Stop trying…

Stop trying.  I will say it again, stop trying.  Stop trying to live a good life.  Stop trying to be perfect.  Stop trying not to sin.  Stop trying to love people.  Stop trying to live the example of Jesus.  Stop trying to care for the poor. Just stop trying to be and do whatever it is that we think will please God.

Seriously, stop trying because it is not working.  I say this with the utmost love in my heart for people and for the body of Jesus Christ, the church.  I also say this because I am tired of seeing people striving to put on a show for God.  God is not duped, God is not fooled.  We can not do something to earn God’s favor.  If the gospel has transformed us, we can not “add” anything to it. Point blank!  God completely accepts us, loves us, and will complete the work he began in us.  It is those who truly do not know God’s love deep in their hearts who strive to earn it.  The problem becomes when these people have access to influence other people.

The church was and always has been shaped and formed around the Spirit’s revelation of Jesus Christ and him crucified.  The Apostle Paul says to the Galatian Christians, (My paraphrase), “Stop trying to create for yourselves a perfect world where you feel justified and righteous.”  “Stop trying to work toward some type of inner fulfillment by doing certain tasks and trying to live moral lives because it is not working.”  Paul then says, “As a matter of fact it is harming and destroying the good news of Jesus.” Read Galatians

Paul then says that the Galatians came to know the truth of the good news because it was revealed to them by the Spirit of God. They believed by faith because the Spirit revealed to them Jesus the Christ.  Paul then says that they became the people of the living God by the Spirit but they are attempting to perfect themselves (or become righteous) by doing certain tasks. But Paul says, “If you (Galatians) literally did NOTHING to get it or deserve the good news but simply received it, then how on earth can you work toward becoming anything but a people shaped by the Spirit of bountiful grace?

Paul says that as soon as they Galatians started to implement ways toward being righteous, they actually lost their freedom and have once again begun the downward descent toward slavery and bondage.   Paul speaks as if he is actually afraid for the Galatians that they will once again become in bondage to sin.  Paul then says that this is not just a “changing of the gospel” but is actually “NO GOSPEL AT ALL!” and anyone (including an angel from heaven) who preaches or teaches this gospel, including Paul, “let that person be accursed.”  And by the way, he says, “Let them be accursed”, twice. Accursed means, ‘to be damned’.

The good news of Jesus Christ can only be “received” not “gained” and definitely not “earned”.  So what is this “good news”?  The good news is that Jesus took upon himself the bondage to sin and died carrying our unbelief in God to the cross, the most miserable form of death. Our mistrust or unbelief caused the death of Jesus, but the victory is that Jesus rose from the dead for death could not hold Jesus.  In Jesus’ death, he buried this unbelief because it was the fear of death which drives or compels sin.  Jesus conquered death and the grave and when we believe and receive this gift of forgiveness, we entered into a new relationship with God which NEVER ends because death and the grave could not hold Jesus and it will not hold us either.

This was revealed to the Galatian Christians but somewhere along the way, they threw away this gracious act of God and began to believe and teach that they must “add” something to grace.  But think about it!  How can anything be added to grace?  Grace is unmerited.  Grace is undeserved.  Grace is not grace if I can earn it.  If I can work for it.  Why is this so incredibly dangerous?

Because the people who teach this will of course put themselves on the side of grace but they will make their efforts or their works determinative for who can be inside grace and who can be outside.  So when Paul wrote Galatians, certain Jews had come into the Galatian church and of course they used their standing, “circumcision” as determinative for grace.  So all those who had no circumcision were on the outside looking in.  The Apostle Paul was furious about this.  No seriously, he was mad!

Paul said that this is not grace and actually works toward shutting out other people who otherwise could come into relationship with GOD!  This is not any laughing matter.  This is serious.  This is why Paul says, “Let that person be accursed” if they are teaching or preaching this.

I hate to say it, but this is so prevalent today.  There are so many instances where people are shut out of the experience of forgiveness because they are taught or to “try” to live in such and such a way.  They are taught that God is on the side of this group of people and therefore, you must align yourselves with them in order to receive the blessing of God.  Galatians would say, “That is not true!”  A person does not need to align themselves with anyone or anything but Christ alone!  And when the gift comes to them, we should always be shocked to the core at whose eyes are opened to the freedom of forgiveness and reconciliation with the God of the universe.  We should always say, “I didn’t see that coming!”

Grace is always counter cultural to everything we think we know.