In the time they had been with him, Jesus’ disciples had witnessed some extraordinary things. This man, Jesus, had brought a new kind of teaching, a teaching ‘with authority’ (1:27); he had cast out demons; he had healed Peter’s mother-in-law, a paralytic and many others who were sick. Mark records the reaction of the crowds:

This amazed everyone and they praised God, saying, “We have never seen anything like this!” (Mark 2:12)

But there was also a growing opposition. More and more, Jesus was coming into conflict with the teachers of the law, the Pharisees. This all came to a head in the latter part of chapter 3. The Pharisees came together to accuse Jesus of being in league with Satan. They were so persuasive that even Jesus’ own family were convinced that, at the least, Jesus must be out of his mind (3:21).

I can only imagine that this would have been troubling for Jesus’ disciples. The Pharisees were respected members of the community, who were charged with teaching God’s word. Can you imagine if all the doctors in the community came together to tell you that the medicine that had healed you was poison; or if the police told you that the man you were hanging out with was a charlatan and a fraud? You might be starting to get a picture of how conflicted the disciples would have been. On the one hand, Jesus had called them, was their teacher and friend; they knew that following him was the right thing to do. But wasn’t it the Pharisees’ job to know about religious things? They said that Jesus was not sent by God but by the devil. And if not even Jesus’ own family believed in him… ? If Jesus was really a messenger from God, a reliable teacher and prophet, then why was there such opposition?

It is in this context that Jesus teaches this parable of the sower. And it is for this reason that I believe Jesus intends for his disciples to identify Jesus (and ultimately themselves as well, as they follow in their master’s footsteps) as the sower in this parable. So this morning we will largely focus on the role of the sower under three headings: (1) the sower goes out to sow; (2) the sower sows generously, in spite of opposition; and (3) the sower sows expecting a great harvest.

The sower goes out to sow

The first point to be made about the work of the sower is found in v. 3.

A farmer went out to sow his seed. (Mark 4:3)

The NIV translators have chosen to use the word ‘farmer’ here, though this obscures the fact that the noun is closely related to the verb ‘to sow’.¹ For this reason, I prefer the ESV translation of this verse, which says, ‘A sower went out to sow.’ Though a farmer has many tasks – watering, harvesting, dealing with pests etc. – right now he is a sower. His job is to sow. That is his sole focus at this time. The time for harvesting will come later, but right now he must sow the seed for otherwise there will be no harvest.

This is consistent with Jesus’ own life and ministry. According to his own interpretation, the seed to be sown is ‘the word’ – the word of God. Wherever he went, he was always proclaiming the kingdom of God.

“The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!” (Mark 1:15)

He spoke with the authority of God, exercising command over sicknesses of body and spirit. He corrected the false teaching of God’s law, helping people to hear God’s word afresh. At the end of this chapter, Jesus will command the storm to still, and it will obey him.

But speaking God’s word was not Jesus’ responsibility alone. In chapter 6, Jesus will send the Twelve out to preach the word of God, to exercise authority over evil spirits and heal the sick. They will call people to repentance and will pronounce a curse on those who do not welcome them. Even now, Jesus is preparing them for that task, warning them that not everyone will respond to their message positively.

Friends, if you are a disciple of Jesus Christ, you are a sower of God’s word. You have your own field to sow: your family; your work; your soccer team; your friendships; your neighbours; your club; your mothers’ group; your political party. Wherever you are, whatever you are doing, you are called to be a sower who goes out to sow God’s word.

This is not limited to simple gospel presentations, though these will have their place. Perhaps your friend is having problems disciplining her children; or a colleague is dealing with conflict in the workplace. Maybe your neighbour has suffered great tragedy or your team-mate has broken up with his girlfriend. God’s wisdom has relevance to all of these circumstances, so why not sow it? And sow into the lives of those who are Christians as well, for we all need it.

Are you genuinely sowing God’s word into your life, and those around you? If not, ask God to show you by his Spirit how and where to begin today. For the sower must go out to sow if there is to be a harvest. It may seem obvious, but the role of a sower is to sow. If you are a disciple of Jesus, you are a sower and you too must sow God’s word.

The sower sows generously

As I read through Jesus’ parable, I am struck by how seemingly indiscriminate the sower is in where he sows his seed. Some falls on the path, some on rocky places, some on shallow soil. Surely the sower ought to know his field, and only sow in the places likely to yield a crop?

This is a farmer who is determined to sow right to the edges of his field. Every inch of fertile land must be planted, so that the maximum possible crop is achieved. He is not concerned about some seed being lost, because he has plenty of seed. If he doesn’t plant it, it will just sit in his barn and rot; it is only by planting the seed that he will see a harvest. So he sows generously, all over his land.

I hope that we have the same generosity in the way we sow the word of God. But I see two potential barriers.

Firstly, perhaps we do not have the ‘seed’ to sow. Where does that seed come from? It is the harvest of God’s word as sown and grown in our own lives. Perhaps you identify not so much with the sower as with the path. You feel like you’ve been walked all over for so long, there is not really room in you for God or his word. And so you will leave here this morning having rejected his command – perhaps not for the first time – to ‘listen’ (v. 3) and to ‘hear’ (v. 9). Or perhaps, like the rocky places, you hear God’s word and it excites you; the shallow but warm layer of soil on top of the rock allows for rapid growth. But there is still that rocky core, that part of your heart and mind where God and his word are not welcome – your pride, your relationships, your money, your sexuality, your identity. And when God’s word addresses those things your will choose them over him. Maybe you’re quite happy for God to do what he will with you, so long as it fits into your schedule, your ambitions, your desires, your plan. And so you find you have little or no grain, because all of your time and energy is being invested in secondary things.
If this sounds like you don’t despair, because there is hope… but it does not lie with you. Soil cannot change itself. Cry out to Jesus, asking him to deal with whatever prevents you from hearing and obeying God’s word. He can do it – just look at the Apostle Paul.

Ananias balked when he was called to go and sow the word of God into Paul’s life. He said,

“I have heard many reports about this man and all the harm he has done to your saints in Jerusalem. And he has come here with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on your name.” (Acts 9:13-14).

If ever there was soil that was rocky path, it was Paul! Yet the Lord responded with the astonishing claim that Paul was his ‘chosen instrument to carry [his] name before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel’ (Acts 9:15)! And talk about about a harvest! For Paul became one of the greatest evangelists of all time, yielding a great crop of God’s word in his life and ministry.

Though the process is not always comfortable – imagine how soil feels being plowed! – if you ask him Jesus can and will make you into the kind of soil that produces a crop ‘thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times’ (v. 8) what was sown. Then, not only will you be able to enjoy your own fruitfulness, but you will have plenty of seed to sow into others around you as well.

The second barrier to sowing generously is when we try to economise on our sowing. We measure out God’s word based on who we think will respond positively and who will not. But that’s not our job. Unlike an actual farmer, our supply of seed is unlimited. Our job is to sow, and to sow generously, all the way to the edges of the field assigned to us. God by his Holy Spirit will determine the response, yielding a crop oftentimes in surprising places – such as the Apostle Paul!

So the sower sows generously, even knowing that some of the seed will be lost (such as that on the path) or will bear meagre fruit at best (such as that on the shallow, rocky soil or the seed amongst the thorns).

Are you sowing God’s word generously? Or are you hampered by your lack of seed or your attempts to economise? Ask the Lord to grant you the seed to sow and the generosity to sow it. For the sower must sow generously if the harvest is to be plentiful.

Excursus: Why different kinds of soils?

But does this really tell us why there is such opposition to Jesus’ work and words? After all, God is sovereign over all the earth; why doesn’t he make all of the soil fertile? This is an important question, and not really answered in the parable itself. Instead, Jesus addresses this concern in the preface to his explanation:
When he was alone, the Twelve and the others around him asked him about the parables. He told them, “The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you. But to those on the outside everything is said in parables so that, “‘they may be ever seeing but never perceiving, and ever hearing but never understanding; otherwise they might turn and be forgiven!’” (Mark 4:10–12)

This is a troubling explanation, because it seems to suggest Jesus uses parables as an instrument for preventing understanding. In other words, he speaks in parables to ensure that some do not understand his message, and so do not repent and seek forgiveness. Can this be right?

To understand, we must consider the original context for the words that Jesus quotes from Isaiah 6. There, Isaiah has a vision of the Lord God seated on his throne. Confronted with absolute holiness, he becomes painfully aware of both his own sins and those of his nation (Isa. 6:5). God graciously deals with Isaiah’s sinfulness (Isa. 6:6-7), but that still leaves a sinful nation to deal with, and Isaiah is to be instrumental in accomplishing God’s purpose in this regard, “Here am I. Send me!” (Isaiah 6:8).

We don’t know what Isaiah expected, but surely it was not what follows:

He said, “Go and tell this people: “‘Be ever hearing, but never understanding; be ever seeing, but never perceiving.’ Make the heart of this people calloused; make their ears dull and close their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed.” (Isaiah 6:9–10)

Isaiah, by his prophetic ministry, was to bring about a hardness of heart in the people of Judah. Can you imagine having this message preached at your commissioning? ‘Go, and preach the word; your preaching will make them hard-hearted, deaf and blind, so that they will neither repent nor be saved.’ That is a hard calling in anyone’s book.

Why such a harsh message? The first five chapters of Isaiah leading up to this passage detail the repeated failings of God’s people. Though they have every reason to love and trust God, they have rebelled, turned their backs on him and forgotten him.² Their worship of God has descended into meaningless ritual³ instead of the justice and righteousness that God requires.⁴ They ought to be the unique people of God, a light to the world showing how God ought to be worshiped;⁵ but instead they are no different from the nations around them.⁶ God, through Isaiah (and many other prophets) has called them to repentance but they have refused. And so, he enters into judgment.

Part of this judgment is that Judah shall become deaf and blind to God’s word. But why does God preclude the possibility of repentance? Why must Isaiah,

Make the heart of this people calloused; make their ears dull and close their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed. (Isaiah 6:10)

Doesn’t God want them to repent?

I don’t claim to have a comprehensive answer to this question. But I do think we glimpse his purpose when we remember that the judgments pronounced by Isaiah (and other prophets) culminate in the exile. And the exile was the ultimate demonstration that ‘the system’ was not working – nor would it ever. Let me explain.

A little over six years ago, Katrie and I were eagerly anticipating the arrival of our first child. We wanted a natural delivery, because we had been taught that anything else was second best. Except there was a problem: the baby had not turned around, and was in a breech position. Apparently this complicates natural birth, so we were strongly advised to consider delivery by Caesarean section. Our obstetrician explained that it was OK to wait for a time and see if the baby turned, but only for a time. And so we waited the full time allotted, before reluctantly proceeding with the Caesarean. We were glad we did! Because as the doctor delivered Aedan to us, he showed us that the umbilical cord had become wrapped around his neck – three and a half times! Our plan was never going to work. And, though it might have seemed unfair for the obstetrician to impose a time limit, in the providence of God that was exactly what needed to happen.

I believe God was doing something similar with Judah. The covenants under which Judah lived – the Abrahamic covenant, the Mosaic covenant, the Davidic covenant – had enabled a long cycle of disobedience, judgment, repentance and disobedience again. Those covenants by themselves were not sufficient to accomplish God’s purposes because they didn’t address his people’s sinfulness. That plan was never going to work, and Judah needed to see it. A new people was required, descended not from sinful Abraham but from the sinless son of God. A new law was required, written not on tablets of stone but on the hearts of men and women.⁷ A new king was required, one not only after God’s own heart⁸ but the very expression of his heart.⁹ The Lord hardened Judah’s heart in order to accomplish his greater purpose and make way for what Jeremiah would call a ‘new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah’ (Jer. 31:31).

And that purpose is also evident in Mark’s gospel. For the growing opposition to Jesus would culminate, not in another exile, but in the crucifixion of the Son of God. The new covenant was proclaimed in the blood of Jesus, poured out for us;¹⁰ but that would not have happened if not for the hardness of heart precipitated by Jesus’ teaching. As Jesus taught that he had authority to forgive sins, some rejoiced but others found it intolerable blasphemy.¹¹ As he healed, particularly on the Sabbath, the crowds saw God’s power at work but the Pharisees saw a threat to their authority and plotted to kill him.¹² So even though he knew that sowing the word of God would produce hardness of heart in some, he also knew that even that hardness of heart would ultimately serve God’s purpose and plan.

We, too, must sow the word of God in spite of opposition. It is a hard thing to know that speaking God’s word may be the cause of hardening and judgment in our family, our friends, our colleagues. Yet it may also be the means by which God brings them to repentance and faith, and it is that hope that helps us to go out and sow day after day. Which brings us to our final point.

The sower sows in hope of a great harvest

After receiving his commission, Isaiah is understandably distressed:

Then I said, “For how long, O Lord?” (Isaiah 6:11)

We can imagine Isaiah’s thinking: ‘Maybe it is just temporary. One year? Five years? Twenty? How long before you redeem your people, O Lord? How long before you allow them to repent and be healed? How long must I proclaim this curse upon my nation?’

The Lord’s answer is not encouraging:

And he answered: “Until the cities lie ruined and without inhabitant, until the houses are left deserted and the fields ruined and ravaged, until the LORD has sent everyone far away and the land is utterly forsaken. And though a tenth remains in the land, it will again be laid waste. But as the terebinth and oak leave stumps when they are cut down, so the holy seed will be the stump in the land.” (Isaiah 6:11–13)

The judgment of God on Judah was to be thorough. Even if ninety percent of the land were wiped out, that is still not enough! But, as so often when God pronounces judgment, there is also hope. For even though Israel is like a tree that has been cut down, yet there will still be a ‘holy seed’ that will be a ‘stump’ that contains the possibility of regrowth. The desolation and destruction will not be complete.

In Jesus’ parable, however, there is even more cause to be hopeful; he speaks of a crop thirty, sixty and even a hundred times what was sown. While Jesus’ ministry parallels Isaiah’s in many ways, in this he is quite different. Isaiah saw only the possibility of regrowth long after the judgment he proclaimed; Jesus saw a great harvest that would grow from his preaching of God’s word. The exile had done its job of preparing the soil, and now it was ready for planting.

We ought to have the same expectation as we sow the word of God into the lives of those around us – and indeed in our own life! Jesus says elsewhere,

The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field. (Luke 10:2)

It is not the harvest that is in doubt; it is the workers! So in the very next verse he appoints seventy-two of his disciples and says, ‘Go!’ (Luke 10:3). Though the image has changed from sowing to harvesting, the need for workers is constant.

The disciples were doubting Jesus and his ministry because of the opposition that it aroused. They had their eyes on the seed that was lost, but failed to appreciate the tremendous harvest that was in front of them. Friends, let’s not make the same mistake. Don’t doubt because of opposition, but believe in the great harvest… and sow!

Endnotes

1. ἐξῆλθεν ὁ σπείρων σπεῖραι. cf. the more general γεωργός in Matt. 21:33 || Luke 20:9.
2. Isa. 1:2-4.
3. Isa. 1:11-15.
4. Isa. 1:16-17.
5. Isa. 2:3-6.
6. Isa. 2:6-8.
7. Jer. 31:33.
8. 1 Sam. 13:14.
9. John 1:1-18.
10. Luke 22:20.
11. Mark 2:6.
12. Mark 3:6.

I really don’t like job interviews. Is there anything more awkward than trying to present yourself and your experiences to people you don’t know, particularly when it’s for a job you’ve never done before? It’s a fine line to walk between wanting to demonstrate the relevance of your experience and qualifications for the position without coming off as boastful. And it’s not much easier on the other side of the table, interviewing candidates and trying to understand who they are and who they might be when not under the stress of an interview environment; doing your best to understand their experience as they describe it and how that might relate to the position to be filled. And all in the space of an hour or two.

As we work our way through 2 Corinthians 10, there is a very real sense in which Paul is re-applying for his own job. Some people have evidently come to Corinth, people who Paul will sarcastically refer to in the next chapter as ‘super-apostles’ (2 Cor 11:5), and later as ‘false apostles, deceitful workmen, masquerading as apostles of Christ’ (2 Cor 11:13). They have made certain claims about themselves, and sought to compare themselves favourably against Paul himself. In this and the following chapters the apostle responds to criticisms made by these outsiders; more than that, though, he seeks to recalibrate the standards by which the Corinthians ought to evaluate the claims of both Paul and the intruders.

Take every thought captive (vv. 1-6)

It seems that one of the criticisms levelled at Paul was that he was ‘timid’ in person, but ‘bold’ when far off (v. 1). Later in the chapter he quotes his opponents as saying, ‘His letters are weighty and forceful, but in person he is unimpressive and his speaking amounts to nothing’ (v. 10). Corinth was known as the entertainment capital of Greece, and its 14000-seat theatre was the venue for famous speaking contests;¹ so to be accused of being an inferior speaker was obviously intended as an insult. But Paul adjusts their perceptions by reminding them of the ‘meekness and gentleness of Christ’ (v. 1). ‘Meekness’ refers to enduring disgrace, denigration and death at the hand of evildoers.² Isaiah wrote of Jesus long before his birth, saying,

He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth.
– Isaiah 53:7³

The Lord himself said,

Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
– Matthew 11:29

This is a picture of meekness, though the world might interpret it as timidity. The difference is that the former springs from strength and purpose whilst the latter is born out of fear.

In the same way, Paul endured maltreatment at the hands of the Corinthians on his last visit to them. Yet they should not expect him to always be as meek; for on his next visit he expects to need to be ‘bold’ toward at least some amongst the Corinthians (v. 2). He does not enjoy confrontation but neither will he shy away from it when required; he promises to punish disobedience when he comes. Again we are reminded of Christ, whose next advent we expect to be very different to his last!

How do you respond to opposition, when you are deprived of honour, rank, possession or goods? What about when you are criticised, particularly when you are criticised for your Christian faith? I think most of us adopt a defensive posture, seeking to preserve our reputations, our friendships, our possessions and so on. But is this ‘meekness’ or ‘timidity’?

According to Paul, there are two worlds and world-views in conflict, and each has its own weapons and tactics. But he is not talking about swords and armour or (in modern terms) tanks and bombs.⁴ The weapons of this world include charisma and rhetoric, knowledge and logic, reputation and influence, credentials and qualifications, money and power. These are what the world uses to get what it wants and achieve its goals.

But, Paul says, though we live in this world these are not the primary weapons that Christians are called to wield. Instead, we must take up weapons that have ‘divine power to demolish strongholds’ (v. 4). What weapons? Well, ‘divine power’ implies divine origin, that is to say they come from God. And in the end it is not the plural gifts of God that are our weapon, but the singular Gift of God: his Son, Jesus Christ. We are reminded of Paul’s words in his earlier letter to the Corinthians:

Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than man’s wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man’s strength.
– 1 Corinthians 1:22-25

Armed with the gospel, the good news of Jesus Christ as Sovereign and Saviour, Christians must ‘demolish strongholds’, that is ‘arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God’ (v. 5). Paul is talking here about patterns of thinking, world-views if you like, that are arranged to either exclude God or diminish his claims on the world. They are the lenses through which people choose to view the world, which distort the way God is perceived. And there are at least as many of these today as there were in Paul’s day. Academics love to identify and classify them, giving them fancy names that end in -ism: pluralism, relativism, modernism, naturalism, scientism, narcissism and so on. All of these obscure the knowledge of God in the world, and so must be opposed by Christians.

But this opposition is not just to reject these patterns of thinking, but to ‘take captive every thought and make it obedient to Christ’ (v. 5). What does this mean? It means that we must understand the prevailing world-views and sift what is true and good from those things that are in opposition to God. For example, the Corinthians placed great value on the techniques of rhetoric and oratory; this was the lens through which they viewed every thought that came their way. Does this mean that Paul was precluded from using these skills? No, of course not. In fact the evidence that survives of his letters and the speeches recorded in Acts suggest that Paul was quite a gifted and persuasive orator and rhetorician. But these skills were not what he relied upon to carry his ministry; rather he had taken them captive and made them obedient to Christ.

What about today? We are surrounded by different world-views and cultures. Our job as Christians is to look at these things through the Jesus lens and judge what can be used and what must be rejected. We must take them captive without ourselves being taken captive. Are you a scientist? It’s use your knowledge and skills to understand and explore God’s world, but don’t fall for the lie that science is all there is. Do you enjoy popular culture? You need to be careful not to let entertainment become your driving goal; but why not use your knowledge of film, literature, art and music as a means of building bridges and sharing the gospel? Those with wealth should feel free to use it, so long as they avoid descending into materialism and greed. I even know people who use statistics to the glory of God, if you can believe it!

