Paul’s
Pastoral Appeal
By Stephen
Terry
Sabbath
School Lesson Commentary for November 19 – 25, 2011
“I plead
with you, brothers and sisters, become like me, for I became like you…”
Galatians 4:12, NIV
When we read these words of Paul to the Galatians, our
first impression is one of audacity. We are all too familiar with what Romans
3:23 says about us, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”
NIV How then can anyone hold themselves
up as an example for others?
This doesn’t mean that people don’t try. Our televisions
are full of people doing just that. They portray a style of life that is
destructive and make it appear attractive and desirable. Yet, the other side of
the coin is there to see as well for those willing to view it. Rehab centers,
divorce courts, homeless shelters all tell the other side of the story for
those who pursued the lifestyle of others they felt were glamorous and found it
wanting. The simple truth according to Romans 3:23 is that everyone is on a
fast train to nowhere, and simply following the other passengers does not get
us off that train.
How then can Paul say “Become like me?” If we research
the clothing of his time and change what we wear, if we practice similar
grooming styles, if we eat what he ate, will this be enough? Is this even what
he is talking about? Some believe it is. Some feel that the more literally we
look like some religious mentor, the more we are on the right track. But this
becomes the “different gospel” that Paul warns about. (See Galatians 1:6)
Whether referring to circumcision as Paul said the Judaizers did or to other
works of obedience based on self-willed righteousness, these acts of obedience
are not the gospel of Jesus Christ. (See Galatians 2:11-15)
Why is this so? Simply put, no one can attain to
righteousness by their obedience. We do not live by our works. We live by
faith. “For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed—a righteousness
that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: ‘The righteous will
live by faith.’” Romans 1:17, NIV “From
first to last.” What does that leave out? Nothing. And that righteousness is
the righteousness of Jesus Christ. That
is why He is called the Alpha and the Omega. (See Revelation 1:8) He is the
beginning and end of righteousness. He is the beginning and end of our
salvation.
Does this leave room for any other way? No. Jesus
Himself put it this way: “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes
to the Father except through me.” John 14:6, NIV Notice He did not say “a” way. He said “the”
way. He left no possibility for other paths to life. This might seem to be arrogant
words if you or I were speaking them, but Jesus is God. That makes Him unique,
and it also makes the path to life that He offers unique. These are not
arrogant words from His mouth because by definition, He is well able to do what
He says. He is not speaking idle boasts but a concrete reality.
How does He accomplish this? The Bible says that first
He gives us repentance. (See Romans 2:4) He does this through His love for us.
He has expressed that love in many different ways. Some have found that the
love expressed directly to man through laws given by God through his servants
was the catalyst for repentance. Others come by other means. (See Romans 2:14)
But the real reason is they become aware of a disharmony between what is in
their heart and what God’s love communicates to them. They discover that the
beat of a human heart is not in harmony with the rhythm of the universe. That is
because mankind chose to follow a false god, Satan, into rebellion against the
rest of God’s universe. (See Genesis 3 and Revelation 12)
In order to try to maintain his control, Satan tells us
that God will destroy us for rebelling, that He will never take us back. He
paints such an ugly picture of a wrathful, vengeful Creator that many do not
want to come back to God. Jesus reveals a different story. His life reveals
that far from wishing to condemn us for our disobedience, God wants to give us
life and hope. The Apostle John put it this way: “For God so loved the world
that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish
but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn
the world, but to save the world through him.” John 3:16-17, NIV Clearly, God is not seeking to condemn us.
Instead, He offers us life. But that life is not based on any good thing that
we have done. It is based solely on His love and our faith in that love.
Satan wants us to continue to fight against God. He will
do anything to keep us in the fight. He will lie. He will promise to fulfill our
longings. He will offer us the world, just as he did for Jesus. (See Matthew
4:8-9) But if we cease fighting, if we surrender to God’s love we will find the
greatest peace and joy we have ever known. Satan wants us to fight the wrathful
being He has created. God wants us to flow with the ocean of His love. When we
feel that love, feel our disharmony with it, we will decide on our own to swim
with the current of love instead of against it.
This is why Paul said to “Become like me.” He “became
like us,” fighting against God. He sought to imprison and even consented to the
murder of God’s followers. (See Acts 7-9) He was a formidable warrior on the
side of Satan. Don’t get me wrong, he thought he was on the right side. He thought
he was actually fighting for God instead of against him. This is how effective
Satan’s lies can be in misleading us. It may be surprising that we can be
zealous on behalf of the church and yet be totally wrong in what we are doing. But
this was Paul’s situation. In the middle of his fight, God’s love washed over
him. God spoke directly to him and asked him why he was fighting against God?
Paul’s answer revealed that he had been so zealous for the church that he did
not even recognize God anymore.
According to Satan’s picture of God, Paul should have
been destroyed on the spot. But God’s love and compassion were revealed to Paul
instead, and that love drew Paul to a higher purpose, the purpose he was
created for. He was created to be God’s special witness to the Gentiles, those
who were not Jews. He could not fulfill that purpose until he was in harmony
with God. On the road to Damascus, Paul surrendered to that loving God. As he
continued to surrender more and more each day, God’s love was revealed more and
more in his life.
So it is with all whether they are those under the law
or those without it. (See Romans 2:14) A life that encounters God’s love and
surrenders to that love is never the same. Instead of being at odds with their
life purpose, they come more and more into harmony with it. That is because they
do not want to lose that feeling of peace and harmony by going in opposition to
God’s love.
To become like Paul is to step into that harmonious
current of love. Paul never intended to be a model of behavior but a model of
surrender. This was his day-to-day life. Paul found such joy with God that he
gladly put to death daily what he had been to become fully what God wanted.
(See 1 Corinthians 15:31) To become like Paul is to receive God’s love into our
hearts. This is the law of the Spirit (See Romans 8:2), and yet it is beyond
all law for this love is the fulfilling of the law and therefore is not
constrained by it. There is no law against love. Inasmuch as this love dwells
in us through the Spirit, law has no claim against us. “Love does no harm to a
neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.” Romans 13:10, NIV
Some fear that a life surrendered to God’s love and
relies solely on that love in faith is somehow in opposition to the law because
it is a life lived beyond the law’s condemnation. But that life that lives in
God’s love is a life not of the law’s destruction but of its fulfillment.
Does that mean that the one who has surrendered to Jesus
is now perfect? Yes and no. They are counted perfect, “beyond condemnation,” (See
Romans 8:1) in the imputed righteousness of Jesus, but they still dwell in the
flesh until Jesus returns. In their thoughts and their heart they begin to swim
in the stream of God’s love and their thoughts and their hearts flow in harmony
with that love. But in their bodies they cannot completely be in harmony with
God’s love until Jesus comes again. (See Romans 8:1-12 and 1 Corinthians
15:42-54)
This is what is meant when we understand that the
righteous shall live by faith - faith in that future event as well as faith in
God’s presence in us through His Spirit now. That is the faith I want to walk
by. How about you?
This Commentary is a Service of Still
Waters Ministry
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