A Life Governed by God

Galatians 2:1-5
Richard Spencer | Sunday, October 29, 2023
Copyright © 2023, Richard Spencer

As we have seen in previous sermons, the churches in Galatia were under attack by preachers bringing a different gospel. One which Paul calls “no gospel at all”. This was a false gospel; it was not good news, but bad news. It was a gospel that allowed people to take at least some credit for their own salvation. And a false gospel will lead you straight to hell, so it is a very serious problem.

And we have many such false gospels around us today as well, so this letter is every bit as important for us as it was for the churches in Galatia in the first century. Natural man is loath to admit that he is a wicked rebel against God and that he cannot do anything that is good enough to merit even the tiniest portion of credit for his salvation.

In our day, when you look at professing Christians who are at least somewhat biblically literate, this problem most often manifests itself in the insistence that natural man has the free will necessary to accept the gospel call. They will often say that the choice to believe is not meritorious, but that God does not force anyone to believe, so it must be a free decision that natural man is able to make. That lie, like all good lies, is of course, partially true. We do make a free decision to trust in Jesus Christ; but we can do so only after God has given us a new heart. In other words, only after we have been born again, which is a monergistic work of God, not something in which we cooperate.

An unregenerate person is at enmity with God and is incapable of choosing to believe and obey, it would go against his fundamental nature as an enemy of God. And if he were capable of so choosing, then the real difference between a believer and an unbeliever would be the result of that choice; in other words, he would be responsible for his salvation. God would have made it possible of course, but the believer’s decision would have  provided the necessary difference between him and those who don’t believe. Whether you call that meritorious or not, the result is the same. We would have played the deciding role in our salvation. But that is simply not true.

The false gospel that came to the churches in Galatia was different in the details, but the result was the same. Men wanted to be able to take at least some of the credit for their salvation. Therefore, their gospel taught that the people had to become Jews before they could be saved. They had to be circumcised and keep the ceremonial law.

The teacher, or teachers, who were bringing this false gospel to the Galatians attacked both the authority of the apostle Paul and the gospel he preached. This letter can be broken into two major parts: in the first part, Paul defends his apostolic authority and makes the point that his authority and his gospel came directly from God; in other words, they were not in any way dependent on men. Then, in the second part, he defends the gospel itself, the glorious, true, saving gospel of freedom in Christ.

We are still in the first part of the letter, where Paul is defending his apostolic authority. And what stands out clearly is that Paul lived a life governed by God, which is the title of my sermon this morning, A Life Governed by God. And Paul’s life was governed by God because he had been radically changed by God as Rev. Broderick noted last week – he who had been a violent enemy of the church was now preaching the gospel of grace. Before he was born again, he had all the information he needed, but he didn’t have the Spirit to enable him to understand. As he notes in Romans 1:18-21, all men have sufficient evidence available from creation. It isn’t more evidence that an unregenerate man needs, it is a new heart and spirit. Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 2:14 that, “The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.” We don’t need more information to be saved, we need new hearts. And having been saved, Paul was not the same old person who just made some private decision to “accept Jesus” into his life, he was, as are all true Christians, and as he later wrote in in 2 Corinthians 5:17, a “new creation”.

Many people today think that faith is a private decision that you make and that it should not affect how you think, or act, or vote or anything else. In other words, it should not be something other people know about unless you specifically tell them. It is hidden from view.

But the true gospel, which is the gospel Paul preached and the gospel given to us in the Bible, the gospel which Paul thought was worth fighting to preserve, is powerful; it changes people. In fact, it is impossible for someone to become a true Christian and not have significant change in his life. In Romans 1:16 Paul wrote, “I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile.” When God causes someone to be born again, the person will respond to the gospel call with true, saving faith, which is an obedient faith. Being born again causes a person to become a new creation as I just noted, and the first result of that new birth is saving faith. But new birth also brings radical change to a person’s life, not just his beliefs, which is why in many places the New Testament speaks about faith being visible to others.