‘Take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ’ (v. 5).

Let him who boasts, boast in the Lord (vv. 7-18)

Clearly the Corinthians were not doing this. They were impressed by the credentials offered by the false apostles, and found a corresponding lack in Paul in these areas. As a result, they were being led away from Paul. Over the remainder of this chapter, Paul demonstrates how their evaluation of the false apostles and of Paul himself is still captive to the thoughts of the world. He does this by showing what each party is ‘boasting’ in.

It is difficult at this distance to reconstruct exactly what the outsiders saying; we are ‘hearing’ only one side of the conversation and must guess what the other side was. Nevertheless it seems clear that they boasted that they ‘belonged to Christ’ in some significant manner, and perhaps that Paul and/or the Corinthians did not. But Paul is emphatic that he, too, belongs to Christ as much as anyone. More than that, he reminds the Corinthians that he had been given authority by Christ to act as his apostle to the Gentiles.⁵ So far as the Gentile Corinthians were concerned then, Paul ought to have been considered the one who belonged to Christ. ‘Implicit throughout 2 Corinthians is Paul’s assumption that he is their apostle, whose authority is to be acknowledged by them’.⁶

The apostle also points out that his authority has been granted for the purpose of building them up (v. 8). The implication is that whatever the opponents were doing was having the opposite effect, that is tearing them down. The Corinthians ought to look at the results of the different ‘ministries’ being conducted amongst them. On the one hand, the teaching of the intruders seems to have led to division and strife; on the other hand, Paul’s efforts have been directed towards unity and reconciliation. It is this goal that has shaped both his letters and his conduct whilst visiting the Corinthians in person.

How do you decide if someone or something is good? In recent years there has been a massive growth in internet reviews. It is very common for people to research online before committing to a purchase, whether it be for a television, car, book, computer, vacuum cleaner or whatever. They will read tens, perhaps hundreds of reviews written by people they have never and will never meet. Similarly when we employ someone it is common practice to seek references from previous employers to ensure that the reality matches the resume.

It seems that the newcomers had arrived with letters of commendation. Back in chapter 3, Paul wrote,

Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? Or do we need, like some people, letters of recommendation to you or from you? You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by everybody. You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.
– 2 Cor 3:1-3

We don’t know who might have written such letters for these false apostles, but it is clear that Paul does not set much store by them. In fact, he says they are effectively letters where the intruders commended themselves. Would you employ someone who wrote their own reference?

Or perhaps they wrote letters of commendation for one another. When academics publish a paper in a journal, they usually have it reviewed by other people working in the same field to check the plausibility and accuracy of their content. This is generally a pretty good system for ensuring high quality publications. However it is not foolproof. For example, recently a journal retracted some 60 articles because they discovered that a peer-review ‘ring’ had been formed where reviewers exchanged favourable reviews. In one case, a single reviewer had set up multiple aliases and ended up reviewing his own work.⁷

The point is that commendation and comparison are not definitive. What is required is an objective standard, particularly when choosing church leaders. Some weeks ago we joined together as a church in commissioning several people into roles as elders and deacons. As part of that, Dr. Boyce told us on what basis the elders had chosen to appoint them. He did not read letters of recommendation or affirmation, though doubtless the elders had received many. He did not tell us about his personal experiences with them. He did not list the things they have done and are doing to serve the church. Rather, he read from 1 Timothy 3, where Paul outlines the qualifications required of overseers and deacons. In the judgment of the elders, and with the affirmation of the church, those people meet the required standard and so we commissioned them to their respective roles.

From verse 13 onwards, Paul starts to argue that there must be ‘proper limits’ on boasting. Firstly, one’s personal sphere of work ought to constrain the boundaries of boasting. If Paul is going to boast, it will be in the mission field that is assigned to him rather than in an area where somebody else is working. We know from the book of Acts that Paul was guided by the Holy Spirit on his missionary journeys and did not leave a field of work unless he was led to another place.⁸

Paul was glad of the help of others in his work, such as Apollos and Titus who had also ministered in Corinth. He had no problem with someone else building on the foundation he had laid.⁹ And he was not the sort of person to put down those who were preaching the same gospel as he, even if he did not agree with their motivations.¹⁰ But in this case the interlopers seem intent on undermining his authority and message by their boasting and this is not acceptable. Certainly this should give us pause before moving in and setting up shop in an area where there is an established and effective gospel ministry.¹¹ Far better to spend our efforts and resources on reaching people who would not otherwise hear about Christ, than be in competition. ‘[R]eal expansion of the church comes, not by poaching or moving van evangelism, but by proclaiming the gospel in areas and among people where the Lord Jesus Christ is not known’.¹²

Further, we ought to be looking forward rather than back. Boasting is bound up with the past, but the truly effective servants of God keep looking to the future.¹³ Paul is committed to the church in Corinth, but he also has his mind on Rome (Acts 19:21b; Rom 1:11) and on Spain and the western Mediterranean. By contrast, the false apostles are set on taking over what Paul has already done.

Finally, ‘Let him who boasts boast in the Lord’ (v. 17). Paul has previously quoted this verse from Jeremiah 9:23 in his first surviving letter to Corinth (1 Cor 1:31), arguing there that all the different things the church might want to boast of – worldly wisdom, rhetoric, wealth and power – must first be subjected to the humiliation of the cross. Here his aim is slightly different.

He wants to warn the church against those who ‘commend themselves,’ but are not commended by the Lord; and he wants to prepare the way for one of his own most powerful pieces of writing, the ‘boasting’ in chapter 11 which will show them, once and for all, what it means to have one’s whole life reshaped around the Messiah and his cross. Is it boasting you want? he asks. Then boasting you shall have; but don’t expect it to look like what you imagined. ‘In the Lord’, after all, everything has been turned upside down and inside out. That’s what must happen to boasting as well.¹⁴

It seems that the newcomers were legitimating their ‘ministry’ in Corinth by ‘commending’ themselves, by ‘boasting’ of their achievements and ‘classifying’ and ‘contrasting’ their strengths with Paul’s perceived weaknesses. They have letters of commendation that Paul lacks. Their speech is powerful and persuasive, where Paul is ‘unskilled’. They are men of divine power, performing the ‘signs of an apostle’ (2 Cor 12:12) where Paul was unable even to heal himself (2 Cor 12:7-9). He is inferior and they are superior.¹⁵ But this is viewing the situation through the eyes of the world. When observed through the Jesus lens the reality is much different. It was Paul’s ministry that had borne fruit in bringing the Corinthian church into existence. It was Paul who was building them up rather than tearing them down. Paul was the one called to minister to them, who was looking forward to productive Christian ministry amongst them and beyond them. If Paul is being forced to apply for his own job, he has made a pretty compelling case!

But ultimately, Paul was not seeking approval or vindication (let alone employment!) from the Corinthians. Rather his goal was that he should be commended by the Lord. I hope we can say the same.

Bibliography

Barnett, Paul. The Second Epistle to the Corinthians, The New International Commentary on the New Testament. Grand Rapids, Mich.: W.B. Eerdmans Pub., 1997.

Carson, D. A. From Triumphalism to Maturity : An Exposition of 2 Corinthians 10-13. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Book House, 1984.

Kistemaker, Simon. Exposition of the Second Epistle to the Corinthians. Accordance electronic ed, Baker New Testament Commentary. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 1997.

Witherington, Ben. Conflict and Community in Corinth : A Socio-Rhetorical Commentary on 1 and 2 Corinthians. Grand Rapids, Mich.: W.B. Eerdmans, 1995.

Wright, N. T. Paul for Everyone : 2 Corinthians. 2nd ed. London: SPCK, 2004.

Endnotes

1. Ben Witherington, Conflict and Community in Corinth : A Socio-Rhetorical Commentary on 1 and 2 Corinthians (Grand Rapids, Mich.: W.B. Eerdmans, 1995), 349.
2. Simon Kistemaker, Exposition of the Second Epistle to the Corinthians, Accordance electronic ed., Baker New Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 1997), 330.
3. cf. Acts 8:26ff. where Philip applies this passage to Christ.
4. D. A. Carson, From Triumphalism to Maturity : An Exposition of 2 Corinthians 10-13 (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Book House, 1984), 57.
5. Acts 9:15; Gal 1:16.
6. Paul Barnett, The Second Epistle to the Corinthians, The New International Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids, Mich.: W.B. Eerdmans Pub., 1997), 473.
7. http://retractionwatch.com/2014/07/08/sage-publications-busts-peer-review-and-citation-ring-60-papers-retracted/
8. e.g. Acts 16:6-7; 20:22. cf. Kistemaker, 2 Corinthians, 349.
9. 1 Cor 3:10. Ibid., 350.
10. Carson, From Triumphalism to Maturity, 92.
11. Barnett, The Second Epistle to the Corinthians, 492.
12. Carson, From Triumphalism to Maturity, 96.
13. Ibid.
14. N. T. Wright, Paul for Everyone : 2 Corinthians, 2nd ed. (London: SPCK, 2004), 111.
15. Barnett, The Second Epistle to the Corinthians, 39.

Paul’s relationship with the Corinthians was a bit of a roller-coaster. Paul has had to encourage, cajole, command, rebuke, instruct, defend and reason his way through a number of issues. This put a great strain on his relationship with the church in Corinth, culminating in a disastrous and ‘painful’ visit to Corinth,¹ followed by a severe letter of reprimand. However, at the end of chapter 7 he expresses his great joy at the report Titus brought of their repentance and desire for reconciliation and renewed relationship.² The severe letter did its job: those who had defied Paul and his authority had been disciplined, and the partnership between Paul and the Corinthians could now resume moving forward.

On the strength of this reconciliation, Paul feels able to once again address an issue close to his heart: the collection for the saints in Jerusalem.

Background: The Collection

Very early on in his ministry, the apostle was witness to a prophecy given to the church in Antioch of a famine that would ‘spread over the entire Roman world’ (Acts 11:28). In response, the church decided to send help for fellow Christians living in Judea, and chose Barnabas and Paul as the messengers who would carry this gift on their behalf.³ In his letter to the Galatians, Paul tells of his meeting with the leaders of the church in Jerusalem, who asked that he ‘should continue to remember the poor, the very thing,’ he says, ‘I was eager to do’ (Gal 2:10). We also know from the first of his surviving letters to the Corinthian church that he had discussed with them a further gift towards the needs of those in Jerusalem:

Now about the collection for God’s people: Do what I told the Galatian churches to do. On the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with his income, saving it up, so that when I come no collections will have to be made.
– 1 Corinthians 16:1–2

However, it seems that this plan had fallen into disrepair. Perhaps it was the conflict between Paul and the Corinthians. It is also possible that the Corinthians had chosen to allocate their available funds towards other visiting preachers, about whom Paul will have much to say in chapters 11 and 12. Whatever the reason, the apostle seems keen to encourage them to resume their collection.

As so often in his writings, he makes his point by returning to the subject of grace.

Giving is for everyone, so give (2 Cor 8:1-12)

First of all, Paul writes of the grace given to and through the Macedonian church, with whom he is probably staying whilst writing this epistle. While the Corinthians were relatively wealthy as a result of their position on the major trade routes of the Mediterranean, the region of Macedonia had undergone a financial decline over the preceding 2 centuries: the gold mines had been exhausted, and the region had suffered a number of wars and invasions. Both the countryside and the cities were impoverished.⁴

In spite of their situation – or perhaps because of it – Paul writes that ‘their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity’ (2 Cor 8:2). They did not see their financial lack as an impediment, let alone an excuse. Rather, they were eager, urgently pleading to permitted to share in this collection.
Perhaps they felt compassion on those who were suffering and in need, much as we do today when we hear of droughts, tsunamis, floods, fires or other situations where life and property is imperilled. Australians have an admirable reputation in this regard. For example, in the wake of the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami, the Australian public donated $5 per Australian, compared to $3 per Briton and only 88 cents per American.⁵ But the truth is that we are more likely to respond to problems that arise in our own neighbourhood than to those on the other side of the world. So, during the first week of the 2009 Victorian bushfire Australians gave almost $53 million, almost five times what was given in the days after the tsunami.⁶

So what makes a church in the midst of a poverty-stricken region so eager to contribute to support people so far away?

Paul gives us a clue: ‘they gave themselves first to the Lord and then to us in keeping with God’s will’ (2 Cor 8:5). It was more than sympathy that compelled them; it was that they identified with the Lord and with Paul in their mission. They were partners in Paul’s work, and that work included this collection for the saints in Jerusalem. We find confirmation in Paul’s letter to the church in Philippi, a church in the region of Macedonia, where he commends them for sending him aid ‘again and again when [he] was in need’ (Phil 4:16-18).⁷ It is clear that they were committed not only to the mission, but also to the missionary.

I think we can learn a lot from the example of the Philippian church in particular. They used their scant resources to aid Paul in the mission that the Lord Jesus had called him to. At the time of this letter to the Corinthians, that mission included providing aid to the church in Jerusalem and Judea; at a later time it meant providing personal support to Paul as he ministered in Thessalonica (another church in Macedonia) and still later as he languished under house arrest in Rome. We, too, ought to consider how our gifts might be employed to further the mission to which God calls all Christians. There are many worthwhile ‘causes’ upon which we might expend our resources, but there is only one mission and it must take priority. More than just the mission, though, it is important for all of us to continually support the missionaries who are in the trenches conducting the mission, as the Philippians supported Paul over many years.

I encourage you to take some time this week – today even! – to sit down with your family and work out what you can be doing to serve those who serve others.

The Macedonians gave out of their poverty; but at completely the other end of the spectrum is our Lord Jesus. Paul writes that, ‘though he was rich, yet for [our] sakes he became poor so that [we] through his poverty might become rich’ (2 Cor 8:9). Earlier he wrote that, ‘God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God’ (2 Cor 5:21). Can there be any greater contrast? We honour and proclaim that mighty gift by offering our own smaller gifts.

The Macedonians had little and gave much; but Jesus had everything and gave it all for us! You and I, we probably fit somewhere in between these extremes. We are not as poor as the Macedonians, nor as rich as Christ. But God has given the same gift of grace to Macedonians, Corinthians and ‘West Pennians’; all of us, then, ought to respond as the Macedonians did and ‘excel in everything – in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in… love – [and] also excel in this grace of giving’ (2 Cor 8:7).

Giving is for everyone, so give!

Be careful, but not cynical, about your giving (2 Cor 8:13-9:5)

Money was somewhat of a sensitive topic between Paul and the Corinthians. Remarkably, in the whole of these two chapters Paul never once uses any of the Greek words for ‘money’ itself.⁸ This is probably because he had consistently refused payment for his work as an apostle, and this had become something of a sore point between them.⁹ So we sense that the apostle is being very careful to address potential misunderstandings and false impressions.

First, he anticipates an objection that the Jerusalemites are to be made rich at the Corinthians’ expense (2 Cor 8:13-15). This is not the case; rather, he says, the goal is for equality. To illustrate the kind of equality he has in mind, he quotes from Exodus 16, where the Israelites were sustained in the desert by God’s miraculous provision of manna, ‘bread from heaven’.

> The Israelites did as they were told; some gathered much, some little. And when they measured it by the omer, he who gathered much did not have too much, and he who gathered little did not have too little. Each one gathered as much as he needed.
– Exodus 16:17–18

Only twice in Scripture do we find a complete absence of poverty amongst God’s people.¹⁰ The first time is when the Israelites were brought up out of Egypt, and God sustained them by providing food, clothes and other necessities. There were neither rich nor poor, for though some tried to gather much, and some only gathered a little, each one found that they had as much as they needed and no more. Under the Old Covenant, it seems, equality was enforced by God.

We find something similar in the early days of the church in Jerusalem. Luke writes the rather startling statement that, ‘There were no needy persons among them’ (Acts 4:34). This was because from time to time the rich would sell their property and present the proceeds to the apostles for distribution amongst the poor.¹¹ Under the New Covenant equality is voluntary, joyous and generous.¹² It is this kind of giving that Paul exhorts the Corinthians to emulate.

Having addressed the suspicion that he might be playing favourites, siphoning off money from the Corinthians to support the favoured parent church in Jerusalem, Paul must also contend with the accusation that he will use the money to line his own pocket. We can imagine the cynical sneers offered up by troublemakers in Corinth: ‘He claims not to want our money, but now he asks for it supposedly for someone else.’

To address this concern, Paul emphasises how careful he is being that he not only do the right thing but be seen to do the right thing with this money. ‘We want to avoid any criticism,’ he says, ‘ of the way we administer this liberal gift. For we are taking pains to do what is right, not only in the eyes of the Lord but also in the eyes of men’ (2 Cor 8:20-21). Elsewhere he warns his readers to avoid even the appearance of evil,¹³ and he follows his own advice here.¹⁴

This is an important lesson for us as a church. We as a church are entrusted with significant resources to be used for gospel ministry. Part of that responsibility is to ensure that we are both careful and transparent about the way those resources are employed. Perhaps second only to sexual sin, financial mismanagement is one of the biggest ministry killers out there today. And it need not be actual fraudulent activity; just the appearance of mishandling of resources can be extremely damaging to a church. So we keep accounts; we have money handling procedures; we budget and we track our spending. All these things help us to show that we are doing the right thing ‘not only in the eyes of the Lord but also in the eyes of men’. In this way we disarm much of the suspicion that surrounds us. In the end, however, if it comes to a choice between doing what is right in the eyes of men and in the eyes of the Lord, we must choose to do what is right before God.

From another perspective, however, perhaps we ourselves are cynical. Doubtless we have all engaged at some time in similar distrust. For instance, I’m sure many of us have wondered who profits out of this televangelist, that healing ministry or the other megachurch. And perhaps such doubts are warranted at times. We should certainly be careful in the way we allocate our resources, taking time to find out how they will be used and so on. This is part of our responsibility as stewards of what God has given us.

The problem arises when we allow our cynicism to undermine our desire to give as the Corinthians apparently did. When I first came to Sydney for uni, I used to occasionally travel home for weekends. As I waited for the bus at Eddy Avenue, I would often be approached by people looking for a handout, some loose change to help them catch a bus home, or get something to eat or whatever. Worldly-wise and street smart as only a 17 year old country boy can be, I ‘knew’ that their story was really a mask for some other objective such as alcohol, drugs or cigarettes. And so I developed an acute ability to spot them at a distance, keep my head down to avoid making eye contact and keep on walking. Doubtless my suspicions were correct about some, and perhaps many of those who approached me; but what about those in genuine need? My skepticism became a mask, a wall, an excuse to avoid having to give of my time, let alone my money. In the same way, the Corinthians had given in to their suspicions and allowed distrust to kill off their initial enthusiasm for this project. Let us avoid making the same mistake.

Be careful, but not cynical, about the way you give.

We are in the service of the great giver, so give generously (2 Cor 9:6-15)

In the final section of this morning’s text, Paul outlines the many blessings that flow from giving, and exhorts the Corinthians to give cheerfully and generously. He does this by developing the image of a farmer sowing seed.

It is axiomatic that the size of the harvest is proportional to the amount of seed sown. So, if the farmer sows only a little seed, he should only expect a small crop; if he sows a large amount of seed he should expect a large crop. Paul is encouraging the Corinthians to be liberal in their gift to the Judean church.

But the word used, ‘generously’, is not only about the quantity sown, but also the attitude of the sower. We know this because in verse 5, it is translated ‘generous gift’ (NIV) and is contrasted with a gift ‘grudgingly given,’ which is clearly about the heart of the givers. Paul also elaborates this point by saying that each should give what they have decided to give, rather than what they feel compelled to give (2 Cor 9:7). In other words, it is possible to give a large gift and yet not be ‘generous’ if it is given grudgingly. And even a small gift given cheerfully should be considered ‘generous.’ Remember the words Paul wrote back in chapter 8: ‘For if the willingness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what he does not have’ (2 Cor 8:12).

Paul also points out that the Corinthians ought to have confidence to give generously: ‘God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work’ (2 Cor 9:8). In a sense, the farmer loses what he has scattered, taking the risk of adverse weather, disease and insects; but as he sows he trusts that the one ‘who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase [their] store of seed and enlarge the harvest of [their] righteousness’ (2 Cor 9:10). If we find ourselves unwilling to give, we must ask whether we have the same trust in the one who provides us with all that we need.

