Can we visit for a moment, you & I? How are you, friend? How have you been? No, really. I’d like to know. Specifically, how’s your week going? Is that all? Oh, wait, what else? And how much free time DO yo have? Wow! You are busy.

Well, if you’re reading this tiny post, on a tiny blog, in a vast sea of words and pixels and video and sound and distraction, you are probably looking for something on Galatians. Maybe you’re a Bible study teacher, maybe a student, possibly grabbing a picture or reference. Help yourself, by all means.

But you ARE a BUSY Christian. My goodness. Did you day you serve your church, maybe another or two or three miniseries. A pastor?

OK, one more question: Are you a Martha or a Mary? Of course I’m speaking of the story of Jesus visiting Mary and Martha. Mary sits at the feet of Jesus, and Martha makes lunch abad gets spun up because she’s working working working and Mary is (in her mind) lollygagging when there’s work to be done. See Luke 10:38-42 for the story if you’re not familiar. Go ahead, I’ll wait. I’d like to know how you rate yourself.

I thought so.  Me too. I get spun up and writing, playing, practicing, studying, and my devotional life suffers. Luther suffered from this as well. He did stations of the Cross, fasting, indulgences, and a lot of other things until he came to the end of himself.

Ray Stedman described the moment:

“He (Martin Luther) was struck by a verse in the Psalms that said,

…in thy righteousness, deliver me! (Psalms 31:1 RSV)
This gripped Martin Luther’s heart because the righteousness of God was to him a terrible thing — that unbendable righteous judgment by which God would destroy everyone who failed in the least degree to measure up to the full expectation of the holiness of God. Luther said that he even hated the word “righteousness.””
Source: Raystedman.org

There’s an old saw that goes “If the devil can’t make you sin, he’ll make you busy.” Busy is an enemy. It’s a treadmill and an idol that allows us to block out intimacy with God and people by salving our conscious by or works. It can run periliously close to works righteousness.

But our hearts are turned to Christ, so that, as we will see in chapter 6, we can be liberated from that yoke, provided we have spent time at the foot of the Master, and wear only His yoke, His light burden.

“Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. 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. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30

Galatians 5:1	This could very well be a summary verse for the book.  Freedom is the purpose of the letter, and dedication to this or any other freedom requires diligence, since it is an unnatural human state. Our forefathers knew this well, and fashioned our Constitution in such a way as to prevent tyranny and bondage to be imposed on the citizenry. From the Declaration of Independence:+    “Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed.”   In other words, the government would rather change the rules for “efficiency and  streamlining” and that we the people are more apt to put up with that cost. It took a bloody revolution to overthrow our shackles, and sadly, we are allowing ourselves to be fitted with a new shiny yoke.
Galatians 5:2-6	If you leave the Gospel, are on your own. And not only are you on your own, you have to walk a tightrope a thousand feet over the Grand Canyon. One slip, and you’re  a goner.    So instead of the tightrope of Law, we place hope, not a nebulous expression of wishful worldly thinking, but a surety, because the basis of that hope is God Himself, and His proven promises. This makes works meaningless in terms of salvation. There true relationship will be expressed shortly. Note how Paul here an later makes dramatic allusions to severing body parts to emphasize his revulsion of works righteousness.
Galatians 5:7-12	Now Paul calls into question the knuckleheads who started this whole business of works-righteousness, and the how a little works must necessarily spread into all ares of religious life; it cannot remain a small part, for just as Paul (and James 1:10) says that a failure in one tenant, is a total failure of the Law.And there he goes again with the mutilation-emasculation, chopping off thing again. OK, I get it.
Galatians 5:13-15	Paul recaps this precious freedom, and repoints the way to the New Testament Law we keep because of love, the Law of Love.  This is Law is, in a sense, reactionary. That is,. instead of the works treadmill, our reaction to our love of Christ is to keep his commandments (John 14:15), which is to love one another (John 13:34) This is the impetus for service.
Galatians 5:16-24	It is the war of the ages, the old sinful nature (the flesh), vs the new spiritual nature. The winner is the nature you feed the most.Paul gives us two signposts to see how we are doing, Sin Circle, and Spirit Street.  Living on Sin Circle there’s your neighbors, and they are a miserable lot. I don’t know how I could get a night’s rest with these people living next to me. Ima Immoral would be knocking on the door when her husband was gone, Anger Anne would be yelling at the wee hours of the morning with her husband, Jealous Jack, while factious Phil, the neighborhood gossip would be collecting the local trash about you gossiping with Sorcerer Sal.   Over on Spirit Street, Joy is always baking pies, even with her Stage 3 cancer. She lives to help the neighbors. Gentle Jill is watching her kids play on the bikes on the sidewalk. She and her husband, Louis Love have the most beautiful well behaved kids. Self Control Sid has the most beautiful lawn and front yard you’d ever want to see. Started out as a rental, but Sid and his brother Paul Peace built it up, cleaned out the trash, painted it, and keep the place looking nice. Took a while, but they are proud to be members of Spirit Street.   Which neighborhood do you want to live in?
Galatians 5:25-26	The point is, being saved by grace and then truing to be pious to one up the guy ion the next pew with loud (and fake) piety on Sunday is not what makes a good work in the Spirit. Yielding to God is.

 

Memory Verse – “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Galatians 5:22b-23a

OK, a little cheesy for grownups. But you’ll memorize it if you listen…

 

Application – Root out and question your ministry.  Are they being done to placate a guilty conscious? To impress people? Or are they coming as a heart-response to a beautiful God who has touched us forever by Hs grace and love?