In his sermon titled 'Hindered in the Race', David Green delves into Galatians 5:7-12, where Paul uses the metaphor of a race to describe the Galatian life of faith. Paul warns the Galatians against legalism, indicating that it is not from God and serves as a hindrance in their spiritual race. He emphasizes the need for endurance, drawing parallels from other scriptures where he uses the race metaphor, such as in Romans and Corinthians. Paul stresses the importance of not only starting the race well but also finishing well, cautioning against doctrines and practices that could lead believers astray. Green further explains the concept of 'a little leaven leavens the whole lump', illustrating how even minor deviations from the gospel can lead to significant spiritual downfall. He highlights modern examples of legalism and warns against the dangers of adding non-biblical rules to the faith. Ultimately, the sermon encourages believers to remain grounded in the truth of God's word and to rely on His grace to persevere and finish the spiritual race well.

Alright, so you can go ahead and take your copy of God's word and let's go to Galatians. Galatians chapter 5. Today we'll begin reading at verse 7. Galatians 5, beginning of verse 7. We'll go down to verse 12.

This will be the section of the text that we'll cover this evening. The title of my message tonight is hindered in the race hindered in the race Galatians 5 beginning of verse 7 says ye were running well Or you were running well who hindered you from obeying the truth. This persuasion is not from him who calls you. A little leaven leavens the whole lump. I have confidence in you, in the Lord, that you will adopt no other view, but the one who is disturbing you will bear his judgment, whoever he is.

But I, brothers, if I still preach circumcision, why am I still persecuted? Then the stumbling block of the cross would have been abolished. I wish that those who are upsetting you would even mutilate themselves. This is the Word of God. This is the section that I want to cover this evening.

As I mentioned, the title is, Hinderd in the Race. This is taken from the text from verse 7 that we read there. He says, you were running well who hindered you from obeying the truth. From obeying the truth. Paul compares the Galatian life of faith with a race.

Being in the Roman Empire, he would have been familiar with the Greek games, He would have been familiar with the Greek games. He would have been familiar with the Olympic games, the runners. And as a matter of fact, Paul, as he compares the Galatian life of faith with a race, this is actually a figure that he uses quite frequently. In fact, earlier in this epistle, I don't know if you caught it or not, but in Galatians chapter 2, in verse 2, Galatians 2 verse 2, he says, And I went up because of a revelation, and I laid out to them the gospel which I preach among the Gentiles but I did so in private to those who were of reputation lest somehow I might be running or had run in vain." So we see how he uses this illustration of running. Romans chapter 9, when he wrote to the church at Rome, in Romans chapter 9, verse 16, as Romans 9 and verse 16 as he presented the truth of God's sovereignty to them he says in Romans 9 and verse 16, so then it does not depend on the one who wills or the one who runs, but on God who has mercy.

The way you run the race is not what's the determinant factor of God's mercy, you see. In 1 Corinthians chapter 9, maybe one of the clearest examples that he used here of this illustration of running. In 1 Corinthians 9 verses 24 through 27 he says this, Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receives the prize. Run in such a way that you may win. Now Everyone who competes in the games exercises self-control in all things.

They then do it to receive a corruptible crown, but we an incorruptible. Therefore I run in such a way as not without aim, I box in such a way as not beating the air, but I discipline my body, make it my slave, so that after I have preached to others I myself will not be disqualified." Paul says, you know those who run in a race, they all run, but only one receives the price. He said, you've got to run. You've got to run in such a way to win. You've got to run to win the race.

Everyone who competes in those games, those Olympic games, these physical running, they exercise self-discipline. We have a member of our church who's a runner. Brother Sam is a good runner. He is always out there running and he's very very conscious about the things he eats and the exercise that he does and all that so he can enter into games and marathons and so on and so forth. And so this illustration, though it was made some 2, 000 years ago, it fits now too.

