Devotion in MotionWeekend Inspiration
04/30/2021
Galatians 1-6
Have you ever heard the term (legalist?) Well Legalism is the storm that rocks the boat of faith. It’s the mentality, that it’s up to me to obtain or maintain a right standing with God. I try to prove that I’m deserving of God’s blessing and favor by what I do. At times the rules I try to keep are God’s – at other times their mine, or they come from other Christians – but the idea is the same… It that Our work proves our worthiness. The Gospel of grace teaches us just the opposite. There’s nothing we can do to earn God’s favor.
On our own the most obedient among us are unworthy. But God extends grace… On the cross Jesus did what we could never do. He accomplished all that needed to be done for us to receive God’s favor. Our job is to be humble and put our faith in God’s grace. But sometimes the storm blows, and we get bullied by legalism. A friend, or a preacher, or even our own conscience tells us we should be doing this or that… And we can doubt the sufficiency of Christ – we add a few good works just to be on the safe side. But trying to be on the safe side can put us on the wrong side. When we lean toward legalism we diminish the cross of Christ and drift from God’s grace. So In essence, we throw away our freedom. So Paul warns the Galatians… Chapter 5 begins, “Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage.” We need to Understand, Jesus sets us free from works-based religion. He takes us from working and striving – but never measuring up. We are live by faith.
In Acts 15, at the Jerusalem Counsel, Peter told the Church not to expect Gentile believers to conform to the Jewish Law. He said in verse 10, “Why do you test God by putting a yoke on the neck of the disciples which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear?” Notice Peter refers to the demands of the Law as a yoke – a harness that was put on oxen to keep them in line and it will choke off the joy of Jesus and the life of the Holy Spirit… Anytime Christians stop depending on the work of Jesus, and rely on their own deeds they put themselves in the choke of the yolk. This is what the Judaizers did to the Galatians. Rather than teaching them to live by grace through faith, they put the believers back in the yolk. They expected them to live up to their own standards – their own lethal concoction of self-righteousness.
Here’s the problem… A legalist appears disciplined, pious, sincere – and a new believer gets intimidated. Who am I to buck such a spiritual person? Some religious-folk like to throw their weight around. By enforcing their rules, they control others – or make themselves look good – or climb the pecking order… And the new believer, they get sucked in. And Because of their ignorance, or fear, or uncertainty, they become saddled with unnecessary baggage. A person who Jesus died to set free, ends up living under “a yoke of bondage.” This is why “freedom is always unfinished business.” It’s not only true politically, but spiritually. There’s always somebody trying to rob you of your liberty. Paul tells the new believers in Galatia, “stand fast… in the liberty by which Christ has made us free and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage.” A yoke is no joke. There will always be people trying to refit a new harness around your neck. This is why Paul is so adamant… stand up – resist – remain free!
He tells the Galatians in verse 2, “Indeed I, Paul, say to you that if you become circumcised, Christ will profit you nothing.” One of the legalistic stipulations being enforced on the Galatians was Jewish circumcision. This was an OT command given God’s people, Israel. The Judaizers were insisting that Christians in Galatia should also do the same thing. And this is typical of legalism. Faith is hidden under the lapel. It’s unseen. But religion loves to be seen. There are churches today that emphasize ceremony and ritual for the same reason… Righteousness is equated with church membership, or baptism, or daily devotions, or home schooling your kids, or speaking in tongues, or giving an offering, or keeping a holy day… Certainly, these activities have a place, but if they’re made mandatory to pleasing God – you insult God’s grace and diminished the work of Jesus.
Faith in Jesus makes you as right with God as you can get. There’s no such thing as a second class Christian. As I said earlier, to doubt the sufficiency of God’s grace, and lean in the direction of legalism – just to be on the safe side, puts you on the wrong side. That’s what was happening to the Galatians via circumcision. Paul tells them if they make a religious ritual a requirement for obtaining or maintaining a right standing with God – they forfeit the merits of Christ! Note how Paul puts it, “Christ will profit you nothing.” This is a big deal! Faith in Christ is an all or nothing proposition. Add anything to your faith in Jesus – I’ll also rack up a few good works, and rely on a couple of traditions just in case – and you forego the saving merits of Jesus. His benefits no longer accrue to you. Verse 3, “And I testify again to every man who becomes circumcised that he is a debtor to keep the whole law.” Since nobody’s perfect, the legalist picks and chooses which rules and rituals he wants to obey. But that’s not how it works. Paul says live by the Law and you’re covered by it all. God’s Law isn’t a spiritual smorgasbord. Read the Law God gave to Moses… Do you kindle a fire on the Sabbath? Flip on a light, or turn on a stove on a Saturday – and you’ve blown it. Have you kept a kosher diet? If you’ve ever bitten into a ham and cheese sandwich – you’re a lawbreaker! Verse 4 is the strongest warning yet, “You have become estranged from Christ, you who attempt to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace.”
It’s one or the other, you can’t trust in the work of Christ and your own works. Either you live under law or under grace. “For we through the Spirit eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness by faith.” Notice we’re right with God “by faith” – which poses the question, if we stop having faith then how can we continue to be right with God? Paul uses stern words for the person who abandons his faith – who stops trusting in Christ… they become “estranged from Christ.” They have “fallen from grace.” As we read in verse 2, “Christ profits them nothing.” It’s hard to say this person retains their salvation.
Here’s my take on once-saved-always-saved… I don’t receive salvation because of anything I do or don’t do, so I can’t lose my salvation by anything I do or don’t do. It’s not as if certain sins are salvation-snuffers – commit them and you’re no longer saved. We obtain and maintain a right standing with God “by faith.” Yet evidently faith isn’t a once-and-for-all status. It’s not a sign-on-the-bottom-line-for-life type of proposition. Faith is a living thing. It’s more like a plant. If you want the plant to live you water it and feed it and weed it. But if you ignore the plant, it’ll shrivel and die. Colossians 1:23 states this clearly, “You… He has reconciled… if indeed you continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and are not moved away from the hope of the gospel…” You have to continue in faith. The Bible is clear if we want to be saved we need to continue in our faith. Verse 6, “For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but faith working through love.”
In Christ deeds and religious badges don’t matter. God looks below the badge to the heart! What makes you right with God is not whether you tithe or don’t… attend church or stay at home… read your Bible or the newspaper… these things may be ways to demonstrate your love for God, but they don’t determine His love for you! God accepts you and blesses you not because of your feats, but your faith.
A lot of pastors are afraid to preach grace, because if they do they’ll give up their leverage. If the church members discover the reason God blesses their lives is because of what Christ has done, not what they do – what motivation will they have to serve and work and obey? “Who’ll come to church, if they all think God will bless them the same if they stay at home?” Yet pastors who fear the grace of God don’t understand its power. When you tell a person God blesses them regardless… it frees them up to serve the Lord – not because they have to, but they want to, out of love. Paul tells us how it operates in verse 6, “faith works through love.” The more you realize God loves you, the more you trust Him, and the more your trust Him, the more God does to demonstrate His love. You see The Law drives a wedge between us and God, but His grace melts, and molds, and fills us from the inside out.
Amen
Victor Tafoya
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