Fighting For The True Gospel

This morning I am reading from Paul's letters to the Galatians 3:23-29 NIV:

[23] "Before the coming of this faith, we were held in custody under the law, locked up until the faith that was to come would be revealed. [24] So the law was our guardian until Christ came that we might be justified by faith. [25] Now that this faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian. [26] So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, [27] for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. [28] There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. [29] If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise"

Galatians 5:1, 4-6 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.

[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."

I was just thinking about how important this message was in the early church. Paul was fighting for the Gospel of Grace, and it was so essential they fully understood this message. For the early followers of Christ were all Jews, but after Peter's experience at the home of Cornelius (Acts 10), it was evident that the Gospel was supposed to be preached to the Gentiles. Freedom from the Law was essential for the Gentiles to be received, it also offered the Jews the opportunity to step out from under the Law, into freedom, as Paul writes in chapter 5.

I think the Jews struggled with stepping free from the Law for a couple of reasons. First it was well known to them, and people often choose that which is familiar rather than what is best. Secondly, it was easy to keep track and measure one's progress of righteousness by the Law, for there is clarity and black and white. The problem is that this is in direct conflict with the message of grace and the free forgiveness available in Christ Jesus. As Paul says, the only thing the counts, that matters to the Lord is "our faith expressing itself through love".

So, we should be looking at our own lives in Christ and the churches we belong to. Do we feel free from rules and regulations? Is the message of grace and faith expressing itself through love, preached and more importantly lived? Is the focus on what we do, rather than who we are? Is the path forward found in relationship with the Lord, or is it through pleasing man, specifically those in charge or with influence?

These are essential questions and ones we should consider, for they will help us to hold fast to the Gospel. Paul was admonishing the Galatians for so quickly abandoning the true Gospel is favor of those that mixed the Gospel with the Law. He says that anyone who does this has become alienated from Christ, a stern warning indeed. So let us be encouraged that the true Gospel is a message of grace and love, one that is meant to set us free! Let us pursue all that the Lord has purchased for us, and throw off the chains of slavery.