Until Christ Is Formed In You (Galatians 4:8-20)

[Read Galatians 4:8-20]

This week we’re going to talk about something that I’m not really qualified to talk about. Ok, that’s not exactly true, but Paul is talking about giving birth. That’s not something that I’m really qualified to talk about. I have never given birth, nor do I want to come across as knowing what it is like to have a child growing inside you for nine months, and then through tremendous pain deliver this child into the world. Many of you in this room are mothers and know that experience very deeply. I only know that experience from an outside point of view, as I walked alongside Rachel in her pregnancy and sat alongside her throughout the delivery. 

From the outside looking in, I could see the difficulties. I could see the discomfort of morning sickness; I could see the discomfort of a child changing your body so that things are more difficult than they used to be; I could see the difficulty sleeping at night; I could see the tension at each checkup, worried that the child may not be all right. Then, when the actual labor begins, I could see the excitement mixed with concern, the joy mixed with pain. Then I could see the pure joy as she had the opportunity to finally hold this child in her arms for the first time. 

Paul says this is a picture of the Christian life—and we’re the babies. The Christian life is a progression from conception to birth, from birth to maturity. There’s some progression in the Christian life—it’s heading in a certain direction. That direction is Jesus Christ. 

So far, as we’ve worked through this book, we’ve spoken about how through faith Jesus bore the curse of our sins on the cross; we’ve spoken about how through faith Jesus’ perfect life has been credited to our account; and we’ve spoken about how through faith we’ve been adopted into God’s family. This could all be summed up in the word “justification.” This morning, we’re going to talk about the next step in the process: sanctification. 

This is what Paul is talking about in this passage. He says, “My dear children, for whom I am again in the pains of childbirth until Christ is formed in you…” (Galatians 4:19, NIV). He is in labor with this church so that Christ is formed in them. The goal of the Christian life—the goal of salvation—is for us to be shaped into Christ’s likeness. Or, to say it the exact way Paul says it: the goal of salvation is that Christ would be formed in us. That’s what sanctification is. If you hear the term “sanctification,” think becoming more like Jesus Christ. 

Now, it’s important for us to understand the difference between sanctification and justification—the difference between being declared “not guilt” and being “Christ being formed in us.” Justification comes first and is followed by sanctification. If you get that order mixed up, you lose the Gospel. Because of Christ’s life and death, we are declared “not guilty”—justified—and adopted into God’s family. Then, after that has happened, we are filled with the Holy Spirit who begins to work in us to shape us into the image of Jesus Christ. So, we are brought into the family first, then taught what it means to be a part of that family and disciples accordingly. If we get this backwards, we end up telling people that they need to become Christlike before they can become a Christian—that’s the same thing as telling them they need to justify themselves in order to be justified. It’s telling them that they need to clean up their act before they can come to Christ. NO! That’s not the gospel. The gospel is “While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8, NIV). We don’t need to “clean ourselves up” in order to be adopted into the family of God. He adopts us in first, then begins the clean-up work. We are first justified, then we are sanctified. 

It is also important to understand that sanctification is deeply connected to justification. So, our declaration of “not guilty” automatically begins the process of us Christ being formed in us—of becoming more like Christ. So, although sanctification doesn’t come before justification, it necessarily follows it. 

This is really important to understand. Some people will hear the messages that I’ve been preaching these past couple weeks and think to themselves, “Wow. I’m saved by grace through faith, not by any works of my own. I can just trust in Jesus and continue in sin. I don’t have to turn from my sin. I can just keep sinning, just keep sinning, just keep sinning, sinning, sinning…” In answer to this thought process, Paul says, “Shall we go on sinning, so that grace may increase? By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?” (Romans 6:1–2, NIV). When we turn to Christ in faith—and receive all the benefits of his life and death—we are at the same time turning away from sin—dying to sin through the power of the Spirit. So, even though we are saved by grace through faith, not by any works of our own, and have Jesus’ perfect life credited to our account, the Christian life is a life of dying to sin and turning to Christ. 

And, really, why would we want to continue living in sin? I mean, think about it for a minute. What good comes from sin? Deep down we know that sin always leads to death and destruction. We know that if we go through life lying to people, that we will find a long list of ruined relationships following us. We know that if we live a covetous life—never satisfied with where we are, always wanting the life someone else is living—that we will be miserable. So, why would we want to continue living in sin? It destroys us and those around us. The beauty of the Gospel is that we are not only forgiven of our sins but that we are also FREED from our sins and we have the Holy Spirit with us in the process of overcoming sin. The more sin is overcome in our lives, the more we become like Jesus Christ—the one who is completely without sin. 

So, this is the goal of our redemption—the goal of the Christian life—to become more and more like Jesus Christ—sanctified. And the amazing thing is that God uses people to help us along in the process. Yes, He has given us the Holy Spirit to empower us and guide us as we become more like Christ, but He has also placed us in a community of believers. Again, this is why Paul says, “My dear children, for whom I am again in the pains of childbirth until Christ is formed in you…” (Galatians 4:19, NIV). So, God is using Paul to walk alongside people as they become more like Christ. Earlier in this passage Paul says, “I fear for you, that somehow I have wasted my efforts on you.” (Galatians 4:11, NIV). Paul even describes this task as effort and labor pains. So, it’s not a simply, easy task to walk alongside people, helping them to be shaped into the image of Christ. It’s difficult, frustrating, hard work. 

