Chico Alliance Church
December 6 , 1998
“Christian Cannibalism”
or
Sacrificial Service
I. Paul Possessed the Correct credentials 1-2
II. Paul Proclaimed the Correct Concept of Grace 2:15-4:31
A. The Gospel of Grace Introduced 2:15-21
B. The Gospel of Grace Argued and Illustrated 3:1-4:31
1. Faith Argued by clarifying interrogation 3:1-6
2. Genuine faith illustrated by Abraham 3:7-29
3. New life illustrated by sonship 4:1-31
a. Slavery verses sonship 4:1-11
b. Passionate Personal Appeal 4:12-20
c. Children of the flesh verses Children of the promise 4:21-31
C. The gospel of grace applied 5:1-12
1. Christ freed us to live in freedom 5:1
1—Keep on standing firm
2—Stop being held fast in a yoke of slavery
2. Trusting law keeping, keeps you from experiencing Christ 5:2-4
• Christ will be of no benefit or value to you.
• You have been severed from Christ.
• You have fallen from grace.
To approach God or try to gain acceptance on the basis of our performance rather than his promise is to walk outside of the God-ordained states of blessing. When God declares the source of blessing to be in Christ and we seek fulfillment or acceptance from trying to keep rules and practice ritual, at that point Christ is of no benefit, we operate from a different set of principles other than Christ and we loose our grip on grace. Amazing grace how sweet the sound that not only saved a wretch like me but keeps a saint like me a saint.
I am afraid that we too often loose our grip on grace. Grace focuses on God’s promise. It is totally God-centered. Works focuses on man’s performance. It is totally man-centered. Any time we put man’s puny performance against God’s eternal promise we come up woefully short of the glory of God. It is Christ IN us the ONLY hope of glory. You cannot cling to law and grace at the same time. You must cling to one and release your grip on the other. It is impossible to receive Christ, thereby acknowledging that you cannot save yourself, and then receive circumcision or any other ceremonial rite, thereby claiming that you can.
3. The true Christian lives by faith 5:5-6
For we through the Spirit, by faith, are waiting for the hope of righteousness. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything, but faith working through love.
Here, Paul moves from the negative to the positive. As opposed to through the flesh by works working for righteousness, the true Christian through the Spirit by faith waits for righteousness as promised by God. Christ is all we need. Faith in Christ is the central issue. It is not ceremony or ritual or religion.
To add anything to the work that Christ did on the cross implies that Christ’s work was not enough; something must be added. We again lapse into a man centered teaching rather than a God centered teaching. Christ supplemented is Christ supplanted. Christ alone is sufficient to win and keep those he calls and present them blameless before the Father. The Christian life is not working for righteousness but waiting for righteousness . Romans indicates a passionate groaning in regard to our redemption. Both the saints and creation itself groan in hopeful anticipation of the revealing of the sons of glory. The Christian life revolves around belief in the promise of God. It is trusting God’s promise not our performance. So often we, like Abraham, try to bring about God’s eternal promise by our external performance. We feel like God needs our help. We attempt to bring about eternal purposes by mortal process. God urges us through Paul to spread the wings of faith which enable us to rise above the circumstances and temptations of life, while continually looking to Jesus the author and finisher of our faith.
Remember the wing illustration? We are given functional wings upon salvation sufficient to overcome the law of gravity or sin and death by the law of faith or life in Christ. God intends us to fly above the flesh by engaging the wings supplied at salvation. Paul resolutely resists the teaching that if we do enough bird things we will become birds.
If we concentrate on doing the law we will become righteousness. What we need is complete transformation not superficial conformity. To try to keep the divine law without the divine nature is like trying to fly by flapping your arms. No matter how hard you try, you are not going to fly! When God through his promise grants us to be partakers of the divine nature, we will by nature keep the divine law.
Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord; seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence. For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, in order that by them you might become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust. 2 Peter 1:2-4
It doesn’t say he granted precious and magnificent laws that by them you might live them. He grants promise in order that we might become partakers of the divine nature having been given the freedom to fly above the corruption that is in the world by lust. This new live is experienced by continual faith in Christ to do what we cannot. We now have a choice. Live on the ground in conformity with the world because you refuse or neglect to use your wings or soar in the heavenlies in communion with Christ. Paul reminds these dear deluded believers that life for the Christian is not working for righteousness but waiting on God, trusting God, believing God to make us righteousness. Isaiah 40:28-31
The point of the Christian walk is to walk in the newness Spirit and not fulfill the desires of the old flesh. Become a bird and cultivate the capabilities of the Bird. The eagle can only fly if it uses its wings. The Christian, the child of God can only live righteously by using the God-given wings.
In chapter 5:7-12 Paul expressed his passionate disapproval of those who robbed these believers of the daily experience of their freedom in Christ.
4. God will judge the false teachers 5:7-12
In his next section, Paul describes life above the clouds. This is the subject of the final sections in Paul’s letter to the churches of Galatia.
III. Paul Presented the Correct Conduct of life in Christ 5:13-6:10
Paul draws attention to four basic areas concerning life above the clouds.
Life lived according to the Spirit of life in Christ continually seeks to:
1 – Serve, not swallow one another 5:13-15
2 – Submit to the Spirit not the flesh 5:16-26
3 – Restore and bear one another’s burdens 6:1-5
4 – Sow to the Spirit not to the flesh by sharing 6:6-11
People of the earth swallow one another. People of the heavenlies serve one another.
A. Eagles Serve not swallow one another
For you were called to freedom, brethren; only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. For the whole Law is fulfilled in one word, in the statement, "YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF." But if you bite and devour one another, take care lest you be consumed by one another. Galatians 5:13-15
Notice the four points to be observed in this paragraph.
Reality – you were called to freedom.
Restriction – don’t allow the flesh an opportunity
Regulation – Serve one another through love
Reason – Love fulfills the law
Warning – If you continue to bite and devour, be careful you aren’t consumed.
REALITY
Paul reminds them again of their calling to freedom. The Word means to call, or invite. We were invited to freedom. We are no longer held in bondage to keep the law in order to live. The demands of the law have been met by Christ for us.
There are now two choices.
1 – Use our freedom to fly in the heavenlies and develop as an eagle.
2 – Use our freedom to stay on the ground and live like a turkey.
RESTRICTION
Paul admonishes them for applying their sense of freedom to submit themselves as slaves to lust through selfishness and advocates applying their new freedom as slaves to one another through love. Don’t use you freedom as an opportunity, impulse, inclination, stimulus, occasion of the flesh to manifest the old way of living based on selfishness. Philip. 3:18-21
REGULATION
BUT Continually serve another through love.
This is a present tense imperative or command to slave. It is a word that always indicates some kind of compulsory service.
Slaves were completely subject to the master.
Slaves continually subordinated their desires and needs to the desires of the master.
Slaves worked without the motivation of special compensation.
Slaves operated according to the master’s agenda and dream.
Slaves could only effective serve one master at a time.
Christ Himself came to serve not to serve. Paul encourages us to do the same.
Philip. 2:1-4 Romans 15:1-3
Be continually serving one another as a slave.
Will you use you newly granted freedom and power to serve the flesh and self or serve one another? Verse 14 explains why.
For the whole Law is fulfilled in one word, in the statement, "YOU WILL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.
This a future tense verb looking to the one who truly experiences divine transformation not human conformation. This regenerated person will truly (prophetic?) love their neighbor as themselves. This kind of love is the core of the transformed life. It is the foundation of God’s character. If we are sons of God… If we are being transformed to the nature of Christ… If we are partakers of the divine nature… Then we will love like God loves.
