Galatians 4:12-20
Tell Me The Truth!
Intro –
* Friends are like good health; you don’t realize what a gift they are until you lose them.
* Friends are only friends if they are willing to tell you the truth. Otherwise, they are just mere acquaintances.
* Sadly though, some people don’t want the truth.
- They don’t want "truth friends".
* Some people pride themselves in being "truth tellers"
-Illus – "Hey, Ashley, does this make me look fat?"
Response – "Fat is not a good look for you. I’ve got a maternity shirt you can borrow."
* Who needs friends like that?
Joke - Two friends were walking in the forest one day when suddenly they stumbled upon a large grizzly bear who decided that they looked like a good snack. The two started running away when all of the sudden one of them stopped. The other said, "What are you stopping for? Don’t you know the grizzly bear is right behind us?" His friend replied, "I am tying my shoe so I can run faster." At this he couldn’t help but laugh, "What you think you’ll outrun the grizzly?" The friend replied, "I don’t have to outrun the grizzly, I only have to outrun you." In our selfish society, how often do we act like this "friend." As we try to exist in community, it is essential that we eliminate the self-centered nature that is all too prevalent in our churches today.
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As his UCLA football team suffered through a poor season in the early 1970s, head coach Pepper Rodgers came under intense criticism and pressure from alumni and fans. Things got so bad, he remembers with a smile, that friends became hard to find. “My dog was my only true friend,” Rodgers says of that year. “I told my wife that every man needs at least two good friends—and she bought me another dog.”
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List -
A simple friend, when visiting, acts like a guest. A real friend opens your refrigerator and helps himself (and doesn’t feel even the least bit weird shutting your ’vegetable drawer’ with her foot!)
A simple friend has never seen you cry. A real friend has shoulders soggy from your tears.
A simple friend doesn’t know your parents’ first names. A real friend has their phone numbers in his address book.
A simple friend hates it when you call after they’ve gone to bed. A real friend asks you why you took so long to call.
A simple friend expects you to always be there for them. A real friend expects to always be there for you!
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* "Friends" should only be allowed to tell us the truth if they truly love us.
- Telling me the truth is one thing,…loving me and telling me the truth can be something totally different.
* How many of us really want to know the truth about ourselves?
? Do we want our doctor to be less than honest about our condition?
I. Plea to be free v. 12
* "be" is "ginomai" - literally "to become"
* Become as I am, because I also became as you are"
* "Become as I am, free from the bondage of the law. I became as you are, Gentile."
* Paul pleads with the Galatians to free themselves from bondage to the law as he had done.
* Paul knew by experience what it was to be in bondage to the law.
-- He also knew what it was to be liberated from the law by the Saviour.
* Swindoll Bible Study Guide p. 84– "Be free like me,…Feel the weight of the law lifted from your life. Get out of that musty prison called legalism. I want you to know what it’s like to run unhindered through the sunlit fields of grace – without fear of God’s judgment…or anyone else’s. And I want you to know the freedom of standing for the gospel of Jesus Christ and standing against those who would silence it. Be as I am."
* v. 12 – "ye have not injured me…" -
- It is not a personal matter.
- You have done me no personal wrong.
- There is no unkind feeling; no injury done as individuals.
* When Paul was with them in the beginning it would have been easy for them to:
- spurned his fellowship -- he was a Jew & a stranger
II. Plea to remember v. 13-15
A. Paul’s sickness v. 13
* Paul became physically sick
* These verses tell us several things about Paul’s illness.
1) They knew Paul had not intended to work among them. V.13
- He was detained because of this physical illness.
- He was headed for the Greek cities of Asia Minor
2) The Galatians watched his disease worsen
- they were familiar with it’s repulsive symptoms
- This disease normally aroused disgust and loathing because of it’s repulsive nature
- Paul became ill upon his arrival or not long after it.
(Picture- my pictures- worship- eye disease)
3) The disease prevented further travel for a time.
- All indications are that this disease was debilitating and severe
- Paul didn’t leave, because he couldn’t leave
Gal 4:13 –Message - You were well aware that the reason I ended up preaching to you was that I was physically broken, and so, prevented from continuing my journey, I was forced to stop with you. That is how I came to preach to you.