We serve a God who has given generously. He has given us life and breath; sun and rain; family and friends. As the apostle James wrote,

Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created.
– James 1:17-18

We honour this giving God by giving in turn to others.

In crop farming the farmer keeps back a portion of each harvest to replant for the next year’s crop. If they don’t, if they instead sell or consume the entire crop, the next year there will be neither planting nor harvesting. I believe this is what Paul has in mind when he writes, ‘You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion’ (2 Cor 9:11). He does not say, ‘Sow generously and you will be made rich,’ but ‘Sow generously and you will be made rich so that you can sow generously again.’ We must remember this as we consider how to deploy the riches that God has given us to steward, neither consuming all for our own immediate gratification nor planting all. Instead, we must find a wise balance of the two.

Doing this results in two things. Firstly, it is a practical way in which we can ‘supply the needs of God’s people’ (2 Cor 9:12). But just as importantly it results in ‘many expressions of thanks to God’ (2 Cor 9:12). As people witness Christians giving generously they see in miniature the God who gives generously. As one commentator writes:

When Jesus, for the sake of us all, became poor, we became rich; now, when people who follow him are ready to put their resources at his disposal, the world and the church may benefit, not only from the actual money but from the fact that when the Jesus-pattern of dying and rising, of riches-to-poverty-to-riches, is acted out, the power of the gospel is let loose afresh in the world, and the results will be incalculable.¹⁵

We are in the service of a great giver, so let us give generously.

Conclusion

In summary, then, the Apostle Paul teaches the Corinthians (and, by extension, us):

• Giving is for everyone, from the poorest of the poor, to the Lord of all creation, so give;
• Be careful but not cynical about your giving;
• Give generously for we serve the one who gives us all things.

The Corinthians had shown a promising start: Paul writes that they were ‘the first not only to give but to have the desire to do so’ (2 Cor 8:10). But something went wrong. Paul urges them to renew their enthusiasm and complete the collection.

There is a saying: ‘Hard work often pays off over time; but procrastination always pays off now!’ What is it that makes us want to put off work until the last possible moment? Why do we leave things half done? And why are we so easily deflected and distracted from our intentions and commitments? I don’t know the answers to any of these questions, but it is clear that there comes a time when we must make good on our promises.

For the Corinthians it was a financial commitment, and it may be for you as well; but it could be something else entirely. Have you promised to pray for someone or something? Pray. Has the Lord convicted you of sin that you need to repent of? Repent. Perhaps the temple that is your body is in need of repair? Fix it. Is there broken relationship? Reconcile. Is God calling you to walk with him into some new service, adventure or mission field? Go.

Do you have unfinished business with the Lord this morning?

Bibliography

Barnett, Paul. The Second Epistle to the Corinthians, The New International Commentary on the New Testament. Grand Rapids, Mich.: W.B. Eerdmans Pub., 1997.

Kistemaker, Simon. Exposition of the Second Epistle to the Corinthians. Accordance electronic ed, Baker New Testament Commentary. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 1997.

Wright, N. T. Paul for Everyone : 2 Corinthians. 2nd ed. London: SPCK, 2004.

Endnotes

1. 2 Cor 2:1.
2. 2 Cor 7:8-9.
3. Acts 11:29.
4. Simon Kistemaker, Exposition of the Second Epistle to the Corinthians, Accordance electronic ed., Baker New Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 1997), 272-3.
5. http://mccrindle.com.au/ResearchSummaries/PoG-MR-RS.pdf
6. http://www.smh.com.au/national/donations-exceed-tsunami-collection-20090211-84r3.html
7. Ibid., 271.
8. N. T. Wright, Paul for Everyone : 2 Corinthians, 2nd ed. (London: SPCK, 2004), 85.
9. 1 Cor 9:1-18; 2 Cor 11:7-11.
10. Kistemaker, 2 Corinthians, 318.
11. Acts 4:32-35.
12. Paul Barnett, The Second Epistle to the Corinthians, The New International Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids, Mich.: W.B. Eerdmans Pub., 1997), 415.
13. 1 Thess 5:22.
14. Kistemaker, 2 Corinthians, 295.
15. Wright, Paul for Everyone : 2 Corinthians, 91.

With a physique like mine, it will come as no surprise to you when I tell you that I am not a distance runner. In my school years, however, I was required to run in a cross-country event each year. The first time I did it, I set off with good intentions and boundless optimism, sure I was going to be the first across the line. The second year, I commenced the race with the modest ambition of being somewhere in the middle, and surviving to tell the tale. By my high school years, if I couldn’t find some excuse to avoid cross-country day, my goal was to walk the first lap as slowly as I could in hopes of being lapped by enough of the front-runners that I could follow them across the line and avoid doing a second lap! My optimism from the first year had wilted in the face of weariness. Frankly, I didn’t really care about the result, so there was no point in running. I had no goal, no commitment.

As we’ve read through this letter to the Hebrews, it is clear that the apostle is writing to a people not unlike myself. They had started out with good intentions. But, little by little, that enthusiasm had been chipped away. In chapter 3 and 4 in particular, the writer compares them to the Israelites in the desert, tired and hot and hungry, wishing they were back in Egypt. Suffering and persecution had taken their toll, and they now thought fond thoughts of their life before Christ, a life of relative comfort and ease. Their memory of why they set out on this journey had faded, leaving them with a whole lot of pain and no clear idea of its purpose.

Above all, they felt weary. As Tim told us some weeks ago, this letter is written to people who are weary. People like you and me. So, as he brings this epistle to a close, our writer once again marshals his arguments and encouragements, begging the people to keep going, keep running – or walking, or crawling! – the path set before them. Our job this morning is to grasp his solutions to spiritual weariness.

The first solution to spiritual weariness is faith, which we covered in detail last week. It is foundational to all the other solutions. At the end of chapter 10 we read:

You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised. For in just a very little while, “He who is coming will come and will not delay. But my righteous one will live by faith. And if he shrinks back, I will not be pleased with him.” (Heb 10:36–38)

Here are two clearly distinct alternatives. The righteous, we are told, will live by faith. This is pleasing to God. On the other hand, those who shrink back displease God, and will not receive what he has promised. He then expands on this in chapter 11, listing some of the many Old Testament saints who lived lives of faith, trusting in the promises of God and not shrinking back. Even though they did not receive the things promised, by faith ‘they saw them and welcomed them from a distance’ (Heb 11:13). These saints stand as a ‘cloud of witnesses’ – witnesses in the sense that they give evidence of God’s faithfulness to them. We need to hear their testimony, and take it onboard as encouragement to us to trust God as they did.

In light of this testimony, we ought to embrace the second cure for spiritual weariness, which is to ‘throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles’. This is common sense, right? When you run a race, you do not carry any unnecessary weight and you make sure your shoelaces are done up tight so that you don’t trip and fall. For Christians, there are two categories of things to be considered here. The obvious one is sin. Sin is like running a race with your shoelaces tied together; you are bound to fall and be hurt at some point. If you are not a Christian, this is your situation. The first step for you is to turn to Jesus, for he is the only one able to deal with sin.

If you are a Christian, but you are struggling in your day-to-day walk with Jesus, perhaps you need to sit down and review your life: are you entangled in sin? Ask God to reveal to you that sin, and to give you the strength to throw it off (Heb 12:1).

Less obvious are the things in our life that are not sinful but are hindrances nevertheless. Runners in ancient times used to run naked and barefoot in order to eliminate all weights that would slow them down or tire them out. This is can be an issue for Christians as well. For example, a friend of mine recently gave up coffee because he felt it was an impediment to his relationship with God. Coffee is not sinful. But for my friend, it needed to go because it was ‘slowing him down’. These things will vary from person to person, and you need to consider your own life and circumstances. Combat boots would be strange running shoes for a marathon runner, but essential for a soldier.

So I ask you this morning: what are the weights and hindrances in your life? What is it that stands between you and loving, trusting and believing God? Are there things that you could and should eliminate from your life for the sake of spending more time with God? If you ask him, God will show you what these things are. Abraham had to let go of his son; Jacob had to leave the land he was promised and go down into Egypt; Moses left his privileged position as a prince of Egypt. None of these things was inherently sinful, but all had to be left behind to follow the path set by God.

These are just some of the lessons we can learn from the Old Testament saints. But, inspiring as these giants of faith are, in the end they cannot help us.¹ They cannot strengthen us, they cannot equip us, they cannot correct our bad habits, they cannot pick us up when we fall. They have run their portion of the race and handed on the baton to us. Watching athletes run an Olympic marathon may be inspiring, but it will not help you run any better.

But what if you could have one of those athletes to coach you? To run with you, correcting your technique, encouraging you along the way. This is exactly the situation for Christians. We are surrounded by a cloud of witnesses, but it is Jesus who we must look to. He is the ‘author’ – that is, the object and source – of our faith. But he is also the ‘perfecter’ of that same faith – the one who brings us safely to the completion of faith’s goal. Unlike Moses and Joshua, Jesus is capable of bringing his people to journey’s end.²

The apostle outlines how Jesus’ example can help us to understand our own situation, and this is his third solution for spiritual weariness. There are many things that cause us to feel weary: suffering, persecution, disappointment. Jesus has faced all of these and more.³ Jesus has faced the same suffering, temptation and all-around weariness that we face. Indeed he suffered even more than we ever can or will. Jesus was so weary he could sleep in a small fishing boat in the middle of a great storm.⁴ He was ‘tempted in every way, just as we are – yet was without sin’ (Heb 4:15). He ‘endured the cross’ yet completed the race and ‘sat down at the right hand of the throne of God’ (Heb 12:2).

We are told to, ‘Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men…’. Why? ‘… so that [we] will not grow weary and lose heart.’ (Heb 12:3).

Why do we find opposition and suffering so wearisome? It is because we see it as meaningless. When I was doing my best to avoid the trials of high school cross-country, it was because I couldn’t see the point: I didn’t enjoy it, there was no way I was going to win (short of some extraordinarily brazen cheating!), so why bother? Similarly, Christians sometimes think, “I’m saved now; why can’t God just take me to heaven now? Why do I need to endure the death of my loved one, the persecution of my workmates, the gradual (or sudden) deterioration of my health, financial crisis, relationship breakdown, the loss of my house and possessions? What’s the point?”

Do you sometimes feel like that?

These thoughts reflect a worldview that believes there can be no purpose in suffering. But this is not the biblical worldview. The writer to the Hebrews says that we have,

forgotten that word of encouragement that addresses [us] as sons: “My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son.” (Heb 12:5-6).

There are two parallel ideas here: discipline and punishment. ‘Discipline’ is about training a child in the right way to live. Parents are expected to model and teach many things, things such as love of God, loving and serving others, respect for authority and so on. They offer encouragement and, where necessary, correction along the way.
God brings many things into our lives as a means of helping us to mature as his children; many of them are unpleasant at the time, but in hindsight these can be some of the greatest growth experiences. Unlike earthly parents, God is always in control of the circumstances, always aware of how much we can handle, always providing the right things at the right time. Further, he always provides us with the resources to deal with these challenges.

‘Punishment’, at least as it appears in this passage, is also directed towards discipline and training. It is not referring here to God’s judicial punishment of sin, because for believers that has already been met in Jesus Christ. Rather, it is talking about punishment of disobedience within the father-child relationship. Disobedience is the greatest impediment to discipline, for it betrays an attitude at odds with teachability.

Suffering and hardship come to all; it is part of life. For the Christian, however, suffering and hardship have meaning because they show God’s commitment to disciplining his sons and daughters.

Jesus knew this. It was ‘for the joy set before him’ that Jesus ‘endured the cross’. We must keep our eyes on Jesus, for God disciplines us to make us like Jesus. By faith, we know that ‘God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness’ (Heb 12:10). By faith, we perceive (though we may not see) the Father’s love and wisdom in our circumstances. His interest is in our holiness rather than our happiness, and this requires discipline at the hands of our loving Father.⁵ Be encouraged that you have a Father who loves you enough to do this, and your weariness will abate. If you’re keeping score, remembering this is the fourth solution for weariness.

The next section focuses on community issues, as community is weariness solution number five. These are issues that can both cause and result from weariness. ‘Make every effort to live in peace with all men’ (Heb 12:14). There is nothing like being in conflict with people that you see regularly for making you feel weary. And it gets worse the closer you are to the person you are in conflict with – colleagues, friends, fellow believers, family. This is, perhaps, why Jesus commands,

‘if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift.’ (Matt 5:23).

Peace within the family, the church, the workplace and the community is important, and should be sought and highly prized.

But it is not peace at all costs, for the second half of the sentence is ‘… and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord’ (Heb 12:14). Where it comes to issues of holiness, of gospel, we cannot compromise, even if it may prove more ‘peaceful’. We cannot compromise on issues of holiness, particularly within the community. We have a responsibility toward one another, as well as to ourselves.

See to it that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many. See that no one is sexually immoral, or is godless like Esau, who for a single meal sold his inheritance rights as the oldest son. (Heb 12:15-16).

Conflict in community can lead to bitterness and, like the root of a plant, will grow over time into something that causes trouble and undermines holiness. Similarly, sexual immorality can tear families and churches apart, as people take sides.

The writer ends his list of community maladies with the example of the godless Esau. The story comes from Genesis 25:

“Once when Jacob was cooking some stew, Esau came in from the open country, famished. He said to Jacob, “Quick, let me have some of that red stew! I’m famished!”…

Jacob replied, “First sell me your birthright.”

“Look, I am about to die,” Esau said. “What good is the birthright to me?””

 But Jacob said, “Swear to me first.” So he swore an oath to him, selling his birthright to Jacob…
So Esau despised his birthright. (Gen 25:29–34)

Esau gave so little value to the promises of God to his family that he sold his birthright to his brother Jacob for a bowl of food. Esau is the antithesis of those saints of chapter 11. By faith, they saw the value of the promises of God and held on to them, but Esau despised future promises for present comfort. Why? Because he was weary.

Brothers and sisters, let us ensure that our weariness does not lead us to treat lightly the promises and blessings of God. God has placed you in a church family; do not allow conflict, bitterness, sexual immorality or godlessness to defile that family. If you believe in Jesus, God has given you the right to be called sons and daughters of God (John 1:12); do not run away from his discipline. The community of the people of God is a tremendous remedy for weariness.

But community is not foolproof, for even whole communities can become weary. Perhaps the most tragic example of this is the people of Israel during the Exodus. God brought them up out of Egypt, in one of the most dramatic stories ever told. He had acted on the behalf to make Pharaoh let them go, and he had rescued them from Pharaoh’s wrath by making a way through the Red Sea. Seven times God’s said to Pharaoh: ‘Let my people go, so that they may worship me’ (7:16; cf. Ex 5:1; 8:1, 20; 9:1, 13, 10:3). And if that weren’t convincing enough, they had been led to a mountain ‘burning with fire; to darkness, gloom and storm; to a trumpet blast’ and ‘a voice speaking words that those who heard it begged that no further word be spoken to them, because they could not bear what was commanded’ (Heb 12:18-20). The sight was so terrifying, we are told, that even Moses, God’s appointed leader and spokesman, trembled in fear.

In light of these events, you would think the Israelites would be eager to go and do just as God required of them. But they didn’t. They grew weary:

“When the people saw that Moses was so long in coming down from the mountain, they gathered around Aaron and said, “Come, make us gods who will go before us. As for this fellow Moses who brought us up out of Egypt, we don’t know what has happened to him.”” (Ex 32:1)

All the acts of power they had witnessed first hand, all the terror that the meeting with God in the desert inspired, these things were not enough to compel obedience. We read this and think, ‘How could they?’ But are we any better? All of us tire of obeying the law, following the rules, doing the right thing; the Israelites just tired of it quicker than most. All of us have sinned,⁶ all of us have done what we ought not, and failed to do what we ought.

Fortunately was not the final destination for the Israelites. They had a mediator, Moses, who spoke up on their behalf, pleading with God to forgive them. As a result, Sinai was only a stopping place along the way to the promised land. Though weariness had led them to worship false gods, God had a solution for their weariness, and that was to meet with and worship him at another mountain, a mountain in the midst of the promised land of rest, Mount Zion.

The comparisons between the two earthly mountains are striking. Sinai is in the middle of a great desert, but Zion is in the heart of the promised land. Jerusalem was built around Zion, with the Temple built upon the mountain itself. God himself dwelt in the temple, where he had only visited Sinai for a time. Zion was also closely associated with God’s anointed king, for it was David who had first wrested the mighty fortress built there out of the hands of God’s enemies and made it a stronghold of the people of God (2 Sam 5:7, 9).⁷

In the apostle’s eyes, these two mountains represent two different ways of relating to and worshiping God. The first, Sinai, represents worship of God on the basis of the law. It is a place of failure, terror and judgment, where people are revealed for the sinful creatures that they are. It is a place where no one can truly enter into God’s presence except the mediator – for anyone else to touch this mountain results in death. All of us, Christian and non-Christian, must travel via this mountain at some point, whether it be in this life or at our death. We must all come face to face with our failures, our sinfulness, and acknowledge them before God.

If you are not a Christian, Sinai is the only place where you will meet with God. Like it or not, you are camped at the base of this mountain, with only desolate wilderness surrounding you, and hostile enslavement behind you.

The good news is that this need not be your final destination. For Jesus has entered into God’s presence on Sinai, on the basis of his obedience to the law. Like Moses, he has pleaded with God for our forgiveness. He now calls us to follow him into the promised land, ‘to Mount Zion, to the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living God’ (Heb 12:22). Jesus is the Son of David who has wrested control of Zion from his enemies and freely invites his people to enter into rest, safety, and joyful assembly in that mighty fortress. He says, ‘Come to me, all you who are weary… and I will give you rest’ (Matt 11:28).

He calls you to follow him.

One way or the other, you must respond. Ignoring the voice of God is a risky business. The Israelites ignored the voice of God – whose first command was to have no other gods – and as a result brought judgment upon themselves. Later, they ignored the voice of God inviting them to enter the promised land and, as a result, the entire generation missed out. So the writer urges you to respond in the affirmative: ‘See to it that you do not refuse him who speaks’ (Heb 12:25).

God has now spoken his final word, not by angels or prophets but by his Son (Heb 1:1-2). Though his blood ought, like Abel’s, to cry out for vengeance, instead it speaks a better word: ‘Father, forgive them’ (Lk 23:34).
And that word has shaken heavens and earth.

But it is a word spoken only ‘once more’. Do not, like Esau, treat lightly the invitation of God by putting off until tomorrow what you should do today; we know that he later regretted his decision bitterly (Heb 12:17). Do not, like the Israelites, look back longingly to Egypt, for God has prepared a place for you. Do not, like the Israelites, let weariness and fear halt you on the verge of the promised land, for God is able to overcome. Do not, like the first recipients of this letter, set up camp at Sinai, trying to live by law instead of grace, for God does not dwell there.

Instead, follow the Son into the promised land, to Mount Zion, to ‘a kingdom that cannot be shaken’. As the apostle puts it,

[L]et us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our “God is a consuming fire.” (Heb 12:28-29)

Amen.

Bibliography

Brown, Raymond. The Message of Hebrews : Christ above All, The Bible Speaks Today. Leicester, England ; Downers Grove, Ill., U.S.A.: Inter-Varsity Press, 1988.

Ellingworth, Paul, and Eugene A. Nida. A Handbook on the Letter to the Hebrews, Ubs Handbook Series. New York: United Bible Societies, 1994.

Lloyd-Jones, David Martyn. Spiritual Depression : Its Causes and Cure. London: MarshallPickering, 1998.

Pink, Arthur Walkington. An Exposition of Hebrews. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Book House, 2003.

Endnotes

1. Raymond Brown, The Message of Hebrews : Christ above All, The Bible Speaks Today (Leicester, England ; Downers Grove, Ill., U.S.A.: Inter-Varsity Press, 1988), 227.
2. Heb 4:8. cf. Paul Ellingworth and Eugene A. Nida, A Handbook on the Letter to the Hebrews, Ubs Handbook Series (New York: United Bible Societies, 1994).
3. Here, as elsewhere in Hebrews, the writer uses ‘Jesus’ rather than ‘Christ’ to emphasise his humanness. Brown, The Message of Hebrews : Christ above All, 228.
4. Luke 8:22-25.
5. David Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Spiritual Depression : Its Causes and Cure (London: MarshallPickering, 1998), 235.
6. Rom 3:23.
7. Arthur Walkington Pink, An Exposition of Hebrews (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Book House, 2003), 1043.

