People who try to deny
the Doctrine of Eternal Security (OSAS) sometimes point to
Galatians 5:13-26 to support their position.
And if you just considered those verses you might be
tempted to agree.
But if you look at the entire chapter you get a completely
different perspective.
So that's what we'll do.
Before we begin, it's
important to remind ourselves that the Bible, being the word of
God, cannot contradict itself. If Galatians 5 denies
OSAS it's in direct contradiction to statements the Holy Spirit
led Paul to make in Ephes. 1:13-14 and 2 Cor. 1:21-22.
Ephes. 1:13-14 tells us that our salvation is
assured from the moment of belief with the Holy Spirit sealed
within us as a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance.
Before we had done anything, either good or bad, before
we were baptized, before we had even fully responded to the
altar call, we were saved forever.
These other things are important, but our belief in the
Lord's completed work on our behalf came first and it's the one
essential ingredient to our salvation which alone brings us
eternal life (John 1:12-13, 3:16, 6:28-29, 6:40).
2 Cor. 1:21-22
says, It
is God Who makes us stand firm in Christ.
He anointed us, set His seal of ownership on us and put
His Spirit in our hearts as a deposit guaranteeing what is to
come. There are no passages in Scripture that speak of
revoking or even modifying this guarantee.
It would be impossible for the Holy Spirit to have led
Paul or any of the Bible's other writers to make any statements
that contradict these clear promises.
So what was Paul
saying? Let's start at the beginning of the chapter.Freedom In Christ
It is for freedom that
Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let
yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.
Mark my words! I,
Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ
will be of no value to you at all.
Again I declare to every man who lets himself be
circumcised that he is obligated to obey the whole law.
You who are trying to be justified by law have been
alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace.
But by faith we eagerly await through the Spirit the
righteousness for which we hope.
For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor
uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is
faith expressing itself through love. (Galatians
5:1-6)
The context of
Galatians 5 is the debate that was raging between two groups
there. One consisted of believers in the Doctrine of Grace Paul
had taught them. The
other was made up of those who were being swayed by the teaching
of the “Judaizers”, Jews who claimed that Gentile believers had
to come under the Law and be circumcised to be saved.
Paul warned them that
while neither circumcision nor uncircumcision was relevant in
and of itself, it was being proposed to them as a sign of their
acceptance of the Old Covenant.
Therefore agreeing to it would obligate them to the whole
Law. Attempting to
keep the Law alienates us from the Lord because it denies what
He's done for us. It
makes His death of no value leaving us responsible for saving
ourselves.You were
running a good race. Who cut in on you and kept you from obeying
the truth? That kind of persuasion does not come from the one
who calls you. “A little yeast works through the whole batch of
dough.”
I am confident in the
Lord that you will take no other view. The one who is throwing
you into confusion will pay the penalty, whoever he may be.
Brothers,
if I am still preaching circumcision, why am I still being
persecuted? In that case the offense of the cross has been
abolished.
As for those agitators, I
wish they would go the whole way and emasculate themselves!
(Galatians 5:7-12)
Law Or Grace?
You can't have
a little bit of Law mixed with Grace.
Just as a little bit of yeast will permeate the whole
batch of dough to change its composition, a little bit of Law
will work its way through the doctrine of Grace, changing it
into something it was not intended to be.
When Paul said in that case the offense of the cross has
been abolished, he meant the Law cancels Grace.
(The Judaizers
were hinting that Paul preached the Law among Jews but switched
to a watered down version of the Gospel when speaking to
Gentiles. His response was, “If
I'm preaching the Law to the Jews then why are they
persecuting me?” His frustration with them is evident.)
You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to
indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love.
The entire law is summed up in a single command: “Love
your neighbor as yourself.”
If you keep on biting and devouring each other, watch out
or you will be destroyed by each other.
(Galatians 5:13-15)
Paul's comments here
concern the Galatians' arguments over Law vs. Grace and was a
warning to stop it. He called their arguing "indulging the
sinful nature"and said while in Christ they were free from the
Law they shouldn't use their freedom to behave that way.
Instead, they should serve one another humbly in love.
So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of
the sinful nature.
For the sinful nature
desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is
contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each
other, so that you do not do what you want.
But
if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law.
(Galatians 5:16-18)
This is a clear
demonstration of the difference between the desires of the sin
nature and the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
Our sin nature will always prompt us to do things that
are contrary to the Spirit.
As He did in Romans 7:18-19 Paul said our sin
nature will sometimes cause us to do things we know we shouldn't
do. Here he said if we're led by the Spirit we're not under the
Law, meaning these things are not counted against us.
The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality,
impurity and debauchery; idolatry
and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish
ambition, dissensions, factions
and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I
did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.
(Galatians 5:19-21)
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness,
goodness, faithfulness,
gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no
law. Those who belong to Christ
Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and
desires.
Since we live by the
Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.
Let
us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.
(Galatians 5:22-26)
The differences
between the acts of the sin nature and the fruit of the Spirit
can be seen in the comparison of these two passages.
In reading the first one we can all admit to periodically
doing one or more of these things as believers. In Romans
7:20 Paul said from God's perspective it's not us but the
sin nature that dwells within us that's to blame when this
happens.
His final words on the
subject confirm that the whole chapter had been about about
their arguing. He said
since the Galatian believers belonged to Christ they should live
by the Spirit and not become conceited, a common failing among
Law keepers. He said they should stop provoking and envying each
other, a reference to the contention among them.
These are acts prompted by the sin nature and are not
appropriate for believers.
What's The Meaning Of This?
If you're
going to deny God's Grace by going under the Law you'll
disqualify yourself from receiving two things that are essential
to your salvation.
First, you won't have the Holy Spirit to guide you, so you'll be
left with only your sin nature which will always take you in a
direction that's opposed to God's Spirit.
But far more
importantly you won't have the
guarantee of the Lord's death on your behalf to save you.
You'll be responsible for your own salvation.
Without these two things you can not inherit the Kingdom of God.
Remember, the Law was
only given to point out our sins and no one can be saved by
keeping it (Romans 3:20). But through faith we can
achieve a righteousness apart from the Law and be saved (Romans
3:21-24). So there are only two ways to live one's life, by
Law or by Grace through faith. We can't have it both ways. If
we're under the Law we can not benefit from God's grace.
In summary, if we
depend solely by faith on our belief that the Lord saved us
forever then we're saved forever. If we think we have to apply
our own effort to complete the work Jesus only began, then it's
doubtful we were ever saved. Paul wasn't contradicting himself.
Galatians 5 is not about losing our salvation once we
receive it, it's about whether we ever had it to begin with.
Selah 07-30-11
