^{Galatians 4}

²¹ Tell me, you who want to be under the law, are you not aware of what the law says? ²² For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by the slave woman and the other by the free woman. ²³ His son by the slave woman was born according to the flesh, but his son by the free woman was born as the result of a divine promise.

 ²⁴ These things are being taken figuratively: The women represent two covenants. One covenant is from Mount Sinai and bears children who are to be slaves: This is Hagar. ²⁵ Now Hagar stands for Mount Sinai in Arabia and corresponds to the present city of Jerusalem, because she is in slavery with her children. ²⁶ But the Jerusalem that is above is free, and she is our mother. ²⁷ For it is written:

   “Be glad, barren woman,
   you who never bore a child;
shout for joy and cry aloud,
   you who were never in labor;
because more are the children of the desolate woman
   than of her who has a husband.”^[e]

 ²⁸ Now you, brothers and sisters, like Isaac, are children of promise. ²⁹ At that time the son born according to the flesh persecuted the son born by the power of the Spirit. It is the same now. ³⁰ But what does Scripture say? “Get rid of the slave woman and her son, for the slave woman’s son will never share in the inheritance with the free woman’s son.”^{[f] 31} Therefore, brothers and sisters, we are not children of the slave woman, but of the free woman.

Galatians 5

Freedom in Christ

 ¹ It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.

 ² Mark my words! I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no value to you at all. ³ Again I declare to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is obligated to obey the whole law. ⁴ You who are trying to be justified by the law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace. ⁵ For through the Spirit we eagerly await by faith the righteousness for which we hope. ⁶ For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.

So, Paul is painting a picture here.  He is speaking about the rituals and doctrines of men being used to shackle us to the law.  It’s of the flesh to believe we in of ourselves can adhere to God’s perfect law.  When believers approach faith in Christ as a list of do’s and don’ts they become enslaved, shackled to the law.  What did Paul say?  The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.  Also, faith without works is dead.  What is the natural outflowing work of faith in Christ?  Love for our neighbor?  Why do we make this so hard?  Why are do we shackle our self-image to the failures of the flesh?  Why do we beat ourselves with our failures?  Why do we speak to ourselves in ways that are abusive?  Do you not know you are the sons and daughters of the one and only Holy God?  Do you not know, that you never could live according to the law?  Did you not know if you violate one law you violate them all?  The law is a breaker of the flesh.  If you are not fully convinced you can’t, then maybe you need to go try some more.  Then end result will be the same.  At the end of trying to be good enough, you will throw your hands in the air and either give up the faith, or you will give up trying to be good enough.  You will give up trying to earn your salvation.  In that beautiful moment of clarity, the real work begins.  I don’t understand it.  I can’t fathom God’s love for us all.  What I do know is that until we get out of the way, and live by faith in Christ through love for others, we will be enslaved.  We will be shackled to ego.  Today, trust the perfecter of your faith Jesus Christ.  Realize he loves you too much not to mold you in his image.  The vices you struggle with today will not be with you forever.  He is removing those from you in His timing.  Trust that process today.

Abiding in Grace

I have seen much debate and misunderstanding about the grace spoken about in Romans.  I have witnessed Romans 7 and 8 used as support to validate sinful living.  I have also observed others who minimize or explain away what Paul is saying.  The effect of this line of teaching is the inevitable shackling of believers to Old Covenant thinking.

    

I believe much of what Romans 7 and 8 is talking about involves maturity in Christ. It's the maturation from the Law portion of our walk and spiritual development to the freedom and grace portion.  When we are young and immature in the faith, our will is still very much our will.  We look for how far we can push things.  What are the rules?  How much can we get away with?  The Law portion guides us through the early years of our faith.  But, there are those who are immature in the faith who seem to take an opposite route in their development.  Everything and anything seems wrong to them.  They have not learned to discern.  Many of these seem to be anxious personality types.  They worry about doing the wrong thing and losing their salvation and God's love.

