GALATIANS 5 v. 2 – 6
‘Mark my words! I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no value to you at all.
Again I declare to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is obligated to obey the whole law.
You who are trying to be justified by the law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace.
For through the Spirit we eagerly await by faith the righteousness for which we hope.
For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.’
Paul reminds the Galatians, after underlining the complete freedom we find in Christ, that to add anything to that is to ‘fall away from grace’. The key issue for the Galatians is that many of them have been persuaded to be circumcised. We see how far the grace and mercy of Jesus have pulled Paul away from his Jewish background, upbringing and training, for him say effectively that ‘in Christ, circumcision is nothing.’
Faith and expressing that faith in love is all that counts.
PRAYER
Amazing grace
how sweet the sound
that saved a wretch like me
I once was lost but now am found
was blind but now I see
My chains are gone, I’ve been set free
My God, my Saviour has ransomed me
And like a flood His mercy reigns
Unending love – amazing grace!
AMEN.
CHALLENGE
There is perhaps a danger that we take salvation for granted, forget the complete free grace we’ve been shown and make it more about our efforts, our achievements. We need to keep before us constantly the cost of Jesus’ love for us, the price He paid for our freedom. Determine to keep that before you today and over this weekend, and note how it affects everything else.