have a better understanding of why we are no longer slaves to the law, but are instead slaves of righteousness in Christ Jesus. I pray that you would be honored by what we discuss and then later, of course, as we come together to worship, that you would be praised and that you would be glorified. I pray this in Jesus name. Amen. All right. Well, we're going to I think we're going to wrap up Galatians today. It probably depends, but I think we'll probably make it through the end of Galatians today, which means that next week we'll start Ephesians, which comes after Galatians. All right? Well, and Philippians. Don't forget Philippians. Yes. Yeah, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians. Yes. First and second Thessalonians. There you go. We've got our memorization down. Good. Y'all kind of know the order of things. I won't be throwing any wrenches into that, I don't think. So, we're going to finish Galatians today, though, and where we left off last week was in the discussion that Paul has, which he calls an allegory. or he says they may be interpreted allegorically. Slavery versus freedom. In Galatians chapter four he writes, tell me you who desire to be under the law, do you not listen to the law? For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by a slave woman, who's that? Hagar, and who was the son? Ishmael, good. And won by a free woman who was? Well, Isaac was not the free woman, but yes, Isaac was the child. And who was the free woman? Sarah. Yes. But the son of the slave was born according to the flesh, while the son of the free woman was born through promise. Now that is an important distinction that Paul has made throughout the letter. And throughout really many of his letters, particularly Romans, this contrast between, well, in Romans it's more flesh and the spirit, but the idea is the same. If we think about the promise, what is the promise that is mentioned in scripture? When we read about the promise, what's the promise? Children of the promise. What promise? What? Okay, it's dealing with whose offspring? Okay, Abraham's offspring. In you shall what? All the nations of the earth will be blessed. So it's the blessing, right? We read that last week. When the gospel was preached to Abraham beforehand, remember that? And the gospel was, in you shall all the nations of the earth be blessed. That was the promise. And so children of the promise are children the descendants of Abraham. And remember and we'll talk about this later on when we talk about the Israel of God. But we've already been told that those who are of faith are the children of the promise. And how do we obtain faith through the by that's the means by which Christ secured it for us. What what brings faith into our lives. What the Holy Spirit. Thank you. Yes. Grace. Certainly we're saved by grace through faith and that faith comes about by the means of the spirit. We believe that that regeneration precedes faith which means that no one without the spirit has faith. I'm sorry. Every single person not having the spirit does not have faith. Did I say that right? In other words, no spirit, no faith. That's the easiest way to put it. Good morning. Good morning. So no spirit, no faith. So here's the idea here. Paul is talking about this slave woman and this free woman. And then he says, the son of the slave was born according to the flesh. How, what does he mean by that? How was Ishmael born? How was Ishmael born differently than how Isaac was born? Okay, he wasn't of the promise, but I mean. Okay, good. Yes. He wasn't born by Sarah. He wasn't the chosen one. They were both born by ordinary fleshly means in the sense of if we're defining flesh as just natural occurrence, the opening of Sarah's womb was supernatural, but Isaac was born like every other child is born and was conceived like every other child was conceived, unlike Jesus who was conceived by the Holy Spirit. or through the Holy Spirit. And so we have two people, Isaac and Ishmael, born to two women, one a slave or one born according to the flesh and one born according to the promise. So if they were both born by ordinary means, but one is described as the flesh and one is described by the promise, what are we talking about? And Doug touched on it. I'm not trying to tell Doug he was wrong a minute ago, he was right. How is it that, what's the supernatural element that you're referring to as to how Isaac was born? Yes. Okay, all right. So Sarah's womb was open. So, why did Abraham and Sarah hatch this plan to give Hagar to Abraham? Why was that? That's a good way to put it, right? We've got this promise. God has promised us this child. And yet, God maybe needs help with that. So, we're going to be born That's what's meant by Ishmael being born according to the flesh, is he was born... I'm going to move this up a little bit because I keep looking at the wall when I try to look over to y'all. There, now I can see you. Think about the ordinary means that they were thinking about. I mean, God's made them this promise, and to Judy's point, they think somehow they have to help him. I'm still barren, I haven't had any children, so Abraham, why don't you go off and have relations with this slave woman, Hagar, and she'll conceive and bear a son, and maybe he's the child that God has promised. So the flesh then is simply pointing to doing it on their own. if you think about it. And when you think about circumcision, think about what Paul's been writing about in to the Galatians this whole time. This idea of if you accept circumcision, you are required to keep the whole law. That's living according to the flesh. That's doing it yourself. I don't need God. I'm just, you know, he