Participants: Mark Howard & Jim Howard
Series Code: GBOTB
Program Code: GBOTB000010A
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00:22 Welcome to another episode of Books of the Book.
00:24 We are studying the book of Galatians and I am 00:27 Pastor Mark Howard, I'm the Pastor of the Gobels 00:29 Seventh-day Adventist church in Michigan as well as 00:31 Director of the Emmanuel Institute of evangelism, 00:34 a school that trains people to share their faith. 00:36 I'm here at my co-host and brother Jim. 00:39 If my name is Jim Howard and I am the Pastor of the 00:41 Detroit Metropolitan Seventh-day Adventist church and 00:44 South Lyon Seventh-day Adventist church also 00:46 in the Michigan conference. 00:48 And we have been studying in the book of Galatians. 00:51 A powerful book in the New Testament and we have had 00:54 a lot of good studies. 00:55 There is a lot packed in this book Jim. 00:57 We are actually up to chapter 5 and if you are watching 01:01 at home, you have your Bibles with you, or a Bible nearby 01:06 grab that in follow us into chapter 5 of Galatians. 01:09 You go to the New Testament Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, 01:12 Acts, Romans, 1 and 2 Corinthians and then Galatians. 01:16 We are going to Galatians Chapter 5 and today we are 01:20 going to pick up their in verse 7 and we will get a 01:24 running start there into what the apostle Paul calls 01:29 the offensive of the cross. 01:31 Galatians 5:7 he says to these Galatian believers, 01:35 "you ran well. Who hindered you from obeying the truth? 01:39 "This persuasion does not come from Him who calls you. 01:43 "A little leaven leavens the whole lump. I have 01:47 "confidence in you, in the Lord, that you will have no 01:51 "other mind; but he who troubles you shall bear his 01:54 "judgment, whoever he is. 11. And I, brethren, if I 01:58 "still preach circumcision, why do I still suffer 02:01 "persecution? Then the offense of the cross has ceased. " 02:05 Now there is a lot in there, but we are going to focus 02:09 today on this idea of the offense of the cross. 02:11 Here are the things Jim, that I am picking up on this. 02:15 There's something about the cross that is offensive to 02:19 those that are preaching circumcision. 02:21 Furthermore, persecution is resulting from preaching the 02:25 cross but evidently not from preaching circumcision. 02:28 As Paul says, if I would start preaching circumcision 02:32 I wouldn't be persecuted. 02:34 Preaching circumcision somehow makes the cross 02:37 non offensive and we want to delve into this and find 02:42 out what it is about the cross that is offensive to 02:47 those who preach circumcision and why. 02:49 And what is it about circum- cision that takes away that 02:53 offensiveness to the cross? 02:55 That is important and I think in order to understand 02:58 that, we need to look back to the real meaning of 03:01 circumcision, we have talked about this in previous 03:03 episodes but there is one particular passage that really 03:06 feeds in well to this passage in Galatians 5. 03:09 It is found in Romans 4:9, Romans 4:9. 03:17 right after Acts comes Romans. 03:19 It says, "Does this blessedness then come upon the 03:24 "circumcised only, or upon the uncircumcised also? 03:28 "For we say that faith was accounted to Abraham for 03:31 "righteousness. " So he received his righteousness by 03:35 faith. "How then was accounted? While he was 03:39 "circumcised, or uncircumcised? Not while circumcised, 03:43 "but while uncircumcised. And he received the sign of 03:47 "circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith 03:51 "which he had while still uncircumcised, that he might 03:54 "be the father of all those who believe, though they are 03:58 "uncircumcised, that righteousness might be imputed 04:01 "to them also, and the father of circumcision to those 04:04 "who not only are of the circumcision, but who also walk 04:07 "in the steps of the faith which our father Abraham had 04:10 "while still uncircumcised. " 04:12 His point is, Abraham received that righteousness that 04:16 was accounted to him prior to being circumcised. 04:19 So circumcision didn't produce the righteousness, that 04:23 is not where he got the righteousness. 04:24 He got it through faith in Christ, the promised sacrifice 04:29 and faith in God's promise. 04:31 In expressing that faith God accounted that to him as 04:35 righteousness, so what was happening in the days of the 04:38 Galatians was that they had perverted the idea of 04:42 circumcision as a sign of righteousness, which is 04:45 obtained through faith. 04:47 Instead of seeking to gain righteousness through faith in 04:50 Christ, they were actually not righteousness by faith 04:54 believers, but righteousness by circumcision. 