Scripture Reading: 1 Timothy 1:8-17; Galatians 3; Galatians 4:21-31
Sermon Title: Evicting Your Ishmael Part 2
Candy bar illustration from last week: whatever is most appealing at the moment will always win when we strive in the flesh (wife w crippled husband; candy bar).
The reason we love conditionally is because that is how we perceive our relationship to God = performance-based.
Variables immediately change relationships in the life of a legalist. This is why preachers are loved one day and hated the next.
You are not a puppet. Puppets are moved while blind. Christians are moved by awakened affections in response to removed blindness.
Philippians 2:12-13 defeats idleness and fleshly striving
“work out” = obey (context of v. 12)
John Piper on the Providence of God lesson 7:
- Walking with Jesus is both to be given a burden (mandate) and to have it carried for us. “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light” (Matthew 11:28-30). This does not lessen or eliminate the burden or the yoke, but magnifies the grace of Christ that makes them easy and light.
- The difference between the old and new covenant is not new statues, but a new ability.
Legalist = “this is too heavy” or being around a legalist, you feel like a burden is being laid on you. This is what happens when you counsel, teach, preach, parent, rebuke from “above” and not “beside” – you lay a burden on the back.
Cast Out: THE ISHMAEL AMONG US
Driving Out False-Teachers
Mark Driscoll:
- Feed the Sheep
- Rebuke the Swine
- Pray for the Shepherds
- Shoot the Wolves: Martin Luther said, “With the wolves you cannot be too severe. With the weak sheep you cannot be too gentle.”
A challenge for parents, teachers, pastors, and friends: It is one thing to affirm that the gospel creates a secure space within which a command can be heard without a condition; it is another thing altogether to issue a command that is not heard as a condition.
People always act weird around me when they are not taking my counsel because either I say it with an “if” implied or they still think as if they owe Ishmael (explain).
False-teachers and wolves hate grace because it strips them of their merit. Jesus’ parable in Matthew 20:1-16 is an excellent description of the vicious thinking that attacks the Doctrine of Election and Divine Sovereignty. This was the motivation behind all the violence in the Reformation. This is why husbands and wives punish each other. This is what motivates long-term members of Churches to react the way they do to change. This is why reformed seminary graduates cannot find positions in local churches.
Driving Out False-Doctrine
Ishmael and Isaac are not joint-heirs. I believe we must place legalism on the same level as Mormonism, Roman Catholicism, Hinduism, and Judaism – these are all slave religions.
The following are from John Fonville’s message “Listen to the Law part 5.” You can listen to the entire message at www.paramountchurch.com.
“We must earnestly contend against all semblance of legalism in our doctrine as well as our hearts because God’s glory and man’s salvation is at stake. Paul’s toleration level was considerably high in respect to the chaos in Corinth. But, when it came to the doctrinal error that was plaguing the churches of Galatia, Paul rejected any notion of compromise (cast out – B.S.).”
21:33 The significance of “Everlasting God.” “The use of this divine epithet El-Olam suggests that God’s long-term faithfulness to Abraham has been revealed through Abimelek’s words and actions” (Wenham).
Remember, the birth of Isaac was not the fulfillment of God’s promise.
Sidney Greidanus “Preaching Christ in Genesis” p. 184
God’s promise is open to further filling, for God had promised to make Abraham the father of a multitude of nations. So, the birth of Isaac is an initial fulfillment. God’s promise to Abraham reaches for its fulfillment far beyond Isaac to Abraham’s son Jesus Christ, who commanded his disciples to make disciples of all nations. But still the promise is not filled full. The church today is engaged in fulfilling this promise as it preaches the gospel of Jesus Christ to the nations. God’s promise will finally be fulfilled when Jesus comes again and a great multitude from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages will stand before the throne and worship God and the Lamb (Revelation 7:9-10). Many people take membership in the church of Jesus Christ for granted or even consider it a burden. Israel, too, frequently failed to appreciate the miracle of belonging to God’s covenant people.
We are the bud of the flower in God’s plan. God has commissioned His Church to equip the saints to carry out the final leg of His plan.
- Our anxiousness for people of all nations, tribes, and tongues to know Jesus should mirror Sarah’s desperation to have a son.
- Involvement in the local Church is vital to the Great Commission.
Closing
Read Psalm 89:28-37
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