Bible Guys Classics: Galatians 6

Well, today, Paul's gonna button it up. He's wrapping up the Book of Galatians, and there's a couple of quick challenges. It's one of those things where it's like sent and sentence, sentence, sentence, sentence. Each of these is a big idea saying, don't forget this, don't forget this, don't forget this. You ever have a conversation like that, I do. Well, that's what it's all about today. He's Chris, I'm Jeff. We're the Bible guys. Okay, Chris. So people are very interested in you, and this has come up so many times, these kinds of things they do. They love asking you questions and for we have this show sheet here and our assistants, the ones that help us put this together. Here's the question that keeps coming in is, Chris, what's your most embarrassing story? My most embarrassing story? Wow, Well, I have a you know, I've told these before, so I have them on the top of my brain. So I have sort of a church embarrassing story, and then I have sort of like a non church embarrassing story. Which one you want to hear? Do you have a lot of embarrassing stories? I would imagine, but after a while you get so used to it. After a while, you get so used to being embarrassed. It's not embarrassing anywhere. So the first the first one, it's pretty tame. It's the church story. It is this is your Sunday school answer. Yes, this is my Sunday school answer. So I read through Zikias and the Sycamore Tree, the story where Jesus comes by and said. Zachis you come down. I read through it, and then for the rest of the message, I referred to Zachias as Nicodemus, the whole message, the whole message, and nobody correct. Nicodemus, you come down. I'm glad your house. And so I talked about Nicodemus. Was this Nicodemus, you know, he paid back, and the entire time, and we're talking like a thirty minute of saying Nicodemus. And then at the end, Travis Lloyd, this is this, you know, big old Burley guy. He's like, hey man, he goes, that was really good. That was really good, and great, he goes, but it wasn't Nicodemus. And I realized that in front of all my church family, which was a Sunday night in a Baptist church of about maybe eighty people on a Sunday night that I had just blown it. So that was my first church Sunday school answer. My regular answer is, I remember when I was in college and I was working at a autosh You know, you pull in and you get the car wash, and sometimes there's a salesman there that sort. Of upgrades your car wash. Well, that was my job. So they pulled in, they were in line, and I walked over and I was trying to make small talk and be friendly and courteous, and I was trying to upgrade this wash of this woman who's sitting there. And then at the end, I said, so, when's the baby do? And she looks down at her stomach, which is a big, old round stomach, and she goes, what baby, what are you talking about? And then she looks down and she realized her stomach was big. Oh no, And she looked up at me, and I literally. Just looked at her, turned around and walked away. I never apologized. I never did anything because I was young. Oh and so I as a matter of fact, I'm not sure what I would do today. I mean, I can't believe. Well, first of all, we. Don't say it. I wouldn't do it right, right, right, But I said, when's the baby doo? She says, what baby? And then she looked down and looked at me, and I just turned around and walked away. And I never went back to her car. So I sent another sales one to her car to follow up. Oh my goodness, that's a good way to get a broken nose these days. Oh well, you know you ever hear Brian Rigging the comedian. Yes, he says, he's one of my favorite comedians. So he says, the only time you should ever assume a woman is pregnant is when you see the child emerging out of her body. The rest of the time, never missed, don't ask, and don't right. So, so what we learned there is that you usually are wrong about the things you're teaching from the Bible. That's not what said that you're constantly upselling people and pointing out, pointing out embarrassing things in their lives. And we also what we just learned. And we've just also learned that you believe the best in everyone. Oh no, no, not at all. Good job, John accused of me of that. Way to go. Okay, well, thank you for sharing. This is we love learning more and more and more about the enigma that is Chris Sarba and so that enigma that was very exciting. Well good. So we're wrapping up in the Book of Galatians, and if you remember, Paul is writing to the Galatians because there's this controversy that some of the Judaizers had been coming in and saying you have to convert to being a Jew before you can become a Christian, because Jesus is the Jewish Messiah. And so one of the main ones was a circumcision, which you know, I can imagine from a promotional standpoint, that really made it difficult to reach a lot of people. But the idea being you have to convert to one religion before you can follow Jesus, and Paul is saying this isn't necessary. Jesus is for all people, Jews and Gentiles, and you don't have to convert or become like somebody else in order for you to become a follower of Christ. It's all about faith, not the works. Right, And just to remind our listeners, were actually walking through the Book of Acts and an actual chronologically, he wrote Galatians somewhere right around Acts between fourteen and fifteen, about fifteen years. After he became a Christian, Which is. Why we're sort of pausing an Acts because we're chronologically saying this happened next Yeah. And this is sometimes forty eight AD, so just to you know, fifteen years after Jesus, eighteen years after Jesus died, and this is that right after their first trip missionary