One of the great challenges of preaching a series of sermons on a book like Hebrews is trying to find the right places to divide up the text into manageable segments for preaching. It is a challenge because each thought, each step in the argument, is so closely related to both what goes before and what follows that there is little chance to take a breath, let alone slot in an entire week of life! It is like the seamless garments worn by priests – specially woven so that no joins are visible.

Take, for example, the last three verses of Hebrews 4:

Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are — yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. (Heb 4:14–16)

Tim Kirkegard shared with us last week how this is a fitting conclusion to chapters 3 and 4. We who are weak and weary, who are travelling through a wilderness as the Israelites did, are exhorted to ‘approach the throne of grace with confidence’ because that is where we ‘may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.’

But if I were forced to choose, I would have to say that this passage aligns more closely with what follows, for it brings to the fore the idea of the Jesus the great high priest. This is a topic which will occupy the writer right through until chapter 10. Somehow this tremendous invitation is dependent upon the ministry of this great high priest. Similarly at the end of chapter 10 we read:

Therefore, brothers, … since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God. (Heb 10:19, 21-22)

Once again, the invitation is there, and once again it is based upon the priestly ministry of Jesus Christ. So, our task as we read these chapters in between is to keep our eyes, ears and hearts open to hear and to understand this invitation.

Priests in the Old Testament

What do you think of when you hear the word priest? An elderly man, with long robes and a funny hat? Tribal witch doctors, presiding over human sacrifices? Men dressed all in black who go around casting out demons? Today’s society has little place for the idea of priesthood, consigning it to the realm of movie cliché. Yet to properly get at the ideas presented in Hebrews 5, we must set aside these images and return to the Old Testament context.

The Old Testament presents the priesthood as a gift from God, intended to keep his people in relationship with himself. The Israelites were unable to directly approach the presence of God lest they be destroyed because of their sinfulness, but God provided mediators for them in the form of the priests, the sons of Aaron, who would present their gifts and sacrifices to God on their behalf. Such sacrifices could only be offered by the appointed priests, and for anyone else to do so – even the King of Israel!¹ – resulted in condemnation.²

God also appointed one priest, the high priest, whose most important job was to offer sacrifice for the sins of the people once a year. Our God is a god of holiness, and when people act in ways contrary to his will they come under his judgment and condemnation. By rights, they – we! – deserve to be destroyed for their sinfulness. But, in his love, God provides a way that that judgment can be satisfied without destruction of the ones who have sinned, a way that forgiveness may be obtained. But this forgiveness is costly, requiring sacrifice and death. This is where the high priest comes in.

Once a year, on the day known as Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, the high priest would enter in to the most holy place of the temple and offer a sacrifice on behalf of the people. According to the instructions in Leviticus 16, he was to take three animals with him. The first was a ram, to offer as a sacrifice for his own sinfulness. Having been cleansed of his own sin, he was then able to offer sacrifices for the people, by sacrificing one of the goats and letting the other (the proverbial ‘scapegoat’) go free, symbolically carrying away the sins of the people. By obedience to these commandments, the Israelites demonstrated their reliance upon God for forgiveness. Only the sacrifice commanded by God, offered by the high priest chosen by God, was effective in satisfying the holiness of God. God provided the way, the person and the sacrifice.

Human Priests (Heb 5:1-4)

Fast forward 1600 years or so to the time of the letter to the Hebrews. The original recipients of this letter clearly had a great fascination with the history and the traditions of the Jewish people. The writer has now spent four chapters developing the idea that Jesus is the fulfilment of and far superior to all of the trappings of Judaism. Jesus is far superior to prophets (1:1-2), angels (1:4-2:18), Moses and Joshua (3-4).

But, as we have seen, God’s provision of priests to minister on behalf of his people was one of the most important and most distinctive aspects of Jewish religion. How could this ‘new’ religion, Christianity, possibly survive without enjoying the benefits of this priestly ministry? Surprise, surprise: the author responds by showing how Jesus is better than any human high priest.

He does not say that the priesthood is bad, merely that it is insufficient, imperfect. Priests were chosen from among men because they were then representatives, able to understand the people whom they represent because they were one of them. The priest is able to be sympathetic, to ‘deal gently with those who are ignorant and are going astray, since he himself is subject to weakness’ (5:2). He knows what it is to be human, to be imperfect, confused, rebellious. Can you imagine what it would be like to have, say, a cow or an alien as our priest, our mediator, our representative? That would be like having a man appointed as the Minister for Women’s Affairs!

Yet this strength, this sympathy with those who are ‘ignorant and going astray’ is also a weakness, a flaw in the system. Being himself subject to weakness, the priest must first offer sacrifice for his own sins (5:3). What’s more, he must offer the same sacrifices year after year, a point the writer returns to in chapter 7. In fact, even the apparent strength of having a human representative is shown to be flawed when we realise that, in the period in which this letter was written there had been few high priests in Israel who manifested the personal qualities expected of them.³ Priests died, and a good and faithful high priest could be followed immediately by a faithless and corrupt one. One need only think of the high priest Caiaphas and his father-in-law (and also high priest) Annas, who presided over the sham trial of Jesus to see how far the priesthood had fallen.

Jesus, the Great high priest (Heb 5:5-10)

A greater calling (Heb 5:5-6)

This system of human priests, though God-given, good and beneficial, was not perfect. As with so many things in Hebrews, it serves as a pointer to something greater, the shadow of a perfect reality. The writer make the connection of shadow to reality by observing that just as Aaron was chosen by God to serve in this ministry, now God has chosen Christ.

Did you know that ‘Christ’ is not actually Jesus’ surname? Christ, or the Hebrew equivalent Messiah, both have the meaning ‘anointed one’, describing someone set apart for God through having oil poured on their head. This was symbolic of God choosing them for himself. We rightly associate this idea with kingship, for the very first King of Israel, Saul, was anointed by Samuel to be King.⁴ King David was anointed not once but three times!⁵ But we must remember that Aaron and successive priests were also anointed with oil in order to be consecrated as priests.⁶ So when we speak of Jesus as Christ we are proclaiming both his kingship and his priesthood.

Where Aaron’s call was to serve in God’s ‘house’, Jesus is called the Son of God (5:5), the son who rules over God’s house.⁷ In certain cultures, if you seek a favour from the king you approach a member of the king’s household, depending on who was accessible to you. If you know a servant, you approach that servant who then becomes your representative, as when Joseph asked the cupbearer to bring his case before Pharaoh. But Joseph found out that servants don’t make great representatives, for he waited two years for the cupbearer to bring his case to Pharaoh’s notice!⁸ So if you know a member of the king’s council or, better still, the king’s family you approach them. When Mordecai learned of a plot against the king, he approached Queen Esther and his words were heard because of the favour in which the king held Esther. The ultimate, then, is to have the king’s favoured son as your representative – and that is exactly the case here! God says to Jesus, ‘You are my beloved son,’ and it is this Jesus who serves as our mediator, our representative. We can have confidence approaching the throne of grace, because we do so in the name of the favoured son, Jesus.

And this son is appointed a priest forever (5:6). Aaron was called to be high priest, but Aaron died; Jesus is called to be our eternal high priest. Never again will the high priest die, to be succeeded by an inferior, faithless high priest until we are eventually left with the likes of Annas and Caiaphas. No, this high priest, Jesus Christ, is our priest forever.

But what does it mean that he is a priest ‘in the order of Melchizedek’? We will return to this topic when we look at chapter 7 in a couple of weeks’ time, but for now I just want to point out that it took both Aaron and Melchizedek to help us understand the priesthood of Christ. Jesus represents his people as Aaron did, but he also receives the honour of the people as Melchizedek did. Aaron was high priest, but Melchizedek was both priest and king. Both Aaron and Melchizedek had high callings from God, but Jesus Christ has the highest calling of all, that of a Son over God’s house with a ministry that is eternal.

A greater response to weakness (Heb 5:7-10)

Both Aaron and Jesus were subject to weakness (5:2), yet their responses to it were vastly different. Whilst Moses was on Mount Sinai receiving, amongst other things, the instructions on how Aaron was to be consecrated, Aaron was demonstrating the weakness of his character by leading the people into idolatry.⁹ He succumbed to the pressure from the people to turn aside from the very God who had delivered them from Egypt. Instead of pointing them back to Yahweh, the one who had saved them and provided for them, he foolishly agreed to fashion a golden calf as an idol to ‘go before [them]’ in the way that only the LORD himself could.¹⁰ Even when confronted with his sin, Aaron sought to deny responsibility.¹¹

Jesus’ response to weakness and suffering was very different. Though he, too, was pressured to turn aside from God on many occasions, he nevertheless ‘offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the one who could save him from death’ (5:7). There is only one God, and Jesus kept his eyes firmly fixed on him. Only his Father could deliver him, only his Father was worthy of prayers and petitions, only his Father should receive his praise and honour.

Yet this is not to say that Jesus endured these hardships without emotion. In fact, we are told his prayers were offered ‘with loud cries and tears’ (5:7). Jesus felt the burden of temptation, being tempted in every way, but never gave in to it.¹² Aaron and his line were able to sympathise with sinful people for they had walked the same path to the same destination; but, though he starts at the same place, our great high priest leads his people along the right path to the right destination. Hear the invitation of the one who said, ‘Come, follow me’.¹³

And he suffered. Oh, how he suffered! His sufferings, great and small, give us confidence to know that we can trust him, that he knows our needs and that he has the answer. When he invites, ‘Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest,’¹⁴ we know that he himself endured weariness to the point of exhaustion.¹⁵ When he promised ‘living water’ so that we will never thirst again, he knew exactly what it meant to be hungry and thirsty.¹⁶ And we know that the same Jesus who commands us to deny ourself and take up our cross¹⁷ did exactly that: he prayed in a garden with loud cries and tears – to the point of sweating blood! – to the one who could save him from death, denying his own desire for self-preservation, self-determination and self-will, instead submitting reverently to the will of his father;¹⁸ he carried a Roman crucifix through the streets of Jerusalem until he could physically carry it no longer; he was nailed to that cross, suffered 6 hours of agony and died, all in obedience and submission.

Make no mistake, Jesus was no hapless victim of circumstance; he chose to endure these sufferings. At his arrest he said to his sword-wielding companion, ‘Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and he will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels?’¹⁹ Although he is the son over God’s house, though by rights he is entitled to every privilege of sonship, nevertheless he chose to endure these sufferings in order that he might learn first-hand the cost of obedience (5:8).

And when this path of obedience had been walked to the end (that is, ‘made perfect’), ‘he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him’ (5:9). The exact connection between Christ’s obedience and salvation for those who obey him is not spelled out by the author here, but there are at least two valid options. The first, and most obvious, is that by his obedience Jesus was executing the Father’s plan of redemption. Our sins, our weaknesses and failings, were all placed on Christ. He suffered death on a Roman cross as the righteous punishment for those sins. Christians call this transfer of our sins on to Christ ‘justification’, and this is sometimes explained by saying that in making sacrifice for our sin Jesus has made it ‘just as if I never sinned’.

If that were the sole message of the gospel we should cry out in grateful joy, ‘Thank you Jesus!’ But, in the extravagant grace of God, there is more. For in place of the judgment we deserve, we are granted favoured status as obedient sons and daughters of God! Rather than a one-way transfer – our sins onto him – it is a two-way exchange – his obedience onto us. Justification makes us not only ‘just as if I never sinned’ but also ‘just as if I always obeyed’. We don’t just approach the throne of grace in the name of the favoured son but as favoured sons and daughters!

Friends, you are invited to draw near to God. And you may do so confidently… but only on the basis of this exchange. If you are not a Christian, if you have not confessed your sins and sought and received his forgiveness then for you the throne of God will not be one of grace but of judgement. Now is the time to draw near to him, to seek his mercy and grace, to partake of this wonderful two-way exchange. Don’t be like the Israelites who, having followed God through the desert and met with him at Sinai, baulked at entering into the land he had promised them. The next day, they repented of their faithlessness and tried to enter the land, but they had missed their chance. God was not with them. What a difference a day can make! Friends, ‘Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts’!²⁰

We have a priest, who sympathises with us and can represent us to God because he is one of us. We have a high priest, who is called by God to offer the sacrifice for sin that no one else can offer. We have a great high priest who, although a son, did not claim the privileges of a son in a bid to spare himself, but obeyed his father all the way unto death, and in so doing obtained eternal salvation for those who obey him. We have a greater high priest than any who went before, who has a greater calling than Aaron and his progeny. He offered a greater response to suffering and a greater obedience in the face of it, obtaining a greater – an eternal – salvation for his people.

Therefore, since we have [such] a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God… Let us… approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need (Heb 4:14, 16).

A rebuke for spiritual infants (5:11-14)

I would really like to end this message right there. After all, getting to tell people about the work of Jesus in saving his people, calling people into God’s presence… well, that’s like catnip for preachers! But the writer to the Hebrews ends this chapter on a sombre note and that is where we must finish also.

Doubtless the first recipients of this letter had heard at least some of these things before. By this time they ought to have been teaching, not having to re-learn them (5:12). But sadly that was not the case. Instead, they are accused of being ‘slow to learn’ (5:11). They are compared to children, who continue on a diet consisting solely of milk long after they ought to be progressing to solid food as well.

Obviously, there is nothing wrong with a baby drinking milk. Within the next couple of weeks, God-willing, Katrie and I will welcome a new child into our family. That child will, for a period of time, rely entirely upon milk for nutrition. He or she will not have developed to the point that they are able to process other foods. But what if we celebrate a first birthday without solid food? A second? More?? Obviously we would be worried at this point, because we know that milk is not enough to sustain a growing child indefinitely. The milk is supposed to be an enabler for development, but if that development is not taking place then something is wrong. The same is true of spiritual development. We start with one thing that sustains us, but we are expected to grow and mature as a result, to a point where we can also take advantage of other sustenance as well.

We’re not just talking about knowledge and learning here. These are important, but must be coupled with actions – turning away from sin, trusting in God. Together, these are the ‘milk’, the foundational diet of the Christian. If you are not a Christian, or you are a new Christian, it is these that must be your focus. Don’t worry about the doctrine of predestination, or deciding whether you are a pre-millenialist or an amillenialist. These will follow if and when the time is right. Repentance and faith – these are what will sustain you as you grow. Ask God for these things, and trust him to provide them, just as any parent would provide for their child.

You will never outgrow this ‘milk’ – it will always have an important place in your diet – but as you grow you will come to draw on other things for nourishment as well. For as you mature, you will gradually be introduced to situations where you must ‘distinguish good from evil’ (5:14). You will encounter challenges, temptations and sufferings. These will come at the right time, as decided by your Father; for food that may cause great harm to an infant can bring great nutritional benefit to a child. When you encounter these things, you may need new teaching; but, more importantly, you will need to apply the teaching that you already have. It is by ‘constant use’ and ‘training’ (5:14) that Christians become mature, words that imply discipline and focus.

And so I close with an appeal to you who are Christians: are you mature and maturing? Is the solid food of Christian teaching making a difference in your life, or does it just go in one end and out the other? Are you making time to study God’s word? Are you constantly making use of the teachings you have received, training yourself in how to apply them? Do the situations in your life – the challenges, the temptations, the sufferings etc. – do they make you stronger? Or are you hiding behind the privileges of sonship to try and escape them? Are you ‘teachers’ of the gospel, teaching the gospel by the life you live (and using words when necessary)? Or are you slow to learn, needing someone to teach you the fundamentals again and again?

Take some time this week – today! – to honestly consider your life. If the findings are not good, go back to the spiritual milk of repentance and faith. Swallow your pride, and confess your shortcomings to God and trust in him to provide just the food you need when you need it. The wrong food at the wrong time will bring great harm; but the right food at the right time will bring growth and maturity.

Bibliography

Adam, Peter. The Majestic Son: Reading Hebrews Today. Edited by Paul Barnett, Reading the Bible Today. Sydney: Aquila Press, 1992.

Bruce, F. F. The Epistle to the Hebrews. Rev. ed, The New International Commentary on the New Testament. Grand Rapids, Mich.: W.B. Eerdmans, 1990.

Endnotes

1. 1 Sam 13:11-14.
2. Peter Adam, The Majestic Son: Reading Hebrews Today, ed. Paul Barnett, Reading the Bible Today (Sydney: Aquila Press, 1992), 47-8.
3. F. F. Bruce, The Epistle to the Hebrews, Rev. ed., The New International Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids, Mich.: W.B. Eerdmans, 1990), 119.
4. 1 Sam 10:1.
5. 1 Sam 16:3; 2 Sam 2:4; 5:3.
6. Exod 28:41; cf. Exod 29:21, 29; 30:30; 40:13; Lev 6:20; 8:2, 12, 30; Num 3:3.
7. Heb 3:6.
8. Gen 40:23-41:1.
9. Exod 32.
10. Exod 32:1.
11. Exod 32:22-4.
12. Heb 4:15.
13. Matt 4:19; Mark 1:17.
14. Matt 11:28.
15. Luke 8:23.
16. John 4:14.
17. Matt 16:24; Mark 8:34; Luke 9:23.
18. Luke 22:42.
19. Matt 26:53.
20. Heb 4:7; cf. Ps 95:7-8.

We have now spent 7 weeks studying this letter to the Galatians. Paul paints a very clear picture of two different ways of life and says, ‘Pick one.’ He does this by using a series of different but closely related contrasts: true and false ‘gospels’; law and faith; blessing and curse; slave and free; child and heir; spirit and flesh.

As we wrap up this week, we are going to look back over some of these major themes and images of the book, and think about what we must learn, how we should grow and what we are called to do by this letter.

True gospel vs. false ‘gospel’ (Gal 1-2)

I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel — which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned! As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let him be eternally condemned!
     – Gal 1:6-9

Right from the start, the Apostle Paul sets out two choices. There is the true gospel, and there is a false ‘gospel’, which is not really a gospel at all (Gal 1:6-7). There is no middle ground, no in-between. If it is not the true gospel, the whole true gospel, and nothing but the true gospel, then it is no gospel at all. And preaching a gospel other than the true gospel results in condemnation.

The Galatians were being sold a ‘faith-plus’ gospel. They were being told that, in addition to believing in Jesus, they must also make themselves heirs of Abraham and the promises given to him by being circumcised (cf. Acts 15:1-2). In their argument, Jesus plus circumcision equals salvation and blessing. But Paul rejects this outright: no matter who they are, if someone is preaching a ‘gospel’ other than what Paul himself preached, they ought to be condemned (Gal 1:8-9). They are preaching a return to slavery in Egypt, as some of the Israelites did, they are alienating themselves from Christ (Gal 5:4) and proclaiming Christ’s sacrifice to be unnecessary and insufficient (Gal 5:2).

Sadly, faith-plus ‘gospels’ still exist in the church today. What are some of the things people add to the gospel today? Some are things of doctrine: you must believe in the authority of the church or the Pope, or subscribe to a particular view of the creation of the world. Some are things of practice: you must worship using contemporary music, or pray a certain prayer, you must read this or that translation of Scripture, go to these conferences, be baptised as an adult by full immersion and attend this church. The worst of all are those that are close to the truth, that bear a passing resemblance to the truth, but are not true. One example would be the teaching that, in order to be saved, you must continue to exercise obedient faith. On the face of it this looks OK; surely Christians should continue in faithful obedience to Christ? But it is back to front, for obedience springs from and is a result of being saved, rather than being a condition of being saved. The true gospel says that if you are a Christian, you will obey; the false gospel says when you obey you will be a Christian.

It is no exaggeration to say that Paul spends this entire letter trying to explain the difference between the true gospel and the false. More importantly, he begs and pleads with the Galatians to hold on to the truth and not to compromise. He pronounces a curse on the false teachers, saying ‘Let [them] be eternally condemned’ (Gal 1:8-9). He demonstrates the correct attitude, rebuking even one of the most respected leaders of the church for behaviour that was not in line with the truth of the gospel (Gal 2:14).

We, too, have a responsibility to hold firm to the gospel, to act in line with its truth, and to reject those promoting a false gospel. The only way we can do this is by knowing the gospel. Take every opportunity to soak in the truth of the gospel. Read your Bible by yourself, asking God to help you understand and apply it, praying through it line by line. Study the Scriptures with your friends, learning from the insights and applications given to them and sharing your own in turn. Listen to those who preach and teach, whether it be here in this church, in your school, at uni, conferences, always referring back to the Scriptures to see if what they are teaching matches what you find there. Observe those Christians around you who you know to be godly – whether parents, friends, pastors, elders or whoever else – and see how their lives are impacted by the gospel. You can only spot a fake fifty dollar note by knowing what a real one looks like; in the same way, you must know what the true gospel is in order to spot a false one.

