Gospel-Centered Community: Belonging
Galatians 2
(If you feel this sermon is helpful, you are welcome to visit www.danachau.com for a free online course.)
This morning, we continue with Paul’s letter to the Christians in Galatia. Galatia is a region of modern-day Turkey. Paul established a group of churches in Galatia. We read in the book of Acts 16 and 18 about his ministry in Galatia.
Paul’s purpose for writing to the Galatians can be summed up in this: To define and to defend the Gospel or good news of Jesus Christ. And this is the Gospel or Good News of Jesus Christ - God sent Jesus to die on the cross to pay the penalty for our sin, and Jesus rose from the dead to provide eternal life with God. Paid and provided. These are words of good news.
Many people have heard that God gave Jesus to pay for their sin and to provide eternal life. Many even believe this. But Paul wants the Galatians and us to understand how this good news affects a person’s relationship with God and with one another in community.
Paul writes in Galatians 1 that God initiated a relationship with Paul. Paul tells his story of how God came into his life on the road to Damascus. You can read the details in Acts 9. God reached out to Paul with forgiveness. And that became the good news that defined Paul and his relationships.
Pastor Alex brought to us the first message in our Galatians series, gospel centered community: identity. The Gospel was Paul’s defining moment. Paul’s Identity. And if we have had a Christ encounter defining moment, it is our identity as well.
This morning we will be looking at gospel centered community: belonging. How the gospel makes us acceptable to God and to God’s family, the church. The church is what I mean by Gospel-centered community.
Our text is Galatians 2. (READ)
The big idea for this message is this: What makes us acceptable to God should be enough to make us acceptable to God’s church. But here is the problem. People often add to what God requires to be acceptable or to belong to God’s church.
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/pieces-mind/201403/create-sense-belonging
Psychology Today noted, “Having a sense of belonging is a common experience. Belonging means acceptance as a member or part. Such a simple word for a huge concept. A sense of belonging is a human need, just like the need for food and shelter. Feeling that you belong is most important in seeing value in life and in coping with intensely painful emotions. Some find belonging in a church, some with friends, some with family, and some on Twitter or other social media. Some see themselves as connected only to one or two people. Others believe and feel a connection to all people the world over, to humanity.”
First we will look at what belonging to a gospel centered community is not based on. Then we will close by looking at what belonging to a gospel centered community is based on. Let’s look together.
First, Belonging to a GCC is not based on cultural criteria - vs. 1-5
After Paul left Galatia, some Jewish teachers came to Galatia and taught that in order to be accepted by God and belong to God’s family, Christians must keep the Old Testament Jewish law. This included circumcision of men. But the Galatian Christians were Gentiles, not Jews.
When Paul heard this, he became concerned. Paul was proud of his Jewish heritage, but he knew that God didn’t require Gentiles to become Jews in order to be acceptable to God. It would be similar to Americans requiring an immigrant to become an American citizen in order to be acceptable to God.
Paul pointed to Titus as an example of a Greek or non-Jew who received the gospel of Jesus Christ and was not compelled to be circumcised. Belonging to a GCC is not based on cultural criteria.
It’s good to appreciate the values or practices of one’s culture. In the Chinese culture, we value respect for elders, love for family and hard work. But it would be wrong to make these practices criteria for being acceptable to God.
Over 10 years ago, I was asked by a Chinese parent to tell his daughter that to marry a different race is unacceptable to God. His daughter was dating a non-Chinese man. He based whether something was acceptable to God on a cultural criteria.
Numbers 12:1-2, 4-5, 9 “Miriam and Aaron began to talk against Moses because of his Cushite wife, for he had married a Cushite [Ethiopian]. "Has the LORD spoken only through Moses?" they asked. "Hasn't he also spoken through us?" And the LORD heard this…..
“At once the LORD said to Moses, Aaron and Miriam, "Come out to the Tent of Meeting, all three of you." So the three of them came out. Then the LORD came down in a pillar of cloud; he stood at the entrance to the Tent and summoned Aaron and Miriam. When both of them stepped forward,… The anger of the LORD burned against them, and he left them.”
God was not upset at Moses’ interracial marriage. God was upset at Miriam and Aaron’s racial prejudice. Interracial marriage is acceptable to God. Racial discrimination is unacceptable to God.
Here is a good question to ask before introducing a criteria as a basis for whether something is acceptable to God. Is this a cultural criteria or a biblical criteria? Belonging to a GCC is not based on cultural criteria.
