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"Stand fast therefore in the
liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not by
entangled again with a yoke of bondage." (Gal. 5:1).
Many times I have come into
contact with spiritual bullies who try to scare new believers
out of the wonderful security that we have in Jesus Christ. They
might say something like this: You had better be careful not to
(fill in the blank) or you had better (fill in the blank), or
you just might "fall from grace." Of course, by "falling from
grace" they mean that the believer in Jesus Christ might lose
his or her salvation.
Paul had led a number of
Galatians to Jesus Christ. At the moment that they believed in
Him, God freed them from the bondage of the Mosaic Law and, in
its place, gave them a wonderfully free relationship with the
person of the risen Lord.
"For I through the law am dead to
the law that I might live to God. I have been crucified with
Christ: it is no longer I who live but Christ who lives in me:
and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in
the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me." (Gal.
2:21-22)
Cultivating a daily personal
relationship with Christ by growing in His Word and learning to
love Him and serve Him is the essence of the Christian life.
Paul pled with the Galatian Christians to stand fast in this
truth. What in the world does it mean to "stand fast"? One
might walk fast or run fast, but I've never known anybody who
could stand fast. "Stand fast" is just another way of saying,
"Take a stand," or "Hold your ground." Take a stand about what?
Take a stand in the liberty or spiritual freedom that we receive
in Christ Jesus. Take a stand in this new-found, law-free
relationship with the wonderful person of Christ. Take a stand
in the realm of grace.
Christians are not to retreat or
fall back under the bondage of religious traditionalism,
instructions, rules, regulations, orders, ordinances, codes or
commands from Mosaic legislation, or any human being or
organization, as a substitute for their relationship with
Christ.
"Indeed I, Paul, say to you that
if you become circumcised, Christ will profit you nothing. And I
testify again to every man who becomes circumcised that he is a
debtor to keep the whole law." (Gal. 5:2-3)
The Judaizers had told the
Galatians (probably with flattering, religious-sounding words)
that if they really wanted to serve God they would have to go
back under the Law and signify that they were willing to do this
by submitting to physical circumcision. They had already given
in to the pressure from these legalists to observe days, months,
times and years (Gal. 4:10). They were on the verge of taking a
huge step backward in their Christian life by submitting to the
Old Testament sign of circumcision.
Paul must have felt desperate, so
he shouted to them with his pen. He pled with them not to
submit to an Old Testament ritual that was never designed by God
for their Christian lives. "If you submit to circumcision," Paul
says, "Christ shall profit you zero." Remember, if we submit to
just one law to give us the power to live a right life-style, we
become a debtor to God to do the whole law.
"For as many as are of the works
of the law are under the curse; for it is written, 'Cursed is
everyone who does not continue in all things which are written
in the book of the law to do them.'" (Gal. 3:10)
Paul brought into clear focus two
great Bible truths: law and grace. On the one hand there is the
Law, the whole Mosaic religious system with its commands and
temple ceremonies and sacrifices. To produce righteousness
necessary for life, the Law demands perfect obedience. It says
to all "be right" or face God's justice, yet it cannot give
anyone the power to be right.
The system that vividly contrasts
the Law is the system of grace. Grace is that which God gives to
us. Grace means that God has finished all the work necessary in
Jesus Christ to provide life and righteousness to all who will
trust Him. Grace is the work of God on our behalf.
"You have become estranged from
Christ, you who attempt to be justified by law; you have fallen
from grace." (Gal. 5:4)
This verse is not teaching that
anyone can lose eternal salvation by sinning and falling from
grace. Paul does not say that whosoever falls into sin will fall
from grace, but rather that if these Galatians go back and try
to be justified by keeping the Law, they will fall from grace.
Falling from grace means to fall back into an entire system of
legalistic activity that was never designed by God to justify
anyone.
Let's give ourselves a little
test. Let's assume that our Christian life is based on a
personal relationship with Jesus Christ and that we are happy
and free in that relationship alone. We are constantly aware of
His presence in our lives and are growing to know Him, to love
Him, and to submit to Him.
But then we leave that
relationship and substitute for it a system of self-reforming
rules or religious traditions that are not even biblical. For
instance, we base our spirituality on the fact that we don't
smoke, drink, chew, dance, gamble, or gossip. Neither do we lie,
cheat, steal, go to movies, or wear makeup. And we always go to
church; we have been baptized; we give regularly; we sing in the
choir; we teach Sunday School; we serve on committees; we pray
audibly; we serve on the board of deacons. . .and the list could
go on and on.
If these become a substitute for
walking in fellowship with Jesus Christ, then we have fallen
from the grace system back into a self-righteous, legalistic
system and have "fallen from grace." Even non-Christians,
through self-discipline and good moral judgment, can do all the
good things mentioned, including those activities involving the
church.
Now, this has only been a test.
The Galatians were not in danger of losing their salvation; they
were in danger of losing their source of real love, joy, peace,
and power by fellowship with the person of Christ. If the
Galatians went back to circumcision (and the system that it
represented) their personal relationship with Jesus Christ would
be of no use to them. They would fall into a position where
grace could not give them the power and love necessary to live
the Christian life.
We cannot effectively serve our
Lord by living by a list of do's and don'ts (legalism). We could
live a legalistic life-style and yet never study our Bible,
never have private fellowship with Christ, never pray, never
share the gospel with anyone, never grow in grace and knowledge
of Him, and never know the freedom and spiritual power that
comes because of a private relationship with Him. Are we in
danger of falling from grace?
Sources
New American Standard Bible
Donald Gray Barnhouse
M. R. Dehaan
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