said, do these rules and you'll live. So I do them and I live. Yay me. Right? So this is where we're headed with this discussion. And we see that pointed to when he asks the question, tell me you who desire to be under the law, do you not listen to the law? He's kind of mocking them a little bit. You really want to live according to the law? Really? So, now this may be interpreted allegorically, going back to the two women. This may be interpreted allegorically. These women are two covenants. One is from Mount Sinai. What was the covenant at Mount Sinai? The old covenant, the Mosaic covenant. The law was given at Sinai, remember? Remember all the thunder and lightning and clouds and God telling the people, telling Moses to warn the people not to approach the mountain unless he breaks out against them? Yeah, they're going to die if they come near the mountain. So it was in this glorious giving of the law that we have the first covenant. One is from Mount Sinai bearing children for slavery. Now, I don't want to get into a big philosophical discussion with Those who hold that the Mosaic covenant is a different administration of the covenant of grace, but there's no grace. It's not the covenant of grace. It's not a variation of the covenant of grace. It's slavery. If we rightly understand what the New Testament is saying about the law, it was a tutor pointing us to Christ. You can't keep the law, you need Christ. That's the idea of this slavery. So we have this slave woman representing a slave covenant. Does that make sense? You got it Wally? Alright, good. He's the cutest one here. So one is from Mount Sinai bearing children for slavery. She is Hagar. Now, Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia. She corresponds to the present Jerusalem. What is the present Jerusalem? Well, it's representing something else, but yes, he's speaking of Jerusalem at the time are these Judaizers that he's talking about. They represent the law. They're saying you've got to be circumcised. And Paul's saying you'll be in slavery if you accept circumcision. Christ died for no cause if you accept circumcision. So slavery with her children implies that those who are trying to be righteous according to the law are in slavery to that law. Everyone who is under the law is under a curse. Remember all this language. This is straightforward Paul saying that you don't want to be under the law. You will fail if you are declared righteous according to the law. By works of the law no one will be justified is what Paul teaches. So that's the slave woman. But the Jerusalem above is free. What is the Jerusalem above? Heaven, the kingdom of God, Christ, right? We're talking about in the flesh, in the spirit, or children according to the flesh and children according to the promise. So here we have children according to the flesh represented by Hagar, slave woman, present Jerusalem. New, children of the promise, represented by Sarah, the Jerusalem above, she is our mother. And so, she is our mother doesn't specifically point to Sarah, but the promise was made to Sarah and Abraham. That's the offspring. Remember Paul argued about the offspring and he said, I don't mean offsprings, I mean offspring, and the offspring is Christ. So now we are looking at the contrast. We have the law on one side, and we have grace, or Christ, or children of the promise, or any number of ways that we're describing the same thing here in Scripture. The Jerusalem above is free, and she is our mother. For it is written, Rejoice, O barren one who does not bear, break forth and cry aloud, you who are not in labor. For the children of the desolate one will be more than those of the one who has a husband. Now you brothers like Isaac, there's Isaac taking us back to Sarah, now you brothers like Isaac are children of the promise. But just as at that time he who was born according to the flesh persecuted him who was born according to the spirit, do you remember what prompted Sarah telling Abraham to get rid of Hagar and Ishmael? What happened? He was persecuting him, yeah. The child of the flesh was persecuting the child of the promise. And Paul is saying that's what's happening here with these Judaizers who are trying to tell them they've got to be circumcised. You brothers like Isaac are children of the promise. But just as that time he was born according to the flesh persecuted him who was born according to the spirit. So also it is now. But what does the scripture say. Again we're We're talking allegorically here, but he's basically saying that just as Abraham cast out Hagar and that child, we need to cast out these children of the flesh, these Judaizers. Cast out the slave woman and her son, for the son of the slave woman shall not inherit with the son of the free woman. Now all that goes straight back to chapter one when Paul said, I say to you, if anyone, if anyone preaches a different gospel, let him be accursed. There's no salvation in keeping the law. There's only salvation in Christ. That is how we are saved, is through the son of the free woman. So brothers, We are not children of the slave, but of the free woman. So this is, as we get into chapter five now, and we're talking about freedom. The freedom is from the law, okay? And when we get to Galatians 5.1 and we read, for freedom Christ has set us free, we need to understand that. For freedom. Christ has set us free. Stand firm therefore and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery. So as we start chapter 5, he's contrasted in chapter 4 the slave woman and the free woman. He's contrasted being born according to the flesh and being born according to the promise, which I would say is equivalent to