You're listening to the 10 Minute Bible Member podcast, it's best on the free daily deep minute Bible. And right now we're talking about Galatians.
SPEAKER_01Were your parents real worried about who you hung out with growing up? My parents were worried about that. They were very worried about that, but they tried to be careful about it because they were socially smart, they still are socially smart. And they didn't ever want to do a thing that would activate the rebellious streak in me. Like if you say I can't hang out with them, then that's who I want to hang out with. If you say not to smoke cigarettes, all of a sudden I love cigarettes. I don't think I was ever really that kid, but they were smart. They they knew that if they were like, hey, we don't like that girl, never talk to that girl again. I was probably gonna end up having more of a crush on that girl because I don't know, I was a teenager and I was an idiot. Maybe I wasn't trying to be rebellious, but like you know, when you're a kid, you've got that I know best, mom and dad don't know best thing. But instead they would try to gently make the case and they'd be like, hey, you know, the people you hang out with, they kind of make you and the situations you put yourself in, they will shape who you are. The values of the people you hang out with usually, at least to some extent, will become your values. So rather than picking fights with all my different friends, being like, I don't like what that kid does, I don't like what that kid does. I mean, sometimes they'd say that, but more often, my parents taught me in principles. I think they did a really good job. I'm really proud of who my parents are, and I'm really grateful for the way they came at it, and I hope I'm doing half as good a job with my kids. But one of the lessons that sticks with me from all of that is just this idea of creep. The idea that yeah, a little bit of really ugly stuff in your life, it won't stay little, Matt. It tends to get a foothold. And that can come into your life through relationships with, you know, swell people. It can come into your life with light contact with something that really maybe isn't that big a deal. But rather than just giving me a list of prohibitions, they really coached me to be thoughtful about how I would curate what things that could be problematic that I was entertaining or allowing into my life. So I got to go out and live and be a part of the world and function, but they taught me to have my antenna out. I guess that's what I'm trying to say. But the the key lesson in all of this was them just being like, hey, be attentive to the creep. Not like the creepy person, but like the way things creep, the way little things become bigger things and bigger things and bigger things, and pretty soon those little things are pervasive. And I remember distinctly what verse little kid Matt was taken to by his dad when I got that talk for the first time, and it is the one that we are at in Galatians chapter five. Wow, did I not understand the context at the time? It probably would have been weird if Dad had read the larger context, but instead he just went with this. Galatians 5 9. A little yeast works through the whole batch of dough. And I remember what Dad said next. He said, What do you think that means, Matt? I was able to figure it out. You know, I maybe he had to explain what yeast is. I don't think I knew off the top of my head back then that it's this mysterious ingredient that you can put in baked goods, you can put in dough, and it causes the dough to rise and become less dense, and that it takes just the tiniest little amount to create this reaction that can cause just a tiny little bit of dough to become this gigantic thing if you just let it sit for a while. So maybe he had to explain how yeast works as well, and that only a very little bit will do a lot. But when I understood what yeast was, then very quickly I was able to be like, oh wow, it's just a little thing that ends up affecting so much. It doesn't take but a dash of that being flung into the batch, and everything will be affected. I remember that conversation. I remember it so well, in fact, that when I gave my first ever sermon, I was a senior in high school, it was a president of my class, I was a president of my high school, I was a Christian high school, and one of the things that that person did who had those roles is they got to teach one chapel. And rather than going with some sort of we're all in it together speech, which would have been good, they're socially self-aware or something. I think I went with this passage because it impacted me when dad read it to me. And I think I got up there and did some kind of speech where I lectured all my peers about not being naughty or something. Just one of many things that come to mind when I lay in bed at night and think about the stupid crap I've done and said that I wish I could take back. Oh well, I meant well. I got a little preachy with it, but I'll tell you who's earned the right to be a little bit preachy with that particular turn of a phrase is Paul, because he was the spiritual shepherd of the Galatian churches, and people who wanted to exploit them had busted in and caused a mess. Now they're trying to do adult circumcision lines in church, and Paul is busted in at the last minute and being like, hold it, put down that scalpel and listen to me. Circumcision is the final step of what you are being groomed and conditioned into Galatian church. These people are not your friends. They have been slowly working you over with guilt and manipulation and superiority and lording their knowledge and their pedigree over you. They have lorded their geography over you, they have lorded their history over you, they've lorded their knowledge of the Bible over you. They've been very zealous for you, but not zealous for any good. They are trying to subject you once again to a yoke of slavery you were freed from by faith in Christ. Don't let yourselves become a slave again. And guys, that circumcision that you're fixing to do, that's the blood ritual right there. That's the thing. That's what makes the dark covenant with this dark oath and this lifeless path to right standing with God that is no path at all. If you do that, you have committed the final act, the final rite. You've stepped into the dark circle with the deer skull helmets and the candles and the black robes. Don't do it. Don't give your soul to this darkness. A lot of paraphrasing there, but I don't think I'm stretching it, even in my little nods to the occult there, because