Posted on by Fred Scragg 5

Don’t Stop Believin’

Galatians 5.1-15

Now I lay me down to sleep,

I pray the Lord my soul to keep.

If I die before I wake,

I pray the Lord my soul to take.

An age-old bedtime prayer that took on very real and imminent meaning for me this week and probably for many of you as well.

With talks of the fast enriching of Uranium in a non-sanctioned country desiring death to the West, night time missile exchanges in the Middle East, a two week decision making time table given by the President of the United States, and finally the destruction of nuclear weapon sites in Iran, certainty of God’s love, God’s concern, God’s sovereignty and God’s protection came to the forefront of our thinking.

In the midst of war and rumors of war, most normal functioning human beings wanted one thing this week—to be certain of personal safety.

And, some of us could sleep with the certainty of safety while others of us were overcome with worry and anxiety.

Interestingly, in the opening lines of 2022 article from INews reads: “Those of us without traditional religion are left to make our peace with uncertainty. … There’s nothing comforting about being agnostic.” 

For those of us unfamiliar with the term, agnostic means to be indifferent about the existence of God.  Agnostics believe we can’t know if God exists or if God does not exist.  They are different from atheists.  Atheists come down hard on the belief that there is no God. Agnostics instead say that there is just no way of knowing.

In the article, Eleanor Margolis laments her agnosticism and muses about the benefits of faith.

Speaking of the Russia/Ukraine war in 2022, Margolis says, 

It was in February, and while Russian tanks rolled into Ukraine, that I started to wonder if it was time to find God. Definite God, that is. Not the half-hearted agnostic one built on a Jenga tower of uncertainty. The addition of a heightened nuclear threat from Putin made me desperate for a vengeful Old Testament God. Someone (to) smite the warmongers and oligarchs, the evil ones “know not what they do.” When nothing is left of civilization but the cockroaches.

The last time I felt so envious of religious people was when my mum was dying of cancer. Certainty about an afterlife sure would’ve come in handy then. And prayer might have created the illusion that I had some power over the situation. Instead, I was treated to the spiritual equivalent of the shrug emoji. I became a devout follower of one true religion of the 21st century: uncertainty. Those of us without traditional religion are left to make our peace with uncertainty.

In this morning’s Biblical text, as we return to the New Testament book of Galatians, a letter written by the Apostle Paul to the churches gathered in the region of Galatia during the first Century A.D., the Apostle Paul speaks about what brings certainty of personal safety in God’s arms and what takes that certainty of personal safety in God’s arms away from us.

Let’s hear from Galatias 5.1-15 together now.

Galatians 5.1-15 says:

[1] For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.

[2] Look: I, Paul, say to you that if you accept circumcision, Christ will be of no advantage to you. [3] I testify again to every man who accepts circumcision that he is obligated to keep the whole law. [4] You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law; you have fallen away from grace. [5] For through the Spirit, by faith, we ourselves eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness. [6] For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love.

[7] You were running well. Who hindered you from obeying the truth? [8] This persuasion is not from him who calls you. [9] A little leaven leavens the whole lump. [10] I have confidence in the Lord that you will take no other view, and the one who is troubling you will bear the penalty, whoever he is. [11] But if I, brothers, still preach circumcision, why am I still being persecuted? In that case the offense of the cross has been removed. [12] I wish those who unsettle you would emasculate themselves!

[13] For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. [14] For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” [15] But if you bite and devour one another, watch out that you are not consumed by one another. (ESV)

In verse 1, Paul makes clear what brings us certainty of God’s love for us and certainty that we are safe forever in God’s arms.

Paul tells us that we can be certain of God’s love for us and certain that God will safely bring us home into His Kingdom of Heaven through faith in Jesus Christ alone.  

Maybe this sounds familiar:

[16] “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. [17] For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. (John 3:16–17, ESV)

Paul then moves on to tell us what steals our ability to be certain that God loves us and will keep us safe in His arms.

Paul does this by pointing to the false teaching that some of the Galatian Christians are following and which is putting them in a place where they can never be sure of God’s love for them.

Paul points out that when they return to the Law and try to earn God’s love, they will never find comfort that they have done enough to please God.  They will never find the comfort they are looking for or be certain of God’s love because in Sin it is impossible to please God.

One of the specific things that was stealing the Galatians certainty of God’s love for them was returning to the Law based act of circumcision.

As a reminder, circumcision is a surgical procedure in which the foreskin is removed from the male, usually during infancy.

