I invite you to find Galatians 4 in your Bibles this morning as we continue looking at this letter Paul wrote to a group of churches in the first century. As you are finding your place in God’s word today, I want to talk about simplicity a little bit.

We like for things to be simple in our lives. The least amount of steps that something requires, the more we seem to like it. While we like things to be simple, we often do not trust when things are simple.

I think about the movie, Remember the Titans with Denzel Washington. He plays the character of Herman Boone, a coach who comes into a new high school as the new head football coach. As they are leaving for camp with the team, he shares the offensive playbook with the other coaches. Coach Boone says about his offensive playbook, “I run six plays… split-veer. It’s like novocaine. Give it time… it always works.”

While we like simplicity, we are often critical of simplicity because far too many things in life are not as simple as we’d like.

In Matthew 22, we are told about an expert in Jewish law who wanted some simplicity. He asked a question of Jesus about the law of God. We know this question was meant to trap Jesus, but Jesus still gave an answer to it.

³⁶ “Teacher, which command in the law is the greatest?” ³⁷ He said to him, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. ³⁸ This is the greatest and most important command. ³⁹ The second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. ⁴⁰ All the Law and the Prophets depend on these two commands.”

Matthew 22:36–40 (CSB)

The Old Testament law had 613 commands in it. This guy wanted some simplicity. Jesus showed how to fulfill the entire law of God with two statements: love God with everything you are and love your neighbor as yourself.

Could it really be that simple? Simple – yes; Easy – no. While this person was trying to trap Jesus in what he thought was an impossible situation, Jesus used to teach an important lesson. Jesus shows with His statement that these two commands are the heart of the entire Law. You cannot have one without the other. A person cannot love God with all they are and not care for those around them. In the same way, a person cannot fully love their neighbor as themselves without loving God above all things and being transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit.

‌Could this simplicity really work?

‌Paul shows in Galatians 4 that yes, this simple answer Jesus gave can and does work in life.

¹² I beg you, brothers and sisters: Become as I am, for I also have become as you are. You have not wronged me; ¹³ you know that previously I preached the gospel to you because of a weakness of the flesh. ¹⁴ You did not despise or reject me though my physical condition was a trial for you. On the contrary, you received me as an angel of God, as Christ Jesus himself. ¹⁵ Where, then, is your blessing? For I testify to you that, if possible, you would have torn out your eyes and given them to me. ¹⁶ So then, have I become your enemy because I told you the truth?

Galatians 4:12–16 (CSB)

‌Trusting in God’s Word

‌In these verses, Paul shows that Jesus’ simple answer does work by trusting in God’s Word. Trusting someone’s word is not always easy. There are so many times in our lives when people’s word doesn’t mean much. We experience people lying to us or going back on their word. The difference between God’s Word and some person’s word is that God does not have the ability to lie. While that should comfort us, it is still hard at times to trust God’s Word.

In these verses that we are looking at today, Paul shares two important points about trusting God’s word.

Trusting God’s Word is Work

Because we are surrounded by so many people who do not keep their word, trusting God and His Word can be a work in our lives.

In verse 12, Paul says that he became like the Galatians. The people in the churches of Galatia were primarily Gentile (non-Jewish) people. When Paul talks about becoming like them, he is talking about putting aside the ways in which he was raised — as a Jewish man — in order to reach the people of Galatia with the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Racism is an ugly sin in our world today, but it is not a new sin. It has been around in many forms for a long time. Even in the first century, Jewish people were taught not to associate with Gentiles outside of a business mindset. You were not to eat with them, go to their houses, or have them in your house.

When Paul experienced life change through a relationship with Jesus, he laid aside the ways he was raised that didn’t line up with what God’s Word taught. He began to understand that he was to love his neighbor as himself — even if that neighbor wasn’t Jewish.

As we walk with the Lord, we begin to realize that the work that He is doing within us will call for us to work it out in our daily lives. It will not just happen for us all of the time. There will be times when we have to make adjustments in order to be obedient to what God’s Word tells us.

Like Paul, we do this by keeping before us that the message is more important than our comfort. Because Paul did that, he was given the opportunity to bring the gospel to a people that would not hear it. Paul was able to share the gospel and welcome these people into the family of God.

‌Trusting God’s Word isn’t always easy

If you have not experienced this yet, you will. There will be times when you come across something in God’s Word and the Holy Spirit will spur you towards obedience in it, and it will be difficult. It will call for you to draw some lines in the sand that are not popular. It may cost you some relationships, popularity, or even opportunities.

I don’t know where this false gospel that is going around started, but it says that if you will come to faith in Jesus then everything will be perfect in your life — no sickness, no hardships, no worries.

³¹ Jesus responded to them, “Do you now believe? ³² Indeed, an hour is coming, and has come, when each of you will be scattered to his own home, and you will leave me alone. Yet I am not alone, because the Father is with me. ³³ I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace. You will have suffering in this world. Be courageous! I have conquered the world.”

