What’s a Galatian? Someone from Galatia, which was an area in the highlands of Anatolia, and Anatolia, is now the territory of modern Turkey. It’s also important to note that the ancient Galatians were a Gentile community; that is when the people of Galatia embraced the Gospel, they didn’t bring the experience of practicing Jews with them. They embraced the God of the Old Testament from a different vantage point; starting from scratch so to speak. And because it was so revolutionary, the Lord had to insist on Gentile conversion through miraculous encounters with the leaders of the early Church. Both Peter and Paul were confronted in such a manner. It’s also the case that when the apostles inaugurated this ministry to non-Jews, they had to determine how much Judaism needed to be retained and imposed on these Gentile converts. It was a tedious process that prompted much discussion within the early Christian community. Ultimately it was determined that the Gentiles shouldn’t be burdened with the stringent protocols that were derived from the practice of Judaism. This included curtailing the practice of circumcision among other things. However the influence of Judaism continued to impact the early church and dissension arose due to competing views regarding Gentile participation.

A case in point is the development of the Galatian church and the concerns that were brought to a head after Paul confronted Peter on the subject. Peter knew that the Gentiles had been included in the Lord’s provision for salvation through the Christ. Yet, when it came down to his actual interaction with Gentiles he vacillated, holding himself aloof from the Gentiles in the presence of other Jews. And Paul called him out due to this inconsistency.  But the apostle went further than that, providing a thoroughgoing analysis of the issue. Arguing in detail what it takes to be saved, and what kind of life should result from that encounter with God. The core of the argument gave focus to how Christians should conduct themselves once they’ve encountered the Lord. The Galatians had become believers, but how were they supposed to live out their lives? “Judaizers” were telling them to get circumcised, to follow the Jewish religious calendar, among other things. And Paul took serious issue with this. To Paul this was important; not because you couldn’t be a Christian and still do those things. It was important because it signified that the impact of the Gospel had not been fully understood.

What Jesus did on the cross—along with His subsequent resurrection—opened up an opportunity for reconciliation with the Lord that could only be approximated by the previous Jewish practices. Christians—Jewish and Gentile—now had the opportunity to know the Lord, and to experience His presence without engaging the religious procedures of the Old Testament. The ultimate sacrifice had been made for our sins, allowing us to receive the indwelling Holy Spirit. And in collaboration with the Spirit we were given the opportunity to actually fellowship with God in an intimate and life-changing way. Hallelujah! But what the Judaizers were suggesting was that features of Judaism needed to be retained in order to insure favor with God.

Paul’s response to that did not deny our need to obey the Lord in all respects. As believers we’re expected to lead a life that reflects the holiness of God. And it’s the case that we often fall short of doing that. However, the means of fulfilling the Lord’s mandate is not to believe in Jesus AND to maintain a protocol of religious practices. That’s what the Galatians were being prompted to do. They believed in Jesus but they also continued practicing features of Judaism. And from Paul’s point of view that indicated that they didn’t know the Lord very well; they didn’t really understand the provision of the Gospel. And because of this they were prompted to engage in certain additional practices in order maintain their standing before the Lord. Circumcision and adherence to the Jewish religious calendar were to be maintained in order to bridge the gap between the people and their God. (Galatians 4:8-11; 5:2-12)

Paul didn’t deny the need for discipline. The life of a Christian does require an ordering of our lives. There needs to be an effort to address the shortcomings reflected in everyone’s behavior. But instead of trying to regulate or make restitution for our limitations and failures through an engagement in religious protocols, Paul exhorts us to strive for perfection—meaning maturity. And maturity involves becoming like Jesus; and how do we do that? Paul tells us when he stated:

But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law. (Gal 5:16-18)

What this points to is a relationship with God not an effort to appease the Lord through a regimen. But in the absence of actually knowing the Lord and having fellowship with Him, all we’re left with are protocols and religious habits. Isn’t that what many churches promote?