All the technological advances in the world, the reality is it still takes discipline to run a race physically and so it is spiritually he tells them at Corinth He said they do it to receive a corruptible crown a crown That's going to be destroyed, but we an incorruptible and so therefore I run Not as without aim The finish line is ahead. He says I'm not running this way. I'm not running that way I'm not going back The finish line is that way and so I run with aim. He says, I box in such a way as not beating the air. There's a purpose in the things that I do.

I discipline my body and make it my slave. So that after I have preached to others I myself will not be disqualified." Hold that thought. And then there's one more passage I want us to consider. It may have been Paul, it may have been somebody else. We don't know for sure but somebody wrote Hebrews, Hebrews chapter 12.

Whoever it was used this same kind of illustration. Whether it was Paul or not, All of this is God's Word and inspired of Him. He breathed it. This is His Word. And look what He says here, Hebrews 12 verses 1 and 2.

Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us. Laying aside every weight in the sin which so easily entangles us, Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before him endured to cross, despising the shame, and has set down the right hand of the throne of God. Verse 3 he says, For consider him who has endured such hostility by sinners against himself, so that you will not grow weary fainting in heart." It's telling that the writer of Hebrews, of course, we're all familiar with Hebrews 11, that great roll call of the heroes of faith, but it is telling that that chapter is bookended with endurance. Is bookended with endurance. Just to point this out to you in Hebrews chapter 10 Hebrews chapter 10 Hebrews chapter 10.

He says, For ye have need of endurance, so that when ye have done the will of God you may receive the promise. For yet in a very little while he who is coming will come will not delay, but my righteous one shall live by faith and if he shrinks back My soul has no pleasure in him, but we are not of those who shrink back to destruction, but of those who have faith to the preserving of the soul." And then he enters into what we know as chapter 11. Remember, there originally wasn't these divisions, but we see this endurance is bookended there. We have need of endurance, and indeed we are to run with endurance the race that is set before us. The only way we can do that is fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith.

Or as the King James says, the author and finisher of our faith. Who for the joy set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. The Christian life is like a race and while some people focus all their attention in their younger years at the start of the race and all they want to talk about is how they started well. That's important. You've got to start well.

You'll never win a race by not starting. You've got to start the race well. But beloved, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, we have got to finish well too. To finish well too. Paul had a great start there on the road to Damascus.

As he wrote about this to the church at Corinth, he said, I discipline my body and make it my slave, so that after I preach to others I myself will not be disqualified or cast away. It was a daily struggle for Paul, Something that he worked on continually this race. Even though he was at, some would say, good shape. Now you're preaching, you're doing all this missionary work. Won't you?

Take the foot off the brakes a little bit Paul. Why don't you retire Paul? Why don't you? Let the young people step in and also know I've got to discipline my body even now, continually. And you and I, we are no better than Paul.

We've got to bear in mind that we are in a race. May it not ever be said of us, like it was said of the Galatians in our text. In Galatians 5 and verse 7, you were running well. You were running well. There are no prizes given for people who were running well.

There's no prizes given for people who start the race and then don't finish. Who hindered them from obeying the truth. He says, these were people, individuals, churches even, who had started with great vigor to run the Christian race. And then now, look at them. Paul says, who then hindered you from obeying the truth?

Who hindered you from proceeding, from continuing on, from persevering to the end? What is the problem? Who had succeeded in perverting their minds so that they no longer obeyed the truth? They had been taught in the beginning to look to Christ and to Him alone for salvation. For a time, they remembered that.

They practiced it. But now, as Paul is writing to them, they had not stayed the course. They were no longer trusting in Christ alone. They were no longer faithfully running this race. They had resorted to circumcision of all things as an additional security instead of staying on the true salvation true foundation for their salvation for the justification for their sanctification you were running well Who hindered you from obeying the truth?

Literally, who has dug trenches in your path to impede your progress? What is it that's getting in your way? What is it that is obstructing you from finishing the race? He is supposing that someone, he doesn't name names, but someone was to blame. This was intentional the way he asks this question.

