Sometimes I am still startled by the spiritual and even moral decline—low standard for living—of professing Christians. Obviously, every human being faces the temptation of sin; we may fight the temptation or we may step into it. The Bible defines this decline as a “degenerate” state. If a person lives in a degenerate state, he or she has strayed or turned aside from the righteous narrow path.
Grace is God’s provision for degeneracy. We are saved by grace through faith (Eph 2:8). The grace of God extended to sinful human beings is precious and should never be used as some kind of bandaid for sin. “Before every person lies a road that seems to be right, but the end of that road is death and destruction” (Pro 14:12). Frankly, degeneracy can be seen in a state of legalism, as well as a state of secularism.
Legalism is essentially trying to earn salvation and righteousness through performance to the law, rules, rituals, etc—the Pharisees were pros at legalism. Well, we cannot earn grace, because it is a Gift from God at the expense of Jesus’s life. Nor, can we change our own hearts to make them like Jesus in order to live righteously without God. Secularism disregards the truth of God and the salvation he actually offers, because one desires to claim grace, but deliberately live and practice life in opposition to our righteous Plumb line—Jesus.
In our passage today, the Apostle Paul is writing to Christians in the region of Galatia and their choice to stray from the Truth due to legalism. Paul wants them to know Jesus came to deliver them “from” something; in this case a turning away from grace and the person of Christ—the Savior. The believers in Galatia, as well as all believers, must stay focused on Jesus.
So the teaching of the gospel must remain true to our faith in Christ—we are saved by the grace of God and faith in Jesus, being made in the image of the Truth [Jesus], and we are committed to the cost of discipleship and Jesus’ Lordship. Jesus said, “You can enter God’s Kingdom only through the narrow gate. The highway to hell is broad, and its gate is wide for the many who choose that way” (Mat 7:13).
Throughout history, there have been religious legalists and secularists who have been fooled by the twisting of the truth. Your faith cannot be based purely on the human constructs and vision of a particular religious organization or group. The Church is actually an organism [possessing intrinsic life], committed to the Lord—Jesus the Christ; therefore, we must be rooted in Truth and led by the Spirit. That is the Good News of great JOY!
Galatians 1:6-12 NLT There Is Only One Good News
6 I am shocked that you are turning away so soon from God, who called you to himself through the loving mercy of Christ. You are following a different way that pretends to be the Good News 7 but is not the Good News at all. You are being fooled by those who deliberately twist the truth concerning Christ.
8 Let God’s curse fall on anyone, including us or even an angel from heaven, who preaches a different kind of Good News than the one we preached to you. 9 I say again what we have said before: If anyone preaches any other Good News than the one you welcomed, let that person be cursed.
10 Obviously, I’m not trying to win the approval of people, but of God. If pleasing people were my goal, I would not be Christ’s servant.
Paul’s Message Comes from Christ
11 Dear brothers and sisters, I want you to understand that the gospel message I preach is not based on mere human reasoning. 12 I received my message from no human source, and no one taught me. Instead, I received it by direct revelation from Jesus Christ.
Prayer: Lord, thank you for the life you have giving us; a life born from above. We have intrinsic value to you and as we remain committed to being made in your image, we do not have to fear falling for a twisted gospel. Instead, we can love you and love our neighbors while you lovingly transform us. It is so simple, yet still brings a struggle to obey. Thank you for your mercy and your patience. In Jesus’ name. Amen.