Paul had a security in his Lord and salvation.  He was mature in the faith.  He was able to discern.  I believe Paul is saying there is nothing he wanted to do that would separate him from the love of God, yet not everything is beneficial to his spiritual growth.  It's not a clean and unclean thing because that is Old Covenant thinking.  It's beneficial and non-beneficial.  Our sins past, present and future have been bought and paid for; we live in that freedom daily.  There is nothing you can do that will make you "unclean" as you are saved and live under the blood of Christ.  You live under the umbrella of grace.  But, so many have Old Covenant thinking...clean unclean and many of them feel too unclean to worship.  Another sacrifice MUST be made in order for them to be clean enough to abide in the presence of the Lord again.  They abuse themselves and allow their weak consciences to torment them with Old Covenant thinking.  Once they have paid the addition price of abuse of psyche and spirit, they feel clean enough to enter into relationship and worship again.

Many believers fear living in this freedom.  They feel like it is using grace as a license to sin.  Those who are mature in Christ want Him more than they want the world.  They want to be like Jesus.  They are not looking for boundaries, and "what can I get away with and still be saved".  They ache for relationship, and feel sick when they can't feel his presence.  When they sin it's not beneficial and that sin carries consequence.  When they feed the homeless that IS beneficial and is an outward expression of their love for Christ and their maturity in Christ.

Living in Old Covenant thinking didn't make me sin less; it just made sin more sinful.  The Law will break your flesh.  You must realize you have no ability to be righteous.  You have no ability to clean yourself up.  You have no ability to mature yourself in Christ.  Staying away from the unclean is NOT maturity in Christ.  Maturity in Christ is love, relationship and faith that God loves you too much to not mature you in His love.  That simple faith brings maturity, and relieves you from that itching need to be perfect.  And in that simple faith, you find yourself growing, doing things and wanting the non-beneficial less.  You grow.

 

I accept my place now, here in this flesh with these vices attached to it.  But, I know this is not my home.  And my faith is not in me.  God has never left me.  He has never lied to me.  I know he is transforming me, shaping me, using me in my weaknesses for his plans and purposes.  When I forget this; when I begin to look at me, I grow sick.  I feel ill.  When I live in the freedom by faith, I feel well and strong.  I run and don’t grow weary, I walk and do not faint.  My hope is not in myself.  My hope is in the Lord.

 

Jesus is the pioneer and the perfector of our faith.  Today, my main focus is not on me.  My main focus is on Christ.  I see the hand of sanctification moving through my life, not because of me but despite of me.  My best efforts are like filthy rags.  This maturation process has continued and plodded through my mistakes, sins, and character defects.  I look back and know my best efforts should have landed me in prison or the grave.  My best efforts imprisoned me to addiction and misery.  It wasn't until my flesh was broken over the Law, that I truly began to grow.  It wasn't until I knew that I knew that I would never be good enough to earn salvation, that I gave up trying to be good enough.  It was through that breaking process, I realized where my eyes should be focused and that is on the Cross.

So does that mean God gives us a little nudge and a wink when we sin?  Does it mean my sin doesn't grieve me?  Does it mean I don't try to avoid setting idols up in my heart?  The answer is no to all the above.  I am grieved when I sin, my heart breaks.  But, not because I am trying to earn something, but because I am trying to be like someone and that is Jesus Christ.  My desire is to be like my Savior in every way.  My desire is to continually grow.  Do I look at my motives, my actions, and my reactions?  Absolutely, I want those to be like my Saviors as well.  But, I know this, that even when I stumble and fall flat on my face that God still loves me, is still in control, and I trust him to remove it all from me.  HE is the perfector of my faith, not me.

Shame, Guilt, and Jesus Christ

Have you ever wondered why you do the things you do?  Have you ever had the experience of closely walking with Christ, when all of a sudden your flesh takes over and you engage in an activity that brings guilt and shame?  Do you often feel that you do the things you don’t want to do, and can’t seem to do the things you want to do?  If so, you are in good company.

