Where Do You Run?
Galatians “The Heart of the Gospel” Series
A Sermon By Jim Hammond from Galatians 3:1-14
Kay Arthur tells
the following story:[1]
My friend tells the story
of something that happened while his dad was deer hunting in the wilds of
Oregon.
Cradling his rifle in the
crook of his arm, his dad was following an old logging road nearly
overgrown by the encroaching forest. It was early evening, and he was
just thinking about returning to camp when a noise exploded in the brush
nearby. Before he even had a chance to lift his rifle, a small blur of
brown and white came shooting up the road straight for him.
My friend laughs as he
tells the story.
"It all happened so fast,
Dad hardly had time to think. He looked down and there was a little brown
cottontail--utterly spent--crowded up against his legs between his boots.
The little thing was trembling all over, but it just sat there and didn't
budge.
"Now this was really
strange. Wild rabbits are frightened of people, and it's not that often
you'd ever actually see one--let alone have one come and sit at your feet.
"While Dad was puzzling
over this, another player entered the scene. Down the road--maybe twenty
yards away--a weasel burst out of the brush. When it saw my dad--and its
intended prey sitting at his feet--the predator froze in its tracks, its
mouth panting, its eyes glowing red.
"It was then that Dad
understood he had stepped into a little life-and-death drama of the
forest. The cottontail, exhausted by the chase, was only moments from
death. Dad was its last hope of refuge. Forgetting its natural fear and
caution, the little animal instinctively crowded up against him for
protection from the sharp teeth of its relentless enemy."
My friend's father did not
disappoint. He raised his powerful rifle and deliberately shot into the
ground just underneath the weasel. The animal seemed to leap almost
straight into the air a couple of feet and then rocketed back into the
forest as fast as its legs could move.
For a while, the little
rabbit didn't stir. It just sat there, huddled at the man's feet in the
gathering twilight while he spoke gently to it.
"Where did it go, little
one? I don't think he'll be bothering you for a while. Looks like you're
off the hook tonight."
Soon the rabbit hopped
away from its protector into the forest.
Where, Beloved, do you run
in time of need?
Where do you run when the
predators of trouble, worry, and fear pursue you?
Where do you hide when
your past pursues you like a relentless wolf, seeking your destruction?
Where do you seek
protection when the weasels of temptation, corruption, and evil threaten
to overtake you?
Where do you turn when
your energy is spent...when weakness saps you and you feel you cannot run
away any longer?
Do you turn to your
protector, the One who stands with arms open wide, waiting for you to come
and huddle in the security of all He is?
Paul taught the Galatians where to run for safety.
Where do you run?
Paul taught the Galatians where to run for safety,
and he was very frustrated that these rabbits (Christians) were leaving
the only place of safety as they followed the faulty and deadly advise of
the book sellers (Judaizers) selling the “Rules of the Rabbit” self help
book. Paul had taught the Galatians where to run for safety, and he was
very frustrated that these "rabbits" were now leaving the only place of
safety as they followed faulty and deadly advise. As soon as the rabbit
thinks he can face the weasel on his own, he is nothing but weasel bait.
Focus: Faith is superior, sufficient, and
simple as long as you understand that it is not the power of our faith,
but the power of our Savior that makes our faith work.
As we read the text of study this morning look to see
how the scared rabbits who came to the safety of a savior were now turning
to self improvement tactics to face the weasel instead of turning to the
savior.
Galatians 3:1-14
You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched
you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as
crucified.
[3:1 follows 2:21. Christ would not have been crucified if safety could be
attained before by observing the law. The Cross is the central answer to
all of Paul’s rhetorical Questions:
These foolish rabbits should know better. They have
been clearly taught about their savior. They stood safely in the shadow
of the cross, at the feet of their savior. Paul’s gospel is centered on
the cross. He had taught them clearly about the meaning of the cross.
They had at one time understood that it was because of the cross that sins
are forgiven. It was because of the cross, that death was conquered. It
was because of the cross that God’s Spirit could indwell the believer.
