Today’s Reading
“Look: I, Paul, say to you that if you accept circumcision, Christ will be of no advantage to you. I testify again to every man who accepts circumcision that he is obligated to keep the whole law. You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law; you have fallen away from grace.” (Galatians 5:2-4 ESV)
Ok, strange verse to just jump off with, but hear me out… While this verse appears to be about circumcision (and I’m sure you’re loving that topic), it’s really about the idea of works saving us. Works being “something you do.”
The Hebrew people were marked by circumcision. That means if you were Jewish, you were circumcised. It made you “part of the faith,” which in a way led to your identification in the faith. Now, I’m not really interested in going into Judaism and circumcision, so let’s just get to the point. You ready? Here is it.
You cannot be saved by works. Period.
Read that again. And again. And again. There is no work you can do that will save you. Paul is telling the Galatians that if they think that circumcision will ‘mark them as God’s own’ (the way it did with the Jews), then they might as well keep the whole law. And if they keep the whole law, guess what- They’ll never be saved. Need proof? See Romans 8:3.
“For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh” (Romans 8:3 ESV)
The world loves this idea of earning your way into Heaven, or into being saved. Everyone loves to think that if you’re good enough, God will just grant you salvation. Can you imagine if that was true? What is the threshold? What is good enough? What if I’m not good enough, but I try really hard? I can’t imagine what a faith like that would do to me, other than cause me a lot of worry and stress.
But I don’t have to worry. I don’t have to stress. That’s because we are not saved by works, but by the sacrifice of Jesus. That’s it. He saves us by His blood, and through His resurrection. If you have saving faith in Jesus, you can rest assured that His grace is enough. If you want to know more about Jesus, well, you’re in the right place! Send us any questions you have and we’ll get back to you.
Reflection
Be still and rest for a moment in the security of Jesus.
Think for a moment on what God has saved you from. Who were you? Who are you now?
Prayer
Thank You, Jesus, for my salvation. Never let me doubt it. Help me to daily live for You and let my works demonstrate my faith. Thank You that my works don’t save me, but that You alone save me. In Jesus’ name; amen.