Category: Galatians Devotionals

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Galatians Devotionals

Let your good Spirit lead me

Spirit's leading

But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law…

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control….

If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. (Galatians 5:18, 22–23, 25)

I was just thinking today how glad that I don’t simply follow a list of laws, but the Spirit of the living God.

A list of laws has no mercy or compassion for my weakness. It doesn’t care a lick for me.

But the Spirit does.

I must admit, I find it hard to relate to the Spirit in the same way that I do to the Father and Jesus.

Somehow, he seems less personal.

And yet if the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control, doesn’t that describe his character and attitude toward me?

So that’s what I’m thinking on today. And as I do, through all my sorrows and struggles, I’m praying to the Father,

Let your good Spirit lead me on level ground. (Psalm 143:10, ESV)

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Galatians Devotionals

Pleased

Christ revealed in me

But when God, who from my mother’s womb set me apart and called me by his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son in me, so that I could preach him among the Gentiles… (Galatians 1:15-16)

“God was pleased to reveal his Son in me.”

Those are amazing words.

Why would God choose to reveal his Son in me?

Paul must have wondered that.

He had been a blasphemer, a violent man who had persecuted Christ’s church. (1 Timothy 1:13)

God could have chosen “better” people to reveal his Son to the Gentiles, but he chose Paul.

More, he was pleased to do so.

That gives me hope.

God has called all of us to be his temple, his priests in whom he reveals himself to the world.

But when I look at myself, I can see so many flaws, so many “cracks” in the wall. Can you relate?

God could choose so much better people to be his temple, his priest in whom he reveals himself.

Yet God does not just choose to reveal himself in me and you, he delights to do so.

That’s an awesome thought.

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Galatians Devotionals

Bearing the marks of Christ

Nail marks in Jesus' hand
www.LumoProject.com

Those who want to make a good impression in the flesh are the ones who would compel you to be circumcised—but only to avoid being persecuted for the cross of Christ.

For even the circumcised don’t keep the law themselves, and yet they want you to be circumcised in order to boast about your flesh.

But as for me, I will never boast about anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. The world has been crucified to me through the cross, and I to the world…

From now on, let no one cause me trouble, because I bear on my body the marks of Jesus.” (Galatians 6:12-14, 17)

I was chewing on those last few words of Paul, “I bear on my body the marks of Jesus.”

The word “marks” usually carried the idea of a slave being branded, identifying who their master was.

For the Jews, circumcision was the sign they belonged to God. As a Jew, Paul had received circumcision, but for him, he wasn’t pointing to that as his identifying mark.

Rather, Paul pointed to the scars he bore for faithfully preaching God’s gospel of grace.

Many times, the Jews persecuted him for preaching a salvation based on the cross instead of a salvation based on circumcision and on keeping God’s laws.

He had gone through many other hardships as well for preaching that gospel. (2 Corinthians 11:24-29)

And so he tells those preaching a false gospel to the Galatians, “Stop bothering me and hindering the work that I’ve done among the Galatians. You aren’t true servants of Christ. You’re only preaching circumcision because you want to avoid persecution.

“But my scars, not my circumcision, prove that I truly belong to Christ.”

I can’t help but wonder, though, if he was also trying to tell the Galatian Christians something else.

“Circumcision isn’t what marks you as belonging to God. You already carry the ‘marks’ of Christ which he received on the cross. You have been crucified with Christ and died to the law and its condemnation of you.

“More, you’ve died to the sin that once enslaved you and you’re no longer living for the things of this world. Rather, you live for Jesus who loves you and gave himself up for you. That’s what marks you as a child of God.”

So let us walk each day as children of God, proudly wearing the marks of our crucified Lord whom we love.

I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.

The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. (Galatians 2:20)

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Galatians Devotionals

Led by the Spirit? Under law?

led by the Spirit

But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. (Galatians 5:18)

There are certain ways that a person led by the Spirit and a person under law can look similar.

Superficially, both may look like “good people.”

But there are some marked differences.

People under law live their entire lives trying to gain God’s love and acceptance by keeping the rules.

But because they can never keep them perfectly, they’re constantly afraid of not measuring up. Of constantly letting God down. And of God’s punishment when they fail.

