We finished off last week with the first 7 verses of
Galatians chapter 4 where Paul declared that the Galatians are no longer
slaves, but heirs in all that God has to give. Paul told them to stop acting
like little children who are being led astray and start living like the
co-heirs that they were.
In many ways it was a wakeup call, telling them to stop
acting like children. A young child is focused on their wants and needs. A
young child cannot take care of or teach themselves. They have received the
gift, but do not understand the responsibility that comes along with it. A
responsibility to follow Jesus, share God’s love, spread His gospel, and to be
a witness. A child acts like a child only focusing on their wants, but an heir
follows in the footsteps of those that came before them. It is a reminder to us
that we need to follow in the footsteps of Jesus.
Paul goes from reminding the Galatians that they are not a
slave, to pleading with them to not return to a slavery that is exactly like their
old pagan life.
Galatians 4:8-9
“8 But in the past, when you didn’t
know God, you were enslaved to things that by nature are not
gods. 9 But now, since you know God, or rather
have become known by God, how can you turn back again to the weak and
bankrupt elemental forces? Do you want to be enslaved to them all
over again?”
Paul is reminding the Galatians where they came from. They
used to worship pagan gods, they worshipped statues, names, and stories. They
were slaves to these false gods. Their lives were dedicated to the worship of
these false ideas, they were focused on all these worldly things before they
knew God.
Sounds a lot like us. Before we knew God we were slaves to
things of the world. We worshipped drugs, alcohol, money, success, sex, even
the past…whatever your poison was! From keeping up with the Jones to living a
wild anything goes life style. You might have been in a deep hole of despair or
focused on supporting and raising a family.
When you do not know the One True God ‘big G’, your god
‘little g’ could be just about anything. It does not even have to be a thing.
It can be an idea, a thought, or a wild dream. It could have been a bunch of
different things. It may have changed every month, week, or day. The only
constant before Jesus is that you were enslaved by something that kept you from
seeing and focusing on the true King of Kings. You were a weak little child,
being led astray. You had an idol or multiple idols in your life.
Now that you know God and that you are known by God, the
stakes are higher. You know what is right, you have experienced it personally,
you have been set free, you are an heir with Jesus, so how could you turn away?
With a personal, intimate, relationship with Jesus Christ how could you be
turning back to being a slave to all the garbage of the world?
Proverbs 26:11
“As a dog returns to its vomit, so a fool repeats his
foolishness.”
The Galatians were just like this dog and were returning to the
garbage that used to rule their life. Instead of partaking of the milk and
steak provided by God, they were embracing their old ways.
It is very easy to slip back into your old habits. They may
seem different, but have the same characteristics. Maybe your problem was money
before and now it is success. They look different, but slavery to either one of
them will pull you to the gates of hell, not carry you to the narrow path to
heaven.
The Galatians were slipping from one sin into another. They
were going from pagan worship to Law worship. They were exchanging one idol for
another. It is easy to slip back to what you know. It may not look the same but
the results are the same.
We find this in our churches today. People live an obviously
sinful life of greed or drugs, and it turns into control. It may be that they
were worshipping their expensive toys and now are worshipping the past. An idol
is an idol, and if our focus is on our idol it is not on Jesus.
That is one of the reasons I preach the whole Word of God. I
don’t skip the hard stuff, I don’t only preach uplifting messages, I am not a
motivational speaker, I want to make sure I am doing my part. Helping and
praying that none will perish. There are a lot of Christians in name only, both
inside and outside of our churches. At first glance they appear to be
worshipping God, but reality is they are focused on their own idol.
An Idol is an idol. It does not matter what it is. Paul was
pleading with the Galatians to not return to idol worship. It is human nature
and that is why we need to stay in God’s Word. That’s why we need to devote
time every day to talking to God. If we don’t we are going to get stuck in some
form of idol worship. It might start as something that is obviously bad like
alcohol and greed, but it could just as easily be something that doesn’t appear
bad like being focused on traditions, or the way we have always done things.
The Church is to be a place of healing, it is to be a place
where people can find Jesus, it is to be a place where we come to be lifted up
by other believers, but it is also a place where the Word of God is taught,
studied, and put into practice.
Hebrews 4:12-13
“12 For the word of God is living and
effective and sharper than any double-edged sword, penetrating as far as
the separation of soul and spirit, joints and marrow. It is able to judge the
ideas and thoughts of the heart.13 No creature is hidden
from Him, but all things are naked and exposed to the eyes of Him to
whom we must give an account.”
The Word of God will cut deeply when it needs to and as hard
as it can be we need to let it. If you are feeling convicted when you read or
hear something, let God speak to you. Let Him guide you to what needs to be
changed. If our focus is on Jesus, His Word will change us and help us toss
away our idols once and for all. It is not a simple painless process, it will
hurt, it will take time, but as we progress step by step we grow closer to God.
Galatians 4:10
“10 You observe special days, months,
seasons, and years.”
The Galatians had embraced the Jewish holidays, festivals,
etc… they had traded one idol for another.
Colossians 2:16-17
“16 Therefore, don’t let anyone
judge you in regard to food and drink or in the matter of a festival
or a new moon or a Sabbath day. 17 These are a
shadow of what was to come; the substance is the Messiah.”