It was for them as well as for us to consider. It's very similar to what he said in Galatians 3 and verse 1, if you remember that. Oh foolish Galatians, who bewitched you? Who bewitched you before whose eyes Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified?" These questions are asked for them to prick their hearts. Now both in our text in Galatians 5 and in chapter 3 it's spoken of in the singular as if there's one But he was aware that there were multiple hinders involved.

And did you catch it in our reading in chapter 5 and verse 12? We'll get to that here in just a few moments. But look at it real quick with me here. It says, I wish that those who are upsetting you would even mutilate themselves. So he knew that there was more than one.

But the reality is that even though there was more than one agitator, more than one hinderer in the church, each individual reader would have to consider who is it that's got me off course. Maybe it was a spouse, maybe it was a child, maybe it was a friend, whatever it may have been. But ultimately, If we trace this thing all the way back We know that this is a spiritual battle And folks they were in a spiritual battle there and you and I are in a spiritual battle today. So each one of us needs to consider how we are on this race and what hindrances we have. But let us remember that there is one who is behind it all.

In fact in verse 8 he says this, this persuasion is not from him who calls you. This persuasion is not from Him who calls you. Legalism, regardless of its form, is not of God. Legalism, regardless of how it's packaged or repackaged, put a fancy bow on it, make it look real good and clean and all that sort of thing. Legalism is not of God.

Surely we don't find circumcision the hot topic in our circles That we move in these days. It may be out there somewhere wouldn't surprise me none Solomon the wise preacher said there's nothing new under the sun and he was right. So somewhere out there there's probably some church that's dealing with this kind of legalism. But thankfully you and I in the circles that we run, we don't see that. However, that doesn't mean that this epistle, these things that are written to the churches of Galatia that that doesn't mean that this is irrelevant to us The temperance movement I know that Before our time, but I mean just start there the temperance movement those Brothers and sisters in Christ and I believe they were brothers and sisters in Christ, they had good intentions, but guess what?

The Temperance movement was not of God. It was not from God. It was not of God. No matter what the intentions were for, they took something that was extra biblical and in their great zeal they tried to make something out of it. In fact, it became such a big deal that even trying to have wine in the Lord's Supper became hard to do and all of that.

So some churches even compromised on the very elements of the Lord's Supper because of it. No, he was not working in and through the temperance movement. And on we go. God does not tell us how long a woman's skirt is to be. You get into some of these legalistic groups and some of them will say it's got to be down to the ankles and some of them will say it's got to be to below the knees and all of these sorts of things and they make rules and regulations about it that's not of God it's not of God certainly certainly a woman and a man should dress modestly, but you know we get into some of these things and we get into a territory that, like these folks, they were drifted away.

They were no longer running the race properly. How long a woman's hair is supposed to be. On and on they go. Legalism. Even thinking about the fact that the reality is that God did not tell anybody, give anybody, not even in the last 400 years that a certain Bible translation is going to be the only one to use for any English-speaking person, but yet that's what we find in some circles and so while circumcision was the big deal here, Legalism of any sort comes down to this.

This persuasion is not from him who calls you. Where did it come from then? Why is he speaking of this in the singular, who hath hindered you? Well it's not God, he's making that clear. Well, well they might could point to someone, they could say, well this, this preacher came and was preaching this and I followed after him and somebody else could say well you know my wife was telling me this and I just kind of followed along with her to keep the peace and someone else might say well my husband was saying this on and on they go.

But ultimately, this comes from the devil who is seeking to seduce and to pervert God's people and the truth of God's word. Go back with me to Galatians, chapter one in verses six and seven. Galatians chapter 1 in verses 6 and 7 he says I marvel that you are so quickly deserting him who called you by the grace of Christ for a different gospel, which is really not another, only there are some who are disturbing you and want to distort the gospel of Christ." Legalism perverts the truth of the gospel and makes a mockery out of true Christianity. Legalism in all of its forms is slavery. Obviously there are some that are worse than others.