Now these rabbits, accustomed to being loved, accepted, and forgiven by
God because of the cross on the basis of Christ’s righteousness and
accomplished work, are turning away from the only place of safety because
they were listening to the street salesman selling his self help hand
book, “Rules of a Rabbit”--How to avoid the Weasel and be a Strong
Rabbit.]
2I would like to learn just one
thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by observing the law, or by
believing what you heard?
[They knew the answer to this question from their
experience. They knew nothing of the “Rules of the Rabbit” handbook
before. They found safety because they believed what they heard about the
cross and ran there for protection. Then they discovered something even
better than imagined. They discovered a powerful, personal relationship
with a savior. At first they came there shivering and scared. But then
they found peace, and joy, and love, and the ability to love one another,
and do things a rabbit could never do on his own. The secret was hopping
all around the savior wherever the savior walked. The key was staying in
step, and keeping an eye on the savior. ]
3Are you so foolish? After
beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human
effort?
[So here they were now, listening to the book
seller. And the self help promoter selling the “Rules of the Rabbit”
book. Paul knew that this was actually turning the Rabbit’s confidence
away from the savior and to themselves. The students who believe the lie
that this book is the Old and proven tactics fall into the trap of self
righteousness. They think they can grow strong enough and wise enough to
handle the weasel on their own. Paul is sounding a clear warning to them,
and some recognized their grave mistake.]
4Have you suffered so much for
nothing--if it really was for nothing?
5Does God give you his Spirit and
work miracles among you because you observe the law, or because you
believe what you heard?
How many of you like things that are New and
Improved?
How many of you like things that are Old and Proved?
Are there any here who like the New and Improved over
the Old and Proved?
Are there any here who like the Old and Proved better
than the New and Improved?
It is likely your answer would vary depending on what
new and improved or old and proved item we were talking about?
The news this week was about the “Ban on the phrase
‘under God’ in the pledge of allegiance. The US Court of Appeals in San
Francisco granted the 90-day stay at the request of the Elk Grove Unified
School District in Sacramento County, where an atheist challenged daily
recitation of the pledge in his daughter's elementary school classroom.
The question over the constitutionality of the pledge of allegiance in
schools is an argument about “new and improved” national values over the
“old and proved” national values.
Dominos
Is another domino falling? Will we soon see the
phrase “in God we trust” removed from our coins? Will we then see prayer
at any government session as illegal? Will we see the day our current
system of marking the date based on A.D. and B.C. removed because it is no
longer constitutionally correct to view Jesus as the center of history?
Black and White or Gray
Some are criticizing Bush these days for often using
the term “Evil” to describe terrorist activity. They say the Bush
administration sees too many things in Black and White categories. As a
rebuttal, I heard someone on Christian radio say something that I think is
insightful. They said something like, “You have to have some Black and
White categories fixed in your mind before you can distinguish shades of
Gray”
If we have no basis to call any aberrant sexual
behavior wrong between two unmarried consenting individuals, on what basis
can we call pedophilia wrong?
The Good News
Maybe the falling dominos sound like heaping bad news
upon bad news. Let me tell you something. I am more hopeful than ever.
As the culture becomes more and more gray and meaningless, people are
becoming hungry and thirsty for something solid. The spiritual hunger is
growing stronger as the moral and spiritual vacuum is getting stronger.
This is a time of opportunity like never before. I believe Christianity
shines bright in a dark world, and no amount of darkness can stop a
light. It is more noticeable than ever. Jesus Christ is the answer.
Where it is getting darker in the forest and the
weasel is winning, more rabbits will hear about the story of safety at the
feet of a savior, and though it scares them to do so, out of desperation,
more will be running to the savior.
Focus: Faith is superior, sufficient, and
simple as long as you understand that it is not the power of our faith,
but the power of our Savior that makes our faith work.
I. The Gospel
is Both New and Improved AND Old and Proved
A. New and Improved as proved by their Experience
(3:1-5)
With a few insightful
Questions Paul demonstrated again that Faith is Superior, Sufficient, and
Simple as long as you understand that it isn’t the power of our faith, but
the power of our Savior that makes our faith work.
