Category Archives: Grace

Bible, Freedom, Grace, Law, Scripture

ONLY IF

GALATIANS 3:21

“Is the Law then contrary to the promises of God? Far from it! For if a law had been given that was able to impart life, then righteousness would indeed have been based on law.”

There’s a saying, “Close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades.” You can get close and still have a point or cause an impact. But in everything else, you need to hit it right on the dot. It does no good to say, “If only I had scored more points” or “If only I had studied more.” Do you get my meaning?

In today’s verse, Paul is saying if only the law had been able to save us. He knew the limitations of the law because he had tried to live by it. He knew from first had experience the frailty of the Law. The Law did point to Christ, but only the ones who placed their faith in Jesus are able to see it.

APPLICATION

Most of us Gentiles have never been burdened in keeping the Law of Moses. We have never thought about eating kosher or following all the restrictions. Only when we come to Christ do we see how the Law points to Him. But we put ourselves under so many other Laws like going to church every time the doors are open or giving our tithe each week. I’ve even been told you can’t fish or hunt on Sunday.

No law is able to redeem us back into the relationship with Jesus that we need. I think of Matthew 11:28-30. “28‘Come to Me, all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS. 30  For My yoke is comfortable, and My burden is light.’” The yoke of Jesus is not burdensome. Why? Because He is yoked along with us. He shows us how to live holy.

So, how will you live today – under Law or under grace? What does living under grace mean to you? You need to live each day as if He is going to appear any moment. Live to please the Master. Live to honor Him in everything you do. Will you do that?

Lord God, You gave us the Law to point toward Jesus. Thank You for His saving grace.

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Advocate, Bible, God's Will, Grace, Law, Mediator, Scripture

MEDIATOR

GALATIANS 3:20

“Now a mediator is not for one party only; but God is only one.”

I was party to a mediation years ago in which a husband and a wife were going through a divorce. I sat there as a witness for one of the parties, in case I was needed (I wasn’t). It was clear from the very beginning of the proceedings that the mediator was on neither the husband’s nor the wife’s side. They were an impartial party to the conflict. Their job was to settle the dispute amicably. The success of their mission depended on their neutrality.

Today’s verse is the subject of much controversy. There are as many interpretations of this verse as there are interpreters. I cannot begin to settle the dispute in this short devotion. You have to look at the context of the passage. Paul has been discussing the contrast between the Law and grace. Two sides of righteousness are depicted here. I truly believe Paul is saying simply that God is in charge! The word “only” is not in the original Greek. Paul writes “God is one.” He is the one who makes things right. He is the one who declares us righteous! But He is not an impartial mediator. He is on our side!

APPLICATION

Let me say again that this passage is a much debated one. I would encourage you to spend some time reading some of the commentaries on this passage (use Bible Hub or Blue Letter). Bible). But let’s nail down what this means for us today. After all, isn’t that the purpose for reading Scripture?

Deuteronomy 6:4 says, ““Hear, Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD is one!” This is known as the “Shema” or the call to worship for the Jews. Listen up Israel, Jehovah is our God and Jehovah is one! I believe Paul, being a former Pharisee, had this verse on his mind when the Holy Spirit inspired him to write today’s verse. There is no other God. He is the only One.

But lest you believe to believe that is enough, read James 2:19. “You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder.” Believing in God is not enough. You have to have faith in Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord. That was the problem with the Law. It taught all about God being One, but it did not bring salvation. That is only made available through Jesus.

So, what will you do with this verse today? Remember that God is One, but that One is comprised of God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. The three make One. Do I understand that? No! But I believe it and have faith in it. Do you?

For I know Whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able…

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Bible, Forgiveness, Gifts, Grace, Mercy, Salvation, Scripture, Secrets

HE HAS GRANTED

GALATIANS 3:18

“For if the inheritance is based on law, it is no longer based on a promise; but God has granted it to Abraham by means of a promise.”

Getting something you don’t deserve is nice. It’s especially nice if you receive it in spite of something you may have done. Grace gifts are given that way. Have you ever received a gift like that? I sure have. My wife has forgiven me more times than I can count when I know I didn’t deserve it. She’s that kind of person. How can she do that? It’s only because she knows how much she’s been forgiven.

In today’s verse, Paul makes a statement that needs to be looked at. He says, “God has granted.” That Greek word for “has granted” is “used of God giving His grace to pardon. This is freely done and therefore not based on any merit of the one receiving forgiveness. It is used of God giving His grace to pardon. This is freely done and therefore not based on any merit of the one receiving forgiveness.” (HELPS Word Studies)

APPLICATION

Why did I use such a long quote above? I wanted you to see the full definition of this word. We have been granted our righteousness through Jesus in the same way. It is given to us not based on anything we have done. In fact, we don’t deserve it. We deserve hell. But God saw fit to send His one and only Son to die for us. John 3:16 tells us that.

