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Galloping Through Galatians - Part 2/6
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Galloping Through Galatians Introduction
Speaker 1Alright , we are on lesson number three out of seven . Normally I would have eight or nine if it was a five Sunday . Five Sunday , a couple of months , but it's only regular months . And then we have a week of , I don't know if it's Mission Sunday and so I won't be teaching then . So , anyway , seven weeks . This is week number three and we are galloping through Galatians . Galloping through Galatians .
Speaker 1I was talking to Tacey earlier and she was saying do you actually gallop when you come into your class ? No , I mean , come on , pull a muscle or something I could do . Limping through Leviticus , that might be more appropriate , right . Crutching through Chronicles , I suppose Something Alright . Crutching through Chronicles , I suppose something All right .
Speaker 1Get Busy Living or Get Busy Dying . You guys seen the Shawshank Redemption before Pretty good movie , eight or nine times . Well then , randy , you can teach class . For me . It's one of those movies . If it's on , I'm probably going to watch it , depending on if I pick it up halfway through . I want to see where we are and whether there's any good scenes coming .
Speaker 1Just before he broke out of prison , andy Dufresne , on the left there , played by Tim Robbins , is talking with Red , his best friend there in prison and he'd been wrongly convicted . But he told him he either got to get busy living or get busy dying . And he intends to get busy living . So in 1966 , andy Dufresne broke out of Shawshank Prison . Remember that which was filmed ? Do you remember that was filmed ? The old Ohio State Penitentiary up in Mansfield you can take a tour . So go up there and take a tour of the prison , unless you don't want to be in prison , in which case don't take the tour .
Speaker 1All right , now let's go through a couple of galloping songs here real quick . See if you have heard of these before . Gene Watson you guys know who Gene Watson is . Okay , gene Watson , one of the best musicians of all time . He had a song called Chesapeake Bay , bay being a type of horse , very good song .
Speaker 1I tried to look up different racing songs , galloping , so there aren't very many , but this one Race is On by George Jones . You guys know that one . Okay , yes , says the country music , loving minister in the back . What's that ? The movie Burt Reynolds . The movie Burt Reynolds . You have to be a little more specific than that . Well , a race song . He was racing across the country . Oh , smokey and the Bandit . Smokey and the Bandit , that's a good galloping . Oh , eastbound and Down , eastbound and Down , there you go . Okay , that's more of a vehicle than a . If he had to go out with the Colorado on a horse , it was going to take a lot longer to get his Coors beer than it would to get his Coors beer than it would . Then he wouldn't be able to haul very much .
Speaker 1And then this one , my old Kentucky home , that's coming up first Saturday in May the Kentucky Derby . You guys ever been ? Who's been to the Kentucky Derby here ? Anybody ? Yes , mr Launder , you've been there . Did Sheila go with you ? No , you didn't . You didn't wear one of those big hats . No , that was before your time . Okay , we won't ask what you did in the infield , randy . Good , I don't have a bucket list , but this is one of the things I would like to do go to the Kentucky Derby . You ever been to Churchill Downs ? We've been to Churchill Downs , took the tour and all that . That is really cool , really something to see . And the University of Louisville band plays my old Kentucky home when it's post-time , which is really cool . All right , enough of that , let's move on .
Paul's Confrontation with Peter in Antioch
Speaker 1So we are in Galatians , chapter 2 . And what have we seen so far in Galatians ? What did we study last week ? Do you recall what did Paul do ? He talked about going to Jerusalem . And what was he there for ? Sightseeing ? See the Jerusalem Derby . See the Jerusalem Derby . Okay , so he went to Jerusalem to talk to some of the pillars of the church there and make sure that the gospel he was preaching to who the Gentiles , was in fact proper . They didn't have any objections to it . And did they have any objections to what he was preaching ? No , they said everything was good . They approved . That's kind of where we left off last week .
Speaker 1And the one thing I think Rob mentioned this last week that the one thing that the apostles there did want him to do was to remember who the poor . Remember the poor , I think , meaning the poor in Jerusalem , the poor in Judea , those who were suffering in that part of the world . And he does that . As we see later , he takes up a collection for the widows in Jerusalem and brings it back . So he did remember the poor . All right . So now he did all that and what he's going to talk about here . He does all this to kind of .
