POLARIZED
Text: Galatians 1:11 – 24
“One of the greatest political minds in America belonged to that of [South Carolina’s own] Lee Atwater [Harvey Leroy Atwater]. He was known for his keen political insight and for his questionable political techniques that would help his candidate win the election. Atwater considered politics to war. Obviously, this kind of life was meant only to please his candidate. His gospel was to win at any cost, and enemies made along the way were considered to be trophies collected during the political war.
One day, his world would come to a screeching halt. Atwater discovered that he had a malignant brain tumor. All of a sudden he saw life in a different light. In the remaining month of his life, he gave his heart to Christ. Lee Atwater began to share the gospel of Jesus Christ with whomever would listen (and a lot did). He also made it a point to repent for his political sins and went to each of his self-made enemies to ask for their forgiveness. It was not long after Atwater became a Christian where he left this world where the only politician is the Lord Himself, the Lord Jesus Christ.” (Practical Illustrations. Chattanooga: Leadership Ministries Worldwide, 2001, p. 9). The Apostle Paul had a lot in common with Lee Atwater, because he, too, made enemies. Some might even argue that Jim Croce’s song entitled Bad, Bad Leroy Brown was descriptive of Lee Atwater. There was no doubt that when it came to politics he seemed to be “meaner than a junk yard dog.” Others, called him the Darth Vader of politics.
No doubt, Lee Atwater turned over a new leaf. He was polarized. He was trying mend fences. Like Atwater, Paul had some of his own fences to mend. Both Paul and Atwater were controversial, both became polarized and became Christians.
RELIGIOUS CONVICTION
Controversy 1: Was Paul a Zealot or Pharisee?
1) I just recently read an article on an internet source known as Wikipedia where someone was making a case for Paul being a Zealot which is incorrect.
2) There can be no question that Paul was zealous prior to his conversion. That does not mean that Paul should be confused with the Zealots of his day.
3) In Paul’s day there were four known groups. First, There were the Sadducees. who according to Acts 23:8 say that there is no resurrection, nor angel, nor spirit. Secondly, there were Pharisees, who believed in resurrection according to Matthew 22:23. Thirdly, Essenes (who practiced self-denial for religious and spiritual reasons. Finally, there were the Zealots who were a party who professed great zeal for the observance of the “law.” According to Josephus (BJ, IV, iii, 9; v, 1; VII, viii, 1) they resorted to violence and assassination in their hatred of the foreigner,). (International Standard Bible Encyclopedia). Peter was a Zealot (as as mentioned four times in the New Testament (Matthew 10:4; Mark 3:18;
Luke 6:15; & Acts 1:13).
Controversy 2: Law or Grace?
Paul was a Pharisee by birth and belief. (Herbert Lockyer. All The Men Of The Bible. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1958, p. 26).
1) Until his conversion to Christianity Paul stood on the side of tradition and the law. After his conversion, Paul stood on the side of grace.
2) Paul mentions Paul mentions grace 84 times in the New Testament. Paul also mentions the law 101 times.
3) He also explains how Christians live under grace instead of under the law. Paul reminds elsewhere in the New Testament that “We are saved by grace through faith which is a gift from God” (Ephesians 2:8). Paul also reminds us in Galatians 3:10 that “For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them” (KJV). Galatians 3:24 -26 says “And so the Law was in charge of us until Christ came, in order that we might then be put right with God through faith. Now that the time for faith is here, the Law is no longer in charge of us. It is through faith that all of you are God's children in union with Christ Jesus” (GNB).
Controversy 3:
Persecutor or Persecuted?
When Paul was a persecutor of Christians, his name was Saul. Following his conversion, his name was changed to Paul. “The Latin word Paulus from which Paul’s name is derived means “little” or “small”. Tradition suggest that Paul was short in stature. Yet Paul had no Napoleonic complex. His ego was also small according to Ephesians 3:8.” (Dr. Robert Rayburn, Jeffrey Miller, J. Hampton Keathley III, with Mark Strauss. Galatians Thru Philemon: Simplified Bible Commentary Series. Volume 11. Urischville: Barbour Publishing, 2008, p. 54). Following his conversion, Paul went from being a persecutor of Christians to becoming a persecuted Christian. What changed him? As we mentioned earlier, it was God’s grace that changed him from thinking about the law as the only way to be right with God.
REVELATION
Alienation or Reconciliation?
1) People are either alienated from God or reconciled to God.
2) So what does revelation have to do with all this?
3) As someone ( Oscar Fisher Blackwelder) put it, ““Revelation to Paul meant not primarily knowledge about God but an act of God in self-revealing. God entered Paul’s life and took command. That is basically what revelation means for any man---Christ’s coming into the center of life and taking command”. (George Arthur Buttrick. ed. The Interpreter’s Bible. Volume 10. Thirty-fifth printing. Oscar Fisher Blackwelder. “The Epistle To The Galatians: Exposition.” Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1984, p. 454).
4) If God does not have complete command, then is it not possible that we are not completely reconciled? If we are not completely reconciled, then who is it that is holding us back? Is it God or us? Consider 2 Peter 3:9: “The Lord is not slow to do what he has promised, as some think. Instead, he is patient with you, because he does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants all to turn away from their sins” (GNB). Having read that scripture, we cannot say that God holds any one back. We have to surrender all!
