Perplexed! Galatians 4:8-20 “Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ.” – Galatians 1:10

A Perplexing Dilemma …

“Formerly, when you did not know God, you were slaves to those who by nature are not gods. But now that you know God—or rather are known by God—how is it that you are turning back to those weak and miserable forces? Do you wish to be enslaved by them all over again? You are observing special days and months and seasons and years! I fear for you, that somehow I have wasted my efforts on you. I plead with you, brothers and sisters, become like me, for I became like you. You did me no wrong.”

“As you know, it was because of an illness that I first preached the gospel to you, and even though my illness was a trial to you, you did not treat me with contempt or scorn. Instead, you welcomed me as if I were an angel of God, as if I were Christ Jesus himself. Where, then, is your blessing of me now? I can testify that, if you could have done so, you would have torn out your eyes and given them to me. Have I now become your enemy by telling you the truth?”

“Those people are zealous to win you over, but for no good “Those people are zealous to win you over, but for no good. What they want is to alienate you from us, so that you may have zeal for them. It is fine to be zealous, provided the purpose is good, and to be so always, not just when I am with you. My dear children, for whom I am again in the pains of childbirth until Christ is formed in you, how I wish I could be with you now and change my tone, because I am perplexed about you!” – Galatians 4:8-20

Paul reminds the Galatian Christians—both Jew and Gentile—that before they knew God, they were in slavery to false “gods”. For centuries, Israel had been God’s chosen people and it was by their legalistic practices that they believed they could come to know God more intimately. Paul indicates that even then, they did not know God and were entrapped in the false worship of the Law – which Paul further describes as weak and miserable! This all changed when God came to know them intimately through Jesus Christ and his Holy Spirit. We do not “find God” through some mental or spiritual effort; by grace and mercy, He finds us!

Why then are the Galatians turning back to their slavery Why then are the Galatians turning back to their slavery? Can you sense Paul’s frustration? First, Paul encourages the Galatian Christians to become like him, for he became like them. Next, Paul makes the strange comment, “you did me no wrong”. We know that Paul came to Galatia in rough shape and the Galatians received him well. Paul is basically saying “You initially accepted me with open arms though you did not know me nor did you know Christ, so why are you now less accepting of me after having received Christ”?

Paul then asks the Galatians if his telling them the truth makes him an enemy. This simple statement tells us how tense the situation in the Galatian church was as Paul wrote this letter. The initial truth bringing – the preaching of a gospel of salvation – did not mark Paul as an enemy, but his confrontation of false teaching does. We might expect the opposite to occur, so why do we see this pattern?

Paul indicates that the agitators are buttering up the Galatians, but for no good purpose. Paul implies that the Galatians zeal for this new teaching is based upon a desire for flattery, rather than true zeal which is present regardless of reward. Paul closes this whole section mentioning that he feels as if he is in the pains of childbirth until Christ is formed in the Galatian Christians. Paul is perplexed at what he sees happening and so desires that Christ be formed in these followers of Jesus that it literally causes him pain to see them falling away.

First, we see a strange reality — people held in captivity, once freed, often have a desire to return to the familiarity of slavery rather than to explore the perceived “dangers” of freedom. Free Willy and the Exodus After four centuries of slavery in Israel, within a few days at the most, and after watching God act in miraculous ways to free them, the people of Israel, unaccustomed to freedom, longed to return to Egypt.

For the Jew, for centuries their comfort and security of salvation had been understood to come from following the Law of Moses, something they could physically touch, unravel and study. Now, as a Christian, their security is to be in a person, Jesus Christ, one you cannot physically see, touch or study. Might the seemingly legalistic flavor of North American Christianity have much to do with a lack of real faith in Jesus? Might we gravitate towards legalism, because we just don’t want to or know how to live by faith?

Legalism always ends in earned righteousness … if you do the right things often enough, you will earn righteous standing. Paul consistently and stringently emphasizes that salvation is an act of grace; an unearned outpouring of love by God. This is why the law could never result in salvation; salvation is an act of grace, law precludes grace.

The law is clear; a fitting consequence is required. Breaking the Law of Moses results in death … we have all broken the law … our consequence is death … only an act of grace can save us. Enter Christ. Might we see legalism because we like to think that we have somehow earned salvation, that in some way our efforts at legalistic living have made us better than others? Might there be a religious superiority in our churches that actually works against the work of the Holy Spirit?

Finally, I was led to think about my own life and question whether I felt as though Christ was being formed in me. Paul speaks of Christ being formed in us, pointing to the crucial involvement of the Holy Spirit in the life of the Christian. What the Holy Spirit is doing in me right now; in what way is Christ being formed within me? In what way is Christ being formed in us as a church? Do we know Jesus or do we just know about Him? Might legalism be a cover for our inability to humbly admit that we haven’t engaged in dynamic relationship with Jesus in a long time?