Speaker 1We talked about what a curriculum vitae is your life story , your resume . He's setting this up for the Galatians to say listen , I am an apostle , just like these other guys are . What I've been telling you was approved by them and , in fact , when somebody doesn't live up to the gospel that I've been preaching to you , I'm not unwilling to confront them about it . So he again , he embarks on a journey here to tell them listen , I even talked to the apostles about some of the stuff one of the apostles that he was doing , that he shouldn't have been doing , and if I can do that with him , I'm going to do it with you too . So here's what he says . This is chapter 2 , verses 11 through 14 .
Speaker 1When Cephas came to Antioch , however , I opposed him to his face because he stood to be condemned , For before certain men came from James . He used to eat with the Gentiles , but when they arrived , he began to draw back , and we learned last week about circumcision . Doug , are you up to it ? No , okay , all right , if you don't know what that is , ask Tommy or one of the other . Those are the circumcision group . The others joined him in this hypocrisy so that by their hypocrisy , even barnabas was led astray . Now , who was barnabas ? You guys wake . Maybe we need to do calisthenics . Paul's helper , the one who went with him on his missionary journey his first missionary journey right , very close friends . But even he gets led astray by this .
Speaker 1Now we'll talk about this in a minute , about what's going on here . Where is Antioch ? He said when they came , when Cephas now who is Cephas ? Peter , okay , when Peter came to Antioch , where is Antioch South of Woodsfield ? Well , maybe we should be more specific about which Antioch we're talking about . You know , there's one in every crowd and in this crowd there's more than one . So I've got to keep my eyes on all you people .
Speaker 1Antioch is in modern-day Turkey . Now , at that time they would have considered it as part of Syria . I don't have my pointer here and it wouldn't do me any good even if I did . You can see this little inset here . That is where Antakia , which is the current name of the town , that's where it is Now . Paul's home in Tarsus is not far from there . See , if I can stretch , I had to do weed eating this week for the first time , so I'm like out of shape , you know . So I would tell you it's because of lifting weights , no , lifting the weed eater . So you got Antioch here in the far right corner , far right lower corner and Tarsus is up here in the top middle . So they're not very far apart . Antioch and Tarsus , who was from Tarsus ? Paul or Saul before his name was changed ? Okay , so they're not very far away . And Peter comes to Antioch .
Speaker 1Now Antioch was probably other than Jerusalem , was the major center of Christian activity at that time . Jerusalem is like Nashville is to us , right . Oh , he's from a church in Nashville . Okay , so they would say he's from the church in Jerusalem . Antioch was second only to Jerusalem . It was a very important place , very important place , and apparently , from what we can read , the Jews and Gentiles in the Antioch church got along relatively well . They got along relatively well . Now , jews and Gentiles didn't always get along very well , but apparently they did in Antioch . You can at least infer that from that reading .
Speaker 1Now he says that Peter used to eat with the Gentiles , implying what ?
Peter's Hypocrisy with Gentile Believers
Speaker 1Okay , he doesn't anymore . That's the most obvious . That's the most obvious . That's the most obvious . That's the easy answer . That's the slow pitch softball answer . Okay , let's speed it up a little bit . He was in fellowship with them . Okay , they believe the same thing .
Speaker 1What are they eating ? Arby's , I'm thinking Arby's . Hardee's I love Hardee's , mrs Frame not so much I like White Castle . I like White Castle . I like Crystal . Mrs Frame not at all . I like Skyline Chili too . I love Skyline Chili . Mrs Frame hates Skyline Chili .
Speaker 1Anyways , we should have talked about this before we got married . What is he eating , do you think , based on what we read , what do you think ? He's eating ? Gentile food ? Right , exactly , bev , he's eating Gentile food . That means food that does not conform to the Jewish kosher law . Yeah , we would call it kosher law . There were certain things that Jews were allowed to eat , certain things they were not allowed to eat , and very strict dietary laws . Very strict dietary laws , but Peter's eating with the Gentiles and not objecting to the food that they're eating and apparently eating with them .
