September 5, 2010

Essentials Of The Faith / Sunday Morning Sermon Series / Galatians: A Grace-full Life

Grace and The Cross

Sermon Series: Galatians: A Grace-full Life

Title: : Grace and the Cross  Text: Galatians 6:6-18

Introduction: In our western society, the cross is perhaps one of the most recognizable symbols. What are some of the ways the cross is used? It’s associated with:

·       churches,

·       the Red Cross,

·       grave markers

·       Athletes cross themselves during sporting events.

Apart from the religious meaning, the cross has become socially acceptable, a rather harmless token of the Christian faith. Most people, except the extremists, no longer take offense to the sight of a cross. In fact, many non-religious people wear the cross as a fashion accessory. 

But, did you know that the cross was once one of the most despised symbols?

·       During the time of Jesus, the cross was a symbol of shame. The Romans used the cross as a means of executing the worst of criminals. For the Jew, being crucified on a cross meant you had been cursed by God.

·       Because of the shame and violence, during the early church the cross was not the symbol it is today. In fact it was forbidden by early church leaders to be part of religious art.

·       Constantine in the 4^th century adopted the cross as a ‘good luck charm’ and placed it on his armies shields and armor.

·       The cross was not common in religious art until the 5^th century when everyone who had seen a live crucifixion had died.

I find it amazing that God could take the cross, the most horrendous of symbols, and turn it into a glorious representation of victory. Only God could do that! Only God, could bring glory, out of shame!

Background: Today, we come to the end of our journey through the Book of Galatians. In this last chapter, Paul takes the pen in his own hand and restates what has been the central focus of the entire letter...God’s grace expressed through the cross of Christ.

Transition: Open your Bibles to Galatians 6:6 (Pg. 889 in the Bibles under the chair in front of you.) For it’s there we’ll find grace and the cross.

I. Galatians 6:6-10 The Cross = New Responsibilities

Read: Galatians 6:6-10

ILL: The story is told of a circuit-riding preacher whose clothing revealed that he had little of the worlds riches. He, himself was thin and in less than perfect health. His horse, on the other hand, was sleek and well kept. When a parishioner asked the preacher why he looked so poorly and his horse looked so good, the preacher responded ‘I look after my horse and you look after me.’ (Bob Diffenbaugh)

To understand what Paul is saying, we must remember the context of Galatians. The pastors Paul left in the church in Galatia, those who faithfully taught the Gospel of Jesus Christ, were no longer getting sufficient pay to support themselves and their families.

Paul wrote in verse 2 to ‘carry each others burdens.’ That meant the church had a responsibility to financially support those who preached God’s Word.

But, as we will see later in verses 9-10, there is more here then just financial support. When Paul writes we must ‘share all good things with his instructor.’  He’s not just talking about money. It also implies participation in ministry. How do I

know that? Again...context.

The word ‘share’ can also be translated ‘contribute.’ It is the verb form of the Greek word ‘koinonia’ which means ‘fellowship’ or ‘sharing’. The idea is that the pastor should not be the only one who is active in ministry in the local church. Ministry must be shared by everyone.

Just as I said last week that we need to find out what burdens your brothers and sisters are carrying here at CBC, you must also find out what burdens your church has in ministry and help carry them. Again, you can find out by reading the Prayer Sheet on the back bookcase or by reading the Bulletin Inserts.

And, just like bearing each others burdens, no one is exempt. Notice Paul said ‘Do not be deceived, God cannot be mocked.’ He’s saying you can’t get anything by on God. Either you honor Him in this or you don’t.

For a small church we are big in ministry. So, we need your help. If you are not actively involved in a ministry here at CBC, if you are not filling some need, please prayerfully consider how you can help.

This is also the central idea in verses 7-8 where the familiar terms ‘sowing and reaping’ are used. Paul’s thought is that what we sow ought to be an investment in the future, in eternal values. When we do that, Paul writes, we will reap eternal benefits.

Most of those who teach the false Health, Wealth and Prosperity gospel, place the emphasis on the financial aspect of ‘sowing and reaping’ when it’s clear in this and other texts, that our ‘doing good’ is the point. Yes ‘sowing and reaping’ involves the use of our finances. But that’s just a small part in how we can share the burden of ministry needed to build the Kingdom of God.

I love how the Bible addresses our every though and feeling. Sometimes when we serve in the church, when we actively participate in ministry...we grow weary, in other words serving can become a chore. And there are many reasons why.

·       We are overloaded with responsibilities in the church.

·       We are beginning to feel unappreciated for what we do.

·       We are getting restless waiting for the rewards of ministry.

·       We are getting more involved in activities outside the church and we want more time for them.

·       We want to serve in another area of the church but there is no one to take our place in our current ministry.

Truth be told, it is easy to grow weary in ministry. So when this happens, we need to refocus. And that’s the point of verses 11-17. We fix our eyes on what’s essential, on what is our chief motivation in ministry...the Cross of Jesus Christ.

·       You see, it’s because of God’s grace, displayed in the cross, that we recognize our responsibility to actively serve in ministry.

