“In Christ Jesus, neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.” ~Galatians 5:6
We are not saved by obeying the law or observing the traditions or keeping the rules, we are saved by our faith in Christ alone. That’s the point of Paul’s letter to the churches in Galatia. And it’s one that bears much repeating.
Circumcision? Doesn’t count! Uncircumcision? Who cares! In Christ Jesus, those kinds of things don’t have any force. It doesn’t exercise any power.
Worship styles? Don’t count! Denominational differences? Who cares! Women’s roles, baptism methods, spiritual gifts–you name it! Small groups, Wednesday nights, lectionaries and missionaries, premillennial or amillennial, kitchens and KJVs–don’t give it any energy! Don’t waste your time. Don’t worry about it, don’t fight over it, and don’t divide over it. Why? Because it doesn’t count! The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love. That’s it. Do we trust that, or not?
“There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own son in the likeness of sinful humans to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in sinful humans, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us.” ~ Romans 8:1-4
God in Christ has fulfilled the entirety of the law’s purposes on our behalf. The whole point of the law and the rules has been fulfilled for us by Jesus. That’s the whole point of Jesus! Do we trust that or not?
The perfect Son of God, the one who’s never broken the law, took on your sin, he became your sin for you and took all of it to the cross. And when your sin is condemned in him, you become in God’s eyes like you’ve never sinned. Through his life, death, and resurrection, Jesus has taken care of absolutely everything to set you totally free from sin and death. Now, is your faith in that? Or is it in something else?
We spend so much energy debating worship styles and doctrinal positions and denominational differences, when there’s only one thing that matters. We argue about methods and traditions and structures and rules, when there’s only one thing that’s important. We get worked up over interpretations and translations and obligations, but only one thing counts.
You can only experience God’s freedom when you give all of yourself to the fact that your salvation has already been secured, that there’s nothing left to do, that it’s all been done. When you embrace that in faith, now you’re living in freedom. In Christ alone, you are free from your sins and anything that’s ever happened in your past. You’re free to stop worrying about yourself and your rights and your preferences and your understandings and to start loving and serving other people so that walls can be torn down and wounds can be healed. You’re not anxiously fretting about your standing with God, you’re not looking for proof of who’s in and who’s out. You are free! Free to become what God created you to be, what you always wanted to be, you just didn’t know what it was.
And whatever rules there are, whatever obligations remain, you are free to live above them and beyond them. You don’t worry about the law or the rules because your faith in Christ alone has you loving so much. Our faith expresses itself through love. And that makes the rules and laws irrelevant.
Here’s the best way to illustrate this:
There are laws in the State of Texas, and federal laws, that regulate how parents must treat their children. Child welfare laws. There are state and federally mandated requirements about food and nutrition, about not locking your kids in a closet; there are laws that prohibit physical and verbal abuse, laws regulating how much school my children get and their living conditions.
I have no idea what those laws are.
And you know what? I don’t care! I don’t. Why would I?
My deep, undying, committed, all-in love for my children has me so far beyond the letter of those laws, they don’t matter to me. I’m not under those laws. They don’t concern me. I’ve blown past all that. My love for my kids makes the law irrelevant. I’m free from those laws.
The Gospel truth is that you are saved because Jesus Christ has become for you your righteousness, holiness, and peace. You faith in him, and in that, compels you to love. It moves you so much that the law doesn’t matter. It transforms your heart and your head, it changes your principles and priorities, so the rules no longer matter. The Gospel truth and your faith in Christ alone moves you to defend the weak and stand with the accused and speak up for the oppressed. It motivates you to give and forgive with abandon. It empowers you to let go and live the way God lives, with abundant grace and giving everybody the benefit of the doubt.
That’s the only thing that counts.
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Carrie-Anne and I spent this past weekend up in Tulsa with Elliott and Samuel who turned one-month-old on Friday. We spent a little bit of time visiting with their parents, too. As always, you can click on the pictures to get the full size. You should especially click on that first one. Look at these guys!
Peace,
Allan
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