I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose. -Galatians 2:21
Dearest sister,
Once again I have found myself relying on my own ability to live righteously before the throne of God. And once again, I have been found wanting. I have fallen down time and time again and I am weary; weary of falling and weary of getting back up. Oh sister, when will we learn! Our strength is not found in ourselves. We are but dust formed by the mighty and omnipotent hand of God who breathed into us the breath of life. We can no more live righteously on our own than we can breathe without God supplying our every breath. Yet the attitudes of our hearts often reflect an unwillingness to depend on God for everything.
I think one of the main reasons people are quick to reject Christianity is that it requires us to admit that we are not in control and that we need help. We are not strong enough on our own, we cannot earn perfect righteousness and therefore we must rely on another, namely Jesus Christ. People don’t want to rely on grace; they want to rely on their own works. They want to believe that everything they do is earning them some sort of favor in God’s eyes that will get them into heaven. This is the “gospel” that people want to believe, but it is not the true gospel.
The phenomenon of this faith plus works religion is not a creation of the American culture. In fact, when Paul was writing his letter to the Galatians he was writing to defend the true gospel that was under attack in the churches of Galatia. Paul says in Galatians 1 “I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel—not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ” (1: 6-7). The Judaizers had infiltrated the churches and were preaching a message contrary to Paul, that of a faith plus works salvation. Paul takes a stand against them, defending the truth of his gospel that he received not from minds of depraved and corrupt men but from a revelation of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Paul reminds us “that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ” (Galatians 2: 16). He continues saying, “so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be saved.” Did you catch that last part, dear sister? No one will be saved by works of the law. This means that you cannot do anything to earn your salvation. Not your prayers, devotions, church attendance or any other good deed that you could contrive will grant you entrance into the gates of heaven.
Think about how you’re living. Is there any area of your life that you are depending on works and not grace? Is there an attitude in your heart that ‘nullifies the grace of God’? Examine your heart, dear sister. Ask the Lord to bring you to repentance where necessary and live in the light of His glorious grace.
In awe of His grace,
Kayla