being born according to the spirit. And so those are the two options. And Christ has freed us from the law and has made us a child of promise. Therefore, do not submit again to a yoke of slavery. These people who are claiming Christ are saying, yeah, Christ is great and wonderful, but you also have to be circumcised. And Paul is saying, You better not have that position, because if you accept circumcision, you have to keep the whole law. So as we continue in verses 1 through 6, look, I, Paul, say to you that if you accept circumcision, Christ will be of no advantage to you. No advantage. What does he mean by that? Christ. What did Christ do? He fulfilled the law. We call that his what? What kind of obedience? Active obedience. Thank you, Mr. Theologian. Now I can't see you. I'm scooting up even further. Y'all are trying to hide from me. Obedience. We are Christ kept the law. We did not. He obeyed the law perfectly. That's what we call his active obedience. And then, of course, he goes to the cross. That is his passive obedience. So when you hear those theological terms, the active and passive obedience of Christ, that's the idea. Christ is of every advantage to the believer. He did everything. And if you accept circumcision, he did nothing. You see the difference? You see why it's so critical what Paul is writing to these folks? I mean, they're being influenced to say, yeah, maybe Christ isn't enough. Do y'all know people today who teach that? I got some denominations I can list off for you if you don't. We need to understand that Paul is saying the same thing to them. If Christ is not sufficient, then he is nothing. is what Scripture says. If it's not all about Christ, then he's useless because we can't keep the law. So if justification doesn't come through his work and only his work, then we are going to fail. Christ is of no benefit to us. Paul's words, not mine. I testify again to every man who accepts circumcision that he is obligated to keep the whole law. You are severed from Christ. This is horrible. You who would be justified by the law, you have fallen away from grace. There's no intermingling of grace and works. It's grace or it's works. Take your pick. I choose grace myself. For through the Spirit, through the Spirit, by faith, Back to the whole equating children of the spirit with children of the promise? Through the spirit by faith. That's how we have faith. For those who would argue that anyone can believe, well, no, they can't. In fact, scripture says that, too. And people try to say, well, you know, the gospel is anyone has the ability to believe. Well, that's not what Scripture says. It says, through the Spirit, by faith, we ourselves eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness. And then we'll get back to this verse later on in the lesson today, but in Christ Jesus, he's the child of the promise, he's the offspring, he's He is the fulfillment of the promise to Abraham. And when we are in him, we are represented by him. He is our head, our federal head. We've talked about that before too. In Christ Jesus, neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love. So right there, Paul has eliminated distinctions between Jews and Gentiles, and yet there are people who teach that when we get to the Israel of God, we're talking about Jewish believers. No, we're not. We're talking about believers, all believers, Jewish believers, Gentile believers, male believers, female believers, you name it, that's what we're talking about, the Israel of God. We'll get to that in a minute. Any questions before we move on? This is, that chapter four of Galatians is tough to get through. People struggle with it mightily. But Christ has set us free from the law. Y'all got that? We don't have, we are not justified by keeping the law. Don't think that you're gonna earn anything from God. All right. So, Now we come to this contrast between the flesh and the spirit. So again, this is why it's important to understand that when Paul speaks of children according to the promise, those are children according to the spirit. They are brought to childhood, if you will, through the work of the Holy Spirit. They are given faith. They are converted. They are granted repentance unto life. All of that is the work of the Holy Spirit. So, Paul makes a contrast here regarding the works of the flesh and the fruit of the spirit. And again, those two things don't intermingle. But before we get into that, we should back up and read what Paul writes in Romans about this same topic, the flesh and the spirit. Because in Romans 8, he says this, For God has done what the law weakened by the flesh could not do. Same theme. The law could not do. Could not do. Because it was weakened by the flesh. We were the problem. We couldn't keep the law. But by sending his own son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who walk not according to the flesh but according to the spirits. So again, if we think about who Christ came to save, the requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us. That's the category. There's a fulfillment of the law in us who walk not according to the flesh but according to the spirit. Those are children of the promise who are walking this walk. They are the ones who can walk according to the spirit. For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh. That's pretty straightforward. And this is also straightforward. But those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. Four. To set the mind on the flesh is death. That's Adam. In Adam all die. But to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. Now remember that term peace because I think it's going to be critical at the end