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Sixth Sunday After Pentecost
Light of Christ Anglican Church
The Rev. Michael Moffitt, June 26, 2016


Are You All In?

Text: Galatians 5:1; 13–25

I recently had someone tell me an old American Indian tale. It recounts the story of a chief who was telling a gathering of young braves about the struggle within. "It is like two dogs fighting inside of us," the chief told them. "There is one good dog who wants to do the right and the other dog always wants to do the wrong. Sometimes the good dog seems stronger and is winning the fight. But sometimes the bad dog is stronger and wrong is winning the fight."

"Who is going to win in the end?" a young brave asks.

The chief answered "The one you feed."

We are in week five of a six week series from the Book of Galatians. So far we have discussed the problem that had arisen among the churches in the province of Galatia because a group of agitators had come into their midst attacking the apostle Paul personally and preaching a distorted form of Christianity. Their “gospel” required the circumcision of Gentile Christians as a symbolic commitment to seeking salvation through the works of the law. The agitators insisted that the Galatians not only had to believe in Christ for salvation but they must also practice circumcision. The agitators were not merely content to preach a different gospel but they also attempted to discredit Paul who had founded the Galatian churches. The agitators, who were Judaizers coming from Jerusalem, were most likely disciples of James the brother of Jesus, and they seemed to have authority but it wasn’t given to them by God or the Jerusalem council. We’ve seen how easy it is to be distracted from the true gospel of salvation by grace through faith and to turn back to things that seem to have some measure of truth but actually turn our focus away from Jesus and back to religion.

We have seen that several theological arguments support Paul’s claim that salvation by faith apart from works is the true gospel of Jesus Christ: the confirmation of Paul’s gospel message by the powerful presence of the Holy Spirit, the Old Testament record of Abraham’s own faith in God before he was circumcised and the lost joy that the Galatians once had.

Today I want us to see that the true gospel of Jesus Christ always produces life change that is evident, as opposed to religion which of itself can’t transform but can actually lead to further bondage.

I want to begin by considering what we can learn from our Old Testament and gospel readings this morning as they pertain to our discussion from Galatians.

In the passage from 1 Kings 19 there are actually many things going on but we only want to consider one: Elijah is to anoint Elisha as an apprentice and helper, someone who will take over his prophetic office someday and Elisha has to make the decision how to respond to the call on his life.

Elijah had been a very powerful prophet in Israel who not only spoke the words that God gave him for Israel but also revealed the power of God by raising the dead, calling fire down from the sky, preventing it from raining for 3½ years and defeating the 450 prophets of Baal. It was Elijah who with Moses met with Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration in Luke 9. Elijah encouraged the people of Israel to turn from their sin and follow Yahweh their God and true king.

Now Elijah is to anoint Elisha to be his replacement as the same type of prophet that Elijah had been. Let’s look back at our passage from 1 Kings 19.

“Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah you shall anoint to be prophet in your place.

19 So he departed from there and found Elisha the son of Shaphat, who was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen in front of him, and he was with the twelfth. Elijah passed by him and cast his cloak upon him. 20 And he left the oxen and ran after Elijah and said, “Let me kiss my father and my mother, and then I will follow you.” And he said to him, “Go back again, for what have I done to you?” 21 And he returned from following him and took the yoke of oxen and sacrificed them and boiled their flesh with the yokes of the oxen and gave it to the people, and they ate. Then he arose and went after Elijah and assisted him.”

Basically Elijah finds Elisha at his occupation and apparently he is pretty successful and had a considerable estate that would need 12 teams of oxen. When Elijah passes by he cast his cloak or prophets mantle upon him. This mantle was the symbol of his prophetic authority and was an invitation for Elisha to join him in his work. The mantle was a garment made of animal skin with the hair still on it and was the unique garb of a prophet (Zechariah 13:4; 2 Kings 1:8). Elisha seems to have understood the invitation and he catches back up with Elijah and tells him that he needs to say good-bye to his family and dissolve his business. He uses the wood from the yokes and butchers the oxen as a sacrifice and a meal for his family and friends. The important point is that his decision to follow Elijah was finalized by destroying the tools of his trade and any security that they would bring him. There would be no going back and he willingly and joyfully joined Elijah in service to the Lord. As you can continue to read in 2 Kings, Elisha became a mighty prophet, in some ways more so than Elijah, and God honored him for his faithfulness.