Since the law is an expression of God’s character… Since God is love… Then loving our neighbor as ourselves is a fulfillment of the Law. And who is our neighbor? According to Jesus in the parable of the good Samaritan, anyone who God puts in our path with a need we are able to address. We are instructed by God to make ourselves available as slaves to one another. Concerned for the needs of other before us. Serve without expectation of special recognition or compensation. Serve without selfish motive but for the growth of others.
APPLICATION
I can’t help but stop here and contemplate the gravity of this instruction. My assumption is that we don’t go out and try to do this in order to be acceptable to God. If we do that, we have fallen into the same bondage that Paul was trying to warn against. I understand God to say that if we are by faith allowing Him to transform us into the image of Christ, then we will love like Christ loved. If we are soaring in the heavenlies rather than groveling in the dirt, serving one another will be a core value. Is it our core value or is being served our core value? Are we more concerned about how we feel, our fulfillment, our reputation, our comfort, our enhancement, our happiness, our healing, our success, our advancement, our emotional welfare, our place in the church than we are about the needs of those around us? If we cannot wholeheartedly declare, “YES!”, I would not suggest working harder but waiting more intently and crying out to God for His transforming power to love like Christ loved. Failure to love like Christ is a failure to employ the wings of love that come with salvation. We have failed to sow to the spirit and have returned to living on the ground with our wings folded. Sacrificial love characterizes the people who soar in the heavenlies. Voluntary slavery to the needs and development of others marks the saint living by faith.
WARNING
" But if you bite and devour one another, take care lest you be consumed by one another.”
Paul employs the 1st class condition here which assumes the statement to be true or “since”
Since you bite and devour one another, watch our or you will cease to be a force of impact in your community. Paul draws attention to the devastating results of focusing on law. When we become so focused on keeping the law, we forget about serving one another in love. We take on a role as judge rather than as a servant. We become self focused rather than God-focused and others focused. The words “bite” and “devour” paint the picture of wild animals attacking one another.
FIRST
The intent is to devour for self gratification, self-promotion. How often in the church do we bite and devour in order to fulfill our own desires? We become fault finders rather than body builders because it makes us feel and look better.
SECOND
The intent may be to hurt.
THIRD
The intent may be to protect one’s self.
The point Paul makes is that if this kind of relating is allowed to go on, there will be no church left. Take care lest you be consumed by each other. Picture of the two proverbial snakes who bit each other by the tail and swallowed one another.
APPLICATION
1-- Are you a committed slave of the body of Christ? If not, will you?
Commitment to serve.
Commitment to minister.
Commitment to give.
Commitment to pray.
Commitment to work.
Commitment to go.
Commitment to touch.
Commitment to communicate.
Commitment to love.
Commitment to encourage.
Commitment to forgive.
Commitment to work together toward common purposes rather than selfish agendas
Commitment to move towards.
These are the things God is committed to do on our behalf.
If live by faith in Him, these are the things we will do as part of our divine nature.
2 – Are you guilty of biting and devouring? If so, will you make it right?
Failure to forgive.
Hurtful words and actions.
Unrealistic expectations to be served rather than serve.
Indifference to needs.
Tearing down instead of building up.
Selfish attitudes.
Angry words and actions.
Built up bitterness.
Refusal to serve.
Judgmental attitudes because someone didn’t do things just right.
Let no worthless word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, that it may give grace to those who hear. Ephes. 4:29
I can’t help but wonder who much bearing some of these unresolved issues have on the stalemated state of Chico for the past several years.
If we sow to the flesh we will reap corruption. If we sow to the spirit, we will reap eternal life.
Don’t you long for eternal life? Don’t you long to see us a church soar like eagles? Don’t you long to see what God will do with a people committed to by faith soar in the heavenlies?
Remember
• God called you to live free.
• Don’t use your freedom in Christ to become slaves to the flesh.
• Use your freedom to become slaves to one another in the name of Christ.
• When you truly love, you fulfill the whole law.
• If you continue to hurt one another and selfishly use one another, be careful! One day our impact as a body here will come to an end.
Action POINT – WHAT DOES GOD WANT ME TO DO?
