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Biblical Counsel vs. Psychology (Practical Christianity #6) (King’s Cross)

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INTRODUCTION

We live in a therapeutic age, and we must acknowledge that humanistic therapies and psychologies have become in large part rival religions to Christianity. While the Dominion Mandate certainly includes studying the

science of the brain, there have been antagonistic philosophies at work in much of the secular therapy world. There are many trials in this life, but God has given us His sure word to comfort our hearts (Rom. 15:4).

The Text: “And he spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others: Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican…” (Lk. 18:9-14).

SUMMARY OF THE TEXT

This parable is for those who trust in themselves, think they are right, and thereby, whether they know it or not, despise others (Lk. 19:9). Jesus chose for the parable a man from one of the most respected classes (Pharisees) and a man from one of the most despised classes (tax collectors) (Lk. 18:10). The Pharisee prays in the temple with a lot of gratitude, and he is thankful that he hasn’t fallen into many different sins, and for the spiritual disciplines of fasting and tithing (Lk. 18:11-12). The tax collector, on the other hand, stood in the back, and refusing to even look up, simply begged God for mercy (Lk. 18:13). And Jesus says that the beggar went home made right, but the other was not because God exalts the humble and humiliates the proud (Lk. 18:14).

THERAPEUTIC FAILURE 

Much like the Pharisees, the medical profession has been one of the most respected classes in our modern world because of their (often) selfless service in saving and protecting life. But where there is much good, there is also often a temptation to arrogance and pride, and right after that, much evil (think abortion, trans-surgeries, COVID madness). It is often assumed that if someone has good intentions and wants to “help people,” they must be virtuous and doing some good. But we really ought to have a bit more biblical cynicism. Thoreau once said, “If I knew for a certainty that a man was coming to my house with the conscious design of doing me good, I should run for my life.” Good intentions are not enough.

Since the explosion of humanistic therapies over the last century, one wonders what good it has done us. As one commentator put it, “Despite the creation of a virtual army of psychiatrists, psychologists, psychometrists, counselors, and social workers, there has been no letup in the rate of mental illness, suicide, alcoholism, drug addiction, child abuse, divorce, murder, and general mayhem. Contrary to what one might expect in a society so carefully analyzed and attended to by mental health experts, there has been an increase in all these categories.” Like the woman in the gospels, we have suffered many things from many physicians, and we have only gotten worse (Mk. 5:26). It is also striking that while therapies have increased, Biblical preaching and counseling has largely cratered, with a great deal of it simply echoing therapeutic mantras.

SELF-ESTEEM VS. DIGNITY OF GUILT

At the very center of the problem with many therapies is an anti-Christian anthropology (doctrine of man). The assumption of much humanistic psychology is that people are basically good and bad feelings and habits are a result of their environment (e.g. what has been done to them, chemicals in their brain, genes, deprivation, weather, poverty, etc.). But Scripture teaches that despite the real challenges in our fallen environments, every human being is born in sin, inclined to sin, and morally culpable for their actions and reactions to their environments (Rom. 3). This is the dignity of guilt. The humanist wants to absolve humans of guilt and so destroys human agency: “it isn’t your fault, it was your dad, your mom, your brain, the weather, the economy…” But by blaming everything else, the humanist destroys the individual’s meaning and value. Some of God’s kindest words in Genesis 3 are “because you have done this…”

And this brings us back to the parable. Humanistic psychology often preaches a gospel of pride and self-esteem: talk about how good you are, how valuable you are, all your accomplishments, think positive. But Jesus says that is the path to humiliation and shame: everyone that exalts himself will be (the Greek word is literally) “depressed” (Lk. 18:14). People are often depressed because they are constantly trying to lift themselves up, prove themselves, have high self-esteem. But the gospel, the “good news” of Jesus Christ, begins with the dignity of guilt: “All have sinned.” And the first step towards healing is bowing your head in true humility and pleading with God: “Be merciful to me a sinner.” And Jesus says, that is the path to healing. Taking humble responsibility for our own sin is the path to being lifted up (cf. 1 Pet. 5:5-7).

