The Only Thing That Matters
Galatians: Getting the Gospel Right • Sermon • Submitted
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Please turn with me to Galatians chapter 6 verse 11
This is our final passage from the book of Galatians
Galatians 6:11-18 “11 See with what large letters I am writing to you with my own hand. 12 It is those who want to make a good showing in the flesh who would force you to be circumcised, and only in order that they may not be persecuted for the cross of Christ. 13 For even those who are circumcised do not themselves keep the law, but they desire to have you circumcised that they may boast in your flesh. 14 But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. 15 For neither circumcision counts for anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation. 16 And as for all who walk by this rule, peace and mercy be upon them, and upon the Israel of God. 17 From now on let no one cause me trouble, for I bear on my body the marks of Jesus. 18 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brothers. Amen.”
When I was in school and we were learning to write compositions, we were taught that a composition had to have three distinct parts to it.
Introduction:
It had to have a statement or a hypothesis, or a story, or something to grab the reader and draw him into your composition
Your introduction should be something that makes your readers say, “I want to know more about this!”
Body: This is where you developed your introduction and tried to persuade your reader of your point of view
Conclusion: This is where you would draw everything together. Often times you would restate your original thought, using different words and try to give your reader something brief and clear to hang onto
Because it’s often the last thing that you read or hear that you remember the most
Paul’s letter to the Galatians would have gotten an A in any college or university as far as structure is concerned
In chapter 1, he had a clear introduction, letting us know exactly what was on his mind
I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting Him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel!
This was his statement that grabs us, his readers, and pulls us into what he wants to say
Deserting Jesus? Who, me? Never! What are you talking about?
Believing a different Gospel? Not me!
But yes, says Paul. And then he develops this idea over the next several chapters
Getting the Gospel right is the most important thing
If there is anything at all in your life which is more important than the gospel
Then you need to pause and come back to the cross and the complete,unsurpassed sufficiency of what Jesus did for us
And now the conclusion of this letter. Here it is: This is the passage that sums up this entire book
Galatians 6:14-15 “14 But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. 15 For neither circumcision counts for anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation.”
When it comes to my standing with God, when it comes to what makes me righteous, Here is the heart of the matter
It’s the cross of Jesus Christ
And it’s the transformation that takes place in the life of the Believer
It is the work that Jesus did for us on the cross. Dying for us, conquering death, and ascending to heaven where he now intercedes for us.
That’s it. That is the conclusion
See what large letters I am writing to you with my own hand
There are various opinions about this and I’m not going to dwell on it
some say that Paul had a problem with his eyes.
When he speaks about God giving him a thorn in his flesh, they would say that he couldn’t see well
That’s why he used such large letters here
But others simply say that Paul was using large letters to emphasize what he was about to say
It is believed that Paul usually had a scribe writing for him, but in this section, perhaps Paul picked up the pen in his own hand and began to write
Emphasizing, driving home this point:
There is nothing that matters, that can even compare
to the cross of Jesus Christ
And whether or not you are being made into a new creation
Paul comes back to talking about the Judaizers and about their motives.
Motives that Paul knew well because at one time, he had been a teacher of the law himself. He knew what was on the minds of the teachers who were trying to lead the Galatians astray
The Judaizers
They were men-pleasers—seeking to make a good impression outwardly (vs. 12)
Men pleasers—having things that they could point to which would make it seem like they were doing the right thing. They wanted to have the attractive religion
They wanted to be liked. They didn’t want to be offensive to people
They were afraid of persecution (also vs. 12)
Afraid of persecution—this goes hand in hand with wanting to please men
They wanted to save their own hides. Who doesn’t, right?
They didn’t want folks to get upset with them. Maybe if I just fudge a little bit on this issue of circumcision, folks won’t get mad at me
I’m not saying that the cross of Jesus isn’t important, but maybe if I can make circumcision important too, i’ll get to save my hide and escape persecution
maybe I can fly under the radar, so to speak
they like to boast in the flesh
They wanted to point to the results of their false teaching and say, “Hey look at the number of converts that we have! We must be doing something right here!”
They wanted to boast about the number of Galatians they hoped to win over to circumcision (vs. 13)
These were all things that the Judaizers wanted to have control over
They were all things that the Judaizers felt they could do to to make themselves more holy, more presentable to God.
To help themselves feel like they were doing the right thing…living the right way
Wow, we must still have Judaizers here in America!
Doesn’t this sound too much like the church in America?
We have church leaders and churches falling all over themselves trying to be men-pleasers
Trying to be the coolest, the most “relevant”
Having the best programs that the most people like to attend
We have churches and believers who are afraid of persecution, trying to figure out how to “fly under the radar”, making sure that they don’t offend and get people upset with them
And boy, do we like to boast in the flesh!
Too often, church has become about getting people into the pews
Oh, we say it’s because we want them to hear about Jesus.
But many times, taking a very close “second”, or sadly, first place, is we have bills to pay. We want a bigger building. We have a staff who wants more money.
