I think that because of what I read this morning in Galatians 3:1-3: “You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified. I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by believing what you heard? Are you so foolish? After beginning by means of the Spirit, are you now trying to finish by means of the flesh?”
I think, despite all our pride at knowing the Bible and knowing our doctrine, that Paul wouldn’t be impressed. He’d ask the same things of us as he did the Galatians: Are you forgetting the truth of the cross? Weren’t you saved by believing in Jesus? If so, then why now are you trying to earn your salvation?
Here’s why I think that: it’s easy for us to measure ourselves and others by what we do. We judge based on who shows up at the second service (in my church) or who volunteers, or who gives the most. We decide who’s the most spiritual by who seems to do the most for Jesus.
That’s why our faith so often seems like a burden. We feel like we’re not doing enough. Sometimes we feel like the things we do are earning us demerits with Jesus, which implies he’s keeping score. If we think that, we also think that we can stack up merit points by doing the right things.
That’s works-based salvation and it’s exactly the heresy the Galatians were struggling with. When we think that way, we totally miss the amazing gift of Jesus sacrifice, and God’s grace. We miss the fact that we don’t earn anything by our actions. We miss out on the blessing of a life lived in joyful gratitude, and instead choose a life of grim duty.
Foolish Christians indeed.
No comments:
Post a Comment