For example, in Luke Chapter 5 we read of some men carrying a crippled friend to Jesus to be healed. But they couldn’t get to Jesus because of the crowd, so they went up on the roof, cut a hole in the roof and lowered their friend on his mat in front of Jesus. And in Luke 5:20 we read that “When Jesus saw their faith, he said, ‘Friend, your sins are forgiven.’” The faith of these men was visible because of their actions.

Also, returning to Romans, in Verse 8 of the first chapter, Paul wrote, “First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is being reported all over the world.” But how could their faith be reported if it was just some internal, private matter? If it was just a decision they made? Obviously, it could not. True faith produces visible change. Also, in Ephesians 1:15, Colossians 1:4 and Philemon 1:5 Paul says that he has “heard of” the faith of those to whom he is writing. And we must ask why it is he had heard of their faith. The answer, of course, is that these people’s lives had changed, and others had noticed and talked about it. And the same thing was true of the people in Thessalonica, for we read in 1 Thessalonians 1:8 that “The Lord’s message rang out from [them] not only in Macedonia and Achaia”, and why had that message rang out? Because, as Paul goes on to write, their, “faith in God has become known everywhere”, which again is a result of their radically changed lives. No one can discern what you have placed your faith in unless that also brings about changes in your behavior, including – but not limited to – what you speak about. And so, we should ask ourselves an important question, “Is my faith visible to others?” And if the answer is, “No,” then we should seriously examine ourselves to see if our faith is real because true saving faith always produces a changed life.

And now, let’s begin examining our passage, Galatians 2:1-5, by putting it in context. In Verse 1, Paul wrote, “Fourteen years later I went up again to Jerusalem, this time with Barnabas. I took Titus along also.”

This verse immediately confronts us with a couple of questions. First, does Paul mean fourteen years after his conversion, or fourteen years after his first visit to Jerusalem? Both events are mentioned at the end of Chapter One, so it isn’t obvious which is being referred to here. Although this is an interesting question, we don’t need to answer it in order to see what God is teaching us in this passage. The timing is important only if you want to construct an accurate timeline of Paul’s ministry and I won’t spend any time on it. If you are interested, I recommend J. Greshem Machen’s book, Notes on Galatians.[1] For our purposes, we just note that this was either fourteen or seventeen years after Paul’s conversion. And during that time he had been busy preaching the word of God to people, mostly gentiles, in Syria and Cilicia as he told us in Verse 21 of the first chapter.

There is a second question raised by this first verse also, and that is, which visit to Jerusalem is Paul referring to? There are two different visits mentioned in the book of Acts that commentators believe may be referred to here. The first one is the famine-relief visit described in Acts 11:26-30, where we are told that Barnabas and Paul brought an offering from Syrian Antioch to Jerusalem because the prophet Agabus had predicted a famine. The other visit that Paul may be referring to is the so-called Jerusalem Council visit described in Acts 15:4-35, when Paul and Barnabas were sent from Syrian Antioch to Jerusalem with the specific purpose of getting a final ruling on the question of whether or not gentile converts to Christianity had to be circumcised.

The question of which of these two visits is being referred to is also tied in with the both the question of whether this letter was written fourteen or seventeen years after Paul’s conversion, and the question of whether it was written to the churches in the southern part of the Roman province of Galatia or to churches in the northern part of that province, which Rev. Broderick briefly mentioned in the fist sermon of this series.[2] But we again don’t need to determine which visit he is referring to in order to understand and apply Paul’s teaching in this epistle, so I will leave that dispute to the commentators also and move on.

As we go through this short passage, we will see that the apostle Paul was moved by God, submitted to God, strengthened by God, lived free in Christ, and consciously lived as a part of the family of God. And those are my five main points this morning: Moved by God, Submitted to God, Strengthened by God, Free in Christ and Part of God’s Family. I will then close with some points of application.