APPLICATIONS

Are we saying that all therapists and psychologists and their treatments are evil and worthless? Not at all. We are saying beware. Be careful. Be on guard. Some Pharisees were good men, but Jesus said, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees. Beware of the leaven of the humanistic therapists.

Many modern “psychological disorders” are simply the result of unconfessed sin, sinful lifestyles, and sinful habits. Even when it comes to true medical matters, the Bible teaches that we ought to consider whether we have any unconfessed sin (Js. 5:14-16). When it comes to our thoughts and feelings, we ought to do so even more since the Bible explicitly teaches that unconfessed sin results in feeling awful and loss of joy (Ps. 32).

Just as some medical conditions having nothing to do with personal sin, so too, some psychological disorders are true medical conditions that are simply the result of the Fall (Jn. 9:2-3). And sometimes there is a challenging mixture of both.

Many humanist therapies arrogantly teach that it is “abusive” to tell people that they have sinned, that they are wrong, or to correct them in any way – especially victims of other sins/crimes or certain classes of people (often women) because correction makes people “feel bad.” But that is like refusing surgery on cancer because it will be painful. But this is the sin of empathy, and in the name of compassion despises people.

This same arrogance often calls biblical spanking of children abusive. But the Bible is extremely clear: “Whoever spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him is diligent to discipline him” (Prov. 13:24 ESV, cf. 22:15, 23:13-14). And God disciplines us as His children because He loves us and He wants us to become holy like Him (Heb. 12:5-11). Some trials are God’s fatherly discipline that we are called to endure patiently and joyfully. We do not have some “right” to always feel good.

Humility recognizes that we don’t always understand the connections between the mind and the body, but humility trusts God’s Word above all other words. And humility looks to Christ.

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The Primitive Gospel (Acts of the Apostles #26) (Christ Church)

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INTRODUCTION

As we continue to work our way through the book of Acts, we are not going to spend very much time on the retelling in verses 4-14. But we are not setting this repetition aside as unimportant because Luke obviously intends to emphasize it. He wants us to note it. He tells the story in chapter 10, and then repeats it in detail in chapter 11. Then there is a strong reference to this episode at the Jerusalem Council later (Acts 15:7-11). This incident was a significant event.

We can note a few additional details we learn in this recounting. We learn that six Jews accompanied Peter from Joppa (v. 12). We learn that the angel told Cornelius that the message that Peter would bring would be words of salvation (v. 14). And Peter tells us here that the Spirit fell on them near the beginning of his talk (v. 15). So we will begin our exposition at verse 16.

THE TEXT

“And the apostles and brethren that were in Judaea heard that the Gentiles had also received the word of God. And when Peter was come up to Jerusalem, they that were of the circumcision contended with him, Saying, Thou wentest in to men uncircumcised, and didst eat with them. But Peter rehearsed the matter from the beginning, and expounded it by order unto them, saying .. .” (Acts 11:1–30).

SUMMARY OF THE TEXT

So the apostles and brothers of Judea heard that the Gentiles had received the Word of God (v. 1). So when Peter arrived back in Jerusalem, the circumcision party there challenged him (v. 2). The charge was that Peter had gone in with Gentiles, and had shared table fellowship (v. 3). The eating appears to have been the central problem. So Peter tells the story over again (vv. 7-15), including the fact that “these” six men here saw it all.

Peter remembered the Lord’s statement that John baptized with water, but that His followers would be baptized with the Holy Spirit (v. 16). So if God gave Gentiles the Spirit in the same way that He had done for the Jews on Pentecost, who was Peter to fight God (v. 17)? Now this satisfied them and they glorified God (v. 18), saying that God had granted Gentiles repentance unto life. But this resolution was only temporary.

