# 43. 2017 Dev. Gal. 2:4,5. Faith or Works. Read verses 1-10. The purpose of these devotionals is to draw closer to God and grow spiritually by applying His Word to our daily living. All passages are taken from the NIV.
Galatians 1:4,5
“4 This matter arose because some false believers had infiltrated our ranks to spy on the freedom we have in Christ Jesus and to make us slaves. 5 We did not give in to them for a moment, so that the truth of the gospel might be preserved for you.”
We started the devotionals on Gal. with: “The True Gospel”. Paul now continues with that theme as well as with discerning our calling mentioned in Dev. 41.
To the best of our knowledge Paul had been in Tarsus, his home town, since his conversion years earlier. Now thirteen years later Barnabas asked Paul to come to Antioch to help him with the many converts there (Acts 11:19-30). It is unclear what Paul was doing in Tarsus but one thing is clear, he waited thirteen years before God put him to work in a significant way. Our calling and timing comes from God!
The matter Paul is referring to in verse 4 and 5 is the issue of Jewish practices, such as circumcision and feast days, that some Jewish Christians wanted to impose on Gentile Christians. Christianity was at a crossroad. Was salvation granted by faith in Jesus’ work alone or was it going to include our own efforts and contributions?
Paul was convinced that the works concept enslaves all those who follow Jesus and who receive salvation as a free gift. Some people wanted to contribute to their own righteousness by doing good works, that thinking is a human trait still effecting Christians and people in general today.
How often have I counseled people who feel that they are not good enough? Many times! The fact is, not a one of us measure up to God’s standards, “no not one”, only Jesus!
What about good works? James 2:18 “show me your faith with out deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do.” True faith demands work but not to attain salvation or righteousness; we do good deeds because we are already saved! We serve out of gratitude for the free gift of salvation. Amen? Whatever we do to make a living, serving Jesus with good deeds is our calling. We thank God!
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