I think of like the Amish and some of those other groups that are deep into legalism. But there are others and there's milder forms, but ultimately all of it is a form of slavery. And it's a perversion of the gospel, because it either destroys the message of Christ alone for salvation, Christ alone for justification, or the grace of God in sanctification. So somewhere along the Christian life, they muddle up, They muddle up the truth of God's Word, put people in bondage, put them in slavery. This legalism does.

But In Galatians chapter 5 and verse 1, he tells them, it was for freedom that Christ set us free, therefore stand firm, and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery." He tells them, stand firm in the freedom that you have in Christ. Don't be subject again to a yoke of slavery. You know, so well it's not that bad. Well let me ask you this, if somebody says well you can be free if you follow this path, but then there's these other two paths. One path will give you two nights in jail and the other path will give you the rest of your life in jail.

Which one would you take? There's some people who say, well, the two nights in jail doesn't seem that bad. Hold up a second, go this path. There's freedom. And I've heard that.

I've heard people say, well, at least we're not Amish. At least we're not. Let's be sure that we're following Christ. Let's be sure that we're standing in the freedom that we have in Him. Not even for just a little bit.

So you see the contrast that He's painting here. That there's freedom to be found in Christ slavery bondage to be found away from them. Bondage, slavery to be found in legalism. In fact, in Galatians chapter 1 again, verses 11 and 12, verses 11 and 12. For I make known to you, brothers, that the gospel which I am proclaiming as good news is not according to man.

For I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ." Ultimately, there are two opposing systems in this world. And we can get all complicated and we can say well there's thousands of religions. Yes, there are but Ultimately, there's only two opposing systems There's God's grace freedom that we have in him That's That's one system. Then the other system is the system of works, the system of slavery, bondage. Only one of those systems is of God.

The Galatians were hindered. They'd been bewitched. They were following the system of works. A system not authored by God. And so each day as we run the race, we've got to watch our own run be grounded in God's Word.

Not just, well I read it once or I'll hear it when I hear it, when the preacher preaches it. No, no, you need to be in God's Word daily. Daily you need to be in prayer. Daily you need to be beating the flesh as Paul spoke of. As he wrote to these churches in Galatians chapter 5 and verse 9, A little leaven leavens the whole lump.

Little leaven leavens the whole lump. Paul used the same illustration of when he wrote to the church at Corinth in 1 Corinthians 5 and verse 6. Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? Clean out the old leaven so you may be a new lump just as you are in fact unleavened.

For Christ our Passover lamb also was sacrificed. See, leaven is often used in the scripture as a picture of sin. Jesus used it that way in Matthew chapter 16. Matthew chapter 16 and verse 6. And Jesus said to them, watch out and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

If you skip on down to verse 12 for times sake, it says, then they understood that he did not say to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees. And so leaven is a picture in the scriptures of sin, it's a picture of false doctrine. And like the influence of yeast and dough, so it is with this sin and false doctrine, just a little and the whole is ruined. If tolerated, This legalism could bring the whole church down and it would be ruined. You started running well.

You were running well. Who has hindered you? Oh, It's just a little thing. It's just circumcision. It's just a couple of rules that we've added onto the bylaws.

A couple of things that we elaborated on from the Scriptures, surely it won't hurt nothing. Paul says, writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, when we say, Paul said understand the Holy Spirit said a little leaven leavens the whole lump so one generation they've got two rules for the church. The next generation, they've got ten rules. The generation following that, they've got 25. You see?

And before you know it, that church has gone so far off from the pure doctrine, the pure gospel of Jesus Christ, you don't even recognize it anymore. The church is full of a bunch of Pharisees, legalists, many of them who don't even know the Lord. Verse 10 of Galatians chapter 5. Paul knew these people. He had been with them, ministered to them, preached for them, been in many of their homes, no doubt.