In our gospel reading from Luke 9:51–62 we see Luke once again teaching his readers by drawing a contrast between one thing and another. He begins with the story of Jesus heading towards Jerusalem knowing full well what awaited him there. He sent the disciples ahead of him into a Samaritan village to inform them that he would be passing through and would need food and lodging. Jesus’ traveling party would have probably been large enough to strain the resources of a small village and so Jesus was giving them ample notice of their arrival. The Samaritans were unwilling to accommodate them probably because of the ancient hostility between them and the Jews. Jesus’ disciples were not willing to let this slight go unnoticed and asked Jesus,

“Lord, do you want us to tell fire to come down from Heaven and consume them? But he turned and rebuked them and they went to another village.”

Why did Jesus rebuke the disciples? His gospel was not oppressive but revealed the good news of God’s love for those who were lost and poor in spirit. The disciples were acting just like the Pharisees who acted with arrogance and hatred toward those who disagreed with them or insulted them. That wasn’t the response that Jesus wanted from his disciples. Did they really feel that God would use them to bring judgment? Had they not heard him clearly teach, “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” (John 3:17) They still had a lot to learn and didn’t yet understand the impact of what Jesus was about to do in Jerusalem nor did they understand what it would mean for their lives.

Luke then turns to a story of the person who says to Jesus,

“I will follow you wherever you go.” 58 And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” 59 To another he said, “Follow me.” But he said, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” 60 And Jesus said to him, “Leave the dead to bury their own dead. But as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” 61 Yet another said, “I will follow you, Lord, but let me first say farewell to those at my home.” 62 Jesus said to him, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”

The first man’s profession of faith was good but he probably didn’t know that it would potentially mean homelessness. The others were willing to follow but needed to take care of things first and then possibly follow later. Jesus is making the point that following him in building the kingdom of God had precedence over everything else and there would be no looking back. The disciples had acted toward the Samaritans in such a way as to reveal that they assumed that their place in this kingdom would be one of authority and dominance. They would be living the good life as members of the Kings elite, but Jesus is telling them and all who would follow him, that they follow at all cost. Like Elisha, there was to be no going back. The gospel of Jesus offered them life and relationship with God and would set them free from the deadness of the religion practiced by the Jews and it would prove to be more wonderful than anything they imagined yet more costly than they knew.

In our Galatian passage Paul had just finished a section in chapter 4 telling the story of Abraham and the promise that God made to him that was realized through the death and resurrection of Christ. He writes in 4:4–7,

“But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, 5 to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. 6 And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” 7 So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.”

Paul is exhorting them to remember the gospel that he had taught them that had brought them such joy and freedom. Why return to the bondage of striving to find salvation through their struggle to keep the law? They should have remembered the stories of men like Elisha. After Elijah was swept up in a chariot of fire and Elisha took his place as Israel’ prophet, God used Elisha in amazing ways and he performed many miraculous things in the power of God. Would it have made any sense for him to return to the back breaking work of plowing with oxen? Absolutely not!

“For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.”

Paul’s call away from legalism raised an important question: Are Christians simply free to live as they want? Paul answers this question by pointing to the important balance between freedom and responsibility. Paul’s concern was that his Gentile readers not allow the law to take the place of Christ in their lives. Paul is pointing them back to the words of Jesus in Matthew 11:28–30:

“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

The fact is that we are all going to be yoked to something. Judaism bore the yoke of the law, which had become a heavy burden. Jesus wasn’t offering independence but a different yoke. It’s easy and light not because it’s less demanding, but because it’s administered by a Shepherd desiring personal relationship, rather than the impersonal harshness of the law divorced from the lawgiver.

“For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. 14 For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 15 But if you bite and devour one another, watch out that you are not consumed by one another.”

It is Christ who has made us free. We don't make ourselves free. Freedom is a gift of Jesus, given to us and received by faith. When we struggle to free ourselves, we just become more entangled with a yoke of bondage.

