Galatians Chapter Two
“I will not build again the things which I destroyed, (tore down).”
HOLD THE LINE: the Centrality of Grace, Christ and Him Crucified.
Hypocrisy: it is too easy, nowadays, to receive the free gift of salvation through Christ and then fall back on some church system or doctrine that allows our flesh to be the pilot instead of the Holy Ghost. The war that goes on after salvation is almost as strong as the spiritual battle for souls, from the Enemy’s perspective. If he can cause Believers to be stuck in a system or to trust their flesh for growth or WORK at their own discipleship—he is winning the war.
This is precisely why we see him come down so hard on Peter’s hypocrisy and lack of consistency. Did Christ come to set us free from our old life or not? Did He give us new commandments and a new Way, or not? Paul is the first and foremost to stand up as a “super-Jew” and herald that all this can not come down to works, but grace. THE GREAT GRACE OF GOD. Without God’s grace, none is righteous, no not one.
Regulations of the law and the Word of God were instituted to prove to us our utter helplessness and hopelessness…that in this flesh dwells no good thing to get me right with my God. It will always, constantly revive and bring death, yet the Spirit can REVIVE and bring life abundant and verdant.
I love this lesson because, all of the sudden I NEED God again. I am not good enough. I am desperate again for a Savior because I can be such a hypocrite. “Come and heal me, with Your power.”
“It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me”…
And through me. Oh the comfort, the unspeakable joy of this solitary, unmoveable fact. It isn’t about me trying real hard or working real hard to achieve or maintain…it is about a Person. A Person Who died to alter my life with eternal, boundless hope.
The old Jewish ways, the Law/Torah, the Word, every chapter and verse becomes illuminated with a Person, A Man and Messiah is then seen—through proper perspective—with Him on the throne. IF He is CENTRAL, all becomes lights and shadows and aromas from the Temple…speaking His Name constantly, uttering forth speech. “To the pure, ALL things are pure.” To the forgiven, all things are luminous of Christ.
