Galatians 3:3 “Are you
so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made
perfect in the flesh?”
The
book of Galatians was written to a church that was being misled. Paul
started this church himself. He taught them the Gospel, brought them
into the faith, and raised up leadership in their congregation. These
were people who understood salvation by grace through faith – they
were genuinely born-again.
But
after Paul left, new teachers (false teachers) came in that began to
teach different doctrines – things that sounded good and even made
sense. They declared that Paul's gospel of grace was a good
start – but now that the Galatians were a part of God's covenant
people, they had to conform to the law. In other words, they were
being taught, “God did save you by grace, through faith. But now
that you're saved, He expects you to get to work and keep His laws.” This makes sense, right? Shouldn't someone obey God's commands after they've been saved?
These
Galatian brothers and sisters truly did have a heart for God. So when
they heard that they needed to do more, they dug in and tried
their hardest to make God happy. Unfortunately, there were disastrous
consequences to their attempted obedience. Let's read Galatians 5,
verses 19-21:
“Now the works of the
flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness,
lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies,
outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy,
murder, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you
beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who
practice such things will not inherit the Kingdom of God.”
Remember
who Paul was talking to? This wasn't a wild group of sinners – it
was a church that was doing their best, trying
to obey God's commands! But no matter how hard they tried, these works of the flesh became more and more common. The false teachers used these manifestations of the flesh to prove their point: "See what you're doing? There needs to be some law and order here! Here's the rules - follow them!"
And right here is where we see truth that has plagued
mankind since Eden: The more you try to obey, the
more disobedience creeps in.
Paul explains this paradox further in Romans 7 – a well-known passage
to anyone who has struggled with sin.
Romans
7:15-21 For what I
am doing, I do not understand. For what I want to do, that I do not
practice; but what I hate, that I do.
If, then,
I do what I don't want to do, I agree with the law that it is good.
But now, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me.
For I know
that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for the want
is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find.
For the good that I want to do, I do not do; but the evil I don't
want to do, that I practice. Now if I do what I don't want to do, it
is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me.
Can
anyone relate to this struggle? How often have you been trapped in a
sin – knowing that's it's wrong, hating it with every ounce of your
spirit, and yet constantly going back to it? Does it ever seem like
the harder you try to keep away from sin, the quicker you fall right
back into it? If so, then I have amazing news for you – God never
intended to leave you in this struggle!
You
see, what the false teachers were telling the Galatian church – and
what many believers are misled to think today – is that God saved
them by grace, forgave their sin, and then said “Go try
again. Good luck!” Too many Christians believe that Grace is about forgiveness and being let off the hook when you sin. It's like they believe that God knows that you're only human and there's no way for you to really be free from sin - so He gives grace to cover you when you inevitably mess up. But that is not
what grace is about!
Colossians
2:6 tells us “As
you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him...”
Friend, how did you receive Jesus? It was by grace, through faith! So
how are you supposed to walk in Him? By grace through faith! You weren't meant to be saved by grace, and then perfected by trying to do what's right. You see,
God's grace isn't only the forgiveness
of sins – it's the freedom
from sin! Let me show you what I mean:
Hebrews
12:28 “Therefore,
since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let
us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence
and godly fear.”
Do
you see? When you have faith in the grace of God, it will empower you
to serve Him in an acceptable way! Grace isn't about what you can get away with - grace is the power to do what you can't do on your own! This is living by faith. This is
walking in the spirit! And when you walk in the spirit (that
is, when you put your faith in the grace of God, knowing that grace
will empower you to do what's right),
you WILL NOT fulfill the lusts of the flesh!
Galatians
5:16 “I say
then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not
fulfill the lust of the flesh.”
There
is a way out of the sin that you're trapped in. There is a way to
live a righteous life like you've always wanted. And that way isn't
by trying
to do what's right. When you try to obey God, you'll fail - we've
proven that time and time again. No matter how hard you work at
keeping God's commands, the result will always be the works of the
flesh. But when you place your faith in God's empowering, glorious,
amazing grace – it will
break
every trace of sin's power off of your life!