Those who had scattered because of the persecution after Stephen’s death preached the word to Jews only, but doing so in Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Cyrene (v. 19). Phoenicia was along the coast of the eastern Mediterranean, Cyprus was an island about sixty miles out, and Cyrene was in modern day Libya, on the north coast of Africa. Some of these men from Cyprus and Cyrene came to (Syrian) Antioch and began preaching the Lord Jesus to Greeks (v. 20). The hand of the Lord was with them, and many believed and turned to the Lord (v. 21). The church at Jerusalem heard about this, and so they sent Barnabas to Antioch to check it out (v. 22). He got there, saw the grace of God, was glad, and exhorted them to cling to the Lord with resolute and steadfast hearts (v. 23). He was a good man, full of the Spirit and faith, and many more people were converted (v. 24). So Barnabas went to Tarsus to enlist the help of Saul (v. 25). This was about 80 miles away, as the crow flies. They came back to Antioch and taught a lot of people there for a year (v. 26). The name Christian was first applied to believers there in that city (v. 26).

During that time, prophets came from Jerusalem to Antioch (v. 27), and one of them named Agabus prophesied that there would be a great famine throughout the empire (oikoumene), which then happened during the reign of Claudius Caesar (v. 28). Claudius reigned from 41 A.D. to 54 A.D. The believers there in Antioch, each according to capacity, decided to send a famine relief gift to Judea (v. 29). They did this, and sent it to the elders there by the hands of Saul and Barnabas (v. 30).

THE FIRST PAULINE EPISTLE

One of the things we should want to do is integrate the timeline of the epistles into the history of Acts. Our first opportunity to do this comes with Galatians, which I take to be Paul’s earliest letter in the canon. But to do this we have to answer the question, “Who were the Galatians exactly?” There was ethnic Galatia up north—think rural Celtic tribes—and there was the Roman province of Galatia down south. Think of the difference between the Dakota Indian tribe, and South Dakota.

If Paul is writing to the Galatians of the Roman province, then this places his book in the chronology of Acts. If he is writing to the ethnic Galatians up north, then we don’t quite know how and when Paul got acquainted with them. This is important for several reasons. One is that the “south Galatian” understanding gives us an early date for Galatians, and a mature statement of justification by faith alone very early on in the history of the church. It was not a late “add on,” not a Pauline afterthought. Second, the details in Galatians blend very nicely with Acts on this view. For example, the “famine relief visit” (Acts 11:28-29) is the visit that was in response to a revelation (Gal. 2:2). And third, it explains why Paul didn’t appeal to the decision of the Jerusalem council in a letter dedicated to the very same controversy. He didn’t appeal to it because it had not yet happened. It also explains the heat of Galatians.

The mission to the province of Galatia happened in the neighborhood of 47-48 A.D. and the Jerusalem Council somewhere near 48-49 A.D. Thus the best date for the writing of Galatians would be right before the Council, probably in 48 A.D., during the reign of Claudius.

THE GOSPEL AT GROUND ZERO

In the book of Galatians, we see a fully-formed and robust articulation of justification by faith alone, apart from works of the law. With an early date for Galatians, we can see just exactly how Paul was instructing the early Christians—what he was teaching them. We also see how this proclaimed gospel was causing an inchoate church to form, making the gospel the seed of the church, and not the other way around. We also see how this plain gospel was senior to the church, and to her officers, and senior to angelic messengers. If we or an angel from heaven, preach a different gospel than the one that was first preached to you, then let that messenger be accursed and damned (Gal. 1:8).

And what is that gospel? That Christ, the eternal Son of God, was made man for our sakes. He lived a perfect, sinless life, was crucified, buried, raised, and ascended, and all of His perfections are imputed, gratis, to anyone who looks to Him in faith. That is the Word that establishes the church, and that is the Word that builds a new world.

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The Duty of Forgiveness (Practical Christianity #5) (King’s Cross)

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INTRODUCTION

The Christian duty of forgiveness is a difficult one, but it is also a very freeing one. This is the center of Christian joy and peace: being forgiven and releasing those who have wronged us.

