Motives Matter
Galatians: Freedom through Christ • Sermon • Submitted
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· 2 viewsPaul compares and contrast the motives of a false teacher with the motives of a true minister from God. By doing so he summarizes the point of his Galatian letter. That salvation is only found in Christ alone.
Notes
Transcript
Opening Comments:
Opening Comments:
Please meet me in your copy of God’s Word in Galatians 6:11-18. This passage of scripture is the conclusion of the Apostle Paul’s letter to the Galatian believers and will conclude our study of the book as well. You will see as we read the Apostle’s concluding benediction that he oozes with concern for his friends and fellow believers in Galatia who had begun to listen to false teachers regarding rather or not salvation and sanctification was by grace through faith or through adherence to the law. Lets read the text together this morning, this is the word of the Lord:
11 See with what large letters I have written to you with my own hand! 12 As many as desire to make a good showing in the flesh, these would compel you to be circumcised, only that they may not suffer persecution for the cross of Christ. 13 For not even those who are circumcised keep the law, but they desire to have you circumcised that they may boast in your flesh. 14 But God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. 15 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but a new creation. 16 And as many as walk according to this rule, peace and mercy be upon them, and upon the Israel of God. 17 From now on let no one trouble me, for I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus. 18 Brethren, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen.
Introduction:
Introduction:
Paul’s benediction to the Galatian believers was of great importance to him. So much importance that he deviated from his regular writing technique. Paul’s normal method of writing was to dictate his words to a secretary or scribe. However, here we see the Apostle picking up his pen to write with his own hand the benediction to his Galatian letter.
11 See with what large letters I have written to you with my own hand!
It is even possible and some scholars think that Paul wrote the entire letter in his own hand. It is thought that Paul had poor eyesight so if he did write the letter he would have used large greek uncials (Think large block bold letters in english) so that he could see what he was writing. It is obvious here that it was important enough of a letter for the Apostle Paul to know that it came directly from his pen.
Along with Paul’s benediction being written by his own hand, the tone of his closing comments in the letter also shifts. Up to this point he has spent most of his time attacking and condemning the false teachings of the Judaizers in Galatia, who were essentially teaching a works based salvation and sanctification. But now, he shifts to attacking their motives for perverting the Gospel of Christ with legalism. He calls them out for being arrogant, cowardly, and full of hypocrisy. He does this by painting a word picture of the motives of the Judaizing false teachers versus the motives of a true minister of the Lord Jesus Christ. (Himself.)
Let’s observe these motivations together this morning.
1.) False teachers are motivated by making a good showing in the flesh. (v.12-13)
1.) False teachers are motivated by making a good showing in the flesh. (v.12-13)
Remember the background of the letter to the book of Galatians. False teachers called Judaizers had infiltrated the churches of Galatia that Paul had planted. They stood in opposition to Pauls ministry and teaching. The major thrust of what they were teaching was that a person had to undergo the jewish ritual of circumcision in order to gain genuine salvation.
Really the teaching was no different than what many religions teach today. IF we boil it down to basics, there are really only two religions in the world today. The religion of human effort and achievement and the religion by grace through faith in Christ alone.
Paul has dismantled and disproven this teaching thoroughly in his letter but now he attacks their motivation behind their false teaching. He calls them out for being driven by worldly motives. Don’t forget, these false teachers were already inside the church, they weren't on the outside looking in, they were in and wreaking havoc.
A.) Paul says that these false teachers were trying to gain approval of men. (v.12)
In the early days of the church there were many jewish priests who came to realize Jesus was the messiah. However, instead of trusting in Christ alone, they sought to add faith in Christ to their law keeping.
They taught that Jesus did not come to do away with the law but add to the law and teach his people how they were supposed to live. They taught that in order to approach God you must have faith in Christ plus keep the law.
They did this in order to retain popularity among the jews and to keep from being persecuted. To preach salvation in Christ alone led to persecution form the Jews and the Romans. To preach the cross of Christ alone, was thought to be destroying the law and to be destroying an established religion. It took genuine courage to preach the gospel of the Lord Jesus.
For many, taking the easy way out in order to gain the approval of the jewish establishment and avoid persecution was the way to go.
B.) Paul also says they were boasting in their numbers. (v.13)
Paul says here in v.13 the Judaizers were only seeking to have the Galatians go through circumcision so that they could boast in their conversion numbers.
They had no desire in actually seeing people grow in the Lord but to build their own platform through the appearance of a growing ministry.
They were more concerned of gaining the approval and acceptance of the leaders of the Jews than they were the welfare of the people. Their primary concern was their own position and prominence above anything else.