And, once spotted, reject it!

Faith vs. law (Gal 3-4)

You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified. I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by observing the law, or by believing what you heard? Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort? Have you suffered so much for nothing — if it really was for nothing? Does God give you his Spirit and work miracles among you because you observe the law, or because you believe what you heard?
     – Gal 3:1-5

Before this faith came, we were held prisoners by the law, locked up until faith should be revealed. So the law was put in charge to lead us to Christ that we might be justified by faith. Now that faith has come, we are no longer under the supervision of the law.

You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.
     – Gal 3:23-29

The false gospel in Galatia was that, in addition to the saving work of Christ, the Galatians now needed to become circumcised and, more generally, to adopt the practices required in the Jewish Law. This encompasses at least the first five books of the Bible, the Pentateuch, but probably the whole of what we call the Old Testament is in view.
So Paul directs all of his considerable influence and effort towards helping the Galatians to understand the true place of the law in salvation history. He makes very clear that the law cannot bring justification or salvation, but only death and condemnation (Gal 2:16). Once you commit to obeying the law, you must obey all of it or else come under a curse (Gal 3:10). It declares us to be prisoners of sin, needing to be rescued (Gal 3:22). More positively, Paul says the law is an overseer and guardian its function is to lead us to Christ, at which point we are set free from its supervision (Gal 3:24-25).

Let me ask you a deeply profound theological question: Why do you brush your teeth? Perhaps you may answer with reference to dental hygiene and oral health. You may, if you’re honest, talk about avoiding the dentist and his fearsome weapons and even more fearsome bills! Or perhaps it’s just habit that keeps you doing it. My son, Aedan, is 4 years old. Why do you think he brushes his teeth? The truth is, he does it because Katrie and I tell him to. This is right and good, as obeying one’s parents is a good thing. But what if that is his only reason for doing it? What happens when he is 14? or 40? If he is still brushing his teeth just because, ‘Mummy and Daddy told me to,’ or, worse, not brushing his teeth at all, what will we think? Something has gone wrong, for by then he should be mature enough to understand the actual reasons for doing it. The action should come from within him, rather than being imposed on him by his parents.

The same is true of the law. Its purpose was and is to lead people to Christ. When we read the Old Testament today, we must always be asking, ‘How does this lead to Christ? How does it point to him?’ When we read rules about sacrifices, priests, purification, slavery and so on, we must ask how they relate to Christ. For example, the book of Hebrews teaches us that Jesus is the final and perfect sacrifice, and that no further sacrifices are required (Heb 7:27). He is also the great high priest (Heb 4:14) and no other is required. In both these cases, the law pointed towards Christ and, now that he is come, they are no longer required to do this. So too with slavery, for Christ has redeemed us once for all from our bondage. In other cases, the OT laws will find confirmation in the NT, such as the laws about murder, adultery and so on. Sometimes it is not clear how the OT command ought to be interpreted today, and in these cases I can only suggest you ask the Spirit within you to confirm the right course.

We should not, like some early church heretics, abandon the OT. It is still relevant, though not always in the same way that it was for the Israelites. For we live in the time after Christ’s revelation, and everything must be reevaluated in that light. Read your OT as well as your NT, for there is much to learn; but read it with an eye to Jesus Christ and his life and work. It is a means to wisdom, but not, of itself, to salvation.

So what is the means by which salvation comes? Paul is very clear: salvation comes only by faith in Jesus Christ. ‘The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me’ (Gal 2:20). It is by believing in Christ that we have received God’s Holy Spirit (Gal 3:2-5). Believe the promises of God, Paul says, and this will be credited to you as righteousness; this is how it was for Abraham (Gal 3:6, 9). It is by faith that we become sons of God (Gal 3:26), and all stand equal in the face of God’s promises (Gal 3:28). Where those relying on the law are cursed and obligated to do all it commands (Gal 3:10), Christ redeemed us from the curse (Gal 3:13) and, in fact, became and bore that curse for us, in our place, leaving only a blessing for Jews and Gentiles alike (Gal 3:14). The law brings only curse, and no blessing; in Christ there is no curse, but only blessing.

Paul spends a great deal of time in chapters 3 and 4 talking about Abraham. This is probably a sign that the preachers of circumcision were appealing to the blessings associated with being children of Abraham. Paul takes up this argument, but redirects it by reminding the Galatians that Abraham had two children, Ishmael and Isaac, both of whom received the rite of circumcision; but only Isaac was an heir of the promises given to Abraham (Gal 4:21-5:1). So if circumcision was not the defining characteristic, what was? Two things. Firstly, one was a child born of human efforts, the other born by the gracious promise and gift of God. Secondly, Ishmael was the son of a slave, and thus himself a slave; Isaac was born to Sarah, Abraham’s wife, and was so an heir. The true children of Abraham are those who believe the promises of God, and are thus born of the Spirit to true freedom.

Friends, the law, or anything else that we try and substitute as the foundation for our faith – personal piety, church attendance, becoming evangelists or missionaries or whatever – is not the way of freedom. These things are all good things, but if they are what drives us on in the Christian walk, if they are what we hold up as our defining characteristics, then they will lead only to obligation, slavery and curse. If, instead, we live our lives trusting in the promises of God, looking to him to guide us and provide for us, believing in his love and protection, then we are free and blessed heirs of Abraham.

Freedom in the Spirit (Gal 5-6)

You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love. The entire law is summed up in a single command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” If you keep on biting and devouring each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.

So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law.
     – Gal 5:13-18

We are no longer subject to slavery, but are made free (Gal 5:1). But ‘freedom’ is all too easily misunderstood by the world. For them, ‘freedom’ means being able to do whatever they want when they want; it is freedom from obligation. But Christian freedom is the freedom to meet our obligations to one another. Life in the Spirit is community life, and we must use our freedom to serve one another in love (Gal 5:13-14). In this way we do not set aside but fulfil the law (Gal 5:14).
Paul is not backtracking or contradicting himself. This life of mutual love and service can only come about as a result of the work of the Holy Spirit in our life, and the Spirit, as we have already mentioned, comes only by faith in Jesus Christ (Gal 3:2-5) according to the promise of God (Gal 3:14). We do not receive the Spirit by what we do, but by believing the promises of God; so we cannot expect to live a life of love and service unless we have first been saved, and received the Spirit.

Christian freedom is also freedom to fight. Paul describes the Christian life using the vivid metaphor of a war between the sinful fleshly nature, and the nature born of the Spirit (Gal 5:17). We have been freed from the enemy camp, so we should not use our freedom to return there (Gal 5:13). For those in Christ, the sinful nature has been crucified (Gal 5:24). Though its death may be slow, it is assured, so do not return to it.

We fight alongside other Christians, under the leadership of the Spirit. So let us serve one another, bearing one another’s burdens (Gal 6:2), shouldering our own load (Gal 6:5) and walking in step with the Spirit (Gal 5:25). In this way, we will not sow dissension in the ranks, but will fight with and for one another. The battles will be hard, but the victory is never in doubt.

Where do you see yourself in this fight? Are you on the front line, fighting daily? Have you been wounded and evacuated to receive help? Or are you caught behind enemy lines, trying to blend in with the people around you and not get noticed? Where do you want to be?

Conclusion

In closing, by way of summing up this letter to the Galatians, let me ask you what is it that you rely upon? When the chips are down, where do you turn? When you miss out on the place in uni you wanted, your aunt is diagnosed with leukaemia, your parents are fighting all the time and on the verge of splitting up, you are in financial distress, you have a fight with your best friend, your brother loses his job – what is your plan? Alternately, who or what gets the credit when things are going well? You get promoted, you have great friends, you’re getting married, your kid (or kid brother) turns to Christ – is that all you, your obedience, your character, your hard work? Or is it your friends, church, family or just plain luck?

No matter who you profess as your Saviour with your mouth, your answers to these questions will help you to see who you are actually counting on to save you. For the Galatians, they were being told to rely on their own obedience to the law; you and I are being told to rely on ourselves and our friends, our education and our initiative. Yet all of these things are false saviours, false gods, and will enslave us. If education is your saviour, you will spend all of your time and money on acquiring it, but it will enslave you not save you. If money is your saviour, you will bend all your efforts towards gaining it, but it will enslave you not save you. If friends are your saviour you will live a life trying to please others and thus gain friends, but this life will enslave you not save you.

You have a choice. On the one hand, you can choose the false ‘gospel’ that looks like good news but isn’t – ‘You can save yourself!’ The result of this choice will be that you are enslaved, cursed, following the way that leads only to death. On the other hand, you can turn to the true gospel, the only gospel, and believe in Jesus, dying to your old life (Gal 2:19-20) and rising a new creation (Gal 6:15). This way leads to life, to blessing, to freedom and heirship, to life in the Spirit and redemption from slavery.

The only Saviour who brings freedom is Jesus Christ. The only Saviour who gives you the Holy Spirit is Jesus Christ. The only Saviour who will truly save you is Jesus Christ.

Believe in him.

Have you ever heard a really good musician play or sing? I mean reaallly good. We marvel at the freedom they have to pick up their instrument and play whatever music they like. Do they feel like playing classical music? Well, OK then! Jazz? No worries. Rock? Pop? Easy. Fast, slow, high, low… doesn’t matter, they’re up for it. And it’s like they don’t even have to think about it, like they could, if they felt so inclined, be playing a game of chess and reading a book on the side! What wouldn’t you give to have that kind of freedom?

What did they give for that freedom? In most cases, that freedom has come at the cost of long hours of practice, tuition, practice, performance, practice, theory, practice and study. Oh, and did I mention practice? Many of us will have started down the path of learning an instrument, a language, a sport, or some other skill. Sometimes this is at the prompting of our parents, part of our schooling, or simply following a fad (yo-yos anyone?). But unless that skill finds a resonance within us, unless we come to a place where the discipline to continue flows from within us, we will never be truly free.

In the same way, the freedom of the Christian life must spring from the Holy Spirit within us; it cannot be imposed from without by the law, or by anything else. Yet that does not mean that we will not do what the law commands. Both the musician who enjoys her music and the one learning at the behest of her parents go through the same routines – practising and performing – but for the one this is freedom and for the other a kind of bondage. So, too, Christians will naturally do the things that the law requires; but for them it is an exercise of freedom rather than bondage. They are not freed from the law, but freed to fulfil the law.¹

But what does that look like? In Galatians 5:13, which we looked at last week, the Apostle Paul wrote:

You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love.

In these two sentences, Paul describes the Christian life both negatively and positively: do not indulge the sinful nature, but do serve one another in love. We looked at the first part of this last week, from Galatians 5. This week, in chapter 6, we return to the idea of serving one another in love.

Serving one another in love (Gal 5:14; 6:1-6)

When Paul says ‘serve one another in love’, the verb means ‘to perform the duties of a slave’.² What a paradox: we Christians are called to be free… to be slaves to one another.³ This doesn’t seem to fit easily into our category of ‘freedom’; but, then, neither would practising scales, or kicking goals, or memorising verbs. Yet all of these contribute to freedom in their own way.

In Galatians 6, Paul gives us examples of serving one another in love. In verse 1 he describes a Christian being ‘caught in a sin’. Sad to say, Christians do fall into temptation and sin. But we, as a loving Christian community, are called to ‘restore’ them, a word used for setting a fractured bone,⁴ or mending broken nets (Matt 4:21 // Mark 1:19). This action is both positive and active.⁵ Our response should not be to condemn them, saying, ‘It serves them right.’ Nor should we stand aside with the excuse, ‘It’s none of my business.’ We should not gossip to others, ‘Did you hear what Frank did?’ We are not even called to report them to the pastors or elders.⁶ No, we are instructed to ‘restore’ him or her, to assist them in getting back on the right path. When a bone is broken, it must be set, bound up and reinforced with splints and casts; so too when a Christian is engulfed in the brokenness that sin brings, they will need to be set right and offered support.

Who is responsible for this restoration? Paul addresses the command to ‘you who are spiritual’ (Gal 6:1). Given that Paul has just finished instructing the Galatians to ‘keep in step with the [Holy] Spirit’ (Gal 5:25), the ones who are ‘spiritual’ are the Galatian Christians and, by extension, all Christians.⁷ That means you and me. And we are to do this ‘gently’; in fact, only Christians are characteristically gentle, for gentleness is one of the fruits of the Spirit described in the previous chapter.⁸

We are also instructed to do this watchfully, lest we also be tempted (Gal 6:1). I do not think Paul is only referring to us being tempted to sin in the same way as the one we are restoring, though this is also possible. If we are helping someone to repent of unfaithfulness, or greed, or violence, or pornography then the folly of these things is clearly before us in the brokenness of the one we are helping. More insidious is the temptation to be judgmental, or self-congratulatory that you have not failed in the same way (or, perhaps, you’ve just hidden it better?). Paul jumps on these things straight away:

If anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself. Each one should test his own actions. Then he can take pride in himself, without comparing himself to somebody else, for each one should carry his own load. Gal 6:2-5.

Christians can be self-deceived about their own work and worth in two ways. The first is comparison, where we find someone who is ‘worse’ than us, and say, ‘Gee, aren’t I doing well by comparison – I must be a wonderful Christian’; or we find someone doing ‘better’, and say, ‘They’re doing so much better than me – I must be a terrible Christian.’ Either way, we deceive ourselves, because God does not assign worth in such ways.

The second way Christians deceive themselves is by failing to test their own work. I am a software engineer, and it is a well known maxim amongst engineers that, ‘If it’s not tested, it’s broken.’ Testing is how we find out when something is defective or broken. This is not a new concept. In fact, the Greek word used here for ‘test’ was often applied to the purification of gold. The gold is melted, and any impurities within it simply burn away. Thus the testing is both the means and the proof of quality and purification.

But what is the standard for such testing, if not comparison with others? Paul offered us a number of useful markers of a high-quality Christian life – that is, a spiritual life – in Galatians 5: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Ask yourself honestly, do you see these things in your life? Are you growing in them? Do they characterise your relationships with others? Test your life and works against this standard, and see how they fare.

It is vital that we do this testing, otherwise we will either neglect to bear one another’s burdens or to bear our own load.⁹ Note that there is no contradiction here, for two different words are used, translated ‘burden’ and ‘load’ respectively. The context here suggests that the first is a load too big to be borne alone, whereas the second is rightfully the responsibility of the person who carries it. In fact, the latter is often used of a soldier’s pack or knapsack. We are to bear one another’s ‘burdens’, which are too heavy to be carried by one person alone, but there is one burden that we cannot share, and that is responsibility for our own actions.¹⁰ Even when we are receiving help from the believing community, we are still responsible for what we do or don’t do. We cannot rely upon other members of the church to read the Bible for us, to pray for our families, to teach our children, or to steward our resources. Though we may receive help in all of these areas, the responsibility is upon us to do it.

The same may be said of the church as a community. If we spend our time comparing ourselves to other churches (‘They have more people,’ or ‘We are more involved in mission,’ or ‘Wouldn’t it be nice to have their resources,’ or ‘They teach some rubbish there,’ or whatever) then we may fail to partner with them in burdens that should be borne together, or fail in carrying the load we ought to be responsible for. We cannot leave the work of global or local mission to other churches, just because they have more people, or more money. We must contribute to the work of Scripture teachers in our schools, we must participate in things like Operation Christmas Child, Live Below the Line, 40 Hour Famine and so on. These are burdens that are too big for one church to bear alone. But we must also meet our own responsibilities. We cannot sit back and wait for someone else to disciple and teach us, or to care for the needs of our congregation. If our ministry depends on us employing pastoral staff (Gal 6:6), having a church building, and sending out missionaries, then we must take ownership of those things. When someone in our church is sick, or grieving, or suffering, we as a church are to be at the forefront of meeting that need for it is our responsibility. These things are our ‘load’ to carry as a church.

Life in the Spirit is community life: we are called to care for others, to serve one another in love, to bear one another’s burdens. But we are also instructed to carry our own loads.

Growing in service: sowing and reaping (Gal 6:7-10)

But how do we become individuals and a community that does these things? Paul says that what you sow determines what you reap. ‘It is not the reapers who decide what the harvest is going to be like, but the sowers.’¹¹ If we want to become people who are spiritual, who live life in the Spirit, we must sow the things that are of the Spirit. If, however, we sow the things of the sinful nature, we should expect to reap a life and a community of the same kind, one where people are ‘conceited, provoking and envying each other’ (Gal 5:26).
How do we know which are which? Back in chapter 5, Paul gave us some examples of both acts of the sinful nature and fruits of the Spirit. Every time we wallow in self-pity, or nurse a grudge, indulge in impure fantasies, envy our neighbour, lash out in anger or snipe about someone behind their back we are sowing to the flesh. Rather than a good harvest, such a farmer should expect only a harvest of weeds, good only for the fire (Matt 13:24-30).¹²

This lines up with our own experience doesn’t it? When we think and act in sinful ways, the consequences tend to be sinful as well. Speaking harsh words produces enmities. Gossiping results in ill will. Lust grows sexual impurities. Worse still, ancient farmers would use a portion of their crop as seed for the next year’s crop. But if we keep planting weeds, pretty soon we will have nothing but weeds to plant!

I read a book some years ago that describes the same problem from a different angle. Speaking of doing battle with sexual temptation, this book describes our sex drive as a sumo wrestler. In one corner is Mr Sex Drive – fed up on ‘a billion meals of lust and fantasy’.¹³ In the other corner… you. Things don’t look good – he’s many times bigger than you, and consistently, effortlessly, sends you flying out of the ring. The book goes on to explain that the only way to overcome is to ‘Starve the sumo’. By cutting out the sumo’s food – sexy movies, TV, music, websites etc. – you can reduce his power over you, and even the odds in those contests in the ring.¹⁴

What is true of one appetite is true of others as well. The more you ‘feed’ them, the stronger they become; you must learn to deny them their desires. Starve that sumo! Work out what it is feeding on, and do whatever you need to to eliminate or avoid those things. Is it drunkenness? Don’t hang out in pubs. Is it pornography? Don’t use the computer in your bedroom, or leave the door open. Do you struggle with negativity or gossip? Choose carefully who you spend your time with. Remember from last week Paul’s declaration and promise: ‘Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires.’ Crucifixion may be a slow death, but it is a certain one. Stop sowing thoughts and acts of the sinful nature into your life, because what you sow controls what you reap.

But it is not enough just to stop sowing bad things. We must also start to sow the good things, the things that please the Spirit. Again, Paul gave us a list of examples in Galatians 5:22-23: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Sow these things into your life. Do you have the opportunity to make peace with someone you’ve quarrelled with? Do it! Is your neighbour struggling with their children, groceries or housework? Give them a hand! Forgive those who have wronged you, and seek forgiveness from those you have wronged. When you sow the things of the Spirit, you can expect a harvest in kind. And just as farmers use one harvest as seed for the next crop, so you will be able to replant this harvest. It has been truly said, ‘Sow a thought, reap an act; sow an act, reap a habit; sow a habit, reap a character; sow a character, reap a destiny’.¹⁵

For these reasons, Paul’s command is to sow, and keep on sowing. The only thing that can threaten the one who sows Spiritual things is ‘weariness’ that causes us to lose hope and ‘give up’ (Gal 6:9).¹⁶ Crops do not spring up overnight, sumos are not starved in a day; and an instrument is not mastered in an instant; neither does Christian character magically appear straight away. But if you are tired of sowing, and leave half your field unsown you will only reap half a crop.¹⁷ We must be patient, knowing that the fruit of our harvest lies in the future rather than immediate gratification, yet is no less valuable for that. Sow the word of God (Gal 6:6). Sow into your own life, sowing to please the Spirit (Gal 6:7-8). Sow into the lives of all people, and particularly fellow believers (Gal 6:10).

Friends, ‘as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people’ (Gal 6:10), not as a way of earning salvation but in response to the salvation and promise already received, the hope of a ‘harvest if we do not give up’ (Gal 6:9).

Boast in Christ (Gal 6:11-18)

As he comes to the conclusion of this Epistle, Paul leaves off dictation and takes up the pen to write the final paragraphs in his own hand (Gal 6:11). In so doing, he returns to the topic of circumcision, exposing the motives of those who are promoting it. These motives are: (1) making a good impression; (2) avoiding persecution; and (3) having grounds for boasting. Let’s examine these in turn.

