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Posted: 7/11/03

LifeWay Family Bible Series for July 20

Salvation by grace frees Christians to serve

Galatians 4:8-9; 5:1-8, 13-15

By Tim Owens

First Baptist Church, Bryan

Throughout the history of humankind, people have tried to nail a sign to the cross of Jesus Christ that reads: “Necessary but not enough.”

Something about the fallen nature causes people to rebel against the idea that they are incapable of doing anything to earn right-standing with God. This is an expression of human pride: The belief that human beings can contribute something to their salvation. The message of Galatians is that one either receives salvation by God's grace through faith or not at all.

In Paul's day, some false teachers (Judaizers) were teaching that Christ's death on the cross was “necessary but not enough.” This group infiltrated the Galatian churches with the teaching that in addition to faith in Christ, one must obey the Mosaic law in order to be right with God. In Galatians 3 and 4, Paul argues that when it comes to salvation, law and grace do not mix. In Galatians 5 and 6, Paul answers the charge that salvation by grace through faith encourages a lifestyle of disobedience.

In Galatians 5:1, Paul directs his readers to dig their heels in firmly and resist the appeals of the Judaizers. If they did not, they were in danger of exchanging their freedom in Christ and returning to the bondage of rules and regulations. Like stubborn oxen buck against the yoke (a harness the farmer uses to control his animal), Paul wanted the Galatians to refuse to wear the yoke of slavery to the Mosaic law.

Through the influence of the Judaizers, the Galatians were considering submitting themselves to circumcision as a sign of obedience to the law. If they succumbed to this temptation, Christ would have been of no benefit to them. Practicing circumcision would lead the Galatians to trust in their own personal efforts. Paul warns them that to be circumcised would add works to faith and demonstrate they had not trusted Christ as Savior. One must either trust Christ fully or not trust him at all.

Galatians 5:3 repeats a theme introduced in Galatians 3:10–if one refuses God's gift of grace and chooses to live under the law, that person is obligated to keep all of God's laws perfectly. God's laws represent a “package deal.”

If it was humanly possible to earn right-standing with God by keeping the law, God's law would demand total, perfect obedience. Breaking just one of God's laws makes one in need of God's grace. Both the Bible and human experience verify the fact that no human being, with the exception of Jesus, is perfectly obedient to God's law.

Galatians 5:4 represents an even stronger warning of the danger of turning away from faith in Christ. Two results fall on those who try to earn a relationship with God through human works. First, they are “alienated from Christ.” Reverting back to keeping the law cuts off relationship with Christ. Second, those seeking a relationship with God by keeping the law “have fallen away from grace.”

Some teach a doctrine that says a sinning Christian can fall from grace and lose salvation. Such a doctrine is not the point of this verse. These verses are contrasting two methods of attempting to gain salvation–law and grace. One who attempts to keep the law in order to gain salvation falls away from grace as the way to God. The issue is not possibly losing salvation, but the right way into relationship with God.

Galatians 5:5-8 confirms that a person is “right with God” the moment he or she trusts in Christ as Savior and Lord. In an instant, the believer is completely forgiven of all sins and clothed with the righteousness of Christ.

Christians will not be able to live perfectly righteous lives until the coming of Jesus Christ, at which time God will bring about their complete transformation to the image of Christ. Circumcision, or any other adherence to Old Testament law, has nothing to do with a person's relationship with God. All that matters is whether a person has trusted in Christ for salvation. Such faith will manifest itself in one's behavior. Though believers are saved apart from their works, works of love are the natural expression of saving faith.

Behind Galatians 5:13-15 is a question prompted by the Judaizers. The question was, “If we live under grace and not law, what is to keep us from living in disobedience to God?” The answer is that spiritual freedom is not the freedom to live in sin, but the freedom to live in obedience to God.

Those who live under the law believe they can earn God's favor by their obedience. Their motivation is a sense of obligation. On the other hand, those who live under grace obey God's commands because of the inner desire produced by the Holy Spirit. They realize obedience does not earn salvation; rather, obedience is the loving response to the saving grace of God.

Speaking of the law, Paul affirms that when Christians practice love and service to one another, they bring the law to its highest fulfillment. Christians do not fulfill the law by keeping multitudes of rules and regulations. They fulfill the spirit of the law when they put love into action by serving others and meeting needs.

Questions for discussion

Do some people misinterpret grace and because of that willfully sin against God?

How does salvation coming by way of grace give Christians more opportunity to serve others?