Paul even talks about how the Galatian community helped him in this process. He says, “As you know, it was because of an illness that I first preached the gospel to you. Even though my illness was a trial to you, you did not treat me with contempt or scorn. Instead, you welcomed me as if I were an angel of God, as if I were Christ Jesus himself. What has happened to all your joy? I can testify that, if you could have done so, you would have torn out your eyes and given them to me.” (Galatians 4:13–15, NIV). Paul talks about how he came to the Galatians with an illness and a struggle and how this was a difficulty for the community. It wasn’t easy for them to walk alongside and support Paul. Yet they did. They welcomed him graciously and supported him. 

This is the importance of the community in becoming more like Jesus Christ. We cannot do this on our own apart from a community. God did not create us that way. We need to be surrounded by other believers, in regular fellowship with other believers, spurring each other on as we follow Christ. You cannot live out the Christian life on your own. You need the Body of Christ. 

Also, just as importantly, we should BE these type of people. So, not only do we need to be surrounded by other people who are supporting us, encouraging us, and spurring us on in our walk with Christ, but we need to be the sort of people that are doing that for other people. So, we do not simply join a congregation to be fed, but also to do some feeding. Like Paul, we should be the type of people who are laboring in the lives of this congregation, helping them to become more like Jesus Christ. So, we need to be connected to others who are supporting us and we need to be supporting others. That’s what the Body of Christ is all about and that is what is necessary if we are to live the Christian life, becoming more like Jesus Christ. 

There’s another aspect that is necessary if Christ is going to be formed in us. I’m going to warn you, we don’t like this one. I don’t know if it was different fifty years ago, but I know that in this day-and-age we really don’t like this. The aspect that is necessary for being formed into the image of Christ is: Correction and Rebuke. This is absolutely necessary if we are going to be more like Jesus Christ. If we try to live out the Christian life, and nobody is ever correcting us, we will never become more like Jesus. That’s just a simple fact. 

I can look back over my life, looking at some of the major turning points in my life, and almost every single one of those moments was the result of a faithful rebuke. Seriously. I still remember when I started preaching and I fell into a trap of trying to entertain people. I spent most of my time telling funny stories and not very much time in God’s Word. After one of those messages, a man who was new to the faith came up to me and said, “Jason, that message was Scripture lite.” God cut me to the heart and convicted me of my sin. The Holy Spirit worked in my heart and I repented and turned to God, asking Him to help me be more faithful in my preaching. I am SO THANKFUL that man rebuked me. 

Yet, that’s not the way rebuke is always received, is it? Listen to Paul: “Have I now become your enemy by telling you the truth?” (Galatians 4:16, NIV). The Galatians haven’t appreciated Paul’s rebuke. He has spoken the truth to them, and spoken it in love and anguish for their souls, but they didn’t appreciate it and have made him into an enemy. I’m sure many of you have had this experience as well. It makes us gun-shy to rebuke anyone in the future. We worry that if we rebuke someone we will ruin the relationship. We worry that they will just become angry with us. Yet, we need to come to the point where we LOVE this person more than the relationship. It is not loving for us to watch someone continuing down a path of sin and destruction and say nothing. We need to love them and talk to them about the sin in their life. It’s a necessary part of Christ being formed in you and in them. 

There’s a passage in Hebrews that speaks to this in a powerful way. It says, “But exhort one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.” (Hebrews 3:13, NIV). If someone finds themself in sin, and they are not rebuked/corrected, their heart becomes harder and harder. It becomes harder and harder for them to repent and turn from their sin. Is that scary to you? I hope so. I am fully aware of my own sin and my own tendency to be self-deceived and hard-hearted. I don’t want to have a heart that is hardened in sin. I don’t want it to be difficult to repent of my sin and turn to Christ. So, please exhort me if you see sin in my life. I’m actually being serious. 

Also, know that I love you very much; I care about you very much; and I long to see Christ formed in you. That means that I will probably, at some point in your life, rebuke you. I pray that you will understand that I am not doing it because I think I’m better than you or because I think I’m holier than you. I’m doing it because I love you and want to see you become more like Christ. So, I will speak the truth to you in love and I will pray that you will not make me an enemy because I am speaking the truth. 

I want to wrap up by taking this doctrine of sanctification—of Christlikeness—to it’s end because I think there is beauty and hope here. I realize that this can be overwhelming and discouraging for some people. Many of you have been following Christ for years and maybe feel like you should be further along by now. I remember hearing John Piper say that this was one of his biggest struggles. Yet, there’s much hope here. There’s a passage in Romans that gives me great hope, saying, “For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son…” (Romans 8:29, NIV). Does that give you great hope? For those whom God has chosen and who have turned to Him in faith, it has also been predestined that you WILL become more like Jesus Christ. It’s going to happen. We don’t need to fret and worry about it. We simply need to trust God and the Spirit, and keep our eyes on Jesus as we follow Him. Then, there’s this beautiful promise that comes from one of John’s letters. He says, “Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.” (1 John 3:2, NIV). When he appears we WILL be like him because we will see Him as he is. One day, when we go to Christ or when Christ comes again we will be fully transformed into the image of Jesus Christ—He will be perfectly formed in us—and we will no longer sin nor desire to sin. What a beautiful promise and picture. 

Remember, the point of Christ’s redemption is to form us to become more like Christ. In order to do that we need to be in a community and be walking alongside people as they follow Christ. We also need to be corrected and rebuked occasionally out of love. So, let’s dive into fellowship with one another and receive rebukes in love, and keep our eyes on Jesus as we live out lives of faith.