04:57 I think our viewers may be thinking that is not something 05:03 that is an issue today in our church. 05:05 That is not an issue among believers. 05:07 What is interesting, the reality is that they saw 05:12 something they could do that basically took the place of 05:17 the righteousness of Christ. 05:19 In other words, they didn't need that righteousness of 05:21 Christ because they had circumcision. 05:24 While no Christian would say off-the-cuff, oh yeah I 05:27 don't believe I need the righteousness of Christ, 05:31 we find in our demeanor sometimes, the way we think 05:35 through things that may be just exactly what we are 05:38 thinking, for example. 05:40 In my ministry with the Emmanuel Institute, and I know 05:43 you have done similar things with your church. 05:45 I go out and we share our faith often times from house 05:48 to house, we will go door to door. 05:49 One of the things I have done its survey people about 05:53 their own religious beliefs. 05:54 Whatever they happen to be. 05:56 It is interesting Jim, that not limited to Christians, 06:00 Christians shouldn't even be in the crowd, the reality is. 06:05 But many different religions, Christians included, 06:09 people will say when you ask them about a future life. 06:13 An afterlife, they believe they are going to be a part 06:17 of an afterlife. What gives you that confidence? 06:20 The answer that most people give is, because I am 06:23 a good person, because I do good things, because I do 06:27 thus and so and in reality they don't answer what 06:30 they should answer, even like I said some Christians. 06:33 The answer should be I have accepted Jesus Christ as my 06:37 Savior and He has given His righteousness by faith. 06:40 - yeah that is right. - But when we say because 06:43 I am a good person and do good things what, we are 06:46 actually saying is my basis of my salvation is because 06:50 of my own doings. 06:52 Yeah if someone thinks I am a good person, I help to 06:56 shovel the neighbors walk, or I do kind things at work, 07:00 I'm always friendly and they get a sense of morality that 07:04 just has to do with not being a really bad person. 07:07 For them shoveling the walk is circumcision. 07:11 - that's right! - that's their thing and maybe it is 07:14 just going to church. 07:16 Whatever it is they're certain particular things give them 07:19 confidence that they are okay is their circumcision. 07:22 Not that there's anything wrong with going to church, or 07:24 shoveling a walk just like we have already talked about. 07:26 There is nothing wrong inherently with circumcision, 07:29 but the attitude and the belief that it was their shoveling 07:32 the driveway, helping out in a soup kitchen or what have 07:36 you that made them a good person. 07:38 - right, that's exactly right. 07:40 So we talked about that and you brought this up before in 07:43 Romans 2, maybe we ought to look at this passage. 07:45 Romans 2:25 the apostle makes a point here. 07:51 He says, "for circumcision is indeed profitable if you 07:55 "keep the law, but if you are a breaker of the law, your 08:00 "circumcision has become uncircumcision. " 08:02 Now here is another step to that. 08:04 Sometimes Jim, for example maybe I have some bitterness, 08:09 some grudge against somebody in church. 08:11 Or a neighbor and I go to another neighbor and shovel 08:14 their walk. Then I go down to the soup kitchen 08:17 and help with that. 08:19 And then I say that I am a good person and because I do 08:23 do those things I offset, or excuse myself from doing that 08:28 which I know God requires of me. 08:30 This is what we are talking about when we talk about the 08:31 circumcision here, this whole issue in Galatians. 08:34 They were taking circumcision as a substitute for obeying 08:38 what God had said. 08:40 I keep some of God's Command- ments, I don't really feel 08:42 comfortable with keeping all of them, so I will help out 08:44 a lot in the community. These types of things. 08:47 That circumcision actually becomes, because they don't 08:52 have the substance it actually becomes, the sign becomes 08:58 a meaningless mockery. - yeah, exactly! 09:01 You were talking to me about this fruitless fig tree 09:04 that really pro-trade that. 09:08 Maybe you can make a comment on that. 09:09 The story of the fig tree where Jesus comes by the fig 09:11 tree and there is all these leaves at He goes and looks 09:14 for fruit on it because typically when you come to a fig 09:17 tree and all the fig tree leaves start to fill out 09:23 the plant after the fruit begins to grow. 09:26 So when you see a fig tree full of leaves, it's 09:30 advertising, hey I have fruit on me come have some. 09:34 So Jesus was hungry, He saw the leaves and went over 09:37 and there was no fruit. 