In Genesis 17, God introduces the act of circumcision to His people, the Hebrew people at that time. God required that on the 8th day after birth, every Hebrew male was to be circumcised as a sign that they were included in God’s covenant family.  Circumcision was the physical mark that reminded them that they were different than the peoples of the world around them that did not circumcise their males and whom were not part of God’s eternal family.

At that time, for those people, a male and his family could not be included in God’s family without being circumcised. 

However, as the Apostle Paul mentions over and over again, with Jesus Christ’s life, death, and resurrection, God began a new covenant that allowed inclusion into His eternal family through faith in Jesus, the Savior, alone.

But, as we have been seeing since the very beginning of the Apostle Paul’s letter to the Galatians, false teachers were troubling and confusing the Christians by telling them that their faith in Jesus Christ was not enough for them to find comfort and hope in God’s love for them.  These false teachers were telling them that they needed to add the physical works of the old covenant to their faith in Jesus in order to be forgiven of Sin and saved for Heaven.

Some of the Christians were buying the lies of the false teachers and were walking away from their faith in Christ to go back into slavery to Sin in an attempt to earn God’s love by being good people in their own strength.

This is a serious mistake and their denial of Christ’s work in His life, death, and resurrection, has major consequences as the Apostle Paul points out.

First, Paul says that attempting to earn God’s love by your good works and religious deeds causes you to be severed from Jesus.

That means, if you want to rely on good works and religious deeds to get you to God in Heaven, you will be cut off from receiving Jesus’ gifts and blessings.

Second, Paul says that attempting to earn God’s love by your good works and religious deeds will lead you to a place where you then have to keep all of God’s Laws perfectly to be accepted by Him in the end.

Third, Paul says that attempting to earn God’s love by your good works and religious deeds means you have forsaken God’s love for you and grace toward you.

Fourth, Paul says that attempting to earn God’s love by your good works and religious deeds means you have no hope of being called righteous and ready for God’s Kingdom of Heaven.

In all of this returning to Sin and self-reliance, you will not be able to truly experience love or give out love because in your separation from the new covenant of God’s grace living in you and working through you, you willing make yourself a slave once again to Sin.  This means that once again, godless selfishness and self-centeredness will be your way of life.

Paul makes it clear that circumcision and Christ are incompatible with one another.  If there is any saving value in religious ordinances (e.g. circumcision) apart from the cross, then Christ’s death has been in vain.

As we heard Paul say earlier in Galatians, “I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose” (Galatians 2.21, ESV).

Let me put this into contemporary language: 

If you go to church, sing songs, and study the Word, thinking this is how you’re going to work to earn God’s favor, then you are no different from the over one billion Hindus in the world today who are bowing down to their gods. 

If your Christianity is a check-off box in order to make you feel good about yourself before God, in order to save your skin on the day of judgment, then your Christianity is no different from every other religion in the world, and ultimately it will condemn you. 

Paul is uncovering a scheme of the Devil in the first century that continues in the twenty-first century. It is subtly and dangerously deceiving. What if Satan’s strategy to condemn your soul involves not tempting you to do all the wrong things, but instead leading you to do all the right things with the wrong spirit? What if Satan actually wants you to come to church, lead a small group, teach, and lead your home in an upright way? What if he’s in favor of you doing all those things, just so long as you think that by doing those things you’re working your way to God? 

You say, “Well, I pray.” Big deal, Muslims pray. 

You say, “Well, I go to worship.” Big deal, Hindus go to worship. They worship all day long. 

You say, “Well, I study the Bible.” So do Jehovah’s Witnesses, and they can quote it better than most Christians. 

You say, “Well, I go on mission trips.” So do Mormons—scores of them give years of their lives to do so. 

If your Christianity consists of slavery to religion in order to make yourself right before God, then it’s just as if you’re giving yourself to the pagan religions of the world. 

But Christianity is radically different from those worldly religions. 

Rather than slaves of religion, we are sons in a relationship with God . As we heard a few weeks ago, Paul says that the Galatians know God, and then he pauses and says, “or rather have become known by God” (v. 9). To use the language of 4:1-7, we are sons of God. Why would we live like a slave to religion when we are sons in a relationship with God? God knows us intimately, and the idea here is of deep, personal knowledge. We know God, and He knows us!

Paul doesn’t ever mince words.  He knows the severity of the penalty for not trusting in Jesus Christ alone for salvation as well as the severity of the penalty for those that lead others astray by offering more or less than Jesus Christ Himself offers.

