It is for freedom that Christ set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by the yoke of slavery…You who are trying to be justified by law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace. (Galatians 5:1, 4, NIV)
Have you set up laws and rules in your life? Or are you motivated by the grace of God? At the same time, it can be hard to balance faith in God’s grace with a life of holiness. For this reason we can create rule upon rule for ourselves in order to “measure up” to a certain level of spirituality.
One thing is for sure: we can never be perfect enough. No matter how much we fight against it, we will sin again and again. Therefore, Paul reminds us to be careful not to burden ourselves with the chains of unnecessary requirements—i.e., legalism—and fall away from grace.We can, however, achieve righteousness through faith. The words “it was credited to him” were written not for him alone, but also for us, to whom God will credit righteousness—for us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. (Romans 4:22-24, NIV)
Therefore, remember that we have true freedom and achieve righteousness before God, if we live by faith in Christ and not by laws. Faith cannot be measured by how faultless we are. However, for each of us, our faith was sufficient to receive his grace.
Have you set up laws and rules in your life? Or are you motivated by the grace of God? At the same time, it can be hard to balance faith in God’s grace with a life of holiness. For this reason we can create rule upon rule for ourselves in order to “measure up” to a certain level of spirituality.
One thing is for sure: we can never be perfect enough. No matter how much we fight against it, we will sin again and again. Therefore, Paul reminds us to be careful not to burden ourselves with the chains of unnecessary requirements—i.e., legalism—and fall away from grace.We can, however, achieve righteousness through faith. The words “it was credited to him” were written not for him alone, but also for us, to whom God will credit righteousness—for us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. (Romans 4:22-24, NIV)
Therefore, remember that we have true freedom and achieve righteousness before God, if we live by faith in Christ and not by laws. Faith cannot be measured by how faultless we are. However, for each of us, our faith was sufficient to receive his grace.