Pick a Team

Galatians 2:15-21

Did you know that the old trick of putting a rubber band on your mailbox for the mailman is actually a security risk? Consider the information people can learn about you just be the stickers on your car and on social media. I’m surprised by the people that talk about their vacations in real time, as they are advertising that they’re not home. A lot of who we are is proclaimed to the public unintentionally. It’s out there for the world to see and speaks into Paul’s letter to the Galatian churches.

According to Paul, who we are is most intimately defined by which banner we live under (LAW or FRIEND). This is the main idea of Paul’s letter. We choose one or the other, either intentionally or unintentionally. If we want to use the right and wrong (law) banner, thinking our good will outweigh our bad, that means we’ll be fully judged by the law (which is clear that one bad nullifies ALL good), but if we’re under Christ’s banner (who we know), then we are judged by who we know–Jesus. Our actions may look similar on the outside, but ultimately, even in the unintentional, we will show who we really are and it will be people who live either by the Spirit or the Law. I urge you today to let the Spirit fully lead your life.

The Law Doesn’t Help with Salvation (15-18)

Peter’s mishandling of the eating situation in the last section shows that the real sin here is not living free of the law but trying to bring the law back in after Christ. Remember that the recipients of the letter AND the Judaizers are all Christians – people who follow Christ, but the Judaizers were trying to bring back strict adherence of the law. The problem is though, the law was never an aid, only an alarm (the law doesn’t tell us how to not sin) only that we are not to sin. Imagine the instructions on building furniture that didn’t say what to do, but only that the furniture shouldn’t be misused. How would you ensure that the dresser holds clothes if you don’t know how to make a drawer! Whether born with the gift of the law or without (Jews or Gentiles), as Paul quotes Psalm 143:2—no one living is righteous before God. The law can’t save. Instead, it was designed as a mirror – to show us who we really are and point us to the reality that we need salvation. It does nothing to help us.

The Requirement of the Law Was Fulfilled in Jesus (19-20a)

Because of that very truth we are cognizant of our need for help. Our need for a rescuer. President Trump, in light of his convictions, will undoubtedly appeal. If the appeal changes the decision of the jury, then it’s as if the first trial never happened. A successful appeal would nullify the first court. By appealing to a higher court (Jesus), we render powerless the lower court (Law). We die to the law because we choose not to live under its banner. Without Christ we would still be accountable, but with Jesus we can be fully removed from it and have the freedom to live to God. This is the beauty of baptism; the physical representation of death to law and sin and rising up from the grave in Christ.

Christians are Free of the Law (20b-21)

Since we are removed from the burden of the law—dead to it—and living in Christ, we give up leadership over ourselves and allow Jesus to take the driver’s seat of our life. This is just like on an icy road if you spin out, it’s better to let go and let the car straighten itself out than try to force the wheel. We no longer live by the rule of the written law, but by the Spirit of Christ – His banner – by which we strive (as still currently imperfect beings) to live in obedience to His ethical standard, living as people who are already righteous instead of trying to be righteous to be acceptable. This is the difference between the 10 commandments (Exodus 20) and the sermon on the mount (Matthew 5-7). It’s all about living through the power of the Spirit. The law still works as a mirror, and the Spirit will never lead us to live contrary to His standard (which established the law), but we aren’t under it – we are under Him. This is true freedom in Christ and also what Paul means in Ro. 6:17-18 when he says we are slaves to righteousness now.

Next Steps

Our outward behavior probably won’t look all that different (unless you refrain from eating bacon), but the motivation of the heart is the key. What matters is why we do things – the condition of our hearts. If the Spirit is truly leading us, He will lead us to live and love like Christ did. The law, therefore is not needed nor is beneficial. How? Try these ideas:

1. Gather with others and discuss the law (over bacon) as it pertains to how Christians should live. Living by the Spirit will never be contrary to the law, but we are a lot freer than you might think.
2. Obedience beings with submission to Christ, which for us requires knowledge of Him – so read scripture – specifically the gospels.
3. Pray and ask for the Spirit to direct your steps in how to fully obey Christ on a daily basis.
4. Consider getting baptized.

Song of Solomon 2:4 tells us His banner over us is love. Not law, expectation, or pressure. How free do you live? Do you live freely as one fully dead to the law or are you trying to live up to something? You, Christian, have been crucified with Christ and no longer live, but Christ who lives through you. Live that life in faith, not rules and regulations.