Tuesday, January 22, 2008

an understanding of grace Pt. 5

On to Galatians

As I re-learned Philippians, I felt like the Lord directed me to begin to read through Galatians. Surprise, surprise... an even stronger argument from Paul against legalism. Not intellectually stronger, but more emotionally intense. In fact, you could safely say he was ticked off.

Gal 3:1-4 O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified.

Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith?

Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?

Did you suffer so many things in vain--if indeed it was in vain?

Twice here he calls them foolish. Why? Because they had truly received the gospel, and the gift of the Holy Spirit, and now were reverting to a righteousness maintained by keeping the works of the Law. Someone had come into their midst and persuaded them that they were “saved” initially by faith in Jesus, but after they received their forgiveness, they were dependent on their own obedience to the Law. Sound familiar? I was starting to see a pattern. Pretty perceptive, huh? That's exactly what I was doing. I had received this incredible gift of merciful forgiveness and new life in answer to a simple prayer, but now I was mostly depending on my own goodness to make me acceptable to the Lord. Oh, I trusted in His grace whenever I would “blow it”, but in between my failures I was depending on my own ability to do the right thing. Grace was my “Get out of jail” card that I would pull out and play whenever I needed it. But, in the walking out of day to day life, I unconsciously looked to my own obedience to His laws to make me righteous. Once again, if you had told me that this was what I was doing, I would have energetically denied it. I “knew” that salvation was by grace alone. I was blind to my own self-righteousness.

Paul didn't stop at calling them foolish. He was concerned that they may have suffered for the gospel “in vain.” He saw this shift to self-righteousness as a serious danger. And he had some really strong things to say about the teachers who were leading them in this direction. In fact, he makes one statement that is almost shocking to find in the Bible. He often uses the issue of circumcision as the example of trusting in our own works. The Jews had historically referred to circumcision as that which set them apart from the “uncircumcised” Gentiles. Its a pretty good example. A man allows himself to be cut in his most tender and private area as a sign of making covenant with God. And back then, they didn't have hospitals and anesthesia. I won't elaborate. So Paul is talking to the Galatians about these false teachers who are requiring Gentile believers to be circumcised and he says this,

I wish those who unsettle you would emasculate themselves!

Yikes! If you don't know what he is saying there... well... I will let you do your own homework. I will just say that Paul is obviously not very happy with the direction of their teaching.

Gal 5:3-6 I testify again to every man who accepts circumcision that he is obligated to keep the whole law.

You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law; you have fallen away from grace.

For through the Spirit, by faith, we ourselves eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness.

For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love.

Again, Paul is not just talking about circumcision. It represents the whole life of self-righteousness.

You who would be justfied by the law; you have fallen away from grace.

We don't need to get into the debate about what it means to have “fallen away from grace.” I will only say that it is NOT good. Can't be.

My hero Paul is deeply, almost violently, opposed to works-righteousness.

The Holy Spirit seems to be showing me that I have fallen into that trap.

This is not good either.

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