The result? They’re constantly walking on eggshells when they’re around God.

Others do walk confidently before God, but only because they’ve convinced themselves that they are keeping all the rules. They’re blind to all the ways they’ve failed and don’t realize they’re actually under God’s condemnation.

But there is no condemnation for those led by God’s Spirit. Not because of their own ability to please God, but because of what Jesus did for them on the cross.

They no longer strain to gain God’s love and acceptance. Instead, they rest in the truth that God already loves and accepts them.

And with that joy in their hearts, they walk with their Father every day seeking to please him, not out of fear, but in loving response to his love for them.

They’re no longer under the strain of trying to uphold every law by their own efforts, wondering in fear if there’s something they’ve overlooked.

All they’re interested in is taking their next step forward with their Father. And led by the Spirit, they step by step put sin to death in their lives.

More, step by step, the fruit of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, and self-control grows in their lives and they become more like their Father who loves them.

How are you living your life? Are you living as a beloved child of God led by the Spirit? Or are you living as if you’re under law?

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Galatians Devotionals

Abba, Father

And because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba, Father!” So you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then God has made you an heir. (Galatians 4:6-7)

Father.

You are God, and so you could demand that I simply call you “God.”

You are my Lord, and so you could demand that I call you “Lord.”

You are my Creator, and so you could demand that I call you “Creator.”

But you’ve made me your child, sealing my adoption papers with your Spirit.

And your Spirit tells me to cry out, “Abba, Father.”

So though I’ll sometimes call you “God,” or “Lord,” or “Creator,” I’ll choose most times to call you what your Spirit teaches me to say.

“Abba, Father.”

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Galatians Devotionals

Life as a child of God

standing at the cross

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 now 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)

I love these verses.

Once, I was under God’s law who as my guardian taught me what was right, but could not empower to actually do right. Instead, the law could only condemn me when I failed. (Galatians 3:24)

But the same law that condemned me also pointed me to Jesus. Through the law, I saw my need for Jesus. And once the law led me to Jesus’ cross, I died to the law.

I’m no longer living under the law’s condemnation because Jesus has already paid the price for my sins and failures on the cross.

And with his death, the old me that was hostile and distrustful of God died too.

Now Jesus is living his life in me.

Not a life that’s constantly fearful because I’m never living up to God’s expectations.

But a life grounded in the truth that Jesus loves me and gave himself for me.

Not a life straining to earn God’s acceptance and love by keeping the rules.

But a life that is at rest knowing that he already fully accepts me as his child.

Who says to me as I wake each day, “You are my beloved child. I am well pleased with you.”

So now my greatest desire is to please my Daddy and to live for him each day.

That’s the life of a child of God.

Is that your life?

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Galatians Devotionals

Turning away from God

legalism vs. grace

I am amazed that you are so quickly turning away from him who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel… (Galatians 1:6)

When we hear the words “turning away from God,” I think the first thing that comes to mind is going back to a life of sin, like the prodigal son.

Certainly, when people do that, they are turning away from God. But that’s not what Paul is talking about. The danger for the Galatians was not going back to a life of sin. The danger was turning to a life of rules.

In this case, they were being told they needed to get circumcised and follow all the ritual laws given to the Jews which have no connection to true holiness (Colossians 2:20-23).

Those laws were just temporary things meant to point them to Christ and prepare them for his coming (Galatians 3:19-25).

As Christians, our focus should be on God, not the rules. “What is God doing around me and in me? Where is the Spirit leading?”

Focusing on the rules tends to be very self-focused. “Am I measuring up?”

A life of grace is God-focused. “God is so good! His love and grace are incredible! Where is he going? I want to be where he is! I want to join in with what he’s doing.”

So let’s not turn away from God in order to follow a life of rules. Rather, let’s walk with him joyfully, led by his Spirit, moment to moment, day to day.

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Galatians Devotionals

Tired

Carry one another’s burdens; in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ…

Let us not get tired of doing good, for we will reap at the proper time if we don’t give up.

Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us work for the good of all, especially for those who belong to the household of faith. (Galatians 6:2, 9-10)

I’ll be honest. I’m struggling with this one right now. Because carrying someone’s burdens is not easy when you don’t see any immediate solutions to their problems. And I’m not seeing any immediate solutions right now.

Yet Paul says, “Let’s not get tired of doing good. We will reap at the proper time if we don’t give up.”

But I’m realizing that I can’t do that on my own. I need the spiritual nourishment and refreshment that comes from remaining in the Vine. (John 15:4-5)

Jesus, I need you now. You are the vine. I am the branch. And without you I can do nothing.

You’ve told me not to get tired and give up. But I am tired.

So Lord, teach me what it means to remain in you, each and every moment.

Strengthen me. Fill me. And refresh my spirit with your presence, your love, and your grace. In your name, I pray, amen.

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Galatians Devotionals

Walking by, led by, living by, keeping in step with the Spirit

I say, then, walk by the Spirit… (Galatians 5:16)

…you are led by the Spirit… (18)

…we live by the Spirit… (25a)

…let us also keep in step with the Spirit. (25b)

Holy Spirit, I’m not living this Christian life by my own efforts to keep a bunch of religious rules. I’m living this life in relationship with you.

Holy Spirit, it’s because of you that I have life. I was spiritually dead, and by your grace, you breathed life into me. And now by you, I cry out as a child of God, “Abba, Father.” (4:6)

So, Holy Spirit, lead me today. Show me where you’re going. Show me what you’re doing around me.

Help me to keep in step with you today. Not going ahead of you. Not falling behind you. Not going in a totally different direction from you.

Instead let me walk by your side, in your power and wisdom, so that I might bear your fruit in my life, touching the people around me with your love.

Teach me more each day what it means to walk by you, to be led by you, to live by you, and to keep in step with you. I want to know much more what that kind of life looks like.

In Jesus’ name, amen.

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Galatians Devotionals

Living by faith?

I only want to learn this from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law or by believing what you heard?

Are you so foolish? After beginning by the Spirit, are you now finishing by the flesh…

Now it is clear that no one is justified before God by the law, because the righteous will live by faith. (Galatians 3:2-3, 11)

What does it mean to live by faith? That’s what I was thinking about this morning. What did Paul mean by it?

I think the base of it is found in Galatians 2:20.

The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

To live by faith starts with believing:

1. God actually loves me.
2. Jesus died for my sins on the cross. Jesus completely paid my debt.

I know the moment I first realized that truth, the moment it truly sunk in, it blew me away. For years, I’d known those truths in my head, but that day it really sunk into my heart.

For many Christians, though, they start out believing and rejoicing in those truths, but then these kinds of thoughts start creeping in their minds.

“God must be disappointed in me.”

“I’m not a very good Christian. I should be doing better as a Christian.”

“I should be doing more. Reading my Bible more. Praying more. Sharing Christ more. Serving more.”

“I should be more successful in fighting sin in my life.”

“I should be a better person. A better father. A better mother. A better student. A better leader at church.”

Do these kinds of thoughts ever go through your mind?

These are not thoughts coming from faith. They’re certainly not the thoughts of joy that come from faith.

After starting our relationship with God with faith, rejoicing that he loves us and has accepted us because of what Jesus has done for us, why do we so quickly start thinking that he loves and accepts us based on our performance?

Paul told the Galatians, “When you became Christians, God didn’t accept you because you got circumcised and were keeping all his laws. He accepted you because you put your faith in Jesus.

“Why are you now trying to get him to accept you by all your efforts to keep his law?”

How are you living your Christian life? Are you living by faith, rejoicing in the fact that Jesus loves you and gave himself up for you?

Or are you living your Christian life still trying to prove to God that you’re somehow worthy of his love and acceptance?

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Galatians Devotionals

A different gospel?

But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, a curse be on him!

As we have said before, I now say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you received, a curse be on him!

For am I now trying to persuade people, or God? Or am I striving to please people?

If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ. (Galatians 1:8-10)

The church in Galatia was facing a problem. Certain Jews among them were telling them that unless they followed the laws of Moses and were circumcised, they were not really saved.

But that was totally contradictory to the gospel that Paul had taught them, that they were saved by God’s grace alone.

