Not About Works of Legalism, All about Grace
Galatians 1:1-9

Paul begins the book of Galatians by first explaining his authority to be called an apostle of Jesus Christ. This privilege was received as a result of an experience that occurred on the Damascus Road. He was on the way to Damascus when Jesus interrupted his journey! It is often amidst our business that Jesus interrupts our journey on life’s road. During what seemed to be an interruption, Jesus introduced Himself to Paul! There were those who questioned Paul’s right to be called an apostle. Hence, Paul begins his letter, making it clear that his call was from Jesus.  The word ‘apostle’ means “one who is sent on behalf of another.” The nearest concept in English is that of an ambassador who represents a head of state to another nation. Paul claims here to represent Jesus Christ!

This letter is written for several reasons. In addition to defending his apostolic authority, Paul uses this letter to counteract the evil influence of the Judaizers in Galatia. He attacks the false doctrine that results in legalism. The Judaizers wanted to add circumcision and other rituals to salvation. Paul points out that to do so would reduce their relationship with Christ to merely an outward ceremony. In a nutshell, these false teachers were telling new believers that they must follow the laws and rituals of the Old Testament in order to receive salvation. Their message subtracted from the sufficiency of Christ’s death on the cross by adding additional requirements beyond simple faith in Christ for salvation. It discounted the impact of God’s grace.

Grace is God’s favor and blessing, forgiveness for our sins, and the gift of eternal, abundant life and fulfillment on earth. Grace is not a cheap trinket God dispenses with little thought of the cost. Grace was costly: Jesus Christ gave his life and spilled his blood on a Roman cross, that we who were undeserving might have the peace of God. Galatians 1:4 explains that grace is received because “Christ gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God.”

We know that the Galatians had been taught well because Paul himself established the Church. However, false teachers came in and persuaded the believers to turn back to the law for salvation. This heresy would cause Christianity to be a religion of justification by works instead of faith. Paul said, “I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ” (Galatians 1:6-7). To believe or say that we still need to do works to be saved would be to say Christ’s work was not enough!

You might wonder how a Church taught by someone like Paul could digress and get caught up in legalism. Legalism is the doctrine of salvation through good works. It is judging someone’s character and conduct in terms of their adherence to precise laws.

From the surface, legalism seems so right. It leaves us believing that if we are doing certain things, then we are OK! I’ve been taught to do a good job at work, but I discovered that there were still people promoted over me who sometimes didn’t put forth the same effort. I discovered their secret – most of them knew somebody in the company. This is not to tell those who work hard to stop working hard—I believe the best workers in the workforce ought to be Christian workers. However, in the business world, it always helps to know somebody. Then you must convince them to sponsor you.

You may be a nice person and a great friend; you may be doing all the things a good person should do, even befriending the board of elders and the pastor at Church. Whereas in the corporate world, many sponsors can help you with your career, only Jesus Christ can ‘sponsor’ your invitation to Heaven and provide everlasting life! He chose to be our Sponsor for Heaven over 2000 years ago. As a result of accepting His sponsorship, we are promoted to become heirs of His salvation.

Legalism seems so innocent. It seems like it’s OK to tell people that they must work or follow certain procedures to get to Heaven. Don’t miss this: While it is true that there is a lifestyle that should be displayed once we have accepted Christ, salvation is not based on works. It’s based on grace—again, God’s favor and blessing, which provides forgiveness for our sins.

Legalism seems so easy. The Galatians were told by false teachers that in addition to trusting Jesus, it was necessary to follow the Law. We all like to feel we’ve earned something because it appeals to the flesh. That makes it easy to say, “I’m going to Heaven because I do a lot of good things. I give to the poor. I pay my tithes. I go golfing with the Pastor.” If these were the requirements, salvation would be through works. Thank God, I don’t have to worry about you working a little bit harder or doing a little more than me, because it’s all about His grace! Ephesians 2:8-9 reminds us: “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.”
 
Legalism calls for works; salvation calls for grace. Paul is so adamant about the problem of legalism that he says in verse 7 that to add any work to Christ’s work on Calvary is a perversion of the Gospel. Even if an angel should try to convince us that we need works to be saved, Paul said, “Let that angel be accursed. If anyone should preach any other gospel, let him be accursed!”

When we rely on works to clean up our life before God, we’re like a young man with an aquarium:

At their school carnival, the kids from a local elementary school won four free goldfish, so one of them went out Saturday morning to find an aquarium. The first few were priced from $40-$70. But he spotted a discarded 10-gallon display tank, complete with gravel and filter for merely five bucks. Sold! Of course, it was terribly dirty, but the savings made the two hours of cleanup a breeze.

The four goldfish looked great in their new home—at least for the first day. But by Sunday, one had died. That was too bad, but three remained. Monday morning revealed a second casualty, and by Monday night, a third goldfish had gone belly- up. They called in an expert at their Church who had a 30-gallon tank. It didn't take him long to discover the problem: the young man had washed the tank with soap, an absolute no-no. His well-intended efforts had destroyed the very lives he was trying to protect.

When we try to clean up ourselves spiritually by working hard, we may look good on the surface, but before God we remain filthy. The real cleanup doesn’t take place by works that we perform. You see, the work has already been done on Calvary. All we have to do is accept that work for our salvation!

INVITATION: Would you like to receive His salvation today?