Galatians 5:4 (NASB)
You have been severed from Christ, you who are seeking to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace.
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Bible Commentary:
Galatians 5:4 is a Bible verse in the New Testament where the great apostle Paul is refuting the false teaching of salvation through works.
Paul was a man on a mission from God. He had a very strong personality, which after coming under the submission of Christ, was a great ministry tool for the Kingdom of God. When he found out about the false teaching by some that Christians must be circumcised in order to be accepted by God, he set out to make the truth known.
Of course today, we don’t follow a laundry list of religious rules and laws like circumcision that people did before Christ, but there are still many in the world today who have been falsely taught that in order to be saved (be accepted by God) they have to do (or not do) certain things, instead of accepting the work that Christ already did.
Let’s explore that further. In Galatians 5:4, Paul was talking to those who were trying to receive salvation through works.
Law or Grace
The “works” Paul was referring to was circumcision, which was part of the old testament law that was handed down from Moses, before the arrival of Jesus Christ.
However, “works” can be any number of things, like a list of punishments to be carried out, assigned by someone in authority over you or it could be something you impose upon yourself—doing some kind of service out of obligation, hoping it will make you “good enough” to be accepted by God.
The truth is there is only one way to be accepted by God, and that is through His Son, Jesus Christ, Who He sent as a substitute for us to pay the penalty for our sin.
Jesus said in John 14:6, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.”
If you believe that Jesus is God’s Son and you have accepted Him as Saviour for the forgiveness of your sins, then you are already accepted (forgiven) by God. There are no man-made regulations and rules to follow, no good deeds you have to do. Nothing we could do on our own could be good enough. Only the perfect Lamb of God was deemed worthy.
Approach God Like a Friend
Our sin was nailed to the cross with Jesus Himself (1 Peter 2:24), and because our sin is now out of the way, we can develop a rich, fulfilling relationship with God the Father because of our faith in Christ. We can now approach God in confidence, like a trusted friend.
Let’s take heed to the stern warning by Paul in Galatians 5:4. If we are trying to earn our way into Heaven, we are fallen from grace. We mustn’t try to do what Christ has already done for us.
That would be like rejecting a very precious and valuable gift because we thought it wasn’t good enough. Don’t be severed from Christ, as Paul warns in Galatians 5:4.
Grace is the most prized possession a person in this world can have. It is more vast than the ocean, deeper than our understanding, and full of the riches of His love.
By all means, don’t reject it. Accept it and hang on to it for dear life because it is life! Study the Bible verse of Galatians 5:4, and don’t fall for works any longer. Walk confidently in the grace of God.
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