of chapter six in understanding who the Israel of God is. Those are the people who have peace, is those who have their minds set on the Spirit. Now, we should be asking ourselves the question, well, who are these people that live according to the Spirit? How do they live according to the Spirit? What constitutes someone who lives according to the Spirit? Well, Paul says it's those who have the Spirit live according to the Spirit. For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God. Read John chapter 3 concerning darkness and people preferring darkness to light. Hostile to God, at enmity with God. Scripture talks all the time, back there they're kicking off Romans chapter 1 today. No one seeks God. Nobody. Because the flesh is hostile to God. If you don't have the Spirit, you're hostile to God. For it does not submit to God's law, indeed it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. Now, he also makes clear who those are. They're the ones that don't have the Spirit, because he goes on to say, you, however, are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if, in fact, the Spirit of God dwells in you. That constitutes someone who is in the Spirit. Oftentimes, we try to think to ourselves, well, if I just do these things, I'll be in the Spirit. That's not how it works. You do those things if you're in the Spirit. If you've been given the Spirit, that is the product. That's why he calls it fruit of the Spirit that we'll get to in a minute. So it's not about, okay, I've got to follow these five things or these three things or these things to be in the Spirit. It's the Spirit, you're in the Spirit, and therefore you do these things. And that's all he's saying here. The mindset on flesh is hostile to God. It does not submit to God's law. It cannot. So this idea of faith preceding regeneration, this idea that we have to first believe and then we're regenerated, is foolishness. Scripture says the exact opposite. You cannot please God. Is faith pleasing to God? Yes or no? Is faith pleasing to God? Then how can you do it if your mind is set on the flesh? And the definition of having your mind set on the flesh is the Spirit of God doesn't dwell in you. So when we read this passage from Romans chapter 8, we understand that if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you, you're not in the flesh. You're in the Spirit. That's all it means is you're being affected by either your flesh or the spirit. And those are both at the mercy of God. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy. It has nothing to do with you and everything to do with God. If in fact the spirit of God dwells in you, you are not in the flesh but in the spirit. So if we have the spirit, We're in the Spirit, and because we're in the Spirit, we will set our mind on things in the Spirit. And the opposite is also true. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. Belonging to Christ necessarily means that you have the Spirit. It doesn't come after we believe, the Holy Spirit comes, and belief and repentance and obedience are products of that, which is what we're about to talk about. All right, so you got two groups, people of the flesh, people who live according to the flesh, people who live according to the Spirit. And so he goes on in verses 19 through 21 to talk about the works of the flesh, and he says they are evident. Sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you as I warned you before that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. Now, y'all ever do any of these things? Okay. I mean, maybe not sorcery, at least I hope not. That one's pretty easy for people to check off their box most of the time. Idolatry, on the other hand, y'all are all guilty of. You know, I mean, you may not think you are, but... No, I said you. I am guilty of idolatry. I am guilty of probably several things on here. In fact, we're about to start some dissension right now. I'm just kidding. But I guess the point being is that Paul writes and even says later on in this chapter that being in the Spirit or living according to the Spirit doesn't mean that we don't commit some of these acts. David committed some of these acts, right? I mean, Paul committed some of these acts. Peter, we talked about last week, committed some of these acts. And so, because Peter created dissension and division by not eating with the Gentiles when the Jews showed up, right? I mean, Peter's guilty, Paul's guilty, David's guilty, Stephen's guilty, Greg's guilty, right? Y'all got it? Y'all are all guilty from that standpoint. So what does it mean then that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God? Well, John says those who have been born of God cannot make a practice of sinning. So here we have this idea of practice. How is your life defined? Is your life defined by these things? Is that what people think of when they look at you? Oh, he's divisive or he's immoral. Is that what people, I mean, if people think that of you when they look at you, there may be a problem, right? That is evidence by this. Now the works of the flesh are evidence. That doesn't mean that we don't sin. In fact, we're told that if we say we have no sin, we're liars. So of course we sin, but our life is not defined by sin. When we live according to the flesh, that's all it is. Those who live according to the flesh cannot please God. So when we please God, it's because we're living according to the Spirit, and living according to the Spirit means that the Spirit dwells in us. So it's the fruit of the Spirit, which is the contrast. It's the product of the Spirit. So, let's look at that real quick. The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such