Paul, writing to the Galatians, asks, You were running the race so well. Who has held you back from following the truth? It certainly isn’t God, for he is the one who called you to freedom. (Galatians 5:7–8, NLT) What is Paul referring to? What is holding them back? It was the false teaching that their relationship with God depended not only on the work of Christ, but these Gentiles had to follow the law along with their profession of faith in Christ for an authentic relationship with God.
This is not what Paul had taught them, and he is shocked. I am shocked that you are turning away so soon from God, who called you to himself through the loving mercy of Christ. You are following a different way that pretends to be the Good News (Galatians 1:6, NLT). Paul’s Good News was that salvation was by grace, through faith, in Christ alone, and the subsequent relationship going forward was on that basis—in Christ and free from the law. But Pharisaical tradition-loving Jews had slipped in and polluted this Good News with error.
Notice the impact of this error. This false teaching is like a little yeast that spreads through the whole batch of dough! (Galatians 5:9, NLT) These Gentiles in the Galatian churches were at risk of not receiving true salvation because salvation is by faith in Christ alone. Those who were saved were at risk of becoming legalistic, like the Jews who held to their traditionalism, though all of that had passed away with Jesus’ sacrifice, fulfilling all the law and satisfying God.
Believers, we have been called to freedom, not unto the bondage of religion or traditions, endless rules and standards, but unto Christ. Our salvation and a meaningful Christian life are in Him, not our efforts, creeds, or the traditions of our stripe of Christianity. Paul leaves us with these words. It doesn’t matter whether we have been circumcised or not. What counts is whether we have been transformed into a new creation. May God’s peace and mercy be upon all who live by this principle; they are the new people of God. (Galatians 6:15–16, NLT)
Thank you for joining me as I read and journal chronologically through the Bible! This devotional reflection comes from Galatians 4-6.