Ruled or Released?

Some mornings I wake up carrying the heavy load of knowing what God wants from His people, wants from me, and knowing how far short we fall. I related to Paul’s words to the church in Galatia. They were believers, but instead of living by faith they had fallen back into living by law or rules.

These days we call it legalism. One pastor jokes, “I don’t smoke, and I don’t chew, and I don’t run with girls that do.” Joking aside, many are turned off by any so-called rules for being a Christian.

Paul’s first concern is the distortion of the gospel. Turning life in Christ into a system of rules is not only going backwards into old thinking, it is sinful.

We ourselves are Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners; yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified. But if, in our endeavor to be justified in Christ, we too were found to be sinners, is Christ then a servant of sin? Certainly not! For if I rebuild what I tore down, I prove myself to be a transgressor. For through the law I died to the law, so that I might live to God. I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose. (Galatians 2:15–21)

The words are blunt and the contrast is sharply defined. Those who fall into legalism or a list of rules are foolish. They saw Jesus die. They suffered for their faith. Was living by rules going to make things easier?

O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified. Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh? Did you suffer so many things in vain—if indeed it was in vain? Does he who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you do so by works of the law, or by hearing with faith— just as Abraham “believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”? (Galatians 3:1–6)

No doubt these words caught their attention. Then he switches to a logical appeal:

Is the law then contrary to the promises of God? Certainly not! For if a law had been given that could give life, then righteousness would indeed be by the law. But the Scripture imprisoned everything under sin, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe. Now before faith came, we were held captive under the law, imprisoned until the coming faith would be revealed. So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian, for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise. (Galatians 3:21–29)

My load slips off as God makes it His load and not mine. Those who burden me with rules and laws for life are the ones who are burdened. I am free in Christ. I am His child, and the things that bother me now will vanish in the glory that is to come:

For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him. For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. (Romans 8:14–18)

PRAY: Jesus, lead me through this day in the freedom I have in You. Amen.

Failures, hypocrisy, motivation, and transparency

2 Kings 11:1–12:21, Galatians 3:1–29, Proverbs 7:10–20

What is the difference between a selfish, controlling person, a godly person who makes mistakes, and a hypocrite? Because the Bible says we look on the outward appearance, but God looks at the heart, it seems to me that motivation is more important than what can be seen on the surface.

Selfish and controlling is illustrated by Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah, king of Judah. “When she saw that her son was dead, she arose and destroyed all the royal family. But Jehosheba, the daughter of King Joram, sister of Ahaziah, took Joash the son of Ahaziah and stole him away from among the king’s sons who were being put to death, and she put him and his nurse in a bedroom. Thus they hid him from Athaliah, so that he was not put to death.” (2 Kings 11:1–2)

After six years, Jehoiada the priest ordered the army to put Athaliah to death along with anyone who followed her. Then Joash was made king and the people rejoiced. The city was quiet after this wicked woman had been put to death.

Joash illustrates a godly man who makes mistakes. He was only seven years old when he began to reign, but he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord all his days, because Jehoiada the priest instructed him. (2 Kings 12:2) One of his accomplishments was to rebuild the temple that had fallen into disrepair.

His error was doing as several kings before him had done. When threatened by a foreign king, Joash “took all the sacred gifts” gathered by his forefathers, and “all the gold that was found in the treasuries of the house of the Lord and of the king’s house” and sent them to the foreign king as a way to make him go away. It worked, but this doesn’t seem to me an act of faith. (2 Kings 12:17–18)

The woman described by Solomon in Proverbs 7 illustrates hypocrisy and an evil heart. She is after a man and “meets him, dressed as a prostitute, wily of heart. She is loud and wayward; her feet do not stay at home; now in the street, now in the market, and at every corner she lies in wait. She seizes him and kisses him, and with bold face she says to him, ‘I had to offer sacrifices, and today I have paid my vows; so now I have come out to meet you, to seek you eagerly, and I have found you . . . .’” (Proverbs 7:10–15)

The description shows her evil intent, but it also says she made a show of piety by making a sacrifice and paying her vows. Was anyone fooled? Solomon warns his readers to not be fooled, so there is a danger of being led into sin by a wicked hypocrite.

The people of Galatia illustrate good deed with wrong motives. They wanted to be right with God, made the initial step of faith in Christ, but instead of walking by faith, they fell into the error of trying to please God by doing good works. They may have looked righteous on the outside, but God knew their heart and didn’t like what He saw. He inspired Paul to write, “Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh? Did you suffer so many things in vain—if indeed it was in vain? Does he who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you do so by works of the law, or by hearing with faith— just as Abraham ‘believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness’?” (Galatians 3:2–6)

Faith has always been the way to live and to please God. Paul explained that law was added because of transgressions until Jesus came, but it could not give life, nor could it be the way of life in Christ. Their righteousness was by faith, and so must their way of life after they received it by faith in Jesus Christ. Living by faith is a gift, just as salvation by faith is a gift.

Evil motivations will show up in evil deeds. Godly motivations will show up in godly living. As a Christian, I have Christ in my life. My aim is to live by faith, even though I sometimes fail. This usually happens when I stop trusting God and start to trust my own judgments.

When that happens, any pretense of godliness would make me a hypocrite. The only solution is transparency — that is, openly confessing my doubts about God. Funny thing, as soon as I say it, I realize how ridiculous it sounds.