Like Paul, or Atwater will the changes that we have made make a difference? Consider the origin of the Nobel peace Prize and the difference that it makes.
“Toward the end of the nineteenth century, Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel awoke one morning to read his own obituary in the local newspaper: “Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite who died yesterday, devised a way for more people to be killed in a war than ever before, and he died a very rich man.”
Actually, it was Alfred’s older brother who had died; a newspaper reporter bungled the epitaph.
But the account had a profound effect on Nobel. He decided he wanted to be known for something other than developing the means to kill people efficiently and for amassing a fortune in the process. So he initiated the Noble Prize, the award for scientists and writers who foster peace.
Nobel said, “Every man ought to have the chance to correct his epitaph in midstream and write a new one.
Few things will change us as much as looking at our lives as though they are finished”. (Craig B. Larson. ed. Illustrations For Preaching And Teaching. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1993). How well are we writing our epitaph in midstream? Would we have any regrets about things we left undone as a Christian disciple?
Paul was mission was to be a missionary to the Gentiles.
1) Paul was known for planting churches.
2) In fact, this was what God had called him to do. Like Jesus Paul, went to the Jews first and many of them rejected him just as they had Jesus. Consider what Paul said to them in Acts 13:46-47: “But Paul and Barnabas spoke out even more boldly: "It was necessary that the word of God should be spoken first to you. But since you reject it and do not consider yourselves worthy of eternal life, we will leave you and go to the Gentiles. For this is the commandment that the Lord has given us: 'I have made you a light for the Gentiles, so that all the world may be saved.' "(GNB).
3) So what was Paul’s Problem in Galatia? There were rival missionaries who sought to discredit Paul. As someone (Charles B. Cousar) said, “After the resurrection of Jesus, no single event effected the church’s history as did the call of Paul. … Not only is there subsequent in later history, there is also the bold mission to Greece and to the west, which while not solely Paul’s doing, nevertheless opened new frontiers for the expansion of Christianity.” (Charles B. Cousar. Interpretation: Galatians. Atlanta: John Knox Press, 1982, p. 29). Are we opening any new frontiers for the spreading of the gospel?
Like Paul, God wants reveal to us both His will and purpose in serving Him.
1) “On the wall of an ancient temple there is a picture of a king and a slave. The king is forging his crown into a chain. Nearby, the slave is forging his chains into a crown. One is creating bondage for himself. The other is finding deliverance from bondage. God offers us the choice of using our freedom to enslave ourselves or, through His grace to find deliverance”. (William P. Barker. Ed. Tarbell’s Teacher’s Guide. 89th Annual Volume. Elgin: David C. Cook Publishing Co., 1993, p. 228).
2) Like the Apostle Paul, Lee Atwater and many countless others, people will find that only God’s grace can make us new through Jesus Christ.
Once we have repented and become new creatures in Jesus Christ, God want us to use our talents for His service. Our purpose is this: “
God has work that he had prepared in advance for us to do” (Ephesians 2:10). Just as God’s chosen people (the Jews) were to be a light to the Gentiles (Isaiah 42:6), we are called to be the light of the world because of the light of Christ in us. Like the apostle Paul, we will have people who will try to discredit us, persecute or ridicule us.
Will others give God the glory because the godly changes that we have made? When you read Galatians 1:22 – 24 you cannot help but to notice that what we do matters perhaps more than what we say. After all, words speak louder than verbs! Consider an example from Chinese culture. ….
“As a society, China lacks the spirit of apologizing,” says Zhou Xiaozheng, a sociology professor at people’s University in China. That difficulty has given rise to the Tianjin Apology and Gift Center, a company that delivers apologies and attempts to facilitate reconciliation. The company’s motto is “We Say Sorry for You.”
An apology in China involves a formal procedure and is a very stressful process for all concerned. Hence Zhou isn’t sure how long the Tianjin Apology and Gift Center will last. “In our increasingly commercialized society, people have the idea that you can pay money to others to do your work for you, and that includes apologizing,” he says. “But if you are sincere, you should go and apologize by yourself.”
— Elisabeth Rosenthal, “For a Fee, Chinese Firm Will Beg Pardon for Anyone,” The New York Times (January 3, 2001).
How can we help the church to grow within our own community if we have not made the changes we need for our own growth? What do others in the community say about us? That should be a litmus test for us. At the Bishop’s Bash back in the Spring of this year our Bishop, Jonathon Holston made a point about how others might see a church in any given community. He tells the story of newcomers who were curious about a church in their neighborhood. They asked a person from that community in a store about that church. All the guy could think of was “that church has nice windows”. The point that the Bishop was making is that others should know about the churches in their communities by the way that they love! Our mission is to make disciples and we cannot do that without love! Is our love as disciples more than words? Do others praise God because of our witness?
Paul made necessary changes. Lee Atwater made necessary changes. Albert Noble made necessary changes. Have we made all the necessary changes we need to make? What would have happened if Paul had not made those necessary changes? What will happen to us if we do not always work on the necessary changes we need to make? Our work at polarizing from the necessary changes we need to make will not stop until like Paul we finish our race. In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
