I am amazed that you are so quickly deserting Him who called you by the grace of Christ, for a different gospel; which is really not another; only there are some who are disturbing you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed! As we have said before, so I say again now, if any man is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you received, he is to be accursed! | Galatians 1:6-9
The Christians in Galatia had been confused by the gospel that is being shared with them by a group called Judaizers. The group was teaching them that it is necessary to adopt certain Jewish customs and practices – based specifically in the Law of Moses – in order for people to be saved. This is contrary to what Paul had already shared with the Galatians in the past.
In the present day, false teachings about the gospel are still shared and circulated. If we don’t know where our faith is anchored, we could be swayed easily. Paul is giving us a warning that not even an angel from heaven can come and preach a gospel that is contrary to what Christ had done on the cross; our salvation is only merited by grace through faith.
God had sent His one and only Son – Jesus Christ – to die on the cross for our sins because we cannot fulfill the Law of Moses. We always fall short. But we must remember that the Law and Grace of God go hand in hand.
In the Old Testament, the way people atone for their sins [because they haven’t fulfilled the Law] is by sacrificing a lamb, a ram, or an ox. This is the only way to pay for sin – shedding blood – for the wages of sin is death. Jesus came as the sacrificial lamb of God to die on our behalf so that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.
If we accepted Christ, does it mean we still have to keep the Law? The answer is yes. Is our salvation dependent on failing to keep the Law? The answer is no. Does it mean we won’t sin anymore? High chance that we will still do. But our sins are already paid in full because the Bible says in 2 Corinthians 5:17 — if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the former things had passed away [our old self], behold, new things had come [our new self in Christ].
Let’s be keen on the teachings that we listen to. We must always countercheck it with what’s written in God’s Word.
REFLECTION: Have you ever put expectations on yourself or others that Jesus never put on you? What happened as a result?
Whenever I had committed something that I’m shameful about — a favorite sin that I kept repeating over and over — I had a tendency in me to not go back to Christ [and ask for forgiveness] until I can fix myself first and I had successfully removed the sin out of my system. This line of thinking, of course, is not something that the Lord is expecting from me. This is my own way of wanting to earn the spot into being a rightful child of God. I am trying to win brownie points by coming to God once I am sinless — which would always be far from happening.
The expectation I had imposed on myself resulted to weeks of spiritual drainage. If it’s a sin that I had kept on doing in the past, it is a cycle already. I am in bondage from years and years of doing that sin. It is impossible to wash it away in just a few days or weeks. Hence, trying to get rid of the sin for me to deserve my place in Christ is a hopeless case. I can never do it on my own. Besides, if I would only come to Christ after I’m clean, then, what would I need His precious blood for?
Eventually, I learned that the Lord did not expect us to be perfect after we had accepted His saving grace. We are in a fallen world where the flesh and spirit battle. No matter how hard we try, there will be times that we will choose to fail the Lord and disobey His commands. There will be times that we will champion our own desires instead of sticking to where He wanted us to be. There will be times that we would run away from Him and shut the door in front of His face. There will be times that we would be such a huge mess. And still, when we turn around, He would gladly open His arms in love and full acceptance of all that who we are, what we had done, and what we had become.
Yes, we will bear the consequences of our actions. But He promised that His mercies are new every morning. When He said that He has a covenant with us, that meant Him keeping it even if we suddenly decided that we don’t want it anymore. He will always be waiting for us to come home.
Devo Background via First5: Spiritual Scrutinizing
Write By Syllable 