Preventative Christianity: Back to Basics
Galatians 4:12-20

People (even Christian people!) have a way of disappointing one another. From time to time each of us becomes “part of the problem” in the lives of others. As Paul expresses his bewilderment at the course the Galatians have begun to take, the apostle helps us see how we can avoid misrepresenting our Lord and confusing others. We need to:

1. Remember our roots (4:12-15)
2. Remember who our friends are (4:16-17)
3. Remember we’re in process (4:18-20) 

Galatians 4
¹² I beg of you, brethren, become as I am, for I also have become as you are. You have done me no wrong;
¹³ but you know that it was because of a bodily illness that I preached the gospel to you the first time;
¹⁴ and that which was a trial to you in my bodily condition you did not despise or loathe, but you received me as an angel of God, as Christ Jesus Himself.
¹⁵ Where then is that sense of blessing you had? For I bear you witness that, if possible, you would have plucked out your eyes and given them to me.
¹⁶ So have I become your enemy by telling you the truth?
¹⁷ They eagerly seek you, not commendably, but they wish to shut you out so that you will seek them.
¹⁸ But it is good always to be eagerly sought in a commendable manner, and not only when I am present with you.
¹⁹ My children, with whom I am again in labor until Christ is formed in you--
²⁰ but I could wish to be present with you now and to change my tone, for I am perplexed about you.

1. Remember our roots (4:12-15)

That last expression really tells the story of the verses. “I am perplexed, I am confused, I am befuddled, I am disappointed, I am surprised.” Paul is saying, “You Christian people drive me nuts.”

I have a friend who taught me a great saying. We were discussing an individual who was so disillusioned with the behavior of professing Christians that he said to my friend, “I’m finished with this Christian thing.” His response, so good, “Were those people who were acting that way acting like Jesus?” “Well no, they weren’t.” “OK, so why would you let people who aren’t acting like Jesus keep you from Jesus?” Think about that.

A.W. Tozer, who was a tremendous preacher and author 50 years or so ago, said, “Humanity I love. It’s people I hate.”

I don’t know how many times in my circulating among those who are in ministry, both vocational and volunteer, to hear a conversation that goes something like, “How is it going?” “Well, the ministry is great except for the people part.”

Folks will leave fellowship because of people. Our misbehavior, our poor attitudes, our untimely words, our childish actions, our self-centeredness can and is indicted in driving people away. But those people who drive all those people nuts -- it’s us.  It’s you and it’s me. We are those people.

We come to this text. Paul is pulling his Pauline hair and it seems to me that in the course of these verses I read he provides us with ways we can at least minimize this sort of confusion and disappointment of one another. We have a few truths to remember. In those first few verses we are encouraged to remember our roots (Galatians 4, beginning in verse 12). What he’s doing is taking his readers and you and me back to their beginning in the faith.

His first stop was in Pisidian Antioch, that’s Antioch of Pisidia, which is in east central Turkey today. Because of the dynasty of the Antiochus clan, the period of time between the testaments, the Antiochus clan ruled that part of the country. There are fourteen Antiochs now, because they didn’t want to be forgotten. They succeeded. This is just one of them. In Acts 13, the apostle has come to them, shared the gospel with them, and look what happens in verse 42.

Acts 13
⁴² As Paul and Barnabas were going out, the people kept begging that these things might be spoken to them the next Sabbath.

⁴³ Now when the meeting of the synagogue had broken up, many of the Jews and of the God-fearing proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas, who, speaking to them, were urging them to continue in the grace of God.

Didn’t we have great beginnings? Paul says in Galatians 4 “I beg you, brethren, become as I am. I’ve been where you are, now you come where I am.” What is he saying? Paul knew clearly where he had been. He is the Pharisee; he’s introduced to us in Scripture as that young Pharisee standing guard over the garments of those who were stoning Stephen. The Bible says he was in hearty agreement with putting Stephen to death.

