This
week, we continued the “No Condemnation” series. In this part, we looked at the
importance of operating by grace so that the Spirit can work in you to the
fullest extent possible. In Galatians 5, we read about the fruit of the Spirit.
Our law mentality has often made that list of attributes of the Spirit yet
another list of rules for Christians – thou shalt be loving, kind, gentle,
patient and, by all means be self-controlled.
That is what human nature does. Let’s look, however, at Galatians in its
entirety. In Galatians 1:6-10, we are warned not to drift from the true gospel
that we received (grace) and not to listen to anyone teaching another gospel
(forms of law), which is not a gospel at all. It goes on to say that one who IS
teaching such a gospel is eternally condemned.
Law
thinking likes to make rules where there are no rules and then use them to
disqualify people from salvation or God’s blessings. Law also likes to zoom in
on any verse that mentions condemnation or damnation and find a way to use it
to disqualify others. This scripture in Galatians 1 is a great example. First,
examine the verb tenses—anyone who IS teaching, not anyone who has ever taught,
the “wrong” gospel. If that were the case, Paul would be eternally condemned,
because at one time he was zealously preaching and teaching the law.
The
issue in Galatia
You
see, this is a lie the enemy has used to tie the hands of the church and strip
it of its power. Our heart is to do what is right and pleasing before God. That
is very GOOD. But the enemy convinces us that the way to do that is to create
lists of rules and keep them. Instead, we must receive grace and live by it.
Then, we will allow the grace to do its work in order to help us defeat sinful
actions. We won’t overcome sinful actions until we overcome sin’s condemnation.
As
long as we continue to live by law (which seems good), we prevent the true
power of the Spirit from being able to work in us. Then in Galatians 3, Paul calls the Galatians
foolish for tasting grace and then returning to law. In verse 3, the word “human effort” in the
King James is “living by the flesh.” The
Greek word means “by the sinful state of man.”
In Galatians 4, he lays the case for the difference between Ishmael, the
one born of the normal means, and Isaac, who was the promise born of a miracle.
Ishmael represents the law, and Isaac represents grace. Paul says that the
“Ishmael” will always persecute the “Isaac.” The law will never receive the
inheritance. It will argue that it has more right to the inheritance than grace
because it has a “legal” right to it because it has earned it.
Get
a hold of grace in your life, and you are bound to be persecuted by those who
have a law mentality. They’ll accuse you
of lacking “holiness” or accepting sin. They’ll tell you that grace is
dangerous. They will also continue without ever receiving the inheritance of
the riches of God’s Word.
In
the beginning of chapter 5, Paul describes those who return to law, having
fallen from grace. That is probably the opposite of what you’ve heard or
thought about that concept. We’ve been led to believe that when you willfully
sin, you fall from grace. Willful sin is extremely dangerous, but it is not
“falling from grace.” Either grace covers a multitude of sins and is sufficient
for all things, or it is not.
Finally,
in the act of receiving communion, we have been scared by 1 Corinthians
11:27-32 that warns of taking communion in an unworthy manner. I am sure I am
not the only one who has felt a little fear when a pastor announced they were
going to serve communion. Immediately, you begin asking for forgiveness for
every sin you can remember. But what if you forget one? I mean it says some
have actually died because of taking in an unworthy manner…..
You
need to ask yourself what makes you worthy. Does your worthiness before God
ever have to do with you, or is it always because of Jesus? I truly believe the
most unworthy way we who actually are believers can receive communion is from a
state of self-righteousness. If you
choose to partake in communion because you believe you have done good and didn’t
sin, you are not acknowledging what the body and blood of Jesus represent and
what they did. That is the actual warning in that passage – that you do not
take it without acknowledging what it means. If you are truly worthy because
you act right, then you don’t need the body and blood.
I
think the most worthy approach to take is to realize that you are human and you
sin, that God’s grace alone has made you worthy, and that grace was provided by
the body and blood of Jesus. That’s the ONLY way to be worthy!
To
listen to the entire sermon go to http://ahwatukeechurch.com/media.php. To learn more about Living Word Ahwatukee,
visit http://ahwatukeechurch.com/.
