Gal. 5:4-6; Eph. 2:14-16, Falling from Grace

Continuing seven consequences if I try to grow in Christ by law-keeping.

3.    5:4: You become estranged from Christ.  In the NKJV the term “estranged” may not be best to convey the meaning.  The Greek word means “to render idle, unemployed, to inactivate, to be inoperative.”  Rom. 4:14 speaks on a similar theme, using this same word: For if those who are of the law are heirs, faith is made void and the promise made of no effect.  In Romans Paul is saying that, if law-keeping is the way to receive the promise, then faith becomes empty and the promise won’t work.  If we grow by law-keeping, then we are in a system of work and wages; we are not receiving a promise.  In Galatians it is just as profound: if we are justified by law-keeping, then Christ came for nothing; His death and resurrection did nothing. 

a.     Before we move on, Paul uses the same word to tell us why Christ did, in fact, come.  In Rom. 6:6 he says, our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin.  In other words, faith in the crucified and resurrected Lord results in the body of sin being rendered ineffective.  Thanks to Christ, who came to destroy the works of the devil, He has taken away our sins (1 John 3:5-8).

b.    And here is another glorious thought.  According to Eph. 2:14-16 Christ abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commands that separated Jew and Gentile from God.  The term “abolished” is this same word: He rendered it ineffective.  By reconciling both to God the two could be reconciled to each other also.

4.    5:4: you have fallen from grace.  We are considering people who advocate law-keeping as essential to spiritual growth.  Paul says the way you are justified (i.e. by faith) is the way you grow spiritually; there are no two ways.  Those who are profited nothing by Christ and who render Christ ineffective can also be said to have fallen from grace; they are not seeking to be saved by faith but by works.  If you “fall” you fall out of or down from somewhere.  The churches to whom Paul writes, whom he knew well, had received Christ by faith; faith is how one is saved by grace (Eph. 2:8-9).  If they adopt law-keeping to grow in their salvation they are no longer living by faith; thus they have fallen from grace. 

a.     This phrase is often used by believers who teach you can lose your salvation, that if you commit enough sins or disavow Christ, that you lose it.  That is not what Paul is saying here.  “Falling from grace” is something a believer does when he turns to the self-effort of the flesh as his plan for spiritual growth.

There is much room for reflecting on the nature of our own approach to daily living for Christ.

Gal. 5:1-3; Rom. 4:9-15, The Ledger of Salvation

Again, we ask, how do we have this glorious freedom in Christ?  Is it by keeping the law?  Or is it by faith?  It is by faith, ALONE.  How do we keep or live in this freedom?  Again, same answer: by faith!  We have only two options, as v1 says: Stand fast in the liberty by which Christ has made us free OR be entangled again with a yoke of bondage.

From this passage, let us discover seven things that happen if I try to grow in Christ by the method of law-keeping.

1.    5:2: Christ will profit you nothing.  Paul uses circumcision as the indication one is committed to self-effort as a means of pleasing God.  Circumcision stands for the whole system of Judaism.  He was not saying that circumcision in itself is a problem; it is circumcision as a means of satisfying the Mosaic Law. 

a.     Now, imagine a ledger with two columns containing assets necessary for my salvation: column one is entitled “my contribution” and column two “the contribution of Christ.”  If the first is empty, and the second lists the blood of Christ shed on the cross, I am a saved person.  If the second lists the blood of Christ and the first has anything at all in it, then I am not a saved person.  I have no goodness at all to contribute to my salvation.  If the second lists the blood of Christ and the first lists “circumcision” I am not a saved person.  In other words, CHRIST PROFITS ME NOTHING!

b.    This is a very real issue.  The official doctrine of the Roman and Orthodox Churches says salvation is by Christ alone, but then add that we must “fill up” something that is lacking.  Mormonism is the same.  Essentially, any religion but true Biblical Christianity has something in the first column.  Thus, Christ profits that person nothing.  And if you don’t have Christ, you are lost!