·       To actively sow works that will reap eternal benefits.

·       To bear one another’s burdens and the burdens of ministry in the church, is a telltale mark of  those who display the ‘fruit of the Spirit’ and who ‘keep in step with the Spirit.’

Transition: It’s all about the cross. Why is the cross central to our faith? Simply, because it changes everything!

II. Galatians 6:11-17    The Cross = New Creation

Read: Galatians 6:11-17

People in the church have their soapboxes they like to stand on and promote what they believe should be important in the church. Often, for them, it’s the main thing the church should be concerned about:

·       Children’s ministries

·       Outreach and evangelism

·       Saving the unborn

·       The teaching ministries

·       Singing: for some that alone = worship

·       Maintaining the building and property

Whatever it is, we all have our ‘thing’ that we feel should be the main thing in the church. It was no different in the Galatian church. Only the issue there isn’t an issue for us anymore...the issue? Circumcision. It was the identifying mark of the Jew. And some of the Jewish Christians felt everyone needed to be both

·       Jewish (by being circumcised)

·       and Christian (by faith in Jesus.)

Understand that Paul’s point is not that circumcision is wrong or that it shouldn’t be done by Christians.

Neither is it wrong to have a passion for children’s ministries or any of the other examples I gave. His point is, they are not the central focus or determining factor in Christianity...that alone is reserved for the Cross of Jesus Christ.

Remember I said for the Jew, being crucified on the cross meant you had been cursed by God. Well, they couldn’t reconcile how Jesus, if He was the Messiah, God’s Son, could be crucified on a cross because it meant He was cursed. So, they persecuted anyone who taught that...just ask the Apostle Paul.

The problem with the Judaizers in the Galatian church was that they were afraid of the persecution they would receive from the Jews if they did not promote circumcision and deemphasize the crucifixion and the cross of Jesus. By demanding the Gentile Christians be circumcised, they could boast they were being good Jews, as well as, faithful Christians.

Paul’s response: your focus is in the wrong place. It is the cross alone that is the central most important aspect of the Christian life. It is there, by God’s grace, that everything changed...

beginning with you and me. It was by the cross that we became new creations.

ILL: There is a story about a little girl who proudly wore a shiny cross on a chain around her neck. One day she was approached by a man who said to her, “Little girl, don’t you know that the cross Jesus died on wasn’t beautiful like the one you’re wearing? It was an ugly, wooden thing.” To which the girl replied, “Yes, I know. But they told me in Sunday School that whatever Jesus touches, He changes.” (Melvin Newland)

It’s with Paul’s own handwriting that he emphasizes this point:

·       It is not the small change of circumcision that counts... it’s the total life change that matters. And it’s the cross of Jesus that makes us a new creation.

·       The old life with circumcision and following the law is dead.

·       We are made alive by God’s grace through faith in Jesus’ death on the cross and resurrection from the dead.

Our focus, our soapbox must be the cross of Christ and nothing else. Paul says if we boast, let it be in the cross of Christ.

·       It is the place God’s justice met God’s grace!

Through the crucifixion of Jesus Christ on the cross, there is forgiveness for undeserving sinners. Boast in that and in nothing else.

Because of the cross, we are crucified, dead to the world and it’s influences on us.

Because of the cross, we are a new creation.

And Paul tells us that God’s peace and mercy follow those, who follow the cross.

Transition: The cross brings us new responsibilities, makes us a new creation and rewards us with new blessings.

III. Galatians 6:18        The Cross = New Blessings

Read: Galatians 6:18

I’ll be brief. Paul can hope for nothing better, nothing greater for his brothers and sisters in Christ, for you and me, then God’s grace would be in our spirit, in our life.

He wants us to walk in a ‘grace’ based relationship with God, not a ‘law’ or ‘performance’ based relationship with Him.

That’s the context of Paul’s letter to the Galatian Christians and to us.

And at the end of his letter he tells us how we obtain that grace relationship with God...through faith in the cross of Christ.

Conclusion

Read: Revelation 21:5 ‘He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.’

God’s plan is to make everything new...and by the cross of Christ, He began... with you and with me.

Let me close with this true story.

ILL: There is power in the cross. Even unbelievers are uncomfrotable when considering its potential.

 

David Brooks, of the Weekly Standard, reports "of the conniption being thrown by the American Atheist. It seems that when the World Trade Center collapsed, the force of the fall, or some supernatural force, fused two steel beams into a 20-foot-high cross, which has been kept on the edge of the site. The atheists want the cross removed, but in their passion to do that, they are actually revealing their faith in the power of the cross. If it didn't have power, why get so upset?’

 

·       There is power in the cross!

·       There is power in the cross!

·       There is power in the cross!

As we prepare to share in the Lord’s Supper, consider the potential of the cross--it's potential to make all things new. Paul says it a different way in Colossians 1:20  Jesus ‘made peace through the blood of His cross.’ Forgiveness of sin and peace with God. It’s what we all want and need.

Galatians is a book about God’s grace.., extended through the cross of Jesus Christ to the undeserving sinner...you and me. To God be the glory!