They thought they were doing the right thing. They thought
they left paganism and were following these new traditions as a form of
honoring God. They were wrong. They were holding onto a new idol, one that
looked good, one that they saw others do, but they were holding onto something
that was a shadow, a poor copy of the real thing.
How about us? Over the years I am sure most of us have
turned away from an old idol. Something that all of us and almost anyone else
would agree is a sin. The question is, have we replaced it with another
idol? Have we replaced it with something
that might look like a good thing, but we have put it on the throne of our
lives instead of Jesus? That is something each one of us needs to pray about. I
encourage you to ask God to point out the idols in your life and to give you
the strength and courage to take them down.
We need to take the idols out of our lives and make sure
that Jesus and Jesus alone sits on the throne. Nothing else compares to Jesus.
He is the real thing. Our salvation comes from Jesus and Jesus alone and nothing
else matters.
Galatians 4:11
“11 I am fearful for you, that
perhaps my labor for you has been wasted.”
Paul is expressing his concern that all his effort in
preaching the Word of God was wasted. He is questioning if the Galatians are so
attached to legalistic practices that nothing he said matters to them. Paul
poured his life into the Galatian church, just like he did all the churches he
planted. Was it worth his effort or had he wasted his time?
This is a question every pastor I know has asked at least
once in his career, is it worth it? Most pastors spend hours preparing for
Sunday morning, and even more hours if they have a Sunday PM and Wednesday
night service. At some point, he comes to ask if the effort is worth it. Are
lives being changed? Is the church acting like the ‘big C’ Church? Are people coming
to Jesus?
Paul was asking these same questions and then turns to the
Galatians asking them to remember him and their relationship.
Galatians 4:12
“12 I beg you, brothers: Become like
me, for I also became like you. You have not wronged me;”
‘Become like me, for I also became like you.’ Paul is
telling them to look at his life. When Jesus appeared to Paul he was no longer
a legalistic Jew, instead he was just like a gentile. No longer living under
the law. No longer following all the rules and sacrifices. Paul became a
Gentile, just the like the Galatians, and he is encouraging them to let go of the
Law just like he did.
Galatians 4:13-14
“13 you know that previously I
preached the gospel to you because of a physical illness. 14 You
did not despise or reject me though my physical condition was a trial for
you. On the contrary, you received me as an angel of God, as Christ Jesus
Himself.”
Paul is reminding them that they accepted him when he was at
his worse and did not hold it against him. They could have easily ignored him,
but instead treated him as an honored guest. They listened to him then and he
is pleading with them to listen to him once again.
Galatians 4:15-16
“15 What happened to this sense of
being blessed you had? For I testify to you that, if possible, you would have
torn out your eyes and given them to me. 16 Have I
now become your enemy by telling you the truth?”
Paul was in their presence and preached the Word of God and
they embraced him. They would have followed Paul to the ends of the earth and
now they are angry at him for telling the truth. Can you imagine that? Someone
is speaking the truth, even though it may not be popular, and he is hated.
2 Timothy 4:3
“3 For the time will come when they
will not tolerate sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, will
multiply teachers for themselves because they have an itch to hear something
new.”
A time will come when people will turn against the truth and
those who speak it. I know sometimes the truth is hard to hear. As we read
earlier the Word of God is sharp and it cuts pretty deep. Sometimes it hurts,
sometimes the Word steps on our toes, and I can tell you there are many times I
have to come to terms with something the Word is teaching me before I can
preach it. If the Word of God does not hurt, you are not letting it do its job.
The Truth is going to hurt when it exposes our sins. Embrace it and let it
change you.
Galatians 4:17-18
“17 They are enthusiastic about
you, but not for any good. Instead, they want to isolate you so you will be
enthusiastic about them. 18 Now it is always good
to be enthusiastic about good—and not just when I am with you.”
Check the motives of anyone who is teaching you. Make sure they
are not trying to manipulate you or distort the truth. Double check that they
are teaching what they are supposed to.
Galatians 4:19-20
“19 My children, I am again
suffering labor pains for you until Christ is formed in you. 20 I
would like to be with you right now and change my tone of voice, because I
don’t know what to do about you.”
Paul poured himself into the Galatians when they accepted
Jesus and now he feels like he is fighting for them again. He is praying that
they are truly formed into the image of Christ like is written in Philippians.
Philippians 2:5-8
“5 Make your own attitude that of
Christ Jesus, 6 who, existing in the form of God, did
not consider equality with God as something to be used for His own advantage. 7 Instead
He emptied Himself by assuming the form of a slave, taking on the likeness of
men. And when He had come as a man in His external form, 8 He
humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death— even to death on a
cross.”
We need to take these words to heart. They should be our
prayer. Make your attitude like that of Christ, empty yourself by being a slave
for God, and humble yourself in His service.
All of us have idols in our lives. They may look like they
are something we should be doing, but we need to take them down. Ask the Lord
to show you your idols, keep your eyes on Jesus, make your attitude like His,
be a slave for God, and humble yourself in His service. Submit to God in every
way, every day. Only then can you truly Follow Jesus, Love God, Love Others,
and Be a Witness.
Toss Them Idols and Follow Jesus!
God Bless,
Robert
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