Effie Darlene Barba

In a world with so many ideologies surrounding us both in society and even our churches; how, does one recognize and combat against false doctrine?  The mission of the church is to bring sinners to Christ.  As such, we want to allow in all others; yet, in doing so we must not compromise the truth of the gospel by embracing false doctrine in the name of “inclusivity.”  The Galatian church had allowed in leaders who tried to teach that circumcision was a requirement of salvation.  As such, these teachers demanded that the Christians submit themselves to the “letter of the law”; rather than the heart of the gospel.  Christ came to fulfill the law and to pay the price; that, men and women might be saved by Grace through faith. The law only revealed mankind’s inability to live a life of righteousness before a Holy God.

What the law could not do; because, mankind’s heart was in bondage to sin and death; Christ came to provide the only means of Redemption.  His completed work on the cross and His resurrection set all who would believe free from this bondage to the law.  Instead of the outward circumcision required under the law; God would take the responsibility to “circumcise the heart.”  Outward circumcision could not transform men’s hearts; but, the indwelling Holy Spirit could.  The false doctrine that the Judaizers brought in may seem innocent; however, as Paul wrote: “A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump” (Galatians 5:9).  Allowing in false doctrine (however innocent it might seem) ultimately transforms the truth of the gospel into a lie.

False Doctrine: Legalism

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Believing and accepting the truth that our Salvation comes by Grace Alone through faith is hard for the human mind.  We want to do something to prove our own worthiness.  All too often, even after accepting God’s Grace at the point of salvation, we fall back to then fighting our battles against the sin in our hearts by our own strength.  Our pride, our desire to raise this “self” higher battles against the very idea that our only hope of living a life “worthy of our calling” is also by Grace alone through Faith.  We could not conquer sin on our own before we were saved, and neither can we conquer sin by our own efforts after we are saved.  To conquer sin, we must rely again on grace through faith; but, how do we do that?  Paul, in writing to the Galatians, said:

“Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage…For we through the Spirit wait for the hope of righteousness by faith” (Galatians 5:1,5).

Paul also wrote:

Therefore, being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: By whom also we have access by faith into this grace where we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God (Romans 5: 1-2)

Freed from the Bondage of Sin to Conquer Sin

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Paul the Apostle continues his appeal to the Galatian Church to not be pulled into a legalistic doctrine by forgetting that Grace Alone through faith brings salvation.  In his appeal, he bids them to recall when he had first come to them to preach the gospel.  “ye know how through infirmity of the flesh I preached the gospel unto you at the first, and my temptation which was in my flesh ye despised not nor rejected; but received me as an angel of God” (Galatians 4:13-14).  We are not told what the illness was that Paul refers to; but, it would appear that he was forced by illness to stop in Galatia.  They may not have even been on missionary route; but, God caused an illness to press him to stop for a moment.  While there he taught the gospel message to them.

Whatever the illness was, it was one that caused him to appear repulsive.  Still during his stay, they received him with great gladness; because of the message of the gospel.  He told them of Jesus Christ and His completed work of redemption on the cross so that sinful man might be saved by grace through faith, not of works.  Yet, now, Paul is writing them because the Judaizers had begun to teach them that righteousness could only be obtained through following the law and demanding they be circumcised.  Legalism appeals to mankind’s pride, so they were quickly allowing this false doctrine to infiltrate the church.  Paul takes them back, reminding them of his own illness; which forced him to rely on the strength of Jesus Christ and not his own.  He bids them to rely on Jesus Christ for their righteousness becoming themselves putty in God’s hands.

A Note from John Piper’s Sermon “O That Christ Would Be Formed In You”

the Son of God comes and shapes us from within if we rely on him to come and shape us. The Son takes shape in those who abandon themselves to him. Christ forms himself in the lives of those who will let go of all the forms of life in which they have shaped on their own. Christ takes shape in a life that is willing to become putty in God’s hands. Christ presses the shape of his own face into the clay of our soul when we cease to be hard and resistant, and when we take our own amateur hands off and admit that we are not such good artists as he is.

 

Here we can see clearly what faith is. Faith is the assurance that what God will make of you, as Christ is formed in your life, is vastly to be preferred over what you can make of yourself. Faith is the confidence that the demonstration of Christ’s work in your life is more wonderful than all the praise you could get for yourself by being a self-made man—or woman. Faith is a happy resting in the all-sufficiency of what Christ did on the cross, what he is doing now in our heart, and what he promises to do for us for ever.

 

So it’s clear how Paul’s message and the Judaizers’ message are opposed to each other. Their message caters to our natural pride—our desire to be “self-made” people who get glory for ourselves. Paul’s message robs us of all such pride by saying we should be “Christ-made” people who get glory for God by trusting him to shape us every day. [1]

Illness Can Be a Blessing

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Within the hearts of all men and women, there is a moral compass.  This is true of the believer and the unbeliever.  The very fact that we are born with a moral compass, points to the truth that there is a God.  Evolution could never have developed within mankind a moral compass or a desire for infinity.  Look deep within, there is a desire built also within man for infinity.  The Law revealed God’s Holiness and Righteousness; but, it also proved man’s own inability to accomplish perfect righteousness by his own volition.  From the beginning of time, mankind desired something or someone greater than themselves to overcome the elements of this world.  That desire for law, order and power itself points toward the existence of God.  Under the bondage of a law which nature itself writes on our hearts, we are lead to despair, driving us to discover God.

When God gave Moses the law, it was not for the law to bring salvation.  Rather it pointed out mankind’s need for a redeemer.  It pointed them to look to God, in faith to trust Him to provide for them a salvation they could not achieve on their own.  He alone provided their protection and their provision.  Furthermore, He was their guide through the wilderness of this life. He promised them a Messiah, a redeemer.  Their only hope of salvation was faith in Him.  The sacrificial system pointed to that Messiah who would come.  Their sins were not covered because of the sacrifice; rather, their salvation came through faith that God would wash them clean by His Grace.

What the Law Could Not Do, Christ Did

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