Now if you’re an evangelical you might be thinking that your church doesn’t rely on liturgy and protocol in order to promote the faith. Instead of focusing on religious practice, your church focuses on the preached Word, Bible study and participation in the various activities of your fellowship. Those are all good; however they can become religious practices that are as lifeless as the liturgy of the big denominational church downtown. That seems to be a possibility for us all. In our walk with God we look for a comfort zone of familiarity where regimen, habit and routine help secure our circumstances. We know what’s coming; what to expect; what’s expected of us. Then we cordon off our lives so that what we do with the rest of our time is our own affair. We’re not using our time to engage in sinful activity—hopefully—but that doesn’t mean were not wasting our time, using it in ways that have nothing to do with our walk with the Lord. And the factor that determines whether time is being wasted is not necessarily what activities we engage; it’s the posture we take when we engage them. Everybody has their own ideas regarding what amounts to a waste of time. The young and the old, men and women, all groups of various kinds have different views about how to use their time. And the thought for the Christian can be: if it’s not sinful then we’re good to go!

There’s two points that need to be made here. First, engaging in a ritual—even one that involves actions that are necessary for our well- being—do not necessarily get you where you need to go. The Bible doesn’t say that if you read your Bible, say your prayers, and assemble with others, you will remain in God’s good graces. That’s the approach the Galatians were taking. They were retaining some of the features of Judaism while, at the same time, affirming the impact of Christ on the cross. Paul took issue with that because He knew something that the Galatians didn’t appreciate. The cross and the indwelling Holy Spirit had provided a way to know the Lord that Old Testament believers couldn’t fathom. To walk by the Spirit, to know God—basking in His sonship, to be able to commune with the Lord and be made whole in the process; now that’s living; that’s what we really need!

The second point is to consider how walking by the Spirit should inform our lives outside the Church and the practice of our personal religious habits. Actions that don’t contribute directly to our spiritual well-being may be a necessary means for maintaining our posture before the Lord. Sometimes we have to step away from what we’re doing, even if what we’re doing is essential for our spiritual well-being. I remember hearing a well-known Pastor years ago advising a woman who was so zealous that she said she never read anything but the Bible. He responded by telling her that it might do her good to read the Reader’s Digest once in a while. His point was to indicate the need for balance in our lives. On the other hand it’s easy for us to fill up our time with all manner of activities that don’t contribute directly to our spiritual well-being. We’re living in a very distracting environment these days. Our attention can be gobbled up continuously. Media is pervasive and it offers a plethora of options for our distraction. Many of those distractions aren’t evil in themselves but they still need to be evaluated. Going with the flow—even the flow that’s considered acceptable within the church—needs to be appraised.

What I’m saying is that we need to watch what we’re doing. We need to assess how we use our time and recognize that the Lord wants to be involved in it all. Going to Church, having personal devotions, going to school, working for a living, doing errands, engaging in leisure activities; all that pertains to our lives needs to be submitted to God’s oversight. How we choose our activities involves determining their necessity, their appropriateness and their benefit. I think we resist doing this; after all we’re independent American citizens. We’re allowed to live our lives as we see fit. The world’s expression of such personal freedom can be grotesque. But Christians who resist evil activities based on their faithfulness to the Lord, still need to submit the use of their time to God’s oversight. He wants to be part of everything we do.

Paul points out to us that walking by the Spirit frees us of our need to engage in a regime of protocols. It’s not just a matter of making the old actions irrelevant because of what Jesus did on the cross; it has to do with opening up a new and vastly superior way of knowing and going with God. We can know the Lord intimately, and we can conduct our lives in concert with the Father. But in order to do that we need to put on His yoke, let Him inform everything we do, submit ourselves to Him. (Matthew 11:29-30) Such a relationship may sound stifling, but what I’ve found is that the Lord isn’t interested in stifling us; He wants to fulfill us. And when we’re yoked up with Him He carries most of the load. It makes sense since apart from Him we’re incomplete, estranged from the source of our existence. With Him, our time becomes useful and integrated into His purposes. We don’t lose our identity in the process; we actually become the full person that we’re capable of being. And all of this has come about through the cross and the indwelling Holy Spirit. Becoming mature Christians does involve the disciplines of Bible study, prayer and church involvement, but the focus of those efforts should be to know the Lord and participate with Him in all the affairs of life.