Galatians 5:9 - On pursuing Jesus and yummy yeast rolls...

"A little leaven the whole lump is leavening."

-A little leaven leavens the whole lump.  A lot of people have heard this phrase, no doubt.  But what does it mean, exactly?  Well, leaven is yeast, and you only need to add a little bit of yeast to get the whole loaf of bread to rise.  The thing about leaven is that it does make a more desirable loaf of bread, and it does only take a little, but it also takes special conditions and some extra time in order for the dough to rise once the leaven has been added.  The relevance is perhaps somewhat lost on modern Gentiledom, and honestly was probably lost at least to a certain extent on this mostly Gentile assembly, but leaven was a significant part of Jewish culture, since unleavened bread played an important role in their religious observances.  It refers back to the time of the Exodus, when the nation Israel had to leave Egypt in haste and did not have time even for their daily bread to rise, and so they made unleavened bread.  This then was later memorialized in the feast of Passover, where the Lord instructed them to eat unleavened bread for an entire week as they remembered how He had delivered them from their slavery in Egypt. During that week in fact they were to clean out all leaven from their homes and not to let any even be found anywhere in their territory.

-Onto this foundation of the historical significance of leaven, Jesus Himself added another layer when He described the (false) teaching and hypocrisy of the Pharisees as leaven.  In this He was capturing the idea that it only takes a little bit of false teaching, just a little bad information, a little hypocrisy, to spoil the entire batch.  And truth be told, given a choice between unleavened bread and leavened, most people will indeed choose the latter (those yeast rolls you get at places like Golden Corral and Texas Roadhouse are hard to resist!).  It may make a message or teaching sound more appealing, more desirable, easier to swallow and digest, but the reality is that no amount of bad information is a good thing.  Not ever.  Even a little bit can (and will) ruin the whole thing.  The teaching of these Judaizers was leavened, what with their emphasis on works and circumcision and on keeping the Law.  That bit of bad info ruined the entire batch.  So may your dinner rolls be full of yeast and yummy goodness, but for your intake of Bible teaching, go unleavened.  When it comes to teaching which impacts our pursuit of Jesus, that which has eternal implications, we need to be doubly diligent to clean out every last tiny bit of leaveny bad information and not let any be found anywhere near our home or our assembly.  Our (eternal) life - and that of our family and friends - very likely depends on it.

Galatians 5:8 - The True Source of Truth

"The persuasion [is] not out of the [One] calling you."

-The Galatians are being hindered. They are following Jesus, running (to win - at least that's the idea, cf 1Corinthians 9.24) the spiritual race of faith - trying to at least - and somebody is giving them bad info, information which is hurting their running.  This bad information, this would-be 'persuasion', as Paul calls it, comes from the same word that gives us the word 'faith'.  It is any amount of information in which you might put your faith or trust.  It is something you are persuaded to believe.  You are certain.  Never mind that you could be certainly wrong.  But you are certain.  Ultimately, however, what matters more than being certain or persuaded about something, more than simply having faith, is the quality as well as the source of your information.  If the information I believe is wrong, it doesn't matter how persuaded or sincere I am that it is true.  I will be sincerely wrong.  Certainty and sincerity matter, don't get me wrong, but what matters more is veracity.  Vigilant eagle-eyed truth-checkers - that's what we are (or should be).  Which of course begins with diligent study of the Truth.  Know it well, so you can more easily sort a counterfeit.

-And so we have this somebody who believes something about how to follow Jesus, they are so sincere, so strongly persuaded about it and they are doing their darnedest to try and persuade these Galatians about it.  To which Paul simply says, in no un-certain terms, that, as certain as they are about what they are saying, they have bad information.  It is wrong information, because it is not from the right Source.  You gotta check the source, and you then need to check to make sure the info is consistent with what one would expect from that source, as well as from any other reliable sources.  Paul knows for sure that these Judaizers did not get their information from the True Source of truth, because it is not consistent with everything else this One Who calls us to follow Him has said about how to follow Him.  Always check your sources, and don't let anything slow you down in your race towards the Prize...

Galatians 5:7 - A glorious finish...?

"You [all] were running beautifully.  Who hindered you by [the] truth to not being persuaded?"

-These Galatian believers were running well, Paul says.  The Christian life can indeed be compared to a foot race, but no sprint, this.  Ours is a distance race, a long obedience in the same direction, towards Jesus, our eyes focused on Him.  More akin to a marathon.  The New Testament writers are rather fond of employing this metaphor when talking about faith and following Jesus.  We are - or should be - in a spiritual marathon race, running to win (1Corinthians 9.24), keeping our eyes fixed on the prize (Hebrews 12.1-2), surrounded by a multitude of spectators, angels and saints who've gone before us, cheering and urging us on to glory.  A glorious finish!