So, let’s begin by looking at how Paul was moved, or you could say led, by God.

I.       Moved by God

After his sudden and dramatic conversion on the road to Damascus, Paul lived the rest of his life as a slave of God. Yes, he was an apostle, and yes, he was an adopted child of God – as are all true believers. But in Romans 6:16 Paul wrote, “Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone to obey him as slaves, you are slaves to the one whom you obey—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness?” And Paul’s life after conversion demonstrated clearly his obedience to God. Therefore, he was also a slave of God as he often noted in his letters.

For example, his letters to the churches in Rome and Philippi, and his letter to Titus all begin with Paul identifying himself as a slave, a δοῦλος, of Christ. And being a slave of Christ is a glorious privilege! Think about it for a minute. In order to be God’s slave, you must first have been chosen, and you must have been purchased. And, as we read in 1 Peter 1:18-19, “it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.” We were purchased as slaves for Christ at the highest imaginable price. Therefore, it is a great honor and privilege, and it is not at all incompatible with being loved by God and loving him.

And because Paul was a slave of Christ, he didn’t just go where he wanted to go when he wanted to go. He was always sent – by God and by the church of God. He responded to revelations from God whether they came as special revelations directly to him, or through the leaders of the church. In Verse 2 of our passage, he says that, in this specific instance he, “went in response to a revelation”.

Now, we can’t be certain exactly what this revelation was. If the meeting referred to here is the famine visit, then the revelation is almost certainly the prophecy of Agabus that a famine would occur. If it is the Jerusalem council visit that is being referred to, then we aren’t told what the specific revelation was, but it is clear that God had spoken in some way and Paul responded by doing the revealed will of God.

And this was not unusual. After his conversion, Paul was always obedient to God. In Acts 16:9-10 Paul’s traveling companion Luke, wrote that “During the night Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and begging him, ‘Come over to Macedonia and help us.’ After Paul had seen the vision, we got ready at once to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.” I want us to notice two things about these statements. First, Paul must have thought about this vision to be sure that it was consistent with God’s revealed will because we are told that that they concluded that God had called them to preach in Macedonia. A conclusion is something you reach after careful consideration, and in this case I’m sure also prayer. We are told in 1 John 4:1 to “test the spirits to see whether they are from God”, and Paul tested this vision. And then, second, notice that as soon as they had determined God had called them to preach in Macedonia, they got ready “at once” and obeyed.

Being obedient to God’s commands is the hallmark of a true Christian. That is why Paul wrote in Romans 1:5 that he called Gentiles to, “the obedience that comes from faith.” And we also see this same obedience in the other apostles. Let me give just one outstanding example.

In Acts 10 we are told that the apostle Peter was praying and fell into a trance. While he was in the trance, he had a vision of a sheet filled with unclean animals being let down from heaven and a voice told him, “Get up, Peter. Kill and eat.” Peter objected, saying, “Surely not, Lord! I have never eaten anything impure or unclean.” But the vision was given to him a total of three times. And, just like Paul, Peter then pondered what it was God was saying to him. And while he was thinking about this, some visitors arrived who had been sent from a centurion named Cornelius, who lived in Caesaria, and the Holy Spirit told Peter not to hesitate to go with them. Therefore, in obedience to God, Peter accompanied them back to Cornelius’ home and, as a result of the vision and the subsequent events, Peter understood God’s message to him; God was showing him that the gospel is not just for Jews, but for the gentiles too, and so Peter shared the gospel with them, they believed and were baptized.

I think it is almost impossible for us to understand just how difficult this was for Peter. God was telling him to do things that he had believed were wrong his entire life. But because he was a new creation, he obeyed the word of God. He was moved, or led, by God. And that is what Paul did as well. He was moved by God as directed by God’s written word, his Holy Spirit and his church. And this is what happens to everyone who has been born again. In Ezekiel 36:26-27 God says, “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.”

