DEVOTION
FOR SATURDAY, JUNE 16, 2007
GALATIANS 5:1-6
IT IS NOT WHAT IS DONE, BUT WHY IT IS DONE
1 Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free,
and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage. 2 Indeed I, Paul,
say to you that if you become circumcised, Christ will profit you
nothing. 3 And I testify again to every man who becomes circumcised that
he is a debtor to keep the whole law. 4 You have become estranged from
Christ, you who attempt to be justified by law; you have fallen from
grace. 5 For we through the Spirit eagerly wait for the hope of
righteousness by faith. 6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor
uncircumcision avails anything, but faith working through love.
Galatians 5:1-6 (NKJV)
As I have done in the past I have chosen to do a series of Devotions by
going verse by verse through a Book of the Bible. This time I have
chosen the Letter
of St. Paul to the Galatians. The first Devotion, for
Chapter 1,
verses 6 - 10, was written earlier and can be found by going to the
Devotion Archives. Each following devotion
will remain on this page for approximately 6 days before it will be
transferred to the
Archives. It is my prayer
that these devotions will assist you in your Bible Study and in your
growth in Faith and in the Love of Jesus. Here then is the fourteenth in
this series of Devotions.
If you have been following these devotions you know that St. Paul has
written again and again in opposition to requiring circumcision to
become a follower of Christ. In the verses today we have an important
statement concerning Christian Liberty. “Stand fast therefore in the
liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again
with a yoke of bondage.”
It is important to note that Paul does not say that one who has been
circumcised has no hope. Neither does he say that if you want to be
circumcised there is no hope. He says these important words, “You have
become estranged from Christ, you who attempt to be justified by law;
you have fallen from grace. For we through the Spirit eagerly wait for
the hope of righteousness by faith.”
If you are told that any specific act is required for salvation, you
have been deceived and are following the Evil One. This does not only
apply to circumcision, but also to:
-- Those false preachers and teachers who compel you to buy your way into heaven through the dollars you give to them.
-- Those who shame you into doing the “good deeds” that they want done for their own glory,
-- Those who proclaim if you will be a part of their church, sect, or group, you have a free pass through the gates of Eternity.
St. Paul tells the Galatians and tells us, if your deeds come first, you
are wasting time and energy. If faith in the Risen Christ comes first,
then the power of the Holy Spirit will grant us the grace and power to
do those deeds that God would have us do. Yes, if St. Paul were here
today, I believe he would say to those who believe – If for health
reasons you want to be circumcised, go ahead. That is Christian Liberty.
It is not what you do, but why you do it.
WE PRAY:
Free from the law, O happy condition,
Jesus has bled and there is remission,
Cursed by the law and bruised by the fall,
Grace hath redeemed us once for all.
“FREE FROM THE LAW” from cyberhymnal.org
A SUGGESTION FOR LIVING THE DEVOTION
When you are asked to do a Christian Act and you don’t want to do it,
pray about it before you do anything. If you do something you don’t want
to do, that’s the Law. If you do something you want to do, that’s faith.