, because Christ told us to "love our neighbor as ourselves." God's grace overcomes hate with love and mercy. And everyone "baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ," as verse 27 says. In Roman society, a youth coming of age would lay aside his robe of childhood and put on a new toga. This represented his move into adulthood and citizenship with new rights and responsibilities. The Bible combines this cultural understanding with baptism, because once baptized, we, like the Galatian believers, lay aside our old sinful clothes for Christ's robe of righteousness. Believers are to spiritually grow up because they're citizens of God's kingdom, with rights and responsibilities. What that means is, if you're a Christian, you're caught in the middle. Caught in the middle between two kingdoms. Caught in the middle of Satan's fight against God. Caught in the middle because the moment you placed saving faith in Christ, you received eternal life, but still face physical death. You're caught in the middle because you live on earth, but have a heavenly home. You're caught in the middle between the flesh and the Spirit. Caught in the middle between human perspective and God's perspective. You're caught in the middle because all people in all directions are looking at you. Looking to see what you'll do. Listening to hear what you'll say. And whether you stay at home and turn on the TV, or leave your house and go out, people are telling you what to do, what to say, what to think, and what to believe. You are caught in the middle because we are Modern Day Galatians. We're Modern Day Galatians because 2000 years ago, the Galatians were also caught in the middle. Christians in the Roman province of Galatia were surrounded by Rome's power and Rome's gods. They were also surrounded by people, called Judaizers, who insisted that they must become Jews first before coming to God. Like peanut butter spread between 2 slices of bread, some Galatians stuck to the slice of bread that said you had to do certain things to be justified, while others stuck to the Living slice of bread, Jesus Christ. Today, we're not far removed because we find ourselves caught in the middle with people, both calmly and violently, sticking to different sides, and the pulling apart is tearing people apart. Tim Walz, the governor of Minnesota, said during the violent protests, "Civil society isn't maintained just by laws and the treat of punishment. It's maintained by the sense of a social compact, that we share the same values." But we don't share the same values because the root of all evil is sin. And people are being pulled apart by religion, and for a long time, race. Most everyone, pastors, speakers, leaders, famous people, have all talked about this issue. But this is an issue that goes back thousands of years. Sin is the root of the world's problems. And for thousands of years, people have been looking for a cure to the problems that the root of sins produces by trying to fix themselves. In commenting about the last couple of weeks, actor Matthew McConaughey said, "The end goal being that we take the time we are now in to constructively turn the page in history through some righteous and justifiable change." He continued and said, "How can I do better as a human? How can I do better as a man? How can I do better as a white man?" But how can we "turn the page in history" when history keeps repeating itself? Many people before us have tried to turn that page, but where has it gotten us? People say the world's getting better. Is it really? You see, when we place all the effort on ourselves to change, change never comes. And true unity becomes impossible because everyone's difference of opinions keeps tearing everything apart. Matthew McConaughey said we need "some righteous and justifiable change." I agree, and I'm here today to proclaim to you what and who that "some" is. That "some" is Jesus Christ, and the what is His salvation. Jesus Christ is Just, and the righteousness needed is only found in Him. The problem of racism is more than skin deep; its sin deep! Jeremiah 17:9 says, "The heart of man is desperately wicked," not the skin. Skin color only lights the flame of prejudice and racial hatred within the human heart. The righteousness this world so desperately needs is only found in Jesus because "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." If you haven't confessed your sin to Christ, I ask that you do that now, because in Christ, Galatians 3:28 says, "There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus." The Bible is not saying that these distinctions don't exist; it's saying that in spite of our human differences, we are all unified because we are one in Christ. No one is superior to anyone else before God. We're all equal in our relationship with God through Jesus. In Christ, distinctions of race, class, and gender are irrelevant. 2000 some years ago, did you know that many Jewish males woke up each morning and greeted the day by praying, "Lord, thank you that I'm not a Gentile, a slave, or a woman." The role of women was enhanced by Christianity, just as faith in Christ transcends all our differences, making us one in Him. Galatians 3:29 says, "If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise." Since Christ is the true seed of Abraham, as Galatians 3:16 teaches, then those united with Him by faith are heirs with Christ and, by extension, are Abraham's seed spiritually. We are all the same family, which is why you can't hate, but are to "love others as Christ loves us." Every person is of equal worth because every person is made in God's image. There's no sin that can't be forgiven expect that unconfessed sin. It's not that black lives don't matter; all lives matter. The lives of the unborn matter. The lives of the Spanish, the European, the Russian, the Korean, all lives matter. God isn't asking whites to be blacks or blacks to be whites. God is asking for both to be biblical. If I say I'm a white Christian and somebody else says they're a black Christian, essentially what they've done is made black or white an adjective. Now, for those of us who have been out of school for a while, let's have a little grammar refresher course. An adjective is a describing word and is used to modify a noun. A noun is a word that refers to something like a person, place, thing, or idea. So, if the word Christian is in the noun position and your race in the adjective position, since the job of the adjective is to modify and explain the nature of the noun, that means you've always got to change the noun of your faith to reflect the adjective of your culture. But the way it's supposed to work is that your history, background, culture, and race, are to be in the noun position. Your faith should always be in the adjective position, so that you're always adjusting the noun of your culture to the adjective of your faith. In other words, you're bringing who you are - your history, your background, and your culture - to look like the adjectival description of what you say you believe about God and Jesus Christ. Don't get caught up in the fight against racism. Instead, go for it's cause, sin. So, now it's time for a decision; what do you believe about God? Billy Graham once said, "We have some of the finest civil rights laws in the world, but they haven't solved our racial problems. Why? Because we need a change of heart and attitude." Jesus is the only way to receive a new heart, and the way to do this is by listening to what He said, "You must be born again" (John 3:7). The new birth restores our fallen image, and Jesus Christ is our only answer. He always has been. I pray you'll answer in repentance and confession and place faith in Christ that He is the Lord of your life, the Savior of your soul, and the redeemer of the world, who desires the human race to be in a relationship with Him. AMEN 2