Divine Formation Galatians 4:12-20 Live Free…Free to Live a Cross Centered Life Divine Formation Galatians 4:12-20

Why does Christianity find such resistance even in our own hearts? If Christianity is about being like Christ and following his teaching…then why do we struggle to be like Christ in EVERY area of lives? No matter what side of the spectrum you stand on the answer is the same… PRIDE

Christianity is under attack because it takes away EVERYTHING that MAN can DO and makes it WORTHLESS FILTH for gaining acceptance before God. That punches pride right in the mouth… All humanity will naturally gravitate toward ideas and actions which make us look great, and resist ideas and actions which make us look small.

From the other side of the spectrum once you swallow your pride long enough to recognize your need of a Savior it doesn’t take very long before it rears its ugly head again and starts making your Christian life all about how good you are. The reason we are not like Christ in every area…the reason we struggle to allow Christ to be formed in us is PRIDE.

Returning evil for evil flows from a heart of pride that wants its pound of flesh…to be vindicated…to let the other person know that getting even is an acceptable path of choice We want to put others into our “approval” boxes because our pride makes us more concerned about our image and we only want those around us who will improve that image.

Pride is the greatest hindrance to our faith. Saving faith can be the easiest thing in the world—as easy as being clay in the potter's hands…recognizing only God can change your status. Living faith can be the hardest thing in the world, because human clay hates being shaped and formed by Christ so that he gets all the glory for what we become.

The Judizers appealed to their pride…Paul is going to appeal to their spirits…stop going back to the Law…our life is not about that, our life is about Christ being formed in us. Main Point: The Cross Centered Life is a life that exemplifies Christ being formed in you.

It is all about Christ in Us Paul reminds the Galatians in verse 12 that the very fact that he did not depend on his Jewish distinctives should make them forsake the Judaizers and become as he is—free in Christ Paul, a Pharisee of Pharisees, one who made his whole life about following the Law chucked it all out the window when he came to Christ.

What is clear from this verse is that when Paul says, "Become like me," he means, "Die like I have died and live by faith in the Son of God so that it is his life in you that shapes and forms who you are."

Remember how it was at the beginning. In trying to persuade the Galatians that it is indeed good news and that they should not forsake it to follow the Judaizers, Paul reminds them of how valuable the gospel was to them back at the beginning. Somewhere along the line they lost the joy of the gospel and ministry to others

The implication of verse 16 is that somewhere along the line, he had exposed the Judaizers to them. But they didn't want to hear it anymore. There's something kind of comfortable about legalism because it's so tangible. Its that appeal to your pride…you can do “X” number of things and have this feeling that you're super-spiritual.

Let Christ Be Formed in You What does that mean? It simply means that the goal of every single Christian's life should be to have Christ totally formed in his life. To be so shaped from within by the presence of the living Christ that we are no longer conformed to this age but have been transformed with a renewed mind.

It doesn't take a genius to see that, when Christ shapes and forms our inner life after his own image, our freedom from the law will hardly result in a lawless, self-glorifying license. On the contrary, it is the power of Christ living and reigning and forming himself within us that frees us to delight in God's will. We are freed from the burden of the law when we are given the power to fulfill it from within.

So how do we do that? 2 Cor 3:18 You just keep ascending as you focus on Him, even as by the Spirit of the Lord. If you want to know how to be Christ-like, look at Christ. Look at His glory, and keep looking at His glory. While you're not even watching, the Spirit will be transforming you into His image. Focus on Christ. Just look at Him.

Life Step – Take your hands off the clay of your life. The message of the Judaizers and the message of our culture today caters to our natural pride—our desire to be "self-made" people who get glory for ourselves. Remember you have the Spirit of the living Christ residing in you if you have trusted Him and you can experience His presence in a very real way.

Final Thought Those who desire the cross centered life must stay focused on Christ, looking at His glory and letting the Spirit transform them into the image of Christ.