Dear Galatians
Week two - Grace Beats Weary
Galatians 2, Galatians 6:9 and Acts 15
Bottom line: Weariness makes us feel untethered. Grace ties us to Jesus forever. So, grace beats weary.
Paper, Rock, Scissors -
Paper beats rock, rock beats scissors, scissors beat paper
Everything gets beat by something
But then, Jesus beats sin, Jesus beats death, Jesus beats everything, and this is really good news, but what if we’re missing something???
**The more weary we become, the more we question
Weariness is problematic when it causes us to give up, or re-evaluate the things we know to be true.
Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. —Galatians 6:9
Ekkakeo - grow weary; shows up 6 times in the New Testament; in secular Greek it was used to refer to a warrior who would shrink from his responsibilities in the midst of conflict; Paul uses it to refer to becoming loosened, to drifting aimlessly.
Weariness unchecked causes us to drift into unbelief, or wrong belief; often about why we’re doing what we’re doing.
Paul knows he’s writing to people who started their journey of faith with excitement about the good news, but they were growing weary and getting pulled in different directions, tempted to add or change to the message of Jesus because of the push and pull of the world around them.
*Maybe you can relate, Paul certainly could.
1 Then after fourteen years, I went up again to Jerusalem, this time with Barnabas. I took Titus along also. 2 I went in response to a revelation and, meeting privately with those esteemed as leaders, I presented to them the gospel that I preach among the Gentiles. I wanted to be sure I was not running and had not been running my race in vain.
3 Yet not even Titus, who was with me, was compelled to be circumcised, even though he was a Greek. 4 This matter arose because some false believers had infiltrated our ranks to spy on the freedom we have in Christ Jesus and to make us slaves. 5 We did not give in to them for a moment, so that the truth of the gospel might be preserved for you.6 As for those who were held in high esteem—whatever they were makes no difference to me; God does not show favoritism—they added nothing to my message. 7 On the contrary, they recognized that I had been entrusted with the task of preaching the gospel to the uncircumcised, just as Peter had been to the circumcised. 8 For God, who was at work in Peter as an apostle to the circumcised, was also at work in me as an apostle to the Gentiles. 9 James, Cephas and John, those esteemed as pillars, gave me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship when they recognized the grace given to me. They agreed that we should go to the Gentiles, and they to the circumcised. 10 All they asked was that we should continue to remember the poor, the very thing I had been eager to do all along. —Galatians 2:1-10
Acts 15 gives an account of this meeting in Jerusalem -
Paul and Barnabas come back and tell everyone what they’ve seen God doing among the Gentiles who are turning to faith in Jesus
Some Pharisees argue that it’s great, but they still need to be circumcised and follow all of the Law to be saved (i.e. Jesus +)
The apostles and elders discuss and then Peter makes a crucial statement:
10 Now then, why do you try to test God by putting on the necks of Gentiles a yoke that neither we nor our ancestors have been able to bear? 11 No! We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are.” —Acts 15:10-11
By
you have been saved through faith, and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God. —Ephesians 2:8
Paul passionately and fiercely defended this good news - for himself, for others like him who had tried to live up to the law, and for those who were trying every other way to save themselves.
19 “For through the law I died to the law so that I might live for God. 20 I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. 21 I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!” —Galatians 2:19-21
Don’t do the things that matter because they will save you.
Do the things that matter because you have been saved by grace so you will always, always have something to hold onto that can’t be taken away.
Church - why does it matter? Don’t give up.
We’re about to break ground (next week!) - it’s a big deal and a big project. God is calling us to something that is bigger than us.
Invitation:
Set an alarm and pray everyday this week at 4:21pm as we get ready to break ground next week
Fast with us from sundown Tuesday to sundown on Wednesday - seek God and remember we have everything we need by the grace of Jesus
Weariness makes us feel