Notice with me that they didn't even keep the the law themselves, this motivation was simply born out of pride, fear of man, and hypocrisy. They cared not for the Lord or anyones relationship with Him, their only wish was to be seen as important to others. To be seen as a big deal, to have a big ministry and following.
Application: The mark of a false teachers is their selfish motives. It’s all about them and not about Jesus. They don’t embrace the cross as a way of life but a symbol to display in order to gain a following.
2.) True teachers are motivated by lifting high the cross of Christ.
2.) True teachers are motivated by lifting high the cross of Christ.
A true minister is only motivated by the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ. He’s motivated by the gospel. He’s motivated by seeing people approach God only by grace through faith in Christ alone. Salvation is only found through the cross. There is no other way to be made acceptable to God but through Christ.
The true minister of Christ has no other message than this. He has nothing to boast in but Christ alone.
Paul gives us four reasons for this in vs.14-17
A.) The cross crucifies the world to men and men to the world. (v.14)
1.) The world to men
There is much that the world system offers to men and that mankind lusts after. But, the end of all that the world can offer is decay, death and judgement. There is nothing on this earth, including people that lasts or lives forever.
If man wishes to live forever, someone with unlimited power has to restructure and remake him. Someone has to destroy the world system that brings death and decay.
The glorious news of the Gospel is that Christ has done this. When Christ gave his life upon the cross he bore our transgressions in his body. He bore the condemnation of the law in death for us and then conquered and overcame that condemnation in his resurrection. Now anyone who comes to Christ in faith, believing in his death, burial and resurrection as payment for sin is saved from death and condemnation.
God declares that person to have died in Christ. Now, when that moment comes for the believer to pass from this world into the next he is transferred into the presence of God to live eternally.
This is what is meant by Paul when he says the world has been crucified to the believer. The believer in the gospel of Christ never has to go the way of all flesh and taste corruption, death and judgement.
Jesus died in order to deliver the believer from the world and all of its bondage and corruption.
The Spirit of Christ (Holy Spirit) now lives in the believer in order to give us the power to overcome the world and its sinful attractions. Through the Spirit of God, we now have to power to conquer the lusts of the flesh.
2.) Men to the world.
When we as believers die to the world it means we turn away from the attractions and sinful pleasures of the world. We become unattractive to the world. To the world we are strange, we’re different. If we dont give in to their sin, we are dead to them.
When a person comes to Christ, the cross crucifies him to the world and its ways. He’s no longer attractive to the world.
6 knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin.
20 I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.
B.) The cross creates a new man. (v.15)
The only thing that makes us acceptable to God is faith in Christ. No religion, ritual can avail anything, only Christ can bring salvation .
When a person places their faith genuinely in Christ alone, God gives you a new spirit- a recreated spirit. God places his divine nature, the prescene of his Holy Spirit within you. You are born again into a new creature in Christ.
17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.
C.) The cross brings mercy and peace. (v.16)
Those who walk by the rule of the cross, in other words those who have believed the Gospel, receive peace and mercy. They experience the forgiveness of sin and the acceptance of the Father.
Paul says that these people are the “Israel of God.” He simply means that believers become the chosen of God in whom God fulfills his promises and pours out his blessings.
D.) The cross brings purpose to the scars of life. (v.17)
This is vitally important. Christ had suffered for Paul’ therefore Paul was willing to suffer in order to make Christ known. This is a vast difference from those who preach a man pleasing message.
Paul suffered greatly for preaching the gospel.
Marks- branding marks that masters put on their slaves to identify who they belonged to.
Paul had subjected his body to so much and had suffered so much persecution for Christ that his body literally bore scars from it. Those scars were the branding marks that proved he was a slave to Christ. So he puts his apostolic foot down and says, “I don’t want to hear anymore attacks.” He declares his apostolic authority and uses his own scars to prove the point.
The cross of Christ drove Paul to serve Christ, even to the point of suffering and death.
Conclusion:
Conclusion:
Paul abruptly ends his letter by giving a benediction that the grace of Christ would be with the spirit of his readers. In a sense he ends with a call for them to either choose to walk in the grace of God and experience the freedom it brings or to choose a life that is bound by the law and legalism.
The false teachers who preach legalism don’t do it for your good, they do it for their own prideful advancement.
The true minister preaches the cross of Christ alone and desires for you to experience mercy and grace from the father. Not for the teachers prominence but so that you can live in the freedom Christ brings.
One focuses on self, and the other focuses on the cross.
Where is your focus this morning?