That is why Paul says that he wishes those who don’t want to trust in all that Jesus says and teaches, and also tell other people to follow their feelings and the ways of the culture over what the Scripture explicitly says, would emasculate themselves.  

Jesus doesn’t offer you the freedom to Sin. Jesus always says to those that come to faith in Him for the forgiveness of Sin and eternal life, “Go, and sin no more!”

And, Jesus doesn’t offer you the burden of the Law.  Jesus doesn’t say, “I’m not enough, so do religious-like things to ensure your salvation.

Jesus offers you the freedom to live and love as you have first been loved and given abundant life through repenting of Sin and placing your faith and trust in Him alone to take you back to God, your Father in Heaven.

This morning, may the truth of God’s Word fill your heart and mind today, the truth that because of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection for you, you are free from having to work your way out a sinful and ungodly life, and may you experience the freedom that comes from knowing and following him.

This morning, repent of your Sin and believe in Jesus your Savior.

Then, and only then, can you be absolutely certain of God’s love for you and certain that God will safely bring you home into His Kingdom.

This is the Word of God for you today.

This is the Grace of God for you today.

Amen.

Reverend Fred Scragg V.

June 22, 2025.

Posted on by Fred Scragg 5

Terrorist to Evangelist

Galatians 1.10-24

One morning Mauricio Estrella walked into the office, sat down at his desk, and was greeted with the message: “Your password has expired. Click ‘Change password’ to change your password.”

You know how, when you are emotionally raw, small things can be so frustrating? This, for Estrella, was one of those times. He was running late that morning, had forgotten to eat breakfast, had a meeting to attend, and then there were those nagging frustrations with his ex. Estrella had just gone through an emotionally brutal divorce that had left him in a deep depression.

At his workplace, the server is configured to ask thousands of employees around the planet to change their password every 30 days. As the empty field with the pulsating cursor awaited his input, Estrella thought to himself, “I’m gonna use a password to change my life.” His password became: “Forgive@h3r.”

Each time he came back from a break or lunch, he typed “Forgive@h3r.” For one month, the password became a mantra. And that mantra changed his life. Estrella shared: “That constant reminder that I should forgive her led me to accept the way things happened at the end of my marriage, and embrace a new way of dealing with the depression that I was drowning into.”

Sometimes, the simplest messages can have the most impact on us. 

Sometimes, the simplest messages can be the ones that drastically change our lives forever.

In this morning’s Biblical text, we continue on in the Apostle Paul’s letter to the Galatians.

In this section of the Apostle Paul’s letter, he shares that a very simple message drastically changed his life forever and that same simple message was changing the lives of the Galatian people forever, and that simple message can change your life forever as well.

Let’s listen to the words from the Apostle Paul’s letter in Galatians 1.10-24 now.

Galatians 1:10–24 says this:

[10] For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ.

[11] For I would have you know, brothers, that the gospel that was preached by me is not man’s gospel. [12] For I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ. [13] For you have heard of my former life in Judaism, how I persecuted the church of God violently and tried to destroy it. [14] And I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my own age among my people, so extremely zealous was I for the traditions of my fathers. [15] But when he who had set me apart before I was born, and who called me by his grace, [16] was pleased to reveal his Son to me, in order that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult with anyone; [17] nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me, but I went away into Arabia, and returned again to Damascus.

[18] Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to visit Cephas and remained with him fifteen days. [19] But I saw none of the other apostles except James the Lord’s brother. [20] (In what I am writing to you, before God, I do not lie!) [21] Then I went into the regions of Syria and Cilicia. [22] And I was still unknown in person to the churches of Judea that are in Christ. [23] They only were hearing it said, “He who used to persecute us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy.” [24] And they glorified God because of me. (ESV)

In this section of the Apostle Paul’s letter to the churches gathering in the region of Galatia (modern day Turkey), we are given insight into two things.

The first piece of insight we receive is the origin of Paul’s message.

Some were accusing Paul of being brainwashed by what other people were telling him to think, believe, and preach.  These opponents of the Good New of Jesus Christ were saying that Paul met with the disciples and listened to them and learned from them and is now just parroting what he heard in those meetings.

However, as we saw two weeks ago, Paul’s received the truth that Jesus is God-in-the-flesh, who stepped out of Heaven to come to earth to rescue us and be our Messiah—our Lord and Savior, directly from Jesus.

