Children of God and the Myth of the Competent Christian

For the last couple of weeks we have been continuing our series at church on Grace in Galatia. Two weeks ago we looked at Galatians 3:23-4:7 and what God really expects from us. One of the problems that Paul has raised is why did God give the Law in the first place if it is as bad as he seems to think? The fact is that Paul did not see the Law as evil. The Law played the role of the pedagogue to God's people in their early days. In ancient days, even an heir to a great estate, when a child, would be under the guardianship of a pedagogue (usually a slave) who would keep the child on the right path and provide discipline when needed. When the child came of age, they no longer were under the control of the pedagogue. According to Paul, we came of age at the coming of Jesus and we are now co-heirs with Christ and because of that maturity it is no longer appropriate to be under the Law. The wonder of this is that God considers us his children. We are not good employees, we are beloved children.

Last week we looked at what an ideal Christian looks like from Galatians 4:8-20. We think of a competent Christian as someone who is physically healthy and strong, emotionally balanced, intellectually brilliant, naturally talented and spiritually powerful. Someone like Paul. The fact is that picture of a competent Christian is only a myth. Even Paul did not fit that stereotype. We do find that Paul is a model for us follow and that standard is achievable.

1. Paul became like the people he was interested in before he ever asked them to be like him.

2. Paul was physically weak and ill. People responded to him because he let God's strength shine through his weakness.

3. Paul deeply cared about what happened to the Galatians' faith. He was passionate about his friends in the literal way of suffering when he saw bad things happening.

These three principles are a good model for people to live the Christian life. For the next couple of weeks, the audio for these sermons can be found at www.meafordbaptist.ca and www.stephenjbedard.com.