Paul said in Romans 7 (The Message Translation):

^14-16I can anticipate the response that is coming: "I know that all God's commands are spiritual, but I'm not. Isn't this also your experience?" Yes. I'm full of myself—after all, I've spent a long time in sin's prison. What I don't understand about myself is that I decide one way, but then I act another, doing things I absolutely despise. So if I can't be trusted to figure out what is best for myself and then do it, it becomes obvious that God's command is necessary.
 ^17-20But I need something more! For if I know the law but still can't keep it, and if the power of sin within me keeps sabotaging my best intentions, I obviously need help! I realize that I don't have what it takes. I can will it, but I can't do it. I decide to do good, but I don't really do it; I decide not to do bad, but then I do it anyway. My decisions, such as they are, don't result in actions. Something has gone wrong deep within me and gets the better of me every time.
 ^21-23It happens so regularly that it's predictable. The moment I decide to do good, sin is there to trip me up. I truly delight in God's commands, but it's pretty obvious that not all of me joins in that delight. Parts of me covertly rebel, and just when I least expect it, they take charge.
 ²⁴I've tried everything and nothing helps. I'm at the end of my rope. Is there no one who can do anything for me? Isn't that the real question?
 ²⁵The answer, thank God, is that Jesus Christ can and does. He acted to set things right in this life of contradictions where I want to serve God with all my heart and mind, but am pulled by the influence of sin to do something totally different.

Within each of us is a God compass.  His Law is written on each person’s heart.  People have an inherent sense of good and evil.  They have a voice within them that tells them right and wrong.  Some choose to suppress that voice.  Others pick and choose, they negotiate and validate behaviors.  And others obsess over their inability to adhere to that internal sense of right and wrong.  They choose to flog themselves with the proverbial whip of guilt and shame.  Each of these paths bring death.  None of these paths lead to Kingdom living.  It is why we see much of the world, and those within church buildings living outside of the gates of the Kingdom of God.  They are living in the cursed Hinnom Valley (Gehenna), where there is a weeping and gnashing of teeth.  The burden of shame and guilt keeps their eyes focused on themselves, and they can’t abide in relationship with Christ.  They believe God is pushing them away.  They believe they are worthless, unimportant and unlovable.

 None of this is true.  God loves us just as we are, blemishes, warts and all.  It is the shame and guilt involved in the violation of God’s Law written on our hearts that keeps us from relationship.  In our feelings of unworthiness we begin to wallow in self.  Our eyes focus inward and we become ineffective in the Kingdom.  We begin to hold ourselves to standards of perfection and we grow spiritually sick.  It’s merely another form of egocentric behavior.   
This is just part of life.  The flesh is a tool of the sanctification process.  The flesh is intricately involved in the education of our spirits.  At times we are supposed to feel torn, confused, divided, this is the threshing process.  It separates the wheat from chaff.  It divides that which is of God, and that which needs destroyed and burned within us.  When we sin, God doesn’t gasp in disbelief.  We don’t surprise God with our sinfulness.  Your past, present, and future sin has been bought and paid for in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.   When Jesus said, “It is finished”, we should believe Him.   Only a sacrifice of this magnitude could heal our broken, guilt laden, and shamed spirits.

So what is the solution?  Our fleshly egos must be broken upon God’s Law.  We must be fully convinced just as Paul was convinced that we have nothing within us that can adhere to God’s Law.   Within this beautiful and painful breaking process we become convinced that we are not God.  We become convinced that when we run our own lives, we run them into the ground.  We hit a spiritual bottom.  And from that bottom we become teachable.  Our egos are broken, and our eyes focus on the only solution and that is Jesus Christ.  In that beautiful abandon of self we become aware of who we are in Christ.  We learn to forgive and love ourselves.  We begin a process of accepting our weaknesses, and we learn to boast about our weaknesses.  In our weaknesses, God is made strong.  He begins to use our vices and failures to teach us about ourselves, others and Him.   In these weaknesses, we learn compassion.  Those we used to judge, we now love.  Those we once rejected, we now embrace.  We no longer have to rise above, or hide below the multitudes.  We no longer feel the need to hide our true selves from others.  Our masks come off, and within this those around us feel comfortable removing their masks.  We find freedom, liberty and shackles of ego, guilt, and shame are broken.

Today, I implore you to focus your eyes upon Christ and begin the process of forgiving yourself.  And while each of us should search our own actions, motivations, and behaviors we should not obsess over our failures.  We are to acknowledge our weaknesses and give them to our Savior, who is the author and perfecter of our faith.  Within this we will find the easy yoke, and the light burden of Christ.