4) The disease assisted Paul in the winning of people to Jesus
* Paul’s sick chamber became his pulpit. ( it didn’t hinder him)
Phillipians 1:12-18 But I would ye should understand, brethren, that the things which happened unto me have fallen out rather unto the furtherance of the gospel; (13) So that my bonds in Christ are manifest in all the palace, and in all other places; (14) And many of the brethren in the Lord, waxing confident by my bonds, are much more bold to speak the word without fear. (15) Some indeed preach Christ even of envy and strife; and some also of good will: (16) The one preach Christ of contention, not sincerely, supposing to add affliction to my bonds: (17) But the other of love, knowing that I am set for the defense of the gospel. (18) What then? notwithstanding, every way, whether in pretense, or in truth, Christ is preached; and I therein do rejoice, yea, and will rejoice.
5) The inference in v. 15 is this disease affected his eye sight.
* The words "despised" and "rejected" in v. 14 indicate the repulsive nature of the disease.
B. Their acceptance v. 14
* "despised" – ekptuo – "to spit out, to loathe, to spurn"
* "rejected" – exoutheneo – "to hold and treat as no account, look down on"
* In spite of his illness and repulsive appearance, they treated him not as a mere “messenger” of God, but a very angel, even as Christ Jesus.
* …with all that reverence and respect, that high esteem, veneration, and affection
* …as if one of the celestial inhabitants (angels) had come down
* If Jesus had been personally present as man among them, they could not have shown greater respect to him
* Paul calls on them to bring to remembrance their past acceptance of him.
C. Their sacrificial love for Paul v. 15
* Paul recognizes the genuineness of their love.
* Their love was sacrificial.
- They were willing to give their eyes to Paul
- eyes,… perhaps nothing is dearer, or more useful to a man
* They had strong and sincere affection for Paul…WHERE is it now?
* What has happened to that love? …that they demonstrated in the beginning
III. Paul’s seriousness v. 16-18
A. Paul, friend or foe? V. 16
* "enemy" – echthros – enemy in an active sense, …one who is hostile to another.
* At one point they were willing to sacrifice anything for Paul, so great was their love; but now he had become their enemy.
* The Judaizers had come in and stolen their affection.
* The only thing Paul had done was to tell them the truth!
* Paul had done what a spiritual father should do, tell his children the truth.
* How ready we are to feel that the man who tells us of our faults is our enemy!
- We treat him coldly… we often distance ourselves from those kind.
* It’s human nature to avoid those who point out our faults.
Albert Barnes – "We love to be flattered, and to have our friends flattered; and we shrink with pain from any exposure, or any necessity for repentance. Hence, we become alienated from him who is faithful in reproving us for our faults. Hence, people become offended with their ministers when they reprove them for their sins. Hence, they become offended at the truth. Hence, they resist the influences of the Holy Spirit, whose office it is to bring the truth to the heart, and to reprove men for their sins. There is nothing more difficult than to regard with steady and unwavering affection the man who faithfully tells us the truth at all times, when that truth is painful. Yet he is our best friend. “Faithful are the wounds of a friend, but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful,” Pro_27:6. If I am in danger of falling down a precipice, he shows to me the purest friendship who tells me of it; if I am in danger of breathing the air of the pestilence, and it can be avoided, he shows to me pure kindness who tells me of it. So still more, if I am indulging in a course of conduct that may ruin me, or cherishing error that may endanger my salvation, he shows me the purest friendship who is most faithful in warning me, and apprising me of what must be the termination of my course."
* We human beings are so fickle
* It is amazing how we can be so loyal to our friends one moment and treat them as our enemies the next.
* Swindoll quoting (Hansen, Galatians p. 135) p. 86-87
" The dramatic shift from the Galatians’ warm welcome to their cold rejection of Paul serves as a sober warning to both pastors and their churches. Pastors should not be so naïve as to think they will always receive a warm welcome if they consistently teach the truth. If fact, teaching the truth will always run the risk of alienating some people. And people in the church need to be aware that their initial positive response to pastors who teach the truth will be severely tested when the truth cuts like a two-edged sword. During such a time of conviction, people need to maintain their loyalty to their pastors precisely because they have the courage to preach the truth, even when it hurts."
* Paul was not their foe, but their friend.
* Yet they treated him as an enemy.
