Hello folks. Hope you had a splendid weekend. We will continue our journey through Galatians viewing more and more of the beauty of God’s grace.
“For through the law I died to the law so that I might live for God. I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” Galatians 2:19 & 20
Earlier in life Paul had thought he could be justified through the law. He had made the strict observance of the law his major life purpose. Philippians 3:5-6 tell us a little about this. Of course at that time he didn’t fully comprehend the true nature and spiritual requirements of the law. But Paul wasn’t alone in that mistake.
Think for a moment about some of Jesus’ many encounters with the teachers of the law during His time on earth. You will realize that they did not understand the full import of many of the stipulations the law made. For instance, they made an issue of tithing the smallest grains and seeds but left behind the weightier matters of justice, mercy and faith! (Matthew 23:23).
However when Paul fully felt and understood the law’s true intent, all his hopes of justification through the law disappeared! Paul encountered God’s grace and that completely changed his life. It was then at that point that he could say he was dead to the law.
I’m a Medical Doctor by profession and I have had to deal with dead bodies a number of times. From dissecting cadavers while in Medical School, to handling fresh corpses after unsuccessful resuscitation in clinical experience, I’ve seen a fair share. A dead man is insensible to all around him. All his senses are gone. He hears nothing; sees nothing; feels nothing; smells nothing; tastes nothing; and nothing affects him.
Very many believers in Christ are still held captive to an allegiance to the law but this should not be the case. We ought to (like Paul) count ourselves dead to the law. We should reckon ourselves as insensible to the law. We shouldn’t be influenced by the law. There is no point walking the road that Paul and many other folks had walked many years ago and they found led nowhere. There is a new principle of God’s grace in Christ Jesus that is in full operation in the life of every believer in Christ. The way of grace is the way to go.
God’s grace in Christ has awakened us to a wonderful new life. New energy, new motivation, new consciousness, new abilities, new sensibilities, new opportunities, new capabilities, all in God! This new life is to be lived in dependence on our Saviour and Lord who loved us and gave Himself for us.
My song for the week is “Majesty” by Michael W. Smith. This week I pray our hearts are filled with the realities of the grace in which we stand as we come to clearer understanding of our new lives in God. Have a wonderful week, visit the blog again next week for more snapshots of God's amazing grace.
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