Dear Galatians, Session 1 "Clarity" 7-6-11

            My family went through a puzzle phase for a while. We loved pulling out all the crazy 1,000 piece puzzles and would work on them until we all had sore necks and backs from hunching over them. There was one crazy double sided puzzle that we took on for about a week. We finally got it done!

            But what is the point of putting together a puzzle? It is to see the finished product. It ends up being the picture on the box only a little bit bigger. Our reward is only temporary when you think about it. It doesn’t take long before you decided to crumple all the pieces up and throw them back in the box.

            Can you take a class on puzzle assembly? Do they come with instructions? What if you tried to put that puzzle together without the main picture? It would be ridiculous right? You wouldn’t know which piece went where. The whole thing would be a guessing game. It is important to have the entire picture so that you can see the end result, the end goal.

            For the next few weeks, we are going to take a look at the book of Galatians in the New Testament. It is a fascinating book, because Paul, the writer of Galatians, spent his life helping people determine the foundational issues of Christianity. The people of Galatia were putting the pieces of the puzzle together and they needed Paul to help them see the big picture.  

At the start of the Christian faith, the church consisted of a small group of people. And these people didn’t have Bibles; they didn’t have a church model; they hadn’t been to any camps or heard everything explained and outlined. All they knew was that Jesus had been alive, He died on a cross and then He rose from the dead. So it was Paul’s job to travel to these different communities and help them get the big picture, and then he wanted to help them figure out what this newfound faith meant for them personally.

Here we are 2,000 years after Paul’s travels to these young Christian communities, and we think we have all the pieces in place when it comes to faith. If we're honest, we would admit we often think we have it all figured out. We often think we know exactly what it means to be a follower of Jesus, who gets to be one, what it requires and what a legitimate response to Jesus looks like. We could give a step-by-step outline for what we think every appropriate response to Jesus should look like.

And as much as we like to think we’ve got this down, over the next three weeks, Paul is going to mess with not only the Galatians’ ideas, but our ideas today as well. Paul is going to assemble the puzzle. He is going to teach us to look at the big picture—to catch the vision of what this looks like—and then make it a reality in our lives. Because even though we have Bibles, youth groups, devotionals and Christian music, what we may be focusing on may not even be the right picture.

As the Christian faith began to grow after Jesus’ resurrection, there were big questions over what this new faith meant. There was a lot of confusion about how to live in response to Jesus. Everyone agreed on the basics—Jesus, the cross, and the resurrection—but beyond that there were a lot of unknowns. And sometimes when we’re faced with things that we’re not quite sure about, we hold on to things that are comfortable and familiar.

Many new followers of Jesus were converts from Judaism. And the Jewish faith was very clear cut. Essentially, to have a relationship with God, you had to follow the Law, the commands of the Old Testament and all that encompassed—you just did what it said and God would be pleased. Sounds easy enough, right? Maybe. But it wasn’t that easy. What started out as guidelines for how to love God and others, commands God gave a guy named Moses in a conversation on a mountain, grew a lot more complicated over the years. In fact, by the time Jesus was on the scene, the Pharisees had added so many extras to the Law that keeping all of the laws straight was nearly an impossible task. The Law wasn’t as simple as we may think.

The Pharisees had added some pretty tricky and complicated elements to the Law, and with so much to remember, people were living under the pressure of making sure they never messed up—and thinking that when they didn’t get it right, it jeopardized their standing with God. Even though no one did everything right and no one lived the Law out perfectly, the Law was all the Jewish believers had ever known, and they were reluctant to let go of it completely.

So many new believers in Jesus had this history with the Law. But the question that Paul is addressing in Galatians is, “How does this Law fit in with this new faith in Christ?” This was especially important since not everyone coming to faith in Jesus was Jewish. Some had no history with the Law, so it really didn’t have a lot of meaning for them. The problem was that no one could agree about what the Law meant after Jesus. Some people thought the Law was vital to the message of Jesus—that in order to follow Him, it was necessary to adhere to the Jewish Law completely. In other words, just because Jesus came, it didn’t mean the Law was any less important.