trip anyway trip. Okay, so there's the little history lesson for the day. Let's get into what the Bible says in Galatians chapter six. We'll just start in verse one. It says, Dear brothers and sisters, if another believer is overcome by sin, you, who are godly, should gently and humbly help that person back onto the right path, and be careful not to fall into the same temptation yourself. Share each other's burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ. If you think you're too important to help someone, you're only fooling yourself. You're not that important. I think that's so funny. Careful attention to your own work, for then you'll get the satisfaction of a job. Well done, and you won't need to compare yourself to anyone else, for we are each responsible for our own conduct. Those who are taught the word of God should provide for their teachers, sharing all good things with them. Don't be misled. You cannot mock the justice of God. You will always harvest what you plant. Those who live only to satisfy their own sinful nature will harvest decay and death from that sinful nature. But those who live to please the spirit will harvest everlasting life from the spirit. So let's not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time, we will reap a harvest the blessing if we don't give up. Therefore, whenever we have the opportunity, we should do good to everyone, especially to those in the family of faith. And then he wraps things up. He says, notice what large letters I use as I write these closing words in my own handwriting. Those who are trying to force you to be circumcised want to look good to others. They don't want to be persecuted for teaching that the Cross of Christ only alone can say. And even those who advocate circumcision don't keep the whole law themselves. They only want you to be circumcised so they can boast about it and claim you as their disciples. As for me, may I never boast about anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Because of that cross, my interest in this world has been crucified, and the world's interest in me has also died. It doesn't matter whether we have been circumcised or not. What counts as whether we've been transformed into a new creation. May God's peace and mercy be upon all who live by this principle. They are now the new people of God. From now on. Don't let anyone trouble me with these things, For I bear on my body the scars that show I belong to Jesus. Dear brothers and sisters, May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you your spirit. Amen. Amen. I love how he ends up saying, from now and don't let anybody trouble with me. He says, it's done. I'm not talking about this. Again, right, you know, let me address before we because there's a lot to unpack here, but before we address anything else. It's a little weird to hear him make such a big deal about circumcis vision because in our culture, you know that usually happens with most people who are born in the United States of America. When they're born, there's a little surgery that happens to the males. And so for adults to be writing this back and forth within the church and making it seem like a big deal is sort of a little weird. But think of it this way. Here's and tell me if you think this is a good comparison. So I do a lot of funerals, and I will get to the place where I ask about the deceased and tell me about her or him, And then I'll say, so. Let me ask you a question. Have you ever had a conversation with them about their faith? They believe in God or go to church? And I would tell you nine times out of ten they'll say, well, i'll tell you what. They didn't go to any organized religion. And I thought to myself, like, well, that's not really what I was hoping to hear it. But I didn't ask you about going to church. I asked you about whether they believed in God, right, because we all know they going to church doesn't get you to heaven. Right. But I'm telling you. Nine times out of ten, those are the answers. They will say, well, they weren't really religious. And then when I say, well, do they believe in God? Oh? Yeah, you know. And I'm not saying that everybody does. I'm saying normally, when they call a pastor, that's usually the answer, right. Otherwise they wouldn't. Call a pastor. That's right. Right, So when they call a. Pastor and they call him in, there's for it's for a good reason. So they'll say, yeah, absolutely, they believe in God. In fact, they prayed, they had a Bible by their bed, they always wore a cross around their neck. But yet they hung up on this idea that they didn't go to church. And so I thought, I think the modern day equivalent to this conversation about circumcision is about rules, right, because circumcision was nothing more than sort of a rule to obey to seem godly. And so I think he could have filled the sin and said, I've been talking about infant baptism right, right, Oh, it's infant baptism where it's not either your baptized when your baby, or you're not in your way to heaven. Right. They could have been that thing or because for the Jews, circumcision was the symbol that you had converted, right, your whole family. It could have been any of those things that we look at now. Taking communion, it could it could have been you know, obviously good deeds. Well, I've tried to obey the ten commandments. So that's sort of like a thing confirmation at twelve. Yes, because because what it is it's about, it's about obeying the law in order to prove that you are in a class that is approved by God and so and so don't get hung up our listeners, I'm saying on the fact that he's talking about circumcision, because really it's just because that wasn't common over uh in the