2.    5:3: You are a debtor to keep the whole law.  To build on the previous illustration of the ledger, if Christ profits you nothing, then circumcision will not be enough either.  Your debt will be that you must keep the entire law.  You will never come to a point in your life when you have paid your debt.  There will be no excuse for a day off or an “honest mistake.”  Remember Paul’s quotes in Gal. 3:10,12: Cursed is everyone who does not continue in all things which are written in the book of the law, to do them. … The man who does them shall live by them.  And, of course, this simply cannot be done.  What we see in these first two thoughts is that Christ is “either/or,” and never “both/and.” 

a.     We do not have space to go into detail, but the Christian does have obligations: obligations of love.  At a later time we will speak of these.  But the point is: they are never the product of his best efforts.  They are a response to Christ’s love, and are met in His strength.  It is Christ living in us!

Gal. 5:1-12, “Therefore!”

Galatians 5 begins with a “therefore.”  Previously we have had very practical words.  Nothing is more definitive than Gal. 2:20.  The closing words of Ch. 4 are Cast out the bondwoman … we are not children of the bondwoman but of the free!  It is critical to know who we ARE.  But who we are dictates what we are to DO!  Therefore, stand fast in the liberty by which Christ has made us free.  Christ has made us free; therefore let us not be slaves any longer.

But what does this mean?  In my “freedom” am I permitted to do anything I want?  Can I live my life as I please?  Trust me, there were people who accused Paul of teaching that very idea (Rom. 3:8).  Here are some fundamental truths on what it means to be “free” in Christ.

·       Rom. 6:20: Doing as you please will not lead you to righteousness; and if you are free from righteousness then you are enslaved to sin!

·       John 8:34: Jesus said the same thing: whoever commits sin is a slave of sin.

·       2 Peter 2:19: The false teachers who promise this “licentious” style of liberty are themselves slaves of corruption; for by whom a person is overcome, by him also he is brought into bondage. 

Let us seek to put it in a more positive light.  In Christ we are always set free from something to something.  Meditate on these powerful truths!

IN CHRIST WE ARE SET FREE

FROM	TO
Rom. 6:18: sin	Rom. 6:18: righteousness.  We actually become “slaves” of righteousness.  But this is good; sin brings death but righteousness brings holiness, the very thing for which I was created.
Rom. 6:22: sin	Rom. 6:22: God.  Again, we become “slaves” of God.  But this is good.  Sin is a cruel master; God is a good, righteous Master.
Rom. 8:2: the law of sin and death	Rom. 8:2: the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus.  One law leads to death; the other to life.  There is no middle ground.  Either we are dead and dying; or we are alive and growing.
Rom. 8:21: corruption	Rom. 8:21: the glorious freedom of the children of God.  Creation is under the curse.  When we receive Christ we become children of God (John 1:12).  That is our glory: that we belong to God.
Heb. 2:15: fear of death.	Eph. 3:12: access with confidence into God’s presence.  We fear God (He is always God, worthy of honor and glory).  But we no longer fear His judgment.  Instead, we eagerly desire to walk with Him, talk with Him and to be in His presence for eternity.
Rev. 1:5: sin.	Rev. 1:6: Our King and High Priest washed us from our sins and shared His glory with us, making us kings and priests.

Gal. 5:1; Matt. 5:17-20; 1 Cor. 10:11-13, Reviewing Galatians

Let us review Galatians to this point.  First, a reminder of the big picture.

ISSUE	AUTHORITY	LAW vs. GRACE	FREE TO SERVE
TYPE OF ARGUMENT	Biographical	Doctrinal	Practical
PASSAGE	1:1                      2:21	3:1                      4:31	5:1                   6:18
CONTENT	Source of the gospel	Essence of the gospel	Impact of the gospel
CHRIST IN US	Revealed	Living	Ruling

Here are simple statements that catch the previous sections.

·       1:1-10: “I am astonished” (v6).

·       1:11-2:21: “the gospel I preached is not something man made up” (1:11).

·       3:1-4:31: “Clearly no one is justified before God by the law, because ‘The righteous will live by faith’” (3:11).

Gal. 5:1-15 is a transition passage from the doctrine to the application.

Now let’s review Paul’s teaching on the Law.

