Falling from Grace
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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? New American Standard Bible Donald Gray Barnhouse M. R. Dehaan
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What does it mean to “fall from grace”? |