Galatians 5:4 (KJV)
Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace.
The Bible is a sensible book, understood by sensible thinking people. The fullest truths of the Bible may only be grasped by the saved, because it requires the Spirit of God to see them, and because, without the fear of the Lord and a saving relationship, the soul is, quite frankly, unreasonable—bent toward an adversarial position to its teachings.
Paul did not mean to say that a circumcised man could never profit from Christ. Paul would have most assuredly been physically circumcised due to his heritage and to his office prior to his conversion. He must therefore have meant being dependent upon circumcision. Further, since his audience would have included women, he must have meant more than dependence on the physical act, but on the system behind the act.
Albert Barnes makes a lengthy argument concerning what Paul did and did not mean in this context. I will leave it up to the reader to find and read that if he or she chooses. I think there are two things one must consider as lessons here:
A professing Christian who attempts to find justification through obedience to the Old Testament law has abandoned the liberty, the grace, and the fellowship with Christ that come as part and parcel with placing our fullest hope only in Him.
I’ve met more than a few Christians who are miserable because they never feel like they can measure up to the standard of Christ—not realizing they don’t need to. To walk with Christ, He holding our hand, is true grace!
Those who seek justification by the law are likely not saved. Not that they lost salvation, but that they never had it in the first place.
I will quote Barnes for my final words: “The two systems cannot be united. The adoption of the one is, in fact, a rejection of the other. Christ will be ‘a whole Saviour,’ or none.”
#GraceNotLaw #ChristAloneSaves #LibertyInChrist #FallenFromGrace #WholeSaviourOrNone
Are you trusting in grace or still trying to measure up through your own efforts?
The Bible is clear: “Christ will be a whole Saviour, or none.” If you're depending on anything other than Christ alone, you're walking a road that leads away from true peace and freedom.
👉 Question for you: What are you relying on today—Christ's finished work, or your own religious performance? Drop your answer in the comments!
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Galatians 5:4 (KJV) Grace or Law—You Can’t Have Both
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