ü In the beginning there was no written law.  Nevertheless, there was the law of the conscience (Rom. 5:12-14) which continued to be the Law of God for Gentiles who did not have the written Law.

ü The Mosaic Law was added so that sin might increase (Rom. 5:20).  Under the Law sin increases in two ways:

o   Rom. 7:7: Men become more aware of sin in their lives.

o   Rom. 7:8: The rebellious sin nature is incited by the Law.

ü The Mosaic Law was insufficient to justify us before God (Gal. 2:16).

ü The Mosaic Law was added to lead us to Christ (Gal. 3:24).

ü When we receive Christ we are no longer “under (responsible to, controlled by) the Law” but are “under grace” (Gal. 3:25; 5:18; Rom. 6:14-15).

ü Didn’t Jesus validate the Law in Matt. 5:17-20?  Christ did not simply fulfill the ritual demands of the Law (John 1:29); He fulfilled all the demands of the Law (Rom. 8:3-4).

ü So should I as a believer in Christ read/study the Old Testament?  Yes! In it we find encouragement (Rom. 15:4) and examples to follow or shun (1 Cor. 10:6,11-12).  Furthermore, the Law is designed for sinners, to point out their sin and to lead them to Christ (1 Tim. 1:5-11). 

Gal. 4:21-31, Cast Out the Bondwoman!

Let us consider some issues from this allegory.

·       Paul seems to indicate that this allegory has a basis in “the law” (v21).  He does remind us that the story of Abraham/Hagar/Sarah is recorded in the Scripture (v22).  But where does he find a basis for using that story to represent the two covenants?  I believe he depends on Isa. 54:1 which he quotes in v27.  By the Holy Spirit he understands that this passage is speaking of Hagar and Sarah. 

·       When you read the story in Genesis your first thought might be that Hagar was treated unfairly.  Certainly, she was treated in a way consistent with the treatment of slaves at the time.  But it is important not to make this the focus.  In the end, because of God’s mercy, Hagar and Ishmael are very blessed.  The focus is on God’s plan.  Abraham and Sarah tried to facilitate the plan by the use of Hagar.  But God’s plan involved Isaac, the son of promise, a son through Abraham and Sarah.  Sarah’s treatment of Hagar in sending her away provides a perfect illustration of what must happen to the bondage of the Law: we must cast out the bondwoman. 

·       Speaking of Isaac provides another connection between the OT and NT contexts.  We are also children of promise (v28).  The promise to Abraham that he would have descendants through a son from his body (Gen. 15:1-5) results in Abraham’s justification (Gen. 15:6).  Isaac is the means by which Abraham could be a blessing to all families of the earth (Gen. 12:3).  Thus, we are also the beneficiaries of the promise of a son to Abraham.

We conclude that this allegory is a teaching tool.  The details of the story are sufficiently consistent with the doctrine of freedom in Christ to require us to learn from it.  Let us do so.  The fact is that our life is in Christ, and we live that life by Christ who is in us.  Christ lives in me, and the life I now live I live by the faith of the Son of God who loved me and gave Himself for me. (Gal. 2:20).  The alternative approach to living the Christian life is to live out of the flesh, to do the best we can and to try, try, try.  That method is doomed to failure.  In fact, it brings us back to what we had given up on when we came to Christ.  We become enslaved to sin, because the flesh cannot and will not produce the fruit of holiness. 

I believe I, and likely you, need to consider this deeply.  Self-effort, doing our best, is the basis for every religion except for the religion of the Bible.  It makes sense to sinners.  Religion figures out a way to reach up to and satisfy the righteous demands of God.  In Christ, we have found the only one to satisfy righteousness.  He did it by the Word and the Spirit.  Now He lives in us and bids us live as He did.  Yet not I but Christ lives in me.  Think on this.  And as we turn to Gal. 5 the practicalities of this will become much clearer.  What a life we have in Christ!

Psalm 147

What a marvelous hymn is this 2^nd of the Hillel Psalms that conclude the Bible’s Hymnbook.  As with each of them it gives us a multitude of reasons to praise God.  Truly praise is both “pleasant” and “beautiful” (v1).  But why?  What makes it so easy to praise God?