-Like any marathon runner, to run and finish this race of faith we need copious amounts of fuel as well as fortitude - endurance, perseverance, the ability to push the body and mind to the outer limits and beyond.  The thing about running, tho, is that there are so many factors which can affect the outcome, so many things which can be an encumbrance, a hindrance.  Food, sleep, weather, shoes, health, injury, training schedule, motivation...  These and other factors can play into one's ability to run in a marathon, not to mention finish it. Anything can happen.  It is not at all uncommon to have done everything necessary to gain entrance into the race, you actually make it to the starting line and the gun goes off and you are running well enough when something happens, something begins to develop which hinders you from running well.  And that is precisely what happened in this assembly in Galatia.  Something happened.  Or rather, someone.  Paul apparently doesn't know who exactly, but some nameless Judaizer had come along and had disrupted their race.  I imagine that Paul would have some choice words for them, but for now, he has these divinely-inspired words for these believers, and for us.  Read on...

Galatians 5:6 - Bona fide verified faith

"For in Christ Jesus, neither circumcision has a certain strength nor [does] uncircumcision but rather faith through love working."

-In Christ Jesus. There is no other place to be, to be found. No need to look elsewhere - there is nothing for you there. These are in fact the droids you are looking for.  In Christ Jesus.  This is right where you want to be.  And in Him, in His economy of grace, works are not meritorious.  Works earn you no favor, no leg up on the competition.  It matters not whether you are circumcised or uncircumcised, Paul says.  God is not partial to either condition.  He doesn't look at the physical condition of any body part - He looks at the heart.  He is looking for faith, and that is what matters most.  Actually it is the only thing that matters - real, working faith and trust in Jesus Christ.  He's looking for bona fide verified faith, faith working, demonstrating itself through love.  In other words, it is not simply head belief or an empty profession, but it is accompanied (and verified) by real displays of lovingkindness.

-Where is the love?  Where is the love?  That is the multi-billion-dollar question.  If I have faith to move mountains but do not have love, I am spiritually bankrupt (1Corinthians 13.2). There is no real faith if I do not have real love working itself out through my life (1Timothy 1.5).  If I AM in Christ, having truly trusted in Him, then I will have love.  Not just a general niceness and politeness and a propensity to smile.  We're talking about a demonstrated readiness to lay my life down for another.  To go out of my way and to sacrifice for them.  Like Jesus.  Living like Jesus - that's always a good example to follow!  :)  But what propelled God the Son towards sacrificial acts of love was not the fact that He was circumcised or that He had been baptized.  It was not some external ritual.  It was the reality of the divine nature within Him.  Thus it is for us - we're talking about the divine nature being planted and germinating IN us, then being released THRU us and manifested to a broken and dying world around us.  The world doesn't need a ritual.  It doesn’t need creeds and head knowledge and once-a-week meetings which make no difference in my life or in the world around me.  It needs the love of God.  It needs us to live into that heavenly mindset of others-first, others better, just like Jesus. Which is precisely the point...

Galatians 5:5 - Waiting for glory...

"For we ourselves, by [the] Spirit out of faith, [for the] hope of righteousness are waiting."

-Our right standing with God is not to be found in doing the law.  No, no, no.  Our righteousness comes out of faith.  We’re waiting, hoping for it, that which will be the final installment.

-The hope of righteousness. The prospect of one day being able to present ourselves face to face with our thrice-holy heavenly Father and hear Him say, "Well done".  To be able to simply stand in His presence and NOT hear those fateful words, "Depart from Me, cursed ones, I never knew you."  Being able to stand there because we are righteous.  In His eyes, in other words, we will have done everything right.  Everything.  Right.  That's right.  That's what righteousness is.  In this life, saddled as we are till death do us part with a fallen fleshy propensity to choose what is not right, the state of being fully right is an anticipated future reality, real enough now in the eyes of the One with Whom we have to do, but still anticipated and hoped for by those whose hope, whose faith is in the One Who alone is righteous, Jesus Christ.  Our heavenly Father sees us in Christ right now, thru faith, having done everything right (exhale a long sigh of relief for THAT truth!), but for now, the substance is something hoped for (cf Hebrews 11.1).  

-This of course has been the recurring message of Paul's letter, that righteousness comes thru faith.  Faith alone (tho not thru faith which is alone...). Which is exactly what he says again here.  We, those who have put their faith and trust in what Jesus did on the cross, are eagerly and patiently (which actually means long-suffering) waiting (for Him, on Him) for THIS day - for His provision of glorious grace and hope and all that we need even-and-especially-in-the-midst-of-suffering-if-necessary today - AND for THAT day, the day of future glory.

