Hear me loud and clear. The law has done its job by pointing out our need for a Savior. It has shown us we can’t live up to God’s righteousness on our own. As a result, we turn to Christ in total dependency. So, don’t turn back to the law. God does not want that for us.
Galatians 3:25 says “But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster”. No longer under the supervision of the law. Let me say something and hear it clear. If you think you can earn God’s acceptance, or live the Christian life on your own, then the law has not really completed its work in your life.
Under the law, we become hypocrites. A hypocrite is an actor or a pretender. What made the Pharisees hypocrites was not their faults. It was their pretense that they were righteous. Teaching one thing and doing another. That’s what the law produces. People hiding their real selves. Always acting, always hiding, never just being real. They act so spiritual and righteous. When you’re truly set free by grace, you can really be you, be who you are. Who cares what the Pharisees think. Who cares what the legalist thinks. Who cares what the hypocrite thinks.
You will find that a characteristic of a legalist is they like to cherry pick their favorite laws. They won’t try to keep them all, but they’ll hang on to the ones that fit their state of mind and then judge you based on their set of values.
Paul said, you’re either under law or grace. You break one law, you’ve broken them all. You can’t be trusting what you do and trusting what Jesus did at the same time.
Now let me make a direct statement, as if I haven’t already done that a few times in this teaching. If you are still trying to be justified by what you do, then you’ve fallen away from the grace of God. Now, if you don’t like the fact I said that, don’t get mad at me. Get mad at God the Holy Ghost, because He said it.
Galatians 5:4 “Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace”. See, there are some people who would have said, AAAHHH, now that he’s said that, I’ve got something against him. But the minute you bring it to them from God’s word all they can do now is say Shucks, that makes me mad, I thought I had him.
Legalists, Pharisees, Snakes, Vipers, Hypocrites, Whited Walls. That’s what those people are acting and portraying. Again, every one of those words, with the exception of Legalists is in the Bible. I threw Legalist in as a free bonus.
Fallen away from grace does not mean you’ve lost your salvation. It, to me, means something worse. It means losing your freedom in Christ. There is nothing worse than a Christian who feels bound.
I want you to notice scripture didn’t say it was those committing sin that have fallen away from grace. It said it is those who are trying to be justified by the law that have fallen away from grace.
If you’re trying to be good and keep the law so God will love you, you are going to be the most bound person on earth. We are beloved, accepted children of God. We’ve been called to His banquet table. We’ve been given the experience of Jesus living in us and through us and there is nothing you have done or can do to deserve this free gift.
Sin will continue to be a problem in your life as long as you believe that the law still has a valid place in your life to govern your behavior toward acceptance from God. We please God most not when we try to make ourselves good, or when we try to perform for God, or adhere to a set of man-made rules. We please God most when we throw ourselves into his arms with all our imperfections and failures, and simply rest there.
We don’t get God’s love by living up to His or others standards. We find His love in the broken places of our lives. We let Him love us there. It’s called relationship. For most people learning to live that way is difficult, because it is completely different from anything they’ve been taught. As we learn to live with Him, we get to cooperate with what He is doing.
Quit trying to live for Christ, because you can’t. Besides, He never asked you to. He came to die and live for you. Quit trying to convince God your good enough for Him to love you. You’re not. Quit trying to live up to the expectations of those who would have you believe they are on God’s moral inspection team. They are not.
Let Christ live in you and through you and quit trying to do it in yourself. Live the free abundant life in Christ by simply believing it is yours for the receiving through faith, and don’t settle for anything less than this abundant life in Christ. Grace and Peace.
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