Paul was one absolutely immersed in the law of God and totally trusting in his good works and his good performance to get himself right with God. He said those people who are sneaking in among you Galatians; they’re trying to make you like I was. Don’t let them. I’ve been there. Come out from that. Be as I am now, I’m as an apostle, and I’ve gone to you. I’ve broken free from that by the grace of God. Don’t you go back there. Join me where I am. Paul is saying don’t you remember the good news? It’s good news about freedom and life in Jesus Christ. It’s not bad news or oppressing news about “Hey, did you know there are more rules to keep?”

Back in Acts 13, this is just part of Paul’s sermon to these folks when he first met them. He’s preaching to them in verse 32:

³² And we preach to you the good news of the promise made to the fathers.

It’s good news! God has kept his promise to the fathers and the blessing that He promised He would send through Abraham many years ago is now yours! The blessing of life, of fellowship with God. It’s good news, folks.

³⁸ Therefore, let it be known to you, brethren, (Gentile brethren, Jewish brethren, whomever you are), that through Him forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you.
³⁹ and through Him everyone who believes is freed from all things, from which you could not be freed through the Law of Moses.

That’s good news! Don’t go back under that law. You’ve been freed from it. Why would you go back?

It seems as if when Paul came to Pisidian Antioch, which is in the high country, he had some sort of physical malady. There’s a suspicion it was some sort of an ophthalmologic problem, his eyes or something, and due to viruses which are common in the lower, more humid areas, he went high up to recover from them. When he showed up at Pisidian Antioch, even though he wasn’t looking good and wasn’t feeling well, he said, “You received me so well when I brought to you that good news.”

In Galatians he says it was because of a bodily illness I preached the gospel to you the first time. Though it was a trial, I wasn’t that easy to have around, but he said, “You didn’t reject me, you didn’t despise me. You received me as a messenger from God. What happened? Where is that sense of blessing you had? Literally it says, “where then is your blessing?”

When you welcome one in the name of Jesus you get a blessing, or a favor, from God. Where did that go? Do you just want to surrender it and turn your back on it?

Acts 14
¹ In Iconium they entered the synagogue of the Jews together, and spoke in such a manner that a large number of people believed, both of Jews and of Greeks.

They traveled in Lystra and here were used by God to perform a healing and here it is that the people say, “These are Zeus and Hermes. Welcome to our community. Let’s sacrifice a bull for you,” and with great difficulty they restrained them from  sacrificing. They loved his message, but the Jews came along and it says in verse 19:

¹⁹ But Jews came from Antioch and Iconium, and having won over the crowds, they stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, supposing him to be dead.  

But those believers there were with him and helped him. He was back on his feet and he moved on to Derbe where he preached the gospel successfully again. He’s saying, “What happened to all that? We had victory. We had success. You understood freedom. Glorious beginnings in the faith. Our lives were intertwined with one another’s joys and trials. Where did your blessing go? Where are your roots?”

Have we forgotten ours from time to time? Do you remember the circumstances under which you came to Christ? I do, and they weren’t good and I don’t want to go back. The people who shared the gospel with us, the setting in which it was shared, the trust that we had because now we’re standing in spiritual freedom and newness of life. There’s that sense that comes with the advent of the Spirit that reminds us of who we are and more importantly, whose we are and it’s a great thing. Where did that go? That joy of lost people who are bound by grace, that mutual ministry of one beggar telling another where to find bread and both of them being filled by the hand of another. What happened to that?

Is Amazing Grace just a familiar hymn or does it still mean something? A lot of problems would dissipate if we would just keep in mind our pure, simple roots in the gospel. “I once was lost but now am found; was blind but now I see.” We have God’s grace to credit for that. Remember our roots. Remember when all we needed was Him and we knew it. It seems sometimes as the Christian life progresses, we make it more complex. We tend to major on pet things and minor on others and look at others who are different than we are and think how advanced we are"  Forget that.  Go back to the roots. Just Jesus. His death on the cross. Go back there frequently.

2. Remember who our friends are (4:16-17)

¹⁶ So have I become your enemy by telling you the truth?
¹⁷ They eagerly seek you, not commendably, but they wish to shut you out so that you will seek them.

