I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you to live in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— which is really no gospel at all… – Galatians 1:6-7

Tuesday morning it was good for my heart to get back together with the men’s Bible study group. We may be a ministry of HMPC, but guys from several area churches attend.

We are currently reading Paul’s letter to the Galatians, having walked through the Old Testament together, then the Gospels, Acts, Romans and both epistles to the church in Corinth.

My goal has been for us to experience the complete arc of the biblical narrative, to get a sense of the history, to understand the geopolitical currents at play during Bible times and to be better equipped to personally interface with the scriptures in ways that offer wisdom and guidance and inspiration as we seek to follow Jesus today.

I am not so much a scholar teaching as a fellow-traveller and encourager. So far it’s been a really good experience.

Galatians:

Early Tuesday morning, having done some useful prep work over the weekend, I talked things over with God while out with Max retriever for his walk. I always ask for some kind of a nugget or insight to bring to the table, something that maybe helps to bring things together.

God never fails.

I found myself thinking about Sisyphus (from Greek mythology). He was the king of Corinth, condemned by the gods to push a giant rock up a hill, only to watch it roll back down, for all eternity. Suddenly the message of Galatians came into clear focus.

When I arrived at church I did a crude sketch on the whiteboard with just the one word – Sisyphus. We talked about the story then I asked what the rock might represent in our reading of Galatians 1?

Mosaic Law

The best answer was “The Mosaic Law.” But more than that it is the idea that we can never earn or work or argue or create or perform or build our own pathway or a manufactured system that puts things to right, or reverses a whole history of humankind’s rebellion and separation and rejection.

Then we talked about what might be at the top of the mountain, and of course it is the goal that is a renewed, restored, healed, reconciled relationship with Creator God.

Paul had clearly taught the Galatians that it is because of Jesus we are justified – by Christ alone – no rock-rolling necessary. But the message was consistently undermined by people insisting Gentiles first follow Mosaic Law in order to get access to Christ. Paul writes his letter to the church in Galatia in response to this confusion and wrong teaching.

“Know that a person is not justified by the works of the law,” Paul goes on to write, “but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law, because by the works of the law no one will be justified” (Galatians 2:16).

We also discussed the perverse appeal of rolling a boulder up a hill all by ourselves, of manufacturing a rock made up of legalism. Because then we are in control, it is up to us, and we can also exclude and condemn others based on their inability to roll such a boulder up an impossible incline.

But the gospel message is clear. The road home goes through Jesus. This is grace, this is God’s invitation, this is good news, this is God’s gift and our opportunity. – DEREK