Life’s Great Paradox
Galatians 5:1, 13-15
* To define the word “paradox” is an apparently true statement or group of statements that seems to lead to a contradiction or to a situation that defies intuition. Let me give you a couple of examples;
* If a compulsive liar tells you, "I am lying." Is he lying, or is he telling the truth?
* "Always" and "never" always render the statements in which they are contained untrue, & should therefore never be used.
* The statement below is true. The above statement is false.
* For me, “Greek Fire” is a paradox because with its chemical makeup water will make it grow instead of quenching the fire.
* In other words, this thing of a paradox is best seen as expected actions resulting in an unexpected outcome.
* When we come to Christ, we come to ‘know the truth and the truth sets us free.’ And those whom Christ sets free are free indeed.
* Never forget that the potential for a problem exists. Please turn with me to Galatians 5. Paul had visited the churches scattered around southern Galatia twice. First, he planted several of the churches, led many to faith, and on his second journey, he encouraged the brothers by teaching them about the amazing grace of God through Jesus Christ. His message; that Jesus and Jesus only was the source of salvation. This was a huge change from the days of keeping the law and circumcision, but in Christ, there was a new freedom. (READ)
* After Paul had established & left the Galatian churches, some men ‘crept in’ (to borrow the words of Jude) and began perverting the doctrine of salvation. They began to bring up the past and attempt to get the body that had come to a clear understanding of the work of God to return to the way things had been done in the past. In other words, the ‘men’ were leading them back into bondage.
* Paul begins by saying ‘stand firm on your freedom’ because Christ has made you free from the traditions of man. Don’t miss this; Christ has made you free from the traditions of man, the yoke of slavery, and/or adding anything to Jesus for your salvation. (There are many strong applications) which can be gleaned from this truth)
* So now, move to verse 13 and let’s embrace 4 truths which Paul gives in helping us to understand our freedom, how to find it, and why in finding it, it may seem like a paradox.
1. The Calling which tweaks us – Verse 13 says, “you are called to freedom, brothers.” It seems that every word is important.
* ‘You’ ‘are called’ ‘to freedom’ ‘brothers.’ It is obvious from the tone & text that Paul sensed that these ‘born-again’ believers were departing from the truth of Christ into a former way of life & they needed to be reprimanded and possibly reminded. (For those who were misleading this crowd, he had some stunningly harsh words.) For every person who comes to Christ, is admitted into the ‘brotherhood’, and is saved; this person is set free. But what does this freedom really mean? In the scriptures Jesus used the word in His healings. More than one time He said, “Go and be ‘free’ of your sickness.” This means that the sickness is gone and they can live a normal healthy life.
* In the freedom Christ gives His child, no longer does sin have the power to control you, temptations have the power overcome you, and evil does not have the power possess you. Now, ‘greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.’ In Christ, we are released from the bondage of sin.
* Also, before Christ came people lived by a set of rules & regulations. In fact, the Rabbis had taken the 10 commandments and developed what came to be known as the “Rabbinical Law” (Over 600 laws). Of these, 248 were positive commands and 365 were negative. With respect to our Jewish brothers, is it any wonder that Jesus & Paul had so much to say about being free? Jesus sets you free and to the one to whom Christ sets free, He is free indeed. The calling for each believer is to be freed from the past, the pain, & ways of man. The call tweaks us to give us a clear, spiritual, & holy way of life.
* Does this sound good? Yes it does. But it also requires us to grow up or better said, ‘mature.’ When freedom is given there is a corresponding responsibility. In America we have missed this truth.
2. The Carnal which tempts us – Please never forget that, as long as we are in this world, Satan is shooting fiery darts at us to tempt us. Look at the second part of verse 13, “Don’t use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh.” Does this require us to even make an argument about this? Surely we understand that, as believers, we possess something that is beyond the scope of the human mind to even comprehend. Salvation makes no sense to those outside of Christ. The death of Jesus 2000 years ago is the payment for our sin that we can have life sounds ludicrous to the world’s way of thinking. To possess this unbelievable, indescribable gift can give a sense of ‘superiority’ and nothing is a deadly & dangerous to the believer as is arrogance. Well, I’m saved, sure, and secure, so whatever I do must be right because I am a child of the King.
* There is nothing more dangerous than a person who has been given freedom & don’t understand it or how to use it. Again, it is about our maturity. Why is it that we don’t allow our 12 year olds to date? Could it be because they do not know how to handle that type of private relationship because they are not mature enough? As our culture has learned from hard experience, the young person was not equipped to handle the pressure nor the product of such a relationship. Maturity. Thomas Huxley, known as the “Bulldog of Darwinism” said, “A man's worst difficulties begin when he is able to do as he likes.”