Today, people live in the headlong pursuit of "freedom," which they think of as doing whatever they want to do, and never denying any desire. This is a kind of freedom, a false freedom; but it is not the freedom. What Jesus has purchased for us is freedom from the tyranny of having to earn our own way to God, the freedom from sin and guilt and condemnation, freedom from the penalty and the power and eventually freedom from the presence of sin.

The phrase yoke of slavery reminds us of what Peter said in Acts 15:10 about those who would bring the Gentiles under the law:

“Now therefore, why do you test God by putting a yoke on the neck of the disciples which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear?“

The Jews themselves were not able to justify themselves before God by the law, so they shouldn't put that heavy, burdensome yoke on the Gentiles!

Certain Jewish teachers of that day spoke of the Law of Moses as a yoke, but they used the term in a favorable light. Paul sees a legal relationship as a yoke, but it is a yoke of bondage. It is related to slavery, not liberty. Jewish teachers counted up 613 commandments to keep in the Law of Moses. To remember them all was a burden, and to keep them bordered on the impossible. It’s no wonder that Paul referred to subjecting oneself to them all as entering into slavery.

“For you were called to freedom brothers.” Paul has made the point over and over again - the Christian life is a life of freedom. Jesus came to set the captives free, not to keep them in bondage or put them in bondage all over again.

“Only do not use freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself”

Paul didn’t nullify the law he affirmed it. Christ fulfilled the law rather than abolishing it. The law serves as a model for how God would have us live before him. He created us and knows what works best for us as individuals as well as a community. As we live for the glory of God in the power of the Holy Spirit, we begin to reveal to a lost world that is addicted to pleasure and selfishness, that their misery and loneliness can only be remedied through a relationship with the one who can set them free.

For those times in my life where I chose to do what I wanted regardless of the consequences, I usually ended up miserable and creating quite a mess for myself and my family. As you know I ran a homeless shelter for men for 4 years and I was able to see the devastation brought about by those who didn’t want anyone telling them how to live, even after their lives had fallen apart. Look at the difference between the fruit produced by the flesh versus the fruit produced by living by the Spirit.

“But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. 19 Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, 21 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.”

Paul isn’t saying that those who have done these things at some point in their lives will not inherit the kingdom of God, but those who choose to live in rebellion to God and live according to the flesh are condemned to judgment because they will be judged according to the law. Without Christ there is no hope of escaping the wrath of a holy God.

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. 24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.”

Look at the difference between the two groups. Paul knew what would happen to the Galatians if they did not return to depending on Christ alone for their salvation; they would turn away from Christ and be lost in the deadness of an apostate religion.

Everywhere we look on TV, the movies, and advertisements we see the glorification of the deeds of the flesh. Advertisers use the premise that sex sells products but all the allure of advertisement and the entertainment industry does not reveal the truth of the lives that are destroyed behind the scenes. Those who look to be so successful we find are actually extremely miserable because everything they thought they wanted did not meet the need of their heart, it never does. We live in a time where people are surprised when there are consequences to their actions and seem to think that they should be able to do whatever they want without penalty. I have been involved in ministries to women who have had abortions and were never told the personal consequences to their own hearts that an abortion would cause. I have dealt with alcoholics and drug addicts whose lives were ruined but I have seen Jesus restore those who had abortions or those who dealt with serious addictions. It didn’t happen because they started obeyed the law, It happened because by faith they turned to Jesus Christ.

That’s why it has never been more important for those who follow Christ to model the deeds of the Spirit. Hopelessness is rampant and those around us need to see Christ in us and in the way we live in front of them. We must be committed to doing everything we can to be the Light of Christ to those around us. Remember the example of Elisha who put aside everything to follow after the call of God on his life. No turning back for him and Jesus said that there is no turning back for us either. What is God calling you to do? What is God calling us as a church to do? It all begins with the attitude of surrender: “Lord, what would you have me do?

Next Sunday we will join hopefully thousands of churches across this nation, as we fall on our knees in repentance asking God for revival to break out. It’s our only hope. Why wait until next week let’s begin the prayer of faith today?

©2016 Rev. Mike Moffitt

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