John 16:31–33 (CSB)

Trusting God and His Word is not always easy. Paul experienced this on two levels.

‌Paul faced persecution

‌When Paul became a Christian, the Jewish people turned on him. They treated him like a traitor. They saw him as one who left his heritage to follow some crazy guy who claimed to be the Son of God.

Paul was in line for big things in Jewish life. Some believe that he could have been one of the great Jewish leaders — even high priest at some point.

But the persecution Paul faced wasn’t just from outside the church. Sadly, persecution even came from within the church. Many Jewish Christians did not like the fact that Paul was focusing on sharing with so many Gentiles, but that is what God had called him to do.

¹⁵ But the Lord said to him, “Go, for this man is my chosen instrument to take my name to Gentiles, kings, and Israelites.

Acts 9:15 (CSB)

It may be hard to believe, but sometimes the most pushback you will receive in following God’s Word will come from those who seem religious. Those who claim to be following God sometimes do not want to listen to what He says.

Paul faced persecution from many angles in the religious community because what God was calling him to do went against what they thought should happen. As Christians, we are to follow the Lord’s clear leading that He gives to us through His Word.

‌Paul faced personal hardships

‌In verse 14, Paul talks about his “physical condition” and how the Galatian Christians did not reject him because of it. We are not told specifically what this physical condition was. Some have said Paul may have had malaria. Others believe it was something that affected his eyesight because he talks about them being willing to give them their eyes in verse 15. Whatever the condition was, it was a struggle for Paul and others.

This points to the fact the Lord may not remove some of the issues that we deal with in our bodies. Just because we may have a medical condition that some see as a hindrance, God may want to display His glory through it.

This is one of the reasons I do not give any weight to what is known today as the “prosperity gospel.” This false teaching will tell you that if you have enough faith, you will not have any issues in this life. We have already seen how Jesus spoke against this.

Trusting in God’s Word shows that though there may be physical, emotional, or other issues present in our lives, He is greater and can still use us in great ways.

‌How do we trust in God’s Word?

‌Paul shows that the simple answer Jesus gave in Matthew 22 does in fact work. It is about trusting God and His Word. How do we do that?

‌Experience God’s Word

A person cannot trust in something they have never experienced. I use the term “experienced” specifically because it is so much more than a simple read of words on a page. In order to experience God’s Word, one must read and study it. They have to wrestle with what it says at times.

I cannot count the times I’ve had people say to me, “Doesn’t the Bible that …?” I like to reply by saying, “Show me where.” Too many times, we depend on someone else’s interpretation of the Bible to stand as complete in our lives. Just because someone stands on a stage, has a microphone, or a podcast does not mean that you should take what they say as gospel. Be like the Christians in Berea (Acts 17:11). They took what was taught by anyone and studied the Scriptures for themselves to see if it lined up or not.

‌Understand the Source

We come to learn that we can trust God’s word because it didn’t come from any human mind. The words of the Bible came from the heart of the Holy Spirit.

²⁰ Above all, you know this: No prophecy of Scripture comes from the prophet’s own interpretation, ²¹ because no prophecy ever came by the will of man; instead, men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.

2 Peter 1:20–21 (CSB)

When you begin to understand the source of the Scriptures, it is easier to trust it. God is perfect and so is His Word. His Word is His instruction to guide us in a life pleasing to Him.

‌Submit to God’s Word

While we can acknowledge that the Bible is God’s Word and experience it for ourselves, there is another important step if we are going to fully trust it. In fact, no one can honestly say they trust God’s Word without this step. We must submit to it.

We may not necessarily like what God’s Word says on a particular subject, but we don’t get to change the fact it is perfect and right. Our responsibility is, as we encounter God’s Word, we are to come under its authority. We do this knowing that it is right.

This is the most difficult aspect of trusting God’s Word. In fact, we cannot do it without the Holy Spirit’s help. That is one of the reasons the Holy Spirit lives within each Christian: to open their eyes to the truth of God’s Word and enable them to submit to it. It is in this submission that one finds true freedom.

‌Conclusion

‌Paul found His purpose and strength by trusting in God’s Word. We can find our purpose by doing the same thing. Is it easy? Not always. Is it popular? Not in the world we are living in. Is this what God wants in our lives? Absolutely!

⁶ “I have revealed your name to the people you gave me from the world. They were yours, you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. ⁷ Now they know that everything you have given me is from you, ⁸ because I have given them the words you gave me. They have received them and have known for certain that I came from you. They have believed that you sent me.

John 17:6–8 (CSB)

This is what Jesus prayed for His disciples. He is the living Word who calls us to trust in His Word. It is as faithful as the One whose heart it comes from. Will you trust His Word today?