* We can see this in the area of our salvation and the accompanying behavior. Believing Ephesians 1 which says, we are ‘sealed by the spirit’ and that this sealing is forever, we hang our hats (& we should) on the security of the believer. An authentic believer possesses the freedom to do what is right, righteous, and within God’s plan. No provision is made in the Bible for the modern-day behavior of, “I’m saved so God will forgive me and I get to go to heaven.” If Jesus is in the heart, they mouth & minds will be controlled by HIM. The older I get & the longer I walk with the Lord, the more it seems that many who claim to be HIS bear few signs of being His. The freedom found in Christ does not include the freedom to be rude, crude, and a prude. Rather, Christ frees us from those things that we can be more like Him.
* Thus far we have not seen much of a paradox, but here it comes; now, we have been set free from the shackles of this world, what’s next?
3. The command which tries us – We now come to life’s greatest question, “What do we do with our freedom?” The answer is found here; “Use it to serve others.” The command is to “love your neighbor as yourself and through this love offer service to others.” Herein lies the paradox of life; if you want to be all that God has for you to be, ‘serve.’ This run counterintuitive to everything mankind teaches us. Our culture conveys the idea that when you arrive, others will serve you (I.E. servants, employees, etc), however in the economy of our Lord, you desire to be great, become a servant to others. Candidly, changing our schedule to serve someone else is not big on our list. We’ll help, ‘if’ we have time or energy or if we have had a good week. Interestingly, we can find time to fulfill our every desire or whim, but serving others; that’s for someone else. Recently I read a message about this very thing. It was powerfully convicting that I had become too selfish and self-absorbed. While I was ashamed & needed to repent, I became aware of how ‘the church’ today has become the same way. Then I read this testimony.
* It is said to be an email from Beth Moore. (Read the email at the end of this message)
* Could the reason that we, as believers and the church, has so little influence in our culture be that we possess so little of the attributes of the first century church. They had few resources & tons of influence because people could see the difference in their lives. They lived liked Jesus lived, acted like Jesus did, and treated each other (& others) with love and respect. When the problem came up in Jerusalem (Acts 6), they demonstrated their trust in leadership & kept their eye on the big picture which resulted in people being saved, discipled, and the gospel going forth. Life’s greatest paradox speaks to me and says, “Until we can become servants, the world may never hear what we have to say.” Before I end, the scripture requires us to offer a caution.
4. The caution which tests us – Let’s read verse 15. Very few verses in God’s word are as applicable to the 21st century Americanized church as this one. Why is it that to think unity in the body is unthinkable? Why is it that there are so many congregations in small towns? Why is it that most of those small congregations are small (while so many have no interest in the church or the things of the church)? Could it be that this verse is prophetic? Someone new gets saved or senses God leading them to be a part of God’s family and they are no sooner inside than they feel the bite of being devoured. For you see, we are not really high on this ‘servant’ thing, our preference is to be served. And when we are not ‘being served’, the first impulse is to ‘defend our turf.’
* Do you know what I’ve discovered? This thing of wanting to be served knows no age boundaries. Older people just like younger people want to be served. Jesus said, “As the Father sent me, so send I you and I came not to be served but to serve.” Think about a Jesus culture and how it would impact this ‘Just Me’ culture. If everyone made a conscious decision to serve others, just exactly how long would it take the world (those outside of Christ) to notice and how would it impact them for hearing God’s message of salvation?
* For years, preachers have romped, stomped, and shouted the gospel from the pulpits & today we have a weaker Christianity than any time in the history of the USA. If instead of being the ‘in your face’ people of the gospel we become the ‘at your feet’ (serving type of) people, would our influence, effectiveness, and even our stock go up in the sight of God and all the people. This is life’s greatest paradox and yet, it’s God’s way and it begins with a deep commitment to Him through His Son.
Beth Moore – email
I tried to keep from staring, but he was such a strange sight. Humped over in a wheelchair, he was skin and bones, dressed in clothes that obviously fit when he was at least twenty pounds heavier. His knee protruded from his trousers, and his shoulders looked like the coat hanger was still in his shirt. His hands looked like tangled masses of veins and bones. The strangest part of him was his hair and nails. Stringy, gray hair hung well over his shoulders and down part of his back. His fingernails were long, clean but strangely out of place on an old man I looked down at my Bible as fast as I could, discomfort burning my face.