B. Old and Proved as Proved By the Scriptures (3:6-14)
Really the Gospel was from
the very beginning the only way ever to please God. It has always been by
faith that we please God! This was the surprising answer Paul gave to the
Judaizers who thought Paul’s “new and improved” teaching needed to be
corrected or improved upon by the old and proved truths from Moses. What
Paul shows in this section when he argues from the Old and proved
scriptures themselves is that the way of faith has always been the way God
credits people with righteousness. He proves by the life and character of
the most important man in Jewish history, the father of the nation, that
it had always been by faith that people please God.
6Consider Abraham: "He believed
God, and it was credited to him as righteousness."
7Understand, then, that those who
believe are children of Abraham.
8The Scripture foresaw that God
would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance
to Abraham: "All nations will be blessed through you."
9So those who have faith are
blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.
10All who rely on observing the law
are under a curse, for it is written: "Cursed is everyone who does not
continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law."
11Clearly no one is justified
before God by the law, because, "The righteous will live by faith."
12The law is not based on faith; on
the contrary, "The man who does these things will live by them."
13Christ redeemed us from the curse
of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: "Cursed is
everyone who is hung on a tree."
14He redeemed us in order that the
blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus,
so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.
1. Justification By Faith Is as Old As Abraham
Those who have faith like Abraham are Children of Abraham.
Abraham Believed God and It was Credited to him as
Righteousness
“That’s My Boy”
Like father like son.
The amazing thing is that
through this study of the ancient text Paul was telling the Jews that the
Gentiles that came to God by way of Faith were more like the sons of
Abraham than they were because they were not approaching God by faith but
by works.
2. He was credited with righteousness before the Law and
before Circumcision
3. He was credited with righteousness because he “believed”
Ø
not because of his “good works”
Ø
and not because his good works outweighed his bad works.
4. He did not deserve the promise but received it as a
gift
He did nothing to deserve having that promise made to
him. The crediting of righteousness came to him after the promise was
given, after the gift was given, after Abraham believed. That’s when God
said, Abraham was then “reckoned” righteous.
We are Saved by Faith AND We also Live by Faith
God is not someone you just run to when you are in
trouble. God is someone to live with for forever and for everything.
Let me tell you a common lie Christians believe.
Many Christians believe they are saved by faith (which is true) but they
grow by works (which is false). Paul defines “works” in this section as
observing the law by human effort rather than by faith and reliance on
God’s Spirit. This kind of self effort can actually derail your growth.
Christian growth is also the way of faith. This kind of faith involves
effort, but it is dependent effort, not self effort.
Here’s the truth: We are saved by faith, and we also
grow by faith. The faith method is the way that depends on God, the
“works” method by contrast is the method that depends on self effort. One
method ends up being God centered, and the other self centered. One way
brings glory to God, the other, glory to self.
Look at verse 3 again.
3Are you so foolish? After
beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human
effort?
When we attempt to earn what God has already given,
we treat Christ’s death as though it were nothing. When we attempt to do
what God has already done it takes glory away from God.
The way of Christian growth is to appropriate
personally by faith that which Christ has already given to us by grace.
Trying to do this on your own is not how it is done. Trying to, stunts
your growth. Dying to self and believing what God says is so, is the way
you grow.
The Juggler (by Billy Graham, as retold by Alice Gray in Stories from
the Heart p. 255)
He was born in Italy but came to the United States as
a young man. He studied juggling and became famous throughout the whole
world.
Finally he decided to retire. He longed to return to his home country and
settle down. He took all his worldly possessions, booked a passage on a
ship to Italy and invested all the rest of the money in a single diamond.
He hid the diamond in his stateroom.
While aboard ship, he was showing a boy how he could juggle a bunch of
apples. Soon a crowd had gathered. The pride of the moment went to his
head. He ran to his stateroom and got the diamond. He explained to the
crowd that it represented his entire life's savings. He started juggling
the diamond. Soon he was taking more and more chances.
