Long before "Night of the Living Dead," "World War Z," and "The Walking Dead," the Apostle Paul warned Galatian believers of the Zombie Apocalypse (Gal 5:15).
Hearing the news of what was happening in the churches of Galatia, he knew that the reality of what was happening there was much more gruesome than anything created by Hollywood schlockmaster.
A little context. Paul and Barnabas made not one but two swings through the cities of Pisidian Antioch, Iconium, Lystra and Derbe in what is now modern day Turkey (Acts 13:13-14:23).
They told everyone there about Jesus, both Jews and Gentiles. The radical Rabbi/Carpenter from Nazareth is the long awaited Messiah who has completely fulfilled and obeyed the Mosaic law.
Christ came not only to save His chosen people but the entire world. Just after Paul and Barney headed home, a group of false teachers called the Judaizers roll into these towns.
Falsely claiming to be part of apostle's posse, they infiltrate the churches and convince these new believers that Jesus may brought us into His kingdom but it's up to us to stay through through religious rule-following (Gal 1:6; 2:4; 3:1). Specifically, circumcision (Gal 5:2-11).
The former Pharisee is so furious about the situation that he says if these spiritual snake oil salesmen are so hepped up on circumcision themselves, they ought to cut EVERYTHING off (Gal 5:12)!!
The Judiazers' counterfeit gospel goes against the freedom we have in Christ that Paul preached everywhere he went (Gal 5:1, 13). Jesus lived and died under the law in order to be completely obedient to it.
There's no way we could ever live up to that impossible standard. God commanded us, "Be holy, for I am holy" (Lev 11:44; 1Pet 1:16). We don't stand a snowball's chance of doing that apart from what Jesus has done for us.
The result of the the freedom we have in Christ should lead us to loving and serving one another (Gal 5:13-14). We're to love God and love others. We're to have a "Me Third" attitude (Eph 4:31-32; Col 3:5-8).
But these false teachers and their perverted preaching of self-salvation has taken the focus off of Jesus and others put them back in the mirror. The result is the Galatian Zombie Apocalypse.
"But if you bite and devour one another, watch out that you are not consumed by one another" (v15). Instead of living a life of love and freedom in Jesus, the Galatians have turned on one another.
Most commentators say the language here describes how a pack of wild animals attack and feed. Paul paints a pretty gory picture.
First he uses the Greek verb δακνω/dakno. It means to rip and tear with teeth. Think gator. Think shark.
Next he uses κατεσθειω/katestheio. This describes something completely eaten. It was often used when talking about birds. Think vultures on a carcass.
Finally we see the verb αναλισκω/analisko. This term refers to something that's all gone. Once the attack is complete, there's nothing but a greasy spot where the victim used to be.
For some of you this conjures up the image of a feeding frenzy on the Discovery Channel. For others, it sounds like the glassy-eyed undead relentlessly chomping away at their victims.
Paul is warning not just the Galatian churches but churches everywhere against a Zombie Apocalypse. This is what happens when we take our eyes off of Jesus, the Founder and Perfecter of our faith (Heb 12:2) and begin staring at our own navels.
The apostle saw it coming (Acts 20:29-30). When the focus becomes our own sanctification, we so easily fall into what Tullian Tchividjian calls Christian narcissism. It becomes all about me.
We suddenly become self-centered, self-focused on our self-salvation. Instead of born again believers, we're the walking dead. And nothing stands in our way. We chew and devour each other.
Christian cannibalism is not a pretty sight. It happens to churches everywhere. Paul is warning us all of what happens when we stop loving each other and serving each other.
It's the Zombie Apocalypse.
It's the Zombie Apocalypse.
©2012
Jay Jennings
No comments:
Post a Comment