Second, Belonging to a GCC is not based on political power - vs. 6-14
We are Not talking about voting or election but influence within an institution or Community. We see political power take the form of peer pressure in these verses. Peter gave into the pressure of the Jewish Christians. Peter wanted to please the Jewish Christians by separating from the Gentile Christians.
Someone put it this way: “I think of church politics as a person or people who choose what they say or how they behave in order to gain an advantage or leverage others to get their own way.”
Dan Reiland, a pastor’s coach, wrote in his blog about “How to Break Free from Church Politics”. His 5 practices are
1) Never put your leadership up for sale
Don’t give into financial or other pressure
2) Insist on a culture of no pretense
Be authentic and transparent
3) Refuse to engage in gossip
Refuse to talk behind another person’s back
4) Commit to being part of the solution
Help solve the problem rather than make it worse.
5) Remain fiercely aligned to the mission
set aside personal agendas for the sake of reaching more people for Jesus.
Political power can come from manipulating with money, title, knowledge, seniority and relationships. But that’s not the case I have seen In our church. I’ve seen people with money be generous. People with titles serve. People with knowledge teach. People with seniority mentor. People with relationships be hospitable. Belonging to a GCC is not based on political power.
Third, Belonging to a GCC is not based on a behavioral badge - vs. 15-19
Paul says that obedience to God‘s law does not make us acceptable to God. Here’s why. Because none of us can obey all of God’s laws. We are by nature sinners and law breakers.
A pastor friend of mine says, “I can be good, but I just can’t be good enough long enough.“ We may get a behavior badge for behaving well from time to time but all of us can star in an episode of people behaving badly.
I remember the first year of my becoming a Christian. I received Jesus Christ over 20 times. Because in between each time I received Jesus, I behaved badly. I didn’t understand it was based on his goodness Not my goodness that makes me acceptable to God.
Some people think that there are many ways to be accepted by God. Muslims have their way. Hindus have their way. Jews have their way. Tribal people have their way. Christians have their way.
Actually there are only two ways. Depending on one’s own effort and goodness. Or depending on God’s finished work on the Cross and goodness.
Steve Brown wrote, “The greatest danger for the Christian is not your sin...It is a reversion to the law. We are loved unconditionally and Jesus Christ’s blood is sufficient, but we revert to ‘Jesus died for me and now I have to be good and work hard…’ Don’t run to the law to fix anything. The law drives us to Jesus Christ. And, in Him, you’ll find unconditional love and mercy.” Belonging to a GCC is not based on a behavioral badge.
Fourth, Belonging to a GCC is based on a radical relationship - vs. 20-21
Paul says God justified us or made us acceptable to himself by dying in our place to pay the penalty for our sins and to live in us forever. We've heard this good news so many times that it’s become old news. We don’t recognize how radical this relationship we have with God.
When I was a campus minister at UC Davis, I met a young Japanese engineering student from a Buddhist background. He eventually became a Christian. And he had a lot of questions.
One day over lunch, he asked me the question, “If believing in Jesus is the only way to be accepted by God, what about the Old Testament people? Jesus had not yet come. How did they get right with God?”
I said, “The same way we do. Now not everyone knows God’s specific payment plan. Not everyone knows God would send His only Son to die on the cross to pay for our sins. But if they trusted God to provide the payment, they would be accepted by God.”
Paul wrote in Galatians 3:6, 8, 9, “Consider Abraham: ‘He believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.’ …The Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: "All nations will be blessed through you.’ So those who have faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.”
I asked him: If I say to you, “I’ll pay for your lunch.” and you trust me. Would you get more credit for trusting me if I say, “I’ll pay for your lunch with my MasterCard.” Would you trust me more if I use cash or Visa?
Now paying with your life for someone else’s sin is a whole lot more radical than paying with cash for someone else’s lunch. But you get the idea.
How can people be acceptable to God, if they’ve never heard about Jesus? They put their trust in God to make the way, to pay the price. Even if they don’t know God’s specific payment plan.
There is only one way to be accepted by God. There is no other way. Trust God to pay for the penalty for our sin. Now we even know what God used as payment: Jesus
The big idea for this message is this: What makes us acceptable to God should be enough to make us acceptable to God’s church.
(If you feel this sermon is helpful, you are welcome to visit www.danachau.com for a free online course.)
