Outgrowing the Babysitter

Galatians 3:19-4:11

During my weight loss journey, I found myself checking the scale daily, sometimes even more. Maybe the scale was wrong, maybe my weight had changed, maybe even the scale would take some more off for me as a favor. I wanted so much to achieve my goal, but I was hoping that the scale would help me. It didn’t. It couldn’t. All it could do was show me where I was currently at. Paul makes the argument that this is how useful the Law (think 10 commandments) is to a believer.

Thinking the scale would do anything to help or change my situation was folly, and I knew that, but I still found myself double-checking. Nothing I could do in my bathroom would help me lose weight – that would happen in the kitchen or where I work out. The battle wasn’t on the scale, that was only the progress report. This became even more evident to me when I reached my goal and backed off of my daily weight checks. I had achieved my weight, but now I have to maintain it – making wiser decisions each day. I had graduated from the scale’s daily review. This is the same place the law holds in our spiritual lives.

The Need for a Nanny

Paul continues his argument against the Judaizers in v19 by positing why the law exists at all. We know if doesn’t help us avoid sin, it only shows us what we did. Why? Because all humanity is sinful. All is evil. The law was given so that we would know what we don’t know. You can’t fix a problem until you know what it is—the law does just that. Talk about after church plant closed, I questioned my leadership and realized a few things – needed to stop asking for leadership. I took a step towards growth. This is what the law truly does. It is our nanny, our guide. It makes us aware of our sin and informs us of how helpless we are to stop. Just like a nanny who has no real power in your life, the law can’t stop you, it can only report you. Sin is sin; the law was brought in so that we would know it. A fence to keep humanity in line until the promised arrival of the Seed—Jesus.

Entering Adulthood is the Plan

How do we graduate from the law? When do we grow up? The greatest generation grew up young with the great depression and the world wars. Each generation has wanted to make it easier on their children and today we have 30 year olds still living in their childhood bedroom. Maturity is not a birthday or a voter registration card. It is a graduation; from childish actions and desires to adult. It is only through maturity that we enter adulthood and only through Jesus that we enter into God’s presence and favor. The law guided us until then, but once the Spirit came to take residence in us, we grew up. When we place our faith in Christ, we trade out the nanny for maturity. There is no more need to point out our sinfulness, as it is covered in Christ. We’ve grown past it, graduated from it. From this point on, we are hidden and covered in Christ, following live directions from the Spirit instead of the now fulfilled and obsolete law.

Don’t Revisit the Nanny

We recently found a box of old phones from 20 years ago – it was fun to remember, whether it was my first flip phone, the Motorola RAZR I had, or even Nita’s old Nokia brick phone. There is something special about nostalgia – something that is absolutely crushing the financial markets now. Revisiting the past where times were simpler and easier is a powerful trend, yet it is only a dream. You can’t return to the past and things won’t ever be more simple then they are today. A return to the simpler, to the law, by living in legalistic behavior invalidates the receiving of the promise. Instead of moving forward, it is moving backward. Paul completes this section with a plea for his readers to not step back, turn around or reenter slavery. Leave the past in memories and live in this day. Like those old phones, the law is fulfilled, outdated, and obsolete.

Next Steps

It’s time to graduate. If you’ve been holding on to legalism or the law because it’s what you know, remember, or is simpler, than you are only fooling yourself. It’s time to upgrade (I know, such dreaded words!). Yes, living in the Spirit is complicated, but it is a life of maturity, power, and intimacy with the Creator. Consider some steps that can help you move from spiritual childhood into maturity.

1. Memorize Psalm 119:105 and practice trusting each step to God’s leadership.
2. Practice speaking with the Spirit – sharing your thoughts, needs, and feelings through prayer.
3. Read through Matthew 5-7 and journal the differences between the law and the Spirit that you see.

The scale does nothing but give you a number. Remember, the battle is in the kitchen and weight room, not the bathroom. Don’t rely on the law to help; life is far better with the Spirit in you, actually providing help and acting on our behalf.