 Here’s another reason why I so love the book of Galatians. It’s so timely and relevant for the church today. Paul was addressing not only the religious legalists, but also folks who took their “grace” too far. He warns them at the end of his letter.
Gal 6:7 Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap.
Gal 6:8 For the one who sows to [please] his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to [please] the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.
After having spent the entire book establishing the foundation of our freedom, Paul seems to be saying, “Do! Follow the rules or else face judgment!” What’s going on here? Is he contradicting himself? Most likely not. Paul is addressing those who are throwing the baby out with the bathwater in the name of freedom and grace. Let me explain.
We already know that the Christian gospel is different from religion. Essence of religion is DO. Christianity – DONE. Check out this YouTube video.
We are free from law’s judgment. But we are not free from the law. We are free, but we are not spiritually and morally autonomous. Just like there are physical laws that govern the universe, there are spiritual and moral laws that govern our freedom. Being free from judgement doesn’t mean you can be a law unto yourself. I think this is a timely passage because there is a movement in today’s church towards a kind of eastern mystical Unitarianism where the ultimate authority is YOU. YOU get to decide who Jesus is. YOU get to decide how and what moral and spiritual laws apply, if any, to yourself. YOU get to define the relationship. YOU are in control.
I remember feeling that high of “spiritual autonomy” when I was college. I was reading Nietsche’s work, “The Anti-Christ,” when I experienced something close to a born-again experience. I felt “free.” Spiritually and morally autonomous. Free to be me, as I wanted me to be me. For a season I left the church. I left God. I became god. I became my own savior and lord. I entered “hell.” Like a fish out of water, it wasn’t hell-ish at first, but it became so soon enough. (yeah, yeah, it get’s hellish much quicker for a fish – but you know what I mean).
Paul uses an agricultural model to show the organic relationship between judgement and going against the fabric of the universe. God isn’t walking around saying, I got a set of rules here, and I’m looking to punish those who break ‘em. He’s saying, just like there are physical laws that govern the universe, the Gospel assumes a moral order. And if you go against that moral order, you will suffer consequences – organically.
What is that moral order? He’s god, and you are not. So when God commands you to forgive, or commands you to do anything, he isn’t saying, “Do it lest I hurt you.” He’s saying, “do it, lest you go against the design and purpose of the universe and hurt yourself.” Gravity isn’t something to be mocked (as Andre put it Sunday) nor are God’s moral law and order.
~Pastor Ed
 Galatians 6:1,2
Brothers*, if anyone is caught* [detected, overtaken, surprised] in any transgression, you who are spiritual* should restore* [to put in order, to restore to its former condition, medical vocab of ancient Greece - to set a fractured, dislocated bone into place] him in a spirit of gentleness*. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. 2 Bear one another’s burdens [literally, heavy weight or stone], and so fulfill the law of Christ.
Restoring and bearing burdens is parallel to serving one another. Paul brings these two lofty concept of love down to earth in the form of two kinds of ministries – the ministry of truth and the ministry of tears.
Bearing one another’s burdens not only requires listening and a willingness to suffer, but also the wisdom not to take over. If you do, you are not really helping that person. You are using that person to prove that you are worthwhile. Which means, you are not really bearing their burdens, you are bearing your own salvation. You are saving yourself. You are not really being crushed by their burden, but by the burden that Jesus Christ came for. It’s a double insult. It’s disobeying his command to bear each other’s burdens (not just be crushed into the ground by them) but worst of all, you’re saying to Jesus, “What you did, didn’t count.”
Restoring one another is more about realignment than it is about removal of sin. The essence of sin is one’s misalignment to Jesus. Sin isn’t necessarily “bad things” that need to be stopped, but “good things” that have become dislocated – have become too important (a career, a spouse, children, beauty, etc.). When everything orbits around Jesus, everything looks different. Christians therefore must be careful of what they say to a non-Christian. You can seriously mislead. You don’t go correcting, trying to restore someone who doesn’t already got their life centered on Christ. They need Jesus before they need correction. Once they have Jesus, then you can do this.
We’re meeting at Molly’s at 12 noon! For more info and directions, email Pastor Ed at e2park@gmail.com.
From: anna desimone
Subject: stories from China!
