Galatians 3:1-14      The Law and the Spirit   January 24, 2010 

    Professional golfer Tommy Bolt was playing in Los Angeles and had a caddy with a reputation of constant chatter. Before they teed off, Bolt told him, "I want to lay down the law for you.  Don't say a word to me. And if I ask you something, just answer yes or no."   During the round, Bolt found the ball next to a tree, where he had to hit under a branch, over a lake and onto the green. He got down on his knees and looked through the trees and sized up the shot.  "What do you think?" he asked the caddy. "Five-iron?"  "No." the caddy said.    "What do you mean, no?" Bolt snorted. "Watch this shot."   Bolt hit it and the ball stopped about two feet from the hole. He turned to his caddy, handed him the five-iron and said, "Now what do you think about that? You can talk now."  "Mr. Bolt," the caddy said, "that wasn't your ball."

         Often in life, we can get so caught up in the letter of the law and forget the whole spirit and purpose of the law.  Rules and laws and commands are certainly given in order to bless human life.  But almost weekly, I encounter situations where sticking exactly to the letter of the law ends up doing more harm than good.  In today’s scripture, we continue our study of Paul’s Letter to the Galatians.  Paul had started this church in Galatia, teaching the people to follow Jesus Christ in Faith in order to find the blessings of God.  But soon, behind him came a group of other missionaries who taught that in order to be blessed by God, one had to keep the Works of the Law as found in the Old Testament.  These other missionaries relied on the Law to be the very foundation on which they built their lives. The Law made them who they were.  Now this problem may seem far removed from our 21 st century lives.  But let me ask you—On what do you rely?  What are you building on and planning and trusting in your life?  And will that work for you?  How do we live the blessed life of God?

      Paul begins his answer in two ways.  Personal and Scriptural.  Vs 1 begins the personal.  Paul asked these people about their past experience with God.  He asked them if they had received the Spirit of God by doing the Works of the Law or by Faith.  What are these “Works of the Law?”  Many Christians teach that Paul is talking about “good works” to try to get to Heaven.  I have heard preachers rant so against “good works” that you would decide that Paul does not want us to do any good.  But that cannot be so.  In every letter written by Paul, including Galatians, Paul urges followers of Christ to live Holy lives.  Paul is not arguing against living a good life. So what are “works of the Law?”  The Law is the Torah, the first five books of the Bible written by Moses.  And “Works of the Law” are most specifically those ritual laws which set the Jewish people apart from other people.  Things like circumcision and food laws.  These “Works” were not done to earn your way to Heaven.  Works of the Law were to separate Jewish people form other people.  These laws were emphasized by violent Zealots like Saul of Tarsus.  But Paul the Apostle of Jesus will have none of this separation from other people.  He writes in Ephesians 2:14 that Christ has “made all people one and has broken down the dividing wall.” Most crucially, the problem with Works of the Law is that people come to “rely on these works of the law” says verse 10. These other missionaries were relying on who they were as Jewish people, separated from other people.   What about us today?  Think with me for a moment.  What does it mean to rely on something?  (Get some answers.)  So what are some items that people rely on?  Yeah.  People try to rely on many things. They may not be bad things but they are all Works of the Law. And all these Works can and will fail.   I am trying to build my life on something that cannot really be relied upon.   Instead Paul calls us to rely and build upon the one thing that will stand—the Spirit by Faith. 

         The Holy Spirit of God is mentioned 18 times in this letter. Paul asked the Galatians if they have received the Spirit by Faith.   For Paul, the only real evidence of God in a person’s life is the presence of the Holy Spirit.  Paul says in Romans 8:9, “Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to Christ.”  At the deepest level, the spiritual life is not about outward things at all. To rely on outward matters is always a danger because those things can always fall.  But the Kingdom of God is within you, said Jesus.  This can never be taken away. 

       We could ask the same among us.  Have we received the Spirit of God by Faith?  What have you experienced of God?  There should be some personal experiential, existential reality about God in your life.  God should not just be “hear-say.”  God should not just be something grandma told you about.  God should not just be someone you hear about at church.  You see, even religion, in fact especially religion, can become an outward “Work.”  And all those outward “Works” fail us.  Hear-say is not good enough in the hard times.  Grandma will not always be there.  This church could burn to the ground.  The outward fails at some point, but we must each be inwardly, personally aware that God is with you and in you and surrounding you.  Paul wants to know about the personal, because real Faith is always personal.

     However, Faith is not just based on the personal alone.  Faith is not just an emotional trip. Our own minds change so often and are not to be fully trusted or relied upon.  So Paul turns to a rock solid source of authority.  Paul turns to the scripture to know what the Bible says about the blessings of God.  From the scriptures, Paul shows that Abraham, the very father of the Jewish nation, was counted as righteous and was blessed by God because he believed.  It was not by anything Abraham had done outwardly.  Genesis 15 tells the story of Abraham’s faith and his blessing.  It is years later, in Genesis 17 that Abraham is given the law of circumcision.  Paul states that the blessing of God came to Abraham first because of Faith and that obedience to the law came later.  It is important to Paul to show this from the Bible.  Faith, the inner Spirit, comes first.  Then we can get these other matters in their proper place.  Abraham lived a life of obedience to God.  Abraham had great wealth.  Abraham had family to care for.  Abraham was a community and even national leader.  These were not bad things.  All these were part of his life, but Abraham ultimately relied on one thing.  Faith in God.  

       There has been so much confusion in Churches about this term “Works of the Law.”  Some folks are so confused, they think we are not supposed to do any “Good Works” lest they go against the New Testament.  But Paul is not opposed to doing good.  We will see that Paul expects us to do good.  But Paul is talking about on what you are relying to build your life.  What really makes you who you are?   For these other missionaries sent from James, what made them who they were at the deepest level was zealously keeping ritual laws that separated them from other people and made them better than other people.  At first glance, it seems like a distant problem from our lives.  But, we all rely on something.  We build a life on something that tells us who we are.  Famed football coach Tony Dungy tells of his life built on being a football coach until he was fired in 2002 from Tampa Bay.  He says it was a real turning point in his life to discover anything can and will fail us.  Except for God. In his time of failure, Dungy says it was God alone, Faith alone, that sustained him.   Paul says all our “Works” will fall.  All that stands is the Solid Rock of Jesus Christ.  The old hymn says it well—“On Christ the solid rock I stand.  All other ground is sinking sand.”  What is your ground this morning?  Is it a rock or is it sand?  Amen.