Galatians 5:1-12
Click Here to Read Galatians 5:1-12
I think this section of Paul’s letter is pretty straight forward. The completed work of Jesus on the cross nullifies our works to obtain salvation. It wasn’t a partial work, or 99.99% of the work. It was a finished work. Paul says that we should cherish this truth. I like that. We should guard and protect it, hold it dear, and keep it always in front of us as a treasure.
We have already seen that we are not capable of keeping the law in its entirety. We have seen that even the good works of our flesh are still corrupt, and our righteousness is like filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6 AMP). Even at our best we are still lacking in holiness unless we are living by the Spirit. Paul says if we look to works to justify us, we are cut off from Jesus because we act as though he is not enough. We are valuing the works more that we value Jesus. And we are putting more faith in works than in the Holy Spirit’s effectiveness in us. We can accept Jesus and be lifted up into his righteousness, or we can toil in our own filthy-ragged imitation righteousness and try to make it on our own. But we do have to make a choice, we cannot live both ways.
“Don’t you know that when you allow even a little lie into your heart, it can permeate your entire belief system?” (Gal 5:9). This statement is a reminder to me of what Paul spoke of early on in his letter to the Galatians about who sent him and who taught him this gospel. It is so important that we make sure we are lining up our beliefs with the Word of God and the Holy Spirit. The Word of God is the standard, the Holy Spirit is our guide into all truth. We really need to do our due diligence and put everything we hear from people up against the Word and see if it lines up. We need to always ask Holy Spirit to govern our thinking, our hearing, and our understanding. Remember Jesus’ warning about how we hear? “So be careful how you listen; for whoever has [a teachable heart], to him more [understanding] will be given; and whoever does not have [a longing for truth], even what he thinks he has will be taken away from him.” (Luke 8:18 AMP).
Paul urges us to stay in this freedom and not choose to return to our former bondage. If we turned to Jesus to save us, why do we not stay turned to him to keep us? I think it’s a matter of control. There is just something about having control that gives us satisfaction. Or maybe having control keeps fear at bay. I think even for many of us it’s just hard to receive but so much easier to give, we always feel like we have to do something to earn things. Whatever it may be, I do think that we have to intentionally choose every day to acknowledge that God’s grace is a gift of love, that He sees us cleansed only because He looks at us through the blood of His Son, and that our eternity is sealed up only because we are joined to Jesus. “All that matters now is living in the faith that is activated and brought to perfection by love.” (Gal 5:6). I like how the Message translation says, “What matters is something far more interior: faith expressed in love.” That is our faith that comes from His expression of love in us.
In verse 11 Paul calls the cross offensive. What does that mean? In Romans 9:30-33 AMP Paul talks about the Gentiles obtaining righteousness though they did not pursue it, and Israel pursuing righteousness but because they pursued it by works instead of faith, they failed in fulfilling the Law and therefore did not obtain righteousness. “They stumbled over the stumbling stone.” The cross is a stumbling block for those who look to works for justification. God doesn’t look at what we do, He looks at the condition of our heart. If we do something right but with wrong motives, we end up doing something wrong. If we do something wrong, He doesn’t feel disappointed. He looks at what is missing in our heart and He seeks to fill it with something from Himself. That is hard for us to fathom sometimes, that He only ever has love for us. But even when we can accept and receive that He feels that way about us, can we accept and receive that He feels that way about others too?
I was thinking about a dream I had once. I was with Holy Spirit and we were sitting in a large open field. It was nighttime and it was pitch black. We would say “All who call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” Then we would each throw big handfuls of glittery dust into the air and it would flutter around us in a glowing bright cloud. We would wait until all the sparkle had settled and then do it again. “All who call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” Throw up handfuls of glitter dust and watch it flutter around. That is a scripture from Joel 2:32 and I like it in the Amplified: “And it shall come about that whoever calls on the name of the LORD will be saved (from the coming judgement)”. It doesn’t say the rich and powerful shall be saved. It’s not the “goody-goodies” or the smart and savvy that He welcomes in. He’s not interested in the well-dressed or the educated or even the well versed in scripture. There are no conditions made that one must pay their debt for all their wrongdoing, make amends for every evil deed, or be forever branded a recovering sinner. It is ALL who are clothed in His righteous Son that He calls His children. The moment we put on Jesus everything is brand new. And no one is unworthy of His grace. Where we might see someone who does evil deeds, God sees a heart that is broken and lost. We see the works; He sees the condition of the heart. We judge the works; He judges the heart. We can’t see the condition of one’s heart unless God gives us eyes to see it. But the bottom line is, the cross has completed the final work and ALL who call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved and brought to perfection by faith through the strength and power of the Holy Spirit.
Let’s pray.
Father, we take this moment to just acknowledge that your grace is your gift of love to us; that you see us cleansed only because you look at us through the precious blood of your Son Jesus; that our eternity with you is sealed up only because we are joined together with Jesus. We thank you, Jesus, for the finished work on the cross that sets us free from the bondage of works and reconciles us to our heavenly Father. Holy Spirit, we ask that you guide us into all truth. That you would guard our hearts, our minds, and our understanding from lies and deception. Plant your Word in our hearts that we might not be led astray. Give us eyes to see the hearts of those around us and the love that God has for them. Show us how to share this gift of grace so others may call upon your name and be saved. Amen.