As already noted, the desire to compare ourselves to others stops us from loving one another and bearing one another’s burdens. Well, so does the need to ‘make a good impression’. When caught up in this way of life, we get so focused on how we can impress our ‘audience’ that we don’t stop to consider whether our actions are loving or not. We may bear someone else’s burdens, but only if it makes us look good, if we think we might get credit for it. In the case of the Galatians, the circumcision party were clearly looking to impress other Jews: ‘Look how many have converted to Judaism because of our preaching.’ Possibly the ones tempted to agree to being circumcised wanted to show off their devotion and piety. In both cases, the result was alienation from Christ (Gal 5:4) and slavery imposed and received respectively. Modern day equivalents might be those who exult in the number of baptisms or church members they have, their association with other famous Christians or churches, participation in certain conferences or singing certain music.

Who are you trying to impress? Do you want your Christian friends to notice how you’re always talking about Jesus, how you go to church twice on Sundays, you know all the words to all the songs, how well you know your Bible and so on? Or perhaps it is your non-Christian friends who are on your radar. Is it important that they know you give to charity and that you care about the environment? To my shame, when I was in uni, I used to try and distinguish myself from the ‘super-Christians’ on campus by being almost aggressively non-evangelistic, in order to convince my non-Christian friends that though I was a Christian I was alright to hang out with. I invite you to stop and think about the way you relate to others: what is it that drives your behaviour? Is it the fruit of the Spirit growing within your life? Or is it just you trying to make a good impression?

The circumcisers were also trying to avoid persecution. Paul himself had been an avid persecutor of the church, as he relates in Galatians 1:13-14, 24, and there were doubtless many other Jews out doing the same. Perhaps there was also security in being part of a recognised religion, protected under Roman law. Whatever the case, Paul himself was evidence that persecution was a normal part of the Christian life (Gal 6:17). It is to be expected. As we learned last week, the Christian life is one of conflict between the forces of the sinful nature and those of the Spirit.

It also seems likely the circumcision party were attempting to minimise or make up for the ‘offense of the cross’ (Gal 5:11). The cross is the ultimate symbol of human failure, man’s inability to meet God’s requirements on his own. This is still an unpopular message today, and proclaiming it is likely to result in both offense and persecution. Try telling a non-Christian that they do not, indeed cannot, match up to God’s standards. Try explaining to them that any attempts on their own part at closing the gap actually make it worse. In most cases, the initial reaction is one of offense, often followed by persecution. Yet we must not try to ‘tone down’ the cross in an effort to make it more palatable and less offensive. We cannot afford to compromise, for to compromise is to be alienated from Christ (Gal 5:4).

The third motive for law-keeping is a desire to boast. Not all boasting is bad. In fact, Paul contrasts two different types of boasting in these closing verses. ‘Once more, at the end of his letter, he returns to the antithesis of cross and circumcision, setting them forth this time as representing respectively the true and false ground of boasting’.¹⁸ Negatively, Paul says that the circumcisers are looking to boast about the Galatians’ flesh, much as David offered up 100 Philistine foreskins in order to become King Saul’s son-in-law (1 Sam 18:25-27).¹⁹ Yet they are hypocrites, who for all their enthusiasm about others obeying the law, fail to keep it themselves!

Over against this example, Paul set himself. Where the Judaisers boasted about the law and the benefits of circumcision, Paul boasts about the cross of Christ. The circumcisers claim a wound in their flesh as their badge of honour; Paul, though he bore that same wound, boasts in the far more profound wounds of crucifixion (Gal 6:17).²⁰ Back in chapter 5 Paul said:

In Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love. Gal 5:6

Here he reiterates:

Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything; what counts is new creation. Gal 6:15

The cross of Jesus Christ was the means by which God has brought about new creation.²¹ The cross marks an absolute break between the old and the new world, and the distinction between circumcision and uncircumcision belongs to the old world. What matters is that you belong to the new creation.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, if you are looking for something to boast about, make sure it is this:

• Jesus Christ lived the life we could not live, in complete fulfilment of the law, and nothing we can do can compare to that.
• Jesus Christ died on a Roman cross to pay the penalty for our sins we could not pay, and nothing we can do can add to that.
• Jesus Christ rose from death, bringing new creation and new life to all who believe in him, and nothing we or anyone else can do will take away from that.

The Christian life is not about boasting in what we have, can or will do; it is boasting about what Jesus has done!

Bibliography

Arterburn, Stephen, Fred Stoeker, and Mike Yorkey. Every Young Man’s Battle: Strategies for Victory in the Real World of Sexual Temptation. 1st ed, The Every Man Series. Colorado Springs: WaterBrook Press, 2002.

Boice, James Montgomery. Galatians. Edited by Frank E. Gaebelein and J. D. Douglas. Accordance electronic ed, Expositor’s Bible Commentary. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1977.

Bruce, F. F. The Epistle to the Galatians: A Commentary on the Greek Text. Accordance electronic ed, New International Greek Testament Commentary. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1982.

Cole, R. A. The Letter of Paul to the Galatians : An Introduction and Commentary. 2nd ed, The Tyndale New Testament Commentaries. Nottingham: Inter-Varsity Press, 1989.

Fung, Ronald Y. K. The Epistle to the Galatians, The New International Commentary on the New Testament. Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1988.

Keener, Craig S. The Ivp Bible Background Commentary: New Testament. Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 1993.

Longenecker, Richard N. Galatians. Accordance/Thomas Nelson electronic ed, Word Biblical Commentary. Waco: Word Books, 1990.

Schreiner, Thomas R. Paul, Apostle of God’s Glory in Christ : A Pauline Theology. Leicester: Inter-Varsity, 2001.

Stott, John R. W. The Message of Galatians. Accordance electronic ed, The Bible Speaks Today. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1984.

Endnotes

1. ‘Freedom in Christ does not entail freedom from ought (Gal 5:1, 13); it provides freedom to carry out what ought to be done.’ Thomas R. Schreiner, Paul, Apostle of God’s Glory in Christ : A Pauline Theology (Leicester: Inter-Varsity, 2001), 231.
2. BDAG, s.v. δουλεύω.
3. John R. W. Stott, The Message of Galatians, Accordance electronic ed., The Bible Speaks Today (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1984), 142. R. A. Cole, The Letter of Paul to the Galatians : An Introduction and Commentary, 2nd ed., The Tyndale New Testament Commentaries (Nottingham: Inter-Varsity Press, 1989), 206.
4. James Montgomery Boice, Galatians, ed. Frank E. Gaebelein and J. D. Douglas, Accordance electronic ed., Expositor’s Bible Commentary (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1977), n. p.
5. Stott, Galatians, 160.
6. Though this would clearly be appropriate in the event of criminal wrongdoing, as would notifying the relevant secular authorities.
7. Richard N. Longenecker, Galatians, Accordance/Thomas Nelson electronic ed., Word Biblical Commentary (Waco: Word Books, 1990), 273.
8. Stott, Galatians, 161-2.
9. Boice, Galatians, n. p.
10. Stott, Galatians, 159-60.
11. Ibid., 166.
12. F. F. Bruce, The Epistle to the Galatians: A Commentary on the Greek Text, Accordance electronic ed., New International Greek Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1982), 265.
13. Stephen Arterburn, Fred Stoeker, and Mike Yorkey, Every Young Man’s Battle: Strategies for Victory in the Real World of Sexual Temptation, 1st ed., The Every Man Series (Colorado Springs: WaterBrook Press, 2002), 132.
14. Ibid., 132-4.
15. We should also note in passing that it is also true that the more you sow, the more you reap. If you sow generously, you will get a large crop; if you sow sparingly, your crop will be small (2 Cor 9:6).
16. Cole, Galatians, 230.
17. Stott, Galatians, 171-2.
18. Ronald Y. K. Fung, The Epistle to the Galatians, The New International Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1988), 300.
19. Boice, Galatians, ad loc.
20. Craig S. Keener, The Ivp Bible Background Commentary: New Testament (Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 1993), ad loc.
21. Fung, Galatians, 308-9.

On the first of January, 1863, the American Emancipation Proclamation came into effect. By it, all of the black slaves in the United States were set free. Yet a strange thing happened, for many continued to live in slavery. When an Alabama slave was asked what he thought of Abraham Lincoln, the Great Emancipator he replied, ‘I don’t know nothin’ ’bout Abraham Lincoln cep they say he sot us free. And I don’t know nothin’ ’bout that neither’.¹

It is not enough to declare someone as being free if they ‘don’t know nothin’ ’bout it’ – instead, they must be taught and shown what it means to be free. And, as we shall see, this is very close to the Apostle Paul’s heart, for he spends the final two chapters laying out his vision for the freedom a Christian is to enjoy. It is a freedom bought at great price, and not to be squandered. It is a freedom to pursue a different kind of service: not the forced servitude of slavery, but the willing service of love for one another. It is not a freedom characterised by the indulgence of the sinful nature, but of growth and health and goodness. Above all, this freedom that Paul speaks of is a spiritual freedom, of walking in step with the Holy Spirit, of standing firm in the midst of conflict and cooperating with the Spirit’s work in our lives.

Tonight we will survey spiritual freedom under the following headings: purpose, origin, interruption, nature and battle.

The purpose of spiritual freedom (Gal 5:1)

A study done some years ago found that nearly 60% of smokers undergoing surgery for heart disease continue to smoke after their procedure.² Even though this was exactly the action that led to them requiring surgery in the first place, they have somehow failed to understand the purpose of their newly restored health. Why were they cured? So they could be healthy, of course; not so they could destroy their health all over again.

We sense some measure of frustration in Paul, akin to a cardiologist doing a follow up with a patient who smells of nicotine. ‘It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery’ (Gal 5:1 NIV, emphasis added). In ancient times, one of the ways a slave might be freed would be that his master sold him to one of the pagan gods; in such a case, the former slave would be presented with a document stating he had been freed ’for freedom’, and ‘let no man henceforth enslave him’. Technically he remained the slave of the god, but in the eyes of men he was a free man.³

It seems strange to our ears to hear of smokers returning to smoking, or of slaves returning to slavery. Why do they do it? Perhaps, like the Israelites in the wilderness it is a question of comfort: they remember the familiar things, the things they enjoyed, and block out the negatives. ‘Better the devil you know’, they say or, ‘We may have been slaves, but at least we knew where our next meal was coming from.’ And in so saying, they forget that they were slaves, subject to oppression by cruel masters. Or maybe it is just old habits, like an alcoholic ordering a beer or a gambling addict turning to the form guide, forgetting for the moment that they have left those things behind.

Friends, if you belong to Jesus Christ, you have been redeemed from slavery. I don’t know the specifics of the slavery that you have been redeemed from. Perhaps your life was characterised by pride, envy or bitterness; maybe you lived for the approval of others, or your own ambitions; or was it greed? anger? lust? Or, perhaps worst of all, maybe you were saved from your own religiosity, your attempts to prove yourself a Christian by church attendance, giving an outward appearance of Christian character and behaviour. Whatever it was, there will be times when those things seem pretty attractive, or when you act out of habit. The Apostle’s instruction is clear: don’t forget that they are slavery, that you have been set free, so stand firm.

The origin of spiritual freedom (Gal 5:2-6)

In the case of the Galatians, they were not actually returning to the same slavery they had been redeemed from, but were being sold a new kind of ‘freedom’.⁴ Jewish boys were circumcised in order to show their obedience to the law of God, hence claiming for themselves the covenant promises God made to Abraham (Gen 17:10-14). Perhaps the argument went that the Galatians could not be granted the ‘freedom’ as sons of Abraham unless they were first circumcised, as Abraham’s sons were.

But Paul is intent to show that this ‘freedom’ is not really freedom at all, if it is founded on this rite and the law that goes with it. To this end, he mobilises every scrap of his authority as an apostle:⁵ ‘I, Paul,’ the circumcised Jew and expert in the law, proud of my heritage as a Jew;⁶ ‘I, Paul,’ the apostle who brought the Gospel to Galatia, who has undergone the pains of giving birth to you not once but now a second time (Gal 4:19); ‘I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no value to you at all.’ And, in case you missed it back in chapter 3, when I said that ‘All who rely on observing the law are under a curse’ (Gal 3:10),⁷ ‘Again I declare to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is obligated to obey the whole law.’ In the original language here, the words translated ‘value’ and ‘obliged’ sound similar; we might get something of the contrast by translating, ‘You will not profit from Christ but will be in debt to the law.’⁸ Obligation and debt is not the way of freedom!

Paul continues, arguing that those seeking to be justified by law have driven a wedge between themselves and Christ. Jesus provides unlimited help to those who trust in him; those who seek to bypass his saving work and make themselves acceptable by other means receive no help at all from him, for they have fallen away from grace.⁹

This is a warning for us. It is true that, if you belong to Christ, he has promised to keep you by his grace. But just like road signs and guard rails that help keep us safely on the road, warnings like this remind us to keep putting our trust in Christ.¹⁰

The answer, Paul says, is not what you do, but what you hope for. ‘But by faith we eagerly await through the Spirit the righteousness for which we hope’ (Gal 5:5). Note the vicious circle: lack of faith or lack of hope makes us want to ensure our own salvation now; but such attempts are ever uncertain or, rather, certain to fail, so faith and hope are destroyed.¹¹ Turning this around, however, when we put our faith in Jesus our hope is certain and secure, for there is nothing uncertain about hope in the New Testament.¹² If you belong to Christ Jesus, his obedience to God in his life and in his death have won for you the title ‘child of God’ (Gal 3:26), and if you are a child then you will share in the inheritance (Gal 3:29; 4:7). Because you are a child of God, he has sent his Holy Spirit into your heart (Gal 4:6) and it is through this same Spirit that we await the future proclamation of our righteousness.

Friends, there is a clear choice before you: on the one hand, you can choose to try and achieve your own righteousness, in which case Christ is of no value to you, and you have no hope; or you can put your faith in Christ, in which case neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. True freedom comes from faith in Jesus Christ.

The interruption of the Galatians’ spiritual freedom (Gal 5:7-12)

At some point, the Galatians must have understood this. For Paul, taking up again one of his favourite metaphor of the Christian life,¹³ says, ‘You were running a good race’ (Gal 5:7). This image, taken from the ancient athletic track, illustrates Paul’s image of freedom well. There is a clear goal (the finish line), and we must keep moving towards that goal. Yet there are also lanes that mark out the direction, and failure to keep within these lines results in disqualification. Paul suggests someone has left their lane, disqualifying themselves in the process, and ‘cut in’ on the Galatians preventing them from running towards the goal.

Who were these navigationally challenged competitors? The people who had come to Galatia trying to convince the Galatians to accept circumcision. In fact, ‘cut in’ here may well be double entendre, referring to both the race metaphor and to circumcision itself.
A question arises, though: If, as Paul has said, neither circumcision nor uncircumcision is of any value (Gal 5:6), why not be on the safe side in case circumcision really does matter to God in the end? This is what some people want to do today, deliberately speaking in language of ‘spirituality’ or of ‘god’ in such vague terms that it might include the God of the Bible, Allah, Buddha, Vishnu, Mother Nature, the Divine Self or even the Flying Spaghetti Monster. Kind of an each-way bet.

Paul has already offered a number of arguments against this line of thinking: circumcision means abandoning Christ (Gal 5:2), and being obligated to obey the whole law (Gal 5:3). Here he offers another two arguments. Firstly, the persuasion does not come from the one who called them (Gal 5:8). This may refer to Paul himself, but in view of what he says in chapter 1 about the Gospel originating with Jesus, I believe he probably means Christ here. ‘Even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned!’ (Gal 1:8) Indeed, here he says ‘The one who is throwing you into confusion will pay the penalty’ (Gal 5:10).

The second argument offered again circumcision is that ‘a little yeast works through the whole batch of dough’ (Gal 5:9). Yeast was a common image for sin in the Old Testament: hence in preparation for OT feasts such as passover, the Israelites were instructed to eat only bread baked without yeast. Here the point is that allowing even a little sinful thinking or action into our life and the life of our church results in the whole thing being contaminated. A friend of mine told me recently about having spent some time preparing a baking tray ready for baking. Having completed this, however, his wife decided to take out the trash and, in the process of removing the garbage managed to drip ‘bin juice’ into the baking tray. I can’t imagine there was a vast quantity of ‘bin juice’; yet a little bin juice would spoil the effort! And sin spreads. We treat cancer as soon as it is detected, even if it is very small and inconsequential at the time, because it is the nature of cancer to grow and to spread.

There is an important lesson here: when it comes to sin, do not compromise. Do not allow it a foot in the door. Do not tell yourself that it is ‘harmless’ because it doesn’t directly impact anyone else, and no-one else needs to know. Examine what you are taught carefully: is it consistent with the Gospel? does it come from the one who called you, that is, Jesus Christ? If not, don’t mess around, don’t dip your toe in. Don’t even settle for ‘I guess he or she is entitled to their opinion’; Paul certainly doesn’t. In verse 12 he says, in effect, ‘So cutting a little bit off makes you holy? Why not go for the big-time and cut it all off!’ Some scholars have suggested that Paul is also inviting the consequence pronounced on the emasculated: removal from the community (Deut. 23:1).¹⁴ If this is so, it is an echo of the curse pronounced upon anybody promoting a different ‘gospel’ (Gal 1:8-9).

The nature of spiritual freedom (Gal 5:13-15)

In strong contrast to the circumcisers, upon whom Paul has pronounced a curse, he continues, ‘You, my brothers, were called to be free’ (Gal 5:13).¹⁵ Disappointed and astonished as he is with their behaviour, the Apostle expresses his confidence that they will return to their calling: freedom.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, you are called to freedom! This is what it means to be a Christian, and it is a glorious truth. The tragedy is that so many don’t understand this. The common image people have of Christianity today is not freedom, but a cruel bondage. This is, I suggest, because the world has a vastly different definition of freedom.

Here are some common, worldly definitions of ‘freedom’:

• President Roosevelt spoke in 1941 of ‘freedom of speech everywhere, freedom of worship everywhere, freedom from want everywhere and freedom from fear everywhere’;¹⁶
• The Rolling Stones sang:
  

  I’m free to do what I want any old time
  I’m free to do what I want any old time
  So love me hold me love me hold me
  I’m free any old time to get what I want

• We pester our governments for freedom of information;
• We claim our ‘free will’ as the highest authority over our actions.

So what kind of freedom is the Christian called to? Paul offers an answer in two parts: it is not for indulging the sinful nature; it is for serving one another in love. He then goes on to expand on these, describing the battle with the sinful nature for the rest of this chapter, and then describing how we can serve one another in love in chapter 6. Since we will look at chapter 6 next week, for now I will just note how strange it is that freedom should be defined in terms of service (or, literally, slavery)!

The battle of spiritual freedom (Gal 5:16-26)

The phrase ‘indulge the sinful nature’ in verse 13 might more literally be translated, ‘offer an opportunity to the flesh’.¹⁷ The word ‘opportunity’ is used in military contexts for a place from which an offensive is launched, or a base of operations. The point being made is similar to the one about the yeast in the bread, above, but transposed into the language of battle rather than the language of the home.

Make no mistake: the Christian life is a battle. But, unlike other battles, the outcome is never in doubt. Paul promises straight away that if you ‘walk by the Spirit… you will not gratify the desires of the flesh’ (Gal 5:16, emphasis added).

Picture the image of two armies at war: on the one side are arrayed the forces of the flesh, and their desire is destruction; on the other side are those who walk by the Spirit, following his leadership. Once, you fought on the side of the flesh. Perhaps you were a volunteer, or perhaps you were simply drafted, but the fact was you fought and lived for the flesh. And the following the way of the flesh is the road to destruction. But now, in Christ, you have been rescued from that, set free to fight alongside the one who freed you, to ‘walk in step’ with him. ‘Follow the orders of your general’, Paul says, ‘and the enemy will not, can not, accomplish his goal of destroying you.’ You are no longer ‘under law’,¹⁸ but you are under orders, and those orders emanate from the Spirit.

Yet sometimes soldiers offer an ‘opportunity’ to the enemy, whether by negligence, incompetence or disobedience to orders. Paul offers us a means for keeping tabs on our actions and constantly assessing whether we are acting according to the Spirit’s orders.