Speaker 1Now , in our time even I guess even today to a degree , but certainly at that time , if you're eating with someone , what does that imply ? That you accept each other , right , your friend , there's hospitality there . There's I think the word was fellowship there . Now it says there were certain Jews who came from James Now , we talked about this earlier too . Which James is this ? Is this James the brother of John ? No , can't be him , he's dead . James the brother of Jesus ? This is one of the people that Paul met with when he went to Jerusalem . As we saw previously , certain Jews came from James . Now , that raises a lot of interesting questions that I don't have any answers for . Why did these people come from James to Antioch ? Hmm , they traveled together , but why to go to Antioch ? That's a long way . Jerusalem was not even on the map I showed you there . That's a long journey .
Speaker 1Why did these people show up ? You ever ask yourself that From the circumcision group . What does that imply ? What does that tell you these people are there to do ? To spy them out ? Let's see what they're doing . Are they circumcising the Gentiles or not ? I think we talked about this before . For the Jews , this is a big issue Because circumcision was the sign that you are part of Abraham's covenant , you are part of the group that God loves and cares about and made his promise to . They're there looking to see what's going on . And that raises some interesting questions about James also , for which , again , I don't have any great answers . I don't know , I don't know , raises a lot of questions I don't have answers for .
Speaker 1So they show up , and when they show up , what does Peter do ? It says right on the screen , draws back and separates himself . Now again , this is the English Standard Version . I'm reading from and Paul says that's hypocrisy . You're a hypocrite , peter , and I opposed him to his face . You're a hypocrite . It's that one spot , and if I stand there it'll ring .
Speaker 1What's hypocritical about Peter doing that ? Why would he do it ? Why would he eat with these Gentiles and eat whatever they're eating until these guys from Jerusalem show up ? Do you think there might have been a little bit of ? These people need to see my example . And then , when these fellow followers come , that he considers them above these other people . I don't want to be associated with them . I'll be around them . They need me above these other people . I don't want to be associated with them . I'll be around them . They need me . However , if they're also brothers in Christ , his attitude was how much they need him . They need to get it right . Okay .
Speaker 1So if these guys hadn't shown up , the circumcision group hadn't shown up , do you think Peter would have kept eating with the Gentiles ? Seems to be unanimous . It's almost like voting , you know . It's like 20% of the people show up to vote and then the other 80% complain about who got elected , right ? So those of you who said yes , I'm going with your answer . If you disagree and didn't say anything , that's tough , like it or lump it .
Speaker 1It was hypocritical . It's okay for me to eat with these guys and eat the stuff that they eat until these other guys show up , and then I'm not going to do it anymore . Because what do we know about Peter ? What can he tend to be , if afraid , right , he can flip-flop . I'm afraid of these guys . I think that's what this really means . I'm afraid of these guys and I'm afraid what they'll report back to James .
Speaker 1Remember , peter is a pillar of the church in Jerusalem . Oh my , will they say things about me that are bad ? Will they maybe punish me in some way ? So I'm going to stay away from these Gentiles while these guys are here . And Paul says no , no , and he says he called him out in front of everybody . So what was the effect of Peter's decision to draw back from these Gentile believers and not eat with them anymore ? What was the effect on the other Jewish Christians in Antioch ? They did the same thing , right , they did exactly the same thing .
Speaker 1And Paul says no , this is not right . He says that they were not walking in line with the truth of the gospel . I'm going to go back and get that in context . That's my old Kentucky home . Okay , I don't even see it in there . Maybe I missed it . Did I not put it up there ? Let me see . Hold on one second . Huh , yeah , there's that , but that's not what I was looking for . I don't think I put it up there . Verse 14 says I missed it . Verse 14 says but when I saw that their conduct was not in step with the truth of the gospel , I said to Cephas , before them all If you , though a Jew , live like a Gentile and not like a Jew , how can you force the Gentiles to live like Jews ? That's what I was going for . He says they were not walking in line with the truth of the gospel . Now , we went through this the first time we had this class . We went through it the second time we had this class .
