Jesus + What?

Week 5 Scripture: Galatians 2:15-21

Have you ever been in a church service where the pastor begins to list off all the things you should and should not do? Often, the pastor intends to guide his congregation into wise and appropriate Christian living that is most glorifying to God, but in the process he is preaches a gospel, not unlike the Paul’s opponents (see Week 1 blogs), that requires rules and not a relationship. Pastor’s tend to speak about dividing lines—those sins that cut people off from remaining in the grace of God. However, I must ask the question, “When am I ever good enough or bad enough that I attain or fall out of the grace of God?” In fact, this is the point of Paul’s whole argument. Paul’s opponents were questioning the faith of the Gentile Christians in the Galatian church because they did not follow Jewish Law (rules). Because they did not follow Jewish Law they were considered “Gentile Sinners.” The opponents insisted that a real Christian was one who had Jesus + the Law. On this point, Paul loses it! For Paul, faith in Jesus alone is sufficient. He makes the case that the Christian life is not about what we do, good or bad, but in whom we put our trust. When we put our faith in Jesus he liberates us from the bondage of Law and sin. Let me briefly explain what I mean on this point. The Law of God serves to point out sin in humanity. With the Law we know what is sinful, it points out our sin. However, this is all the Law can do for us; it cannot give us life, and this is why we need Jesus and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. How do we know what is good or evil? How do we know to act as Christians? It is by the guiding of the Holy Spirit. Paul further argues that the law killed him thus releasing him from sins bondage. For Paul, the “wages of sin is death,” so the Law pointed out his sin and he was condemned—he died (spiritually) for his sins. However, being dead, the Law was no longer applicable to him. A dead person cannot follow the Law, and is therefore not held to it. He is free from the Law, and where there is no Law there is no sin (Rom 5:13). Therefore, Paul’s life, and all other Christian’s, operates on the basis of “faith” in Jesus and not rules. We live by the guiding of the Holy Spirit, and not rules.

            When we live our Christian walk hoping to achieve some good will from God by things we do, we are in fact reverting back to Law-life. For example, thinking that God must look favorably upon us because we did X (fed the poor), Y (prayed for fifteen hours), or Z (steered clear from sinning for three weeks) shows that we actually think we need Jesus + something else. For the opponents in Galatia, it was Jesus + the Jewish Law, but what is it for you?

Questions To Ponder:

1.     Have you added anything beyond faith in Jesus alone trying to be justified (see definition from Wednesday’s blog) in the eyes of God?

2.     Why do you think it is human inclination to use rules rather than relationship?