majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of
him in Galatians 3:2-3,
"I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the
Spirit by observing the law, or by believing what you heard? Are you
so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to
attain your goal by human effort?"
The question Paul confronted the Galatian churches with pointed to a
contradiction the Galatians were pursuing. As today, there were folks
in the early church who were unable to rest in the finished work of
Jesus Christ and felt they had do things, beyond their faith, to
maintain God's love and acceptance of them. At that time folks were
teaching these new churches that even though salvation is by faith,
the members of these new churches needed to be maintaining God's
acceptance of them by keeping the law. Gentile converts needed to be
circumcised according to the Mosaic law, and all had to keep the law
in order to maintain their relationship with God.
In this letter Paul points out that as you are born again through
faith, you continue in that faith. Jesus Christ did all the work and
there is nothing we need do to maintain God's love and acceptance of
us. Paul will say in other places that our new life in Jesus Christ
will bring about lifestyle changes, as in Galatians 5:16-26 (the acts
of the sinful nature versus the fruit of the Holy Spirit). But these
changes take place because we become a "new creation" in him, 2
Corinthians 5:17, not because we are required to earn or maintain
God's love and acceptance by doing things.
Today there are all kinds of things folks tell us we need to do in
order to maintain God's love and acceptance of us as believers. The
law of Moses may be exchanged for newer things (and often it is the
law of Moses that some still say is required) but it is the same old
issue. Faith is not enough for some folks to feel comfortable with
God's love and acceptance of them so they engage in all sorts of
spiritual disciplines, requirements, rules and regulations. They
insist on it for themselves and everyone else.
Not for me. The writer of Hebrews tells me I have entered into his
rest. When I placed my faith in Jesus Christ, I believed that it was
what he did on the cross that makes me acceptable to God. There is
nothing I can do to add to it. It was a perfect work and entirely
effective to bring about my eternal acceptance of God and as such was
God's manifestation of his great love for me - just as I am.
"There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for anyone
who enters God's rest also rests from his own work, just as God did
from his. Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so
that no one will fall by following their example of disobedience."
Hebrews 4:9-11. That disobedience was displacing faith for works.
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share
your thoughts of worship with us from your Bible reading today. We'd
love to hear from you!
Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com
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