At one point he threw the diamond high into the air and the crowd gasped.
Knowing what the diamond meant, they begged him not to do it again. Moved
by the excitement of the moment, he threw the diamond even higher. Again
the crowd gasped and then sighed in relief when he caught the diamond.
Having total confidence in himself and his ability, the juggler told the
crowd he would throw it up one more time. This time it would be so high
that it would be out of sight for a moment. Again, they begged him not to
do it.
But with the confidence of all his years of experience, he threw the
diamond high into the air. It actually did disappear for a moment. Then
the diamond returned into view sparkling in the sunlight. At that moment,
the ship lurched and the diamond dropped into the sea and was lost
forever.
We all feel terrible about the man's loss of all his worldly possessions.
But God compares our soul as more valuable than the possessions of the
whole world.
Just like the man in the story, some of us are juggling with our souls. We
trust in ourselves and our own ability and the fact that we have gotten by
before. Oftentimes there are people around us begging us to stop taking
the risk because they recognize the value of our soul.
But we continue to juggle one more time...never knowing when the ship will
lurch and we will have lost our chance forever.
Some of you are Juggling With Your Soul instead of living by Faith
The Ship Lurched with One Couple…
The following story is by H. B. London, from They Call Me Pastor
(Regal, 2000), pp. 23-30:
Four doctors in surgical greens stood before Dave and Jana at the
Huntington Memorial Hospital in Pasadena. I stood by helplessly as one
doctor spoke. "Your baby has died of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. We want
to give you a chance to hold your child before we take her." I watched
this young couple; their shoulders shook with emotion as they held their
firstborn for the last time.
My mind raced to find something to say to the shocked young couple. I
wanted to tell them that everything would be okay, but that wasn’t true.
Their baby was dead. All my pastoral training and experience seemed to
fail me then. "Dave and Jana," I began, with words that were broken and
slow, "I don’t know why this awful loss has to come to you. But I know God
loves you as if you were the only ones in the whole world to love. If you
accept his love…if you believe he does love you, you’ll make it. If you
don’t, you won’t."
Those were the only words I had for them. They seemed awfully empty at the
time.
I choked back my own emotions while they tried valiantly to cling to their
newfound faith. But something happened in that hospital room. Neither
the couple nor I had words to erase the pain. A Holy Presence invaded
that place. God joined the three of us. Just as in the Old Testament
story of the fiery furnace, when God himself came to comfort Shadrach,
Meshach, and Abednego, we felt in the fiery trial of suffering an
assurance that God was caring for us.
In all the pain, I remembered what a precious time we had a few weeks
earlier when we dedicated their baby in the worship service. Now this.
I confess that a few times in my ministry, the whys from my heart have
almost made me quit.
I am sure you have experienced similar anguish. But in our heart of
hearts we know that there is no satisfactory human answer to the problem
of evil.
One day, after coming to Focus on the Family, I received a letter with a
picture of Dave and Jana holding a beautiful baby.
They wrote:
H. B., you probably don’t think we heard you when you encouraged us to
cling to the love of God when our baby died. But we heard you clearly.
So we have believed over and over that God loves us as if we were the only
ones to love. We have learned to live in the love of God. We quote your
words to each other often. The Lord is gracious. Notice in the picture
we are holding a beautiful new baby—God’s special gift to us. We don’t
understand why we lost our first child. We still hurt when we think about
it, but we don’t question God anymore…
I have thought a lot about their faith and mine since receiving that
letter. Some tough situations are mysteries beyond our comprehension.
Mysteries greater than our answers. Mysteries that stretch our faith.
Mysteries that force us to turn to God because we can’t find answers
anywhere else....
The Ship Lurched with This One Couple…
but it was their faith in the God who loved them as if they were the only
ones to love that saved them.
Where do you Run? Stop Juggling with your Soul.
Where do you run?
Are you juggling with your soul?
Will you respond to the God who loves you “as if you
were the only one to love”?
[1]
Stories for the Heart, compiled by Alice Gray, Vision House
Pub.1996, p. 251
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