We Are Free to Live

The Bible translator’s brief introduction to Paul’s letter to the Galatians in my NIV Bible is one well worth spending some time thinking about:

Paul’s letter to the church in Galatia is a short version of the message in Romans. Paul addresses legalism, showing how Christ brought freedom from, not bondage to the Jewish laws. Christians are saved from their sins only by faith in Christ. They are free to live by the law of love, not the Law of Moses. (New International Version, Zondervan: Grand Rapids, MI, 2011)

As Christians, to that we joyfully say, “Absolutely—well said! We’re saved by faith in Christ alone and free to live for him!”

From Scripture, we know that the Galatian Christians first received Paul’s gospel message—his proclamation of Christ—with joy. So where were they led astray—and how do we as Christians today sometimes fall for the traps the devil lays?

In this particular instance, through legalism. Legalism—the false belief that to be saved, one must believe in Jesus and do good works—is not always a blatant and obvious snare. Especially when it is presented as a combination. Believe in Jesus (that’s the emphasis) and . . . do good works that God lays out in the law.

In other words, legalism teaches that it’s not enough to be saved by Jesus. We have to show that we are saved through the good works we do. That’s subtle and crafty because it speaks right to the lie living in our sinful hearts that says we must do something to help earn our salvation.

Even though we know we can’t possibly hope to do even the smallest good work to put toward the impossible debt we owe in payment for our sins, still that deadly whisper lingers: Yes, but surely I must do something . . .

Can you see what a dangerous, slippery slope listening to that lie sends you down? It gets Christians looking to themselves and what they have or haven’t done instead of focusing entirely on Jesus and what he did—the righteousness he earned, and the freedom he won for them.

Legalism traps Christians in the very bondage from which Christ came to free us!

If you read through Paul’s six-chapter letter to the Galatians, you might notice his heated tone. As Pastor Roy W. Hefti put it in the introduction to his devotional commentary on Galatians, “Here the smoke of battle and the clatter of weaponry rise from the page. Unlike Paul’s calmer and more studied approach in his letter to the Romans, we can sense the apostle’s burning desire to cut to the chase” (Galatians: The Beating Heart of the Gospel, Northwestern Publishing House: Waukesha, 2024, p. v).

No, Paul doesn’t mince words to those deceivers trying to lead astray this young congregation—which Paul helped form—in false teaching. But to the Galatian Christians, Paul writes with fervent encouragement and overwhelming compassion, reminding them of the beating heart of the gospel message he first preached to them.

Faith alone in Christ alone.

Paul urged his readers to cling to that vital, life-saving message and to drown out all other deceptive voices, no matter how reasonable and agreeable they might’ve sounded. Many of those same voices still whisper deceptive lies and half-truths to this very day, dear Christian.

Here the smoke of battle and the clatter of weaponry still rise. Another noise is here too, which drowns out all else. Close your eyes. Concentrate. Can you hear it? It’s the beating heart of the gospel message.

We’re saved by God’s grace through faith in Christ alone.

Starting October 3, 2024, discover the new NPH five-part blog series Free to Live, which explores different sections of Paul’s letter to the Galatians.

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