What Happens When Our Helpful Rules Replace Grace

You were running a good race. Who cut in on you to keep you from obeying the truth? — Galatians 5:7 NIV

The best laid plans often go awry. This certainly proved to be true when my husband and I signed up for the same study plan on the Bible app. Eager to get started, my husband started the plan on December 31. But I, true to my rule-following nature, began precisely on January 1. To our chagrin, we are always one day apart in our study. 

To get us on the same reading passage, my husband skipped a day in the plan and studied something else. Unfortunately, the Bible app constantly reminds him that he is “missing a day” and prompts him to “catch up”. When we shared our dilemma with a mutual friend, he suggested that I be the one to read ahead so that we are on the same page. Apparently the app doesn’t fuss if you are ahead of schedule. When I hesitated, he asked, “Or are you too legalistic to do that?” My quick “Yes, probably,” drew laughs from us all. 

People like me appreciate rules. When we create them ourselves, they provide the discipline we need to achieve our goals. As a Chrisitian, I’ve adopted a number of practices to help me grow. Personal morning devotions, church attendance, in-depth Bible study, prayer, and acts of service are a few examples. But these practices can quickly became rules for me to follow. And because I am such a good rule follower, I begin to believe I am earning my righteousness through my obedience. This righteousness-through-works mentality has led to times when my walk with the Lord has felt forced and joyless. 

The Christians in Galatia also experienced this frustration. In his letter to them, the Apostle Paul noted that they no longer lived by grace, but had chosen to follow a different gospel, ~ which was no gospel at all (Galatians 1:6-7). Like me, the Galatians had begun their Christian walk by relying on the power of the Holy Spirit. But somehow they had shifted gears and had begun to rely on themselves (Galatians 3:3). Later in his letter, Paul wrote these words: 

You were running a good race. Who cut in on you to keep you from obeying the truth? (Galatians 5:7 NIV)

I notice Paul didn’t say what, but who cut in on their walk with the Lord. Throughout his letter, Paul refers to a group of agitators who promoted false doctrine (Galatians 2:3-4). They belonged to a group of Jewish converts who believed Gentile Christians needed to be circumcised and obey the law of Moses in order to be right with God (Galatians 2:14). Since many of the Christians in Galatia were Gentiles, it’s understandable why this false teaching had such an impact on the church. 

In his letter, Paul made it very clear. None of us will ever become like Jesus by our obedience to a set of rules ~ whether they are self-imposed or placed on us by false teachers. Our inability to perfectly follow any set of rules proves our need for the grace of Christ. It’s only when we realize our need for grace that we rely on the Spirit’s power to help us grow in righteousness (Galatians 5:5-6). Thankfully, that power is always available to us.

Dear Lord Jesus, thank You for the gift of the Holy Spirit. Please keep us grounded in Your grace so we can avoid a righteousness-through-works mentality. We know we are powerless to achieve righteousness through our own obedience. Help us to rely on Your Spirit rather than on ourselves. We pray this in Your name. Amen.