In our reading from Galatians today, St. Paul is defending the Galatian Christians from the lies of a group we call the Judaizers. The Judaizers have convinced the Galatian Christians that they must essentially become Jews before they can become Christians. And part of that process is submitting to the law of circumcision. By being circumcised, by performing that work for God, they can then have access to the salvation found in the crucified and risen Jesus Christ.
And in response, St. Paul gives us a very simple, straightforward either-or situation. When you stand before God in judgment, you can either appeal to the merits of Jesus Christ or you can appeal to your own merits. There is no third way, no hybrid approach, no Napa Valley blend of mostly what Christ has done but a bit of what have done as well. It’s either the righteousness of Christ or the righteousness of you. And if you appeal to the righteousness of you, you will not inherit eternal life on that day.
But as sternly as Paul speaks to the Galatians, he speaks words of profound love and comfort. If a single drop of your salvation depended on you, there is no hope for you to inherit eternal life. But not a single drop of your salvation does. It all depended on Jesus Christ and He has won every drop of your salvation through the drops of forgiveness that poured out of His veins at Calvary. Through His blood, all of your sins are no more. Through His resurrection, all of God’s favor now belongs to you. And through faith alone, you have received this all–every jewel of the kingdom, every cent of Christ’s inheritance, every tender word that your Father in heaven now speaks to you.
コメント