What Is Hindering The Church
Galatians 5:1-15
“Ye did run well, who did hinder you?”
The apostle Paul was very fond of athletic illustrations and used them often in his letters. His readers as well were familiar with the Olympic games and contest that always included foot races. It is important to note that Paul never uses the image of the race to tell people how to be saved. He uses the illustration of the race to inform Christians about how to live the Christian life. A contestant in the Greek games had to be a citizen before he could compete int he races. We do not run in order to be saved, but we run the because we are saved.
YOU DID RUN WELL! In the races, each runner was to stay in his assigned lane, but some runners would cut in on their competitors to try to get them off course. The word “hinder” is an Olympic expression, and properly signifies coming across the course while a person is running in it, in such a manner as to jostle, and throw him out of the way. Paul asks, with emphasis, who it could have been that retarded them in their Christian course.
I. A PERSONALLY RUN RACE!
II. A PROPERLY RUN RACE!
A. A Focused Life
B. A Faithful Life
C. A Fruitful Life
III. A POORLY RUN RACE!
The local church is built of individuals runners. Do you a hinder the others runners who are in the race or desire to be in the race? What can hinder others who are in the race or desire to be in the race?
I. UNCONTROLLED SPEECH hinders the church (5:15)
The quickest way to destroy the spirituality of a church, and to annihilate its influence, is to excite a spirit of uncontrolled speech. Our speech can hinder or help; bless or blight.
The first thing some people do in the morning is to brush their teeth and sharpen their tongue.
The sins of the tongue are varied and numerous: idle and injurious gossip, hurtful faultfinding, slander, lying, destructive criticism, and fleshly boasting just to name a few. Proverbs 11:9 declares “An hypocrite with his mouth destroyeth his neighbour”
See James 1:26. If a man does not restrain his tongue, other evidences of religion are worthless. A man may undoubtedly have many things in his character which seem to be evidences of the existence of religion in his heart, and yet there is just one thing that shall show all those evidences are false.
Uncontrolled speech often wrecks havoc in the church.
A. Uncontrolled speech harms our worship.
B. Uncontrolled speech hurts our witness (James 3:10-12).
C. Uncontrolled speech helps the wicked one. See Revelation 12:10
“The tongue is the principal instrument in the cause of God; and it is the chief engine of the devil; give him this, and he asks no more -- there is no mischief or misery he will not accomplish by it.”
Proverbs 10:19 A GREAT TALKER IS USUALLY A GREAT LIAR!
Proverbs 18:21 “Death and life are in the power of the tongue.”
A slip of the foot you may soon recover,
But a slip of the tongue you may never get over. – Benjamin Franklin
James 1:19 “Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath:”
“Man’s ears aren’t made to shut, but his mouth is.”
Psalm 141:3 and Psalm 19:14
II. UNYIELDING SERVANTS hinder the church
(Galatians 5:17)
Live under the influences of the Holy Spirit; admit those influences fully into your hearts. Do not resist Him, but yield to Him.
Be filled with the Holy Spirit. Yield to the control of the Holy Sprit.
So much work is done without our yielding to the Holy Spirit of God. So much work for God is done through the flesh instead of the Holy Spirit of God.
Doing God’s work in the flesh boils down to depending on our influence, personality, gifts, natural resources, education, and experience. God’s work should be done under the direction of and in the power of the Holy Spirit. The church is hindered when we operate without yielding to the Spirit of God and depending on Him.
The filling of the Spirit will affect our:
A. Witnessing (Acts 1:8)
B. Worship
We will be delivered from the , dry, dull, dormant services that exist in most services.
C. Work
The Holy Spirit is present in every believer, prominent in some believers, but he is only pre-eminent in a few believers
An evangelist had a lovely wife and two beautiful daughters whom he loved dearly. It hurt him every time he had to leave them for his meetings.
One day he came home while the s were in school and he was at home seated in his favorite chair as the s came running into the house. The older daughter spotted him first, and she ran quickly to him and threw her arms around him and shouted, “I have all of daddy. “ Her words made the younger cry. So her father threw open his arms and motioned for her to come to him. She came as fast as she could , and as her daddy pressed her to his heart she said to her sister, “You may have all of daddy, but daddy has got all of me.”
You have all of the Holy Spirit if you are saved, but the question is does He have all of you?
III. UNSYMPATHETIC SAINTS hinder the church (6: 1,2)
A pastor once commented, “If I ever fall into sin, I pray that I don’t fall into the hands of those censorious, critical judges in the church. Let me fall into the hands of barkeepers, streetwalkers, or dope peddlers, because some church people would tear me aprat with their long, wagging, gossiping tongues, cutting me to shreds.”
Far too many believers in the church are suspicious and inquisitive about others.
Far too many add to the burdens of others instead of bearing their burdens. They tell others about the sad news of a fallen brother so that “they can pray more intelligently,” and then they condemn the fallen brother for not being more spiritual.
John 13:35 and I John 4:20
A. Unsympathetic saints delight Satan
B. Unsympathetic saints doom sinners - Jude 22
C. Unsympathetic saints en services
D. Unsympathetic saints discourage servants
E. Unsympathetic saints dissatisfy the Saviour
III. UNIDENTIFIED SERVICE hinders the church (6:17)
Paul cared nothing for the marks in his flesh which proved him to be a Jew, he valued far more those scars which he had received while engaged in the service of Jesus; these he looked upon as being the Lord’s brand upon him, like the ear mark which was received by a Hebrew servant when he resolved to abide with his master for life.
The scars of the wounds he had received were due to his identification.
A. Identified with the church (Galatians 1:2)
Paul spoke often of the church. Paul’s epistles identified him with the church.
Paul spoke highly of the church. You do not find Paul speaking lightly of the church. Paul recognized the importance of the church!
B. Identified with the cross
(Galatians 6:14)
C. Identified with a cause
(Galatians 2:11-21)
Peter was hindering the cause of the gospel by his inconsistency.
See Romans 1:14-16
1. Paul was faithful to his obligation with the Gospel of Christ
“I am a debtor”
2. Paul was flexible to his opportunities with the Gospel of Christ
“I am ready”
3. Paul was fearless to his opposition of the Gospel of Christ
“I am not ashamed”
Conclusion:
Are you hindering the church? We should commend, attend, and defend the church and not hinder the church!