We need people to pay our bills
We need lot’s of people in our pews to prove that we are doing something right
Because in too many cases, it’s about the numbers
And then we can point at how big our churches are and say, “Hey, we must be doing something right!”
Now I’m not saying that having great programs at your church is a bad thing.
One of the challenges that I believe a church must meet is striving to meet the needs of the church body and the community
Our society is changing and the needs that we see are changing. Having plans in place and resources in place to meet those needs is a challenge that the church needs to meet as God gives opportunity
And figuring out how to communicate effectively to the upcoming generations is a challenge.
I’m already at the age that I feel the generation gap between me and my kids
They use language sometimes that I don’t understand.
Our children and grandchildren think differently and often speak differently than we did growing up
How do we communicate the gospel effectively to upcoming generations? We need to think about this!
And I’m also not saying that we need to go out in search of persecution.
But as we know Scripture is quite clear that for those who are truly disciples of Jesus, persecution will find them
And if we find ourselves waffling on the gospel in order to avoid persecution, then we need to pause and repent and ask the Holy Spirit to give us wisdom and courage and to discern the motives of our hearts.
And I’m also not saying that lots of people in the pews is a bad thing.
There are churches, large churches, that preach the gospel clearly and without apology, and lives are being changed and transformed
There are pastors with large churches whose sole passion is Jesus Christ and seeing Him glorified
But how quickly and how subtly satan can plant seeds of pride in our hearts and how quickly the desire for prestige and power can take first place in our hearts
And very quickly it’s not about Jesus anymore. It’s about our own image.
And we find ourselves boasting in what WE have done
But you know, Paul had a lot of things that he could have boasted about. He was well-educated, well-spoken, zealous, well-traveled, had won many to the Lord
Had friends in high places, no doubt
But what was his response to all of this?
far be it from me to boast.
don’t let it ever be said of me that I boasted in any of these things. That I took pride in and took credit for anything that I have done.
Even if I have the largest church, the most effective ministry, sacrifice the most,
If I am the most regular attender, the hardest worker
If I am pretty sure that I give more than anyone else
If I have held on to the church standards better than most people
May it never be said of me that I boasted.
May it never be said of me that I was proud of these things
Far be it from me to boast, except in this one thing:
THE CROSS OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST
That is the only thing that I will dare to boast about.
This instrument of pain and torture and death. This is what I will boast about.
This very cross on which Jesus said “It is finished”. The payment for sin had been paid
The debt which I could not have possibly paid off, no matter how much I worked
The reconciliation between sinful mankind and our Father was made available.
God’s plan was accomplished
Our righteousness before our Holy God was made available.
This cross where Jesus alone finished the work that was necessary for me to be right with God
This very cross that took away any pretence that I think I have might have for boasting
It’s in this cross that I will boast.
This word “boast” can be confusing. In our mind, it’s associated with pride. When I boast, I am demonstrating pride.
But this word can also be translated “exult” or “rejoice”. I will find amazement in, never stop talking about.
You know there, are people who are just so proud of their kids, or their jobs or their lives, their achievements, the things that they have done that day. Every time you talk to them, those things come up. They are just so proud. They find such delight in those things.
They love talking about those things
But Paul is saying, “You know what, when you talk to me do you know what I’m going to talk about? THE CROSS OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST which took away my reason for boasting. My reason for pride
That’s what I’m going to talk about because I find such delight in it.
It’s in the light of the wonder of the Cross that everything else pales in comparison
When it comes to a right standing before God, our righteousness before Him,
The Cross is the only thing that matters
Circumcision doesn’t matter
Uncircumcision doesn’t matter
My achievements, “Holiness”, anything that I can offer, doesn’t matter
The only thing that matters is the cross of Jesus Christ
And whether or not you are being transformed
Are you dead, or are you dying to the world and the allures of the world?
Is the world dead to you?
Death is a separation. Not the end, but a separation. Has the world been separated from you
Have you been separated from the world?
Have you been made into a new creation?
Paul closes his letter by revealing the tender heart that he has for the Galatian believers.
He wishes peace and mercy “for all who walk by this rule”
For all who exult only in the cross of Jesus Christ and who have been crucified to the world, and the world to them,
It’s upon them that I wish peace and mercy
Folks, this is it. The Cross was and is, the strongest message of God’s peace and mercy that could be imagined
It’s those who trust in the sacrifice of Jesus alone who truly experience His mercy and peace.
This is the mercy and peace that Paul wishes for the Galatians. Not some “perceived” peace that comes from following the correct rules,
Or everyone being on the same page about how to apply biblical principles
That’s not true peace
But it’s the peace that the cross of Jesus Christ brings.
It’s the peace from being transformed into a new creation
And Paul says, I’m not looking for any more trouble than I have experienced. All you have to do is look at the scars on my body to know that I will continue to preach this message even if it costs me my own life
There is no going back
And then he ends by calling them “brothers” displaying the tender love that he has for them.
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brothers.
He’s had some hard words for them, but in the end, they are brothers and he loves them.
And these are my words and my wishes to you here at Fairview.
May you experience the peace and mercy and grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.