Keep on Running a Good Race!
Reflection: Having run in several races and
preparing for one on the 4th of July, I know how important it is to
keep focused on the finish line. In
longer races like the Marathon this is especially true! Today, Paul uses the metaphor of the “race”, as
he has done before, to warn the Galatians not to let anyone cut in and distract
them from the goal, the finish line.
Specifically,
Paul is referring to those who were creeping into the church and trying to
cause distraction either through “legalism”, which we talked about yesterday as
trying to require new adult male converts to be circumcised. And today, he
refers to using one’s freedom to indulge the sinful nature. These dual threats were prevalent back then and
they continue to be so today. Each
heresy is a distortion of God’s grace.
One cheapens God’s grace in Jesus, and the other one nullifies it.
So Paul then,
knowing they will need a goal to focus on, teaches them to use their freedom
for another use, serving each other in love and humility. He says if you want to focus on the Law go big
and seek to do the most important thing the Law teaches, “Love your neighbor as
yourself!”
And the
question then becomes just how will I do that? Paul provides that for us today
when he challenges us to, “Walk by the Spirit.”
We know that our Christian life
begins when the Holy Spirit convicts us of our sinfulness before God, and then
we receive God’s free gift of grace in Christ through hearing the Good News and
believing in it by the Spirit’s power in us bringing us to faith. And it is important to say the Christian life
starts with the Spirit’s work in us, and our then our new life in Christ is
empowered by the Spirit.
Here is one
writer has said, “If it was by the free and sovereign power of the Spirit that our new
spiritual life came into being, then the way that new life should be lived is
by that same free and sovereign power. "Walk by the Spirit" means do
what you do each day by the Spirit; live your life in all its details from
waking up in the morning until going to sleep at night by the enabling power of
the Spirit.” (John Piper, desiringgod.org)
How is your
race going? Be careful of those who
would want to cut in and send you in the wrong direction! Ultimately God has given you the Holy Spirit
to not only bring you into the race, but to guide you safely home! And we know there will be a great celebration
party at the finish line!
Psalm 78:65-72
65 Then the Lord awoke as from
sleep,
as a warrior wakes from the stupor of wine.
66 He beat back his enemies;
he put them to everlasting shame.
67 Then he rejected the tents of Joseph,
he did not choose the tribe of Ephraim;
68 but he chose the tribe of Judah,
Mount Zion, which he loved.
69 He built his sanctuary like the heights,
like the earth that he established forever.
70 He chose David his servant
and took him from the sheep pens;
71 from tending the sheep he brought him
to be the shepherd of his people Jacob,
of Israel his inheritance.
72 And David shepherded them with integrity of heart;
with skillful hands he led them.
as a warrior wakes from the stupor of wine.
66 He beat back his enemies;
he put them to everlasting shame.
67 Then he rejected the tents of Joseph,
he did not choose the tribe of Ephraim;
68 but he chose the tribe of Judah,
Mount Zion, which he loved.
69 He built his sanctuary like the heights,
like the earth that he established forever.
70 He chose David his servant
and took him from the sheep pens;
71 from tending the sheep he brought him
to be the shepherd of his people Jacob,
of Israel his inheritance.
72 And David shepherded them with integrity of heart;
with skillful hands he led them.
Isaiah 9:8-10:11
The Lord’s
Anger Against Israel
8 The Lord has sent a message
against Jacob;
it will fall on Israel.
9 All the people will know it—
Ephraim and the inhabitants of Samaria—
who say with pride
and arrogance of heart,
10 “The bricks have fallen down,
but we will rebuild with dressed stone;
the fig trees have been felled,
but we will replace them with cedars.”
11 But the Lord has strengthened Rezin’s foes against them
and has spurred their enemies on.
12 Arameans from the east and Philistines from the west
have devoured Israel with open mouth.
it will fall on Israel.
9 All the people will know it—
Ephraim and the inhabitants of Samaria—
who say with pride
and arrogance of heart,
10 “The bricks have fallen down,
but we will rebuild with dressed stone;
the fig trees have been felled,
but we will replace them with cedars.”
11 But the Lord has strengthened Rezin’s foes against them
and has spurred their enemies on.
12 Arameans from the east and Philistines from the west
have devoured Israel with open mouth.
Yet for all
this, his anger is not turned away,
his hand is still upraised.
his hand is still upraised.
13 But the people have not returned
to him who struck them,
nor have they sought the Lord Almighty.
14 So the Lord will cut off from Israel both head and tail,
both palm branch and reed in a single day;
15 the elders and dignitaries are the head,
the prophets who teach lies are the tail.
16 Those who guide this people mislead them,
and those who are guided are led astray.
17 Therefore the Lord will take no pleasure in the young men,
nor will he pity the fatherless and widows,
for everyone is ungodly and wicked,
every mouth speaks folly.
nor have they sought the Lord Almighty.