Speaker 1What was the truth of the gospel ? What was the gospel that he preached to the Gentiles , which was approved by the church in Jerusalem , including James ? What was the truth ? What was the good news ? What was the truth ? What was the good news ? What was the gospel ? Do you remember ? We went through this . It was two parts . Jesus Christ fulfilled the prophecies about the Messiah in the Old Testament , and salvation comes through faith in Jesus Christ and nothing else . Through the grace and mercy of God . That's it . That's the gospel he preached .
Speaker 1Now he says they were not walking in line with the truth of the gospel . What are these guys who came from James , what are they trying to do to the gospel ? Add to it ? What are they adding to it ? You got to be circumcised to be a Christian . You think you're saved , but you're not . I'm sorry . You might have good intentions , you might believe in Jesus , but there's more you got to do . Let's see , let's see . Oh yeah , yeah , yeah .
Speaker 1Peter has his vision before he went to Cordelius that he said hey , god has accepted the Gentiles , because God in his vision said kill and eat . He said , no , I don't eat any unclean thing . And he said don't call unclean , but I've called clean . That's what you're talking about . Right , he's been through all that before .
Speaker 1Does knowing what's right ? This raises an interesting question . Does knowing what's right ? Oh my goodness , oh my goodness . This raises an interesting question .
Speaker 1Does knowing what is right and what is true make you do what is right and what is true ? No , it's one thing to know . It's another thing to actually live it . We live that every day , don't we ? I know what I'm supposed to do , but I don't do it . Is Peter any different ? No , he knows this , but because he is human , because he's Peter , he's he's willing to compromise a little . He's willing to compromise a little . He's willing to cut corners here and there , he's willing
The Danger of Religious Appearance
Speaker 1to . Okay , I'll go along with you . Do we have to know what the truth is ? Yes , but just because we know something doesn't mean that we do it Right . And he's no different . So he was not walking in line with it . He was adding something to the gospel . You have to do this in order to obtain salvation . Paul says no , absolutely not . That's not the gospel that I preach and that's not the gospel that the folks in Jerusalem agreed with .
Speaker 1If you , who live like a Jew , if you , who are a Jew , live like a Gentile and not like a Jew , how can you compel the Gentiles to live like Jews ? That's where I was headed . So what's the answer to the question ? What's the answer to that question ? Well , it's a rhetorical question . Obviously , he doesn't expect an answer , because there is no answer . He just wants him to think about this . He wants all of his listeners to think about it too . How can you compel somebody to do something you're not even doing ? And isn't that kind of a hard of the issue ? How can you tell somebody to do something that you're not even doing ? Now here's where it starts to get a little tough .
Speaker 1Suppose you're one of these Gentile Galatians , okay , and these guys from James show up and say you've got to be circumcised . If you accept that , if you say , okay , all right , you've convinced me , it's following me . They're everywhere . By the way , you can listen on Spotify . If you get on Spotify the Stop Dying Church of Christ blog page , you can listen to this stuff again . I don't know why you would Stop Dying Church of Christ blog page . You can listen to this stuff again . I don't know why you would want to , but if you wanted to , you can .
Speaker 1If the Galatian Gentiles , the Gentile Christians in Galatia , accept the demands of this circumcision group and get themselves circumcised , what happens next ? Should there be the question and the answer to the question , why ? What happens next ? Why do you think that is Lonnie ? Yeah , yeah , from Mount Sinai . Yeah , but they forgot or they didn't hear well enough or didn't see Him , that Jesus fulfilled that , so we don't need to go back , we're moving forward .
Speaker 1Now Suppose you're a Jew who follows Christ . We talked about this before One of my pet peeves Got to put the marker back . We talked about this before One of my pet peeves Got to put the marker back being a Jew is not just religion , it was also culture . It was your identity . This is who you are . To say to somebody you don't have to do that anymore . You don't have to do that anymore . But what ? That's the way I've always done it .