In addition to being moved by God, we also notice that Paul was not alone in this visit to Jerusalem. Galatians 2:1 tells us that he had Barnabas and Titus with him. We are all to be evangelists for Christ and while we certainly may, and often do, work individually, we are also always to view ourselves and operate as members of God’s church. Therefore, it is most common for us to be working with our brothers and sisters in Christ. And whether we are alone or not, we should always be under the authority of our local church. And that leads directly to my second point; Paul was submitted to God.

II.      Submitted to God

In being moved by God, Paul demonstrated that he was submitted to God. But we see further evidence of that submission in this passage as well. Paul tells us in Verse 2 that “I went in response to a revelation and set before them the gospel that I preach among the Gentiles. But I did this privately to those who seemed to be leaders, for fear that I was running or had run my race in vain.” Now that is a very interesting statement. Even though Paul himself was an apostle, he tells us here that he presented the gospel he had been preaching before the leaders of the church, and he did this “for fear that I was running or had run my race in vain.”

At this point, we need to be extremely careful. We might be tempted to erroneously conclude that Paul sought the approval of these leaders because he had doubts about whether or not his gospel was the true gospel. But that cannot possibly be the case. He has already pointed out that his gospel came directly from the Lord and was not dependent on any man. There is no indication here, or anywhere else in Scripture, that Paul ever entertained any doubts about this gospel. And he has been going to great pains to show that it came directly from God and was not influenced by men.

Therefore, Paul had not been worried that he had the gospel wrong, but the so-called Judaizers were challenging him at that time, as they were also now in Galatia, by claiming that gentiles must first be circumcised before they can become Christians. And Paul wanted to make it clear that the other leaders were in complete agreement with him. And, unless he was successful in quieting this opposition, his teaching would be in vain only in the sense that there would be some effective opposition to it.

This statement in Verse 2 is also somewhat problematic in that Paul refers to the leaders he spoke with in Jerusalem as “those who seemed to be leaders”, which sounds like he might be disputing whether or not they really were leaders. But this is again not the case. The Greek in this verse is difficult and therefore there are different translations, just examine the ESV and KJV if you are interested. But let me quote how J. Greshem Machen summarizes what Paul most likely meant. Machen wrote that Paul was saying, “My right to be an apostle, is not due to any commission or any endorsement which the original apostles gave me. Great though they were, I do not need to appeal to their greatness to establish my apostleship; for my apostleship came to me directly from Christ. The only reason why I appeal to them is to stop the propaganda of the Judaizers: they are the men whom the Judaizers recognize and whom the Judaizers hold to be generally recognized; and therefore, when they accepted me as an apostle independent of themselves, surely the Judaizers and all affected by the Judaizers ought to listen.”[3]

And so we see that Paul appealed to the leaders of the church not because he himself wasn’t a leader of equivalent rank, nor because he had any doubts about the gospel he was preaching, but because he was confident they would agree with him and that this would help to silence his opponents and promote the true gospel. Paul was submitted to the authority of God and he expected his listeners to be submitted to that authority as well, even as it is mediated through the leaders of the church. And since his position as a leader had been questioned, for the sake of those to whom he was preaching, he appealed to the leaders they recognized.

Then, in the very next verse, Paul lets us know what the result of his meeting with the leaders of the church in Jerusalem had been. In Verse 3 he says, “Yet not even Titus, who was with me, was compelled to be circumcised, even though he was a Greek.” And this point should be enough to lay the whole question to rest. The leaders in Jerusalem, to whom those preaching a false gospel to the Galatians were pointing when they accused Paul of not being a true apostle, had already clearly indicated by their actions in this previous meeting that gentile Christians need not be circumcised.

When the Jerusalem leaders agreed with his understanding of the gospel of freedom (by not requiring Titus to be circumcised), Paul’s faith was surely strengthened. And that is my third point; strengthened by God.