Midwest or in the mid Middle East as it is today, and so circumcision actually was less popular, right, So that that's why it's. Still globally is today now I think the majority of people are still not But in the West the majority would be yes, right, yes, particularly in the US. Europe is less and less, but the idea being it seems common to us. And so this is an odd argument, whereas what he's taught really talking about the rules. Of the religion that's exactly right, right, So. What he's trying to say is there are no specific rules you have to keep in order to go to heaven. Now he does talk, and I think this is really important in the passage we just finished, verse seven, don't be misled. You cannot mock the justice of God. You will always harvest what you plant. And then he said, those who live only to satisfy their own sinful nature will harvest decay and death from that sinful nature. But those who live to please the spirit will harvest everlasting life from the spirit. So he's differentiating between. He spends the whole book differentiating between following the rules in order to get to heaven or get God to approve of you, and salvation by faith. But then he pauses and before he end goes, now, let's not make a mistake here. If you live for the flesh, you will have all of the natural death and decay that comes from the flesh. So of course you need to live in the spirit. And he spent a big part of chapter five explaining what it means to live in the spirit, the fruit of the spirit, those kinds of things. So he's saying, you're going to harvest what you sew. But that's not so you can go to heaven and that's the consequences. So let's explain what harvest and sewing is. Yeah, yeah, yeah, Well sewing just means planting sow, not s e w. Right, right, So he says, so you're going to harvest what you plant, just like a farmer puts seed in the ground and you know, cultivates it in months later or weeks later. You know, you get way more back than what you plan it. And also what he's saying is if you plant radishes, you're not going to get pairs. That's right, that's right. Well, I think the note in the Life Application Bible says it would certainly be a surprise if you planted corn and pumpkins came up, right, right, you'd be surprised by that. So, so there is the common in our culture. There's a common idea of karma. Right, what goes around comes around, karma, karma, karma, comma karma, right kind of thing, kama kma kama. Yeah, you're born in the eighties or you're a boy of the eighties, right, So, so karma is a big conversation. A lot of people have that's a Hindu con except the Biblical view would be the things that you plant naturally would come back in a harvest much greater than what you planted. Yeah, well, it's it's interesting because a lot of what we believe is natural without God is actually natural because of God. So when people say, oh, I believe in karma, well I do too, It's just not called karma. It's a biblical principle. It's not the forces of the universe, right right, make it's it's God, the laws of God. Yeah, and so karma isn't necessarily a bad thing. The only bad part about it is that they say it's a universe because they'll say, oh, if you put that energy out into the universe, that energy is going to come back. It's that same negative energy. Well, actually that's completely true because it says what you sow. You're going to reap. Right, And do you remember the old English version, the King James version, Do not be deceived, for God is not mocked. That He also so if planted. But anyway, the bottom line is is that is a great verse to memorize because it is sort of like karma. The only difference is it's a biblical principle that God promises, and so if we are to you know, uh, invest in, give our energy, to spend time doing all the things that are wrong and negative, you know, and sinful, then the consequences of those things are gonna be things that consume and surround our life. However, if we if we spend all of our time being kind, you know, showing love, forgiveness, doing godly things, then our life will be surrounded with the fruits and the return of our behavior. So it really is karma, but it's not karma, it's it's. What you put out there comes back to the idea of karma within Hinduism, Hinduism meaning everything is God and God is in everything. Right, that would that would be Then then the idea being your energy is either your putting it is your life force is connected in the universe, and you put out the negative and that life force, negative energy will come back to you someday. That is not true, that that is a false concept. So the part we're agreeing with the idea of the idea of karma for a Westerner, yes, is not that the idea is what you put out there comes back. The difference would be the way God made it. These are the laws of the universe. Like the law of gravity. We wouldn't say, be careful about putting your energy too far over the edge of the building, because then your energy is going to fall and hit the ground. We wouldn't say that, right, It's just the natural law that God created of gravity, And this would be this law of planting and harvesting is a law that God put out there. So in contrast to energy going and energy coming back and we're all connected in the universe, that's not a true statement and it's not biblical. What is biblical is God established certain laws, and one of those laws is what you plan you harvest. Yeah, yeah, yeah, So I shouldn't say it. I shouldn't say it is karma. It's karma, like. It's yeah, yeah, principle right, the principal people people would would gravitate towards the wrong version of it. The right version is what you plan is. But I don't think. I don't think I really