I’m really enjoying my study and podcasts on Galatians. I’m gaining new insights into this New Testament book which has played such a powerful role in the life of the church. One of the most important things I’ve learned through my renewed studies is how important it is to understand Paul’s references to “the law” not as a moral code written on the consciences of all humanity but rather as God’s covenant made with His people, Israel, at Mount Sinai.
Understanding the law in this way is crucial to a proper understanding of the message of Galatians, and I’d like to share with you why that is true.
First, there is a moral law at work in our world, and yes, that moral law is a part of the Sinai covenant, the Ten Commandments being the prime example. But the issue in Galatians focuses not so much on moral law as it does on covenant standards designed to distinguish Israel from their pagan neighbors. Those covenant standards served as a reminder that Israel was distinct. Circumcision, regulations on food, religious festivals, all these things were meant to impress upon God’s people that they were different, distinct. And along with these specific cultural distinctions was God’s command to “be holy (separate, distinct) for I am holy.”
When those Jewish teachers arrived in Galatia, teaching the Gentile Christians there that they needed to be circumcised and adopt Israel’s Torah regulations given at Sinai, they were seeking to impose standards on these Gentiles that were no longer needed. Paul’s argument against this teaching is that these standards meant for Israel are no longer needed. Why? Because in this new age which began with the resurrection of Messiah, there is only one standard needed to distinguish God’s people - faith.
Moreover, Israel failed utterly in covenant observance. And it was Torah that prophesied this failure. Moses details this prophecy in the closing chapters of Deuteronomy.
External standards cannot make you and me holy. What makes us unique and different as God’s people is our faith. And only faith can bring about true obedience to God. This is why Paul says what he does in Romans 1:5: “Through him we received grace and apostleship to call all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith.” This verse is a commentary on Paul’s earlier letter to the Galatians. It singles out the one and only standard required for God’s people - faith.
Are you following me? I know a lot of you read these posts in the mornings, and they are generally meant to serve as devotionals for getting your day started off right. This post is different. You may need another cup of coffee, or you may even need to return and read it later. Anyway, as one of my Black Pastor friends likes to say in the conclusion of his sermons - “Let me see if I can bring this thing in for a landing!”
If we are ever going to reach people in this fast-changing culture, we must reject any standard that determines who a child of God is that is not based on faith and faith alone. I’ve mentioned this in a previous post, but Christianity is no longer sustained and grown through family conversions. In fact, the majority of children who grew up in church are leaving and never coming back. I can’t help but wonder if this is because they recognize the allegiance of the church to standards that ultimately have nothing to do with faith in Christ.
The Jews in Paul’s day had a clear advantage. The apostle talks about this in the second chapter of Romans when he refers to the Scriptures, which were the foundation of Jewish life and morality. The same thing is true for those of us raised in Christian homes. But in these days, when so many are not being raised in Christian homes, how can we expect them to look and act and think in the same way as us?
Don’t misunderstand me. I’m not talking about ignoring biblical morality as defined in both Old and New Testaments. Paul certainly did not, as evidenced by his letters to Gentile Christians who were, shall we say, morally challenged. But Paul understood that even these morally challenged Gentiles were saved and made into the image of Christ in one way only, by faith.
It’s going to take a lot of patient perseverance by mature Christians as we seek to make disciples of Jesus in our world today. And that patience will be seen in our steadfast refusal to substitute anything other than faith as the mark of a child of God.
I’ll conclude with a true story from a church in California during the 1970s. What has been referred to as the “Jesus Freak Revival” was going gangbusters, and many hippies were trusting Jesus as Lord and Savior. In one particular church, many of these new Christian hippies were young ladies whose idea of fashion was to dress as scantily and provocatively as possible. The truth is they didn’t know any better.
In an effort to deal with the issue, the leaders of the church came together to pray and ask God for guidance. Believing that a dress code or list of guidelines would hinder rather than help the growth of these new disciples, they decided to make their concern a matter of prayer, a private issue between the leaders of the church and God. Before long, they noticed a change in the dress of these new Christian women. Their provocative clothing was replaced with more moderate wear.
What happened? Why the change? It turns out that the relationships built between these newer Christians and the more mature women in the church had an unspoken but powerful influence on their lives.
Do you see it? Relationships built around a common faith in Jesus brings about the change that imposed standards could never bring. Bridges to Christian maturity are built through relationships, not imposed standards.
This, I think, is exactly what Jesus meant when he said that all the law and prophets are fulfilled when we love God and love others. Let’s love others into the kingdom of God. And let’s love others into the maturity found through a growing faith or trust in Jesus.
Thanks for taking the time to read this lengthy post.
In Christ,
Dan
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