The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. (Gal 5:19-21)

These are the acts of enemy agents, seeking to sabotage the army of the Spirit. And what do we do with enemy agents? Paul’s instruction is blunt: crucify them! No slap on the wrist; no, ‘you seem like a nice bloke so I’ll let you go’; no mercy; no pity; no opportunity for rationalisation or justification. Clear and simple: crucify them, put them to death, nail them to a cross and make sure they don’t come down until dead. A theologian once wrote, ‘be killing sin or it will be killing you’.¹⁹

This means that we have a responsibility to act when we recognise the acts of the sinful nature in our lives. We must confess and repent of our sin, both before God and before those we have sinned against. The trouble is that crucifixion, whilst a certain death, is also a lingering death.²⁰ Too often, we hang around at the foot of the cross, to pity it, to long for its release. We need to learn to leave those sins there.

When some jealous, proud, malicious or impure thought invades our mind we must kick it out at once. It is fatal to begin to examine it and consider whether we are going to give in to it or not. We have declared war on it; we are not going to resume negotiations. We have settled the issue for good; we are not going to re-open it. We have crucified the flesh; we are never going to draw the nails.²¹

Being in an army means fighting alongside others. We are not lone warriors, but are joined together in support of one another. But how do we know who is on our side? How do we tell which orders are coming from our general, and which are planted by the enemy?

Changing metaphors, Paul speaks of the ‘fruit of the Spirit’: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (Gal 5:22-3). The thing about fruit is that it grows according to the species of the tree. Apple trees produce apples. Grape vines produce grapes. And so on. Do you think my son will have to work hard in order to grow tall like me? Or will my daughter have to strive to grow as beautiful as her mother? Of course not. These things will happen naturally, for they are part of their genetic makeup.

These fruits or, rather, this fruit (for it is singular), is the means by which we can recognise our allies in the fight. They are the uniform, the passwords that authenticate the orders we receive. We must learn to recognise friend from foe. And we must learn to trust one another. As one author writes:

Since the ultimate goal of salvation is for us individually to belong as a growing, contributing, edifying member of the people of God, others in the body exist for the same purpose, and thus should serve you in the same way. Don’t try to be a lone ranger Christian, slugging it out on your own. Seek out those in the community to whom you can be accountable and let them join you in your desire to grow into Christ’s likeness.²²

When Paul writes, ‘Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit’ (Gal 5:25), he is speaking of soldiers marching in formation, of drawing up in battle lines together to face the enemy.

Friends, take advantage of the resources of this army of God. Join with other Christians to learn from God’s word, to sing praises to our God, to offer prayers for one another and to carry out the mission assigned to us. This can be in large groups (like coming to church) but I recommend getting together with a small group as well, because this is where the rubber really hits the road, in all of these areas.

I believe this message is a really practical one for us. War, rather than perfection, characterises the normal Christian life; if we are engaged in the conflict then we should not become downcast. Instead, we should look to the Spirit who leads us, trusting that he is in control, and that his strategy will ultimately prevail. We are called to march in step with him.

Conclusion

In closing, I can do no better than to offer again the words of the Apostle Paul:

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. (Gal 5:1)

You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love. (Gal 5:13)

Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. (Gal 5:24-5)

Bibliography

Boice, James Montgomery. Galatians. Edited by Frank E. Gaebelein and J. D. Douglas. Accordance electronic ed, Expositor’s Bible Commentary. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1977.

Bruce, F. F. The Epistle to the Galatians: A Commentary on the Greek Text. Accordance electronic ed, New International Greek Testament Commentary. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1982.

Cole, R. A. The Letter of Paul to the Galatians : An Introduction and Commentary. 2nd ed, The Tyndale New Testament Commentaries. Nottingham: Inter-Varsity Press, 1989.

Dunn, James D. G. A Commentary on the Epistle to the Galatians. Massachusetts: Hendrickson, 1993.

Fee, Gordon D. Paul, the Spirit and the People of God. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1996.

Fung, Ronald Y. K. The Epistle to the Galatians, The New International Commentary on the New Testament. Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1988.

Martin, Ralph P. Reconciliation : A Study of Paul’s Theology, New Foundations Theological Library. Atlanta: John Knox Press, 1981.

McWilliams, David B. Galatians, Mentor Commentary. Tain, Great Britain: Christian Focus Publications, 2009.

Morris, Leon. The Apostolic Preaching of the Cross. 3rd Revised ed. Grand Rapids,: Eerdmans, 1965.

“Most Smokers Continue to Light up after Heart Surgery.” American Heart Association, http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/1998/11/981112075613.htm.

Owen, John. Overcoming Sin&Temptation. Edited by Kelly M. Kapic and Justin Taylor. Wheaton, Ill.: Crossway Books, 2006.

Schreiner, Thomas R. Galatians, Zondervan Exegetical Commentary Series on the New Testament. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan, 2010.

Stott, John R. W. The Message of Galatians. Accordance electronic ed, The Bible Speaks Today. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1984.

Swindoll, Charles R. Swindoll’s Ultimate Book of Illustrations&Quotes (Formerly Tale of the Tardy Oxcart and 1501 Other Stories: A Collection of Stories, Anecdotes, Illustrations, and Quotes), Swindoll Leadership Library. Nashville: Word Pub., 1998.

Endnotes

1. Charles R. Swindoll, Swindoll’s Ultimate Book of Illustrations&Quotes (Formerly Tale of the Tardy Oxcart and 1501 Other Stories: A Collection of Stories, Anecdotes, Illustrations, and Quotes), Swindoll Leadership Library (Nashville: Word Pub., 1998), 524-5.
2. “Most Smokers Continue to Light up after Heart Surgery,” American Heart Association, http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/1998/11/981112075613.htm.
3. Leon Morris, The Apostolic Preaching of the Cross, 3rd Revised ed. (Grand Rapids,: Eerdmans, 1965), 14. cf. Deissman, cited in R. A. Cole, The Letter of Paul to the Galatians : An Introduction and Commentary, 2nd ed., The Tyndale New Testament Commentaries (Nottingham: Inter-Varsity Press, 1989), 185. Note, however, Martin, who claims this has failed as a satisfactory explanation of the verse, Ralph P. Martin, Reconciliation : A Study of Paul’s Theology, New Foundations Theological Library (Atlanta: John Knox Press, 1981), 39.
4. This verse is the first clear indication that the issue at stake was circumcision. Thomas R. Schreiner, Galatians, Zondervan Exegetical Commentary Series on the New Testament (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan, 2010), 312.
5. Betz, cited in Ibid., 313.
6. 2 Cor 11:22 ; Phil 3:5-6
7. Ibid., 311.
8. James D. G. Dunn, A Commentary on the Epistle to the Galatians (Massachusetts: Hendrickson, 1993), 265.
9. F. F. Bruce, The Epistle to the Galatians: A Commentary on the Greek Text, Accordance electronic ed., New International Greek Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1982), 229.
10. Schreiner, Galatians, 319.
11. Morris, The Apostolic Preaching of the Cross, 283.; David B. McWilliams, Galatians, Mentor Commentary (Tain, Great Britain: Christian Focus Publications, 2009), 188.
12. Cole, Galatians, 192.; Dunn, Galatians, 270.
13. 1 Cor 9:24-26; Gal 2:2; Phil 2:16; 2 Tim 4:7.
14. Ronald Y. K. Fung, The Epistle to the Galatians, The New International Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1988), 242.
15. Note the emphatic position of Υμεῖς at the beginning of the sentence. James Montgomery Boice, Galatians, ed. Frank E. Gaebelein and J. D. Douglas, Accordance electronic ed., Expositor’s Bible Commentary (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1977), ad loc. and Fung, Galatians, 244.
16. John R. W. Stott, The Message of Galatians, Accordance electronic ed., The Bible Speaks Today (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1984), 139.
17. So ESV. cf. Ibid., 140.; Cole, Galatians, 204.
18. Paul uses ‘under’ elsewhere in Galatians (Gal 3:10, 22, 25; 4:3, 4, 5, 21) always negatively. cf. Schreiner, Galatians, 345.
19. John Owen, Overcoming Sin&Temptation, ed. Kelly M. Kapic and Justin Taylor (Wheaton, Ill.: Crossway Books, 2006), 50.
20. Stott, Galatians, 151.
21. Ibid., 152.
22. Gordon D. Fee, Paul, the Spirit and the People of God (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1996), 138.

Reading: Mark 4:1-20.

We can learn much about sharing our faith from this passage, both from the method Jesus used and also from the content of this parable itself.

The scene is clear. Jesus is out by a lake, and people come out from the surrounding countryside to hear him teach. Perhaps the first thing we can learn from Jesus’ method in this passage is that he didn’t shy away when the opportunity arose to share the gospel. Even when seeking solitude after hearing of the death of his cousin, Jesus is still willing to meet with the crowds who come out to him (Matt 14:13-14). We are told that he had ‘compassion’ upon them, though the Greek word used has to do with the innards and suggests a stronger translation; we might say ‘gut-wrenching’ or ‘heart-rending’ sympathy.

Chances are that we are not followed around by crowds desperate to hear our teaching, as Jesus was. Yet we need to make sure that we do not lose or squander opportunities to share the Gospel. You may be tired, hungry, mourning, busy, in a bad mood etc. But do you have the deep-seated compassion for the lost that Jesus did and does? If so, no matter what your personal circumstances, don’t pass up an opportunity to share the Gospel because you are not feeling up to it, or because it is inconvenient.

Similarly, don’t allow external circumstances to hinder you. Jesus got into a boat and pulled out a little way from the shore so that more people could see him and hear him. Israeli scientists have verified that the location popularly identified with this account, the so-called ‘Bay of Parables’, can transmit a human voice effortlessly to several thousand people all at once.¹ Once again, we might not ever have need or opportunity to share our faith with thousands of people all at once. But perhaps we can arrange to meet with our friends at a quiet cafe or restaurant instead of a noisy pub or club. Maybe we turn the TV off, or close up our laptop, when engaging in conversation. Consider whether you really need to check the text that just came in on your phone, or if now is actually the best time to be facebooking. What message are you sending about the importance (or otherwise) of the Gospel? Maybe you can give these things a miss for the sake of the Gospel.

Then again, perhaps we do have opportunities to ‘speak’ to hundreds and even thousands at once. Social media such as Facebook and Twitter is an obvious example of how this might happen. Yet, sadly, these media often encourage regular updates with little or no thought, condensed to ‘sound bites’ of 140 characters or less, and so on. Keeping our message short is not necessarily a bad thing, but it should be because we have taken the time to distil our message in to its most concise and clearest form, not because that’s all the thinking we have done, and we can’t be bothered doing more. There was a time when putting pen to paper and publishing one’s thoughts was a time-consuming operation, usually involving an editor or publisher collaborating with an author to ensure that what was to be published was appropriate to its audience and purpose; those days are gone. Yet we, as Christians, ought still to ensure that we are thoughtful and careful in what we say and do, for we are ambassadors of Christ.
As Christians, let’s make sure that if we are saying anything, that it is something of substance, something worth saying. If we are to follow Jesus’ example, we ought to ensure that our words and thoughts flow from spending time with God, reading and praying through his word. You will only have something worth saying if you are first listening to God.

Let us, like Jesus, give careful attention to both the form and the content of our message.

One of the most challenging aspects of sharing the Christian faith in Australia in the 21st century is apathy. We live in a culture that encourages what it calls ‘tolerance’, and whose catch-cry might well be ‘Let’s agree to disagree.’ Friends and family will often listen in a politely bemused silence as we explain how encountering Jesus has changed our life, how the Gospel means that we need no longer be a slave to sin but can instead come into relationship with God, how God in Christ is reconciling the world to himself… and at the end of it all, their response is limited to, ‘I’m glad that works for you, but what has it got to do with me?’

When we read the pages of the New Testament, however, we quickly realise that this was not a problem Jesus faced. Or, rather, it was a problem that Jesus was a master at overcoming. Already in the 3 chapters of Mark’s Gospel that precede tonight’s passage, responses to Jesus’ message have covered the entire spectrum from eager acceptance, people leaving all they have to follow Jesus, all the way through to accusations of Jesus being demon possessed and a law-breaker. What we don’t read is, ‘They smiled politely, then went about their business’ or, ‘That’s nice’. Jesus continually provoked responses, both positive and negative.
In part, this is a reflection of a change in our society: 21st century Australia is very different to 1st century Judea. But I think it has at least as much to do with the way Jesus went about proclaiming his message. And one of the most distinctive and effective characteristics of his teaching is the way Jesus used parables.

The Greek word παραβολή is made up of two words that mean ‘alongside’ and ‘throw’.² The way words are constructed does not always have a bearing on meaning (think of ‘pineapple’ which is neither an apple, nor grows on pines). But in this case it gives us a pretty good approximation, for a parable is where we ‘throw’ something well-known alongside something that is not well-known, with the aim showing how they are the same. Students of English will know that we speak of such things as similes, metaphors, analogies and so on; all of these have their part to play in parables. But parables also contain something more. Once a parable is correctly understood, it demands a response from the hearer. There is generally one character or element of each parable with which Jesus wants his listeners to identify.

For example, when Jesus speaks the parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:30-37), he ends by asking:

“Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”

The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.”

Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.” (Luke 10:36–37)

Whilst there are no hard and fast rules, it is often the last character mentioned who we are meant to identify with. This helps us to understand, for example, why Jesus adds details about the older son to the story of the Lost Son in Luke 15:28-32. At the start of the chapter, we read:

Now the tax collectors and “sinners” were all gathering around to hear him. But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.” (Luke 15:1–2)

So Jesus is actually addressing two groups of people: the tax collectors and sinners who were coming to him; and the Pharisees and teachers of the law. Jesus tells the parable of the Lost Sheep (Luke 15:3-7), the parable of the Lost Coin (Luke 15:8-10) land the parable of the Lost Son (Luke 15:11-32). At the end of the first two parables, the leading character invites friends and neighbours to ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep’ (Luke 15:6), and again ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin’ (Luke 15:9). The desired response, from both sinners and the self-proclaimed righteous is rejoicing.

But in the third parable, Jesus goes further. The party to celebrate the return of the younger son is started, and all have been invited to rejoice, but the older son rejects that invitation. Even though he is a member of the family, who should have been overjoyed at the return of his brother, he is resentful and rebellious. He refuses to come in, even though the father appeals to him in person. This third parable is as much and perhaps more about the older son as it is about the younger, for truly it was the older son who was ‘lost’ in the end. The intended audience is those Pharisees and teachers of the law who complained that Jesus was welcoming and eating with ‘sinners’. Once they have understood that they are represented by the older son, a response is required: will they continue to refuse their father’s appeals to come in and rejoice (an action very nearly as disgraceful as the actions of the younger son in asking for his inheritance before his father was dead); or will they obey their father?

When we share our faith, when we tell the Gospel, we need to be clear that we are presenting people with a choice between two alternatives. On the one hand, they can act in obedience to God’s will, and rejoice over the things God rejoices over and weep about the things God weeps about. Or they can set themselves against God, pretending sovereignty over their own life and destiny, a path which ultimately leads to destruction. There is no fence on which to sit when it comes to the Gospel; Jesus said, ‘He who is not with me is against me’ (Matt 12:30; Luke 11:23). If we have not clearly shown the required response, by our words and actions, we have not really shared the Gospel.

The question arises: if parables are such an effective method of teaching the Gospel, should we use parables when we share our faith? A large part of the reason parables are effective is because they connect with things that are common in peoples’ daily lives. Even today, Jesus’ parables have great power because even though we do not witness crop farming or fishing and so on as a daily occurrence, most of us have, at some time, planted a seed, or caught a fish. So, I encourage you to know and use Jesus’ parables.

But sometimes, parables that spring from your common experience with the person you are sharing your faith with can be an effective tool for witness. I encourage you to keep your eyes open, and consider how current events, movies, books and so on teach you about the Gospel. Did you go and see The Hobbit together? Take some time to reflect on what it meant for Bilbo to be specially ‘chosen and selected’ to do a job that he had no qualifications or experience for; what mission has God picked you out for? Bilbo set out on a journey, leaving behind the comforts of home, ‘without [even] a pocket-handkerchief'; what comforts will you have to leave behind on your Christian journey? Maybe you went to an art gallery together, and noticed that the masterpieces had frames that complemented them, perhaps wrought with great skill yet not themselves the focal point; is your life a frame that points to the great masterpiece of the Gospel?

I’m not saying you should spend your entire life trying to come up with different ways of explaining and illustrating the Gospel at the expense of enjoying them. But do keep your eyes open and set aside some time to think and pray about what you observe and how it relates to your Christian walk and faith. Once again, time for thought and prayer is important here, for parables made up on the spot are rarely effective; properly thought and prayed through, however, they can be very powerful indeed.
Let us turn now to the content of Jesus’ parable found in Mark 4. I chose to look first at the parables about the Good Samaritan and the Lost Son, because they are well-known and generally well understood. But things were not always clear-cut with Jesus’ parables, and I think that the parable that he tells in Mark 4 illustrates this well. He speaks of a farmer sowing seed. Depending on the nature of the soil in which the seed falls, there are different outcomes: some soils result in no crop, some in a crop that grows quickly but does not last until the harvest, and other soils result in a good crop.

This is all well and good, but it is difficult to see what the original audience would have made of it, lacking the explanation Jesus gives in the latter part of the passage. Certainly they would have understood the imagery; some scholars suggest that Jesus’ teaching on this topic may even have been prompted by seeing a farmer in a nearby field that day! But what was the point? What response was being called for from them? Who or what were they supposed to identify with in the story? The farmer? The seed? One of the soils?

Fortunately we don’t have to guess what Jesus meant in this instance, for Jesus himself explains it to his disciples. The seed is the word, and the soils represent different kinds of people. Some people either reject the Gospel or fall away from it from lack of grounding in the faith or being starved out by the cares of the world. But others accept that word and grow up healthy and strong, producing a crop up to a hundred times what was sown.

But we have seen that parables, properly understood, demand a response; what response is Jesus calling for in this instance? Like with the Good Samaritan and the Lost (elder) Son, I believe that the emphasis is on the last item mentioned, the soil that bore fruit that multiplied the original seed ‘thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times’. Most farmers in days before genetically modified crops, pesticides and so on, would have considered a thirtyfold increase on what was sown to be a good crop, for the average yield was about tenfold throughout most of Palestine.³ Sixtyfold would have been a very good crop, whilst a hundredfold increase would only have been a possibility in the most fertile area in the region, the Jordan Valley, and rare even there. The response required by this parable, then, is that those who accept the word (the ‘good’ soil) should allow it to grow in them and produce fruit. And, whilst I wouldn’t want to push the imagery too far, it is at least worth remembering that crop produced is of the same kind as the word originally sown; crop farmers save some of this year’s crop as seed for next year’s harvest. Thus, if the seed is the word of God, so too should be the crop that is harvested.

Is this the case in your life? Have you accepted the word of God? If so, is it growing in you? When God harvests the crop that is your life, is it his own word that he finds growing there? Can he use you to sow into other soils, other lives, other people? Take some time this week to have a look at your life, and seriously ask yourself whether it is the Gospel that flourishes there.

So, in summary, let me encourage you to seize every opportunity to share the Gospel. Spend plenty of time with God, reading his word and praying, otherwise you will not have anything worthwhile to say. Be clear that there is no fence to sit on when it comes to the Gospel. Know and use Jesus’ parables, and keep your eyes open for modern-day parables, as these can be an effective way of inviting response. And examine your own life to see if the seed planted there – the word of God! – is bearing fruit of the same kind that can be sown into the lives of others.

I want to close with one final encouragement. In his explanation, Jesus identifies the seed, the soils, the thorns and so on; but he never identifies the farmer. Nevertheless, there can be no doubt who is intended, for it is Jesus himself who spreads the word of God. As you share your faith with those around you, remember that it is God who plants the word in peoples’ hearts. Don’t be disheartened if there is a negative response; Jesus himself encountered criticism, jealousy, accusations of demon-possession and, ultimately, died at the hands of those who rejected his words, those of the stony soil. Don’t be surprised or discouraged when friends who have professed themselves Christians walk away from Christ, because of hard times or the lures of the world; though incredibly sad, Jesus told us that these things will happen. Instead, remember that where the sower sows his seed – where God himself plants the Gospel – there will ultimately be a bumper crop.

The sower knows his work!

Bibliography

Edwards, James R. The Gospel According to Mark. Accordance electronic ed, Pillar New Testament Commentary. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2002.

Keener, Craig S. The Ivp Bible Background Commentary : New Testament. Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 1993.

