Our study in Galatians this year has been remarkably relevant.  It seems each week, as we work through scriptures, I think, "Wow, this is a lesson we need.  How in the world did Paul know we would need to hear that lesson today?  It is like he was inspired... by the Spirit."  It really gets spooky this morning.  You are not going to believe what Paul wrote for us today.  How many days is it until Christmas?  12.  Guess what the subject of Galatians 6:6-10 is?  No, not Christmas, that will be next week, but how about buying Christmas presents.  Paul tells us how to pick out Christmas presents!  "Come on Tim you are just making that up."  Well, maybe a little.  But you are going to be surprised at how close it is.

So, what is the most common question asked at this time of year?  What do you want for Christmas?  That is the question I want to ask this morning.  What do we, as a congregation, want for Christmas? 

The first present on our list has to be the one we talked about last week; the Swiss Army knife.  Am I right?  We have to have the package deal of Christ.  I want, more than anything, the Swiss Army knife with the blade of salvation and the Spirit tool of sanctification and the cork screw of fellowship.  Not to mention all the other cool blades of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, faithfulness, gentleness and especially the bottle opener of self-control.  Am I right?  We, as a congregation, all want the package of Christ working in our lives to accomplish his will in us!

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Since we have talked last week, I have learned two more things about the package of Christ from Galatians 6.  This is some makeup work that I missed last week that should have been in that sermon.  Let me take a time out and fix last week's sermon. 

Galatians 6:1 Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently.  But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted.

I learned about the Greek word for restore; katarti,zw .  It has a bigger meaning than just restore; like bring someone back to church or keep them from going round the bend.  Notice it's usage: complete(1), equip(1), fully trained(1), made complete(2), mending(2), perfect(1), prepared(4), restore(1).  Wow, what if we plug some of those meanings into our verse?  I like mend... Or what about fully train...  Or perfect...  That is part of this wonderful Christmas present from Christ!  We are a gift to each other.  When we gently mend each other; when we gently complete each other; when we gently train each other, we become a place of sanctification.  That is the gift I am putting first on my list! 

The other thing I learned was a negative example of gentle.  The gift I don't want on my list.  It is a story about a Grandma who goes to court. I don't know if it is really true or just a good story.  In a trial, a Southern small-town prosecuting attorney called his first witness, a grandmotherly, elderly woman to the stand.  He approached her and asked, "Mrs. Jones, do you know me?"

She responded, "Why, yes, I do know you, Mr. Williams.  I've known you since you were a boy, and frankly, you've been a big disappointment to me.  You lie, you cheat on your wife, and you manipulate people and talk about them behind their backs.  You think you're a big shot when you haven't the brains to realize you'll never amount to anything more than a two-bit paper pusher.  Yes, I know you."

The lawyer was stunned.  Not knowing what else to do, he pointed across the room and asked, "Mrs. Jones, do you know the defense attorney?"

She again replied, "Why yes, I do.  I've known Mr. Bradley since he was a youngster, too.  He's lazy, bigoted, and he has a drinking problem.  He can't build a normal relationship with anyone, and his law practice is one of the worst in the entire state.  Not to mention he cheated on his wife with three different women.  One of them was your wife.  Yes, I know him."

The defense attorney also nearly died.  Then the judge asked both counselors to approach the bench and, in a very quiet voice, said, "If either of you idiots asks her if she knows me, I'll send you both to the electric chair."

That is not the kind of sanctifying church we need.  Grandma, although willing to confront sin, she was missing that gently part. 

What do we want for Christmas?  Here is what I want you to hear me say to start with this morning.  At the top of my Christmas list is the present from Christ that is the package deal of salvation, sanctification through the Spirit in the fellowship of a sanctifying community. 

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In the next 5 verses of Galatians 6, Paul tells us how to buy Christmas presents and he does by using one of my favorite things... a metaphor.

Galatians 6:7 Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows.

The metaphor is simply, "You reap what you sow."  It is as powerful, as it is obvious.  As a kid growing up in Kentucky, I had a garden.  This was a financial investment, not for my own consumption.  I planted tomatoes and guess what grew?  I planted corn.  Guess what I got?  I planted potatoes.  This is tricky, but guess what I dug up?  What we plant, is what we get.  The context of these 5 verses, as we are going to see, is money.  How we sow our money is what we are going to reap.  Intuitively obvious?

Paul says don't be deceived; don't think you are going to be the exception. If you spend your money on the train that is going round the bend, guess where you are going to end up?  Around the bend!  There is ultimately an accounting to all of our investments.  It is easy to forget that what we consistently do is going to produce that kind of fruit.  Ultimately, if it doesn't catch up to us in this life, it will in the next. 

