Stand Firm
“You who are trying to be justified by the law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace. “ (Gal. 5:4)
On Oct. 31, 1517, a young university lecturer and Augustinian monk named Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses to the door of the All Saints Church at Wittenburg. His 95 theses constituted a list of objections to the dominant Roman Catholic beliefs and practices of his time. Chief among his grievances was the church's claim that Christians could buy their way out of punishment for sin — and thus shorten their time in purgatory — by purchasing a letter of "indulgence" from their local parish. Luther had come to the conviction that the mediaeval Roman Catholic church had lost sight of the gospel – had lost sight of the freedom we have in Christ – and had slipped back into the slavery of legalism. Similarly, several centuries earlier, the Apostle Paul pleaded with the Galatian Christians not to slip back into the slavery of legalism and worldly religion, but instead to stand firm in the freedom of the gospel. Paul’s warning is relevant to the church today.
The Galatian Christians had begun to follow rites and rituals to earn favor with God. Paul writes, “You are observing special days and months and seasons and years!” (Gal. 4:10). Paul makes this urgent plea: “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.” (Gal. 5:1) This plea is relevant today because, despite the passage of time and the changes of culture, the human heart remains susceptible to the subtle lie that our salvation depends upon our own moral and religious record (and not upon Jesus alone). That is the tug of “slavery” that Paul addresses. We feel that tug—the hold of the law—every time we imagine, for example, that God is more pleased with us on days that we put extra money in the offering plate or get up a bit earlier to pray.
The key to standing firm in the gospel of grace is knowing God. Paul writes, “Formerly, when you did not know God, you were slaves to those who by nature are not gods. But now that you know God – or rather are known by God – how is it that you are turning back to those weak and miserable principles?” (Gal. 4:8-9) It has often been said that the essential difference between any worldly faith system and true gospel faith is essentially the difference between a religion and a relationship. Our great privilege as children of God is that we now truly know Him (Gal. 4:9). But as Paul speaks of the privilege of us knowing God, he almost stops himself and doubles back; “But now that you know God – or rather are known by God….” (Gal. 4:9). What a glorious theological truth! We are known personally by the God of the universe. He took a personal interest in each one of us—setting His love upon us and awakening our hearts to love Him in response. He took the initiative when “the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.” (Gal. 4:5-6). Today, if you trust in Jesus, you have a privileged relationship—an access and an intimacy—to God Himself through the “Spirit of His Son” in your hearts” (Gal. 5:6). Rejoice today because “you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.” (Gal. 5:7) Thanks be to God