How would it feel if we painted our house, and the bare wood still showed through? Or if we filled our car with gas, and we ran out in half a mile?
For things to be useful to us, they must make a difference. They must have an effect on our existence.
Paul writes to the Church in Galatians 5:2-6, and he addresses the paint that makes no difference and the gas that gives no power. He tells the church what happens when Christ has no effect.
Galatians 5:2 makes us square our shoulders and take notice. Paul speaks to those who feel circumcision alone is enough to get people to heaven. Not so, he says. If we pick a rule to put our trust in, we have lost our faith in Jesus, and his death and resurrection have no effect in our lives.
Galatians 5:3 accuses us of looking backwards and not ahead. The Law of Moses was superseded by the resurrection of Christ. If a man grasps to the comfort of even one part of the Law, he must follow the entire Law. The reason Jesus came was because it is impossible to be saved by the Law, for no man can keep all the strictures the Law puts on mankind.
Galatians 5:4 tells us that to follow laws and customs rather than Jesus is to fall from grace. When we belong to a body that offers us salvation by prescribed rote, monetary donation, or trust in any man, we are in a dangerous position. We face the chance of apostasy, or falling away from the faith. When we lose the faith, how are we to ever find Jesus again?
Galatians 5:5 invokes the Spirit of God. If we want to see the works of the Spirit in our lives, we must place our trust in the cross and Jesus’ resurrection. There is no other channel through which the Spirit can bring us power. He comes only through the name of Jesus. When we find our faith in Christ and what he did for us at the cross, we gain the hope of righteousness through our Lord and Savior.
Galatians 6:6 offers us the truth. It is not the Law that saves us. Whether we are circumcised (adhering to the Law of Moses) or uncircumcised (as the gentiles were) makes no difference in our spiritual walk. For Christ to have an effect in our lives, we need to have faith in him. The world will know our faith is real by the love we show to those we interact with every day.
Christ can make a difference in our lives when we have faith in him. The world will see the difference, and they will call it love.
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Code: FD.FGO.F.8.13d.vp
Throwback Thursday: Originally Published August 13, 2013 in Discipleship