Paul the apostle has been
putting forth persuasions as to why the keeping of the law should not
be added to faith in Jesus Christ. It was because we could not keep
the law that Jesus came, and now that He has bore the punishment for
our sin through His death on the cross, the effort to return to the
law would be a mistake. Paul continues his words in chapter two and
verse eighteen of Galatians where we read:
For if I build again
the things which I destroyed, I make myself a transgressor.
Paul
declares, first of all, “For if I build again the things which I
destroyed...”. Paul infers that it doesn't make sense to
rebuild the very ideas that he spent time tearing down. The law of
God is perfect, and it was only incomplete because people could not
keep the law. If the keeping of the law could have been done by
anyone except Jesus, there would have been no need for Jesus to come
in the first place. Paul spent time tearing down the idea that anyone
could keep the law of God, and therefore we all need a Savior. The
Judaizers were in effect trying to rebuild the very pattern of life
that Paul concluded could not be kept.
Paul
adds, “...I make myself a transgressor.” The very idea
that Paul would go back and rebuild what he spent time tearing down
would indite him as a sinner for tearing it down in the first place.
Paul the apostle was a lawyer and well educated, and we can see it
manifested in this deduction. Because it makes no sense at all to
rebuild a manner of living that he presented as being incomplete, he
would be guilty as a transgressor should he attempt to build it back.
More
than likely Paul's words are directed toward Peter's neglecting the
Gentiles and the Judaizers who were promoting such a regression, but
we can apply his thought to ourselves if we think about it. Sometimes
we may have a tendency to go back and try to keep the law of God as a
way to show God we are good. We may seek accolades for obeying the
law, and deep within ourselves believe that somehow God might accept
us because of our own efforts. Even worse we may have a tendency to
condemn ourselves because we have failed to keep God's law from time
to time. Let it clear from Paul's words today that if we build again
the things which were destroyed, we make ourselves a transgressor,
and that is a title that none of us have to wear because of the grace
of Jesus Christ.
Next
time we will discover how to be dead to the law and alive unto God,
so read ahead, and let us join together then.
Until
tomorrow...there is more...
Look for
the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation
to Generation” in all major
bookstore
sites, www.amazon.com ; www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to
e-books, and find it
locally
at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore
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