A sermon shared at First Presbyterian Church,
Spring City, TN May 28, 2017
Are we free of the
Law at last?
Of all the letters of
Paul with the possible exception of Romans, Galatians has perhaps the greatest
impact on the shape of Christian thought about salvation and the issue of
“faith or works.” I suspect this is so
because most people view the world as an absolute, “either-or” proposition. We listen
to Paul sand hear what we want to hear, that not works but “faith alone is the
path to eternal life.” It resonates with our either-or/in-or-out thinking.
Either or thinking is a heritage of Jewish and Greek theology that sees the
world as light and dark, good and bad, Law or sin, and chosen or not-chosen. This
is Paul’s world-view and it deeply shaped his thinking, and ours, but is Paul letting it mislead himself and us?
When we read
Galatians, we should know also from the earliest time that at least two
distinct groups of Christians with quite different understanding of the gospel
were spreading Christianity. (Do you remember when John ran up to Jesus protesting
that someone was casting out demons in his name, and Jesus said, don’t
bother him, if someone does a power in my name they cannot speak evil of me?)
As
Galatians (and Acts) shows, there was significant friction between these groups, such as
between Catholics and Protestants, and between Protestant sects today. It was their version of arguing over
polity than essential tenets.
One side of the
argument arose primarily from Christians in the conservative Jewish synagogues
who were obviously influenced by their Jewish heritage. The other group, exemplified
by Paul, was oriented ostensibly towards Gentiles of the Mediterranean but in
fact towards “Godfearers” and Jews in the synagogues of the Diaspora in regions
such as Galatia and influenced by Platonic thought.
The ideas of these
Jewish Christians who insisted that following the Law is a necessary
precondition for being a Christian enthralled the Galatian congregations
founded by Paul. Specifically, each male believer must be circumcised as are
all Jewish males. (If one were a Jew and a Christian, isn't this a moot point?) This argument over circumcision is the reason that Paul takes the Galatians to the wood shed in this highly emotional letter for straying from his message.
Paul’s arguing with
his self in his struggle with his Jewish and Greek heritage that sees reality as
divided into the either/or world I described earlier stoked his anger at these
Jewish, Christian ”missionaries” (he calls them Judaizers). For Paul, it is
either Jesus Christ or the Law. As I said, that heritage also influences us.
Paul saw these Jewish
Christians as more of the same Jewish leaders (that included him previously) whose hearts
are harden by preoccupation with technical requirements of the Law that
demanded obedience (or works) that kept them faithful. They called adhering to the
list of technical rules and regulations for behavior and purification the mark
of righteousness. Paul called it hypocrisy and death. As Jesus said, they were
clean on the outside, but dirty on the inside. They ignored the admonishment of
Moses that the Law is found in their hearts.
In Paul’s mind, insisting
on obedience to the Law disconnected salvation from faith in the Grace of God
who wiped away the need for the Law in the death and resurrection of Jesus.
The heart of Paul’s
message is that Jesus is the product of the faith of Abraham. We are called to
have that faith in Jesus Christ. Paul argues that Abraham on faith alone obeyed
God’s call and left Aram, his home that contained everything of importance to
him, and become a wanderer until he reached Canaan, the future Promised Land. Jesus
is the fulfillment of God’s promise made by the faith of Abraham. Jesus Christ,
a son of Abraham perfected the Law expecting from us only faith in God’s
promise to Abraham. We are called to faith, not the Law as a guide for living
because God knows our human nature is to sin. Paul says the attempt to follow the
Law is death because sin will always cause us to violate the Law. We cannot
work our way to eternal life.
Today we might hear
someone criticize Catholics or Seventh Day Adventists for the same thing,
making one’s works or confession the primary criteria for salvation rather than
faith.
Paul’s argument rests
on the covenant between Abraham to God that all humanity inherits through
Abraham. What does “covenant” mean in
the religious thought of the Old Testament? Covenant is an
agreement or promise, usually between a subordinate and a superior. Paul argues correctly that the covenant with
God involves two things, Abraham had faith in God, and the gift of God’s grace
in the promise to Abraham to be the father of many nations, both Jew and
Gentile.
The Cliff Notes version of Paul’s view goes
something like this: Abraham responded to God’s call to leave home in Aram many
years before the Lord gave the Law to Moses and Israel. His name was Abram
(high or holy father), and God called him to pull up everything he owned and
leave his home to become a wanderer, a sojourner until he reached the land of
Canaan. He accepted this call based only on his confidence in the promise of
the Lord. For this, the Lord reckoned Abram righteous and did two things, he
named him Abraham (father of many nations) and promised he would be father of
many nations. Three great peoples arose from Abraham, the Jews, the Muslims and
Gentiles. Thus each major religion calls Abraham, “Father.” Because Abraham had
faith in God’s promise, God reckoned Abraham righteous before the Law existed.
Because of Abraham,
Protestants can say, “We are reckoned righteous, justified by our faith alone.”
This is the basis of the claim by Paul and many modern Protestants that we come
to Salvation by our faith alone. But isn’t there more to it? Didn’t Jesus say he did not come to abolish
the Law but to fulfill it?
