Gal 5:1-12[1]
Preached at Rolling Hills Church 15 Aug 2010
We have much to consider today, so let's open our Bibles to Gal 5:1-12 and open our minds to God and let's get to work.
1 For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.
2 Look: I, Paul, say to you that if you accept circumcision, Christ will be of no advantage to you.
3 I testify again to every man who accepts circumcision that he is obligated to keep the whole law.
4 You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law; you have fallen away from grace.
5 For through the Spirit, by faith, we ourselves eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness.
6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love.
7 You were running well. Who hindered you from obeying the truth?
8 This persuasion is not from him who calls you.
9 A little leaven leavens the whole lump.
10 I have confidence in the Lord that you will take no other view than mine, and the one who is troubling you will bear the penalty, whoever he is.
11 But if I, brothers, still preach circumcision, why am I still being persecuted? In that case the offense of the cross has been removed.
12 I wish those who unsettle you would emasculate themselves! Let us pray.
Here is the message I believe this text gives us today: Let us stand firm in Christ; let us mark and move away from those who would lead us from faith in Him, lest we fall away from Him. The truth in v 1…
V 1 Stand firm in what? 1 For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery. Stand firm in the truth of the gospel; a doctrine, a teaching, a truth, a belief. Stand firm in a belief in Christ. Don't waver as all around you doubt, disdain, and disparage this JESUS whom you believe. It's a tough thing to do these days; believing something and declaring so; taking sides on doctrine! Taking a concrete position on a religious belief that this world thinks is foolish to begin with. When one has become a Christ-follower, the New Testament warns us repeatedly that enemies come to steal away that faith. In Matthew 13 the devil came and snatched up the seed, tribulation presses some to fall away, and the cares of the world choked out more. Here in Galatians, and in many other places in the New Testament, false teachers pressed a different, false belief on you that calls you to abandon the truth. Paul calls this bunch of Christians in these young churches in heathen, idolatrous cities to stand firm in Christ – in their freedom!
Believe something: be a man, be a woman, and take a stand, folks!
- Either Christ is God or He is not.
- Either Christ has set you free from the law of sin and death – has made you righteous – or He has not.
- Either Christ, through His shed blood on that cross, will save you from the sure punishment for your rebellion against God, or you must work to be saved through some form of self-generated righteousness.
What's it gonna be? I ask you now – what do you believe? Who do you believe? Will you stand firm in the gospel of Jesus Christ? Wavering is for dead people; only the living will stand firm, come what may. Let's hear the stern old prophet Elijah up on the mountain as he challenged the priests of Baal to call down fire from heaven. He said this to the people… "How long will you go limping between two different opinions? If the LORD is God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him." (1 King 18:21) There it is, right in front of you, huh!?
When Martin Luther was on trial at the Diet of Worms and they demanded that he give an answer before the Emperor Charles V and the Bishop of Trier as to whether he wrote these works and believed what they stated, He gave this reply… "Your Imperial Majesty and your lordships demand a simple answer. Here it is, plain and unvarnished. Unless I am convinced by Scripture or by clear reason – for I do not trust the Pope or church councils, since everyone knows that they can make mistakes and contradict themselves – I am bound by the Scriptures I have quoted. My conscience is held captive by the Word of God. I cannot and will not take back anything, because it is neither safe nor right to go against conscience."[2] Church let me remind you from this text that to believe in Christ unwaveringly, publicly, and boldly is FREEDOM. To deny Christ is to be enslaved to sin and death, simply existing until you are cast into hell forever. Christ IS freedom. Now on to…
V 2-6 Severed from Christ. Look: I, Paul, say to you that if you accept circumcision, Christ will be of no advantage to you. I testify again to every man who accepts circumcision that he is obligated to keep the whole law. You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law; you have fallen away from grace. For through the Spirit, by faith, we ourselves eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love.
This can't be, Paul emphasizes, synchronization; there is no joining of hope in Christ and hope in keeping of the law. So he uses strong words to make this very clear; it is a warning.
- Christ will be of no advantage to you
- Severed from Christ
- Fallen away from grace
This brings up questions Christians often wrestle with, and it is proper that we should!
Can one be cut off from faith in Christ?
Can one fall away from Christ?