The Text: “Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven” (Mt. 18:21-35).

SUMMARY OF THE TEXT

When Peter asked how often Christians must forgive their brothers, Jesus said, seventy times seven (Mt. 18:21-22). Jesus then told a parable to explain why He said that: a story about a servant who owed 10,000 talents to his King, and was granted mercy and the debt was forgiven (Mt. 18:23-27). But when that same servant was owed 100 pence, he refused to have compassion, and had the fellow servant thrown into prison until he paid his debt (Mt. 18:28-30). When the King was told, he confronted the forgiven servant in great wrath and commanded him to be delivered to tormentors until he paid, and Jesus explains that this is what His Father will do with us if we do not forgive our brothers from our hearts (Mt. 18:31-35).

LET’S DO SOME MATH

In the New Testament a denarius (what the KJV translates “pence”) was a silver coin that was considered one day’s wage for an unskilled worker. So if you use our US minimum wage ($7.25 @ 8hr), you’d get an approximate equivalent value of $58 for a denarius. A “talent” was not a coin proper but the total weight of 60 minas and 1 mina was 100 denarii. So one talent (of silver coins) would be about 6,000 coins or approximately $348,000. This means that ten thousand talents would have probably been the equivalent of 3-4 billion dollars in modern currency. The King forgave the servant a vast sum of money, and that servant went out and demanded 100 pence (100 x $58), almost $6,000 in modern currency from his fellow servant, which is nothing close to what he was forgiven, but is still nothing to sneeze at (about 4 months of wages). And if a year’s worth of wages was around 300 denarii or 3 minas, it would have taken 20 years to make one talent, and about 200,000 years to make (pay off) ten thousand talents.

SEVENTY TIMES SEVEN

These numbers are not merely large numbers, they are loaded with symbolic significance going back to creation and the Sabbath. God created the world in six days and rested on the seventh, establishing a six and seven day rhythm to human economics. Six days of labor and one day of rest is the foundation of economic fruitfulness and faithfulness. But the Sabbath laws specifically required that this rest be given to everyone around us: “thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates” (Ex. 20:10).

This principle was extended to every seventh year, where the people were required to give rest to the land (and therefore the workers of the land) and forgive debts and release Hebrew slaves (Dt. 15), and every seven seven-year cycle was an additional sabbath year (the 50 th year) called “Jubilee,” the year of release, when all debts were forgiven and Hebrew slaves released (Lev. 25). When Judah was conquered by Babylon, it says they were carried away into exile “until the land had enjoyed her sabbaths: for as long as she lay desolate she kept sabbath, to fulfill threescore and ten years” (2 Chron. 36:21). And if you do that math, that would suggest that they had failed to keep 70 sabbath years, or 70 7s, or 490 years’ worth of Sabbath breaking, nearly 500 years.

So “70 times 7” isn’t just a big number, it is the number of Judah’s hard-hearted sin against God. “70 times 7” is the number of Israel’s refusal to forgive, release, and give rest. It’s the number of their exile; and so it is also the number of God’s forgiveness of Israel. Jesus is not just pulling that number out of the air; He’s taking it from Old Testament history. In other words, Israel is the servant in the parable who was forgiven billions of dollars. This was initially the forgiveness/release of the Exodus from Egypt, but then also the forgiveness and return from the Babylonian exile for their refusal to practice Sabbath forgiveness. The logic of the gospel was proclaimed from the Exodus: You were slaves in Egypt, therefore, release your slaves. You were in hard labor in Egypt, therefore give rest to your people. You were redeemed from Egypt, therefore, forgive debts. You have been forgiven; so forgive.

APPLICATIONS

This brings us to the duty of forgiveness. It is what we pray week after week: “forgive us our trespasses (or debts) as we forgive those who trespass against us (our debtors).” And Jesus teaches that this is basic: “And if [thy brother] trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee, saying, I repent; thou shalt forgive him. And the apostles said unto the Lord, Increase our faith” (Lk. 17:3-5).

