FALLEN FROM GRACE?

GALATIANS 5:1-6 NKJ 
1 Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage. 2 Indeed I, Paul, say to you that if you become circumcised, Christ will profit you nothing. 3 And I testify again to every man who becomes circumcised that he is a debtor to keep the whole law. 4 You have become estranged from Christ, you who attempt to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace. 5 For we through the Spirit eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness by faith. 6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but faith working through love. 

OBESRVATION: 
 

Don't let the title of this devotional scare you. I am not talking about losing your salvation, and neither was Paul. 

In keeping with the theme of his letter to the Galatians, which was not written in chapter and verse, Paul is still addressing works versus faith.  

Can a person earn their salvation or their right standing with God by their works? By their own efforts? The answer? No, a resounding no that Paul presented from every angle.   

In these verses for today, Paul is discouraging people from becoming circumcised. You would not have to tell me twice. Circumcision was a law under the Old Testament or old covenant that was required of all Jewish males and those who converted to Judaism. It was a sign of being in covenant agreement with God. To my knowledge, no other culture practiced this.   

Jewish people would follow Paul around and try to convince Gentile converts to Christ that they had to be circumcised to be right with God. But Paul said if you do this, Christ will profit you nothing. People who became circumcised were saying that they were being made right by the law. In essence, they were disregarding and diminishing the grace of Christ that saved them. It's not that they were not born again. It's that they were no longer walking in the freedom that Christ provided. They had put themselves under the burden of Jewish law and were living apart from God's grace.   

Paul puts it so succinctly. It's not about being circumcised or uncircumcised. Those are fleshly things. It's about faith and love. That's how we live under grace. That's how we stand fast in the freedom Jesus provided for us. We don't fall from grace; we walk in grace and rejoice in grace.   

APPLICATION: 

There can be an oh-so-human tendency to want to do something to earn our place with God. But our right living is a result of our right standing, not an attempt to earn it.    

God's grace is humbling because we realize we could not have done this on our own - become sons of God. He had to do it for us. An understanding of grace also helps us realize we are not above or below anyone. So grace helps us eliminate comparison. Grace is a good place to live.   

PRAYER: 

Thank You, Lord, for the grace and freedom I have in Christ. I will stand in that grace and not fall.