III.    Strengthened by God

I have made the point that Paul was not doubting the gospel he was preaching, nor was he doubting his own apostolic authority. But he had been concerned before, and probably was now as well, that his teaching not be in vain because of effective opposition from the Judaizers or anyone else. And, in this previous meeting the other apostles had given their approval to Paul and his gospel, which served to weaken his opponents and, no doubt, to strengthen and encourage Paul.

Even after we have been born again, we are all still finite, sinful people. We are subject to being discouraged and weak. But God will strengthen us and enable us to do the work he has for us to do. Often, that strengthening comes through other Christians. But it can also come directly from the Holy Spirit speaking to us, usually through the word of God.

We all need grace to live the Christian life. And Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 9:8 that “God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.”

Our need for strength and encouragement is a frequent theme in the New Testament. After the Jerusalem Council met and discussed the issue of circumcision, we are told in Acts Chapter Fifteen that they sent their letter to the church in Antioch with Paul, Barnabas and others. And in Acts 15:32 we read that “Judas and Silas, who themselves were prophets, said much to encourage and strengthen the brothers.”

And in both Ephesians 6:22 and Colossians 4:8 Paul told the churches that he had sent Tychicus to them to encourage them. Then in 1 Thessalonians 3:2 Paul wrote that “We sent Timothy, who is our brother and God’s fellow worker in spreading the gospel of Christ, to strengthen and encourage you in your faith”. We also see the need to encourage one another mentioned in 1 Thessalonians 4:18, 5:11, 5:14, 2 Thessalonians 2:17, 2 Timothy 4:2, Titus 1:9, 2:6 and 2:15 and then, as my final example, we are commanded in Hebrews 10:25, “Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”

Therefore, we see how important this is. We must encourage one another. Even the leaders of the church need encouragement; in fact, they need more than most! We must pray for one another and build each other up so that we, like the apostle Paul, can live lives governed by God.

And now let’s move on to look at Verse 4 of our passage. Paul wrote that “This matter arose because some false brothers had infiltrated our ranks to spy on the freedom we have in Christ Jesus and to make us slaves.” “This matter”, of course, refers to the issue of whether or not gentile believers must be circumcised and follow the ceremonial law. The Greek in this sentence is extremely complicated because Paul seems to leave a thought incomplete.[4] Various translations and commentators come up with different interpretations, but I will again leave these up to the commentaries and focus on two things that are clear in the verse independent of how you translate it. First, there were then and are now false brothers and sisters among us and they are a serious threat against which we must always be on our guard. Doctrine matters. It is true that doctrine sometimes divides, but when important proper biblical doctrine divides, the division is necessary. Unity should never be purchased by compromising on important matters. In this case, these false brothers wanted to make the people slaves again to the law, but – and this is the second thing that is clear in this verse – we are free in Christ, which is my fourth point; free in Christ.

IV.     Free in Christ

This is the first place the word freedom appears in this letter, but it is a very important word in the letter and appears many times in various forms. This is the heart of the true gospel as Paul makes clear when he states later in this letter, in Galatians 5:1, that “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free.” We were slaves to sin, but through the gospel God sets us free. Not free to live in any way we choose, but free from slavery to sin and Satan, free from the vain hope of depending on our own works to save us, free from the penalty and power of sin and, ultimately, free from the very presence of sin.

In Romans 6:17-18 we read, “But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you wholeheartedly obeyed the form of teaching to which you were entrusted. You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.” And in John 8:36 we read that Jesus himself said, “if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.”

This freedom is at the core of the Christian faith. We were slaves to sin and Satan but now we are free to live as obedient children of God. Satan lies and tells you that you can be free by being autonomous, but there is no autonomy in this life. It is an illusion. We are creatures made by God. We are either obedient to him as Lord, or we are rebels against him, which makes us obedient to Satan. There is no third option available.

