Today we continue our series entitled, “Grace and Truth” by continuing to look at The Law given under Moses vs. the Grace provided by Jesus. Our main scriptures are John 1:14 & 17. Let’s look at them again.
(John 1:14 NIV)
The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
(John 1:17 NIV)
For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
So far we have studied Galatians chapters 3 and 4. Today we get to chapter 5. I will cover the first four verses of this chapter. Let’s get into it.
Paul opens the 5th chapter with a bold statement. The Apostle said, “So Christ has truly set us free. Now make sure that you stay free, and don’t get tied up again in slavery to the law.” The Apostle is clear. In no uncertain terms he tells the believers in Galatia, who had been going back for portions of the Law after being Born-Again, that they were to stay free from the slavery and bondage the Law brings.
Paul goes on to say, “Listen! I, Paul, tell you this: If you are counting on circumcision to make you right with God, then Christ will be of no benefit to you.” Remember, there were some Jewish-Christians in Galatia who required Gentile converts to Christianity to get circumcised. Paul already taught about this, but he comes back to the issue. And the Apostle further reiterates his point and says, “I’ll say it again. If you are trying to find favor with God by being circumcised, you must obey every regulation in the whole law of Moses.” Paul keeps driving home the point that if you attempt to take on a portion of the Law, thinking that your compliance with that portion is making you right with God, then the Law actually requires you to abide by the entire Law and if you break any portion of it, you are guilty of breaking the entire Law (see James 2:10).
Paul continues with another very strong statement. Paul says, “For if you are trying to make yourselves right with God by keeping the law, you have been cut off from Christ! You have fallen away from God’s grace.”
So what does this mean for you today? Let’s seek to glean a few golden nuggets:
1. Once you have been Born-Again and God’s Spirit is in you, you are called to walk in the freedom Christ Jesus died to provide you. Jesus made you free. He delivered you from the fear of death and the power of sin. Once you are in Christ you are free to be led by the Holy Spirit to find, follow and finish your purpose in life.
2. Once you are Born-Again you are in-Christ and you have victory over sin and death. Adam got us into sin and death and Jesus delivered us from both. This is often preached and mostly understood. But what is not often preached and certainly not widely understood is that Jesus also delivered us from the bondage of The Law. Jesus delivered us from the yoke of carnal effort and human performance. The Apostle Paul makes is very clear that once we are in Christ we must NOT allow ourselves to be entangled again with the yoke of bondage. Paul was not talking about sin. He was talking about the bondage (slavery) of The Law.
3. The Bible teaches that if you attempt to abide by The Law, as if your compliance with the Law will make you right with God, then Jesus is of “no benefit to you”. You are not relying on Jesus to make you righteous. You are self-righteous. Instead of allowing yourself to be righteous because of what Jesus did, you are attempting to be righteous with your own works. If you are relying on your own works to make you right with God, then you have “fallen from grace!” The grace of God means nothing to you, because you are relying on your performance and not Jesus’ performance.
4. You must not perform works TO BE righteous. You must perform works BECAUSE YOU ARE righteous in Christ Jesus. There is a huge difference in the two mindsets.
5. Paul said, “If you are trying to make yourselves right with God by keeping the law, you have been cut off from Christ! You have fallen away from God’s grace.” I was taught that “falling from grace” meant losing your salvation. But that is not what Paul is teaching at all. “Falling from grace” is leaving the Grace Jesus died to give you, in order to go back and live under the Law of Moses, relying on human performance. If you attempt to live by the Law, Paul said you are “cut off from Christ!” (which is a very strong statement), and you are “fallen away from God’s grace.”
6. How are you living your life as a Christian? Are you living under and by God’s grace? Or have you fallen from grace by attempting to earn your righteousness with your works and human compliance with the Law? The choice is yours, but choose wisely. One mindset leads to a life based on performance-based religion. The other leads life based on God’s amazing power and His unearned grace. The latter is the only way you will see the supernatural manifest in your life. Because if you are focused on your performance, the sad truth is that you will never be good enough to earn God’s blessing and you will never see yourself worthy enough to expect His favor.
Declaration of Faith:
Father, I thank You for Your Word. This series is helping me to see the areas of my life where I have not fully embraced Your Grace. I am being convicted of things I am doing out of human effort, in an attempt to earn my right-standing with You. I repent and I fully embrace Your Grace. From this moment on, I will not work TO BE right with You. I will work because Jesus MADE ME right with You. I do all that I do BECAUSE I AM right, not in order to BECOME right. I am the righteousness of God by faith and I will never forget it. I will not entangle myself with sin or the yoke of bondage of The Law. What I will do is fully engulf myself in Christ. Without You I am nothing. Like Jesus, I say, “The son can do nothing without the Father.” I am nothing without You! It is in You that I live and move and have my being. I lose myself in You, and by losing myself in You, I find my true self and my divine purpose. I will never fall from Grace, because I am determined to live every day of my life IN, WITH and By the grace You have already provided! I declare this by faith. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
This is Today’s Word. Apply it and prosper!