"God cannot be mocked" literally means, "Turn up your nose at God."  Don't think you can thumb your nose at God and ignore the fact that one day there will be harvest.  There is a principle in place here that is a sure as gravity.  You will reap what you sow.  However you spend your money will be what you get.  This is the fundamental principle about how to buy a Christmas presents.  

It gets scarier in the next verse. 

Galatians 6:8 The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction.

Here is our old friend the Sarx.  If we plant stuff to please the Sarx, we get destruction. 

Galatians 5:19-21  The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery;  idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions  and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.

If we buy Christmas presents which satisfy our own selfishness, then we are going to end up in destruction.  82% of all Christmas presents bought this year are ultimately going to end up in a dumpster.  I just made that number up.  But it has to be close.  If we buy selfishly; if we buy to satisfy our own self-focused desires, that stuff is going to end up in destruction; the dumpster.

If we plant potatoes we get... potatoes.  If we buy selfish stuff, we get... selfish stuff which ends up in the dumpster.  What do we want for Christmas?  Not dumpster stuff.

Now the upside...

Galatians 6:8 The one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.

Ahh, I get it.  I need to buy Christmas presents that are going to last for eternity.  If I invest in stuff that leads to love and joy and peace and gentleness that is going to make a difference forever!  That seems to be the answer.  Paul says we need to buy Christmas presents which will make an eternal difference.

This is a significant insight for us as a congregation; we invest in stuff that makes the  big difference. But the same principle works with families.  I need to invest in presents which will still be around in 10,000 years, bright shining as the sun. It also works with individuals.  I want to spend my life making eternal differences!

I don't think Paul is opposed to stuff.  He sold tents.  God made all the stuff there is.  Why else would God have made High Definition Televisions?  Paul wants us to ask what is the eternal difference our presents are going to make?  The next verse then pumps us up to do this.  I need an occasional pumping up.  This time of year we all may need the pumping up. 

Galatians 6:9  Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.

The problem is immediate gratification.  Am I right?  I can watch a 55" LG LED LCD HDTV right now.  I don't have to think about an eternal difference, I am thinking about the difference in 1080p and 720i.  So, Paul is saying we must work on taking the long view.  Don't lose heart, that is the literal translation, doing good.  Don't let your heart get set on the dumpster stuff, but rather on the harvest stuff.  We are sowing for eternity.  I might argue that a 55" LG LED LCD HDTV will help me in some eternal way, perhaps it would.  But I need to ask the question.  I need to think about where I am investing for eternity. 

Then Paul gives us a couple examples of what he is talking about. 

Galatians 6:10  Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.  

As we have the capability, the time, the opportunity we are to do good to all people.  That is who we are called to be.  That is the eternal investment.  That is who Christians are; those who do good to all people.  We invest our money in helping people.  We ask how can I do good in such a way as to eternally make a difference to people.  We need to take the long view in how we invest in helping all people. 

Then Paul gives another example; especially to the household of faith.  We are to invest in helping each other, in our family.  We need to ask the question, "How do we invest for eternity amongst ourselves?"   "Well, doesn't that sound sort of self serving; especially to the family?  "

Ben Witherington III has this to say about the that.
"We may well ask why Paul says 'especially to the household of faith'.  I would suggest the reason is because the Christian community is not an isolated community but rather a community of witness.  If the community cannot and does not take care of its own, why should any onlooker believe Christians are sincere when they speak of doing good to all or of Christ's concern for all?  One must remember that the Galatians were probably in the early stages of their Christian life, and it was especially crucial that they establish a pattern of behavior that would be a good witness in their largely pagan environment."

We make eternal investments in our family; as a witness.  That is how we buy Christmas presents.

I skipped a verse that is another example of an eternal investment. 

Galatians 6:6 Anyone who receives instruction in the word must share all good things with his instructor.

This is a solid church principle.  Those who teach, those who minister, those who preach are eternal investments for the church.  I am really liking this verse.  We make eternal investments in learning the word. 

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What do you want for Christmas?  What should we have on our Christmas lists?  First, it has to be the Swiss Army Knife of Jesus but then, where do we invest our money?  I think the simple, yet profound, answer is; in stuff that will make a difference for eternity.  When we go to buy Christmas presents for our congregation, for our families, for individuals we ask, "What presents make eternal differences?"

Are you surprised at how practically relevant these verses are to us on December 13?

Los Alamos Church of Christ
December 13, 2009