December 2, 2021 — Galatians 5:1–15  

“For freedom Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not be subject again to the yoke of slavery. Listen! I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no benefit to you at all! And I testify again to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is obligated to obey the whole law. You who are trying to be declared righteous by the law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace! For through the Spirit, by faith, we wait expectantly for the hope of righteousness. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision carries any weight – the only thing that matters is faith working through love. You were running well; who prevented you from obeying the truth? This persuasion does not come from the one who calls you! A little yeast makes the whole batch of dough rise! I am confident in the Lord that you will accept no other view. But the one who is confusing you will pay the penalty, whoever he may be. Now, brothers and sisters, if I am still preaching circumcision, why am I still being persecuted? In that case the offense of the cross has been removed. I wish those agitators would go so far as to castrate themselves!” Galatians 5:1–12  

The Galatian Christians appeared to have viewed circumcision as a ritualistic act which although painful and inconvenient, was a small price to pay to be more spiritual. Thank goodness we do not look upon circumcision the same way in our churches today. Granted, there are significant differences between the Galatian churches of Paul’s day and the situation of the church we know today. The Galatian saints were saved and wanted only to enhance their spiritual standing. 

Now, do we run into this thinking in the modern-day church? Of course. Many young couples today view baptism the same way — as a means to ensure if not enhance salvation — in a legalistic not spiritual manner. We cannot earn salvation by the “work” of baptism. Furthermore, baptism is not associated with additional duties and obligations.  

Circumcision for the Galatians however, carried with it far-reaching consequences which they did not seem to understand. They did not realize that circumcision implied certain binding obligations. It was Paul’s intention in this passage to point out the consequences of circumcision, showing them they had everything to lose by it and nothing to gain. 

As I said earlier, we recognize that circumcision is not an issue for the Christian today — it is more an issue of hygiene than a mark of belonging. Yet not all male children are circumcised because it is even being viewed today as a cultural practice. But Paul’s message is clear — to fall back into legalism is a particularly grave danger. As such, we must pay all the more attention to the warning of the apostle. Christ freed us in order that we might be free. Bondage is the opposite of freedom, and since the Law produces bondage, living under it is inconsistent with the gospel. And yet, that’s the way a lot of professing Christians view baptism. They don’t understand the relationship and the claiming that happens in baptism, but instead they feel some social pressure or fear of hell for their child. So they want to “get their children done” — in other words they go through the motions to have them baptized not worrying about or understanding what baptism is all about — naming, claiming, identity and Christian responsibility.  

Let us pray,

Lord Jesus, we know how important our baptisms are to us. But we too easily fall into traps of “legal obligation”. Give us your Spirit — which leads us to understanding. It is the beginning of a relationship, not a work to be completed. Amen. 

Pastor Dave  

December 3, 2021 — Galatians 5:16–26 

“Now the works of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity, depravity, idolatry, sorcery, hostilities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish rivalries, dissensions, factions, envying, murder, drunkenness, carousing, and similar things. I am warning you, as I had warned you before: Those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God!  But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Now those who belong to Christ have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also behave in accordance with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, being jealous of one another.” Galatians 5:19–26  

We can put these fruits in three categories: 

1. Love, joy, peace.  For the Christian our first love is our love for G-d, and this is demonstrated through love for our neighbor; our chief source of joy is the joy of the Lord; and our deepest peace is our peace with the G-d of all peace. 
2. Patience, kindness, goodness.   Patience is sometimes called long-suffering, suffering without a sense that it will end. Kindness is our disposition towards other people to do them good. Goodness is actually doing others good as there is opportunity. 
3. Faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.  Faithfulness is reliability, loyalty, steadfastness; gentleness is being calm and humble; self-control is self-discipline over our lives. 

All these are fruit of the Spirit — not individual fruits — but all one fruit. Imagine a fruit tree laden with fruit rather than individual pieces of fruit on individual branches. It’s a natural part of the life cycle of the tree — it produces fruit, like apples, or oranges, but there are multiple fruit that are produced in one season.  In the same way spiritual fruit in our lives should be a natural (or supernatural) consequence of the Spirit-led life — all part of or produced in a season, in an “aion” or age of our lives. 

Let us pray,

Lord Jesus, we are all born with physical gifts, but our spiritual fruits are opened to us through the Holy Spirit. Guide us as our natural fruit “ripens”, but also lead us in growth in you as our spiritual graces grow in our lives. Amen.

Pastor Dave