things there is no law, and those who belong to Christ Jesus How did we define those who belong to Christ Jesus just a moment ago? Have the spirit. Anyone who does not have the spirit of Christ does not belong to him. So those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. The Holy Spirit indwelling the believer In fact, flip over to Romans 8 real quick. We'll read one more little blurb from Romans chapter 8. If I can find it. If I don't find it, I'll just quote it. I'll just guesstimate it. Here we go. So then brothers, we are debtors not to the flesh to live according to the flesh. For if you live according to the flesh, you will die. But if by the spirit, that's the only possible way that you accomplish this. If by the spirit, you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For all who are led by the spirit of God are sons of God. Is that difficult? Any questions about that? Y'all understand. Sons of God are those who are led by the Spirit. Yeah, Doug. Second Doug in the back. Justification is not. Sanctification is. Yes, on that sanctification. Justification is being declared not guilty. That occurs once, and that occurs through faith. We're saved by grace through faith. So justification comes about by faith alone, according to grace alone, right? God's grace grants us faith. And so we're justified by faith apart from works. And then to your point, sanctification, that putting to death the works of the flesh, is ongoing. That's exactly right. And so as by the Spirit we're putting to death the works of the flesh, John Owen said, be killing sin or sin will be killing you. That's the idea. People live one of two ways. Either they're being killed by sin or they are killing sin. Those are the only two options. And the only way the second one is possible is by the Spirit. Those who have the Spirit are children of God. Those who are children according to the promise are children of God. They are also children of Abraham. They are children of the promise. All of those terms are synonymous. That's the idea. In Christ, we're a new creation. We're a spirit-filled creation that can and succeeds in putting to death the works of the flesh. Yeah, Jonathan. So when we say like on sanctification in the body of Christ, we know it was God who sanctified, it was God who made holy the spirit, but that's not a uniform process throughout the whole body because Correct. What is it, some 30, some 60, some 90, or 100, or whatever? There's not some zero, right? I mean, if you live according to the flesh, you will die. That's zero. There's no product. But there is product in the life of a believer. So Jonathan's exactly right. We don't compare ourselves to one another. It may very well be that some are further along from a maturity standpoint than others, and I don't mean age. You can have young people who are very spiritually mature and older people who are very spiritually immature. It's about the Holy Spirit's different works, right? I mean, we read in Romans, if you recall, when we talked about the spirit providing gifts as he allots, how he chooses. So you might have, well, I mean, with every role in the church, right? I mean, you have pastors, you have Sunday school teachers, you have nursery workers, you have ushers, you have Contribution counters, you have any number of tasks in the church, but not everybody has each one of those tasks because each one is allotted a different spiritual gift. And each one is allotted a different level of maturity. Some people struggle more than others. But directionally, if you have the spirit, you are going to win. Jesus said, be of good cheer. I have overcome the world. That's the confidence that we have. That is, again, trusting in the promises of God means, yes, I sinned, and I should expect that because I'm human. I have Adam's sinful nature still struggling against the Spirit and myself. And so I'm going to struggle. And so when we sin, we shouldn't think, well, I'm not a believer. We should remind ourselves that we are going to have to struggle. We are going to have to rely on the spirit. I mean, that's the other thing is people who sin or are struggling with sin, they'll like stop going to church or stop reading their Bible. I'm like, how dumb is that? And that's like somebody break into your house with a gun and you, you know, you've got a gun, but you're going to go put it in the back in the closet. Like you're not going to have the defense that you have against the attacker. I mean, Satan's attacking. He's roaring, seeking, roaming about like a roaring lion, seeking him. He'd be devour. You want everything in your arsenal to defend against that. Yeah, right. So that's the call, right? Is that the Spirit is working in you to put death to the works of the flesh. We cooperate with that. Yeah. Yeah. Right. That's exactly right. Yeah, and when we talk about terms like backsliding, for instance, that's kind of the idea. What we have to be cautious about, though, is some people will talk about carnal Christianity, for instance. There's no such thing. If by the Spirit you put to death the works of the flesh, you will live, which means if you don't put to death the works of the flesh, you're going to die. So there's no such thing as living a carnal Christian life. Back to our comment about the zero fruit. There's going to be fruit. There will be different levels of fruit. And when you are not producing fruit as you should, you should repent. Confess your sins. He's faithful to forgive your sins and cleanse you from all unrighteousness. That's another promise that we rely on. Everybody makes mistakes. Everybody fails. No one is worthy of the kingdom. And so we have to remind