And so Paul says, “Anyone who preaches a different ‘gospel’ is cursed by God. Our gospel comes from Jesus Christ himself. So if we change what he says, we may be pleasing the people around us, but we’re not pleasing Christ.”

I don’t think any of us would say to someone, “You need to be circumcised to be saved.” But there are other ways people are tempted to change the gospel.

Many want to say that all “good people” will go to heaven, regardless of whether they have put their faith in Christ or not. Others are avoiding talking about the need to turn from our sins.

Some are even calling what God calls sin, “good,” and calling what is good, “evil.” (Isaiah 5:20; Romans 1:24-32)

People around us might be happy to hear us sharing that kind of gospel. But we are not pleasing Christ.

I’ll be honest. It’s not always easy to be faithful in sharing Christ’s gospel message. Some people we love may not be pleased with us when we do.

But with love for God and for them, let us be faithful in preaching the gospel that Jesus gave us, the gospel through which Jesus saved us.

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Galatians Devotionals

Led by the Spirit

Galatians

If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. (Galatians 5:25)

Holy Spirit, it is because of you that I have life.

You have washed me of my sins, making me new, (Titus 3:5)

Now lead me. Whisper to me the direction that I should go. And help me walk each moment in step with you.

Because I know that as I do that, things like love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control will naturally flow from me.

And more than anything else, I want to please you.

When I start to go down the wrong path, lead me back to the right one.

Keep my eyes ever on you.

Keep me following you, every single step.

In Jesus’ name, amen.

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Galatians Devotionals

Losing our sense of blessedness

Galatians

Where then is that sense of blessing you had? (Galatians 4:15, NASB)

Father, let me never lose the sense of blessing that comes from being your child.

Let me never fear losing my salvation because of my sins, failures, and weaknesses. Let me never feel like I need to somehow earn your approval.

I am no longer a slave, fearing punishment from a tyrant god.

I’m the child of a loving Father.

Abba, Father. I come to you today with full confidence in your love toward me.

In Jesus’ name, amen.

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Galatians Devotionals

A child of God

Galatians

So often, we live under a cloud of doubt as to whether God truly accepts us as his children. We doubt because we see all our sins and our failures and wonder how in the world God could possibly accept us.

But Paul asks an important question in verses 2.

Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law or by believing what you heard? (Galatians 3:2)

Put another way, “Why did God accept you in the first place? Why did he send his Spirit to dwell in you? Was it because you had somehow managed to perfectly keep all his laws for a year? A week? A day? An hour?

“No. It was because you put your faith in Jesus.”

And don’t think for a moment that God accepts us as his children only on a trial basis.

Many companies may hire people that way.

But God does not adopt his children that way.

So remember who you are, Child of God.

for through faith you are all sons (and daughters) of God in Christ Jesus. (26)

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Galatians Devotionals

Marveling at our salvation

Galatians

How often do we stop to marvel at our salvation?

Paul did.

But when God, who from my mother’s womb set me apart and called me by his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son in me… (Galatians 1:15-16)

Paul was speaking of himself, but his words also apply to us.

When we were still in our mother’s womb, God set us apart for himself.

Then in his timing, he called us by his grace.

And by that same grace, he uses our lives to reveal his Son to those around us so that they might find him too.

Take some time and think on those words.

Think of God’s eyes on you as you were in your mother’s womb. And as you see him looking upon you in love, hear him saying, “I choose you.”

Then think of all the things God did, the little “coincidences” he used to bring you to himelf.

Finally, consider how incredible it is that he would choose to use you, imperfect though you are, to reveal his Son to those around you.

Marvel at these things.

Marvel at God’s grace.

Marvel at your salvation.

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Galatians Devotionals

In the fullness of time

Galatians

But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.

And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!”

So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God. (Galatians 4:4-7, ESV)

Sometimes we wonder why God allows so much pain, suffering, and evil in this world. Ever since sin came into the world, humans have been under these things, and the words of that old carol resonate with us.

And in despair I bowed my head.
“There is no peace on earth.” I said.

“For hate is strong, and mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good will to men.”

But in the “fullness of time,” at just the right time, God sent his Son.

