A New Life Through Grace

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.

"Majesty" by Michael W. Smith 

Accepted By Grace

Hello everyone, I hope you all had a nice weekend. It is a new week and in this post I will ask us to turn our minds back to the subject of the beauty of God’s grace as we continue drawing from Paul’s letter to the Galatians.

“When I saw that they were not acting in line with the truth of the gospel, I said to Peter in front of them all, ‘You are a Jew, yet you live like a Gentile and not like a Jew. How is it, then, that you force Gentiles to follow Jewish customs? We who are Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners know that a man is not justified by observing the law but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by observing the law, because by observing the law no one will be justified.” Galatians 2: 14-16 NIV

I would like us to focus on verses 15 and 16; they remind us of something so powerfully true. No one can be justified by observing the law, no one! The Israelites for example pursued righteousness through the law but they did not and will not obtain righteousness that way. The Gentiles who did not pursue it have obtained it-a righteousness that is by faith^{1, 2, and 3}. This is a reality we must always remember. It is not a suggestion or a proposal we may choose to accept or reject based on our own whims. Justification is by faith and will never come by an observance of rules or codes of conduct.

Bildad (one of Job's friends) asked a question many centuries ago. He asked "How, then, can man be righteous before God?" in Job 25:4. It is a question that men in every generation including ours have always asked. This is so because one of the universal human hurts is guilt. People in every land and in every age feel it. There is just a gnawing feeling of guilt present in the heart of every man.

This feeling of guilt is usually so real and so powerful that man tries to overcome it in one way or another. Some people try mental exercises like positive thinking while some try drugs or alcohol or some other means of escape. Religious rites of ancient cultures were probably also a response to the burden of guilt. The sacrifices they offered perhaps gave them some measure of relief from guilt. Modern man is more cultured and so he seeks his own relief in modern psychology.

God's message of grace rings out loudly as an answer to Bildad’s question for all sets of people everywhere and in every culture. We all need justification. We all need release from that guilt. It is only when we accept His grace in Christ Jesus that we hear God's voice whispering tenderly to our hearts "You are not guilty anymore. I have accepted you to Myself because of My grace."

Friends, we have been justified by faith, accepted by God and not by any good we did or could have done by our own selves. We got it freely through God’s grace in Jesus Christ. My song of the week is "Not Guilty Anymore" by Aaron Keyes. I hope you will not only enjoy it but that the words bring an affirmation of God's astounding grace to your heart. Have a splendid week.

Notes:
1. Romans 1:17
2. Romans 9:30-32
3. Romans 10:6
 

"Not Guilty Anymore" by Aaron Keyes

The Power Of Influence

Hello people.

In this post as we turn again to Galatians we will digress briefly from our core subject of grace to consider the issue of influence. 

“When Peter came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he was clearly in the wrong. Before certain men came from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles. But when they arrived, he began to draw back and separate himself from the Gentiles because he was afraid of those who belonged to the circumcision group. The other Jews joined him in his hypocrisy, so that by their hypocrisy even Barnabas was led astray.” Galatians 2:11-13

These verses contain examples of the power of influence:

1. Peter was afraid of particular people (“the circumcision group”) and he allowed their presence to influence his actions though he should have known better.
2. The other Jews joined Peter and even Barnabas was led astray. The other Jews obviously respected Peter’s opinions and so they followed his actions. Barnabas too was affected by all the events. Barnabas had been Paul’s companion and “ministry partner”, yet he was also carried away by their example of pretence and insincerity.

I see in this a very powerful illustration of how much influence we can exert. Without even speaking at all, the folks that came from James had caused a ripple effect on several other believers. Just as Scripture says "a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump" (1Cornthians 5:6, Galatians 5:9).

Pastors have an effect on their congregation. You will notice this for example in some churches where almost all the Pastors attempt to talk like the Head Pastor. People are influenced by their friends and not even necessarily close friends (think of the “peer pressure” effect). Family members (especially parents and older siblings) have much influence on others in the family. People at work are influenced by their co-workers. The examples are endless. 

I remember how growing up I really looked up to my older brother. Paschal is one of his names and when it was my turn to pick a name, I also picked a “P” name (Patrick) just to be like him. I don’t even think anyone in the family realized that my decision was based on my brother’s influence. It is a reality of human existence that we simply cannot run away from. We are influenced by the people we associate with and we can also influence people around us. Just think of Peter in Galatians 2. 

My message as we go into the week is that we learn from Peter. Don’t be a negative influence! I am convinced Peter would have regretted his actions not just for his own act of insincerity (that was bad enough) but also because he ended up influencing many people negatively.  Always think of other people who would be influenced by your words or actions. Choose to be a positive influence. It’s like dominoes. One action or event sets off a cascade and the final outcome could be of greater magnitude than ever envisaged. 

Hope you don’t mind the brief interruption in our journey of exploring God’s grace. We will proceed next week as we view more snapshots of God’s amazing grace. 

Just in case you have not noticed, over the past few weeks I have added links to songs celebrating God's grace. My song for the week is "This Is Amazing Grace" by Phil Wickham (thanks Nike for the reminder). Have a lovely week everyone.


"This Is Amazing Grace" by Phil Wickham