ourselves that we were saved in Christ. I mean, that's what Paul asks early in Galatians. Those of you who were saved by the spirit, now you're gonna try to perfect it with works of the flesh. Absurd, you're not. And honestly, God has a purpose for everything, including sin. And so when a Christian thinks about their own sins, like, why does God let me do this? if he loves me? Well, because sometimes pointing out your weaknesses, what does Paul say? My strength is in my weakness. Because God wants to show that you're weak. And God wants to remind you that you're weak. We see that time and time again in scripture. Every time the Israelites won a big battle, it was obvious that it was God. Gideon is a great example of that. Go read Gideon. What happened with Gideon? God shrunk his army down to where there's no possible way anybody would think they would be successful, and they were successful because of God. That's how God works in our lives today as well. Your struggles, if you have the spirit, are expected. If you're not struggling with your sin, that's when I would start worrying. If you're not struggling, then there's no spirit. because you're living according to the flesh. Yeah, Jonathan. So, you know, we have a tendency to think more highly of ourselves and think that we're more capable or think that we're so empowered by the spirit that we can live this fruitful and holy life and out of our own strength and I found in my life that usually when I get to thinking like that, that I have, I get smacked in the head by sin. And so what that does is it breaks me and it makes me contrite, it makes me humble, and it makes me ultimately have to realize that I don't have any strength in my spiritual eyes in Christ. Take care where you think you stand lest you fall. Yeah. I think it's what Paul says. Whereas before, when I didn't know God, I will rejoice in my sin, I will be happy in my sin, I will repent after my sin, and I think that a Christian can fall that has a spirit, but you're not comfortable in it, you don't rejoice in it, you don't love it, you want to be rid of it, and it's more out of weakness that you're falling, I guess what Paul said, infirmity that you're falling, but I think that the spirit will reasons why God allows us to fall into sin, so that we'll be humbled and be broken and contrived before Him. And the sin, our sin and the law, I think, does that for us. Right. And that's why we're told daily to put on the whole armor of God. Because at any time, sin could attack you. And if you're not prepared, you're going to fall. Not permanently, but you're going to fall. And in fact, The very first question I have here, what does a life in the spirit look like, deals with exactly that. Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, by the way, that's a sign that brothers are gonna get caught in a transgression. If he's giving you a what to do when this happens, it's gonna happen, right? If anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. Bear one another's burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ. And so there is this idea that people are going to fail. People in this room are gonna fail. And when we catch them, we should run them out with pitchforks. Is that what scripture says? Might be fun, I mean, just once. What? Oh, we would have to buy a pitchfork, yeah. We can get one though. No, that's not what it says. But it doesn't say ignore it, it says restore them with the spirit of gentleness. Restore them meaning they need to be restored. They are just as sin and not keeping the law separated the people of Israel. Sin can separate you from your brothers and sisters in Christ to such that you need restoration. We're not talking about salvation for a true believer. We're talking about restoration. Peter fell. when he wouldn't eat with the Gentiles. He needed to be restored, and so Paul confronted him to his face. And then we hear this nasty word, confrontation, and we get scared and nervous. Oh, they won't like me anymore if I confront them. Like, really? Is that what your parents did when you misbehaved? They're like, oh, I better let them just do whatever they want to, because they won't like me. I want to be their buddy. Like Scripture says, if you spare the rod, you hate your son. So you're not their buddy. You hate him. It's what Scripture says about you. And the same thing applies for us. Loving the brethren means obeying Galatians 6, 1 and 2. But you also need to pay careful attention to what it says. You who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. This goes back to what Jonathan brought up earlier as far as level of spirituality and level of maturity. You could have a young believer who has the Spirit, they're filled with the Spirit, they're just as saved as I am or somebody else is, maybe I'm talking about me, better not because I'm the pastor, I have to do this. But that's one of the pastoral qualifications, right? A qualification of an overseer is that level of maturity that means that I should be able to restore someone with a spirit of gentleness, with a mind towards you're part of my family and I want you to continue to be part of my family. And so I'm going to be gentle in restoring you. I'm not going to be bringing pitchforks and hammers and all kinds of torture devices to punish you. I am going to be bringing confrontation to restore you. I'm going to confront you with your sin. I'm going to say you have to repent of this sin or you can't be a part of the fellowship anymore. We've done that before on rare occasions. And so that does happen. And the idea behind it is that we are spirit filled and we are it is a means that God uses to put to death the