And our freedom in Christ is a huge source of strength and confidence – we aren’t depending on our works, but on God’s grace. That is great freedom! Our confidence is in God, not ourselves, and our salvation ultimately depends on his faithfulness, which is perfect. That is why Paul could write to the church in Philippi that he was, “confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 1:6) We will have a great deal more to say about Christian freedom later as we continue to go through this epistle, but that is enough for our purposes today, so let’s move on.

After telling his readers about these false brothers, who wanted to take away their freedom and return them to slavery, Paul wrote in Verse 5 that “We did not give in to them for a moment, so that the truth of the gospel might remain with you.” The word “you” here in the Greek is plural. Paul was motivated by a concern for the church as a whole. He knew he was saved and destined for heaven, but his life’s work was to bring as many along with him as possible. And that brings us to my fifth and final point, part of God’s family.

V.      Part of God’s Family

Paul, along with all other born-again believers, is a member of God’s family. I use the present tense and say that he “is” a member, rather than he “was” a member simply because Paul still lives! He is in heaven as a perfected spirit, awaiting Christ’s return and the resurrection of his body. His work on earth is done, but yours and mine continues.

God has placed each one of us in an earthly family. And certainly, part of the reason for our earthly families is to give us knowledge of that intimate relationship, which serves as a metaphor for the kingdom of God.

As a part of a family, you do not live just for yourself. You are concerned for the welfare of the other members of your family. And, if you are a born-again believer in Jesus Christ, you have a family that is even more important than your earthly family. You are part of the family of God. You have been adopted as a child of God. God the Father is your heavenly Father and Jesus Christ is your older brother. And every other believer is your brother or sister as well. You should never forget that fact.

And we see that clearly all through Paul’s letter to the Galatians and, in fact, in all of his epistles. He has a true pastor’s heart and is concerned about other members of the family of God. He never views himself as an individual, but always as a representative of Christ speaking to Christ’s people, the family of God.

And so, in this epistle, he is zealous to defend his apostolic authority and the gospel message he brought to these people not for his own sake, but for the sake of God’s elect. And now, let me conclude with some points of application.

VI.     Application

Paul was an apostle. We are not. But if you are a born-again believer, even though you are not an apostle, you also should be moved by God, submitted to God, and strengthened by God, and you are free in Christ and part of God’s family, and all for God’s glory. Your eternal destiny is heaven. This earth is not your home and this life is just a time of preparation.

We are all familiar with what it means to prepare for the future. When we are in school, we are to work hard to prepare ourselves for our working life. When we are single adults we are to be diligent to develop and maintain godly character and habits so that we can be a good Christian husband or wife. When we are raising children, we are to work hard to inculcate godly habits for a disciplined life that will benefit our children both in this life and eternally. And, similarly, in all of life we should live with an eye to our eternal destiny. This life is preparation, it is not the main show. That is the first point of application: prepare for eternity now. And the first thing you must do to prepare is to make your calling and election sure. We noted earlier that Paul’s life was radically changed and this is true of everyone who has been born again. So, examine your life to see whether or not you have been saved.

The second point of application is to prepare for eternity by being moved by God. Or we could say, being led by God. Paul wrote in Romans 8:14 that “those who are [being] led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.”[5] And, just as we saw with the apostle Paul, we must be careful here. God does lead his children by his Holy Spirit, but there are other spirits who will try to deceive us, and we are not that difficult to deceive. Therefore, God has given us his written word as well as leaders in the church to help us discern his leading correctly. Don’t be naïve and think that every urge that you get is the leading of the Holy Spirit. Test the spirits as we noted Paul did. Check your ideas to see if they are consistent with the word of God. Speak to your elders about important decisions. God has provided us with ways to check and be sure that we are being led by him and not deceived by our sinful flesh, the world, or the devil.

