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Welcome to day four of our look through Galatians chapter six. We're looking at
verses 11 to 17 today, and as we focus on these verses we're going to be talking
about humility, which is the opposite of the pride that I struggle with, so many
of us struggle with, that I would say even all of us struggle with on a daily
basis. We've been talking about Martin Luther's commentary as we walk through
the book of Galatians, and he had this to say about pride.

"What man, even if he is a Christian, is not delighted with his own praise, only
the Holy Spirit can preserve us from the misfortune of pride. " And I've always
loved what C. S.

Lewis said about the struggle we have with pride. He said, "If anyone would like
to acquire humility, I can, I think, tell them the first step. The first step is
to realize that one is proud, and a big step too.

At least nothing, whatever, can be done before it. If you think you are not
conceited, it means you are very conceited indeed. " What both of these men have
said reminds us of the struggle that we all have with humility and pride.

And even if we feel like I'm gaining in humility, we want other people to notice
how we're gaining in humility. That's the struggle that we have with pride. And
as Paul closes this letter, he talks from his heart.

It's interesting to me that in these closing words, as he talks, he draws a
personal, without even necessarily intending to, he draws a personal and
compelling picture of the difference between the heart of selfish pride and the
false teachers that he's been battling throughout this letter, and the heart of
humility with which the Apostle Paul served. Listen to his words, Galatians
chapter 6 verses 11 to 17. "See what large letters I use as I write to you with
my own hand.

Those who want to make a good impression outwardly are trying to compel you to
be circumcised. The only reason they do this is to avoid being persecuted for
the cross of Christ. Not even those who are circumcised obey the law, yet they
want you to be circumcised that they may boast about your flesh.

May I never boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which
the world has been crucified to me and I to the world. Neither circumcision nor
uncircumcision means anything. What counts is a new creation.

Peace and mercy to all who follow this rule, even to the Israel of God. Finally,
let no one cause me trouble, for I bear on my body the marks of Jesus. " As I
read through these words of Paul, as he comes to the close of this letter to the
Galatians, I really hear him talking to me, and I want to encourage you to hear
him talking to you about how do you and I become more humble.

What are some of the decisions that I need to make? There are four of them here.
First, if I want to really grow in humility, I need to give to others no matter
what.

It's easy to give to others in the good times. It's easy to give to others when
it seems like you have more than enough. Paul gave to others when he was sick.

He gave to others in the bad times. He gave to others when it seemed like he had
nothing to give at times. He writes here in verse 11, "See with what large
letters I write to you with my own hand.

" That reminds us of the physical illness that Paul has. For some reason,
something was wrong with his eyes, and he talks in Galatians about the fact that
they had taken care of him because of that sickness. He had been with them even
in his sickness.

He didn't say, "I have to go home. I'm sick. " He kept serving, and personally
he had written to them of his compassion for them, his passion for their growth.

"Don't go down that road that leads you away from grace. " He continued to give
to them no matter what. That's what humility is all about.

That's the choice of humility. That's the choice that comes from humility, but
it's also the choice that grows humility in my life. The second choice he talks
about here is the choice to let go of the need to make an outward impression.

If I want to grow in humility, I've got to let go of that need, and we all have
it. I've got to intentionally let go of it. He talks about the false teachers
who the only reason they did it was because they wanted to make an outwardly
good impression.

And who doesn't want to be impressive on the outside? But the need to make an
outwardly good impression is what's going to lead you away from humility and
toward pride every time in your life. Now, this outwardly good impression, he's
not talking about rejoicing in what God is doing.

Some people take this and they say, "Well, that means you can't rejoice that God
used you to bring someone else to Christ. You must never talk about the good
things that God does through your life. " No, you can talk about the good things
that God is doing.

You're not impressing other people with who you are. Then you're impressing
other people with who God is. This need to make an outwardly good impression is
the need to make sure that no one ever thinks a negative thought about you, to
make sure that everyone thinks good of you.

And the only way to make sure that everybody thinks good of you is for you to
become a nothing, for you to always follow along with what other people want.
You let go of that need. That's one of the keys.

And Paul had obviously let go of that need in his life. That's why he was so
persecuted, but that's also why he was so humble. Jesus also let go of that need
in his life.

That's why he was so persecuted. That's why they took him to a cross. That's why
he is so humble.