works of the flesh. When we talk about means of grace that's what means of grace are is they are aids in our sanctification. They are not they're not Sacraments, like other religions teach, in that they bestow some level of grace on you, that's not what we mean. What we mean is that the very nature of them existing are means of grace. The Lord's Supper is a means of grace in that it reminds us of the sacrifices Christ made for us. Preaching the word is a means of grace in that we hear God's word and we obey it. My sheep hear my voice and they follow me. Church discipline is a means of grace. It is a means that acknowledges that people are going to get caught in a transgression and there needs to be a godly way to restore them, to point out their sin to them, to lead them to repentance, to take it to three different levels if you have to. Go to him alone, bring two or three, take it to the church if they still won't listen. So four steps in the process. And it's only that fourth step that involves us saying, we're removing you from fellowship. But even then, that's where the spirit of gentleness. I mean, Paul said, hand this man over to Satan because we don't like him anymore? No. For the destruction of his flesh so that he can be saved. It's always a mind towards, he's my brother and I want to make sure that he stays my brother and that he truly is my brother. So that's what life in the spirit looks like. Galatians 6.10, so then as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone and especially to those who are of the household of faith. So here we have this idea that the love of Christ should be evident. Let your light shine before men so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. And then we have particularly, especially those who are of the household of faith. And so we have a special commitment to doing good to one another. Love one another as I have loved you. That's a disciple's command. We're loving the brethren. but then there's also a general love that we share for all people. And so that's what a life in the spirit looks like. And what does the life in the flesh look like? Verses 12 and 13, it is those who want to make good showing in the flesh who would force you to be circumcised. and only in order that they may not be persecuted for the cross of Christ. For even those who are circumcised do not themselves keep the law, but they desire to have you circumcised that they may boast in your flesh." That's the contrast. One is a sacrificial love life that's lived, one of gentleness, one of all of those fruits of the Spirit. The other is all about me. And he's just using the Judaizers here as an example, but that is the life of someone who lives according to the flesh. It's all about me. What do I get out of it? It's why Jesus told his disciples, unless you hate your father and mother and brother and sister and son and daughter, yes, even his own life, He cannot be my disciple. You have to crucify yourself daily. Take up your cross daily and follow me. It's all about selflessness and the flesh is all about selfishness. You all understand the difference, right? So we have them, not that they keep the law and they're concerned about their brother who needs to be restored. So I'm going to go over here and warn them. I'm like, You know you do need you know I'm worried about your soul because you haven't been circumcised. They're just wanting to boast in the flesh and they're wanting to protect themselves because you had these Jews who were persecuting the Christians and they didn't want to get persecuted. So it was all about them. It's not about any love for the brethren or any concern over serving Christ. They didn't keep the law. So they're hypocrites. And guess what? That's exactly what Jesus called Pharisees throughout his ministry. So we've got five minutes left. Probably we won't get through all of this, but just to touch on a matter of interpretation quickly and understanding. We talk about this a lot, but understanding context matters in interpreting what scripture means. And in the last few verses of Galatians 6, we have this, for neither circumcision counts for anything nor uncircumcision, but a new creation. And as for all who walk by this rule, peace and mercy be upon them and upon the Israel of God. That's what the ESV says, what the King James says, I think most translations say, and upon the Israel of God. So we have to decide what that means. Does that mean that Paul is assigning peace and mercy upon people who don't believe that first part? This rule, what is this rule? Well, neither circumcision counts for anything nor uncircumcision, but a new creation. The whole letter is about how circumcision doesn't mean anything in Christ. And that if you accept circumcision, you have to keep the whole law and Christ is meaningless to you. That's the context behind that statement. And here we have this benediction at the end where Paul is saying, peace and mercy be upon them and upon the Israel of God is the way it's translated. I'm going to argue that that's not how it should be translated because the chi there, the Greek word, can mean namely or that is, and that makes a whole lot more sense given the complete context of Galatians. And so I think a better reading of it is, as for all who walk by this rule, peace and mercy be upon them, that is, namely, the Israel of God. Because, and I say that because already in Galatians chapter 3, Paul has said, know then it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham. Really your Jewishness doesn't mean anything anymore. You're not a son of Abraham because you're ethnically Jewish. And we've already been told that in Christ there is neither