Jesus appeared to Paul on the road to Damascus and confronted him in his unbelief and his active ungodly opposition to the message of the cross and resurrection for the forgiveness of sin and eternal life.  

Jesus shared the truth of sin and salvation through God’s grace alone and in that moment, Paul believed and began his traveling and preaching.  It was only after 3 years that Paul went to Jerusalem and met with Peter (the text calls him Cephas) and James.  After that, Paul went back to traveling and preaching the message that he received directly from Jesus for another 11 years.  Then 14 years after coming to faith, he finally when back to Jerusalem and met with the other disciples and apostles.  

So, Paul is making it very clear that the Good News of Jesus Christ which calls for repentance of sin and faith in God’s freely given grace is not a message invented by and man or woman.  

In fact, no man or woman would invent such a message because the message says that humans are weak and helpless and only have hope by admitting their need for a Savior.  Any message invented by a man or woman says the exact opposite.  Human theologies and philosophies don’t like to say we are weak and helpless.  Instead, they promote the idea that human strength, commitment, and determination can eventually get you to God and possibly turn you into a god.  But, we all know that when we sit quietly and alone, our thoughts actually dwell and obsess on our failures and inability to officially and finally crawl out of despair because there is always something we could have done better or more of.

For more information on Paul’s conversion to Christianity through faith in the crucified and resurrected Jesus, you can return to Acts 9 this week.

The second piece of insight we receive in this morning’s Biblical text from Galatians that there is always a transformation of life that occurs after one rests in God’s grace and gives up the striving to get to God.

In verses 23 and 24, the Apostle Paul points out that the grace of God changed his life to the point where he could not help but live by loving God and loving others. 

And, because of the dramatic change in his life—going from persecutor of Christians to a Christian and preacher of Jesus Christ alive, dead, and resurrected for the forgiveness of Sin and eternal life—people took notice of the 180 degree turn that his life took (for the good of God and the world) and some of them also came to believe in Christ and give thanks to God for His grace and mercy toward them as well.

When confronted with the grace and mercy that Jesus Christ had for him, despite his past of denying God’s love in a completely ungodly lifestyle, 

Paul quickly turned from a terrorist to an evangelist.

It is no wonder people took notice of the change in Paul’s thinking, speaking, and acting!

Once we find ourselves comforted by faith in Jesus’ work for us, we, just like Paul, find ourselves responding to God and the people around us differently.

In Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, found in the book of Matthew, Jesus speaks of the 180 degree turn that each of our lives takes once faith and trust in God’s grace makes it’s home in our heart.

In Matthew 5:14–16, we hear Jesus speaking of the new creation we become through faith in Him.

Jesus says:

[14] “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. [15] Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. [16] In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. (Matthew 5:14–16, ESV)

Paul, in other letters to other churches, encourages us to be the light in the world that causes others to recognize and praise God by responding to Jesus’ forgiveness and life when he says:

[10] … walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; [11] being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy; [12] giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. [13] He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, [14] in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. (Colossians 1:10–14 ESV)

And, then Paul says:

[23]…be renewed in the spirit of your minds, [24] and…put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.

[25] Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another. [26] Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, [27] and give no opportunity to the devil. [28] Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need. [29] Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. [30] And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. [31] Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. [32] Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you. (Ephesians 4:23–32, ESV)

In this moment, I want to ask you to reflect on your life.

Has God’s grace and mercy changed the way you think, act, and speak? 

Do people notice a difference in you because of your faith in Jesus?

Or, do you sit in church on Sunday morning confessing your sin and confessing your faith only to return to your old way of life once you walk out the doors?

Do you praise Jesus with your mouth in church and then use your voice to take out your frustration and anger with people and places by typing out rants and slanderous comments on social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram?

Have you experienced love, grace, and mercy, but forgotten to speak and act with love, grace, and mercy?

Do you use your hands to pray in church and hold the body and blood of Christ in Communion and then use those same hands to give the middle finger to another driver on the way home in a fit of road rage?

Do you praise Jesus for all he has given you and then refuse to give or just give leftover scraps to his church and people in need around you?

In the days of the Russian revolution, the Soviet state tried to stamp out Christianity and convert everyone to atheism. A popular Russian comedian developed a stage act in which he played a drunken Orthodox priest. Dressed in wine-stained robes, he did a comic imitation of the ancient but beautiful liturgy.

