 | This week the Pastor continued through Galatians with a stop in Gal 5:1-15. Once again Paul had to address the people as they listened to teachers proclaiming circumcision was still necessary to please and be saved by God. He reminded them that if they adhere to one part of the Law, they are obligated to comply to the whole Law. He then admonished the Galatians to live according to the freedom given to them through Christ. This admonishment has to be taken to heart today just as it needed to be back then. Today, we are still subject to the same proclivity to follow rules and regulations for our salvation - even though we can never keep any of them - in order to feel better about ourselves. |
We latch on to that phrase “stand firm” and immediately contemplate and scheme about a myriad of things we should do in order to accomplish the demand. We are constantly getting caught up in comparisons, works, and self-justifications that really do nothing more than strangle us mentally and spiritually. All of that outward striving has no positive effect on our true inward nature. We may look like we have it all together on the outside - doing the right things and saying the right words at the right time - but we are usually in a seething turmoil of raging emotions on the inside.
Standing firm does not mean we dig our heels in and work harder, do better, and so on and so forth. Standing firm means we are to be solid and immovable in our resolute belief in what Jesus did for us.
All of this stems from the object of our focus. Satan, my enemy and accuser wants me to focus on me as he wants you to focus on you. As long as we are focusing on the things we are doing that we shouldn't be doing or the things we aren't doing that we should be doing, we run amok in vicious circles that get us nowhere except exhausted and frustrated. In our extensive efforts to fulfill all the Law, we ironically disobey the very thing that Jesus Himself said would fulfill it, which is to love God with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength; and to love our neighbor as ourselves. This is what Paul wanted the Galatians (and us) to realize. Standing firm does not mean we dig our heels in and work harder, do better, and so on and so forth. Standing firm means we are to be solid and immovable in our resolute belief in what Jesus did for us.
God did not choose us in proportion to our current or potential future physical, emotional, or spiritual greatness. He chose us purely on the basis of His love for us, regardless of our current or future condition. We stand firm in the truth that all of our shame was put on Jesus and that His righteousness was put upon us. Believing and standing firm in the story of Jesus provides for us what the Law demands of us. When we get the truth of what Jesus did for us settled in our hearts and minds, we can stand firm in the midst of the chaos around us and through the turmoil that tries to distract us internally.
God did not choose us in proportion to our current or potential future physical, emotional, or spiritual greatness. He chose us purely on the basis of His love for us, regardless of our current or future condition. We stand firm in the truth that all of our shame was put on Jesus and that His righteousness was put upon us. Believing and standing firm in the story of Jesus provides for us what the Law demands of us. When we get the truth of what Jesus did for us settled in our hearts and minds, we can stand firm in the midst of the chaos around us and through the turmoil that tries to distract us internally.
John Clark
John Clark is a husband to Julie, a father of one son living in Valrico, Florida. He has an Associate Degree of Theology from Life Christian University, and serves at Life Center of Brandon where he is a teacher and writer.