DAY 19 - GALATIANS

March 23, 2023

Galatians 4:17-20 (NLT)

Those false teachers are so eager to win your favor, but their intentions are not good. They are trying to shut you off from me so that you will pay attention only to them. If someone is eager to do good things for you, that’s all right; but let them do it all the time, not just when I’m with you. Oh, my dear children! I feel as if I’m going through labor pains for you again, and they will continue until Christ is fully developed in your lives. I wish I were with you right now so I could change my tone. But at this distance I don’t know how else to help you.

Thought:

The false teachers claimed to be religious authorities and experts in Judaism and Christianity. Appealing to the believer’s desire to do what was right, they drew quite a following. False teachers are often respectable, persuasive, and believable. Paul said, however, that they were wrong and that their motives were selfish. He knows the false teachers only want followers for themselves. Paul wants followers of Jesus. They want to use the Galatians. Paul wants Jesus to save the Galatians.

Paul’s love for the Galatians is evident as he refers to them as brothers and children—tender words from a loving father. He felt deep concern for his spiritual children; he even compared his pain over their faithlessness to the pain of childbirth. Paul is laboring for Christ to be formed in them. That’s the heart of a true spiritual leader. He doesn’t want fame or fortune or followers for himself. The Spirit-led leader cares only about Jesus and his glory, and he communicates that with both loving tenderness and firm truth.

Application:

1. Do you check all teaching and information you receive against the true Gospel and the Word of God? How can you be more Spirit-led as you discern the truth?

2. Do your friends and family with whom you discuss the gospel know you love them, and that’s why you boldly speak into their lives? Do your words match Paul’s both in tenderness and firmness?

DAY 18 - GALATIANS

March 22, 2023

Galatians 4:12-16 (NLT)

Dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to live as I do in freedom from these things, for I have become like you Gentiles—free from those laws. You did not mistreat me when I first preached to you. Surely you remember that I was sick when I first brought you the Good News. But even though my condition tempted you to reject me, you did not despise me or turn me away. No, you took me in and cared for me as though I were an angel from God or even Christ Jesus himself. Where is that joyful and grateful spirit you felt then? I am sure you would have taken out your own eyes and given them to me if it had been possible. Have I now become your enemy because I am telling you the truth?

Thought:

Paul sensed that the Galatians had lost the joy of their salvation because of legalism. They had not lost the experience of salvation (they were still saved) but they were losing the enjoyment of their salvation and finding satisfaction in their works instead. Sadly, they did not realize their losses. They actually thought they were becoming better Christians by substituting law for grace and the religious deeds of the flesh for the fruit of the Spirit.

Legalism can take away joy because:

1. it makes people feel guilty rather than loved

2. it produces self-hatred rather than humility

3. it stresses performance over relationship

4. it points out how far short we fall rather than how far we’ve come because of what Christ did for us

Application:

1. Have you lost the joy of your salvation and daily walk with Jesus?

2. Are you living by faith in Christ or by trying to live up to the demands and expectations of others? If you feel guilty and inadequate, check your focus.

DAY 17 - GALATIANS

March 21, 2023

Galatians 4:8-11 (NLT)

Before you Gentiles knew God, you were slaves to so-called gods that do not even exist. So now that you know God (or should I say, now that God knows you), why do you want to go back again and become slaves once more to the weak and useless spiritual principles of this world? You are trying to earn favor with God by observing certain days or months or seasons or years. I fear for you. Perhaps all my hard work with you was for nothing.

Thought:

The hardest question to answer about anything is “why?” It gets to the heart of every matter. Paul is asking the Galatians: Why fall back into legalism? Paul is pleading with the Galatians to live in freedom as he does.

For us today and the Galatians then, it came down to a doctrine problem - a wrong-thinking problem. Sometimes we (like them) can have the mindset that we made a deal with God; we think that we signed a contract and He owes us, and we owe Him. But this couldn’t be farther from the truth. Salvation is a free gift of grace through faith, and all we can do is accept it. Jesus gave His unconditional love and grace to us, and that’s the basis of our relationship with Him. Legalism says: “God, I’ll do for you, and you do for me.” Grace says: “It’s done; accept the gift and live in freedom.”

Application:

1. Check your doctrine. Do you view your relationship with God as a contract in which you owe something? Or as a gift that you can only accept?

2. Is your Christian life moving forward into liberty or backward into bondage? Think carefully before you answer.