More The Way You Get In....

"By grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourself it is the gift of God, not of works lest any man should boast," Eph.2:8-9.  By grace through faith.  The way you get in is the way you go on.  That's why Paul said he wrote the book of Galatians - to stress that the Christian walk is a walk of grace through faith, and not of works.  "I am amazed that you are so quickly deserting Him who called you by the grace of Christ.... You have been severed from Christ, you who are seeking to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace," (Gal.1:6; 5:4).  Note he said "fallen from grace," not "fallen from salvation."  The word translated "severed from" is more literally translated "made of no effect" or "made a non-work." (Same word as in last Tuesday's blog from Heb.2:14 where it says the devil was rendered powerless or made of no effect.) 

When we as followers of Christ seek to be justified by law, to live by rules and self-effort, and try to go on apart from the grace that got us in, we are made of no effect.  All our efforts are "non-works," i.e., without result.

Do you feel powerless in your walk with the Lord?  Bless His name!  You are powerless!!  Don't try to do God's work (or simply live the Christian life) in your own strength.  Glory in your weakness.  Rejoice in it.  There is no better place in all the world for you to be than in absolute dependence upon the Father!  So depend on Him.  Rest in Him.  Walk in the grace that saved you! You may find yourself doing some of the same things, but in His strength and ability and not your own.  It will be a work characterized by inner peace, not by emotional turmoil, strife and burnout.  Look at it this way.  Think about what you with all your abilities are capable of doing.  Now, think about the things God is capable of doing, His abilities.  Now whose ability would you rather operate in, yours or His?

Romans 6:6 says we were crucified with Christ that our body of sin might be "made of no effect."  Hebrews 2:14 says that Christ went to the cross to "make of no effect" the one who had the power of death, that is the devil.  1 Cor. 1:18 says the message of the cross is the power (Greek word is dunamis - inherent capability) of God to us who are being saved.  The way you get in is the way you go on.  Galatians 5:4 in essence is saying that if you stop going on the way you got in - if you go back to living by law after having been saved by the grace of God through faith in the work of Christ on the cross - you will be "made of no effect."  That's a pretty serious warning.

That's why Paul said he was determined to preach Jesus Christ and Him crucified.  It wasn't just a salvation message, it was a daily life message.  The way you get in is the way you go on.