Endnotes

1. James R. Edwards, The Gospel According to Mark, Accordance electronic ed., Pillar New Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2002), 126.
2. Ibid., 127.
3. Craig S. Keener, The Ivp Bible Background Commentary : New Testament (Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 1993), 144.

Reading: John 16:5-16

Let me tell you about two different kinds of expert.

Recently we had an incident where our only garage door key got locked (you guessed it) inside our garage. We had no choice but to call a locksmith, who duly appeared, spent two minutes working to open the door, charged us an arm and a leg and left. We had a problem that we were not equipped to deal with ourselves and that required the presence of an expert. Yet his presence was only required for as long as the problem existed – once the door was open, he was on his way.

On the other hand, my father is a GP and, let me tell you, having a live-in doctor is very handy indeed: free consultations night or day, free medicines from his store of samples and so on. There were certain drawbacks – it was much harder to get away with taking a sickie, for example! – but on the whole having ready, continuous and free access to his expertise was of great benefit. And not only when I was sick; even when I was healthy I had the benefit of his wisdom, knowledge, love and friendship – in short his relationship and presence.

These two types of expert, I believe, help us to understand two ways people think of the presence of God. In the first, God shows up in the person of his Son, Jesus, to fix a problem (sin) then departs when the problem is solved. In this series we have focused on Jesus, who is given the name Emmanuel (which means ‘God with us’), and rightly so for he is the preeminent example of God’s presence amongst us. If that were all that there was of God’s presence that would be wonderful and amazing enough. But my purpose this morning is to tell you that the news is even better than that. For it is the second kind of expert that better helps us to understand God’s presence amongst us. He lives in our midst, continually offering of his love, wisdom, strength, protection, guidance and so on.

To grasp the magnitude of this, we will zoom out and look at the larger pattern of God’s presence with his people.
But first a clarification. Our God is Lord over all time and space. This means that he is, in one sense, present at all times and in all places. However, in addition to this general presence throughout (and beyond!) his creation, we shall see that God often has cause to make his presence known in specific times and places, to particular people and groups of people. I think of this latter kind of presence as God’s ‘specific’ presence and it is this specific presence that Isaiah has in mind when he speaks of Emmanuel, ‘God with us’.¹

God the Father is Emmanuel, ‘God with us’

Creation: The presence of God as blessing and judgment

Men and women were created to be in the presence of God. When we read of the Garden of Eden, we find God ‘walking in the garden’,² where he had placed Adam and Eve. He desires their company, calling out to ask where they are.³ Yet, as a result of their disobedience, they are ashamed to be in the presence of God. They are cast out of the garden and no longer able to enjoy God’s presence as they once had.

Even this early in the biblical narrative, we see the double-edged nature of God’s presence: for those who are obedient, God’s presence brings blessing; but for those operating outside of God’s commandments his presence brings about judgment. This theme extends right throughout the Bible. When the writers of Scripture talk of God ‘coming down’, or of some special experience of God’s presence, it is often in connection with either blessing or judgment. So, in Genesis 11, we are told that ‘the LORD came down to see the city and the tower [of Babel] that the men were building’ and rendered judgment on it. Similarly, in Genesis 15 we read that ‘the word of the LORD came to Abram [Abraham] in a vision: “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward”‘ (15:1). The result is the well known blessing upon Abraham: descendants to carry on his name, and a land for those descendants to live in.

Exodus: God redeems his people

The presence of God is particularly prominent as we read the account of God redeeming his people out of Egypt. When Moses first encounters Yahweh at the burning bush, God tells him ‘”I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt… So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey”‘ (Ex 3:7, 8). When Moses is then told to go to Pharaoh and demand that God’s people be freed, he asks, “‘Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?”‘ (Ex 3:11). The LORD responds: ‘”I will be with you”‘ (Ex 3:12). Did you catch that? Moses asks a question about who Moses is, but God answers ‘you are the person with whom God is’!⁴ In other words, it is the presence of God with Moses that defines and shapes who Moses is.

As we know, God himself led the people of Israel out of Egypt, going before them as a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night to provide them light and allow them to travel by night or day.⁵ He also draws near to them at Mount Sinai, although they tremble with fear at his presence, requiring Moses to act as a mediator. See how far we have come from the garden experience of walking with God? Nevertheless, by his grace, and in spite of continued disobedience, God continues to promise his presence.⁶

Tabernacle and temple: where God’s people seek his presence

However, living in the presence of God is a serious business. God rebukes the Israelites, saying ‘”You are a stiff-necked people. If I were to go with you even for a moment, I might destroy you”‘ (Ex 33:5). Because of his love for his people, Yahweh does not wish to see them destroyed. The simplest solution, then, is that he withdraw his presence: He proposes sending an angel ahead of the Israelites to lead them into the land. But Moses objects:

Then Moses said to him, “If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here. How will anyone know that you are pleased with me and with your people unless you go with us? What else will distinguish me and your people from all the other people on the face of the earth?”

And the LORD said to Moses, “I will do the very thing you have asked, because I am pleased with you and I know you by name.”‘ (Ex 33:15–17)

Hear the desperation in Moses’ plea: ‘If you’re not going, don’t send us’! The promised land is of no value if God does not go with them.⁷

Yet how can an unholy people live in the presence of a holy God, without being destroyed? This is the conundrum that the book of Leviticus seeks to address.⁸ In chapter 15 of that book we read God’s instruction: “‘You must keep the Israelites separate from things that make them unclean, so they will not die in their uncleanness for defiling my dwelling place, which is among them'” (Lev 15:31).⁹

This helps us to understand the need for the tabernacle, and later the temple. Rather than withdrawing his presence entirely, God instead chooses to localise it, to give geographical expression to his presence: he nominates a special place where he will dwell. Solomon acknowledges the incongruity here: ‘”But will God really dwell on earth? The heavens, even the highest heaven, cannot contain you. How much less this temple I have built!”‘ (1 Ki 8:27).¹⁰ Yet, as a gracious act towards Israel, God chooses to do exactly that. At one and the same time he is both everywhere and somewhere.

In this way the Lord provides the means by which Israel may seek him and find him, albeit in a much more structured and formal way. No longer is the experience one of walking in the garden (as for Adam and Eve); nor is it of dreams and visions or visitations (as for the Patriarchs, and Moses himself). With the advent of the tabernacle and the temple, there are several barriers between the people and God, each more exclusive than the last. Gentiles could only go as far as the outer court, on pain of death; signs were posted around the temple, in several languages, warning Gentiles that to go beyond the Court of the Gentiles would mean execution. Similarly, Jewish women could only go as far as the Court of Women; Jewish men could enter the Court of Men; only priests and Levites could enter the Holy Place; and finally only the high priest could enter the Holy of Holies, once a year on the Day of Atonement.

Summary: God’s personal presence

In summary, we learn from the Old Testament that:

God is not a vague abstract principle or force but a living person who fellowships with His people. He is the living and true God, as opposed to all the deaf and dumb idols of this world… God is unavoidably close to His creation. We are involved with Him all the time.¹¹

God’s modus operandi is not that of the visiting expert, who fixes a problem and leaves. He is, rather, continually present with his people. Though his presence ought to result in judgment because of the sinfulness of his people, he graciously spares them, providing them with the means to seek and return to him, to abide with him, and to worship him as they ought. God the Father is, in this sense, Emmanuel, ‘God with us’.

However, there is a remarkable trend. In the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve walked with God face to face. After their sin, the continuity of that presence with God was broken, and entering God’s presence became an intermittent experience.¹² With Moses, we find that there is only one man whom God draws into his immediate presence, with the rest of the people content (indeed, demanding) to experience God’s presence second-hand. Moses represents the people to God and God to them, acting as a mediator between the two parties. Finally, in the temple, we see that many requirements must be met in order to stand in the presence of God: you must be a Jewish male, of the tribe of Levi and the line of Aaron, chosen as a high priest, specially consecrated, on the Day of Atonement and so on. The trend is from continual, immediate experience of God’s presence (in Eden), to regular but mediated experience (through Moses), and finally to sporadic mediated experience (in the temple). Though God is continually present with his people, we sense that we have fallen a long way from the experience that God created us for.

Jesus Christ is Emmanuel, ‘God with us’

The advent of Christ, then, is not the sudden and belated arrival of God to fix a problem. Yet the presence of ‘God with us’ in the person of Jesus of Nazareth represents a major new chapter in the story.

In the New Testament we see that the presence of Christ also brings about either blessing or judgment. Jesus says, ‘”Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on him.”‘ (John 3:36). Similarly, as Dave reminded us on Christmas day, Jesus tells the story of a man who rented out his vineyard and went away. The tenants, however, killed each of the servants sent to collect the rent. Finally, he sends his Son, whom they also killed. Jesus concludes: ‘”What then will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and kill those tenants and give the vineyard to others”‘ (Mark 12:9). In each case, it is the presence of the Son, and the response to him, that provokes the final judgment.

In the Gospel of John, the Evangelist presents Jesus as the fulfilment and replacement of all of God’s previous dwelling places. Jacob dreamed of a ladder connecting heaven and earth, and angels ascending and descending on it, and concluded ‘”How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God; this is the gate of heaven.”‘ (Gen 28:17). But Jesus says, ‘”I tell you the truth, you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending [not on a ladder, but] on the Son of Man”‘ (John 1:52). Jesus speaks of his own body as the temple of God, which must first be destroyed before it can be raised in eschatological glory.¹³ A Samaritan woman challenges Jesus about where the ‘right’ place to worship is, expecting him to point to one or other of the mountains or temples where God had previously met with his people; Jesus responds that it is not place, but Spirit and Truth that determine correct worship (John 4:23-24), and again it is the presence of Jesus that provokes the change. In chapters 5-10 he takes this message to the heart of Jewish worship, the Temple in Jerusalem, and again presents himself as the true dwelling place of God among his people and the source of God’s blessing.¹⁴

The Fourth Gospel also frequently speaks of dwelling or remaining, and this language often tells us something about the presence of God in Jesus Christ. Consider the following:

• ‘the Word became flesh and made his dwelling amongst us’ (John 1:14);
• The Holy Spirit came down and remained on Jesus.¹⁵ Unlike Adam and Eve, Jesus lived continually in God’s presence;
• ‘Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on him.”‘ (John 3:36).¹⁶ God’s presence brings only judgment (wrath) unless we believe in the Son;
  ‘”Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him”‘ (John 6:56);
• ‘”Remain in me, and I will remain in you… I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned’ (John 15:4–6). Remaining in the presence of Christ is vital if we are to have life.¹⁷

In short, even in this short survey of one book of the New Testament, we can see that Jesus adopts the language of God’s Old Testament presence to describe himself, his ministry, his relationship to his Father, and his relationship to his followers. Where God came to redeem the Israelites from Egypt in fire and smoke, he has come to redeem the whole world in the person of Jesus. It is the presence of Jesus, Emmanuel, ‘God with us’, that brings ultimate blessing or judgement. It is in Jesus Christ that we can truly seek God and worship in Spirit and in Truth the way God requires.
At the same time, we see a reversal of the trend we saw earlier. At Sinai it was death for anyone except Moses and Aaron to set foot on the mountain, and enter the presence of God; with the tabernacle and temple, anyone who sought to enter further into the presence of God than God had permitted them was to be put to death; but with Christ, it is essential that we remain in the presence of God, otherwise we will die! Matthew and Mark record Christ on the Cross crying out to ask, ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’ (Matt 27:46; Mark 15:34); he endured separation from God at that moment in order that we would never have to experience it!¹⁸ The barriers separating us from God’s presence have been torn down: the curtain that surrounded the Holy of Holies has been torn in two, top to bottom; and the signs around the temple declaring death have been replaced with an invitation to come and enter into the presence of God.

This is good news, this is the gospel!

Friends, this invitation remains open to you (and to people everywhere) today. Because Jesus Christ is Emmanuel, ‘God with us’, the way is open for you to come into the presence of God: will you enter? Pilgrims once sought the presence and blessing of God by going to his temple, but now it is in Jesus that these are to be found: will you seek him there? Jesus Christ is the one who leads his people out of slavery and bondage: will you journey with him?

The Holy Spirit is Emmanuel, ‘God with us’

If this were the entire message of the Bible, it would still be wonderful news. But, by God’s grace, there is even more!

The disciples sensed a crisis was approaching. They had enjoyed God’s presence with them in Jesus, as they journeyed with him throughout Judea. But, recently, Jesus’ teaching had taken on a darker tone. He had begun to speak of leaving them, of returning to his Father. Was this presence of God thing to be a limited-time offer? Would they have to revert to their earlier existence? Jesus is quick to reassure them, and we read his words in John 16:5-15. There is a purpose to Jesus’ going, and it is for the good of the disciples (and all who would follow after them). The purpose is to ensure the coming of the Counselor, the Spirit of truth, the Holy Spirit.

Again, we see the presence of God brings both blessing and judgment: on the one hand, the Counselor will ‘convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment’ (16:8); on the other hand ‘he will guide you into all truth’ (16:13). The Apostle Paul develops this teaching about the coming of the Holy Spirit, and he also adopts the language of presence and dwelling. To the church in Corinth, he writes ‘Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple, and that God’s Spirit lives in you?’ (1 Cor 3:16). Just as it was the presence of God that defined who Moses was, so it is the presence of his Spirit that defines who his people are. A little later, he applies the temple imagery to individuals, arguing that the bodies of believers are temples in which the Spirit of God dwells.¹⁹ As one author puts it, ‘God not only dwells in the midst of his people by the Spirit, but has likewise taken up residence in the lives of his people individually by the same life-giving Spirit… God now dwells not in temples made by human hands, but in temples constructed by his own hands’.²⁰

The temple was the centre of Israel’s worship; whenever the Israelites gathered together at the temple, it was to worship God. Indeed, worship is the most appropriate response to the presence of God. How much more should we worship God now that he dwells in our midst, and lives in us by his Holy Spirit!

Paul consistently speaks of the Holy Spirit in personal terms, using verbs of personal action, often used elsewhere of God and Christ.²¹ In other words, the Holy Spirit is himself personal, not just infusing but dwelling amongst, living with and relating to his people. This is truly the presence of God inside of us, amongst us. No longer must we go on pilgrimage to the temple to meet with God, for he has come to meet with us where we are. Christ’s coming did not signal the beginning of God’s presence, but rather its continuation in a new and better way; neither does Christ’s death, resurrection and ascension mark the end of God’s presence but rather a new and better stage of the relationship. God is not a tradesman who comes, does his work and departs. He is a loving Father, who dwells with his people, and desires intimate relationship with them.

The Holy Spirit, too, is Emmanuel, ‘God with us’.

Conclusions: Emmanuel, ‘God with us’ yesterday, today, and forever

We have seen that the presence of God is not something to be taken lightly, for it is a double-edged sword bringing both blessing and judgment. If you do not know Jesus, get to know him, for his presence transforms even the greatest trials and judgments into blessings, albeit perhaps not in ways you might expect. God personally works to redeem his people, leading them out of their current experience of bondage as he did for the Israelites, and he is eager to set you free too. On the other hand, if you reject Jesus’ presence, even the greatest of blessings – love, family, work, health and so on – may prove ultimately to be God’s judgment upon you.

Friends, we have also seen that God has always been present with his people at every stage of history. Perhaps your current circumstances tempt you to doubt that. There is a famous poem that tells of a man looking back over his life, represented as two sets of footprints along the sand: one set is his, the other set of footprints belonging to the Lord. He is troubled to note that, at the points representing the deepest, darkest, most troubled portions of his life, there are only one set of footprints. He challenges the Lord, asking why, when he was needed the most, he was not there?

The Lord replied,
“The times when you have
seen only one set of footprints,
is when I carried you.”²²

If you doubt God’s presence in your life, I urge you to seek him out. When his people seek him, they will inevitably find him. Read his word. Pray to him. Meet with other believers (as God dwells amongst them also!). Our God is rightly called Emmanuel, “God with us.”

The new heaven and earth: Emmanuel, ‘God with us’ forever!

Finally, no sketch of God’s presence with his people would be complete without considering our eternal dwelling. Paul writes to the Philippians that at the coming of Christ, ‘every knee [will] bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue [will] confess that Jesus Christ is Lord’ (Phil 2:10-11). As always, the presence of God will result in both blessing and judgment: for those who believe in Christ, his return will be a blessing, and they will bow their knees in reverent awe, joyful submission, and grateful acceptance of the blessings of God in Christ; those who are not servants of Christ will also bow, but in fearful expectation of judgment rather than blessing.

When he comes, will his presence bring blessing or judgment for you?

For those in Christ, here is how it will be, as recorded in Revelation 21:

‘I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God”‘ (Rev 21:2–3).

‘I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp’ (Rev 21:22–23).

Consider the wonder of a city lit only and always by the glory of the presence of God! Neither temple built by human hands nor temple built by God are needed, for God himself will be our temple! How can we respond to such an amazing vision, except to echo the prayer found at the very end of the Bible: ‘Come, Lord Jesus’ (Rev 22:20).

Bibliography

Carson, D. A. Scandalous: The Cross and Resurrection of Jesus. Wheaton, Ill.: Crossway, 2010.

Fee, Gordon D. Paul, the Spirit and the People of God. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1996.

Frame, John M. The Doctrine of God, A Theology of Lordship. Phillipsburg, N.J.,: P&R, 2002.

Frame, John M. The Doctrine of the Knowledge of God, A Theology of Lordship. Phillipsburg, N.J.: P&R, 1987.

Jeffery, S., Michael Ovey, and Andrew Sach. Pierced for Our Transgressions : Rediscovering the Glory of Penal Substitution. Nottingham: Inter-Varsity, 2007.

Köstenberger, Andreas J., and Scott R. Swain. Father, Son, and Spirit : The Trinity and John’s Gospel, New Studies in Biblical Theology. Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 2008.

Endnotes

1. Isa 7:14; cf. Matt 1:23
2. Gen 3:8
3. Gen 3:9
4. John M. Frame, The Doctrine of God, A Theology of Lordship (Phillipsburg, N.J.,: P&R, 2002), 95.
5. Ex 13:21
6. Though some of these promises are given to individuals, such as Abraham (Gen 12:1-3); Isaac (Gen 26:3); Jacob (Gen 28:15; 31:3; 46:4); Moses (Ex 3:12); and Joshua (Deut 31:7, 23; Josh 1:6, 7, 9, 18), the vast majority are promises made to Israel (e.g. Ex 29:45; 33:14; Num 35:34; Lev 26:11; Deut 31:6, 8; Isa 43:2).
7. ‘The chief blessing of the covenant is fellowship with the Lord himself.’ Ibid., 100.
8. S. Jeffery, Michael Ovey, and Andrew Sach, Pierced for Our Transgressions : Rediscovering the Glory of Penal Substitution (Nottingham: Inter-Varsity, 2007), 42.
9. Similarly, Isaiah describes the fear of the people: ‘The sinners in Zion are terrified; trembling grips the godless: “Who of us can dwell with the consuming fire? Who of us can dwell with everlasting burning?”‘ (Isa 33:14).
10. cf. 2 Chr 6:18
11. John M. Frame, The Doctrine of the Knowledge of God, A Theology of Lordship (Phillipsburg, N.J.: P&R, 1987), 17.
12. In fact, ‘entering’ is probably not the right word, as the initiative is always and only with God. It is he that invites people into his presence.
13. John 2:19-21
14. This is particularly poignant at the festivals of Passover (John 6) and Booths (John 7), which commemorate events of the Exodus when God was present to rescue and redeem his people. Andreas J. Köstenberger and Scott R. Swain, Father, Son, and Spirit : The Trinity and John’s Gospel, New Studies in Biblical Theology (Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 2008), 138-9.
15. John 1:32
16. cf. 9:41
17. Indeed, Jesus goes on to use this same language of ‘remaining’ in his (and the Father’s) love suggesting some connection between his presence and his love (John 15:9–10).
18. D. A. Carson, Scandalous: The Cross and Resurrection of Jesus (Wheaton, Ill.: Crossway, 2010), 35.
19. 1 Cor 6:19-20
20. Gordon D. Fee, Paul, the Spirit and the People of God (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1996), 20.
21. Ibid., 181.
22. “Footprints in the sand” by Mary Stevenson. I recently saw a cartoon update, which has the Lord saying, “That long groove over there is where I dragged you for a while!” (http://chainsawsuit.com/2012/08/08/footprints-in-the-sand-part-1/