Verses 16 and 17 are very interesting verses. He says the way things have come about to the Galatians, they’ve let people in among them who are teaching them that the grace of God isn’t quite enough and to that grace, or in some cases, instead of that grace, they need to be behaving a certain way. They need to be watching the seasons, the feast days, keeping the festivals. They need to be more Jewish in this case, keeping those rules and thereby making themselves, if not right with God, at least a little “righter.”

Paul is saying, “No. Salvation is by grace plus faith plus nothing.” That’s the truth of the gospel and he’s asking them now that you’ve heard this “other,” now that you are registering mistrust in the simple truth I’ve brought you, that you received initially, am I now your enemy? Have I become your enemy because I’ve spoken the truth to you? Was it true then? Is it not true now? “Where are we?” he’s asks these Galatians. He then uses interesting language in verse 17 and makes reference -- he doesn’t address them directly, but he will to these people who have come in and said the simple gospel isn’t good enough. You need more. He said their zeal is for you, that’s the word. They are zealous for you. They want you. He says their wanting you isn’t good because I know why they want you. I know why they’re trying to solicit your allegiance, your companionship. They actually desire to close you out so that you might envy them.

He says this whole thing is actually turned around from what it appears to be. They’re zealous for you. They want you so that once they’ve got you they will have you envying them. Isn’t that just cultist?

Isn’t it interesting how it works? Paul gives them the truth. The other teachers were not so transparent. Their agenda was their own, not God’s and therefore it was not pure. They’re offering these Galatians access to a special fraternity, a special religious group if you will. “Why we’re not just your meat and potatoes Christians. We have more. Our bunch is enhanced. We are actually better that the rest. If you will do like we tell you to and if you will come with us, then you’ll be in our group too.”

What’s really happening here? This special group is characterized by envy and control, not by honesty and freedom. They’ve established themselves there. This is how it works in principal. People whose faith is performance based, how good a Christian can you be, how well can you keep those rules -- want to be noticed and enjoy being envied. Remember what Jesus said about the Pharisees. They represent performance-based religion better than any other group in Scripture, and how it was that they loved to be recognized as the ones with special seats at the banquets, wearing their long robes, hoping to be noticed.

But Jesus accused them, “When you make one convert and you hold them at arm’s length so that they will continue to envy you. It’s an unhealthy and unholy allegiance and that’s precisely what these teachers are doing. Once we get you to come with us, you will really see how wonderful we are. That envy will continue, indeed it will grow. People whose faith is performance based want to be noticed and enjoy being envied like spiritual trophies. These are the provinces not of the pure faith in Jesus, but of the cults. The wrong-headed, the insecure. Not the gospel.

Paul had told them the truth. Christ had reduced him to that. He was among the number. His performance was way beyond those of his peers he tells us in Galatians. If ever there was a religious person who had merit, it was Paul. He said, “I trusted in my performance, I trusted in my keeping the rules. I was my own guy and I had the envy of many others. Jesus met me on the road to Damascus and knocked the stuffing out of me.” I know now that all that I considered to be so wonderful, now I consider it the dung in order that I may gain Christ. It means nothing to me any more. Don’t let it mean anything to you now. That’s what they’re trying to do -- suck you in to some sort of performance-based faith and you’ll be trapped there.

He told them the truth; he truly was their friend. God has graciously put truth tellers in our lives. We’re encouraged to speak the truth in love, to be sure. We’re encouraged to listen and trust. Truth tellers have no hidden agenda, only the Word of God and the glory of God. We need to remember who our friends are. Our friends are not the ones who point to themselves or to their way or to their guru. Our friends point us to the Savior, always, always to the Cross.

3. Remember we’re in process (4:18-20)

This is very refreshing. We remember our roots, we remember who our friends are, and these last few verses -- remember we are in process. Let’s keep first things first and remember that as far as the Bible is concerned, theologically, you and I don’t get good marks right out of the block. A quick reading out of Romans 5 will remind us the apostle’s assessment of humankind.

Romans 5
⁶ For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.
⁸ But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
¹⁰ For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.

