"Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage. Behold, I Paul say unto you, that if ye be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing. For I testify again to every man that is circumcised, that he is a debtor to do the whole law. Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace. For we through the Spirit wait for the hope of righteousness by faith. For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth anything, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love."
In today's quote, Paul encouraged the Galatians to keep themselves free from the bindings of the Law. He again assured them that salvation comes by faith, not by the ability of mankind to live above sin. If mankind could have ever lived above sin, in perfect obedience to the Law, there would have been no reason for the life, death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is because of our inability to live without sin that God sent His only begotten Son to live in perfection according to the Law in our stead.
Therefore, to those who still hold on to the Law, and those who believe their own good works in obedience to the Law will save them, Paul said, "For I testify again to every man that is *circumcised, that he is a debtor to do the whole law. Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace." This means that if one is able to live a perfect life he/she has no need of Jesus Christ. However, we know it is impossible for mankind to live above sin, so therefore, faith in the righteousness of Jesus Christ is the ONLY means by which one can be eternally saved.~
*The term circumcised, as it is applied in this text, is in reference to those who claim to live by the Law and therefore tried to wrongfully impose the restrictions of the Law upon Christianity.
Peter was one of several of the original Apostles who tried to impose parts of the Law of Moses upon early Christian converts.
No comments:
Post a Comment