“What will guide the new Christians if not the time-tested law of Moses? That is the question of the hour for Galatians.”
Change is hard, and the unknown is frightening. I think we all know and have experienced the difficulty of change in one way or another. Indeed, we've all faced the fear of the unknown and unfamiliar over the past year and a half. Global pandemic aside, most people thrive on some type of routine in their life. Is that true of you?
Let me give you an example from my own life. Our family has a few routines when it comes to the meals we eat each week. Ever since our kids were young, we've had pizza every Friday evening. I know many families do this, but we call it Pizza Movie Night. We order a pizza and let the kids choose a family movie for us all to watch. This routine has become a can't miss event for our family. If my wife or I try to change Friday's meal or activities, we will have a revolt on our hands!
If change is hard when it comes to eating pizza and watching a movie on Friday evening, imagine how difficult it must have been for Jewish and Gentile Christians to map out a new way of life after believing in Jesus. In her devotional book on Galatians, Melissa Moore writes, "What will guide the new Gentile Christians' ethics (and way of life) if not the revered, time-tested Law of Moses? This was the question of the hour for our Galatians. And Paul's answer was (wait for it) -- the Holy Spirit."
This week in our Sunday morning teaching time, we focus on the "inheritance" of faith that comes with believing in Jesus. That inheritance is the gift of the Holy Spirit - and what a gift that is. We receive the Holy Spirit from God upon hearing the good news of Jesus and responding in faith. The Holy Spirit, a member of the Trinity, fully God, "fills" our heart and mind, guides us in life, and empowers us to live in this new life of faith.
A primary role of the Holy Spirit is to continue to reveal the truth of scripture, the person of Jesus, and help us understand and embody the love required of us toward others and God himself. Wow, what an inheritance - what a gift!
The founder of the Methodist movement, John Wesley, is well known for describing what it felt like to experience a moment with the Holy Spirit. While hearing the introduction to a commentary on the book of Romans read aloud, Wesley wrote, "while he [the reader] was describing the change which God works in the heart through faith in Christ, I felt my heart strangely warmed. I felt I did trust in Christ, Christ alone for salvation; and an assurance was given me that He had taken away my sins, even mine, and saved me from the law of sin and death." The gift we receive after responding to Jesus is the very spirit of God. Can I let you in on a secret? That's a much better way to live than trying to keep the letter of the law.
Back to Galatians. The Jewish people had only known life in and through the law of Moses (which had extended to include 613 commands). Paul came along and made sure the new believers were very clear about what they had received. They had received the spirit of God, who would now be their guide, help them understand truth, and would empower them rather than condemn them. The juxtaposition between the law and the spirit of God is powerful. To use the same juxtaposition but with a different metaphor, the law leads to condemnation and death, while the spirit of God leads to fruit-filled thriving and life.
In fact, Paul uses the metaphor of fruit in one of the most well-known passages in Galatians. Galatians 5:22-23 says, "But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!"
I hope we hear Paul's message. As members of God's family through faith, we get an inheritance - the gift of the Holy Spirit who, rather than bring condemnation (as was common living under the law), He brings life and fruitfulness. This was indeed a new way to live and unsettled the familiar routine of following the law. Change is hard, and as this new family of faith found out, the unknown can be frightening. But, one thing is made abundantly clear in scripture even from the very beginning, God can be trusted, and his Spirit gives us a new rhythm, a renewed life, and an abundance of grace. Praise the Lord!
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