Galatians 5:1-12 Grace (Works Can't COMPARE)

The Judaizers couldn’t stand the thought of the human heart unrestricted by the law.  It had to run wild without it, they thought.  They were misunderstanding the freedom Paul was speaking about.

 

He knew that once the Holy Spirit took control of a life and enabled the Christian to obey out of love and not out of fear, not trying to be good in their own strength, God’s grace would supply them with all that they needed.  They’d be free from the checklist mentality of the Judaizers, who could never ever be sure they’d been good enough to earn their way to heaven.  They’d been trying to convince the new believers that they were missing something and that they could be more spiritual if they practiced the law.

 

My commentary used an illustration of a driver deliberately running a red light, then defending himself before the officer by saying, “I know I ran that red light – but I have never robbed anybody.  I’ve never killed anybody.  I’ve never cheated on my income tax.”  “The policeman smiles as he writes out the ticket, because he knows that no amount of OBEDIENCE can make up for ONE ACT OF DISOBEDIENCE.”  The legalists knew they hadn’t kept all of the law, but still defended their beliefs!  Grace was the only answer to the sin problem.

 

Father, I am a sinner.  I can do nothing on my own to overcome that fact.  It’s only by Your grace in sending Your Son to die for me that I can know that I will live with You.  Never let me believe that I can do any better than that on my own.

 

Your Brother In Christ,

Gary Ford