-And do not miss the mention here of the Spirit, the vital role of the Holy Spirit by Whom we began this journey, this waltz with Jesus - through faith - and Who not only encourages and fills our hearts with hope and glimpses of glory each day but gives us the grace and power to progress and persevere towards THAT glorious day, that day above all other days when that which is true of us in the heavenlies will become reality.  We will be changed, in an instant, in the blink of an eye.  We will jettison our old dying (or dead) tents and be clothed from head-to-toe with breathtaking goodness, a glorious new heavenly dwelling, one which will never die and which is unable to sin.  Completely unable to choose anything other than what God wants.  Perfect and full of glory - like Him (cf 1John 3.2)!  In this life, through faith and through the Help of His Spirit we are constantly progressing towards this goal.  In Christ and by His Spirit we begin our journey from the place where we are unable to NOT sin (the way we WERE) to being ABLE to not sin, to choose what God wants.  But we are not yet perfect.  We have not yet arrived.  In this life we still stumble and fall into sin along the way.  We have a long long way to go, many miles to go before we awake in that heavenly city of light, full of glory, not a blemish in sight.  And so we wait...

Galatians 5:4 - On sights not to be seen...

"You all have been nullified from Christ, whoever in law is being justified, of the grace you all have fallen [away]."

-Fallen from grace.  Severed from Christ.  Strong words.  Serious situation.  What is Paul saying exactly?  The word translated as 'severed' in the Greek actually means 'to nullify', 'to make of no effect'.  You literally 'were nullified from Christ'.  Jesus Christ and His gift of grace was made of no effect in your life as soon as you began trying to earn God's unearnable favor by keeping the law.  You fell away from grace, in other words.  You were dancing with Jesus, a beautiful waltz of grace and divine undeserved favor, and then the law cut in (you let it!), and the result is something rather atrocious.  A sight NOT to be seen.  Truth is, you (and I) were nothing to look at to begin with.  A filthy mess of bloody rags, a lifeless corpse in fact, and Christ came along, He picked you out of the long line of spiritual wallflowers, offered this dance, and though you were dead, as you took hold of His outstretched, nail-scarred hand, He breathed into your soul of His Holy Spirit, covered you with His robe of righteousness and gave you a complete makeover, spiritual head to toe.  You (and I) deserved not one bit of it.  We were rescued from death as a totally free undeserved gift.  And we began to dance with Jesus, every step (and even our woeful missteps) bathed in the beauty of grace, this unearned divine favor.  But the moment you Galatians decided you needed to be circumcised, Paul says, you stepped away from all of that.  He is not saying that Christ stepped away from you.  On the contrary.  No, but you have stepped away from His grace, and by trying to earn His continued favor through self-effort you are for the time being nullifying His finished work of grace on the Cross on your behalf. Talk about 'no effect' - here we have the quintessential complete waste of time.  Also a sight not to be seen, this...

Galatians 5:3 - The Whole Shootin' Match

"But I am witnessing again to every man being circumcised that he is a debtor to do the whole law."

-Instead of making a (spiritual) profit, circumcision winds up being the way to take on a massive, non-repayable debt.  All kinds of indebtedness in this world - credit card debt, mortgage debt, school loan debt, car loan debt, back taxes, favors owed - for most of us, we can manage to pay off these and other debts if we simply scrimp and save and work hard enough for long enough.  The more materially wealthy in this world perhaps need not even worry about having to deal with debt, at least not in a financial sense.  But rest assured, the debt to which Paul refers here makes any earthly debt pale in comparison.  There is no way any individual can ever work hard enough to scrape together enough spiritual capital to pay off this debt, not in a million lifetimes.  Because as soon as you depart from the faith-approach to God through Jesus Christ and receive circumcision as a way to earn spiritual capital in heaven, you become indebted, obligated to the whole law.

-The whole law. The WHOLE Law.  Every jot and tittle, every last tiny little bit of it. If our approach to God, if the prospect of gaining or maintaining right standing with Him is dependent on keeping even just one of those 600+ commands, then it becomes necessary to keep all of them.  Every single one, the whole shootin' match.  That's what Paul here is saying.  The standard is absolute perfection, and there are no shortcuts.  No get out of jail free card.  No grading on a spiritual curve for good attendance.  No teacher's pets.  You keep it all, or not at all, short of the goal you do fall (James 2.10).  One must fulfill all of it if he would pass thru those pearly gates and enter paradise, that place of total perfection, the heavenly city where there is no darkness nor shadow of turning whatsoever lurking in some corner somewhere, no hint of leaven in heaven which would leaven the entire lump. There is no such thing as slightly imperfect in heaven. We may pay thousands of dollars in this realm for a diamond which is slightly imperfect, or nearly flawless, but nearly flawless doesn't cut it on this scale.  There cannot be even the smallest discoloration or inclusion.  That most beautifully sublime moral perfection cannot coexist with any whiff of imperfection.  No more than clean and dirt can coexist. Light and darkness. Innocence and guilt. Life and death. These opposites do NOT attract - they are antithetical.  One is in fact the complete absence of the other.  It is the same with absolute moral perfection.  It cannot coexist with any imperfection.  One misstep, and you are guilty.  The Divine Perfection which cannot even look at guilt nevertheless does not overlook it.  Better by far to approach His throne with hands and feet and heart washed clean and whiter than white (thru faith) by the crimson blood of the Lamb.  The cleanest that the best of us can get on our own, with our own feeble stabs at moral-law-keeping, is filthy rags.  I'll pass, thank you...