His Son was born of a woman. He became human as we are. The pain, suffering, and evil we face every day, Jesus himself faced.

The law of God that we were unable to keep and were condemned by, Jesus lived under perfectly.

And then he went to the cross, taking upon himself the curse the law demanded, not for his own sin, but for ours. (Galatians 3:13-14)

And by taking that curse upon himself, he purchased us for God, not to be his slaves, but to be his sons and daughters.

Now for those of us who have put our trust in him, the right Jesus had to call God, “Abba, Father,” has become ours. We are heirs of God now, and coheirs with Christ.

And in the fullness of time, Jesus will come again. On that day, he will indeed be “Immanuel, God with us.” We will be his people, and he will be our God.

And when we see him, he will wipe away every tear from our eyes, “and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things will have passed away.” (Revelation 21:2-4)

No, God is not slow in keeping his promises. For as that old carol concludes,

God is not dead, nor does he sleep.
The wrong shall fail; the right prevail
With peace on earth, good will to men.

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Galatians Devotionals

Remembering grace

Galatians

In the first part of this chapter, Paul tells us that when others are caught in sin, we are to restore them with gentleness.

So many times, however, this is simply not done. Instead, often times, Christians do this with a spirit of condescension. Why is that?

I think a lot of it is due to the fact that we forget that we too stand by grace alone. And because we forget that, we get caught up in comparing ourselves with others.

You see this at the tail end of chapter 5, Paul told the Galatians,

 Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another. (Galatians 5:26)

When we are conceited, we inevitably compare ourselves with others.

In some cases that leads us to provoke others by our pride because we see ourselves as better than them. In other cases, we envy them because they have what we don’t.

Either way, when they fall, it gives us the chance to knock them down a peg. But that is not the spirit we should have.

We need to remember that we are all really nothing apart from Christ. All we are, all we have, is by his grace. And Paul says that if we forget that, we deceive ourselves. (Galatians 6:3)

So grace doesn’t rejoice when others stumble because it somehow makes us look better. Rather, it causes us to look with compassion on the one who falls, and to want to help them out from under their burden of sin.

Grace reminds us that we are judged not on a sliding scale based on how others perform. Rather, we are judged on God’s scale. And we are called to account for our own load of sin, regardless of how others “perform.”

All this leads to humility and gratefulness at the grace we have received, so that we don’t boast in ourselves, but in the cross of Christ and what he has done.

Grace also reminds us that none of our value comes from what we do, even in ministry. One of the reasons that the Jewish Christians wanted to get the Gentiles circumcised was so they could boast about what they had done among the Gentiles.

How many Christians get their value from their ministry? And because of this, they are always pointing at the people they have converted or discipled, and all the other things they do for Christ.

But Paul says,

But as for me, I will never boast about anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. (Galatians 6:14)

Important as ministry is, it is not where our worth comes from. We stand, not because of what we do, but because of what Christ has done. And so Paul says,

 For both circumcision and uncircumcision (nor any other things you might boast about) mean nothing; what matters instead is a new creation. (Galatians 6:15)

And becoming a new creation is not something we did. It’s what God did.

So let us boast not in what we do, or who we are. Rather, each day let us boast in who Jesus is and what he has done.

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Galatians Devotionals

Losing our blessedness

Galatians

What then has become of your blessedness? (Galatians 3:15, ESV)

That’s a good question.

Many Christians today have lost their blessedness. Why?

They’ve forgotten who they are. And they’ve forgotten how they came to be what they are.

What do I mean?

The thing that you see time and again in this passage is Paul trying to pound into the Galatians’ heads, “You are already God’s children.”

Certain Jews were trying desperately to make these Galatians think they had to become Jews and follow the Jewish law in order to truly become “children of Abraham,” and thus, “children of God.”

But Paul says, “No. there is no difference between you and the Jews. For that matter, there is no difference between male or female, slave or free; you are all one in Christ.”

Unfortunately, however, the Galatians had bought the lie and were trying to attain by works what they had already attained by God’s grace through faith in Jesus.

And in doing so, they had lost their sense of blessedness.

They lost the blessedness that comes from a right relationship with God, just like Abraham had.  The blessedness that came to Abraham not because of anything he had done, but because of what God had promised.