And word had gotten back to the church in Galatia that this was the new rule. They heard that it didn’t matter if you had never heard of this guy Moses, or if you didn't understand the ideas of Sabbath or sacrifice—you had better start learning. They began to think that it didn’t even matter if they were Jewish or not; if you wanted to get to Jesus, you had to embrace the Law and all it asked of you. They were basically saying God loves you unconditionally because of Jesus. He sent His Son to die for your sins. And that’s great. That’s awesome. But you’re still going to have to earn God’s acceptance. You’re going to have to obey the Law to be okay with Him.

It wasn’t that the law was bad. In fact, the ones God set up were still very good and very valid. Don’t murder. Don’t steal. Don’t commit adultery. It wasn’t like that was okay now. But it’s what they people thought would happen by following those rules that was the issue. They thought it would make them righteous. They thought it make them acceptable to God. They felt like what Jesus did wasn’t enough to put them in right standing before God.

You see, our sin separated us from God. The Law was a way we could interact with God. It involved rituals and sacrifices. But the funny thing about the Law was that the more you followed it, the more you realized just how sinful you were. It was a glimpse. It paved the way to a bigger story.

 But Paul felt differently about the law. As it turns out, he felt pretty strongly. When he heard that this was what was being promoted in Galatia, he was furious. The book of Galatians was his way of saying clearly, succinctly and effectively, “Stop! Hold on a minute! The Law was and is good, but it’s part of a bigger picture, it’s part of a bigger story. There’s more to it than that.” When the Galatians said that the Law would make you right with God, they were adding to the gospel—the message Jesus brought for all people. And according to Jesus, following the Law was not the complete point. Jesus’ message was that of acceptance, unconditional acceptance, made possible by His death on the cross. Period.

Listen to what Paul writes to the people of Galatia: So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by observing the law, because by observing the law no one will be justified (Galatians 2:16 NIV).

 It doesn’t get much clearer than that, does it? Paul is saying, “We tried living by the rules and doing everything the Law said. We tried to aim for perfect obedience, and we failed. We tried to be better, and we couldn’t cut it. But because of Jesus, we don’t have to try to be something we aren’t. We are sinners. All we have to do is trust Jesus as the Messiah, and in that, we find the gospel—the simplicity of the gospel. Because of Jesus, because of what He did on the cross, because of who He is and what He has done, we find acceptance with God.”

And this is important for us to get. Because if we decide to try to keep the Law, or if we decide that our approval from God depends on what we do and how we act, then Jesus becomes unnecessary. Paul writes: Is it not clear to you that to go back to that old rule-keeping, peer-pleasing religion would be an abandonment of everything personal and free in my relationship with God? I refuse to do that, to repudiate God’s grace. If a living relationship with God could come by rule-keeping, then Christ died unnecessarily (Galatians 2:21 MSG).

Paul knew we would be walking a dangerous line if we allowed the Law to continue to dictate our behavior, if he left the Law as the way we are made right with God. He knew that the more power we give the Law, the less power we give Christ. Our righteousness, our right standing before God, depends only on the work Christ did on our behalf, and anything we do ourselves falls short in comparison.

Paul wants people to learn what it means to follow Jesus and live in tune with Him. It is like putting a puzzle together. The idea is to get the big picture. What Paul was telling the Galatians, like he is telling us, is that we are all set free by the cross. The big picture is about the cross and what Jesus did on it. Period. Paul is writing to remind them of just how free they are, how simple Jesus’ way is. We are made right with God not because we obey the Law—but because of what Jesus did. That’s the complete picture.

A lot of people, ourselves included, feel more comfortable when we know there is a list of things we need to do in order to get the acceptance we want—from anyone, but maybe especially from God. We want to know there is an exact, perfect way to follow Jesus, that we need to do all the right things in order to find acceptance. But sometimes we make things more complicated than they have to be. We seek out certainty at the expense of simplicity. We make the gospel about Jesus and: Jesus and the rules we think we ought to follow; Jesus and the behaviors we think are required of us. But in doing that, sometimes we miss the point. That is why Paul is writing to simplify it. He's cutting through the excess, the stuff that may actually serve as a stumbling block, and getting to the heart of it all—the big picture, the relationship with Jesus.

Listen to what he says in his letter to the Galatians: I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by observing the law, or by believing what you heard? Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort? Have you suffered so much for nothing—if it really was for nothing? Does God give you his Spirit and work miracles among you because you observe the law, or because you believe what you heard? (Galatians 3:2-5 NIV).