What is forgiveness? It is a promise not to hold any offense against you for the sake of Christ. Which means that forgiveness is not a feeling, although Jesus says that we must disciple our feelings so that we forgive “from the heart” (Mt. 18:35). But forgiveness is a promise that the sin will not come between you and your brother as far as Christian fellowship is concerned.

Forgiveness is not the same thing as trust. And forgiveness does not require the restoration of privileges (job, office, marriage). Forgiveness means no animosity, no rage, no bitterness, no careful accounting of wrongs.

The differences between the King and the servant are striking: the initial plan of the King is to “sell” the servant and his family, presumably into debt slavery, where he could actually work towards paying the debt (a little mercy!). The servant, on the other hand, ordered the fellow servant thrown into “prison” until he would pay – which would seem to be never. This is bitterness: putting a fellow image bearer into a prison (if only in your heart) in which you say they can pay it off but nothing would ever really be enough because your pain and wrath are too great.

This underlines a crucial aspect of the gospel: if you think about it, we can never pay for any of our sin. Even what we consider “small sin” is against the infinite goodness and majesty of a Holy God and against our fellow servants who bear the image of that Holy God.

This is why Christ suffered torture in our place and for sin. This is why He had to be both God and man. What we (and your dad, mom, sister, son) could never pay, Christ paid in His own body on the tree. When we “forgive” we are not actually taking away anyone’s sins. We are only agreeing with God that Christ has paid all our debts, and so, they are free.

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The Plain Gospel Intent (Acts of the Apostles #25) (Christ Church)

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INTRODUCTION

So we need to begin where we left off, which was at the house of Simon the tanner. Simon Peter was somewhat settled there, and it was there that God spoke to him about how he should not consider Gentiles unclean when God had declared them clean. This was hard for Peter because he had never eaten anything common or unclean, and God’s instruction to him about the Gentiles came in the form of telling him to eat unclean food.

But tanning was an unclean occupation. A tanner has to handle the carcasses of dead animals, as that is his profession. Simon the tanner lived by the sea because he required salt water for his work, and because the sea breezes would help with the smell, which was bad. We know that handling dead animals made one unclean from Scripture (Num. 19:9-10), and this was the case even if the animal was a clean animal.

THE TEXT

“Then Peter went down to the men which were sent unto him from Cornelius; and said, Behold, I am he whom ye seek: what is the cause wherefore ye are come? And they said, Cornelius the centurion, a just man, and one that feareth God, and of good report among all the nation of the Jews, was warned from God by an holy angel to send for thee into his house, and to hear words of thee. Then called he them in, and lodged them . . .” (Acts 10:21–48).

SUMMARY OF THE TEXT

So Peter went downstairs to the emissaries, identified himself, and asked why they had come (v. 21). They said that Cornelius, a God-fearing and just man, with a high reputation with Jews, was told by a holy angel to send for Peter in order to hear him speak (v. 22). So Peter took them in, Gentiles, and put them up (v. 23). The next day, Peter left with them, along with some Jews from Joppa (v. 24), including some from the circumcision party (v. 45). The day after that they arrived (v. 24). Cornelius was waiting, with quite a gathering of relatives and friends (v. 24). As Peter was coming in, Cornelius fell prostrate to worship (v. 25). Peter lifted him up, and said that he was also just a man (v. 26). So they went in, talking, and found a crowd there (v. 27). Peter began by saying that what he was doing was unlawful, but that God had shown him not to call any man unclean (v. 28). That is why he came without argument—how can I help you? (v. 29). And so Cornelius told the story about the angel in bright clothing (v. 30). The angel said that his prayers and alms were accepted in the sight of God, and that he was to send for Peter, in order to hear whatever he says (vv. 31-32). And so here we all are. Speak to us (v. 33). And so Peter began by acknowledging that a great barrier had fallen—God accepts men from every nation (vv. 34-35).

