False Friends Causes The Loss Of Joy

In Jesus Holy Name March 22, 2020

Text: Galatians Series Galatians 4: 15a Redeemer

“False Friends Causes the Loss of Joy”

May the grace and mercy or our risen Lord bring comfort to you in these days of “sheltering in”.

Have you ever tried to stop someone you loved from doing something really stupid? “like going out in public when they are supposed to “Shelter in”. Well that is the conversation from my sons encouraging me to “shelter in”. They don’t want me to be foolish. A few days “sheltering in” is OK but weeks… I will have to suppress my urge to venture out and not be foolish.

There may have been other times when you and I have tried to stop a friend from making a foolish choice, a dumb business move, or it might have been a relationship that was obviously bad for the person. Perhaps you saw a friend starting to be unfaithful in marriage or perhaps that person wanted a divorce for a trivial reason.

Whatever it was, you saw it and you tried to step in and help them see the light. You wanted to save them from making a terrible mistake. No matter how much you talked or pleaded or argued or yelled or reasoned with them, they just didn’t get it. I suppose all of us have been there.

Whenever we get in that situation, two things generally happen:

1) The friendship is strained

Passions rise on both sides

2) The conversation might go like this:

“Get out of my life.”

“I’m only trying to help you.”

“If you want to help me, leave me alone.”

“I’m your friend.”

“You’re no friend if you act like that.”

That’s precisely where Paul found himself with the Galatians. Paul had preached the Gospel there. They took care of him when he was ill. (read 4:13-16)

Paul is a parent in pain. He loved them as his spiritual children and they looked to him as their spiritual father. And now the Judaizers had entered the picture. These false friends had seduced the immature Galatians into adopting the practices of Judaism. Now they were on the verge of turning from the Lord. When Paul calls them to account, they get angry at him for butting in. “Who is Paul to tell us how to live? Why doesn’t he mind his own business? Leave us alone.”

.. What do you do when the people you love reject your advice? What do you do when they get angry when you try to talk to them? If you say nothing, things will get worse. But if you try to say something, things may get worse anyway.

In these situations we find ourselves saying things like: “Go ahead. Be a fool. Jump off that cliff. See if I care. I warned you. I hope you hit the bottom hard so it knocks some sense into your head.”

In chapter 3 Paul called them “Foolish Galatians”. They were leaving the freedom and joy found in the Gospel and returning to the practice of keeping the Jewish laws for their salvation. Trying to keep the law, the ten commandments, the extra Jewish laws…is impossible and it causes the loss of joy.

This was Paul’s lament in chapter 1:6 “I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel….” What is that different Gospel? The challenges came from Judaizes, Jewish Pharisees who demanded that Gentiles follow Jewish customs and rules… otherwise they could not be saved. They were adding to the gospel, grace alone.

Last week I noted that our human nature tells us that the good news of God’s grace is too good to be true. Our human nature, our cultural work ethic slips into our theology and we begin to think that we must do good deeds to earn God’s love and forgiveness. Our pride wants to take credit for our salvation.

In the Garden of Eden when Satan tempted Adam and Eve, His suggestion, His conversation went something like this:

“ Eve, the fruit on that special tree looks really good. Have you tried it?” Eve responds. “No of course not. God said that if we touch it and eat the fruit on that tree we will die.” It’s the story of “Snow White” all over again. Snow White had no idea that the Evil Witch had poisoned the apple.” But it was shiny. It was attractive. Satan responds: “Eve, You will not die…. God is holding out on you. You can’t trust God.”

Now that Eve has extended the conversation, Satan, like the great puppeteer contolling the strings on a puppet…pulls the one string that pushes Eve closer to the shiny, forbidden object. “human pride”. “Eve, you can not trust God, for God knows that when you eat of the fruit on that special tree your eyes will be opened, you will not die but you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” And Adam agreed!