Vision of Grace

Text: Galatians 6:1-18

I'm not sure if I mentioned when I gave my testimony here some time ago
about my faults. I may have, but I don't remember. Let me remind you of
one of the most important parts of my testimony – I am not perfect. I
know – big surprise, but it is true. During my college years I was
blessed to be involved with Inter-Varsity Christian Fellowship, which is
a wonderful ministry to young people. As I went through my years at
Norwich, struggling to grow deeper in my walk with Christ, I had a huge
stumble, this just before I was a senior and was supposed to be taking a
leading role in the fellowship on campus. During this difficult time in
my life while I was caught in a sin, I had three men who understood the
vision of grace.

Just before this conclusion Paul has announced to the Galatians that
they have freedom, and that they need to be careful in how they live it,
gently instructing them on how to know if they're living in the freedom
by what fruit they will produce. Now he's telling them about the
practical applications of this freedom, and reminding them to be mindful
of who they are ultimately responsible to. Just like any teacher, Paul
tells them, in essence, to keep watch – to pay attention to how they do
things. Paul is telling them to see through eyes of grace.

When I was reading this scripture I noticed that several times where
Paul says to watch, or test, to not be deceived, and about making
impressions. All of these things require vision of some form. Warren
Wiersbe, in Nelson's Quick Reference, breaks these "articles of vision"
into four different sections:

· See others humbly

· See yourself honestly

· See your leaders appreciatively

· See the Cross clearly

Let's look at these means of checking ourselves in how we are picking
the fruit of the spirit, enjoying its freedom and helping others to
continue to grow in it as well.

As we started today, I reminded you that I'm not perfect. I made a huge
mistake and was caught in sin. Three men, two older than me, and one my
age, were at that time I would say more spiritual than myself. Rev Wick
had often counseled me through the four years I was at Norwich out of
this very passage. "Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are
spiritual should restore him gently." I didn't quite grasp the fullness
of how that worked until after Ralph and Ryan put that into practice
with me. While doing some research for the message I found out that the
word for restore used in this passage was the Greek word "katartizete"^1
which is a form of katartizo^2 meaning to put back in joint or to mend.
When setting a joint or broken bone a doctor must be very careful and
gentle, for the slightest movement causes great pain and puts great
danger in that if not done right the bone will not heal properly. The
doctor also must be careful that in the process of healing the broken
bone, he or she does not hurt themselves. And in just that fashion my
friends helped to restore me.

What Paul is cautioning through this section is that we must see and
respond to others humbly. In several different commentaries, I noted how
each reflected that how we respond to the slips and falls of others
gives us a gauge to measure our own walk with Christ. Augustine wrote
"There is no surer test of the spiritual person than his treatment of
another's sin. Note how he takes care to deliver the sinner rather than
triumph over him, to help him rather than punish him and, so far as lies
in his capacity, to support him."^3

Of course there is more to it than just that. We all know that Proverbs
16:18 it says "Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit
before stumbling." We might not know that's where it's found, or we more
commonly recognize it as "Pride goes before the fall," but the message
is the same, and Paul applies it here as well – he counsels "But watch
yourself, or you also may be tempted." We need to help each other –
that's what we do as Christian brothers and sisters, for no one person
can truly carry their burden alone, especially as this is how we express
the command of Christ to love one another, as he loved us. Yet in doing
all this, we must remain humble and test ourselves against and with
God's standards, and not against anyone else. If we do not look and see
others, and ourselves with the humbleness of grace, we set ourselves up
to be tempted by the worst sin of all, pride.

This principle of seeing others humbly goes hand in hand with Wiersbe's
second breakout – seeing ourselves honestly. While we are so busy
judging ourselves by how we see others doing, we deceive ourselves as to
where we really are. I see this so often in myself as I look at how my
peers are doing. Some of the people I graduated from high school and
college have great paying jobs, or seem to have some power or influence
or great responsibility. I look at myself and what do I see? I see me,
just another person with great dreams but nothing to show for them. Paul
says this is nothing but self-decit, we need to test ourselves against
God's standard for us. Now, that can be a scary thing, especially since
we all know for the most part, we fall short of that standard. Yet Paul
gives us hope because God gives us grace in that He himself is helping
us to reach His goal for us, if we let him. In that way, when we see
ourselves honestly, we can take pride even in what we see, because we
know that God loves us even as we are now, and it is He who will make us
to His standard – if we let him.

"Anyone who receives instruction from the word must share all good
things with his instructor." It seems like Paul is completely changing
subjects here, but he's not. Matthew Henry, in his commentary says that
this part is about "Christians [being] exhorted to be free and liberal
in maintaining their ministers."^4 This is what Wiersbe is talking about
when he says to "see our leaders appreciatively." While we are all a
priesthood of believers, and as such are all in one form or another
ministers, there are those who are set apart to be teachers. Henry
states, I think with some humor that "if all were teachers, there would
be none to be taught." And this is true, as we grew up in school we had
those who instructed us about how to read and do our times tables. Some
explained why or how things worked. So it is in the family of believers.
We have mentors and those who help and bless us with understanding and
wisdom, and we in turn, as good students should do the same for them
that taught us. Nothing makes one feel quite as good as when we see
someone we're teaching get that "ah-ha" moment, or share with us how
something we helped them learn helped them in some way.

