When Paul wrote his letter to the Galatians, he used passionate language. His heart was troubled because his friends were turning from the gospel he had shared to a false doctrine. With heartfelt concern he asked, “Who has bewitched you?” (Galatians 3) and then he goes on to say, “It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified. Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by work of the law or by hearing with faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Sprit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?”
The Book of Galatians is a powerful reminder that when Christ came, a NEW covenant was established. The law of Moses, in and of itself, isn’t bad and it served its purpose by pointing us to our need for our Savior.
But if we are to live in the light of the new covenant and walk in its powerful truth, we can’t let the world bewitch us into believing we can earn God’s love or our salvation. This is where a lot of us have it all backwards and we suffer from it. We continuously keep our Savior at an arm’s length believing we haven’t done enough to make Him our own.
Paul says in Galatians 3:11:
“Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, for ‘the righteous shall live by faith.’ ”
When Paul said, “the righteous shall live by faith”, he was quoting the words of the Old Testament prophet, Habakkuk (as recorded in Habakkuk 2:4).
Before Jesus, generations of people waited, with great anticipation and yearning for the One whom the prophets spoke of; the One who would set them free.
Then how can we, the blessed generation living after the Cross, essentially claim the Cross did nothing?
This is what we do when we try to justify our righteousness by our works. But the Word makes it very, very clear…
“God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God” 2 Corinthians 5:21
“This righteousness is given though faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe.” Romans 3: 22
“For if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no occasion to look for a second.” Hebrews 8:7
And one of my favorites…
“For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.” John 1:17
Grace, my friends. Grace. Just receive it because according to that last verse, grace and truth are one in the same.
In Matthew 11, Jesus tenderly says, “my yoke is easy, my burden is light…come to me, all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest.”
Clearly, Paul’s passionate language was inspired by Another’s. God’s pleas for struggling hearts resounded deeply in Paul’s own heart, where he continued to hear the impassioned words of the greatest Teacher he ever knew.
Friends, we can’t share the love of Christ until the love of Christ has impacted our own hearts. We can’t manufacture a love for Him and expect it to come off as anything tangible to the world around us. We must learn the truth of our First Love and know His heart to be set FREE from the old covenant and find rest. No other god worshipped on the planet offers the freedom that Christ does because no other god did the work for us.
There is one true God. And He is the only God who can radically transform a life because He radically transforms the heart with this one very important truth: it’s not up to you and me.
He alone does the work. And when our hearts rest in that, we see mountains move.
Remember the story of Martha and Mary? Jesus loved them both very, very much. But one toiled and worked ceaselessly to try and please her Lord and the other sat at His feet, gazing up at Him in the purest of adoration, and she drew her strength from Him.
Jesus lovingly proclaimed that Mary chose the better way thus inviting His weary and beloved Martha to do the same.
He wants to be our strength. He wants to do the work.
That doesn’t mean we do nothing with our hands and feet and lives. But it means we work from a place of peace; we do what we do knowing our God has covered us and everything we give. Therefore, our offerings flow from adoration and are truly “works” of joy.
If somewhere in your walk things got stale, don’t worry. Don’t let the voice of the enemy taunt you by saying, “Jesus is not enough.” This will never be our truth. Just come back to His feet and believe in faith, you are choosing the better portion. Choose the covenant under which you will live, and rest there in total peace.
Jesus, again we come, needing to be filled. What You did on the cross made it possible for us to sit at Your feet, draw from Your life-giving well, and LIVE with the assurance that our Father is FOR us…Not because we’ve earned His love for He has always loved us. And no measly offering could EVER compare to His love. Thank you for making a way for us to just receive…what a beautiful word and what a blessing! You did all the work and as we begin to understand that, we are CHANGED…and we no longer miss out on the sheer JOY of knowing You. Help us to continue to understand. It’s all we want. YOU are all we want. Help us NOT to live our lives like the Galatians who became confused and turned their backs on Your truth. Instead, help us to draw ALL our strength from You. It’s in Your precious name, Jesus, we will forever pray…AMEN.