Introduction
We’re continuing with Galatians. As we study this book we’re asking questions like: 1. What were the circumstances surrounding Paul’s letter? 2. What was happening in Galatia that made the letter necessary? 3. Why was Paul so fired up? 4. What was really at stake?
These are good questions to ask of any of Paul’s letters. Finding the answers brings new meanings to the books.
Last week you’ll remember the issue was Galatia thought this new faith was a little to easy..surely they needed to DO something to stay in it...they were only complicating things by adding to it.
They were wondering how they fit into this new Christian church and what they were going to have to do to be a part of this group of Christ-followers.
It seems like there are many times in my life that I try to be something I’m not. It’s not like this happens by accident either. I do it because I want to fit in in a way I don’t already. I can especially remember myself being this way in high school, but it hasn’t really changed. I feel like I’ve done that in college, out in the working world, and even here at church. You know how this goes, if you think acting a certain way, talking a certain way, liking a certain thing will get you acceptance by a certain group of people, then you morph a little bit in order to get into that group.
Lots of things will motivate you to do this. Organizations, groups of friends, girls. I’ve definitely changed for a girl. (Gina) I’ve definitely changed for an organization (Corps, PwC) For many of you this might be seen as a good thing, I mean, when you interview for a job later in life, you’re really trying to convince that company that you’re the right person for the job, whether you really are or not.
In most cases, hindsight tells you that you shouldn’t have changed, but you were so intent on changing in order to get the approval and the consideration you craved.
Tension
A lot of us probably know that feeling. It’s a rare person that’s not familiar with that drive inside that’s willing to do nearly anything to fit in, to feel accepted. Maybe with that guy you really like, or that group you really want to be a part of. Maybe we even feel it here in church. Maybe you feel like you have to act a certain way, or talk a certain way, or be a certain way and we’ll fit in at church...some of that is ok, but it doesn’t end there...
Because sometimes when we make that change, and then we get into that group and we turn things around and make it difficult to be accepted. Once you get that group of friends, you don’t anyone else to be able to earn it. We make boundaries and draw an exclusive circle around our little group that makes it really hard for others to get in.
Honestly, what we’re all looking for is to be loved and accepted unconditionally. I don’t know about you, but I rarely receive that people, and I rarely give that to other people either. It’s just not typical in our world.
Maybe, deep down, we believe that if stayed just like we are, we wouldn’t be accepted anywhere. We are constantly living with this level of expectation put on us...fit in, adjust, become who you’re expected to be, wherever you are.
Admitting that feels kind of personal, doesn’t it? It makes us vulnerable to always have to fit in...so we deflect that pressure, and make it harder for others as well. Make someone else fit in. We don’t want to feel that pressure, but we’re quick to put it on other people. It’s a double standard, but it plays out all the time in our world.
Truth
Last week you learned a little about the Galatians story. What do you remember?
This week we’re going to dig a little deeper. We’re going to hear the words ‘Jew’ and ‘Gentile’ over and over. They don’t mean much to us today, but they were loaded words back then.
Jews - 1. Had a very specific worldview 1. considered themselves chosen, with good reason 2. had a divine heritage 1. very proud of Abraham, Moses, David, etc 3. Very rich history and they’re rightfully proud of that. 2. God set them apart to give them his Law 3. Messiah would come from their lineage
Gentiles - 1. Anyone that wasn’t a Jew is a Gentile 1. In the Jew’s eyes, all Gentiles are pagans, with no religion, no legacy of faith, no sense of right and wrong 2. As a result, there’s some tension between the two groups
This new church for a worshiping a Jewish man was filled with former Jews and Gentiles. The two groups used to have nothing in common now trust in the same saviour. The Jews are thinking: how Jewish is this new Faith going to be?
This conflict showed up in several different ways.
- Food
- Jews couldn’t eat pork, shellfish or food sacrificed to idols
- Should these laws now move over to the Gentiles?
