2022_03_02 Insight Post- Rusty Coram

  -   March 2, 2022

This week’s reading- Galatians 3-4

The church in Galatia was being assaulted by a group who was convincing them that to be a true follower of Christ, a person had to follow the Jewish religious laws and regulations. Paul is warning them that this teaching, “is not the Good News at all. You are being fooled by those who deliberately twist the truth concerning Christ.” Galatians 1:7 (NLT)

Religion that is primarily “rule keeping” has a certain appeal to some. The religious keepers of the rules build fences that do three things: (1) It gives them pride in how good they appear by staying inside the fence of rules (2) The fences give the leaders control over the people inside (3) The rule fences keep people out those who don’t abide by the regulations – and keep in mind that some of these regulations are created by the religious leaders, and NOT God. Fences feed pride, control, judgement and condemnation, and Jesus is having NONE of it! He came to provide a DOOR, not a fence, that would give anyone who would go through it, access to God by being adopted into His family. Jesus came to tear down the fences and bring everyone willing, into His family the same way. Paul states it so clearly, “But when the right time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman, subject to the law. ⁵ God sent him to buy freedom for us who were slaves to the law, so that he could adopt us as his very own children. ⁶ And because we are his children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, prompting us to call out, “Abba, Father.” ⁷ Now you are no longer a slave but God’s own child.”Galatians 4:4–7 (NLT)

Paul was right to address this religious lie in the strongest of terms, “Let God’s curse fall on anyone, including us or even an angel from heaven, who preaches a different kind of Good News than the one we preached to you.” Galatians 1:8 (NLT)