Jew nor Gentile. So that classification is totally insignificant when we're talking about in Christ. And the scripture foreseeing that God would justify all that justify the Gentiles by faith, preach the gospel beforehand to Abraham saying, in you shall all the nations be blessed. So then those who are of faith are blessed. Those who are of faith are blessed. We don't call blessings down on people who aren't of the faith. They're cursed because they're under the law. They are blessed. Those who are of faith are blessed. And so those who are of faith are those who adhere to that law. Because if you adhere to the other law, you're anathema, is what Paul's already said in his letter. If you preach another gospel, you're anathema. I didn't say it. Paul said it. God said it. That's the distinction. And so, going back to the passage then, For neither circumcision counts for anything nor uncircumcision, but a new creation." Think about how, I mean, that's the point of the whole letter. It's not about circumcision. It's about a new creation. It's about being adopted as sons of God through faith. And as for all who walk by this rule, that would be believers, children of Abraham, children of the promise, those who are blessed, Those who walk by this rule, peace and mercy be upon them. Well, of course, that's the blessing. They have peace with God. Now that we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God. That's the only people who can have peace, is those who have been justified by faith. There are some who try to make the argument that, for instance, the Israel of God are Jewish believers. Do Jewish believers not adhere to this rule? I mean, it's kind of silly to try to say, oh, it's some other group. It's not some other group. There's no way to obtain peace and mercy apart from understanding this rule. Because if you don't understand the rule, you're not in Christ. He's of no benefit to you. And so, I guess, I brought this, and if anybody wants to flip through it, you're welcome to. O. Palmer Robertson wrote The Israel of God, dealing with how we interpret Israel in Scripture. And here, I believe, just based on the entire book of Galatians, everything Paul has said, the better translation is, namely, That is the Israel of God. Not that you've got two groups of people, some who believe this and then somebody else gets a blessing too. That's not what Paul is communicating. The Judaizers are, anathema is being called on the Judaizers. If you accept circumcision, Christ is of no value. All right? So that's your lesson today on why sometimes modern translations are not good. And the King James isn't good in this case either. Questions, comments? Yeah, Cheryl. Yep. Oh, yeah. When he says that the law was our guardian, if you remember, we talked about the language there. I think we use the term pedagogue. A pedagogue is a teacher. And that it's actually the Greek is pedagogue, pedagogos, which is where we get the term pedagogue, which is teacher, but it's specifically a teacher who's a stickler, somebody who holds to the letter of the law. Dogmatic. So here you have this law that God has given them and said you have to obey all of it and you'll be blessed. Back to blessings, by the way. Peace and mercy be upon them. How do we obtain peace and mercy? Well, keeping the whole law. That's what God said according to the law. Keep it and you will live. Break it and you will be cursed. So that's the idea of the tutor. It is telling you how you can save yourself. And people coming to the realization, as David did when he cries out for mercy from God, do not take your Holy Spirit away from me. people understood that they couldn't be saved by that. And it was never intended for you to be saved by that. That's what it means is that you were placed under a guardian. If you're trying to do it yourself, you're going to fail. You need Christ. And so it says it was a guardian until the faith came and the faith is Christ. But once the faith has come, you're no longer under the law. And so Christ, The instruction was, if you're left on your own, this is what you've got to do. Nobody could do it because no one in the flesh can please God. It's only through the Spirit that people can please God. And it's only those God has given Christ before the foundation of the world that are going to get the Spirit. So we need Christ. We need Christ to keep the law for us because we can't. that makes God our justifier is he allows Christ to be our substitute because we can't keep the law and he did. So he's an adequate substitute. And so he is still just in that he's requiring perfect obedience to the law, but he's justifier of us in allowing Christ to represent us. And so the law taught us all that. On our own, we're gonna fail. And when Christ comes, we see God's mercy, is yeah, you're gonna fail. And by the way, I chose you in Christ before the foundation of the world. You are my children. You're gonna succeed because I'm going to do everything to make sure that you do. Does that make sense? All right, good, because we're out of time. Let's pray. Father, we are grateful for this day, but most especially we're grateful for Jesus Christ. His sacrifice, His perfect life, His willingness to come and take on flesh and dwell among us. Father, His patience and long-suffering as He waits for all of the elect to come to Him. So Father, we look forward to the day when the final elect comes to Christ. and he returns in power and judgment and we spend an eternity with him. Father I pray as we go into worship now we reflect on that eternity with you and you dwelling with man making your home with us in a sinless society. I pray all this in Jesus name. Amen.