Summer School: “Justification By Faith” — Tuesday
Galatians 3:1
Oh, foolish Galatians! Who has cast an evil spell on you? For the meaning of Jesus Christ’s death was made as clear to you as if you had seen a picture of his death on the cross. (NLT)
From the opening lines of the letter Paul wrote to the Galatians, we pick up on a strong sense of urgency: “I am shocked that you are turning away so soon from God,” he wrote in Galatians 1:6. Paul dispensed with the pleasantries and jumped right into his message. This urgency carried through the letter to the very end as Paul was bringing his remarks to a close: “NOTICE WHAT LARGE LETTERS I USE AS I WRITE THESE CLOSING WORDS IN MY OWN HANDWRITING” (Galatians 6:11). My kids tell me when I text in all caps, it’s as if I’m yelling at them! Paul was ahead of his time and knew what he was doing to drive home his point. Notice even Paul’s choice of words in today’s verse from Galatians 3: “Oh, foolish Galatians!”
It’s clear the very existence of the churches he loved was hanging in the balance. But what was he so upset about? Paul was reacting to the news that false teachers had influenced the churches with ideas that the gospel wasn’t enough. The Galatian churches had been clearly established on the truth that “Christ died for our sins… He was buried, and he was raised from the dead on the third day” (1 Corinthians 15:3-4). This meant that sinners could go to heaven, not because of the good things they do, but because of what Jesus did on the cross. But some just couldn’t accept this good news and kept pulling the churches back to justification through the law of Moses. In a nutshell, Moses’ law was: You do that for God, and He’ll do this for you. But the Gospel simply says: God has done it all.
Tuesday’s Reflection
Paul’s passion and message are still relevant because I encounter people to this day who struggle to accept their forgiveness and full identity in Christ. They keep striving to earn His love. Have you fully embraced the gift of the gospel?
