April 11, 2010 (Galations 1-6)

Galatians is Paul's attempt to bring the people back to 'faith' and not 'works'. He is shocked that they are turning away from God and he warns them about being fooled by those who twist and change the truth concerning Christ. Below is one of the passages I have heard, and believe, but struggle to know how to really allow the 'application' of this verse to be real in my life:

^{Galatians 2:20} My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. ²¹ I do not treat the grace of God as meaningless. For if keeping the law could make us right with God, then there was no need for Christ to die.

I wish I could feel like Christ is living through me, but the reality is that my 'old self' is alive and well. This verse is probably one of the key verses in living the Christian life. Actually realizing that my 'old self' is dead. And it's dead because God says it's dead. And that's where faith comes in. Do I really believe that my 'old self' is dead and that I am 'no longer a slave to sin'? Paul will go into this again in Romans, as not only is it hard for me to grasp, it was hard for the Christians back then to grasp as well. I remember when I was first saved and heard sermons from men who talked about 'the exchanged life'. This is what they were talking about. They 'got it'. Paul's next admonishment to them is where I feel I am still:

^{Galatians 3:3} How foolish can you be? After starting your Christian lives in the Spirit, why are you now trying to become perfect by your own human effort?

And that's the dilema. I catch a glimpse of the way it is supposed to be - knowing I've been saved by faith. I remember that day well. All I did was believe - took God at His word, accepted the sacrifice of Christ for my sins, and gave my life to Him by faith. And I was changed. It wasn't because I went to church, or read my Bible every day, or did good for other people, it was because I believed. And now that I'm a believer I know He wants me to 'do' all those things I've listed above, but more than 'doing' he wants me to 'be' in Him. And we can only 'be' in Him as we spend time with Him and allow His Spirit free reign in our lives. And the thing that limits that is 'self'. And he addresses that:

^{Galatians 5:16} So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves. ¹⁷ The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Holy Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, and your choices are never free from this conflict. ¹⁸ But when you are directed by the Holy Spirit, you are no longer subject to the law.

¹⁹ When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impure thoughts, eagerness for lustful pleasure, ²⁰ idolatry, participation in demonic activity, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, ²¹ envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God.

²² But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!

²⁴ Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there. ²⁵ Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives. ²⁶ Let us not become conceited, or provoke one another, or be jealous of one another.

So there it is. A further explanation. And he closes with one last thought:

^{Galatians 6:14} As for me, may I never boast about anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Because of that cross, my interest in this world died long ago, and the world’s interest in me is also long dead. ¹⁵ It doesn’t matter whether we have been circumcised or not. What counts is whether we really have been changed into new and different people. ¹⁶ May God’s peace and mercy be upon all who live by this principle; they are the new people of God.

¹⁷ From now on, don’t let anyone trouble me with these things. For I bear on my body the scars that show I belong to Jesus.

So there it is. He got it, and because he got it he lived differently. So differently that those who were not Christians hated him, and hated him to the point of doing physical harm to him. But he counted it 'joy' that he could suffer for Christ.