I do not set aside the grace of God,
for if righteousness could be gained through the law,
Christ died for nothing!
Galatians 2:21
If Paul wore a t-shirt, it would read: Don’t mess with the Gospel!
This former Jewish Pharisee/enforcer of the law/persecutor of Christians was saved by Jesus
Christ and he never got over it. His life after Jesus was devoted to bringing the gospel – the
message of righteousness by faith through grace alone – to the world.
He was relentless, unwavering, and he would not have the Gospel diluted, diminished, or
divided.
Religious authorities, government leaders, and even his fellow apostle, Peter … none were exempt from his clear and focused message: Grace alone!
Peter should have known better, but he gave in to the Judaizers when they came to Antioch by resisting fellowship with the Gentiles. Paul would not have it. He called Peter out on it, and even recorded the incident in his letter to the church at Galatia.
Paul preached one clear message: Righteousness is by faith through grace alone, in Christ
alone. Nothing else added! Because once we add to the Gospel, we change the truth of the
Gospel.
If works are added as a prerequisite for salvation, then the Cross means less and the sacrifice of
Jesus is less important. This cannot be! Paul would not stand for it and neither should we! If our good could be good enough, Jesus would not have had to endure the Cross. We are sinners saved by grace through faith. Our only hope for salvation is to receive it as a gift, because we could never hope to earn or merit it on our own.
Jesus did it all.
We add nothing.
This is the Gospel.
Grace alone.
Thank you, Jesus, for enduring the Cross – our only hope. May this foundational truth be the theme of our message, as it was for Paul. May we daily look at the Cross with humility, gratitude, and reverence – acknowledging as John Newton so wisely and succinctly affirmed Paul’s message, “I am a great sinner, Christ is a great Savior.” Jesus, I am a great sinner. You are a great Savior! Thank you for going to the Cross. Thank you for saving my soul!
Editor’s Note: Laura originally developed our October bookmark to accompany the “Pearls of Grace” women’s retreat. If you are interested in having Laura present this teaching to your church, please reach out to us via email.
Paul uses three word pictures to help us understand what it means to live as a true minster (and true follower) of Jesus: servant, steward, spectacle. In this week’s devotional video, Laura unpacks these three analogies – challenging us to live according to what often feels like the “upside-down logic” of God’s plan. We hope you enjoy this teaching from our I Corinthians study:
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