In 2 Corinthians 9:8 Paul says this, “And God is able to make all grace overflow to you, so that, always having all sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed;” Don’t you like that? His grace overflows to us. How about Ephesians 4:7? “But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift.” The gift of grace has nothing to do with us and all to do with Him.

Here’s a practical application of this verse. Will you extend grace to someone who doesn’t deserve it? Perhaps they have offended you – give grace. Maybe they have lied about you – give grace. They may have tried to intentionally hurt you – give grace. That is exactly what God does for us. Shouldn’t we imitate Him? I didn’t say it would be easy, but it would be the “grace filled” thing to do.

Father God, give me the grace I need to extend grace to others.  

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Abiding, Belief, Bible, Decisions, Faith, Following, God's Will, Grace, Justified, Obedience, Righteousness, Salvation, Scripture

THE JUST SHALL LIVE BY FAITH

GALATIANS 3:11

“Now, that no one is justified by the Law before God is evident; for, ‘THE RIGHTEOUS ONE WILL LIVE BY FAITH.’”

In March of 1969, a song was released by Frank Sinatra that gained worldwide popularity. “My Way” was an instant success. That song is still sung around the world. You should google the lyrics to that song and read them. Wow! It epitomizes self. Its premise is all that matters is that you do it your way.

In today’s verse, Paul emphatically states what he has been saying in this whole letter. Man is not justified by what he does for himself, by his works, by following the Law. He may feel better about himself, but that doesn’t matter in God’s eyes. God is concerned with faith, with confession of sin, not in how many works a person does or how good he feels about himself. There is no other way to the Father except faith in His Son, Jesus.

APPLICATION

The quote in today’s verse comes from Habakkuk 2:4. This is God talking to Habakkuk. “‘Behold, as for the impudent one, his soul is not right within him; but the righteous one will live by his faith.’” Now, if God says it, that settles it. He says through faith we find righteousness. We know that only the righteousness of Christ can make us righteous, not what we do.

Paul uses this same quote in Romans 1:17. “For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written: ‘BUT THE RIGHTEOUS ONE WILL LIVE BY FAITH.’” Paul must have liked that verse in Habakkuk to use it in two letters. Better yet, he believed it to be true. Do you? Do you believe it is not up to you? Do you believe your righteousness has nothing to do with you and everything to do with Jesus?

An old hymn just popped into my head. Don’t you love it when that happens?  “Faith is the Victory” is a great hymn that describes our reliance on faith in our daily battles. The chorus simply says this:

Faith is the victory!
Faith is the victory!
O glorious victory,
That overcomes the world.

Go out today and be faithful. Place all your trust in Him and Him alone.

Father, I give You praise for the faith You have birthed within me.

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Bible, Blessing, Curses, Grace, Holiness, Judgment, Law, Scripture

UNDER A CURSE

GALATIANS 3:10

“For all who are of works of the Law are under a curse; for it is written: ‘CURSED IS EVERYONE WHO DOES NOT ABIDE BY ALL THE THINGS WRITTEN IN THE BOOK OF THE LAW, TO DO THEM.’”

Being penalized for not keeping the rules is frustrating. I love football, but I don’t like all the rules. Some of them are flat out silly, if you ask me (of course, no one has asked me). But rules are rules. If you break the rule, there is a penalty. Some of those penalties may come at the absolute worse time in a game. I have seen penalties that have actually cost a team a win.

Paul talks about curses today in verse 10. The Greek word for “curse” is katara. It refers to the penalty that occurs when God condemns something. Paul quotes from Deuteronomy 27:26. He is saying that if you try to keep the Law but fail in just one of the commands, you are guilty of breaking the whole Law and are cursed. You will receive the penalty as if you had not kept any of it. That’s the futility of trying to keep the Law.

APPLICATION

So, do we just give up? Well, yes and no. James 2:10 says it well, “For whoever keeps the whole Law, yet stumbles in one point, has become guilty of all.” James understood the futility of law-keeping. He had been under the Law. He knew only Jesus (his half-brother) could satisfy the demands of a holy God. We give up on the Law but place all our faith in the One who satisfied it.

I had much rather be blessed than cursed. How about you? Curses push you down. Curses break your spirit. Curses kill all hope. But blessings – awwwww blessings – they cheer the soul. They renew hope. They bring joy. Numbers 6:24-26 rings through my head right now. “The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.” Isn’t that awesome?

Keep on trying to do stuff to please God and fall flat on your face. You just can’t do enough to earn heaven. All you have to do is turn to Jesus. It really is that simple. I will still strive to keep all of God’s commands, not because I have to but because I want to. I want to live holy to honor Him, not appease His wrath. Jesus has already taken care of that. Amen! Hallelujah!

Thank You, Father, for sending Your Son to satisfy the demands of the Law. His sacrifice covers me!