B. Judaizers, forsake or follow? V.17-18
* "They" – refers to the Judaizers, … false teachers
* "affect" – affectaire – means to strive after, to earnestly desire
* Others translate it "pay you court"… they are courting you as a lover pays court
to his lady
Gal 4:17 –Message - Those heretical teachers go to great lengths to flatter you, but their motives are rotten. They want to shut you out of the free world of God’s grace so that you will always depend on them for approval and direction, making them feel important.
* Their motives were not honorable.
- They "exclude" you… they want to shut you out
- shut you out from the benefits of the gospel and from the fellowship of Paul
* They are seeking your loyalty and devotion to themselves.
* V. 18 – Paul had "affected" them, …. He had courted them in days past.
- But he didn’t want them to be attached to himself, but to Jesus
IV. Paul’s pain v. 19
* It hurt Paul that they had turned their back on him, but even more that they had turned their back on Jesus.
* "My little children" - is language of deep affection and emotion
- He speaks of them as his children (tekna – born ones)
* There is anguish in his voice.
* The agony he has for them is like the agony of a mother giving birth.
* "formed" – morphoo – refers to the act of giving outward expression of one’s
inner nature
- the word metamorphosis means a change in shape or form
* Paul here is refering to the outward expression of Jesus in lives of Galatians
* Paul was convinced these Galatians were TRULY SAVED!
* "again"- the word ’again’ tells us that at one time Jesus was clearly and
abundantly evident in their experience
- BUT now he ceased to be seen in the lives of the Galatians
* Because of their bondage to the law, Jesus wasn’t being outwardly expressed
* The Holy Spirit wasn’t being recognized or depended upon in their lives
- They were living off of self-effort and self-energy
- Doing the best they could to be obedient to the law.
V. Paul’s distress v. 20
* "change my voice" – mean either he regretted the severity of his language or he wanted to use some other means of expression.
- If he were present, he could communicate more effectively his feelings.
- His pen stood between himself and the Galatians
- He knew the power of his voice on their hearts.
* To speak personally, face to face, would have a greater impact than the medium of writing.
* "stand in doubt" – aporeo - root word is "poros" = a transit, a way, a path, a resource.
- put the letter "a" in front of the word in Greek it negates the meaning
- so means "to be without a way or path, not to know which way to turn, to be in straits, to be in perplexity
* It describes the inward distress of a mind tossed to and fro by conflicting doubts and fears
* Paul says, "I am puzzled how to deal with you, how to find an entrance into your hearts.
Lessons For Life
1- Christians sometimes experience severe illness
* Nothing to indicate Paul’s disobedience brought about this sickness.
- He evidently came in contact with a germ and contracted a disease
* Exact disease is not named, but the seriousness of it is.
- It disfigured his body
- It gave him a repulsive appearance
- It had to be physically painful for him to bear
- It prevented Paul from travel and fulfilling his missionary plans.
* Sometimes, as in the case of Job, there is no rhyme or reason from our perspective, but God knows what He is doing in our lives.
* Christians are not immune to disease just because they are Christians.
* We don’t often hear that message through the religious television media of our day.
2- Friends tell each other the truth, even when it hurts
* They tell them in love, but they still tell them.
* In Ephesians, Paul tells us to "speak the truth in love"
* Sometimes the truth is the last thing we want to hear, but it may be the most needed thing in our lives.
* The Galatians were blessed to have a friend like Paul who did everything he could to rescue them from the danger of false teachers.
? What kind of friend are you? (am I?)
Do we value our friendships? Do we cultivate friendships?
Poem - Around The Corner, by Henson Towne.
Around the corner I have a friend,
In this great city that has no end.
Yet days go by and weeks rush on,
And before I know it a year is gone,
And I never see my old friend’s face;
For life is a swift and terrible race.
He knows I like him just as well
As in the days when I rang his bell
And he rang mine. We were younger then--
And now we are busy, tired men--
Tired with playing a foolish game;
Tired with trying to make a name.
"Tomorrow," I say, "I will call on Jim,
Just to show that I’m thinking of him."
But tomorrow comes--and tomorrow goes;
And the distance between us grows and grows.
Around the corner!--yet miles away...
"Here’s a telegram, sir." "Jim died today."
And that’s what we get--and deserve in the end--
Around the corner, a vanished friend.
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