Speaker 1I can't , in good conscience , not follow the dietary laws . I can't , in good conscience you list it out for yourself . I can't , in good conscience , eat meat sacrificed to idols which he covers in another book . I can't , in good conscience , do these things . That's the way I was raised . We go from that to because I can't do it . I don't think , lonnie , you should do it either . We go from I can't do it because , in good conscience , I think I would be violating what I consider to be something sacred from God , to looking at you and saying and I don't think you should do it either , because and I'll give you all sorts of good reasons why , okay , and they'll sound really good , and I'll give you all sorts of good reasons why , okay , and they'll sound really good . None of them are true for me as a Gentile . But I'm the new Gentile guy . I don't know anything . I don't know anything about anything , I'm just trying to love Jesus . And these guys come along and say , yeah , but this is the way I do it and you should do it that way too . And in fact , not only should you do it , you have to do it . What do you think these guys ? Let me cover this real quick . I'm never going to get through this .
Speaker 1What do you think these guys from James look like , these guys who came from Jerusalem , from James ? What do you think they look like ? Huh , snooty , snooty , I'm sure what a snooty person looks like . I'll tell you what they look like . I don't know what they look like Okay , I don't have a picture of them or anything like that , but I can tell you in our own day and age , okay , when I was growing up , here's what they would have looked like Well manicured , three-piece suit , nice tie , knotted , perfectly well-shined shoes carrying the Bible . Hi , how are you Good to see you ? I'm Brother Frame , so nice that you're here . No , no , they would not dress like Burke , I'm not going there . Yes , I checked to make sure that my shirt was straight in his shoes . Okay , here's the point .
Speaker 1These people from James were very persuasive . They came dressed for the part . They had about them , I am certain , an air of authority . They look religious and if you're a new guy and I'm not sure what I'm doing exactly , these Jewish guys told me about Jesus and I believe it and I want to follow him and I love him . But gosh , here come these guys and boy , they seem to know what they're talking about . I'm going to tell you something Some of the most dangerous teaching you will ever hear comes from people who are dressed for the part , people who are dressed for the part . The wolf in sheep's clothing . They sound so good , they look so good , and yet they preach a gospel that is no gospel . Barnabas was led astray and Peter was led astray .
Speaker 1If you are in this Galatian Gentile group and you accept their demand that you become circumcised , what happens next ? Exactly , right Another rule's coming . Well , you know . Now just one second here , mr Gentile believer , I want you to understand . You also have to keep the Sabbath . God worked six days , rested on the seventh . Don't you think you should do that . Don't you think a good Christian would do that ? Don't you think it's written right there in the law ? Don't you think that's a good idea for you ? I think you should do that too , and I'll show you some rules as to how you can figure out what it means to break the Sabbath . Oh , by the way , some of the things you're eating you know pork and bacon and that sort of thing . I'm sure it tastes real good to your Gentile taste , but you really ought not be eating that . A good Christian wouldn't do that . Do you see how this adds up ? If you're a Gentile and Paul sees this coming a mile away , all right . They used to say that Ted Williams , you know who Ted Williams was played for , the Boston . If you're a Gentile and Paul sees this coming a mile away , all right . They used to say that Ted Williams , you know who Ted Williams was Played for the Boston Red Sox , one of the greatest hitters of all time , in fact demanded to be introduced as the greatest hitter of all time . He had an ego the size of Mount Rushmore . In fact , he probably thinks they should have got rid of Lincoln and put Williams up there . But anyways , they used to say he could read the stitches on the fastball . He knew what was coming . He could see the stitches on that ball coming in . He knew exactly what pitch was coming . Paul sees the stitches on this fastball . He knows what's coming next .
Speaker 1Because if these people have their way , they're going to make the Gentiles do all sorts of stuff . That is not gospel , is not gospel
Justified by Faith, Not Law
Speaker 1. He's going to talk to him repeatedly here about freedom . You are free in Christ . Don't make yourselves a slave to the law . Now he does not tell the circumcision group , the Jews who came from James you have to start eating pork . You have to start eating seafood , you have to . He doesn't tell them anything . If they want to observe the dietary laws , that's totally up to them . Right , that's fine . Nothing wrong with that .
Speaker 1I'm not asking you to violate your own conscience , but don't think that that makes you righteous and don't try to put it on the Gentiles . See , when I have a rule for myself , that's perfectly fine . If I want to think to myself , I don't want to do this , or I do want to do it , that's my business . Hey , this is Easter Sunday , okay , growing up to me , easter was just another day . You know Sunday , okay , growing up . To me , easter is just another day . You know , for some people it's a very big day , it's very important to them . That's perfectly fine .