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Bible, Choices, Grace, Law, Questions, Scripture

JUST TELL ME ONE THING

GALATIANS 3:2

“This is the only thing I want to find out from you: did you receive the Spirit by works of the Law, or by hearing with faith?”

Have you ever said, “Okay, just tell me one thing”? We say that when we are trying to win an argument or to clarify something to someone. Keeping the important things, the important things is important (say that five times real fast, lol). I know when I preach, I try to tell the people what I am going to say, I say it and then I tell them what I said. I want to make sure they understood the message and the facts were clear.

In today’s verse we see Paul making sure the Galatian believers kept the main things the main things. Can’t you just hear Paul exhorting them? Let me ask you one question – was it through faith or the Law that you received the Spirit? I don’t know about you, but I can hear that in the tone of this verse. Paul was tired of others coming in and muddying the water with their added restrictions and guidelines.

APPLICATION

Don’t ever let anyone put you back under the Law. Carl, no one is going to do that! Oh yea? How about those people who say you can’t miss church, or you must dress a certain way? Romans 7:6 says, “But now we have been released from the Law, having died to that by which we were bound, so that we serve in newness of the Spirit and not in oldness of the letter.”

There are plenty of people out there ready to put you back under the Law. They have a long list of “Thou Shall Nots.” But for us, it’s more about “Thou Shall.” For instance, look at 1 John 4:7. “Beloved, let’s love one another; for love is from God, and everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.” Isn’t that better than getting your hand slapped for something you did or didn’t do? We are commanded to love each other.

So, let me ask you just one thing. Does your life exemplify Jesus to a lost world? That’s really what matters. That is a main thing. We are his witness. We represent Him. Take that to the world. Let them see Jesus in you. If you and I do that daily, we will grow in our faith. We will mature as believers. We will see fruit for our labor. Do the main thing.

Keep me focused, Lord, on what You say is important, not what others say.

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Bible, Connection, Grace, Peace, Scripture

CONNECTED

GALATIANS 1:3

“Grace to you and peace from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ,”

When I was a young boy of 5 or 6, I would follow my brother everywhere. When he and some of his buddies got up a game of baseball, I had to be right there in the midst of them. He watched out for me. We shared the same bed until he went off to college. That was pretty common back in those days. You could say we were pretty connected.

But our connection paled in comparison to the connection Paul shows us in today’s verse. He gives his common salutation to the Galatians of “grace to you and peace,” and then includes “from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ.” In this simple statement, Paul is showing the eternal connection between God the Father and God the Son. They are inseparable. They are the source of all grace and peace.

APPLICATION

So, what do we do with this? It’s a pretty simple statement but also so deep. The Expositor’s Greek Testament commentary says this about this verse. “These include the lifegiving power of the spirit as well as the assurance of God’s forgiving love in Christ and peace with an accusing conscience.” You see, you can’t separate “grace and peace” from the Father and the Son. Wow! That’s deep, right?

John 10:30 simply reads, “‘I and the Father are one.’” Jesus said this, so we know it’s true. There was no separation between them even when Jesus was on the earth in the form of man. He did not make a move that wasn’t directed by the Father. In John 5:30 He said, “‘I can do nothing on My own. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is righteous, because I do not seek My own will but the will of Him who sent Me.’”

These questions need to be asked then. Are you connected to God? Are you connected to Jesus? What is your connection? Did you know, as a believer, the Holy Spirit is your connection to God? He lives in you and also coexists with the God the Father. I don’t understand it, but I am sure glad He does. Stayed connected through Him. Listen to Him. Seek Him daily as you pray and read God’s Word.

We are connected, Father, through Your Spirit and through the blood of the Son. Hallelujah!

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Affection, Affliction, Altars, Apologies, Bible, Bitterness, Crying, Emotions, Flesh, Forgiveness, God's Will, Grace, Relationships, Scripture

WHAT A SHAME!

MALACHI 2:13

“And this is another thing you do: you cover the altar of the LORD with tears, with weeping and sighing, because He no longer gives attention to the offering or accepts it with favor from your hand.”

Our sinful behavior has effects on others. Sometimes we are not aware of the effect. Other times we are well aware. We see the damage it causes. We hear the anguish in the other person’s voice. The hurt we cause because of our sins weighs heavy on the Lord. He sees their hurt and holds us accountable.

The Pulpit Commentary says this about this verse, “Not only did they marry heathen females, but they divorced their own legitimate wives to facilitate such unholy alliances.” Thus, the tears that are staining the altar come from the priests’ legitimate wives whom they have divorced in order to marry the foreign, idolatrous wives. It was a travesty that Ezra dealt with earlier, but they had lapsed back into.

APPLICATION

Is this you? Have you caused someone else harm by your actions? If so, repent of that. Ask forgiveness of both God and them. There is nothing sweeter than forgiveness when it is offered and received, when two parties are able to mend their broken relationship. God is pleased by such expressions of agape love.

