Choosing Grace or Law

 

Choosing Grace or Law

Galatians 4:21-31

 

Our culture gives many options in almost every area of life. God vastly simplifies options when it comes to spiritual matters. In the area of salvation & how to relate to Him, He gives us two choices: law, or grace. In Galatians 4:21 Paul asked the Galatian Christians a question, “Tell me, you who desire to be under the law, do you listen to the law?” Paul is asking, “Do you who want to relate to God & receive salvation through following the law even listen to what the law really says?”

 

In Galatians 4:22-31 Paul uses Hagar & Ishmael to represent the law & Sarah & Isaac to represent grace. He shows us seven contrasts between the attempt to receive salvation & relate to God based in the law or receiving salvation & relating to God based in God’s grace.

 

Contrast #1 is between freedom & slavery.

When we try to experience salvation through keeping all the regulations of the law, we fail & we become trapped by trying harder & harder & continuing to fail. When trying to relate to God based on keeping the law, we find no communion, we are still separated from God because we cannot keep the whole law. When we receive salvation through God’s grace, we experience a freedom because we have received salvation as a grace gift from Jesus. When we relate to God based in His grace, we are free to enjoy the relationship & not worry if we are keeping all the rules.

 

Raise the Roof & Remove the Walls is about relating to God & experiencing salvation based in grace & thus experiencing freedom in our lives.

 

Contrast #2 is between work done by God’s promised miracle & work done by the flesh.

We can try & obey & serve God based in our abilities & resources. The results will be very limited, limited to what we can do. We can depend on the all-powerful, all-knowing, ever-present, all-loving Creator & Lord of all creation & not be limited by our finite knowledge & power.

 

Raise the Roof & Remove the Walls is about surrendering our lives to Jesus as Lord & depending on His might & power to enable us to serve Him.

 

Contrast #3 is between heaven & earth.

Paul says there are two Jerusalems. One is the Jerusalem on the earth & those who look to it are in slavery. The other Jerusalem is above & those who look to it are free. If we look to the things of the earth, even religion, to satisfy us, we will be in slavery to those earthly things. When we look to heaven, we will be free to experience God working in & through our lives.

 

Raise the Roof & Remove the Walls is about looking to God & not earthly things to satisfy our need.

 

Contrast #4 is between many more & more.

In John 15:5 Jesus says that apart from Him we can nothing. When we are relating to God based in His grace, we will produce much fruit that will bless others. When we are depending on the law we will produce a little outward fruit, but it will not be lasting fruit that blesses others.

 

Raise the Roof & Remove the Walls is about producing lasting fruit that blesses others through God’s grace.

 

Contrast #5 is between the persecuted & the persecuting.

When we have a relationship with Jesus based in God’s grace, it frees us from having to try & force others to believe what we believe. We can love others & trust God to work through us to show them the truth of who Jesus is. When we try & relate to God based in legalistic rules, it causes us to what to make others follow those same rules.

 

Raise the Roof & Remove the Walls is about being free to show the love & truth of Jesus to others without trying to control them.

 

Contrast #6 is between inheriting all & inheriting nothing.

It is through the spiritual descendants of Abraham who are children of the promise & will inherit all that God has promised. Spiritual descendants of Abraham are those who have placed their faith in Jesus as Savior & Lord by God’s grace. Those who are simply the physical descendants of Abraham & not spiritual descendants will inherit nothing.

 

Raise the Roof & Remove the Walls is about being spiritual descendants of Abraham by grace through faith in Jesus as Savior & Lord.

 

Contrast #7 is between a relationship based on trusting God & a relationship based on law-keeping.

If we base our relationship on accepting Jesus’ death on the cross to pay for our sins & trusting Jesus to be our Savior & Lord, we will know freedom, forgiveness, & peace. If we base our relationship with God on keeping all His commandments, we will fail & know failure & spiritual bondage.

 

Raise the Roof & Remove the Walls is about trusting Jesus & not trusting in ourselves.  

 

We have the choice on what we base our relationship with God on: God’s grace or our keeping the law.

 

Raise the Roof & Remove the Walls,

Joe