Speaker 1But Paul says don't bind that on me and don't think you're super righteous for observing it . You're no more righteous than I am . Does that make sense ? This stuff , this happened 2,000 years ago . This relates to us today 100% , but we refuse to see it . Because I could touch some raw nerves right now , and I may , before the class is over . Touch some raw nerves Because we do exactly what these Judaizing Christians , these Jews that came from Jerusalem and James .
Speaker 1We do exactly the same thing to people .
Speaker 1I had it done to me as a kid and we do it to people today . And Paul says it's wrong , Don't do it , let's keep going . Verses 15 through 21 . We , who are Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners he puts that in quotation marks or just using a form of speech here know that a man is not justified by works of law but by faith in Jesus Christ . Okay , he says listen , I'm a Jew , but I'm also a Christian and I know that I'm not justified by doing the works of the law . We're justified by faith in Christ . That's the gospel . Right , that's the gospel .
Speaker 1So we too have believed in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith and not by works of the law , because by works of the law no one will be justified . Not by works of the law , because by works of the law no one will be justified . But if , while we seek to be justified in Christ , we ourselves are found to be sinners , does that make Christ a minister of sin ? Certainly not . If I rebuild what I've already torn down , I prove myself to be a lawbreaker , for through the law I died to the law so that I might live to God . I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live , but Christ lives in me , the life I live in the body . I live by faith in the Son of God , who loved me and gave himself up for me . I do not set aside the grace of God , for if righteousness comes through the law , christ died for what ? Nothing ? Listen , these guys are telling you oh , I'm glad you believe in Jesus , that's great .
Speaker 1Now I got some sharp instruments here , let's get on to the circumcision . And he says no , no . If you could be justified through the law , of which circumcision is a part , if you could be justified by that . Christ didn't need to come here . Just keep , keep the law right . Just you , gentiles , just become Jews . He says no , no , no , that's wrong , that is absolutely wrong , because if that was true , christ died for nothing . He didn't need to go to the cross at all .
Speaker 1We who are Jews by birth know , do all the Jews by birth know this birth , know this ? We are Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners . No , the man is not justified by works of the law . Do all the Jewish Christians believe that ? Apparently not , because some came from James thinking that there was more to it , right ? Does the circumcision group know that ? I would say not . I think what he's trying to say here is if you really stop and think about this , if you really stop and think about this , if you're willing to accept the freedom that Christ offers , then you know this is true . So if Jewish Christians know this , if they know you can't be justified by keeping the law , then why are these Gentile Christians being tempted by the law of Moses ? What is so tempting about that ? If I can only be justified through faith in Jesus , then why , as a Gentile Christian , am I being tempted to start keeping the law of Moses . Okay , so you're saying they would want to be in that group ? Okay , what did we say about these guys who came from James ? They were very persuasive . They looked the part right .
Speaker 1Don't you like to be with confident people ? Don't you like to be with confident people ? Don't you like to be with people who are confident ? I hate to inject politics into something and I don't really mean to do that . I think this is one of the reasons Mr Trump is so popular . He's not always right , but he's never in doubt . He may say absolutely opposite things in the same press conference , but he's never in doubt . Confidence breeds confidence . So you get these guys who show up from James and they say , hey , here's the way we have to do it . Remember , they've got the three-piece suit , they've got the white shine shoes and all that , and they're carrying the Bible with them . And , my goodness , who wouldn't want to be a part of that ? Right , maybe they're right , but the other thing that the law provides to you is something concrete , something solid , or at least it seems solid . Well , I know I'm okay because I did this and I did this and I did this and I did this and I did this and I did this and I didn't do that and I didn't do that and I didn't do that , so I think I'm okay .