Look back at today’s verse at the last phrase. It says, “because He no longer gives attention to the offering or accepts it with favor from your hand.” Our blindness to unforgiveness and unrepentance leads to this. God will not accept our offerings. God will not hear our cries to Him. Our sin separates us from the very One we need most.

If you have ever experienced such an event, you know how painful it can be. To be unforgiven or to be unrepentant can lead to hardness and callousness. Only God can break through this. Matthew 6:14 says to us, “For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you,” We also read in Colossians 3:13 we read, “Bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.” Be like Jesus this week. Make things right with someone whom you have offended or has offended you. That makes God smile.

Lord, forgiveness is hard, it seems. But You sent Your Son to die to forgive me. Now, that’s hard.

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Abiding, Appearance, Bible, Confrontation, Enemies, Forgiveness, God's Will, Grace, Humility, Kindness, Scripture

THE HIGH GROUND

ZECHARIAH 14:10

“All the land will change into a plain from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem; but Jerusalem will rise and remain on its site from Benjamin’s Gate as far as the place of the First Gate to the Corner Gate, and from the Tower of Hananel to the king’s wine presses.” 

Anyone with any knowledge of battle plans knows the importance of the high ground. From there you can see all around and monitor your enemies. You can defend your camp better from high ground. The downside of that high ground is your enemy can also see you. The high ground has its pros and cons, I guess.

The landscape around Jerusalem is going to change one day when this prophecy occurs. Verse 10 today tells us about this changing landscape. Jerusalem is currently surrounded pretty much with hills. But on this day, all those hills will be leveled a plain. Jerusalem will have the high ground. All will be able to observe the holy city. Jesus, the Messiah, is there for all to see.

APPLICATION

The application for this verse today has to be taken more allegorically. Will you give me some leeway today? Let me encourage you today to take the high ground, the high road, when it comes to conflict. Let your actions in response to your earthly foes be one of above reproach. I am reminded of the question posed by Peter regarding forgiveness. Matthew 18:21-22 tells us this story. “21 Then Peter came up and said to Him, ‘Lord, how many times shall my brother sin against me and I still forgive him? Up to seven times?’ 22 Jesus said to him, ‘I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy-seven times.’”

The rabbinical law taught to forgive someone three times, so Peter thought he was going above and beyond by saying seven times. Jesus blew his mind with his answer – 77 times! What?! Then Jesus went on to tell a story about a king and a slave who owed him a great amount. You know the story. I bet Peter got the message.

How about you? Can you take the high ground, the high road? Can you be the one to extend forgiveness 77 times? And if others refuse to forgive you, just keep loving them. Let me rephrase that. Allow Jesus to love them through you. Die to yourself. Give it to Him. He can and will accomplish His perfect will in His perfect time.

Father, I want my life to be lived in such a way that I can be observed as if on high ground with nothing to hide.  

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Bible, Blessing, Forgiveness, Grace, Salvation, Scripture

POURED OUT GRACE

ZECHARIAH 12:10

“‘And I will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and of pleading, so that they will look at Me whom they pierced; and they will mourn for Him, like one mourning for an only son, and they will weep bitterly over Him like the bitter weeping over a firstborn.’”

Oh wow! I can so remember the day I got saved. I have shared my salvation experience before, but this verse reminded me of that day. I truly felt the grace of God poured over me that day. There have been times since then when I felt waves of grace flow over me when I needed it most. Every time that happens, it points me more and more to Jesus.

Reread today’s verse with Jesus on the cross on your mind. Isn’t that exactly what God did that day for Jerusalem? He poured out His grace on them. They did pierce Him. And those who followed Jesus and received this free grace mourned for Him. Zechariah even uses the words “an only son.” Zechariah is pointing the nation to their future Messiah.

APPLICATION

I want you to reflect on your salvation today (if you are not a believer, I’ll get to you in a minute, but keep reading). Do you remember the depth of your longing for cleansing? Do you remember how damaged you were in your sins? That flood of grace that poured over you that day is still flowing. 2 Corinthians 9:8 says, “And God is able to make all grace overflow to you, so that, always having all sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed;”

I think of that old hymn, “Grace, Grace, God’s grace. Grace that will pardon and cleanse within.” It goes on to say, “Grace that is greater than all our sin.” The waves of grace that are poured over you can wash away any and all sin in your life. That should lead you to praise Him today.

Now, if you have been reading this and do not know that grace, turn to Him now. Confess your sins. Admit you are a sinner in need of a Savior. Confess your belief in Jesus as God’s only Son and receive this overflowing grace into your life. Walk in victory, knowing you are now a child of the King. Praise God!

O Father, Your grace is sufficient and great. It is more than adequate to meet my deepest need.

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