"Feet, Don't Fail Me Now!"
Galatians 5:7
Yogi Berra once said "It ain't over 'til it's over." We need to
remember that. It is an obvious truth, but one often overlooked. Games can be
won or lost on either side by forgetting that there is one more quarter or
another inning or one more lap. The team behind can stage a comeback if it does
not give up. The team ahead can become lazy with its lead and find itself
behind.
The marathon runner, toward the end of the grueling race when he or she is
exhausted and just does not have much strength left, might be inclined to plead,
"Feet, don't fail me now!" Not now; not after all that tortuous practice and
training, not after having qualified to run; not after running almost the whole
way. Don't let the agony of the feet bring the agony of defeat.
You Were Running Well
"You were running well; who hindered you from obeying the truth?" (Galatians
5:7). The Scriptures often use the figure of running a race to describe the life
of faith. Many different applications are made from this analogy. Here, Paul
refers to the spiritual regression of some of the disciples in Galatia as if
they had been running well in a race but had faltered.
We know from the context of Galatians exactly what the problem was. They had
come out of idolatry and the vain things of heathenism. But some were leading
them to believe that they could only be justified by keeping the previous
covenant that God had made with Israel at Mount Sinai. But such efforts were
vain, for it had never been the purpose of the Law of Moses to save Gentiles,
but rather to lead both Jew and Gentile to Christ for salvation: "But before
faith came, we were kept in custody under the law, being shut up to the faith
which was later to be revealed. Therefore the Law has become our tutor to lead
us to Christ, that we may be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we
are no longer under a tutor. For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ
Jesus. For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with
Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man,
there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if
you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to
promise. (Galatians 3:23-29).
Consequently, by depending on something other than the grace of God through
obedient faith in Christ, many were no longer "running well." They had stumbled.
Once they had been enslaved to idols. Now they were being enslaved to human
requirements that God had never intended for them. In doing so, they were
severing themselves from grace (Galatians 4:9-11; 5:4).
The Importance of Running Well
"Not that I have already obtained it, or have already become perfect, but I
press on in order that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of
by Christ Jesus. Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet;
but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what
lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God
in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 3:12-14). The perfect attitude for living for
Christ is given by Paul here. In fact, he continues by saying, "Let us
therefore, as many as are perfect, have this attitude; and if in anything you
have a different attitude, God will reveal that also to you;" (Philippians
3:15). Get this: while we never reach perfection in this life, we can have the
perfect attitude conducive for winning our eternal victory in Jesus. That
attitude is summed up by Paul, and essentially states that one who has it never
gives up! He keeps "pressing on" and does not regard his race as being finished
before it really is. He does not allow former things, good or bad, to hinder him
from "reaching forward."
Hindrances to Running Well
"Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us
also lay aside every encumbrance, and the sin which so easily entangles us, and
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
the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne
of God." (Hebrews 12:1,2). Paul had asked the Galatians, "You were running well;
who hindered you from obeying the truth?" Here, the Hebrew writer speaks of
"encumbrances" and "the sin which so easily entangles us." In short, our path is
not always clear.
First, these hindrances are not from God (James 1:13). Obstacles are placed by
Satan. He is our adversary and will block us completely if he can. But good
news: he can't! God will always ensure that there is a path to follow to
victory, and will help us find it and stay on it (1 Corinthians 10:13). So the
answer to Paul's question about "what hindered" is "Satan." (Paul already knew
the answer; he asked the question to get the Galatians to think about it) (Luke
8:12; 2 Timothy 2:26).
The form of these hindrances might be any carnal thing. It could be jealousy or
hatred; pride or greed. It might be desire for comfort or acceptance of others.
It might be fear. Overcoming these things is both necessary and possible, with
the help of God who strengthens us (Philippians 4:13).
The Meaning of Running Well
It was "the truth" that the Galatians had been "hindered" from obeying that Paul
pinpointed as the reason they were no longer running well. Running well is to
faithfully trust and obey God. There is no substitute for obedience, and one
cannot run well apart from obedience unto Christ.
In fact, we become Christians and are freed from sin when we obey Jesus "from
the heart" (Romans 6:16-18). This is how we start the race.
The race ends when we leave this world, but not before (2 Timothy 4:6-8).
In between, we are "pressing forward" and "reaching forward." We "fix our eyes
on Jesus" as we see Him by faith waiting to reward us, having gone before us. We
rejoice, confident that our opponent cannot beat us as long as we follow Jesus.
And we can smile at Yogi Berra's wisdom. "It ain't over 'til it's over."
By Jon W. Quinn
From Expository Files 8.10; October 2001