Speaker 1Having a list of rules and a checklist of things to do and not do can be very comforting , can't it ? Before we go on vacation , mrs Frame has a checklist of things to do and not do . Can be very comforting , can it ? Before we go on vacation , mrs Frame has a checklist of things to pack , and I'm glad she does , because I have walked out the door many times . Oh , I forgot my socks . I guess we'll be stopping at the store . Oh , I forgot . You know she packs my medicine for me , because I would totally forget that too me , because I would totally forget that too
Modern Parallels: When Rules Control Faith
Speaker 1. It's nice to have a checklist , right , I know . So before we leave , we look at the checklist . Do we have everything on here ? Yes , we do 90% of which we never use , but there it is , right , there it is . Wouldn't it be nice to be able to do that religiously ? Hey , I've got a checklist of stuff here and if I do this stuff , I know I'm okay . Except , do you really know you're okay ?
Speaker 1One of the Ten Commandments was remember the Sabbath and keep it holy , right , isn't that what it said . I'm quoting from it Remember the Sabbath and keep it holy . What did people do with that ? You're shaking your head , kevin . What did people do with that ? You're shaking your head , kevin . What did people do with that ? You name it .
Speaker 1They had a list of rules . These were traditions , traditions of the elders . They came up with all these ways to make sure you didn't violate that commandment . You're only allowed to walk this many steps . You can open the door , but only if it's unlatched . If it's latched , you can't open the door . That's considered work . I mean , I'm just throwing this stuff out here . It became crazy . And here's the thing it became more important to keep the traditions of the elders , which were not the law , than it was to keep the law itself . You must do this . This isn't just advice to you on how to keep the law . This is the law itself . You must do this . I'll give you an example . All right , I'll start stepping on some raw nerve endings . I'll send you home in a bad mood .
Speaker 1When I was a kid , all my good stories start with when I was a kid . Okay , when I was a kid , it was a sin to dance . I defy you to find that in the Bible ? It isn't there . But what were they concerned about ? Lust ? Lust , human contact , that's right . If we lived in a bubble , things would be much better . I'm starting to gravitate in that direction , by the way .
Speaker 1Yes , okay , lust was a bad thing . I don't disagree with that in any way . But in order to keep you away from the bad thing , we had to put some buffers between you and the bad thing , which means you can't dance with anybody . But there's even a buffer for the buffer , because not only can't you dance with anyone , you can't go to the dance . And if you went to the dance , buddy , you're in big trouble . I am not joking here . This is how I grew up . You are in big trouble if you go to the dance . Have I done anything wrong ? I just showed up . I didn't have a girl with me , I just wanted to go . You know it's a very bad thing you've done there . Son , do you see how this works ? The rule that makes you feel so good because you kept it suddenly becomes an out-of-control monster that you can't control and you can never satisfy .
Speaker 1We used to have a tract rack . You know what a tract rack is ? A rack that holds these religious texts , religious tracts Kevin's laughing . We had them at Philly and I used to get them and read them sometimes for fun . We didn't have creed , we had a tract rack . Yeah , no creed with the Bible , except we do have a tract rack . We don't like you to look through and read and adopt for your own .
Speaker 1One of them was about dancing . It had been written probably in the 1920s , but we still had it in the 1980s , and it said that dancing was the number one cause of women going into prostitution . Now , in the 1920s , this is . This is at a time when in the saloon , in the dance hall , you could buy a dance for a nickel , you know , and you would dance with the pretty girl who was probably in the soiled dove , you know , and that sort of thing , and it had no relevance whatsoever . No relevance whatsoever to my life .
Speaker 1But I only illustrate that so that you will know how out of control this gets when I start adopting rules for myself and for you .
Speaker 1Your rules are not the same as my rules . So which one of us is righteous ? Your guess is as good as mine , and now we start fighting with each other and we start breaking apart from each other , and I can't worship with you because you go to dances and I don't go to dances . What's the matter with you ? Obviously a sinner of some sort . I'm not sitting in the same church building with you . Do you see where this leads ? And Paul knows this and he's telling these Galatians if you give in for one second to these people , you are in for a world of hurt . In for a world of hurt . All right , people are coming in . I'm going to have to get out of here and I'm going to pick up with this next week , and I worked real hard to say happy trails to you until we meet again . All right , read the rest of chapter two and all of chapter three for next week and we'll see you then . You've been a good class .