Part of his performance was to chant the Beatitudes. But he used distorted words—such as “blessed are they who hunger and thirst for vodka” and “blessed are the cheese makers”—while struggling to remain more or less upright. He had done his act time and again and been rewarded by the authorities for his work in promoting atheism and in making worship seem ridiculous.

But on one occasion things didn’t go as planned. Instead of saying his garbled version of the Beatitudes in his well-rehearsed comic manner, he chanted the sentences as they are actually sung in a real Liturgy. His attention was focused not on the audience but on the life-giving words that were coming from the Bible, words he had learned and sung as a child. He listened to the memorized words and something happened in the depths of his soul.

After singing the final Beatitude, he fell to his knees weeping. He had to be led from the stage and never again parodied worship. He was sent to a labor camp, but even so it’s a story of a happy moment in his life. He had begun a new life in a condition of spiritual freedom that no prison can take away. Whatever his fate, he brought the Beatitudes and his recovered faith with him. Truly, the Bible can change one’s life.

The message of the Bible, which was given directly to the Apostle Paul from the one that the Bible is all about, Jesus Christ, changed Paul’s life.  Paul went from a murderous hatred of Jesus and His followers immediately to the most well known church planter and preacher of his day.

If the following lyrics were written when Paul was alive, I am sure he would have sung them as loudly as he could as he traveled and preached:

I love to tell the story

of unseen things above,

of Jesus and his glory,

of Jesus and his love.

I love to tell the story

because I know it’s true;

it satisfies my longings

as nothing else can do.

Christ Jesus, pure and holy,

without a spot or stain,

by wicked hands was taken,

was crucified and slain!

And now the word is finished,

the sinner’s debt is paid,

because on Christ the Righteous

the sin of all was laid.

I love to tell the story;

’twill be my theme in glory

to tell the old, old story

of Jesus and his love.

The message of the Bible, the message that continuously speaks to you and tells you that Jesus Christ lived, died, and was resurrected for the forgiveness of your sin and your eternal life in Heaven, changes your life as well.  Jesus Christ comes to you this morning with nothing but grace and mercy.  

This simple message that changes your life is this:

[16] “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. [17] For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. (John 3:16–17, ESV)

Today, set your daily password for daily life to, “I Am Forgiven!”  (Don’t forget the exclamation point for security purposes!)

This is the simple message that changes your life forever.

This morning and this week repent of your sin, place your trust in Jesus alone, be transformed from a terrorist to an evangelist, and take the message of Jesus Christ into all of the places that you go. 

Do so while singing as loudly as you can with full joy and assurance of your salvation:

I love to tell the story

of unseen things above,

of Jesus and his glory,

of Jesus and his love.

I love to tell the story

because I know it’s true;

it satisfies my longings

as nothing else can do.

This is the Word of God for you today.

This is the Grace of God for you today.

Amen.

Reverend Fred Scragg V.

February 9, 2025.

Prayer:

Blessed Lord God, 

Your Word searches our hearts and condemns us. We are not poor in spirit: we are proud and self-dependent. We do not mourn over our sin and the sin of others: we hide and excuse our sin, while judging others for their sin. We are not meek but are eager to defend our own rights and reputations, while caring little for your good name and the name of others. We hunger and thirst far more to get our own way than for your righteousness. We easily forget the mercy that we have received, and as a result feel little mercy toward others. Our hearts are not pure but are divided between serving you and serving our idols. We have jealous thoughts that promote strife in our words and actions, instead of loving and pursuing your peace. We flee from the smallest hint of persecution, eagerly protecting our own comfort and security, instead of boldly proclaiming your truth like the prophets. Lord God, we confess before you that we deserve your eternal curse for all these things. 

Thank you, Father, for Jesus Christ, in whom we are blessed with every spiritual blessing. His dependence, mourning, meekness, hunger for righteousness, mercy, purity, peacemaking, and faithfulness even to death are the righteousness that enables us to receive your blessing. Because of his obedience, our reward is great in heaven. 

Lord, teach us to live as those who are blessed in Christ. Help us to proclaim to others the mercy we have received and to live lives that are in line with that mercy and holiness. Help us to love the righteousness that redeemed us and to long for the day when you will work that righteousness in fullness in our hearts. Purify our hearts and cleanse our minds increasingly, so that we may endure hardship as good soldiers for Jesus Christ, and may delight to bear the burdens of those whom you place around us. Amen.

Benediction:

Go in peace today.  Jesus has made you a new creation, created after God in righteousness and holiness. This week, walk in manner worth of Jesus Christ, bearing fruit in every good work.