Galatians 1 & 2 -- Almost Too Much To Chew!

My commentary had suggested that I read Galatians in its entirety as a letter, as Paul had sent it.  I started doing that, but then found myself wondering what my commentary would say about certain parts, and I discovered that two pages in my Bible were covered by twelve pages in my commentary!  I had to stop and catch up!

Paul wrote to the Galatians to clear up some very substantial controversies that had occurred.  Of course, he hadn't been one of the twelve original disciples, and some had mentioned that.  He hadn't encountered Christ until after the crucifixion and resurrection.  But the risen Christ had appeared to him and changed his life!  It was such a sudden and incredible change that Paul traveled to Arabia for 3 years where Jesus spoke to him and fleshed out his ministry to the non-Jews.  He'd then met Peter and James in Jerusalem, then he waited 14 years before returning again.  Paul had been all about the law of Moses before meeting Christ, knowing it backward and forward.  Anyone crazy enough to take him on would be easily taken down.  The Jerusalem council hadn't understood that Christianity wasn't a Jewish sect.  Paul showed them differently.  He even told Peter that Peter had been living with and like Gentiles and suddenly he's telling Gentiles that, instead, they needed to live like Jews!  And he called out Peter for this hypocrisy.  Paul begins to show how grace and works conflict.  There are several lessons for us in this:

1)  "A man does not become a Christian merely by agreeing to a set of doctrines; he becomes a Christian by submitting to Christ and trusting Him.  You cannot mix grace and works, because the one excludes the other."

2)  "Peace at any price was not Paul's philosophy of ministry, nor should it be ours."

3)  He defines justification for us:  "Justification is the act of God whereby He declares the believing sinner righteous in Jesus Christ.  It is an act and not a process ... it is an instant and immediate transaction between the believing sinner and God.  (If we were justified by works, then it would have to be a gradual process.)"

4)  "Before the sinner trusts Christ, he stands guilty before God; but the moment he trusts Christ, he is declared not guilty, and he can never be called guilty again ... Once you have been justified by faith, you can never be held guilty before God ... when the sinner is justified by faith, his past sins are remembered against him no more, and God no longer puts his sins on record."

5)  "God justifies sinners, not good people ... the reason most sinners are not justified is because they will not admit they are sinners!"

Peter's backtracking meant this:  "Grace says there is no difference.  All are sinners, and all can be saved through faith in Christ.  But Peter's actions had said, 'There is a difference!  The grace of God is not sufficient; we also need the law.  Returning to the law nullifies the cross ... Law says do! but grace says done!

Finally, the commentary tells us we should take inventory of ourselves with these questions:

1)  Have I been saved by the grace of God?

2)  Am I trying to mix law and grace?

3)  Am I rejoicing in the fact that I am justified by faith in Christ? 

4)  Am I walking in the liberty of grace?

5)  Am I willing to defend the truth of the gospel?

6)  Am I walking uprightly according to the truth of the gospel?

Father, thank You for this reminder about justification, and thank You for leading me through this inventory.  help me to live by the grace You've given me.  I don't want to ever try to mix it with works.  Remind me, too, that justification is a finalized act for me -- You no longer remember my past sins, and You no longer put my sins on record.  Thank You for Your grace!

 

Your Brother In Christ,
Gary Ford