quite understood what the true definition of karma was until you said that God is everything. God is in everything, and you put the energy back into those things, they give it back. I was just thinking, luck. I think I think most people are that way in the West. It's just you know, I've been in enough Hindu temples and been a part of that kind of stuff around the rest of I think, Okay, let's differentiate because it's the third third largest religion in the world, so it has a big impact on our on our Saturday. So this idea, you cannot mock the justice of God. Right, So we love to talk about the love of God. God is love. I love it. Love, oh love, love, love of love, Mercy, mercy, mercy, grace, grace, grace, grace, grace. Those are all incredibly important. My wife's listening, putting on her makeup. Love Love, There you go, because that's our saying. We say that, there you go. That's so sweet, it is. So anyways, we talk a lot about the God is love, and sometimes we forget God is also just. God is just. God doesn't wink at our sin. Our sin killed God. God satisfied his own justice by sacrificing himself so that we could have forgiveness for our sins. Because he loved us, his love and his justice had to both be met, and he did that by sacrificing himself. Is the only answer. So this idea of God being just. We shouldn't be shocked when we plant a bunch of negative things. I shouldn't be shocked if I've lived my entire life drinking like a fish, and then all of a sudden, in my later years, the doctor comes and tells me I have serhosis as a liver. That's not God being mean, right, that's the natural force. Not the natural force, the natural law that God has put in place that if you abuse your liver, your liver eventually is going to fail you. It's just science. Yeah, it's right, it's the same thing. So we shouldn't be surprised if we've been very promiscuous. We shouldn't be surprised if we come home with a disease. Right, if we fool around on our spouse, we shouldn't be surprised that we're going to have our marriage fail. But on the other side, he also says God's justice. God is just, So if you are wise with your money, you shouldn't be surprised that you have plenty when it comes time to retire. If you are are generous to others, God says, God will be generous to you. You shouldn't be surprised by that. So God's justice, God will always do the right thing always, and we shouldn't be surprised by that. What we plant is what we're going to harvest. The good news is you plan a little, you get way more back. Well, this Life Application Bible has a little chart that I want to just sort. Of read through. It says, our wrong desires are evil, destructive, easy to ignite. That's pretty pretty insightful, difficult to stifle, self centered, oppressive and possessive, decadent, sinful, and deadly. But the fruit of the spirit is and then of course they're they're sort of opposite, like evil is good, you know, the opposite of evil is good, destructive, it's productive, easy to ignite, it's difficult to ignite. Yeah, the fruit of the spirit is very difficult. Right, difficult to stifle, it's easy to stifle. Self centered is self giving, oppressive and possessive. It's liberating and nurturing instead of decadent. And it's uplifting instead of sinful. It's holy instead of deadly, it's abundant life. So it really is huge contrast. And the reason why that's so helpful is because you know it just sort of reminds us that there is a principle. Of the path. You know, the principle of the path is is that direction determines destination. Right, So if you think about it, so if you're if you're walking the straight line and you just alter slightly to the left or this way is the left for those watching, So you alter slightly to the left, well, over time and distance, your destination and will be leap years away from where you were heading, right, because because direction determines destination, and so wherever your life is heading now currently, that's where you're going to end up being. And so if you're currently in a season of life where you're planting all sorts of bad behavior and you know, just negative energy and you know, unforgiveness and strife. And and you know, maybe you're. Angry and it's just sort of messing up all your relationships and you're angry about something else or you know, whatever complication that you have sort of and you're sort of planting these seeds everywhere. Well, it's it's going to eventually end up coming back to you. And that's called destination. That's down the road, that's where your life is headed. So in other words, if you think about it in terms of the principle of the path, you simply do a self analysis and say, I want to start living in the fruit of the spirit. I want to start, you know, planting godly things like forgiveness. Change my ways because it doesn't help you in this moment, it helps you down the road because direction determines destination. Right. So there's so many things just in these eighteen verses that we can cover, right, Yeah, but I think that's a really great place to kind of wrap things up. He says, to work hard, he says, to bury one another's burdens. He talked about all these other things, but that that idea, this principle the path, I think is incredibly important for us to embrace and understand that that the things that we're investing our life in we will wind up harvesting in the future. So tomorrow we're going to wrap up with or we're going to pivot back into the Book of Acts. And now this is kind of hitting the fan because all the rest of the apostles are like, we need to talk about this, yeah, right, So that's what we're gonna be talking about tomorrow. On the Bible guys, the Bible guys. There you go.