He then turned to preach the gospel that had come to Israel, the proclamation of peace through Jesus Christ, the Lord of all (v. 36). They already knew how after the baptism of John, the word began in Galilee and spread to Judea (v. 37). God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power. God was with Him, and He went about doing good and healing those oppressed by the devil (v. 38). The apostles were witnesses of all this, not to mention the crucifixion (v. 39), followed by the resurrection and His public appearances (v. 40). He did not appear to absolutely everyone, but rather to those chosen by God, who ate and drank with Him after He rose (v. 41). These witnesses were commanded to preach to the people that Christ was ordained to judge the living and the dead (v. 42). All the prophets spoke of this, and the meaning of it, which was that through the name of Christ sins would be forgiven (v. 43). And while Peter was speaking, the Holy Spirit interrupted him by falling on these listeners (v. 44). The members of the circumcision party, who had come from Joppa, were astonished that these Gentiles had been given the Spirit (v. 45). They heard them speaking in tongues and magnifying God (v. 46). So Peter drew the obvious conclusion. There was no point in denying them water baptism, right? They have been given the Spirit, just like the Jews had been (v. 47). And so it was that Peter commanded they be baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus (v. 48), and so he stayed with them for a number of days (v. 48).

THE PLAIN GOSPEL FACTS 

The facts of the gospel are objective and fixed. They would be true and certain had none of us ever been born. They are all true outside of us, independent of us. Jesus is the Lord of all. God anointed Him. He did wonderful things over the course of His ministry. He was crucified and then rose from the dead. After His resurrection, He appeared to multiple witnesses, who ate and drank with Him, and who were commanded to tell everyone that this Jesus had been ordained to judge all men, whether living and dead.

THE PLAIN GOSPEL INTENT 

But what was the point? Why did God orchestrate all of this? The point of the gospel message is this—in the person and work of the Lord Jesus, God saves sinners. “To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins” (Acts 10:43). All the prophets are bent on telling us this. From Samuel to Isaiah, and from Jeremiah to Malachi. From Moses to Habbakuk, and from Ezekiel to Jonah, the message is clear. God offers to wipe away your sins, and the offer extends to everyone who has faith in Christ. So there is the offer. All your griping, washed away. All your lusts, washed away. All your fears, washed away. All your ambitious striving, washed away. All your crackling envy, washed away. Done. Forgiven. Hear the word that was spoken over all your tangled problems, the word that was spoken from the cross. It is finished.

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Hard Law, Hot Gospel: The Israel of God (CC Downtown)

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INTRODUCTION

Our justification is not by works. But our justification really does result in new life. In this new life, we find that, by the Spirit’s power, there is work for us to do. The work is heavy. The work might even make you bloody. The world will despise your work. But the work is glorious.

THE TEXT

Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted. Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ. For if a man think himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself. But let every man prove his own work, and then shall he have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another. For every man shall bear his own burden. […] Galatians 6:1ff

SUMMARY OF THE TEXT

The liberty of the Gospel is not the removal of all restraint. As Paul says in Romans, “Should we sin so that grace may abound? God forbid!” Gospel liberty includes confronting a brother overtaken in a fault (v1), but this rebuke is to be done by those who are spiritual, literally Spirit-people. Confronting sin in others should be aimed towards restoring the brother, and guarding against falling into sin yourself (v1). The Law of Christ requires us to refuse the rugged individualism of modern thinking, and instead bear each other’s burdens (v2). This demands mutual humility (v3). Though we are a community, you must not coast on the work of others; your bushel will either be full of the works of the flesh or the fruit of the Spirit (vv4-5). The saints have a duty to be in fellowship with their teachers, and this means submission and loyalty to the truth he is obligated to teach (v6).

Sowing and reaping is inescapable (v7). It’s all a matter of whether you will sow fleshly seeds or spiritual seeds. One bears a harvest of corruption, the other a harvest of everlasting life (v8). But planting and harvest requires being unwearied in good works (v9). Our good works should be ordered, giving priority to the “household of faith”, but this does not absolve us from showing goodness to all men (v10).