I think Paul made a reference to persuasion coming from the devil in all of this in the previous verse. That kind of persuasion doesn't come from the one who calls you. My friends, this is an intervention tonally at this point in Galatians chapter five. At this moment in the argument, Paul is like, Yeah, some of you are probably listening to me raising these warning flags about this ritual, this right you're about, this irreversible right that you're about to participate in with circumcision, you're probably listening to me waving red flags and sounding the alarm over this, and you're like, Paul, settle down. You always get too worked up, man. It's not that big a thing. We're just kind of hedging our bets, bro. We're making absolutely sure that we're covering all of our bases. What is it really for a few moments of extreme discomfort, a few weeks of recovery, and a little less skin down in the nether regions to make absolutely sure that we've tried every possible route to God that we could. You know, this is just like insurance. It's a little thing. We're still totally in on Jesus, Paul. You know, faith in Christ, we're all in on all of that, but we're just also going to do this little thing. Hold on, guys. A little yeast works through the whole batch of dough. This might seem like a small augmentation physically. This might seem like a small augmentation theologically. It's just a little addendum to Jesus. You know, we were doing Jesus plus nothing. Now we're doing Jesus plus the Old Testament law solidified with adult circumcision. Yeah, it's just a little addition. But a little yeast works through the whole batch of dough. Like my dad, Paul is convincing his spiritual children that they're being duped, that they're the victims of creep. Think about what happened, guys. This started with like a brunch. These guys showed up, they had nice outfits, they were from Jerusalem. They're like, hey, what's up? I'm Kyle. I'm Braden. We're from Jerusalem. And, you know, we just came by. We heard the Paul had been here, and we're just kind of going around. We're just doing some follow-up right now. Would it be okay if we came in? Oh, oh, you're from Jerusalem. Oh, you must know a lot of the guys. Yeah, for sure. Come in. We're just putting on brunch. Would you guys like to eat? Oh, that'd be great. And yeah, we just, yeah, we're just here with you. We just had some additional details. Like if there was more from the Lord, like further revelation, well, you'd want to know that, right? So I mean, we're just going to give you a few of those extra details that maybe Paul neglected to tell you. And we're just going to add a few things to it. And then the next day it's a few more things. And then the next day it's a few more things. And then they're back and you let them preach in church the next week. And then they went over and, you know, met with some other people for dinner. And then they taught in the public square after that. And then they wrote some things and had some debates. And now you're all lined up to get the end of your penises cut off. Guys, the creep got out of control. It started out with a brunch. How did we end up like this? How did we end up like this? Put your clothes back on. Put your robes back on. A little yeast works through the whole batch of dough. You are victims of being conditioned and creeped. You cannot allow even this little dash of harmless sounding, extra gospel bonus stuff to creep into the message that you have received. You have to reject it. And further, verse 10, Paul says, I'm confident in the Lord that you will take no other view. The one who is throwing you into confusion will pay the penalty, whoever he may be. Again, who's Paul talking about there? Is he talking about a physical being? Is he talking about a spiritual being? Is he talking about both? Let the reader understand. Make of it what you will. But the principle stands regardless of who Paul is talking about. The principle is you guys let this thing in the door. Like a vampire knocking on the window where according to the lore, they're not allowed to come in unless you open it for 'em. You guys open the window, even a little bit. And that house guest seemed charming and pleasant at first, but now there's blood. This isn't a good idea. You need to shut this thing down right now. You've been worked, you've been manipulated, you were running a good race, you've been cut in on. Open your eyes, put an end to it. This isn't a small thing, and even if you imagine it is a small thing, a little yeast works through the whole batch of dough. Again, we're to the part of the letter where Paul is doing the full-on sound the alarm intervention. Don't trust these people. It's already gone too far. Yes, the yeast has already worked through the dough, but we we are where we are. We have to stop it now. You can go no further. Do not let this blood ritual, this blood rite be performed upon you, or you are fully committing yourself to this thing. Now, final thought. Okay, what if some of these guys are already circumcised before they get this letter? Does this mean that Paul is saying, hey, you already did it, you're just done, you're done. No, there's no forgiveness. Look, if you go and read the rest of what Paul and the New Testament and Jesus says, of course there's forgiveness for these missteps. These poor people don't know what they're doing. They're clearly awash. The biggest charge toward the Galatian church isn't that they're evil, it's that they're gullible. It's that they fell for something and got duped. Most of Paul's anger is directed at the dupers. But he's also disappointed and frustrated with his spiritual children for being duped. I don't understand me, and I don't think we should understand the text to be saying that if they actually went through with the ritual, there's just no coming back from that. I think he's saying if you remain committed to the ritual, there's no coming back from it. And look, how likely are you to go back on this once you've crossed that Rubicon of allowing that to be done to your body? You're probably gonna forever try to talk yourself into thinking that was the right idea because we tend to talk ourselves into things retroactively when we've taken big, bold steps like that on irreversible things. Still so much more to unpack on Galatians 5 here. I could go on and on and on, but I'll just go on and on and on tomorrow because, well, we can. All right, I'm Matt. This is the 10 minute Bible Hour Podcast. Let's do this again soon.
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