Title: The Spiritually Advantaged and the Not-So-Much (So Much for a Spiritual Edge)
Text: Galatians 2:15-21
Thesis: We are justified by putting our faith in Christ alone.
Introduction
What does it mean to have an edge?
Generally, when we say someone has an edge we mean there is something special about that person. When we say someone has an edge we are saying that there is something different about that person that makes them special. When we say someone has an edge we are saying that that person has an advantage over the person who does not have that edge.
The tall, dark and handsome man has an edge over the portly little man with a big nose and flappity ears when it comes to romance. A 315 pound recruit from a major university football program has a better chance of making the defensive line of the Broncos than a 315 pound couch potato, walk-on. On my first foray into denominational politics I found myself running against the pastor of one of the largest churches in the conference who just happened to be well known and deeply respected in the denomination, having an earned PHD and having taught at our denominational seminary. And to make matters even worse, he looked a lot like Clark Kent. He had a distinct edge.
You would think that when it comes to religion, the more religious person would have an edge or advantage over the non-religious person.
I. Every person’s dilemma… will we attempt to be justified before God by our human efforts or by faith in Christ?
We who are Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners know a person is not justified by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. We have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by observing the law, because in observing the law no one will be justified. Galatians 2:15-16
There are two kinds of people in our text today. The first kind of person is the spiritually advantaged person. The second kind of person is the spiritually disadvantaged person.
The dilemma is in determining which kind of person we want to be: Is it better to be spiritually advantaged or is it better to be a spiritually disadvantaged person? It would seem that having a spiritual edge would be a good thing but maybe not…
In our text, being Jewish by birth was considered having a spiritual edge.
A. Jews by birth, i.e., the Jewish good-person is the spiritually advantaged person.
Bonnie loves to plant our large patio pots every spring. She even does the pot planting classes down at Echter’s. So it is fun to do runs to Echter’s or O’Tooles to pick out bedding plants, potting soil, fertilizers and whatever catches our eyes.
Greenhouses or Garden Nurseries are great places for picking up well established plants for flower beds or gardening. The hot house plant was planted early in ideal soil. It was protected from heat and cold. It was protected from wind- blown dust, late spring snows, and early spring hail. It was properly nourished with plant food and received the perfect amount of water. It was protected from pests. So it is a hearty and healthy plant when you repot or replant it in your garden. The plant was raised under ideal conditions… unlike the seed sown in some good ole Colorado backyard bentonite. The hot house plant has a distinct edge in the gardening world.
A Jew by birth had a distinct edge in the spiritual world. The Jew by birth was spiritually advantaged. The Jewish person was raised in a Jewish home that observed Jewish culture. The Jewish person attended Temple for worship and synagogue for instruction. The Jewish person observed all of the laws of the faith from day one.
We could draw the same parallel between the hothouse “Jew by birth” and hot house “Christian by birth.” The hot-house Christian is raised in a Christian home, is baptized or dedicated Christian, attends Sunday School and Church, attends a Christian day care or pre-school, receives an education in a Christian setting, is Confirmed, attends a Christian college, marries a Christian spouse, may work for a Christian non-profit, raises a Christian family, works hard, saves money, pays the bills and keeps a tidy home… did I mention pays his or her tithe?
The perils of the spiritually advantaged person are two-fold:
1. He or she is tempted to rely on their goodness to win God’s favor.
2. He or she is tempted to compare themselves favorably with others, i.e., tempted to feel spiritually superior to others.
On the other hand, there is the Gentile sinner:
B. Gentile sinners, i.e., the non-religious person is the spiritually disadvantaged person.
I have not always been the sophisticated man of the world that I am today. I did not always know that you are supposed to unfold your napkin and place it in your lap rather than tuck it into the neck of your shirt as if it were a bib. I did not always know that dining utensils are placed at a table setting so you work your way in as each course of the meal is placed before you. I did not always know that you don’t chase peas around your plate and onto your fork with a knife rather than your thumb.
You could say that I was a socially disadvantaged person.
Neither of my parents were born into religious families. Neither ever went to church. Neither had ever read the bible much less knew there was an Old and New Testament. Neither knew that the bible was made up of sixty-six books arranged by chapters and verses. Neither knew the book people sang from was called a hymnal. Neither knew that they were supposed to stand and sing the Doxology after the offering was received. Neither had ever heard of the Apostle’s Creed or the Lord’s Prayer. Neither had ever heard a three-fold-amen. Neither had ever learned how to pray. Neither had ever sung a hymn. Neither knew when to stand up or sit down or kneel. Neither knew what to do when they passed the communion elements.
Can you imagine what it would feel like to go to church for the first time? Can you imagine being totally unfamiliar with religion and religious jargon or “Christainese?” Can you imagine some people coming to your door and after sitting down in your living room they ask, “If you were to die tonight and stand before God and God was to ask you, ‘Why should I let you into my heaven?’ what would you say?
That is what it means, in part, to be spiritually disadvantaged. It means a person has no clue when in comes to religious practices.
The spiritually disadvantaged were not born into a religious home, did not receive religious instruction, and did not have the support of a religious culture to reinforce beliefs and behaviors. They are the riff-raff. They have no breeding. They have no class. They bring nothing to the table in terms of spiritual merit. They have no religious pedigree, credentials or achievements. They have no merit badges, no Sunday school attendance pins, no baptism or dedication, no confirmation, no church membership, no legacy of godliness handed down from generation to generation.
