14th Sunday after
Trinity, 2018
Rev. Stephen E. Stults
St. Paul’s Anglican Church
Galatians 3:1-2 “O foolish Galatians,
who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes
Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you? 2 This only would I learn of you,
Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?”
Thus begins the third chapter of St. Paul’s Epistle
to the Galatians, from which our Epistle selection is taken. It is a supreme
example of Pauline theology, because it introduces one of the greatest
dichotomies in Christian theology: law vs. promise. Taking a broader view, it has implications
for every single world religion, and it has implications for man’s relationship
to his deity. Based on this dichotomy, it actually affects how one thinking as
well.
These statements are borne out by this brief
selection from Galatians. Recall that this particular Epistle was borne out of
the caldron of theological disagreement, or more positively said, the arena of
theological discussion. The Galatians had been set upon by Paul’s old foes, the
Judaizers. In order to be good Christians, these men demanded that the early
Christians follow the Law of Moses, including circumcision. They waited until St. Paul had departed for
other areas of ministry before descending on the newly-formed flocks of
Christians. They brought “another
Gospel” to which some of the Galatians gave an ear, much to the distress of
their founding Apostle, Paul.
That is why he asked the incredulous question, (Galatians
3:1) “O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey
the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth,
crucified among you?”
Paul is simply stunned that they should cast away
his teachings of promise and grace, to become entangled in the tedious keeping
of a multitude of commandments. Remember, that the Judaizers wanted the early
Christians to embrace both the Christian Way and the Mosaic law.
To Paul, this is simply ludicrous. Thus, he asked them if they received the Holy
Spirit by the works of Law or by the hearing of faith? The question becomes, do we receive salvation
from Sinai (the Law), or Pentecost (the coming of the Holy Ghost)? Or, is God’s relationship to man based on
promise, or on law?
The answer is key to our whole belief system, and
affects not only the way we practice our religion, but how we think as well.
Let’s examine this…. Under a works system, or one based on Law, one must always
be concerned about “doing” something. That is, it is the concrete performance
of an action, or the avoidance of an action that determines righteousness. This is not always bad; in fact, it can be a
good and desirable way of life, especially when one considers the riotous and
anarchic alternative: no law. Yet, Law
is sterile. It produces legalistic righteousness and a “by-the-book” mentality,
but if fails to produce a change in the human heart. Yes, it can create
righteous people, but they tend to be joyless and cold. Contrast the cold gruel of an Ebenezer
Scrooge, who certainly followed the rules of good business, with the warm,
happy, agape dinners of the early Christians.
Which is more appealing? Taking a broader view, consider the broader
implications for one’s religion. If one
is simply concerned with doing, one never gets around to growing. One becomes
concerned with doing a code, as opposed to living a life.
Now consider the implications of promise, as
opposed to law. God’s whole relationship to man is based on promise. It began
with Genesis 3, where God tells the serpent that Eve’s seed will bruise (smash)
his head, while he will bruise his heel.
This is called the proto-Gospel, where Christ, born
of woman, is foretold to vanquish the ultimate power of evil, death. Although it came with the terrible price of
the Crucifixion, it did come, as the Satanic powers tried to silence
Jesus. They failed, as evil ultimately
will fail, through the power and promise of God in Christ.
The promise of God to man continued in the form of
a covenant with Abraham, referenced in today’s Epistle. The promise was made to
Abraham like this: (Galatians 3:8-9): “And the scripture, foreseeing
that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel
unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall
all nations be blessed. 9 So
then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham.”
All nations have indeed been blessed through
Abraham, by the coming of our Lord and
Saviour Jesus Christ. Where then, is the Law? Recall that Christ said in Matthew 5:17: “Think not that I am come to
destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.”
Jesus is the living embodiment of all the Old
Testament prophecies concerning the Messiah.
He fulfilled the Law by bringing the complete fulfillment of what the
Law was supposed to do: bring love on the earth. Recall those wonderful words
from the prologue of the St. John’s Gospel: (John 1:16-17”: “And
of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace. For the law was given
by Moses, but grace and truth came by
Jesus Christ.”
No truer words were even spoken. Grace, truth, and
promise came by Christ. He gave us the
new law of Love, by which we are to be transformed, and by which we are to
transform the world. Because of Christ, we relate to our deity (the Triune God)
through faith and grace, not through slavish obedience to a code. We Christians have liberty in Christ, bound
only by the law of Love.
Let us consider how our theology affects our
thinking. For example, if one is bound
by the love of Love, one will strive to do two things: love God with all of
one’s mind, heart, and strength; and love one’s neighbor as oneself. All of
one’s actions, thoughts, and motives will be guided by these two bases.
Thus, one will seek to return God’s Love with
thanksgiving, praise, and worship. If
fact, the more loves God, the more one will be drawn to adoration and worship,
like the moth that must approach the light even though it may singe its
wings. In our case, the closer we get to
the love of God, the better we will be.
On the other hand, consider those who are so driven
by a code that they must embrace acts of violence and destruction to defend it.
Anything that does not agree with their code must be destroyed; it cannot be
countenanced. The infidel must be converted or be destroyed. This is negative
theology at its worst, but it is the logical outcome of a works-driven, or
law-defined salvation system.
In the end, it proves to be unworkable. Even if one comes close to obeying every
aspect of a system of law, one becomes self-righteous and prideful. After all,
it is my actions that determine my salvation, or my blessedness, one
will think.
What folly this is!
No one can be righteous by law, because no one can keep the law. No one
is one-hundred percent consistent. Second, when one fails to keep law in every
aspect, this breeds hypocrisy. Thus, we have the scenario of outer
righteousness for all of the world to see, while the inner man is base and
unredeemed. The outer man shines with
all the splendor of compliance, while the inner man seethes with hatred, lust,
anger, pride, and vainglory. This
hypocrisy, combined with righteous anger against those who believe differently,
has the negative outcomes of terrorism and holy war.
Thus, beloved, we submit to you that righteousness
and joy do not come from adherence to a code, but from a change in the
heart. Only where the promises of love,
joy, and grace abide can there be true peace. Only where we know and feel the
loving Presence of our God through faith and relationship can true spiritual
growth occur. When we know that we are
loved without limit, in a deep and profound way that escapes our comprehension,
we give love back to the World, despite its wickedness.
Then, we can begin to understand that we are truly
the children of promise.
Galatians 3:6 : “ Even as Abraham
believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.”