14 So the Lord will cut off from Israel both head and tail,
both palm branch and reed in a single day;
15 the elders and dignitaries are the head,
the prophets who teach lies are the tail.
16 Those who guide this people mislead them,
and those who are guided are led astray.
17 Therefore the Lord will take no pleasure in the young men,
nor will he pity the fatherless and widows,
for everyone is ungodly and wicked,
every mouth speaks folly.
Yet for all
this, his anger is not turned away,
his hand is still upraised.
his hand is still upraised.
18 Surely wickedness burns like a
fire;
it consumes briers and thorns,
it sets the forest thickets ablaze,
so that it rolls upward in a column of smoke.
19 By the wrath of the Lord Almighty
the land will be scorched
and the people will be fuel for the fire;
they will not spare one another.
20 On the right they will devour,
but still be hungry;
on the left they will eat,
but not be satisfied.
Each will feed on the flesh of their own offspring:
21 Manasseh will feed on Ephraim, and Ephraim on Manasseh;
together they will turn against Judah.
it consumes briers and thorns,
it sets the forest thickets ablaze,
so that it rolls upward in a column of smoke.
19 By the wrath of the Lord Almighty
the land will be scorched
and the people will be fuel for the fire;
they will not spare one another.
20 On the right they will devour,
but still be hungry;
on the left they will eat,
but not be satisfied.
Each will feed on the flesh of their own offspring:
21 Manasseh will feed on Ephraim, and Ephraim on Manasseh;
together they will turn against Judah.
Yet for all
this, his anger is not turned away,
his hand is still upraised.
his hand is still upraised.
10 Woe to those who make
unjust laws,
to those who issue oppressive decrees,
2 to deprive the poor of their rights
and withhold justice from the oppressed of my people,
making widows their prey
and robbing the fatherless.
3 What will you do on the day of reckoning,
when disaster comes from afar?
To whom will you run for help?
Where will you leave your riches?
4 Nothing will remain but to cringe among the captives
or fall among the slain.
to those who issue oppressive decrees,
2 to deprive the poor of their rights
and withhold justice from the oppressed of my people,
making widows their prey
and robbing the fatherless.
3 What will you do on the day of reckoning,
when disaster comes from afar?
To whom will you run for help?
Where will you leave your riches?
4 Nothing will remain but to cringe among the captives
or fall among the slain.
Yet for all
this, his anger is not turned away,
his hand is still upraised.
his hand is still upraised.
God’s
Judgment on Assyria
5 “Woe to the Assyrian, the rod of
my anger,
in whose hand is the club of my wrath!
6 I send him against a godless nation,
I dispatch him against a people who anger me,
to seize loot and snatch plunder,
and to trample them down like mud in the streets.
7 But this is not what he intends,
this is not what he has in mind;
his purpose is to destroy,
to put an end to many nations.
8 ‘Are not my commanders all kings?’ he says.
9 ‘Has not Kalno fared like Carchemish?
Is not Hamath like Arpad,
and Samaria like Damascus?
10 As my hand seized the kingdoms of the idols,
kingdoms whose images excelled those of Jerusalem and Samaria—
11 shall I not deal with Jerusalem and her images
as I dealt with Samaria and her idols?’”
in whose hand is the club of my wrath!
6 I send him against a godless nation,
I dispatch him against a people who anger me,
to seize loot and snatch plunder,
and to trample them down like mud in the streets.
7 But this is not what he intends,
this is not what he has in mind;
his purpose is to destroy,
to put an end to many nations.
8 ‘Are not my commanders all kings?’ he says.
9 ‘Has not Kalno fared like Carchemish?
Is not Hamath like Arpad,
and Samaria like Damascus?
10 As my hand seized the kingdoms of the idols,
kingdoms whose images excelled those of Jerusalem and Samaria—
11 shall I not deal with Jerusalem and her images
as I dealt with Samaria and her idols?’”
Galatians 5:7-18
7 You were running a good race. Who
cut in on you to keep you from obeying the truth? 8 That kind
of persuasion does not come from the one who calls you. 9 “A
little yeast works through the whole batch of dough.” 10 I am
confident in the Lord that you will take no other view. The one who is throwing
you into confusion, whoever that may be, will have to pay the penalty. 11 Brothers
and sisters, if I am still preaching circumcision, why am I still being
persecuted? In that case the offense of the cross has been abolished. 12 As
for those agitators, I wish they would go the whole way and emasculate
themselves!
Life by the
Spirit
13 You, my brothers and sisters,
were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh;
rather, serve one another humbly in love. 14 For the entire law
is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” 15 If
you bite and devour each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each
other.
16 So I say, walk by the Spirit, and
you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For the flesh
desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the
flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever
you want. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not
under the law.
Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my thoughts. See if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. Psalm 139:23-24
Peter said, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep.” John 21:17
Lord Jesus, help us to hear your call and to be truly attentive to you – to your words, your teachings, your values, your way of receiving and caring for others. Help us to never lose sight of you. Amen.
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