The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, and majestic in his radiant splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind 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 to 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 to 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 made 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 by 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.
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 to 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 to 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 made 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 by 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 what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
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