at the corner

Our series in Galatians continues to inform and shape our lives.  Yesterday, Kirk preached from the first 5 verses of Galatians 3.  You can listen to this excellent message here.  The main instruction was: Don’t be foolish, justification is by faith alone.  Kirk showed us how Paul continued his argument for justification by faith alone by pointing to the Galatians personal experience.  He reminded them of their experience with God the Son, God the Holy Spirit and God the Father.  In each, the point was clear; your interaction with the things of God came through faith and not works, right!?!  Of course, the same is true for us.  I hope these questions will serve you as you apply the word to your life:

1)  In your own experience of salvation, what in your life commended you to God or what things in your life made you “deserving” of your salvation?  Were you saved by your works or through faith alone?

2)  Is there anything that distracts you from Jesus Christ and Him crucified?  What about your life or efforts tempts you to look away from His all-sufficient sacrifice for you? When you sin and fail, do you look to Christ crucified on your behalf or do you look to your own efforts to “get back on track”?

3)  Are there any legalistic systems that you’ve developed for your life?  What’s the difference between a “legalistic system” and “godly discipline”?  Does legalism lead you to self-righteousness or spiritual depression?  (Notice: either of these two results should be a hint that the “system” isn’t godly discipline!)

4)  How would you describe your experience with the Spirit when you first got saved?  What about your life indicated to you that you had become a “spiritual” person?  Did you receive the Spirit that moment of your salvation because of your works or because you deserved to receive?  Or, was it simply His grace through faith?

5)  How would you describe your experience of the Spirit’s power in your life since being saved?  Are you tempted to believe His power is contingent on your good or bad days?  Why?

6)  Why do you think Paul would point them to their personal experience to prove justification by faith and not by works?  How does your remembrance of you experience of salvation help you fight against legalism today?

It’s been said before that nobody can argue against someone’s personal testimony.  Paul knew this and used this reality to help his friends see that justification by faith isn’t simply a doctrine.  It is personal.  Jesus Christ has done everything that God required to secure His acceptance of guilty sinners like us.  We have access to all that Christ did on our behalf, not through works, but through faith alone. It is by faith that we have been saved and made alive; and it is by faith that we continue to live in the power of the Holy Spirit today.  And all this has come to us (why us!?!) by His grace.

I hope you enjoy the rich grace of God today!

Eric