Galatians 5 (2)

Pray Psalm 105.3-7.
Glory in His holy name;
Let the hearts of those rejoice who seek the LORD!
Seek the LORD and His strength;
Seek His face evermore!
Remember His marvelous works which He has done,
His wonders, and the judgments of His mouth,
O seed of Abraham His servant,
You children of Jacob, His chosen ones!
He is the LORD our God;
His judgments are in all the earth.

Sing Psalm 105.3-7.
(Warrington: Give to Our God Immortal Praise)
Glory in God, rejoice in heart, all you who seek His holy part.
Him and His strength and Presence seek; His works proclaim, His judgments speak.

You holy children of Abraham, you chosen ones of Jacob, stand!
He is our LORD, of wondrous worth; His judgments are in all the earth.

Read Galatians 5.1-6; meditate on verses 2-6.

Preparation
1. What is the state of those who want to be justified by the Law?

2. In the end, what really matters?

Meditation
Paul warned those who were thinking about submitting to circumcision as a “Jesus +” way into salvation that the effort would not only avail them nothing but would cause them to become estranged from Christ (vv. 2, 4). Once you acknowledge that keeping any of the Law is necessary for salvation, you are indebted to keep the whole Law for salvation (v. 3), for the Law is a whole cloth and cannot be cut apart as someone might choose. As James explained, “For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all” (Jms. 2.10) because the Law is all one.

Jesus kept the whole Law, never failing in one jot or tittle. Thus, His perfect righteousness becomes the means for us to be accounted as righteous before the Law, when, by the grace of God, we believe in Jesus alone for our salvation and hope to be made like Him by His Spirit (v. 5). The righteousness of Jesus in us is expressed by faith in the varieties of love which the Law of God describes. True faith comes by grace alone, and the proof of having received it is that it begins to work in us for loving God and our neighbors (v. 6).

Paul uses the term “fallen from grace” here, which could be interpreted to mean that those who submitted to keeping the Law for salvation had lost the salvation they once received by faith in Jesus alone (v. 4). The verb here can mean “turn away” or “abandon” as well as “fall from”, and Paul seems to be using it to suggest that those who seek a “Jesus +” way to salvation demonstrate that they never had that gracious gift in the first place (cf. 2 Cor. 13.5).

Treasure Old and New: Matthew 13.52; Psalm 119.162
Contrast is always a good way to point out fallacies.

Paul draws a stark contrast between those trusting in works and those trusting in faith for salvation.
Those trusting in any works for salvation are debtors to keep the whole law perfectly. Each one must be physically and mentally kept—perfectly. And in choosing to be benighted, “the workers” have become estranged from Christ—an awful place to be—fallen from grace (Gal. 5.4).

But then the other side of the idea: those trusting in Christ, through the Spirit, eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness by faith (Gal. 5.5).

The contrast is palpable.
“For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord” (Eph. 5.8).
We were called “out of darkness into His marvelous light…” (1 Pet. 2.9).

Paul told us what Jesus said when he encountered Him on the road to Damascus:
“I will deliver you from the Jewish people, as well as from the Gentiles, to whom I now send you,
to open their eyes, in order to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in Me” (Acts 26.17, 18).

Jesus said He would deliver Paul from those circumcised and from those uncircumcised (Gal. 5.6); as salvation is by faith alone.

Paul was teaching the Galatians the Truth that he learned from Jesus many years before. The route to salvation never changes. Grace is a gift. Faith is a gift. But we must open the gifts and claim them as our own. Because without those gifts, it is impossible to please God— “without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him” (Heb. 11.6).

The reality is: there is nothing we can do to earn our salvation. We can’t be good enough, smart enough, nor make enough church people happy, to spend eternity with God. All works avail nothing (Gal. 5.6).

And pretending they do leads to “foolish”, “ignorant”, and “beastly” thinking (Ps. 73.22).

But “faith working through love” pleases our Father and brings us into His eternal Presence with exceeding joy (Jude 1.24). Contrast and compare and choose correctly. By all means, let “circumcision” go.

Reflection
1. How has Jesus been expressing love for God and others through you lately?

2. In what specific ways are you working to increase in the love that issues from saving grace?

3. Whom will you encourage today to be faithful in loving as Jesus loves?

Through this faith comes works fitting to salvation. This comes about through the love that we have for Christ and God and thus toward every human being. For it is these two relationships above all that set life straight and fulfill the whole sense of the law. Marius Victorinus (ca. 280-363), Epistle to the Galatians 2.5.6

Pray Psalm 105.1, 2, 8-11, 45.
Pray that God will help you to abide in His holy Law, so that you increase in love for Him and for others. Praise Him for His great faithfulness and all His precious and very great promises.

Sing Psalm 105.1, 2, 8-11, 45.
(Warrington: Give to Our God Immortal Praise)
Give thanks unto the LORD Most High; call on His Name, before Him cry!
Make known His deeds in every land; sing praise for all the works of His hand.

He will His covenant faithfully guard—His oath, the promise of His Word.
That which He to our fathers swore, He will perform forevermore!

So let us all in our Savior confide, and in His holy Law abide.
Let us observe His glorious Word, and praise our sovereign, faithful LORD!

T. M. and Susie Moore

If you have found this meditation helpful, take a moment and give thanks to God. Then share what you learned with a friend. This is how the grace of God spreads (2 Cor. 4.15).

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Except as indicated, all Scriptures are taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. For sources of all quotations, see the weekly PDF of this study. All psalms for singing are from The Ailbe Psalter.

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