I am astonished that you are so quickly
deserting him who called you in the grace
of Christ and are turning to a different gospel
Galatians 1:6
Today we live in a Christian culture that abounds in options. Just over a year ago I moved from a mid-size mid-Western city that held over 1,000 churches, many of which were vibrant, Evangelical, wonderful congregations. Though I chose only one of these congregations to attend (and did so for over 13 years) there was hundreds of other choices that would have been suitable (though perhaps none I would have loved as much). Whether it is books, radio stations, denominations, churches, or magazine subscriptions, the Christian 'market' offers many different options.
The Apostle Paul also lived in a time of 'options', though obviously the options were fewer and more extreme. Evidence from the New Testament indicates that the apostles themselves were not always in agreement on every issue (for example, Paul's disagreement with Barnabas). Some were more in line with James, others Paul, and still others Peter. Though the Christian men and women of the New Testament would be shocked (and probably angered) by the degree and scope of options available today, there were (slightly) different flavors of Christianity available even in their own time.
In the passage cited above, Paul is not referring to people who were abandoning him for Peter (or James, or Barnabas, or anyone else). He is not referring to "denominational differences", or slight differences of opinion on Christian theology. Paul is referring to something much more insidious and dangerous--an abandonment of the grace of Jesus Christ. The Apostle to the Gentiles understood that everything centers on grace and on the cross. If we lose sight of grace--specifically the grace offered through Jesus Christ--then we have lost everything.
Living in the grace of Jesus is easy.....as long as we stop interfering with the process. Our old nature wants to "tweak" the gospel a little. I remember some time ago an elderly gentlemen came into my office. He was upset because a visitor (a female in her 30's) had come to church the prior Sunday wearing shorts. As we live in a vacation area, we regularly have Summer visitors who come from the local campgrounds. He was angry because I didn't escort her out of the building with instructions to return properly dressed for worship.
Regardless of one's attitude on proper attire for Sunday worship, this man had crossed a line somewhere. When I gently confronted him with the fact that Scripture nowhere sets a rule for how one should dress on Sunday, his response shocked me. He said, "The Bible doesn't say we can't make new rules".
Think about that statement. In actuality, he was declaring that Christ's grace wasn't sufficient. He believed we needed to make more rules in order to guarantee holiness and faithfulness. Christ, the all-sufficient Savior, was pushed to the side in order to let legalism finish the job.
For Paul, failing to live in the grace of Jesus is tantamount to rejecting God. There is no middle ground. We live in the grace of Jesus, and receive eternal life, or we live outside the grace of Jesus and receive eternal wrath.
I choose grace....more specifically, I choose the grace of Jesus.
The Apostle Paul also lived in a time of 'options', though obviously the options were fewer and more extreme. Evidence from the New Testament indicates that the apostles themselves were not always in agreement on every issue (for example, Paul's disagreement with Barnabas). Some were more in line with James, others Paul, and still others Peter. Though the Christian men and women of the New Testament would be shocked (and probably angered) by the degree and scope of options available today, there were (slightly) different flavors of Christianity available even in their own time.
In the passage cited above, Paul is not referring to people who were abandoning him for Peter (or James, or Barnabas, or anyone else). He is not referring to "denominational differences", or slight differences of opinion on Christian theology. Paul is referring to something much more insidious and dangerous--an abandonment of the grace of Jesus Christ. The Apostle to the Gentiles understood that everything centers on grace and on the cross. If we lose sight of grace--specifically the grace offered through Jesus Christ--then we have lost everything.
Living in the grace of Jesus is easy.....as long as we stop interfering with the process. Our old nature wants to "tweak" the gospel a little. I remember some time ago an elderly gentlemen came into my office. He was upset because a visitor (a female in her 30's) had come to church the prior Sunday wearing shorts. As we live in a vacation area, we regularly have Summer visitors who come from the local campgrounds. He was angry because I didn't escort her out of the building with instructions to return properly dressed for worship.
Regardless of one's attitude on proper attire for Sunday worship, this man had crossed a line somewhere. When I gently confronted him with the fact that Scripture nowhere sets a rule for how one should dress on Sunday, his response shocked me. He said, "The Bible doesn't say we can't make new rules".
Think about that statement. In actuality, he was declaring that Christ's grace wasn't sufficient. He believed we needed to make more rules in order to guarantee holiness and faithfulness. Christ, the all-sufficient Savior, was pushed to the side in order to let legalism finish the job.
For Paul, failing to live in the grace of Jesus is tantamount to rejecting God. There is no middle ground. We live in the grace of Jesus, and receive eternal life, or we live outside the grace of Jesus and receive eternal wrath.
I choose grace....more specifically, I choose the grace of Jesus.
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