Rev. Don Campbell
Galatians 1-3
THOUGHT FOR TODAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2019
“JUSTIFICATION IS NOT A GET-OUT-OF-JAIL-FREE CARD”
“I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed” (Galatians 1:6-9).
Paul makes it clear that the gospel is the good news of God’s grace. They were abandoning grace for slavery (Galatians 5:1). Grace is God’s part of the gospel; faith is our part: “We know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified (Galatians 2:15-16).
Justification is not the overturning of the verdict of Romans 3:23 which declares all guilty. This would be a miscarriage of justice. Nor is it an executive pardon. Christ paid our sin-penalty for us: “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, ‘Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree’— so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith” (Galatians 3:13-14).
We must stand fast in our freedom:
To do otherwise is to nullify grace (Galatians 2:21; 5:4).
To do otherwise is to fail to live by faith (Galatians 2:20).
To do otherwise is to abandon the Spirit-filled life (Galatians 3:1-6; 5:16-18).
Our justification cost Christ his life; it costs us nothing less: “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose” (Galatians 2:20-21).
CONNECTIONS
1. Salvation by works panders to pride (Romans 2:17-24). What words can we substitute for the words “law” and “Jew” in order for Paul to speak to our time?
2. If the gospel is properly understood and believed, what becomes of all the things in which we might boast? (Philippians 3:1-11)
