Forces That Unite and Divide

Paul’s Letter to Churches in Galicia

This is the third of Paul’s letters. As I remarked in my message several weeks ago, the letters to Corinth and Thessalonica along with this one to Galicia are the first three Paul wrote. The order of these three, however, is still being debated, but this group of three was written before any others. The letter to the Galatians is unique in that it wasn’t written to a specific individual or church. It was written to an area.

Galicia usually refers to the area of North East Asia Minor. But - -It is also the Roman name for what is now northern France, more commonly known as Gaul. Paul never traveled north of Rome and there is no record of Christian churches being in Gaul during Paul’s time. So, it must the region in North West Asia Minor despite some stubborn PhD holdouts. Acts 14 tells of the travels of Paul and Silas to the towns of Iconium and Lystra just south of Galicia. They made some converts in both cities but were threatened with being stoned by the Jews and fled to Lycaonia and Derbe. Again, they made some converts there but were not only threatened but actually stoned by local members of the synagogue, dragged out of town, and left for dead. In Acts 16, Paul comes across another disciple named Timothy who had been achieving some success in the area. They teamed up, and the three of them had some success. Scripture says the number in the faith were increasing daily. None of the cities mentioned, however, are actually in Galatia. The borders of areas are not always clearly defined. For example, you know when you are in San Francisco’s China Town because there is a big sign at the iconic entrance. On the other hand, when do you cross the border into New York’s Greenwich Village or Harlem? The borders are approximate. The towns visited by Paul were just south of Galicia in Pisidia, Pamphylia, and Cilicia. So, it is not certain whether Paul’s geography was a little hazy, or if Paul’s letter was addressed to other churches actually in Galicia but not mentioned in Scripture. I believe Paul knew his letter would be widely distributed to all churches in Asia Minor and possibly, the rest of the Christian World at the time. I think the geography is intentionally vague because his message applied to all new Christian congregations. There were the beginnings of churches in England, Spain, and Europe that could have also benefitted from the message.

Almost all Christian churches at the time were in conflict between gentiles and Jews, between the conservative establishment and this new message of Jesus. Note that Paul’s starting point when he visited new towns, was the synagogue. Christian outreach began with Peter’s speech at Pentecost. Those three thousand who were baptized that first day were Jews, Jews from all over Europe and Asia Minor but Jews nonetheless. There were no Gentile converts at Pentecost. The first non-Jewish converts were Cornelius and his household, converted by Peter. They lived in the town of Caesarea in Galilee. These newly Christian Jews converted at Pentecost didn’t go home to begin Christian churches; they went home to begin a Christian movement within their own Jewish communities. It should come as no surprise their message met resistance. Can’t you just see it. “There was a barefoot preacher from Galilee who was crucified, rose from the dead and will return to save us all.” We have seen similar claims in our time. The Branch Davidians for example. We write them off as cults and go about our business. The Synagogues Paul visited would have done the same. The Jewish leaders of the various towns would have found Paul’s message pretty unbelievable. Some even found his message threatening and harmful. Others accepted it. This new Christian message soon began to attract local Gentiles as well as Jews. But the addition of Gentiles only added to the controversy. Does one need to convert to Judaism to be eligible to be a Christian? Do they need to be circumcised and follow the law of Moses --- or not? You can sit on the progressive or conservative side of our church, but you need to join our church before you can choose which side of the aisle you sit on. It was this atmosphere of conflict that Paul addressed in his letter to the Galatians. Paul’s answer was to allow gentile Christians to worship on the right side of the aisle without being Jews first. It didn’t work. Christians soon took their group, including both Jews and Gentiles, to a new place of worship.

Paul’s letter to Thessalonica was loving and nurturing because they had already moved out of the Synagogue to be away from those who discouraged Gentiles. Their congregation accepted Jews and Gentiles alike, thus they were able to focus on the teachings of Jesus. Most of this new Christian movement, however, was more like the church in Corinth. Their letter was much more critical; much the same as this letter to Galatia and the world in general. Shape up! Focus on Christ and love one another.

Paul begins with the message that there are no prerequisites to being a Christian. Christ is open to all, Saints and sinners alike. Paul describes himself as a Jew who persecuted Christians before he was converted by Christ Himself. Then, he makes his first point applicable to everyone in all time. How did you receive the Holy Spirit? You don’t receive the Holy Spirit by being good, by tithing, or by anything you do. You can’t earn it. The Holy spirit is a gift of God available to all who believe. There are no prerequisites. The Hoy spirit is not dependent on what you do, it is a gift from God to all who believe. This was Paul’s message, yet the Christian movement was seriously divided. Things haven’t changed a lot in the past 2000 years.

I had a wonderful opportunity many years ago when I was a student teacher at Shaddle Park High School in Spokane. I was given a group of bright young people and told to teach an advanced class of Contemporary World Problems. I learned much more from that group than they did from me. They taught me listening was a giant part of teaching. Our text had a chapter titled, “Forces that Unite and Divide.” The PhD who wrote the book claimed they were different forces, some united and others divided. But as we got into the chapter a girl in the middle of the front row said, “Mr. Watson, it looks to me that the same factors both unite and divide. They unite one group against other groups.” We talked about that for a while and decided she was right. Economic status unites the poor, and it unites the rich, but it divides the two groups into separate camps.

The same is true about theology. In Paul’s day the issue was whether or not new converts had to accept the law of Moses before they became Christians. Today a major issue is whether or not God demands a code of conduct or does a loving God allow us to do whatever we feel like doing. Both sides are so entrenched our denomination is going to split down the middle. One half will continue the way they always have and the new denomination will have to decide how much of the Methodist dogma will be included. It was the same way with Paul’s congregations. Each church had to plot their own course, but like Paul said we must keep our focus on Christ.

Politics was also covered in the chapter on issues that unite and divide. Our nation is split into two entrenched camps each vying to save our country from the other. On one side we have those who believe government should regulate much of our lives, on the other are those who believe government should get out of the way. To get them to compromise would take a world changing event.

I went to church a few weeks ago in Colville to visit Pastor Dave and Karen McCue. In Dave’s message he asked what it took to be a world changing event. His reference, of course, was the birth of Jesus. The world was not the same after that first Christmas. If you believe, as I do, that faith is personal and each individual has their own relationship with God, then there are many world changing events. Marriage, the birth of a child, the loss of a loved one. The splitting of the Methodist Church will be a world changing even for many of us. The receipt of the Holy Spirit changed world. We are not the same now as we were before we received the Sprit. Paul taught us that it isn’t enough to believe. It isn’t enough to live the Holy Spirit. It isn’t enough to have the love of God in your heart. Paul tells us we must walk with the Spirit. What does that mean? It means we must be the light of Christ. The baby born to parents who had no other shelter than a Stable in Bethlehem changed the world forever. Let us remember that little child was a gift of God. We cannot accept God’s gift of the Holy Spirit unless we accept the gift of Jesus. And if we accept the gift of Jesus, we must each be a beacon of light in a dark world.

Pray with me. Dear Lord, we thank you for your gifts. We realize we will never be worthy. We will cherish the gift of Your Son and His sacrifice. We look forward to His return with thanks, love and joy. Amen