To: annaaminta@yahoo.com
Date: Sunday, December 11, 2011, 8:32 AM
Dear prayer team,
Thank you so much for prayers! They mean so much to us.
The churches in the Guangxi Province send you greetings in the Lord. We have had a wonderful time visiting the churches! It is such a blessing to see the joy of the Lord on the faces of the believers and their love for Jesus Christ, especially as they sing songs to the Lord. It is so beautiful.
You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand. Psalm 16:8-11
One of the churches we visited is called Ling Chuan, which means Spiritual River. It is a 3 year old church of about 30 believers who meet in the basement of a building in the city of Guilin. We were asked to lay hands on people and to pray for them. A lot of the prayers were for physical healing and perseverance in the faith despite persecution by family members. Please pray for this church. That in Him and through Him they will approach God with freedom and confidence. Pray that the Father would strengthen them with power through His Spirit in their inner being and being rooted and established in love, they may have power together with all the saints to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, that they would be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Please pray for wise leaders who are filled with the Holy Spirit.
We were so blessed to be witnesses of the miraculous healing powers of the Lord Jesus Christ when we visited the home of Liu in Guilin. She had been bedridden for 20 years and could not walk or talk and had idols all over her home. We gathered around her and sang worship songs to the Lord and layed hands on her and prayed, led by an amazing Godly woman, Lynda, a leader in the churches of Guilin. In His mercy and grace, the Lord healed Liu and she walked around the living room for the first time in 20 years. She also spoke, and the first words out of her mouth in 20 years were, “Praise the Lord!!!” The Lord is doing miraculous healings like this on a regular basis here in China!! Please pray that Liu will come to know the Risen Christ as her precious Savior and Healer of her soul. It is for freedom that Christ has set us free!!!
I have more amazing stories to tell but it is late here so I will close for now. Tommorrow and for the next several days we will be going out to do street evangelism. Please pray for opportunities to share the gospel and for open hearts to receive it.
Thank you so much for your prayers. My love to all of you in Christ Jesus,
anna
Jesus, Beautiful Saviour,
God of all Majesty,
Risen king,
Lamb of God,
Holy and righteous,
Blessed redeemer,
Bright morning star
All the heavens shout your praise,
All creation bow to worship You
How wonderful, how beautiful,
Name above every name, exalted high
How wonderful, how beautiful,
Jesus your name, name above every name, Jesus
I will sing forever, Jesus I love you, Jesus I love you
美麗的救世主
耶稣 我美好救主
尊贵至高君王
永活真神
神羔羊 圣洁与公义
配得至高尊荣
明亮晨星
诸天高声赞美祢
万物都来屈膝敬拜祢
何等美好 荣美救主
超乎万名之上
至高尊名 何等美好
荣美救主 祢的圣名
超乎万名之上 耶稣
永远我要歌唱
耶稣我爱祢 耶稣我爱祢
耶稣 美好救主
p.s. sorry about the cc, the blind copy does not work in China!
|
Our Story 
At our core we are a community driven by a common conviction and story. What is that story?
The world is not what it ought to be. The problem is my substituting God with myself, resulting in disharmony and disintegration. High ethical standards, good intentions, profound intellectual insights, and unleashed creativity are not enough to heal our world. We need to be rescued. God did so by substituting Man with Himself in the person of Jesus thereby restoring the cosmic relationship between Creation and its Creator on the basis of His work and record – not ours. Christ died the death we deserved. Christ earned the acceptance that we could never earn. You can say that we are more sinful than we can dare to imagine and yet through Christ we are more loved and accepted than we can dare hope for.
This classic Christian message called “the Gospel,” is what Sanctuary attempts to spread – first through ourselves, and then through the city – in word, deed, and community. When we trust it – it begins to transform us from the inside out.
I invite you to come and join us one of these Sundays. This website can explain to you what we are, but it can’t tell you who we are. So come check us out. We meet in the back room of a pizza joint in Capitol Hill. There’s plenty of parking. The teaching is more discussion-based than lecture. We try to keep it real, honest and our hearts and minds open.
Blessings,
Pastor Ed
|
Gospel Coalition
Seattle School of Theology and Psychology
Street Youth Ministries