We don’t get good marks. This business about everybody being basically good and God-friendly does not find its source in Scripture. There is One, Jesus said, who is good, even God. And until He hands that goodness out, everybody stays in pretty much the same boat.

We’re in process from that point. God comes into our lives by His Holy Spirit. He makes us alive. He makes us new. We put all our trust in Jesus only. We get new life. The Bible says old things are passed away, all things are become new. If anyone is in Christ, they are a new creature and that’s a wonderful thing. We’re a new creature with a mixed nature.

Now it’s for us, by the grace of God, to be transformed by the renewing of our minds. That’s what life amounts to in so many regards for a Christian person. Feeding the friendly wolf rather than the ravenous one that would kill us. Feeding the right nature, which is within us so that our minds are renewed. Over time, as God leads us into truth, as God leads us into circumstances, knocks rough edges off of us, hones and fits us and disciplines us and develops us, over time He changed us. We’re gradually made into the image of Christ despite what you see around you -- all kinds of nice, friendly, sacred-looking faces. Don’t be deceived. We are all in process and Paul understands that very well.

God brings His Word and His Spirit to bear on individual hearts regardless of background. “Just as I am, without one plea,” as the hymn goes. God meets you and me where we are. He met me as a 19-year old kid in the Navy with all kinds of screwy stuff going on. He grabs us, convicts us, quickens us and begins that changing work. He takes me as I am, but doesn’t leave me there, thankfully. We all come into this with different backgrounds, some from Christian homes, some from other types of homes, some earlier in life, some later in life, different birth order, different emotional baggage, different problems, different victories, different strengths and weaknesses and wiring and constitution. I am so fascinated by the kingdom of God; how it is that He can do that.

I remember hearing a fellow say once in frustration saying, “Why can’t everybody in the world be just like me!” That’s not how God does it. God has this most amazing ability of meeting us where we are and whoever we are and whatever we’ve done and beginning from there moving us all toward Christ-likeness. It’s wonderful! That’s what the Church is about. So why do we get surprised when they don’t act like me? You don’t want to act like me. We are all in process. It’s God’s process and Paul trusts it. We need to learn to trust it too. The process of the Holy Spirit working in our life, taking us from where we are and moving us forward a click at a time to being more like Jesus.

There’s a verse in I Corinthians that relates to what Paul is telling the Galatians, only this is the Corinthians. They were much worse -- in a different way.

1 Corinthians 4
¹⁴ I do not write these things to shame you, but to admonish you as my beloved children.
¹⁵ For if you were to have countless tutors in Christ, yet you would not have many fathers, for in Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel.
¹⁶ Therefore I exhort you, be imitators of me.
¹⁷ For this reason I have sent to you Timothy, who is my beloved and faithful child in the Lord, and he will remind you of my ways which are in Christ, just as I teach everywhere in every church.

What he’s saying is, “Look, I may have been the one who God used as an agent of your conversion, but you have other people tutoring you, other people whom you should trust schooling you and helping you to grow so that you become imitators of me as I imitate Christ. As a matter of fact, I’m even going to send Timothy. He’s proven out well in Ephesus; he’ll do fine for you in Corinth. Watch him.”

Paul, through this whole thing, as his underlying notion, “I know this is a process, and you need input from people who will tell you the truth and I’m sending you that. Hear them; trust them. Keep growing. Trust that process.

Philippians 1
⁶ For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.

Here’s an interesting final point. Notice verse 19. He says My children, with whom I am again in labor until Christ is formed in you-- .

I’m watching; I’m praying; I’m encouraging this changing process to occur in you. I can hardly wait, Galatians, because you’re on the brink of really messing things up! I’m trusting God’s process in you. Notice what he says in verse 20:

²⁰ but I could wish to be present with you now and to change my tone, for I am perplexed about you.

Isn’t that interesting? Galatians, it’s not just you. I’d love to be able to change my tone too. Paul is growing; they’re growing. And through it all could we please remember who the real hero of this is. Paul would say there is only one hero of the Bible; there is only one hero of our life experience whether it’s this life or the next.

Philippians 2
¹³ for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.