Let me say with a clear voice – YES. Why else would Paul warn the church away from false doctrine lest they fall away? "But pastor Jeff, what about the doctrine of eternal security? Aren't you a Southern Baptist!? Don't we believe that God keeps all that He saves? To which I also answer in a clear voice – YES. I certainly believe the doctrine of eternal security is taught in Scriptures. Rom 8:30 And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified. And there are warnings not to fall away are taught in Scriptures. There is no contradiction; we should consider and receive both truths. Clear enough? The New Testament writers veto assuming safety once you've received Christ; rather, they challenge us to evaluate. "Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?--unless indeed you fail to meet the test! I hope you will find out that we have not failed the test." (2 Cor 13:5-6)
Let me attempt to make this clear. Here is how these two doctrines fit. Many say that once saved, always saved; we can rest in God's good salvation, secure that we can never fall away. This is true with a qualifying definition of who 'WE' is, and what 'REST' is!
- Are WE genuine believers in Christ? Have WE repented from sin and believed in Jesus? Are WE resting our hope in grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone? Then WE won't fall away. John 10:27-29 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand.
- Are we simply church-goers? Are we religious tag-alongs, wannabes, or those who put on a fake face of faith – hypocrites? If so, then falling away simply proves there was never a genuine faith. 1 Jn 2:18-19 Children, it is the last hour, and as you have heard that antichrist is coming, so now many antichrists have come. Therefore we know that it is the last hour. They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us.
The healthy thing is for all of us examine our faith and our fruit, and let the Holy Spirit convince us that we do indeed believe we are saved by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone! And if we examine ourselves and find no genuine, life-saving, life-changing faith, then wouldn't it be good to know that so we CAN be saved? And we as believers should never take the good saving, keeping grace of God for granted; we should labor to believe and keep believing and we should FEAR lest we fall away, church. Heb 12:15 See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no "root of bitterness" springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled; This is why Paul warns these folks "If you take circumcision, you are severed from Christ. He is of no value to you." We can't remain secure in our faith in Christ and believe what contradicts faith in Christ. We must hold to the good gospel of Jesus Christ, church! So stand firm in Christ, and don't be severed from Christ! Now the rest of this passage…
V 7-12 Who Hindered You? You were running well. Who hindered you from obeying the truth? This persuasion is not from him who calls you. A little leaven leavens the whole lump. I have confidence in the Lord that you will take no other view than mine, and the one who is troubling you will bear the penalty, whoever he is. But if I, brothers, still preach circumcision, why am I still being persecuted? In that case the offense of the cross has been removed. I wish those who unsettle you would emasculate themselves!
If Paul sounds harsh when he says, "I wish they would emasculate themselves", know that he isn't; he is simply Christ-like. There is, as he wrote, a penalty to bear. He's already declared them accursed (1:8-9). Folks, let me put you into the shoes, just for a few minutes, of those who hinder the church from following truth.
How would you like to become like Sodom and Gomorrah to God? (Jer 23:14)
How about being fed bitter food and given poison water to drink? (Jer 23:15)
How would you like to have a huge millstone hung around your neck and be thrown into the sea? (Luke 17:2)
How about God coming to execute judgment against all the false teachers for all the false teachings they have uttered? (Jude 15).
There is a penalty to be borne by those false teachers who lead God's sheep away from the good truth and into barren pastures of lies and laws.
Here is what we must see and hear from this, church…
Let fear lead us to move far away from false teachers, blasphemers, liars, and all who disdain the gospel of Jesus Christ to lead the church away from truth. Worse than heavy lightning when we're on an antenna, worse than standing on a beach in a Category 5 hurricane, worse than carrying sandbags through a river in a flood, let us FEAR their judgment.
Let wisdom lead us to draw near to those gospel teachers who, like Paul, preach the truth come what may from this godless world.
What about you? Let every single one of us ask this question of ourselves:
Am I freed by Christ, or am I severed from Christ?
Can you answer that question firmly, with genuine peace in your heart? No hypocrisy, no hiding serious doubts about Christ or serious leanings to the lies of the world? I pray you can, and if you can't, I pray you repent of your sin and believe Jesus Christ today, that His death on that cross is fully sufficient and alone is sufficient to save you, and RECEIVE God's good forgiveness and adoption!
To those who can say I have been freed by Christ, Paul's warning is worth considering:
Let us stand firm in Christ; let us mark and move away from those who lead us from faith in Him, lest we fall away from Him.
[1] All Scripture, unless otherwise noted, are taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, (via E-Sword Software) © 2001 Crossway Publishing. All Rights Reserved
[2] Quoted from page 252 of Zondervan Handbook to the History of Christianity, written by Jonathan Hill, © 2006 by Jonathan Hill, published by Lion Publishing Plc.
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