As we noted at the beginning of this letter this is all deeply personal for Paul. He had been called by the Lord Jesus Himself, commissioned to bring the Gospel to the Gentiles, and he had suffered persecution for it. Paul closes this letter with a personal touch, he takes the pen from the scribe to add his signature and authentication to this letter (v11). Then he emphasizes that the troublers wanted the Galatians circumcised not out of love for the Galatians, but to spare themselves from persecution (v12). In all their zeal for law-keeping, they are in fact law-breakers, because they glory in the flesh (v13). True glory is in the shape of Christ’s cross; this is what Paul glories in, that he has died to the old world and it has died to him (v14). Christ’s cross has remade the world, and there’s no undoing it (v15). Walking according to this reality assures theses Gentiles that they are the Israel of God (v16). This really should end the dispute, because Paul’s body is tattooed with the stripes of his sufferings for the Gospel (v17). Paul closes by blessing the brethren, with the grace of Jesus equipping their spirit to be this fruitful orchard (v18).

THE LAW OF CHRIST 

The Galatians had their work cut out for them. They had been bewitched by the Judaizer’s lies. It would take time to undo the spell, and thus patience with one another. Picture a part of your property overgrown with unwanted thorn bushes; you might need a hand loading the brush into the bed of the truck. Reformation takes time and patience; restoring fallen brethren takes the long-suffering which should mark us as “Spirit-people.”

Those of the flesh are burden givers, those of the Spirit are burden bearers. Think of Jesus’ rebuke of lawyers of his time: “And he said, Woe unto you also, ye lawyers! for ye lade men with burdens grievous to be borne, and ye yourselves touch not the burdens with one of your fingers (Luk 11:46).” Fleshly men, who place their trust in the old world, are only doing so to avoid the persecution that arises from preaching the cross. Their only use for you is whether you’ll make them more glorious. They won’t get their own hand dirty, they won’t risk their own reputation.

Life in Christ makes sacrificial men and women. Look at Paul’s stigmata. Those who follow Christ joyfully lay down their lives for the sake of truth. Even in confronting those in sin, we are doing so for the sake of their restoration. Sin is living in the old world and according to the old man. But those in Christ live in the new world, living in certain hope for the final resurrection. Thus we bear each others burdens: confronting sin, laboring at good works, enduring persecution, comforting each other in our sorrows.

When the Law of Moses was given, it was followed by the Spirit filling God’s people to build the tabernacle (Ex. 31:3). They were equipped for service in building the house of God. The seed of the law of Moses had now flowered into the law of Christ, and now Gentiles were filled with the Spirit to serve in the construction of the house of God.

MERCY & PEACE

Paul saw that Christ really had remade the world. It may not look like it by earthly sight, but by faith we see that this world is being made new. Paul’s benediction is rich with this confident faith that we have entered the new creation through Christ. Israel is being restored, not under the law, but by faith in Christ. Thus, the comfort to God’s people is that the everlasting mercy of God rests upon you. The peace of Israel’s God rests upon this new Israel: the church (Ps. 125).

The message which Paul has been hammering home in Galatians is that you are not brought into this abundant life through striving after law-adherence. You enter this new creation, this new Israel, by faith in the One who is the first-fruit of God’s great harvest. Are you in Christ? Well then, the shalom of Yahweh rests upon you. Not because you are circumcised, but because you are in the Crucified Christ.

THE CROSS & NEW CREATION

The new world is cross shaped. This is your glory. But this glory takes time. It takes long-suffering and patience. It takes sowing to the Spirit. Paul sees by faith that in the cross he is crucified to the old world, but the opposite is true as well. The world is dead to Paul. The old world despises the new world. The flesh lusts against the Spirit. Ishmael persecutes Isaac. The cross comes before the crown. So then, do not grow weary. In the cross you died to the old world and its desires, and by faith you live in the shadowlands of everlasting life.

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