Back in the early part of the 20th century some architects in Washington
began to visualize how the Jefferson Memorial ought to
look from across the lake when reflected in the water. They decided
it would be best to cut down the fringe of cherry trees that
threatened to obscure the view. A group of women in Washington
heard about it and dedicated themselves to protect those trees given
to our nation by Mr. Ozaki of Japan. They were so outraged at the
scandalous sacrilege of destroying such beauty that they actually
went to the scene and tied themselves to the trees with robes and
chains. The architects were awed, and the woodchoppers were
scared stiff. Margaret Applegarth in reporting on this story
concluded, "The city was charmed by the uproar. And of course the
cherry trees themselves bloomed safely from April to April, year
after year."
The Apostle Paul could have read a story like that with a great
deal of appreciation, for the emotions of those women must have
been very much like Paul's emotions as he wrote to the Galatians.
Some crack pot officials have come into the church in Galatia with
the intention of cutting down the tree of life. That is, they planned
to remove the cross of Christ from its central place in Christianity.
It seems that to them it was obscuring the view of the law. Just as
the Washington officials wanted to remove the living beauty of the
cherry trees to keep the cold dead stone of the memorial in view, so
the Jewish officials of Paul's day wanted to remove the real roses of
redemption by grace, and the living lilies of liberty in Christ, in
order to keep the cold dead stones of the law in view.
When Paul heard of this he was as outraged as were those
sensitive and sensible ladies in Washington. He is angry with the
Judaizers and amazed at the Galatians for listening to their false
gospel. In verse 6 we see Paul expressing his first negative emotion
in this letter. It is translated by a variety of words. Some have it, "I
am amazed." Others have, "I am astonished, I marvel," and one
has it, "I am dumb founded." Paul just cannot comprehend the profound
folly that would lead men to exchange liberty for bondage.
It is beyond him how people can, without threat and compulsion, but
voluntarily give up the Gospel of grace for the gospel of law, which
he says is no gospel at all.
Paul has suddenly become aware that even Christians can be
very fickle, and they can waver from a position of stability so easily.
It is good that he discovered this, for now it is a matter of public
record, and all Christians are thereby informed.
Christians can develop along two different lines in their thinking
and attitudes. They can become so vacillating and variable that they
are tossed about by every wind of doctrine that comes along, or they
can develop along the lines of a steady, settled and unwavering
stability. In this context we want to consider Paul's condemnation of
the one and his call to the other. Consider first-
I. THE CONDEMNATION OF THE SPIRIT OF FICKLENESS.
The fickle persons are those who allow their emotions to be their
guide. This leaves them with a very unreliable guide, for emotions
can be so unstable and inconsistent. I have watched clever salesman
demonstrate a potato peeler or tomato cutter with such skill and
efficiency that I felt like buying one even though I didn't need it. My
emotions were captivated by a job well done. The cults operate on
this same basis. They know well what they have to offer, and it
sounds so good to seeking hearts. Many are captivated by the skill
and efficiency of their presentation. The Judaisers were men who
were skilled in the law, and they could make a deep impression on
those who were not educated as they were. They were successful
because there are so many people who have a fickle spirit. They
commit themselves to one thing this year, and next year they are off
in a totally different direction. They are always being moved by
their emotions to go in new directions.
Joseph Parker wrote, "We are amazed at fickle religious people,
because they make such fools of themselves. They are always
finding some new little pieces of paper on which there is written
something they cannot make out, but which perfectly entrances
them by the brilliance of its genius." Such people are consistently
inconsistent, and they are like sitting ducks for all the cults and
religious racketeers who make a fortune selling religious junk and
secret formulas for instant happiness. Paul has to fight this fickle
spirit in Christians constantly, and he urges, "Be ye steadfast and
unmovable."
Paul was amazed that anyone could be so unstable as to forsake
the solid rock of the Gospel for the quicksand of the law. Such a
spirit of fickleness makes building a solid life in Christ impossible.
He would have said amen to Byron's lines:
I hate inconstancy-I loathe, detest,
Abhor, condemn, abjure the mortal made
Of such quicksilver clay that in his breast
No permanent foundation can be laid.
Paul, and all of the writers of Scripture condemn the wavering
and inconsistent spirit of fickleness. The only way to avoid this
defect in human nature is to give heed to his second point.
II. THE CALL TO THE SPIRIT OF FIRMNESS.
Stability is an absolute essential for building a Christian life
pleasing to God. The Gospel of salvation by faith in Christ is the
Rock on which a Christian must build. It is so solid and
unchangeable that nothing is to be allowed to alter our confidence in
it. If an angel appeared to you and told you there is another way to
be saved apart from faith in Christ, Paul says we are not to believe
it. He says any with that message are to be cursed. Paul is using
strong language because he wants it to be clear that no one could
possibly miss his point.
The Gospel of Christ is absolutely unchangeable. When Jesus
said from the cross, "It is finished," the foundation was firmly laid
forever, and nothing in the universe can change it. Paul believed in
change, and he was a man who loved variety and new methods. He
could be all things to all men, but he had a foundation that never
varied. A person who cannot stand change is doomed to be very
unhappy, but the person who does not have a stable unchanging
foundation is doomed to be even more miserable. Those who are
free to enjoy change most are those who know there are some things
that will never change.
The ideal Christian is one who can fit in well in almost every
setting and be amazingly flexible in relation to people and issues,
and yet never leave the slightest doubt as to their loyalty to the
Lordship of Christ. Nothing could separate Paul from the love of
Christ, and nothing could cause him to deviate to making Christ
central in all He did and taught. The stable Christian is a
Christ-centered Christian. This is where the Galatians were failing.
They were taking their eyes off Christ and His cross, and they were
listening to the clever appeals of men. What happened to them
explains why Jesus instituted the Lord's Supper to be perpetually
observed until He comes again. Jesus knew about the fickle spirit of
man and his ability to forget. He said, "Do this in remembrance of
me," because he knew that history would be filled with appeals to
make something other than His death the foundation of faith.
No one ever risked their life to get the works of other great
authors into the hands of the lost people of world, but many have
laid down their lives to get the message of Christ's death for man's
sin into the hands of people all over the world. The poet has Christ
asking:
Canst thou love me when creeds are breaking,
Old landmarks shaking
On earth and sea?
Canst thou restrain the earth from quaking,
And rest thy heart in me?
Millions of stable believers in troubled times all through the
centuries have answered by their steadfast love and loyalty, "Yes!"
Helen Keller said our worst foes are not belligerent circumstances
but wavering spirits." May God help us, as we focus again on the
cross, to be people who build on the solid rock foundation of loyalty
to Christ, and thereby be always striving for stability.