09:40 It is the same way when I say I am a Christian, people 09:43 should be able to expect fruit of the tree. 09:46 - right! - people should be able to expect that I 09:48 would live like a Christian and be obedient to the 09:50 principles of God's law. 09:52 But when I make that profession, like the sign of 09:55 circumcision it's profitable if you keep the commandments, 09:58 but if you are not keeping the commandments and your 10:00 heart is not obedient to God then you are advertising 10:02 something you do not have. 10:04 - the heart is exactly the issue there, because what 10:07 was going on here in Galatia is that circumcision was 10:11 something you could do without the heart having to 10:15 be changed, and remember the heart is where the most 10:18 cherished things are held. 10:20 So when we talk about the need for a heart religion, 10:25 it's not just talking about having love for others and 10:29 warmth of affection. 10:31 It is also talking about that which shelters those 10:35 sinful practices that we do not want to let go of. 10:39 So they were looking at circumcision as a way to avoid 10:43 the religion of the heart. 10:45 So the problem was they didn't have that inward 10:48 righteousness because circumcision can't bring 10:51 righteousness. - that's right. 10:53 Righteousness is something that we have to come to 10:56 grips with and it is so crucial, this is what 10:58 Paul keeps bringing up here. 10:59 There is a story in the Bible of the rich young ruler. 11:03 This young man comes to Jesus and he says, good teacher 11:06 what thing must I do, or what things must I do to 11:09 inherit eternal life? 11:10 You find it in Matthew chapter 19 as well as Mark 10. 11:14 What good thing must I do that I might inherit eternal 11:18 life? And Jesus says to him why do you call Me good? 11:22 There is only one who is good and that is God. 11:25 In that statement Jesus was trying to convey to this 11:28 young man that there is no such thing as righteousness 11:32 apart from God, man has no such thing as righteousness. 11:35 Paul makes a point in Romans 3, and this is a hard 11:40 hitting passage for the human heart. 11:44 It is hard for us to take this, we like to say I may 11:47 not be the best person, but don't tell me I'm not a good 11:51 person at all. 11:52 But this is what the Scripture says, this is the condition 11:54 that God pronounces upon you and me. 11:57 He says, Romans 3:10 he says, "As it is written: There is 12:02 "none righteous," it is almost as much as he perceives, 12:08 well he is quoting actually from Isaiah. 12:10 But it is almost as he perceives that we are going to 12:13 rebut that, whoa, whoa, wait a minute. 12:15 Nobody righteous? " No, not one" he says. 12:17 11. "There is none who understands; there is none who 12:20 "seeks after God. 12. They have all turned aside; 12:22 "they have together become unprofitable; there is none 12:25 "who does good, no, not one. " 12:29 The point being made here is man has no righteousness, 12:33 the only place to get righteousness is not in Hindu, 12:37 in a Hindu god, or in Buddha, or in anything else, or 12:42 in some atheistic philosophy. 12:43 The only place to get saving righteousness is in God, 12:47 the God of heaven and His Son Jesus Christ who is 12:50 also the eternal God. 12:51 The idea here is that the Lord would have us understand 12:55 our righteousness is not something that we can produce. 12:58 The only way we can get it is to go to Him to receive 13:01 if by faith. - we must have that union with Christ. 13:04 He is the vine as we talked about once before. 13:07 There is one place in Galatians were this is drawn out. 13:09 Maybe could look at this before we go to our break. 13:14 Galatians 5:5 the apostle says, "For we through the 13:18 "Spirit eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness 13:22 "by faith. " I like the way he words that. 13:24 He eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness. 13:28 Why is he eagerly waiting? Eagerly waiting gives you 13:30 the sense of hungry and thirsting. 13:32 Remember the Bible says, that those who hunger and thirst 13:35 for righteousness they will be filled. 13:37 He says we eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness 13:40 how? By faith, faith in Jesus Christ. 13:43 The reason that he is so eagerly waiting is because 13:46 there is nowhere else to get that righteousness. 13:49 He is not going to go somewhere else, he is going to keep 13:52 pressing on, keep pressing the Lord because only through 13:55 the Lord Jesus Christ can he have any hope 13:57 of attaining righteousness. 13:59 Well we will dive back in this a little bit more in 14:01 a moment, but for now we need to take a break. 14:03 We will see you in a few. |
Revised 2023-04-24