 The Psalm is written in the context of a call to Israel, and especially Jerusalem, to praise the Lord for His “sustaining” work in His creation.  In verses 2-6 God is seen as omniscient and compassionate.  He is so knowledgeable He calls the stars by name; His compassion causes Him to exalt the humble and humble the exalted.  And these perfections of God are seen in the way He has gathered the outcasts to Jerusalem to build it up. 

 In verses 7-11 God is praised because of the way He cares for His creation day by day.  These verses note that God’s sustaining grace is for all the earth.  And the blessings are especially for those in whom He delights: not the great and powerful of the earth but those who fear Him, who “hope in His mercy”. 

 Then note that in verses 12-18 it is Jerusalem again that is called to praise God.  They are to be thankful for the way God has sustained His people along with the rest of the earth.  It is especially to be noted that God is the source of security and peace as well as healthy children and the finest wheat.  God does this!

 Do not miss the conclusion to the Psalm for herein we see the connection between God’s revealing Himself in creation (general revelation) and His revelation in Scripture (special revelation).  The God Who has blessed Israel with rain and crops and families is the God Who has blessed Israel with His word!  Those who “fear God (and) hope in His mercy” are those who receive all of His blessings with praise.

 Oh Israel, praise God today for His blessings upon you.  Do not trust in the strength of man but fear God, hope in His mercy!

 Oh drought-ridden friends in California, turn to the Creator-Sustainer today.  Thank Him for His blessings.  Do not trust in the strength of man but fear God, hope in His mercy!

 Oh friends in the Flathead Valley of Montana where God has abundantly blessed, give Him praise today!  Do not trust in the strength of man but fear God, hope in his mercy!

Gal. 4:21-31, Allegorical Illustration

This passage contains an “allegory.”  An allegory is a story put together with several points of comparison.  Allegory is not a very common form of speech in the NT and one must be careful in “allegorizing” stories from the OT (i.e. transferring OT stories into NT truth).  Paul’s use of this story simply follows form the fact that Abraham is “the man of faith” (3:7,9).  Note that this allegory does not teach a truth; it illustrates a truth.  The principle is already established.  The story helps us visualize a truth already revealed.

The fact that Abraham failed to trust God’s promise when he produced a child through Hagar is not justified by this allegory.  In fact, Abraham’s sinful lack of trust, his attempt to produce a child in his way instead of waiting for God, and the fact that Ishmael’s descendents have been a thorn in the side of the Israelites, is all part of the story.  When we allow ourselves to be enslaved by sin it is the result of unfaithfulness to God and results in “persecution” (4:29).

Further, the allegory does not make any judgment on the treatment of slaves by Abraham.  The allegory builds on what happened, right or wrong. 

The story of Abraham, Hagar and Sarah is found in Gen. 16:1-16 and 21:1-20.  It would really be helpful to read it.  Let us use a table to identify the key components and then we will go into more detail in our next post.

	THE BONDWOMAN	THE FREEWOMAN
2 SONS	Ishmael	Isaac
2 MOTHERS	Hagar	Sarah
2 BIRTHS	Ordinary	According to Promise
2 COVENANTS	Mosaic (Old)	New Covenant
2 CITIES	Earthly Jerusalem	Heavenly Jerusalem
2 RESULTS	Slaves	Sons

Consider the matter of slavery.  Jesus said, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin (John 8:34).  This slavery is real.  Samson was enslaved to sexual sin.  Jacob was a slave to his scheming.  King Saul was enslaved to his jealousy.  Peter was bound by self-confidence.  Saul of Tarsus, before he became Paul, and before he met Christ on Damascus Road, was enslaved to the Law of Moses and the traditions of the Jews.  But by the grace of God, he became the apostle of grace.  He cast out the bondwoman (v30) and embraced freedom in Christ.  Having been set free from sin, and having become slaves of God, you have your fruit to holiness, and the end, everlasting life (Rom. 6:22).  Whoever commits sin is a slave of sin.  “Whoever” is a big word because all have sinned.  But grace is greater than our sin!