“You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified. I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by believing what you heard? Are you so foolish? After beginning by means of the Spirit, are you now trying to finish by means of the flesh? Have you experienced so much in vain—if it really was in vain? So again I ask, does God give you his Spirit and work miracles among you by the works of the law, or by your believing what you heard? So also Abraham “believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”

Understand, then, that those who have faith are children of Abraham. Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: “All nations will be blessed through you.” So those who rely on faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.” Galatians 3:1-9

Have you ever heard a person described as someone who “forgot where they came from” or had “forgotten their roots”? This type of person usually doesn’t give credit to those in their life who helped them get to where they presently are. Maybe they came from a small farming town and now live in the big city and don’t want to get their hands dirty. They may be neglecting family or friends who were there with them from the very beginning. This doesn’t just happen outside the church, but inside the church as well.

Paul was dealing with the church in Galatia that was forgetting where they had come from. They were starting to follow the Jewish teachers who were teaching that Christians had to obey the Law of Moses, observe religious festivals, and follow dietary restrictions just like the Israelites did. They had forgotten that they were saved by faith alone through God’s grace (Ephesians 2:8).

We must always remember where we came from as followers of Jesus Christ — that we believe in Grace — and are saved by faith, not by works of the law. This is our roots. The grace of G-d is the essence of our walk with Jesus. We can do nothing on our own to earn his favor. As years of putting our faith in Jesus alone go by, we tend to forget this and focus on our deeds instead of the work of Jesus. Christ gives us Amazing Grace — remember your roots.

Pastor Dave

“But because of false believers secretly brought in, who slipped in to spy on the freedom we have in Christ Jesus, so that they might enslave us— we did not submit to them even for a moment, so that the truth of the gospel might always remain with you. And from those who were supposed to be acknowledged leaders (what they actually were makes no difference to me; God shows no partiality)—those leaders contributed nothing to me. On the contrary, when they saw that I had been entrusted with the gospel for the uncircumcised, just as Peter had been entrusted with the gospel for the circumcised (for he who worked through Peter making him an apostle to the circumcised also worked through me in sending me to the Gentiles), and when James and Cephas and John, who were acknowledged pillars, recognized the grace that had been given to me, they gave to Barnabas and me the right hand of fellowship, agreeing that we should go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised. They asked only one thing, that we remember the poor, which was actually what I was eager to do.” Galatians 2:4-10

What is the truth of the gospel? Martin Luther wrote, “Now the truth of the gospel is, that our righteousness comes by faith alone, without the works of the law. The corruption, or the falsehood of the gospel is, that we are justified by faith, but not without the works of the law.” Phil Newton comments that “There are plenty who say they believe in being justified by faith, but they refuse to qualify that with “by faith alone”. To this we must stand firm as Lutherans — we need to look at other teachings and not flinch. I agree with Martin Luther, “For a true and steadfast faith must lay hold upon nothing, but Christ alone, and in the terrors of conscience it hath nothing else to lean upon, but this diamond Christ Jesus”.

Paul never budged from his position of salvation by grace alone through faith alone. Paul says he absolutely did not yield to assaults on the integrity of the message that one is to believe in order to be saved. Our faith does not depend on our own understanding or right knowledge — it depends on Grace.

Pastor Dave