Welcome to the first in a short series looking at Paul’s
letter to the Galatians. Although it is
the 9th book in the New Testament, it is thought by some to be one
of the earliest documents of the early church, and it gives an insight into
what was going on.
When I was first ordained my mother gave me some
advice. She said that I should be
careful to smile at everyone I met; if they saw me in a clerical collar, they
would expect me to smile. I have found
this to be generally true, although if I am not in a clerical collar people can
think I am a bit strange.
It is interesting how we can be influenced by what we
imagine others think of us. We learn
important lessons about how to live well from Paul’s letter to the church in Galatia. His hearers were originally from Gaul, fierce
warriors who had ended up in the centre and north of what is now Turkey. (Other people living in the area were the Nicolatians
– people of battle Rev. 2:6).
They were fighters. Paul
is not afraid to confront them and to be quite aggressive. The issue we will see in the next few weeks
is what is the gospel, and how should we live?
The way that Paul tackles this is to look at who we are and what
motivates us as followers of Jesus Christ.
There are four books in the New Testament called gospels,
but in reality there is only one gospel.
Tom Wright gives an imaginary example of someone in apartheid South
Africa who plans a building with only one door, to be used by all races. He goes away on a journey and discovers from
a letter that in his absence the plans have been changed and someone else has
added a door, to force a division between the races. The good news, the gospel, that we are all
one in Jesus Christ, is being subverted.
The presenting issue was whether Gentiles had in effect to become Jews
before they could be followers of Jesus.
We will find out more about that in the coming weeks.
This week we see what drives Paul. It is his sense of call to follow Jesus
Christ, his personal understanding that Jesus had given him a special role. People seem to have visited the churches that
Paul had founded, spreading a subtlety different version of the Christian
gospel, and suggesting that Paul had not been sent by God; that he was not a true
apostle.
His response is to hark back to his conversion. He had been met by Jesus, who had called him
and commissioned him. It was a very
personal experience that shaped his whole life.
He knew himself to have been rescued from the present evil age by Jesus
who gave himself for us.
I wonder what there is that mirrors this in our own
lives. You might think that it is
ordination to clerical ministry. I would
argue rather that it is our own conversion as celebrated in our baptism. We each are called to follow Jesus and serve
him. I am not suggesting that you must
see a bright light and hear an audible voice; I am saying that we each need
that personal encounter with God in Jesus.
If you can testify to that in your life, you have much to give thanks
and praise for. If you are still
searching, I would love to have a conversation with you; it is all about grace
and peace from God our Father to you.
Based on this conviction that God had done a great thing in
him, Paul is able to stand and fight. He
seems to have been accused of trimming his message to suit his hearers, much as
we might expect from a politician today.
Instead he claims the right to chastise his hearers; if the Galatians
want a fight, he is up for it. Even if
he wanted to, he is not at liberty to change or water down the message - he has received it from God.
We seek to live this out in our Purpose and Values
statement:
To Encounter God and Grow in Him:
· Christ at the Centre (Galatians 2:20)
· Every Member a Disciple (Galatians
5:16)
· Every Member in Ministry (Galatians 5:13)
· Every Member Building Community (Galatians
3:28)
· Every Member Involved in Evangelism (Galatians
6:14)
God give us grace and peace to live in him, and to know the
presence of his son living in us. May we
discover a depth of his love that overflows to others, regardless of our
circumstances. May we claim our birth
right as children of the living God, united in him.
Discussion starters
1.
Paul seems to have been a little cross(!). How important is the faith to you, and how do
you respond when it seems that people are trying to water it down?
2.
My mother was very concerned that I should be “respectable”
in my faith. To what extent do you think
that you are influenced by others in your believing, rather than paying
attention to what God wants?
3.
Spend some time giving thanks to God for his
grace and peace, and also praying for each other to have a fresh encounter with
him and continued growth.
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