- Should the Jews forget their old laws and eat whatever they want
That was one problem, the bigger one was a lot more personal than food, and a lot more complicated.
- Circumcision was the practice in question.
- Was it still necessary for little Jewish babies to be circumcised?
- Was it necessary for Gentile MEN to be circumcised now?
- Should this be a requirement for this new religion?...if so you were going to have a bunch of former Jews and Gentile women!
You can see how this was getting complicated? For the Jews they were in jeopardy of physically losing something that set them apart. To suggest that it was not necessary felrt like a punch in the gut...or lower. Their history no longer mattered.
On the other hand the Gentiles didn’t want to take part in something that they had no history in. But if they didn’t do it, they didn’t fit in. Can you feel the pressure they felt?
Paul immediately saw this was a problem and is really trying to clear it up. Unity was necessary, not division.
Someone read Gal 6:15
Paul leaves little doubt. Circumcision is not to be used to get people in or keep people out. The point is a new way and in this way, ALL ARE WELCOME
Someone read Gal 3:26-28
This is Paul getting rid of ALL the categories, extending Jesus to everyone, literally everyone.
- What is your reaction to hearing now equal we are when it comes to our standing before God?
- Do you act and treat other followers of Christ like this is the case?
The Gentiles were just looking to fit in. The Jews were just looking for a way that was familiar...both were looking for acceptance. They didn’t realize that acceptance comes a lot easier than any of them thought. No practice, no rule, no standard. Just Jesus.
That unconditional love they’re looking for? It’s in Jesus alone.
Application
So what does all of this have to do with us? Thankfully, the issue today is no longer circumcision. But the principle is the same. Sometimes we feel like if we do certain things then it makes us more “IN” with God. We’re being just as divisive and wrong as the Galatians were.
- What are some ways we create new barriers today, keeping people from fitting in?
These are ways of us deciding who can have access to Jesus and who can’t!
We know exactly how both the Jews and the Gentiles were feeling, right? We are willing to do some crazy things to feel like we belong because we think we have to and that’s how the world has always operated.
Jesus does NOT operate this way. Paul wouldn’t stop spreading the mesage that Jesus is totally inclusive and accepting. Paul says that None of That Stuff Matters!
Chances are there is something that makes you feel like you don’t belong...even here where everyone is supposed to belong, maybe it’s clothes, or a different school, or different friends or interests.
Chances are there is something about you that makes others feel like they don’t belong too.
With all of us working so hard to fit in and to keep others from fitting in, it all starts to get a little uncomfortable. Paul has news for you though. God has news for you. His love for us isn’t based on any of that stuff. Our faith in Jesus makes us all ONE.
WWJD bracelets, fish car stickers. Go from thinking they’re kind of dumb, kind of cool, I want one, I have one. What you don’t have one?! There’s a new boundary and category for acceptance.
Music. Vote. Worship. Read. Bible version. We start to label, draw lines. We separate in our minds who stays in and who stays out when it comes to God.
Have any of you seen this played out at church? School? Friendships?
At its most basic, what is a Christian? Why do we add to that?
Landing
It’s really easy to point fingers here. But that’s just shifting the blame isn’t it? Taking the focus off myself is part of the problem.
We live in a culture that already divides us? How?
Paul is saying the church is one place where labels shouldn’t exist. We are called to be part of a community that is united in our conviction that Christ has died for our sins, he has risen, and he will come again. What else do we need, really? The cross makes the ground level.
Some of you may have been on the receiving end of some of these conditions. Someone might have told you or shown you that you need more than Jesus. Whether you created them, or got victimized...Paul says that the divisions aren’t true.
If you are a follower of Jesus Christ, we are all one. We are all sons and daughters of God. We all fit.
What would a church look like if the categories were eliminated? What some ways we, as a church can work at making everyone feel more accepted. Small group? What can you do personally to make others feel more accepted?
Read Galatians this week. Be aware of how you label other people and create un-needed barriers.