Paul says it is faith in the resurrection of Christ—faith alone—that brings you into relationship with God. Paul knew that the Law itself would ultimately be a stumbling block. Keeping the Law would serve as a hindrance to those who simply wanted to get closer to Jesus because it was adding to the gospel in a way Jesus never intended. The gospel was always supposed to be centered on Christ and no one and nothing else—not even the Law that came before Him. Everything before Christ was foreshadowing. So, Paul tells these infant churches maybe the best news they have heard since hearing Jesus was raised from the dead: Belief in your Savior doesn’t come with conditions. The gospel doesn’t need an “and,” an “in addition to,” an “also.” The gospel is enough all by itself.

We may not call it the Law, but I think a lot of us would admit that there are times when it just seems easier for us to count on Jesus and something else when it comes to our confidence in our standing with God. Sometimes what should be such a simple thing is too simple for us to get, so we add to it.

Do you have trouble believing that today? Do you have a hard time believing that nothing you do or don’t do, say or don’t say, think or don’t think could keep you from the work Jesus did on the cross? When we add to the gospel, it is our way of saying,

“Thanks for being willing to die and everything, but, Jesus, I just don’t think death is enough to get me to You. I think I have to believe You and have a quiet time seven days a week.

And go on a mission trip twice a year.

And give all the money I earn from babysitting to the building fund.

And never curse.

And never think lustful thoughts ever again.

If I do all of that, in addition to believing You died on the cross for my sins, then I should be taken care of. Then I can be acceptable to You.”

But what He did is enough. And the moment we take away from that, the moment we strip the cross of the significance Jesus gave it, we undermine Jesus’ death and His resurrection.

Sure, we may never say it quite like that, but every time we do something believing that what we do or avoid doing is working at getting us “in” with God or keeping us in, we are essentially saying this very same thing: “Thanks, but no thanks. Thanks for Your willingness to lay it all on the line, Jesus, but I think I may need to do something else to make sure it is a done deal.” Can you imagine what this sounds like to Jesus?

Basically, when it comes to following Jesus, we’re not sure if we can really trust that it’s that simple, or that easy. We create miniature laws, follow arbitrary rules and count on meaningless order to get us right with God. When we do this, we aren’t that different from the Galatians. But that doesn’t excuse our faulty thinking.

Sometimes I just have to wonder why it is so hard for us to believe simply and completely in Jesus as the only way, the only means into a relationship with God. Why are we so tempted to think there is more to it when Jesus Himself, and later Paul, made it so clear that the gospel is about as simple as it gets? Why are we so quick to assume there is more to the story? More for us to believe? To do? To accomplish? Why can’t we simply take Jesus at His word when He tells us He is enough—it doesn't depend on us or what we bring to the table, what we have to offer, what we have done or haven’t done. Jesus doesn’t care about that. And we shouldn’t either.

For those of us who claim to be believers in Jesus, who claim to follow Him, we have to get this right. If we're tempted to add to the gospel, to add to the simplicity of the message of Jesus, to create a “law” that Jesus never intended to be a qualifier for a relationship with Him, then we have a problem. We can’t get hung up on the idea that if we have a quiet time at this time of the day and go to church on these days of the week then we are good with God. What we need to do is keep in mind this idea of the big picture—the vision behind the puzzle—and then hold loosely to the methods used to get there. Basically, we need to remember what Jesus did for us, and then we need to remember that is enough.

For a lot of us here today, we need to learn how to simply believe. We need to learn how to rest in what God has already done on our behalf. We need to throw out all the rules that we think are part of the way for us to arrive at the final product, and go instead for the big-picture vision—a relationship with Jesus. Jesus fulfilled the Law for exactly this purpose—to make it easy, to make it simple, to make Himself accessible to everyone. Or as Paul writes: Now that faith has come, we are no longer under the supervision of the law (Galatians 3:25 NIV). The hard work has already been done. All we have left to do is simply believe.

This is good news. Jesus has come. Jesus has freed us. Jesus has made it so that we no longer need to live imprisoned by a system that discourages, burdens and complicates. Jesus is the big picture. And when that is what we keep in mind, when that is what we pursue, when that is what we aim for, we will find freedom every time.