Live Free: A Study of Galatians Primjer

 We all know the feeling of not being chosen. Who hasn’t felt the pain of realizing you weren’t invited to a party others were talking about? Or perhaps you have experienced the rejection of applying for a job and not getting the offer. Some of us have auditioned for roles we never received or labored on a presentation only to be soundly rejected. Our nation is currently embroiled in serious tensions that extend across racial, economic and political lines. Each sector of our society seems to have an inherent brokenness that leaves many feeling rejected and without a voice in our world. 

Our brokenness and disunity causes God’s heart to ache. As followers of Jesus we are compelled to live a different way. And yet, even though we seek to follow Jesus, many Christians slide into practices and behaviors that unintentionally limit the freedom God sent Jesus to secure on our behalf. A few years after Jesus died, the first Christians were already disputing and discriminating among themselves over what it took to earn freedom. In this passage, Paul is placing a huge social and theological stake in the ground as he declares that “a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Christ” (Galatians 2:16) and nothing else! 

In fact, the apostle Peter tells us that God is “not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance” (2 Peter 3:9). The saving grace and love that Jesus provided on the cross was intended for everyone without reservation. 

Reflect:

When you reflect on your spiritual journey, do you seek to earn your salvation or do you receive it by faith in Jesus? What evidence would you point to in support of your answer?

Respond:

Take time to ask God to give you the faith to accept the freedom in Christ He has given you.