Jesus counsels us that we will know the false teachers from the good
ones by the fruit they bear - the fruit they bear is based on what
they've sown. So often we see teachers that claim to be good sowing
seeds that are flesh and sinful in nature, and so often we see the
disastrous results of these teachings. But when we encourage those who
teach in accordance with the Spirit and the truth He is, something
different happens. You see lives transformed into things of beauty. We
see a crop from that one seed of grain, which is one hundred fold, which
continues the cycle. That, I believe, is part of the reaping of eternal
life that Paul talks about in verses 8 and 9.

Verse 10 reminds us that while we of course, have a responsibility to
those outside of the family of believers – for without a doubt the
desire is to bring them into the family – we need to pay attention and
help those who are in the family just as much. I believe we would all be
hard pressed to say that we don't know someone who serves in some way
that is or has had a difficult time. When those in ministry have rough
times – and they come in so many ways, we must help in any way we can,
for if we don't the ministry suffers, and the possibility arises that
those who need it the most might not get what is needed.

Through all of his reminders of seeing things through grace Paul caps it
off with the reminder to keep our eyes and focus on that which provided
the grace in the first place. We must see the cross clearly. Paul, who
said he bore on his body the marks of Jesus knew what it meant to keep
the Cross at the center of His vision. Please, keep in mind Paul isn't
talking about the "stigmata" that some mystics say are the five wounds
of Christ. Paul is reminding his readers about the scars on his back
from numerous beatings and attempts on his life. If you need a refresher
on that, read through the book of Acts, starting at about the 8^th
chapter. Even Paul's own conversion story brings about an image of what
is important to see.

We see Paul, then known as Saul, on the road to Damascus, blinded by a
bright light; encountering Christ – possibly not for the first time in
person, for Paul was at least a young man by the time Christ had begun
preaching and teaching. Who knows, maybe Paul had been a distant witness
to Calvary, and so had seen Christ on the cross with his own eyes. In
that bright light a voice comes and asks "Why are you persecuting me?"
This is Saul we're talking about –a man who sought to kill those who
preached the cross of Christ, he knew full well what was at stake in
this. He lost his sight until he realized that the only thing worth
looking at was Christ and what he did for us.

Paul says "those who want to make a good impression outwardly are trying
to compel you to be circumcised. The only reason [for that] is to avoid
being persecuted for the cross of Christ." He goes on to say that those
who are circumcised don't even follow the law themselves. It goes back
to the whole concept we looked at earlier about seeing others humbly and
seeing yourself honestly. This group wanted to boast in the flesh, but
when we compare ourselves to the standard of God, we find it lacking and
nothing to write home about, except to say what utter failures we are.
But here again, Paul reminds us our hope, "May I never boast except in
the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been
crucified to me, and I to the world." The hope we have is that our
standard is not set any lower, but we are made higher solely in the
grace of God through the cross. It's not about circumcision or
un-circumcision – it's about the new creation that is made through the
blood of Christ on the cross.

We will always here about those who call us to follow the law (now I'm
talking about the Law of Moses here, not our civil laws). The whole
concept of legalism is dead – the law, as Paul writes in Romans was
written that sin might increase, so that in turn grace might increase as
well. It does not give us the right of ability to sin, but it does allow
us to be restored. Christ also said that not a jot or stroke of the law
would pass away until the new age. I firmly believe that because we
become new creations in Christ we are now judged by a different, but
even higher standard than the Law of Moses. "My command is this: Love
each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that
he lay down his life for his friends." (John 15:12-13)

Christ himself modeled the manner of living the freedom we have in him.
He saw others humbly – look at how he restored Peter after being
disowned three times. He saw himself honestly – "For even the Son of Man
did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a
ransom for many." (Mark 10:45) He saw his leaders appreciatively – he
always gave honor to his father, for though He was one with his father,
he shared everything he learned and received with the Father. And He
never once wavered from the sight of the cross, which was his mission.

What will we take from this? Only that by grace we are saved and are
given a freedom of life, but that we must maintain the fruit of that
freedom by viewing others and ourselves with that same grace which we
received. If you haven't yet experienced that grace, come be made new by
the cross of Christ. We all are sinners and have been restored – have
been put back in joint – by grace. Is there a part of you that needs
that restoration? Someone will surely come alongside you and share with
you of the grace they have received, so that in time you too can pass
that grace on to another. Have you been falling prey to the sin of
pride, judging yourself to be good simply by looking at the weakness of
another? Remember your ruler – and your measuring standard – is not your
fellow man, but the Creator himself. Please, do not hesitate to submit
to look through his lens at yourself. More often than not you will be
surprised at how He sees you and what he wants you to see about
yourself. You must be willing, however, to submit, for even in His work
with you he will follow in His own counsel. Will you submit to how he
asks you to sow your resources, that you might have sown things looking
toward eternity?

Let us never forget to always keep the cross in the center of our view,
for it reminds us of the three other sets of vision we must keep, and
the way in which we can and must keep them. He who chose the cross not
only spoke to teach, but lived as an example. Let us always be reminded
to see the cross clearly, so that we do not lose sight of our model and
of our ultimate goal.

Blessings

(P.S. My references are in the comment...)