Faith is all we need: Galatians 5:1-6
The only thing that matters is faith working through love. With regard to salvation, Jesus’ faithfulness on the cross is all we need. As we respond to God and answer His call, what matters is Christ’s faithfulness working through us in love. Jesus is the key. He’s the only one we need.
Paul begins to wrap up the focus of his letter. Hopefully by now any reader of Galatians has been convinced to resist people who try to apply restrictions upon their salvation or upon their response to God’s call. He tells the Galatians to stand firm. Christ sets us free and calls us into His service; we should feel free to respond to God’s calling.
It can be difficult to embrace what Paul is saying here. Our human nature wants acceptance. Our human nature wants to belong. Our human nature wants approval from the people around us, especially those whose opinion matters to us. We do best when we have a group to which we belong.
In the wrong circumstances, each of these dynamics of human nature can be a bad thing. Take the Galatians as an example. Because they wanted to find acceptance, they allowed themselves to be convinced circumcision was necessary. Because they wanted to ensure they belonged, they listened to the false teachers when they added stipulations to how they should response to Christ’s faithfulness on the cross. Because they wanted approval, they embraced unnecessary behaviors to appease the false teachers. The false teachers were using the Galatians’ human nature to get what they want.
We do the same thing. We often do things for the approval of others. We often say things for the approval of others. We often believe things for the approval of others. In our quest to belong, we find ourselves seeking approval from sources we shouldn’t.
Paul reminds us the only approval we need comes from God through the faithfulness of Christ. Our righteousness comes from God. Our salvation comes from God. What other approval do we need? What else do we need to guarantee our salvation besides the promise of God?
It goes further than this, though. If I already have God’s approval – if the Spirit dwells within me – then shouldn’t other people in whom God’s Spirit dwells also offer up their approval? If the Spirit is within me, shouldn’t I be able to find community among those who also have the Holy Spirit within? This is why we can stand firm and not submit to people who wish to add other restrictions to faith. If I have God’s Spirit within and someone who claims to have God’s Spirit within them tries to convince me that I don’t have what is necessary to be saved, isn’t the problem within them?
Christ is sufficient. Christ’s faithfulness is all we need. Stand firm in the faith and rejoice our salvation comes through God’s promise. The only thing that matters is faith working through love.
