Made by faith

Read > Galatians 3:1-6

For the meaning of Jesus Christ’s death was made as clear to you as if you had seen a picture of His death on the cross (v. 1).

What happens when you take 13 non-Christians and get them to live by the Bible’s instruction for 3 weeks? The UK reality TV series Make Me a Christian attempted to answer that question last year.

The contestants included an atheist biker and a lesbian schoolteacher. They were mentored by four clergy – an Anglican, a Catholic, an Evangelical, and a Pentecostal. Though this is a bizarre idea for presenting Jesus to unbelievers, some of the contestants stated that they were going to “pursue Christianity further.” The apostle Paul had some hard words for the Galatians when they were trying to “make themselves Christians” by works (Galatians 3). He asked four clarifying questions:

1.       Did you receive the Holy Spirit by obeying the Law of Moses? (3:2). The answer was no – for the indwelling of the Spirit had come by belief, by faith.

2.       Why are you now trying to become perfect by your own human effort? (v. 3). The Galatians were foolishly following the instruction of the Judaizers who were telling them that they could move toward spiritual maturity by works and externals, not by grace and the inner working of the Holy Spirit.

3.       Have you experienced so much for nothing? (v. 4). Paul’s people had been persecuted for their grace-based faith. If they had returned to following Mosaic Law – denying grace – then they would have suffered for nothing.

4.       Does God give you the Holy Spirit and work miracles among you because you obey the law? (v. 5). His answer, “Of course not!” The miracles were not of the Law, but were all about the hearing that leads to faith.

You and I can lose sight of the basis of our own salvation at times – thinking that it’s based on doing the right things. The reality? Our faith flows from God’s amazing grace. Only God can make a Christian. – Tom Felten

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God saved you by His grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God (Ephesians 2:8).

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Why is seeing salvation as a gift of God’s grace so important? Where does doing good works fit in to the living-out of our faith in Jesus?