A Final Word About Authentic Christian Faith

Paul, whatever his eye problems were, did not have the benefit of these. Therefore, he was dependent on younger colleagues to serve as scribes. He thought it was very important that his signature and, in this case, even the last verses be in his own handwriting. He is making it clear that what he has already dictated, and now the words with which he concludes, are very important.

Let's look at these final words of this treatise that emphasizes salvation is not through self-righteous works but through your and my faith in the saving grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Final Word One: Authentic Christian faith is primarily an internal, not external, matter.

Paul writes, "Those who want to make a good impression outwardly are trying to compel you to be circumcised" (Galatians 6:12).

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The Galatians are trying to make things look good externally.

They figure that if they can get Gentile men to become Jewish proselytes, be circumcised and profess their faith that Jesus is the Messiah, they would have a good thing going. Paul is incensed. He is convinced that this is for outward show. They probably had convinced themselves of the importance of this.

Paul is trying to get across the fact that vital Christian faith is not summed up in external observances, religious hoops through which one jumps, things you have to do to be accepted by God.

This circumcision topic has little relevance to you and me today. But we have our parallel convictions about external matters.

I can introduce you to churches that make a big deal over the external mode of baptism. Do you sprinkle? Do you pour? Do you immerse once? Do you immerse three times, in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit?

Today these battles over external expressions evidence themselves in what many of us are calling "worship wars."

We have a bit of this right here at St. Andrew's. There are some of you that get quite distressed that we have introduced any kind of contemporary music into our Sunday morning worship. And for others of you, Saturday evening's loud rock worship service does not go far enough. Some of you prefer the great hymns of the faith and see them as more authentic expressions of worship than praise choruses, in which the same words are sung over and over again. Others of you can't relate to the left-brain linear nature of historic hymnody. For you, it is the repetition of a spiritual phrase, a word from Scripture that lifts your spirit into the presence of Almighty God.

I love how what I am going to read to you now captures the external dynamics of the contrast between praise choruses and traditional hymns:

An old farmer went to the city one weekend and attended the big city church. He came home and his wife asked him how it was. "Well," said the farmer, "it was good. They did something different, however. They sang praise choruses instead of hymns."