Paul’s either/or view
presents two difficulties to us he would not want us to have. First, to say
that only faith not the Law is essential to salvation can put us in a “I can do
anything since I believe” mindset. Second, seizing this faith-or-the-Law
viewpoint overlooks the subtlety of Jewish understanding of the Law that
demands a change of life – a turnaround or repentance.
Did God make his promise
to be the defender of Israel contingent on Israel obeying the law since it
defines righteousness? Paul says the answer must be no because sin is the
barrier to righteousness. But the Pentateuch is not so absolute about the Law
being a two-way covenant (“If I do this, then you will do that”).
Paul solves this
problem by saying God’s covenant with Abraham precedes the Law and extends to
all humanity through Jesus Christ, the offspring of Abraham and fulfillment of
the promise of being the father of the offspring. If you have faith in the
promise of steadfast love through Jesus Christ, you are in God’s care.
But there are nagging
issues with this idea of faith or works. First, Paul, in his anger at
the Judaizers, conveniently overlooks the issue is faith AND works, not OR
works. Abraham’s faith caused him to obey God’s call and leave for Canaan. For
this he was reckoned righteous; but, Abraham’s righteousness was locked
to his action (work) in obedience to God. To have faith and be
reckoned righteous implies Abraham’s obedience to God’s commands(Law).
Second, we know Paul’s
inspired letters yield great insight into living the Christian life, but he was
not a contemporary disciple of Jesus. He heard the accounts of the disciples
and observed the faith of those Christians he took to trial in his former life,
but he never walked with the ministry of Jesus on Earth except in that
post-resurrection appearance on the road to Damascus that turned his life
around. Paul struggled to explain how
the life, death and resurrection of Jesus completes the promise of God of his
Jewish heritage. Believers argue these issues today. Truly Paul writes scripture
inspired by God but colored by his experience. So, our interpretation of Paul must
be held up against the words of Jesus recorded by the authoritative witnesses
who wrote the four Gospels to determine how we live the Christian life.
We do that by the
process of discernment that
I described last week. When confronted with a hard question, we read
scripture, pray, consult with our fellow Christians and follow the Holy Spirit
to an answer. It is the process built into the whole idea of being a
Protestant. Let’s use it to see how we can understand Galatians. What do the
gospels say?
I’ve been using John
for my sermon texts and if you have been listening, you may leap right to an
answer that John 3:16 makes it perfectly clear that faith is the crux of the
matter:
“For God so loved the world that he
gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may
have eternal life.
But what about the following verses (17-21)
“Indeed,
God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that
the world might be saved through him. Those who believe in him are not
condemned; but those who do not believe are condemned already, because
they have not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the
judgment, that the light has come into the world, and people loved darkness
rather than light because their deeds were evil. For all who do evil
hate the light and do not come to the light, so that their deeds may not be
exposed. But those who do what is true come to the light, so that it may be
clearly seen that their deeds have been done in God.”
Listen to those words:…(T)hose
who do what is true come to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that
their deeds have been done in God.
Lest you think this
is an accidental verse, listen to John 12:26, 44-50:
“Whoever serves me
must follow me, and where I am, there will my servant be also. Whoever serves
me, the Father will honor.
I have come as light into the world, so
that everyone who believes in me should not remain in the darkness. I do not
judge anyone who hears my words and does not keep them, for I came not
to judge the world, but to save the world. The one who rejects me and
does not receive my word has a judge; on the last day the word that I have
spoken will serve as judge, for I have not spoken on my own, but the Father who
sent me has himself given me a commandment about what to say and what to
speak. And I know that his commandment is eternal life. What I speak,
therefore, I speak just as the Father has told me.”
Paul in his anger
over the teachings of the Judaizers did not have these words of Jesus in the
Gospel of John to read:
“47
I do not judge anyone who hears my words and does not keep them, for I came not
to judge the world, but to save the world. 48
The one who rejects me and does not receive my word has a judge; on the last
day the word that I have spoken will serve as judge,” and John 13:15-20,
For I have set you an example, that you
also should do as I have done to you. Very truly, I tell you, servants are not
greater than their master, nor are messengers greater than the one who sent
them. If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them. Very truly, I
tell you, whoever receives one whom I send receives me;
and whoever receives me receives him who sent me.”
By now, you may say,
“Henry, doesn’t John’s gospel tell us the promise contains a command for
obedience? Isn’t John 13:34-35, like the Law?
34-35 "I give you a new commandment, that you love one another.
Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone
will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
So, Are we free of
the law? Is Paul correct? Yes, and no. Our relationship to God is a matter of faith AND works,
not faith OR works. Our salvation is based on faith. Our faith demands our
constant action to improve our righteousness by following that command of love.
When we want to sit back in the easy chair, happy to believe we have “hit the
big time” with our salvation do not be so overconfident that we overlook the people
who cry for help and love, who see us waste our money and time on idleness
rather than the starving or sick child whose parents cannot afford medical
care. The actions guided by what is in our heart prove our faith.
Let's be charitable towards Paul and temper his
words by remembering that Jesus said he came to complete or perfect the Law,
and in doing so he gave us two primary commands; (1) Have faith in the promise of God in Jesus; and (2) “If you love me, you will love one another the same way I love you, so that
everyone will know you are a disciple of Christ."
Think about the freedom that the gospel gives you the
next time you want to argue with, or condemn another Christian about Biblical
interpretation.
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