Yet, the Apostle Paul, who is among the spiritually advantaged Jews by birth, openly acknowledges, we too, like the Gentile sinners, “have to put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not be observing the law, because by observing the law no one will be justified.” Galatians 2:16
Apart from faith in Christ… both the spiritually advantaged and the spiritually disadvantaged are lost. However we couch the language of human effort, it all translates as works righteousness and works righteousness does not result in an automatic pass into heaven. Jewish by birth or Gentile sinner… all must come through faith in Christ.
This week in my devotional reading I read the story of Paul’s conversion in Acts 9. Despite the fact that Paul was blinded by the experience… it was an eye-opener for him. Suddenly, there he was a middle-aged Jewish religious leader, hell-bent - as Webster would say, “stubbornly, recklessly, determined and intent” in his zeal to serve God… rudely awakened to the realization that he had missed the boat, so to speak, spiritually.
Colorado has its own example of zealotry. If you have been reading the papers the judicial system has finally caught up with Douglas Bruce and found that he has in fact been the impetus behind “the three tax-slashing and government limiting initiatives on the November ballot and the concerted effort to thwart campaign-finance requirements.”
Douglas Bruce has refused to testify in the campaign-finance case and has successfully dodged the states attempts to serve him some thirty subpoenas during the month of May. Douglas Bruce is religiously and seriously intent on furthering his anti-tax agenda. You could say that Douglas Bruce is an anti-tax crusading zealot. (Tim Hoover, Judge rules evidence proves Douglas Bruce behind 3 anti-tax initiatives, denverpost.com, 06/12/2010)
And you could say that the Apostle Paul was an anti-Christian / Christianity zealot. But the Apostle Paul was sincerely wrong and sincerely out of step with God’s ways and will.
And that is the danger for anyone who takes pride in his performance before God and others. Whenever our lives get vested in living and looking good, we subconsciously find ourselves relying on these good things as certifying that we are good and godly people.
When in fact, as Paul pointed out in our text the person with the spiritual edge and the spiritually disadvantaged person are both is desperate need of the grace of God found only in Christ.
So how are we supposed to look at our accomplishments, i.e., those things we believe are of merit?
II. Every person’s spiritual net-worth… bupkiss!
Paul said of himself, “If anyone else thinks he has reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more; circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for legalistic righteousness, faultless.” Philippians 3:5-6
It is pretty easy for any of us to feel good about ourselves, especially when we compare ourselves favorably with others.
I followed the Broncos’ NFL Draft choices early on. The first controversy centered around the Broncos’ first round draft choice of Wide Receiver Demaryius Thomas of Georgia Tech ahead of Oklahoma State’s Dez Bryant. In an interview Thomas was asked, “Why do you think the Broncos drafted you?”
Demaryius Thomas replied, “I’m pretty sure it was my game film. I made a lot of plays and I’m a good guy. I’m pretty sure my meeting with Josh McDaniels had something to do with it too.”
The interviewer then asked him why he considers himself to be a “good guy” and Thomas replied, “I stay out of trouble, don’t get in any trouble and stay around the right crowd.”
Later in the interview he was asked if he was a better player than Dez Bryant and Thomas responded, “Well, I don’t know. I can’t say. I know I am a better person than Dez – that’s how I feel. I feel like I’m a better receiver too – bigger, faster – I don’t know.” (John Bena, 2010 NFL Draft Potent Quotables, Mile High Report, April 23, 2010)
Do you remember the story Jesus told about the religious leader and the tax collector in Luke 18? Both went into the temple to pray. The Pharisee (religious leader) is described as a proud man who stood away from the other worshippers and prayed, “I thank you, God, that I am not a sinner like everyone else, especially like the tax-collector over there! For I never cheat, I don’t sin, I don’t commit adultery, I fast twice a week, and I give a tenth of my income.” Luke 18:9-14
While the Pharisee was praying his meritorious prayer the tax-collector was praying, “God, have mercy on me, a sinner.”
Jesus said, “I tell you that this man [the sinner], rather than the other [the Pharisee], went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” Luke 18:14
Paul was in error when he trotted out his Jewish pedigree as being meritorious before God. And the Pharisee was in error when he trotted out his spiritual superiority over that of the tax-collector sinner guy.
It was not until Paul gained a proper perspective of his own stuff in light of the goodness and grace of God in Christ that he realized what it was he really had.
In Philippians 3, Paul continued his earlier thought writing,
“Whatever was to my profit I now consider it loss for the sake of Christ. I consider them rubbish that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own but that which is through faith in Christ…” Philippians 3:7-9
Conclusion:
Last Sunday we had a little neighborhood picnic. One of our neighbors hosted the event. The flier read, “Burgers and Hot Dogs provided, but please bring a side dish!” So after church Bonnie whipped up her famous broccoli salad and off we went. We placed our side dish on the table with the other side dishes… we had brought something to the table. But I noticed that not everyone brought a side dish. Not everyone brought something to the table.
And yet when it was time to eat… everyone was welcome to eat.
That is what Paul is talking about when he describes the grace of God. When you have no side dish to bring along to earn your right to eat at the table, God says, “It’s okay, I brought enough for you… eat.”
So it is when we stand before God as either spiritually advantaged persons or spiritually disadvantaged persons and someone asks, “What did you bring?”
The right answer is, “I brought bupkiss!”
When we bring nothing to the table… we get everything.
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this is not of yourselves, it is a gift from God – not of works, so that no one can boast. Ephesians 2:8-9
