September, 1934
T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S
302
GALATIANS....o 'i True¿ross Section
By ROY L. LAURIN San GabrféiTCalif.
a f i o s A
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H e r e is a letter which is unique in that it is not one letter ter written to a number o f churches. It is addressed “ unto the churches o f Galatia.” Galatia was that strip o f country in Asia Minor which lay beneath the Black Sea and was oc cupied at the time o f this letter by descendants o f ancient Celtic tribes. The circumstance o f the letter’s writing came about in a very provi
ment a current o f electricity passes through a condemned criminal’s body, and he is dead, that moment marks his release from the law. A half hour before, a broken-hearted mother pleaded to take her boy back home, but the unbend ing law said, “ No.” But now, a half hour later, she tear fully takes his body from the prison yard, with no restraint upon her. A half hour before, the law said, “ No.” A half hour later, the law said, “ Yes.” And why ? Death has come, the warden writes “ discharged” after the name o f the dead man, and the law has no more interest in him nor claim upon him. The cross fulfilled the law for the believer by death. Christ’s death upon the cross fulfilled every legal re quirement o f the law. First, the demands were met because Christ’s life surrendered to the cross was the law’s perfect sacrifice. And then, Christ’s death on the cross met every legal obligation o f the law’s just and proper penalty. The cross released Christ’s life to the believer by death. The cross means more than Christ crucified. It means
written to one church, but one let
dential manner. Upon Paul’s first missionary journey, he was taken sick and was nursed back to health by the be lievers among the churches o f Galatia. During his absence, certain Judaizing teachers from Jerusalem invaded the re gion and spread a false teaching— that only by observing the legal and ceremonial provisions o f the law could believ ers enter into the fullest blessings o f the gospel. This epistle is Paul’s answer to these false teachers and is called “ the Magna Charta o f Christian liberty.” The chief char acteristic o f the apostle’s answer is the presentation of a predominant and thrice-recurring argument— the cross. Government naturalists at the ranger station at the Mariposa Grove of Big Trees at Yosemite National Park are preparing a large slab o f a giant redwood tree, cut directly across the face o f its diameter. It is a cross section o f that tree in which one may see the stages o f its growth from year to year. Here are to be read the records of rains and droughts. Here, in the circles o f yearly rings, one, reads the parallels o f human history, for from various parts o f the tree-slab the rangers have made historical parallels. For example, when the tree was a seedling, Christ was yet unborn and the early Caesars were in power. Then at another stage may be seen the growth reached by the tree when Paul first carried his message o f Christianity to the barbarians in Macedonia. Then at another stage, the tree diameter is seen as it was when Columbus discovered Amer ica. Still another point is marked to show when the World War broke out. It is the tree’s cross section o f growth with the parallels o f contemporary history. The Epistle to the Galatians offers us something more important than the cross section o f a tree. It offers us the cross section o f life, fo r if one will cut across the face o f its diameter o f truth,- hie has laid bare to him this true cross section of life. It is the history o f a tree o f a d if ferent kind— the tree o f Christ’s death and our life. This cross section o f life shows but three aspects of the cross around which the contents o f the epistle are grouped. The T)eath of the C^ss “1 am crucified with Christ . . . ” (Gal. 2 :20). The arguments o f the Judaizing teachers revolved around a single conception, namely, that Christianity obli gated its believers to the law to fulfill all its legal and cere monial requirements. This the apostle vigorously denied, and he offered his argument of the cross— the death of the cross. The cross released the believer from the law by death. Paul said: “ I am crucified.” He is dead. He is dead to the law. The law has no claims upon a dead man; therefore the dead man is released from all its obligations. The mo
more than I crucified with Christ. It means Christ’s life released by Christ’s death, so that now I can say: “ Christ liveth in me.” And now, the. cross, instead o f obligating me to the law and its death, has liberated me from the law and r e le a s e d unto me Christ’s very life. But along with the life o f Christ released to me by the cross, there is a daily death that I must die. I must die a daily death to my own affections, desires, ambitions, yea, to my own flesh. It is said in Galatians 5 :24 : “ They that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the a f f e c t i o n s and lusts.” It is popular psychology that ex pression is the normal attitude — not repres sion. The modern psy chologist believes the normal attitude toward life is self-expression; his argument is predi cated under the false supposition that human nature is fundamental ly pure and righteous. But the evident lack of morals o f our day is the fruit o f this theory and a proof that it is wrong. The very first
The G ist of Four G r e a t Le t te r s
0 With the presentation of this article by Roy L. Laurin, pastor of the San Gabriel Union Church, San Gabriel, Calif., the K ING 'S BUSINESS brings to its readers the first of a new series of Bible studies. These four epistles contain the Lord's answer to some of the great problems which are vex ing the church and individual believers today. Studies which direct attention to the search ing of these portions of the Word are therefore timely and will meet a need recognized by many of the Lord's people. The nature and scope of these messages is suggested by the sub-titles: GALATIANS: A True Cross Section of Life. EPHESIANS: God's Purpose and God's People. PHILIPPIANS: A Christian in His Right Mind. COLOSSIANS: Heresies and Verities. • Each article develops: (I) The background of the writing of the epistle; (2) an analytical outline combined with a devo tional and expository treatment of portions of the text; and (3) a highly practical message for the bel i ever' s daily walk in Christ Jesus.
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