The third point of application is to prepare for eternity by being submitted to God. This follows immediately from the previous point. Once you know the will of God, be quick to do it. It may seem difficult, or even impossible to you. And the flesh, the world and the devil will oppose you all the way. But blessings in this life and the eternal life to come will follow if you are obedient to the will of God. And we have a promise of victory from God. In James 4:7 we are told, “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” People often forget the first half of that verse and think that they can resist the devil in their own strength. But you cannot. The devil is much stronger than you or I. And if we are depending on our own strength, even the temptations of the flesh and the world are stronger than we are. We must be submitted to God and have his Spirit strengthening us or we will fail.

The classic illustration of this fact is what happened to the apostle Peter. Remember what he said when Jesus told the apostles, “This very night you will all fall away on account of me”? We read the account in Matthew 26. Peter responded, saying, “Even if all fall away on account of you, I never will” and “Even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you.” But Jesus told him, “this very night, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times.” And that is exactly what happened. Peter was confident in his own strength when he should have been fully submitted to God by seeking God’s strength in prayer. And we will fail just like Peter unless we are submitted to God and trusting in him.

The fourth point of application is to prepare for eternity by being strengthened by God. As I just noted in the story about Peter’s failure, we are weak. There are so many biblical examples of this and, in fact, it is so obvious in each of our own lives that I don’t need to prove the point. We are weak in every way. We are spiritually weak, we have doubts and fears, we aren’t all that physically powerful, or intellectually gifted, or anything else. And that is true of every single human being, no matter how great he or she is in comparison with other weak human beings.

And because we are weak, we need strengthening. We must make a point of living in close fellowship with one another. We must use every resource and gift at our disposal to build one another up. To encourage and strengthen one another and to bear one another’s burdens. In this way, we can all complete the race God has given us to run.

And part of strengthening each other is to oppose false brothers. They are one of the most serious dangers that we face. They don’t announce themselves as false. They don’t tell you, “I’m preaching heresy now.” No, as Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 11:13, “such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, masquerading as apostles of Christ.” Therefore, we must know the word of God. We must be submitted to God and his church, and we must help each other to avoid and denounce false brothers.

The fifth point of application is to prepare for eternity by living as one who is free in Christ. We will have a lot more to say about this freedom later as we continue to work our way through this glorious epistle. But it is important that we realize we have this freedom. And then it is critically important to exercise this freedom! Say “No” to sin and make it stick! Say yes to God and his will for your life.

As Jesus told us in Matthew 7:24-25, “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock.” If you want a solid foundation for a victorious life in Christ, then exercise the freedom you have in Christ to live a godly life in successful opposition to your flesh, the world and the devil. Jesus also told us, in John 13:17, “Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.” And, in Christ, you are free to do them. So, exercise that freedom.

The sixth point of application is to prepare for eternity by living as part of God’s family. I already spoke about this when I noted that we must each be busy encouraging and strengthening one another. But it is important to think about all of our brothers and sisters in Christ as our family. Later in this epistle, in Galatians 6:10, Paul wrote, “Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.” And Jesus commanded us, in John 13:34-35, “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” Therefore, living as a member of God’s family is not only important for strengthening each other, it is also a vital part of our witness to the world.

And that leads to my seventh and final point of application. We must tell the world about Jesus Christ. Paul was zealous for the gospel because he saw how important it is. It is quite literally the one thing needful in this life. This life will end for every one of us. But that is not the end for any of us. Every single human being you have ever met, indeed every single human being who has ever, or will ever, live, has an eternal destiny. Let us all be like the apostle Paul in living lives governed by God so that we can be useful tools in the Master’s hand and be used to help lead others to eternal life in Christ.

 

[1] J. Greshem Machen, Notes on Galatians, Solid Ground Christian Books, 2006

[2] Ibid, pg. 24 & pp 88-89

[3] Ibid, pg. 97

[4] Ibid, pp 101-106

[5] Pastor Mathew’s translation. The Greek verb is a present tense indicative verb, which means the action is continuous.