Originally published Wednesday, 07 June 2017.
Can we all just pause for a moment today to reflect on the fact that we serve a RISEN King! Our Lord and Savior is alive and not dead! Now we are free from sin. Free from guilt. Free from shame. Free from death. The work of Christ is finished! He came to set us free. So Beloved, let’s stand firm in that freedom!
Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for the freedom you have granted me. I pray for the strength to live like I am free and to use my freedom to give you glory. I love You. In Jesus Christ Name I pray. Amen.
Read Today’s Message
The overall major lesson we have learned in this study is that we cannot work for our salvation, but God has provided our need for salvation by His grace through faith. As we start chapter 5, Paul sums up everything that we’ve been learning so far. He says:
“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.”
Galatians 5:1 (NIV)
We know that we are already free from sin and condemnation. However, Paul tells us that we need to stand firm in this freedom. If we do not, we will easily become burdened by living in the lie that we have to work for God’s love and forgiveness. How do we actually do that? How do we stand firm in the freedom that Christ died for us to have? We find the answer in Galatians 5:4, a verse that has stuck with me for months now. It reads:
“You who are trying to be justified by the law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace.” Galatians 5:4 (NIV)
It’s the word “alienated” that struck me. It means a separation or a destroyed fellowship. What that means is this: we will never experience God’s grace when we are too busy trying to work for it. Yet we work, and strive, and hustle, and waste our lives trying to get something we already have. We live as slaves when we are already free. And it is in the striving that we lose the thing we are working for, because you cannot work for grace. Our trying to work for God is the very thing that distances us from God.
So how do we not lose the freedom that we already have? We stop trying to work for it. We place our faith in the finished work of Christ, and we rest in the truth that God’s grace is enough. You don’t have to think God is mad at you when you get in an argument with your spouse. You don’t have to beat yourself up when you get a bad grade. You don’t have to live condemned when you make mistakes. We are free from the burden of doing enough. It’s not about what we do, it’s about who God is.
We will never experience God's grace when we are too busy trying to work for it.CLICK TO TWEET
You know, every Christmas it never fails. My husband and I spend all this money on toys, and the kids end up playing with the boxes. I get it. The box is fun to play with, but the value of the gift is what’s inside the box. It’s the whole reason I purchased the box. When my kids only play with the box, they are missing out on the full value of what we gave them.
This is exactly what we do to God. He saved us so that we could live free. But we only accept the salvation and not the freedom. When we strive and work for what we already have in Christ, we miss the full value of the precious gift that Christ has already given us.
Our trying to work for God is the very thing that distances us from God.CLICK TO TWEET
I don’t know about you, but I want it all. I don’t want to be alienated from anything that is rightfully mine in Christ. So we must stand firm. We must live like we are loved and accepted daughters of the Most High God, and we must not allow any person, system, or thought to allow us to believe otherwise.
I leave you with John 8:36:
“So if the Son sets you free you will be free indeed.” – John 8:36 (NIV)
Now I want to hear from you today, Beloved. Please comment and let me know: what does living free in Christ look like to you? I can’t wait to chat more about it in the comments!
If you enjoyed today’s message be sure to share it with a friend because you never know who might need some Beloved encouragement today. I post new encouragement every week so be sure join Beloved to have my weekly devotion “Hello Beloved!” delivered directly to your inbox. As always, thank you so much for reading and until next time be beautiful, be blessed and beloved.
Love,
Christina
P.S. Registration for the 2017 Beloved Women's Conference is now open! This one day event is filled with dynamic speakers, fun entertainment, breakout sessions and more to help you refresh your soul, enjoy your life, and empower your purpose. Click here to register to receive early bird pricing before this event sells out!
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