Look what he says here, I have confidence in you, in the Lord. You will adopt no other view, but the one who is disturbing you will bear his judgment whoever he is Paul expresses a good opinion of them. Yes, he has rebuked them sharply, But he is sure by the grace of God that they will come back to the truth or be kept from wondering too far from it. Indeed, God's people will persevere to the end in Philippians chapter 1 Philippians chapter 1 Verses 6 and 7 For I am confident of this very thing, that he who began the good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus. For it is only right for me to think this way about you all, because I have you in my heart, since both in my chains and in the defense, confirmation of the gospel, You all are fellow partakers with me in this grace." He's confident, he was confident to those who were at Philippi, he's confident to those who are at Galatia, confident that not so much in their flesh, not so much in their works, but he's confident in this that he which began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.

He's confident in you, in the Lord, you see. He's not just confident in them by themselves. You say, I don't know how I can how I can get out of this mess I don't know you know I was I've been taught this and I this way I forget all that God's grace is more powerful than those false teachers, he's more powerful than the influence of whoever. Indeed Jude verse 24. Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, to make you stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy.

To the only God our Savior through Jesus Christ our Lord be glory, majesty, might, and authority before all time and now and forever. Amen. We will be preserved. God's people will persevere. They will finish the race.

And also, those who were disturbing them, those false teachers, we need to understand that there's a difference. There's a difference between someone who is deceived and someone who is deceiving. He says, I have confidence in you, you churches of Galatia, in the Lord that you will adopt no other view, but the one who is disturbing you will bear his judgment, whoever he is. Paul has great patience for the churches. He has great patience for the people.

And we see that time and time again, the churches of Galatia, the church at Corinth, the church at Thessalonica has great patience in teaching them, correcting error and all of that. He has very little patience with those false teachers. With those false teachers. In fact, we see that kind of come out in a big way here in the next couple verses, but look at Galatians 5 and verse 11. Galatians chapter 5 verse 11.

Galatians chapter 5 verse 11. But I, brothers, if I still preach circumcision, Why am I still persecuted? Then the stumbling block of the cross would have been abolished. Evidently the Judaizers were going around telling people in Galatia, probably other places too, but telling people that Paul was in agreement with them. Remember, they had been undermining the truth of what Paul preached.

They tried to discredit Paul. But now we find out that that these fellows were telling a lie, saying that Paul was in agreement with them. Perhaps as a way to do that they were saying, well you know I know this don't seem right I know you probably might have a problem with circumcising the the the the Gentiles but you know Paul Paul circumcised, Paul had Timothy circumcised. So they're bringing up stuff like that probably. You know, and we talked about that in a previous lesson, but Paul brings up a valid point.

If he were still preaching circumcision for salvation, then why is he being persecuted? It's tough to be slandered, insulted, or misrepresented. So how do you get through that? How do you manage life when people are telling tales on you, saying things that aren't true? Well, I can't say I've got it all figured out, but I can tell you this, the answer is right here in God's Word.

Over in Matthew chapter 5, Matthew chapter Matthew chapter 5 and verses 11 and 12. Jesus said, Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad for your reward in heaven is great for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. The only way that you can navigate life when people are slandering and insulting and misrepresenting the things that you say when football and persecution might come on, whatever it may look like. The only way that you can get through that is by keeping your eyes on the end of the race.

Keep your eyes on the finish line. Have a heavenly mindset. Keep looking up. Keep pressing forward. That's the only way.

Be grounded in God's Word. That's the only way to get through it. Back to our text. He then, Paul then in Galatians 5 and verse 11, he brings up the stumbling block of the cross. He says, then the stumbling block of the cross would have been abolished.

That word stumbling block, I'm told, can mean trap, snare, or offense. There's something offensive about the preaching of the cross. It is indeed a stumbling block. The Bible tells us that. There will be opposition to preaching the biblical gospel this offer of Salvation it does not give man the opportunity to earn it by his own merits you see It's a wonderful gospel glorious gospel but man wants to be the star in his own show.