You want to become more humble? Give to others no matter what. Let go of the
need to make an outward impression.

Number three, and I think this is key. I think this is the most important. You
boast in the cross of Christ.

You boast in the cross of Christ. "May I never boast except in the cross of our
Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me and eye to
the world," Paul writes. "May I never boast except in the cross.

" It's interesting to me that human nature is we're going to boast in something.
So what is the thing that I boast in? What is the foundation of every boast in
my life, of every joy that I take in my life?

It's the cross. It's that Jesus loved me that much. He restored me to
relationship with God.

And everything that's in my life and comes out of my life comes from that moment
of his love. So Paul says, "I'm not going to boast in another person. I'll take
joy that God used me.

" But really the foundation of it all is it's the cross. There's something about
the cross of Christ. When I think about it, when I focus on it, there is
humility there.

There is the picture of humility in what Christ did for me. He humbled himself
to the point of death on a cross. But there's also the invitation to humility in
my own life.

I have been crucified to the world and the world to me. The things that were so
important to me before about how people thought of me, about getting what I
wanted in this world, they're just not important anymore. Why?

Because the cross is so important. Because my boasting, my joy, my foundational
joy in life is in that Jesus Christ loved me that much. I boast in the cross of
Christ.

That's the center of humility. You want to enjoy humility? There's a fourth
thing that Paul talks about as he just writes about his own life here.

You focus. You focus on what counts. And what counts?

What counts is a new creation. What counts isn't anything you see here. What
counts is a new creation.

Paul writes, "Neither circumcision or uncircumcision means anything. " He's not
arguing one against the other. He says, "What counts is something entirely
different.

It is a new creation. " If you want to be humble, if I want to be humble, I
can't allow myself to get caught up into selfish arguments about who's right and
who's wrong about something that's not going to last anyway, something that's
not important anyway. But you know, you know yourself and I know myself well
enough to know that that's often when our pride comes.

When I'm arguing about something that's not going to last anyway, if I want to
let go of pride, if I want to hold on to humility, I've got to remember what
counts. And what counts is a new creation. And this new creation that Paul is
talking about here, it's not heaven.

Now, God is going to make a new creation in heaven and on earth, but that is not
what he's talking about here. He's talking about the new creation that happens
in you, happens in me when I come to Christ. What counts is what Jesus Christ
does in our lives when we come to faith in him.

The old has gone, the new has come. I am a new creation in Christ. And in this,
Paul is praying that all would understand and experience God's peace and God's
mercy.

And he says, especially the Israel of God. He's saying here, especially those
who come out of a Jewish faith, some of whom were the false teachers. I
especially pray that they would understand this and that they would experience
God's mercy.

They would experience God's peace in their lives. Now, Paul is Paul. He's a
fighter, so he can't resist one final word of the false teachers.

He says in verse 17, "Don't cause me trouble. I've got on my body the marks of
Christ. " Paul had been beaten many, many times because of his faith in Christ.

If anyone questioned that the cross was central in his life, if anyone
questioned that he was trying to make an outward impression, it was obvious just
looking at his body, the scars that he had on his body, that he was living for
Christ. And whatever that meant, he was willing to live for Christ. Verse 18,
Paul ends this book by saying, "The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your
spirit.

Amen. " Grace. Grace was at the beginning of this book, grace and peace.

Grace is at the end of this book. Everything that Paul says in the book of
Galatians is in the context of grace and everything that's going to happen in my
life, in your life, if I'm going to grow in humility, is going to happen in the
context of grace. Let's talk to him.

Jesus Christ, we need your grace. So the beginning point of humility is humbling
myself before you and recognizing that I can't make myself right before you in
any way. I can't do enough good things.

That's what all this book is about. Instead, I need you. I need your grace.

I need your forgiveness. That's where it starts. I want to grow in that grace.

I want to grow in that humility. Jesus Christ, I want to be the man. I want to
be the woman that you desire for me to be.

I pray that this model of Paul, giving no matter what, letting go of that need
to make an outward impression, boasting in the cross of Christ, focusing on the
new creation. Lord, let these things be in my life. I desire to be the kind of
person you want me to be.

Help me to grow in you. Jesus, you are humble. Help me to grow to be humble.

In your name, amen. I invite you to join us tomorrow. We're not quite finished.

We're going to wrap up this book of Galatians, and we're going to talk about the
continuing impact on our lives.