This morning I was reading through Paul's letter to the Galatians and was reflecting on how religion was already slipping into the ranks of the Body of Christ and causing confusion and disagreements and heresy. According to the entry on this letter, "some scholars date the original composition to c. 50–60 AD. Other scholars agree that Galatians was written between the late 40s and early 50s." ( https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epistle_to_the_Galatians). If Jesus died in 30-33AD, then we are looking at an issue that had already risen within the first 20-30 years of His life. Many of the original Apostles were still alive, and yet already there were seeds of disagreement and divisions were forming. My heart was saddened by this reality and by the present state of the Body of Christ with division and disagreement rampant in our midst.
I have been reflecting on the bedrock truths of our faith, on the two most important commandments (per Jesus) and was thinking that it would be wonderful if we could unite behind the basic truths and teachings of Jesus as one Faith! It doesn't seem so hard or complicated for us to universally embrace our call to love God first, and then to love one another (our neighbors) as Jesus loves us. Yet, we find the majority of churches struggling to have real relationships and trust of other churches outside their own denomination,fellowship or organizations. We find that many pastors are alone, have few friends in neighboring churches and more often feel a sense of competition for the believers in their city or region.
This is exactly the scene in Galatia, and Paul is forced to address in His letter to the churches there. Clearly this is a letter defending the true faith, his ministry and even move and guidance of the Holy Spirit, for it seems the members of the church in Galatia were willing to lay down everything they already had, for the false promise of righteousness through works! There were opposing forces at work to dissuade them of the Gospel, they were working to convince them that Paul was not to be trusted, all of which we see Paul addressing in his letter.
I am not focusing on the specifics of the disagreements and differing opinions, rather I am looking at this from the attack on identity and relationship perspective. Core to our understanding of our identity in Christ is the issue of the Gospel of Grace. Basically none of us deserve salvation, but Jesus in the supreme act of self-sacrifice, gave Himself to set us free, and it His free gift to us all. He loves us and He paid the price. We did nothing to deserve this, and His salvation is distributed equally to all, because He loves us all equally! Nothing we can do adds to His love or to what He has already given us. All He asks for in return is relationship.
The enemy would have us believe that we still live in that state of unworthiness and the only way forward is through some works, or religious expression or sacrifice, and that is a lie from the pit of hell, for it negates completely the free gift of salvation that Jesus died to provide us! The truth is that none of us are worthy, and yet all are made worthy only by Jesus' righteousness being applied to our lives. Nothing we do increases His sacrifice, or makes it more or less effective! IT IS FINISHED!
We are all loved!
We are all forgiven!
We are all His favorites!
We are all His sons and daughters!
We are all able to enter by faith!
If we think these truths don't apply to our lives, then we are agreeing with the lie of the enemy and we are saying that Jesus didn't do enough, that His sacrifice was not enough to redeem us! If we think that our religious expression adds something to our favorableness before God, then we are saying Jesus, in whom we are hidden, isn't that attractive to the Father! Do we really want to align ourselves with the accuser before the Throne of Grace??
For most of us, we don't usually see these issues in such clear light. They are hidden in feelings of inadequacy, feeling of guilt or failure, feelings of not being loved or accepted. We have listened to the whispered lies of the enemy without realizing it and without discerning the evil intent.
This morning I am encouraged to reflect on my life, upon my thoughts and to root out any lies of the enemy that I have come into agreement with in my life. I am encouraged to ask God to shine the light of His truth into the dark recesses of my mind, my heart and my being to root out all the hidden delusions and deceptions the enemy has sowed. I am encouraged to let His Truth become the foundation of my identity in Him!
Amen and Amen!
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