More, they lost the blessedness that David talked of (and Paul quotes in Romans 4) when he said,

How joyful is the one
whose transgression is forgiven,
whose sin is covered!

How joyful is a person whom
the Lord does not charge with iniquity. (Psalm 32:1-2)

But many Christians today don’t feel that blessedness. Instead, they constantly feel condemned because of their own sins. They feel that somehow they need to work themselves out of the pit they find themselves in.

But Paul says,

Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law or by believing what you heard? Are you so foolish?

After beginning by the Spirit, are you now finishing by the flesh? (Galatians 2:2-3)

We were not saved by our own efforts to be good. We came to God confessing our weakness and inability to save ourselves.

And God in his grace poured his Spirit upon us, washing away our sins by the blood of Jesus. When he did so, the Holy Spirit cried out with our spirit, “Abba, Father!” confirming us as God’s children.

Nothing changes once we become Christians. We don’t deal with sin in our lives by our own efforts to be good. We deal with it by coming before God, confessing our weakness and inability to save ourselves. (Does this sound familiar?)

And when we do, God in his grace, continues pouring his Spirit upon us, filling us with himself, and and washing away our sins. And the Spirit confirms to us once again, we are God’s children.

We don’t have to earn our status as God’s children. We already are God’s children.

And though we struggle with sin, God will not stop working in us until we are completely remade into the image of his Son.

That’s the blessedness of a child of God.

How about you? Have you lost your blessedness?

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Galatians Devotionals

Out of step with the gospel

Galatians

Verse 14 really strikes me.

…I saw that their conduct was not in step with the truth of the gospel… (Galatians 2:14, ESV)

Obviously, in this context, Peter’s conduct was out of step with the gospel in that by his actions, he was once again calling what God had made clean, “unclean.”

He did this, not only in terms of the food they were eating, but more importantly, in terms of separating himself from the Gentiles at the dinner table.

By doing this, he restored the dividing wall of the law that stood between Jew and Gentile, and threatened to destroy the unity of the church, for whom Christ died. (Ephesians 2:11-22)

And by walking out of step with the gospel, there was a serious breach between what he preached and what he did.

Namely, it is through grace, apart from works, that we are justified before God, and it is our love for Christ that now drives our every action. (15-20)

Peter’s actions, however, threatened to undo all that he believed and preached to the church at Antioch.

We may not be out of step with the gospel in that sense, but are we out of step with the gospel in other ways?

Do we look down on other Christians for their “immaturity” and “failings” while forgetting that we ourselves stand only by the grace of God?

Granted, we are to help our fellow believers reach maturity, but there is no room for pride in our own “maturity” as we do so. We have only reached the point we have by the grace of God.

And even now, if we are truly closer to Christ’s light, we should see our own flaws even more clearly.

Before, we probably didn’t even notice them because of the size of our “bigger” sins.

But in the brightness of God’s light, our multiple “lesser” flaws should become even more visible to us. And if you can’t see those flaws, you’re either perfect, or you’re not as mature as you think you are.

We all stand by the grace of God alone. If you don’t see that and weep, you’re probably out of step with the gospel.

On the other hand, some people are out of step with the gospel in that they are constantly beating themselves up because of their sin.

But they too, in a sense, are living in pride. Pride that they should be able to clean themselves up. And the fact that they cannot devastates them.

But the gospel says we are to throw away that pride. We are all completely dependent on God’s grace, and it is because we cannot clean ourselves up that Jesus had to die on the cross.

To insist that we should be able to clean ourselves up, and to weep because we can’t, is to nullify the grace of God in our lives. For if we could do so, and thus save ourselves, Christ died for no purpose. (21)

And finally some people are out of step with the gospel in saying, “Well, now I’ve been forgiven, so I can live anyway that I wish.”

But the gospel says our old life has been crucified with Christ. And it is no longer we who live, but Christ lives in us. And Christ does not live a willfully sinful life. Neither should we.

Instead, the knowledge that the Son of God loved us enough to give his life for us should cause us to live each day in gratefulness to him, and put a desire in our hearts to live each day for him.

How about you? Are you walking in step with the gospel.