Faith and Love, Not Works

This morning I am continuing my reading of Paul's letter to the Galatians 5:1-6 NIV:

[1] "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. [2] Mark my words! I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no value to you at all. [3] Again I declare to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is obligated to obey the whole law. [4] You who are trying to be justified by the law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace. [5] For through the Spirit we eagerly await by faith the righteousness for which we hope. [6] For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love."

As I read through these verses, verse 4 really stood out as a significant truth. Those who are trying to be justified by the law, is the same as having a works mentality. It has to do with adhering to set of rules that are supposed to make us righteous and justified to stand before God. This is such an attractive message to us, because we like things in black and white. We like a simple plan with a list of do's and don'ts. If you do this its wrong and sinning, but if you do this then you are righteous. It is simple for us to track our own progress against a set of rules, and easy to judge others as well.

Paul says that if we give ourselves over to that (justified by our own works) mindset, we have been alienated from Christ! That is a hugely significant message! The word Paul uses, that is translated in the NIV as alienated, actually has a much more significant meaning. Alienated, speaks to me of a separation in relationship, but the Greek word is Katargeo and the definition follows:

1. to render idle, unemployed, inactivate, inoperative
a. to cause a person or thing to have no further efficiency
b. to deprive of force, influence, power

2. to cause to cease, put an end to, do away with, annul, abolish
a. to cease, to pass away, be done away
b. to be severed from, separated from, discharged from, loosed from any one
c. to terminate all communication with one

Pretty much any of the definitions or sub-definitions above seems to me to be more significant and permanent than alienated. We must look very closely at the message we follow and the way it is worked out in our lives, as we want to remain in loving relationship with Jesus.

Paul goes on to say that these people, who are pursuing righteousness through there own works, have fallen away from Grace, which certainly makes sense. Grace is not necessary, if works can attain the same result, for it is the Grace of God that is applied through faith, that brings us to salvation. It is the works of Jesus, His sacrifice alone that makes us righteous. Nothing we do, nothing we say, can justify us enough to enter into relationship with God or our own, nor keep us in that place. It is the unmerited favor of God - His grace that brings us to Him. Unmerited means that there are no actions we can do to earn this favor.

Paul speaks of all this in his letter to the Romans 3:21-25, 28 NIV:

[21] "But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. [22] This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, [23] for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, [24] and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. [25] God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood---to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, ...

[28] For we maintain that a person is justified by faith apart from the works of the law."

Paul is clearly speaking about the very same issue in these verses. It is not our works, not our activity, not our purity that brings us to salvation, but rather the grace of God. As Paul says at the end of the verses I quoted from Galatians, " The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love." We are called to relationship wit God, and there is no simple list of things to do, or not to do that will enable us to grow in relationship and love. We are called to interact, to spend time, to get to know, to listen, to embrace the Lord. For each of us, this can look different, for we are al unique and treasured by the Lord. God doesn't want us to be pursuing works apart from relationship, for that is what can happen when we create our list of actions and behaviors that will justify us, we can accomplish them in a relationship vacuum. However, we will, out of affection and interaction with Jesus, desire to please Him and become more like Him, but that comes after relationship is established and is not the way to get into relationship wth the Lord.

Let us examine our lives, and live a life of faith expressing itself through love. We want to remain connected with the Lord, fully receiving all the grace that He has for us.