He wants to say, look at what I've done rather than giving the glory of somebody else. That's the flesh. He says, if I was preaching the way that they say that I'm preaching, If I was preaching circumcision the way that they're telling tales about me, why am I being persecuted and further, the stumbling block of the cross would have been abolished. Because you see now, the focus isn't on the cross. The focus became on circumcision.

And this is how you can identify regardless of what it is that's going on in a church, regardless of what it is that's going on in a church, regardless of what it is that's going on in a religious movement, but listen closely to the gospel that's being presented and seeing where the focus is at. Is the focus on Jesus? Is He the hero of the story? Or is the focus somewhere else? Guess what the focus was on?

In the churches of Galatia during this time? It was all about circumcision. It was all about the law. They weren't running the race properly. And so, Paul really had patience and a love for the churches of Galatia, but he did not have much patience for those who were infiltrating these churches and teaching this false doctrine.

In fact, verse 12, I wish that those who are upsetting you would even mutilate themselves. Themselves. If you're like me, And you read that, you say, I don't remember reading that in a text. Sure enough, you won't. If you grew up reading King James, It startled me when I first read it, as a matter of fact, because the King James says this, I would, they were even cut off, which trouble you?

So that got me to looking. Was there a deeper meaning in the Greek behind this? I have many Bibles in my study, and one of my favorite King James Bibles was done by Thomas Nelson. It's a personal-sized, single-column reference Bible. It's red, goat skin.

I've preached from it a few times. But I like to keep it handy on my on my desk so I can look things up because it's very simple very simple footnotes and cross references and so on sure enough on this verse there's a note that says cutting themselves off mutilate themselves cutting themselves off, mutilating themselves. I'll go a little bit deeper in Alva Hovi In his commentary, written in 1890, published in 1890, commentary on the book of Galatians, he said, so understand the language is an instant of just sarcasm. Let those zealots for a fleshly right who resort to desperate misrepresentation in defense of it go the whole figure and make themselves eunuchs like the priests of Cybele. Circumcision under the law and to the Jews was a token of a covenant.

To the Galatians under the gospel dispensation it had no significance. It was merely a bodily mutilation as such differing rather in degree than in kind from the terrible practices of the heathen priests." End quote. As though, yeah, the King James was right to say cut off, but they didn't quite catch what Paul was saying there in the full. Now of course this doesn't mean that there's any kind of doctrinal issue when you read it that way and don't catch that he's telling them to go castrate themselves or mutilate themselves. In fact, as some commentators and preachers have said, Paul wanted them cut off as in excluded from the church, disowned by U.S.

Brethren. So they themselves, one commentator says, they themselves would be cut off from the society of the church with the circumcising knife of excommunication. Well, if you read it that way, I don't think you're wrong. Paul wanted them out of there. What you miss is that He was telling them, you want to bring the knife in and make it part of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Why don't you take this all the way and cut yourselves off. Okay? He had no patience with those that would go in doing the work of the devil, perverting the Gospel, and teaching this false doctrine. As I mentioned before, not only was the life of the church on the line, the souls were in the line. Guess what happens?

This generation, this generation of the Galatian churches, they were running well, but were hindered in obeying the truth. But if this legalism was allowed to creep in fully into the churches, another generation or two, And you've got men and women, boys and girls, who aren't even saved, that didn't even start off running well. They're there because I was circumcised. And they have all their confidence in the flesh, you see? And they think that they're going to heaven because of this, which was never intended for salvation anyway.

No, Paul had to draw a line in the sand. He had to speak bluntly to those who were preaching false doctrine, sowing discord among the brethren, causing this issue because the gospel was at stake. Let us not be hindered in the race. Let us press forward. Let us start well.

But let us continue and finish well also. Thank you for your attention this evening and may God have the blessing to his word.