As I tried to imagine what his story might have been, I found myself wondering if I'd just had a Howard Hughes sighting. Then, I remembered that he was dead. So this man in the airport... an impersonator maybe? Was a camera on us somewhere? There I sat; trying to concentrate on the Word to keep from being concerned about a thin slice of humanity served up on a wheelchair only a few seats from me. All the while, my heart was growing more and more overwhelmed with a feeling for him
Let's admit it. Curiosity is a heap more comfortable than true concern, and suddenly I was awash with aching emotion for this bizarre-looking old man. I had walked with God long enough to see the handwriting on the wall. I've learned that when I begin to feel what God feels, something so contrary to my natural feelings, something dramatic is bound to happen. And it may be embarrassing. I immediately began to resist because I could feel God working on my spirit and I started arguing with God in my mind. 'Oh, no, God, please, no.'
I looked up at the ceiling as if I could stare straight through it into heaven and said, 'Don't make me witness to this man. Not right here and now. Please. I'll do anything. Put me on the same plane, but don't make me get up here and witness to this man in front of this gawking audience. Please, Lord!' There I sat in the blue vinyl chair begging His Highness, 'Please don't make me witness to this man. Not now. I'll do it on the plane.' Then I heard it....'I don't want you to witness to him. I want you to brush his hair.' The words were so clear, my heart lept into my throat, and my thoughts spun like a top. Do I witness to the man or brush his hair?
No-brainier. I looked straight back up at the ceiling and said, 'God, as I live and breathe, I want you to know I am ready to witness to this man. I'm on this Lord. I'm your girl! You've never seen a woman witness to a man faster in your life. What difference does it make if his hair is a mess if he is not redeemed? I am going to witness to this man..'
Again as clearly as I've ever heard an audible word, God seemed to write this statement across the wall of my mind. 'That is not what I said, Beth. I don't want you to witness to him. I want you to go brush his hair.' I looked up at God and quipped, 'I don't have a hairbrush. It's in my suitcase on the plane. How am I supposed to brush his hair without a hairbrush?' God was so insistent that I almost> involuntarily began to walk toward him as these thoughts came to me from God's word: 'I will thoroughly furnish you unto all good works.' (2 Timothy 3:17)
I stumbled over to the wheelchair thinking I could use one myself. I knelt down in front of the man and asked as demurely as possible, 'Sir, may I have the pleasure of brushing> your hair?' He looked back at me and said, 'What did you say?' 'May I have the pleasure of brushing your hair? To which he responded in volume ten, 'Little lady, if you expect me to hear you, you're going to have to talk louder than that.' At this point, I took a deep breath and blurted out, 'SIR, MAY I HAVE THE PLEASURE OF BRUSHING YOUR HAIR?' At which point every eye in the place darted right at me. I was the only thing in the room looking more peculiar than old Mr. Long Locks.
Face crimson and forehead breaking out in a sweat, I watched him look up at me with absolute shock on his face, and say, 'If you really want to.' Are you kidding? Of course I didn't want to. But God didn't seem interested in my personal preference right about then. He pressed on my heart until I could utter the words, 'Yes, sir, I would be pleased. But I have one little problem. I don't have a hairbrush.' 'I have one in my bag,' he responded. I went around to the back of that wheelchair, and I got on my hands and knees and unzipped the stranger's old carry-on, hardly believing what I was doing.
I stood up and started brushing the old man's hair. It was perfectly clean, but it was tangled and matted. I don't do many things well, but must admit I've had notable experience untangling knotted hair mothering two little girls. I began brushing at the very bottom of the strands, remembering to take my time not to pull. A miraculous thing happened to me as I started brushing that old man's hair. Everybody else in the room disappeared. There was no one alive for those moments except that old man and me. I brushed and I brushed and I brushed until every tangle was out of that hair.
I know this sounds so strange, but I've never felt that kind of love for another soul in my entire life. I believe with all my heart, I - for that few minutes - felt a portion of the very love of God. That He had overtaken my heart for a little while like someone renting a room and making Himself at home for a short while.
The emotions were so strong and so pure that I knew they had to be God's. His hair was finally as soft and smooth as an infant's. I slipped the brush back in the bag and went around the chair to face him. I got back down on my knees, put my hands on his knee and said, 'Sir, do you know my Jesus?' He said, 'Yes, I do' Well, that figures, I thought. He explained, 'I've known Him since I married my bride. She wouldn't marry me until I got to know the Savior.' He said, 'You see, the problem is, I haven't seen my bride in months. I've had open-heart surgery, and she's been too ill to come see me. I was sitting here thinking to myself, what a mess I must be for my bride.'
Only God knows how often He allows us to be part of a divine moment when we're completely unaware of the significance. This, on the other hand, was one of those rare encounters when I knew God had intervened in details only He could have known
Our time came to board, and we were not on the same plane. I still had a few minutes, and as I gathered my things to board, the airline hostess returned from the corridor, tears streaming down her cheeks. She said, 'That old man's sitting on the plane, sobbing. Why did you do that? What made you do that?' I said, 'Do you know Jesus?
