Galatians 18-Day Reading PlanSample

Up to this point, Paul has continually repeated that it is belief, not behavior, that makes you right with God and that your moral performance doesn’t determine how God feels about you. As a matter of fact, “if you are trying to make yourselves right with God by keeping the law, you have been cut off from Christ!“ (v. 4) 

When most people hear this message, their first thought is, “Great! I can do whatever I want now.” It brings up a serious and valid question: If how you live doesn’t save you or “unsave” you, then why does it matter how you live? 

At first, the Gospel seems to remove all incentive to live a holy life. This worry often causes church leaders to downplay the radical message of grace and instead focus on helping people improve their behavior, but it shouldn’t. 

Former Welsh Minister Martyn Lloyd-Jones once warned preachers, "If your preaching of salvation has not been misunderstood in that way (justification by faith only), then you had better make sure that you really are preaching the salvation that is offered in the New Testament... There is this kind of dangerous element about the true presentation of the doctrine of salvation."

The dangerous element Jones is referring to is the fear that a person might mistakenly assume that grace is an excuse to sin. Like a high school senior who has already been accepted into their college of choice and doesn’t need to concern themselves with good grades.

Is grace an excuse to sin? Can a Christian live however they choose after placing their faith in Christ? No! A person who doesn’t desire to turn from their sin proves they haven’t truly understood the Gospel message. Instead, Paul says we should, “make sure that you stay free, and don’t get tied up again” (v. 1).

As shocking as it sounds, Paul says trying to be good enough for God is just as bad as the life of sin you used to live. The person who needs to prove themself to God is no different than a person who doesn’t know God. Both are forms of slavery. They experience the same anxiety, guilt, and burdened life they knew before Jesus. They will never be sure they are good enough. Their lives will be as fear-based, proud, or guilt-ridden as they were before; in fact, probably more so! 

Jesus gave the perfect example of this in the Parable of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-31). There were two sons, one who ran away and ruined his life with bad choices, and one son who stayed home and obeyed all his father’s rules. But in the end, neither son had a relationship with their father. They were both lost. One was a slave to sinful choices, and the other was a slave to perfectionism.

Your fear should not be that God’s grace will give you an excuse to live recklessly. The bigger concern for a Christian is that you would fall away from God’s grace and spend your life trying to earn something that Jesus has already earned for you.  

Paul begs the Galatians, and you and me, don’t become a slave by trying to be a “better” Christian. Live in the freedom of grace.

Question

What is something you do because you think it makes God proud of you?  What is something you don’t do because you think it makes God angry at you?