“Fanatics for God” - Galatians 1: 11-24 August 11, 2013
Rev. Ian K. Johnston, Knox Presbyterian Church, Kincardine, ON
“The problem facing the church today is that there are too many members - and not enough Christians.” (Rev. Carl Braaten – Lutheran)

Dr. Braaten knows all too well that there is a big difference between being a true follower of Christ and in having your name on a church membership roll somewhere. In our world today, many people view Jesus as just one of the many possible options to choose from. Many choose to follow Christ the same way they select a shirt, or a dress, or buy a car. If the church feels good, fits right, and does not cost an arm and a leg, well then that might be the one for me! Too often people think Jesus offers one way to live and they fail to realize that He offers the only way to live.
As church members, some of us feel that we can attend worship services whenever we feel like it and after awhile we can decide to skip a Sunday here and there - and then a few at a time - and then, well we will get to Communion - at least one per year - and that is all that matters to keep us in the 'good books,” as Presbyterians. After all, so goes the reasoning, that is really all that matters. What would the church be like if more members took their responsibilities as followers of Jesus just a little more seriously?
Our Lord had no doubt as to the mission of His church. Following His resurrection and before His ascension Jesus met with His disciples and told them that he could no longer be with them physically but would be with them in Spirit. “GO THEREFORE AND MAKE DISCIPLES OF ALL NATIONS, BAPTIZING THEM IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER AND OF THE SON AND OF THE HOLY SPIRIT.” The awesome responsibility to carry on our Lord’s earthly ministry was not really what most of the disciples and apostles really wanted to get into. It would have been so much easier if the Master had just stayed with them. They could have enjoyed his company; Jesus could continue to do most of the teaching, the preaching and the healing. But now Jesus was telling them that He wanted them to go out in His name. They should trust Him to give them the boldness to preach His Word when the crowds
told them to be quiet. Jesus would give them the power to heal when people told them it could not be done. He would give them courage when the world became hostile.
Looking at Scripture we see God has always called on people of faith to be bold, almost fanatical, for the sake of the Gospel. Throughout we see God calls people of faith to be bold for His sake. Moses received God’s Call to lead the children of Israel out of slavery in Egypt. He stood between the raging waters of the Red Sea that God parted and the Israelites stood around grumbling. Moses told the people to stand firm and see the salvation God would work for them that very day. The Lord would fight for them and they only had to be still (physically and verbally). Then God told Moses to get those people out of there and not to let them stand still any longer but to move forward NOW! See the image in the words as Moses cries out to them: “MOVE, MOVE MOVE.”
In the New Testament the greatest example of moving forward in faith for me is Paul. In my mind Paul was the greatest missionary, the greatest theologian and the greatest teacher of the New Testament. He moved God’s church forward in spite of many setbacks and threats to himself. When speaking about his career, Paul said, “FIVE TIMES I HAD THE 39 LASHES ...THREE TIMES I HAVE BEEN BEATEN WITH STICKS...THREE TIMES I HAVE BEEN SHIPWRECKED AND ONCE ADRIFT IN THE OPEN SEA FOR A NIGHT AND A DAY” (II Cor. 11: 24-25). He was jailed, spit on, chased out of towns and once stoned and left for dead. Paul was a person who literally staked his life on the new understanding of God found in Jesus which proclaimed that Jews and Gentiles would be molded into a new community in Christ. Paul firmly believed that in Jesus there is no east or west nor best or worst. Paul realized that thanks to the Son of God who came to seek the lost and to save those condemned by the Law, we can never justify the use of the phrase, “GOD FORSAKEN.”
Paul was a hunter of Christians who became the hunted. He was a persecutor who became the persecuted. He was a teacher of the Law who became a preacher of the Gospel. Paul was born a Jew and was named after the first king of Israel - Saul. His Roman name, Paul, identified him as a Roman citizen. He was brilliant and had studied under the best rabbis. He was very devoted to his religious practices and when he heard about Jesus he thought that Jesus was a heretic that should be stopped and so he made it his personal crusade to cleanse and purify the faith. He held the cloaks of the mob and cheered them as they stoned and killed Stephen, the first Christian martyr and it was at that time he decided that his calling was to purify the Hebrew faith and if necessary he would kill as many of the Christians pagans as possible.
In his teaching and missionary career Paul tells us three things. First he declares that without God’s grace we are lost. No matter what we have said; no matter what we have done, God’s forgiveness, God’s love and His mercy are there for us. Indeed he told the Christians in Rome that he was convinced that nothing can ever separate us from the love of God.. Secondly, Paul would have loved our generation with all the sports on television. He enjoyed sports and often used athletics to make metaphor points about the Gospel message. He talked about the discipline we need in our lives as Christians and compared it to a boxer training for a big fight. He talked about the dedication and the commitment to the Lord’s work if we are to be truly worthy of the name “Christian.” He used the image of running a race as hard and as long as we can as a witness to our faith. And finally (third), Paul says that followers of Jesus can and must make difference in the world.
Robert Schuller once told a story about Oral Roberts, Billy Graham and himself. When they got to heaven St. Peter met them at the pearly gates and said, FELLOWS, I AM SORRY YOU GOT HERE A LITTLE EARLY. YOUR ROOMS AREN’T READY YET. YOU WILL HAVE TO GO DOWNSTAIRS TO THE LOWER LEVEL FOR A SHORT TIME. Billy Graham said, ST. PETER, DO YOU MEAN WE WILL HAVE TO GO TO HELL? YES BILLY, BUT IT WILL NOT BE FOR LONG. PLEASE BE PATIENT WITH US, Peter reasoned. Well, the three went downstairs and it was not too long before Satan was calling St. Peter asking, ARE THOSE ROOMS READY YET? YOU HAVE TO GET THESE THREE GUYS OUT OF HERE. St. Peter asked, WHAT’S THE PROBLEM? WELL, ROBERTS IS HEALING THE SICK; GRAHAM IS PREACHING THE GOSPEL OF HOPE AND SCHULLER IS RAISING MONEY TO AIR CONDITION THE PLACE!
Paul is referred to as a ‘Saint” because he is a Saint. He truly was and is a model for godly living. He shows us what can happen when we allow God to take over our lives and work with us and through us. When you and I do the Lord’s work we cannot always tell what will happen to us or to the people we meet. Jesus has challenged us to bring his message to all of God’s people. Christ has entrusted us to hold and share His Gospel. He wants his message to be more than just words on a page and he wants to be more than just a historical figure.
My prayer for you is that you will think and pray about what you can do; what all of us together could and can accomplish if we have the faith of Peter and the dedication and commitment of Saint Paul. I am persuaded to agree with Dr. Braaten. We need to become motivated, to be turned on, to be Fanatics for God! We need more Christians and a few less church members. So I make this invitation to you today, that as you confess Christ as your personal Lord and Saviour, you will join those early disciples and apostles and, GO TELL. Amen.