Scripture:
Christ has set us free for freedom. Therefore, stand firm and don’t submit to the bondage of slavery again.
Look, I, Paul, am telling you that if you have yourselves circumcised, having Christ won’t help you. Again I swear to every man who has himself circumcised that he is required to do the whole Law. You people who are trying to be made righteous by the Law have been estranged from Christ. You have fallen away from grace! We eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness through the Spirit by faith. Being circumcised or not being circumcised doesn’t matter in Christ Jesus, but faith working through love does matter.
You were running well—who stopped you from obeying the truth? This line of reasoning doesn’t come from the one who calls you. A little yeast works through the whole lump of dough. I’m convinced about you in the Lord that you won’t think any other way. But the one who is confusing you will pay the penalty, whoever that may be. Brothers and sisters, if I’m still preaching circumcision, why am I still being harassed? In that case, the offense of the cross would be canceled. I wish that the ones who are upsetting you would castrate themselves!
Consider:
Paul gets really upset at what he considers artifical rules or structures which, in his opinion, prevent people from experiencing the fullness of God’s freedom. They say there is no Zealot like a convert, and Paul is no exception to that rule. Pre-conversion on the Road to Damascus Paul was all about the rules and was often the first to stone someone who didn’t follow them to the letter. Post-conversion, he goes 100% in the other direction - not wanting any rules at all, creating situation by situation structures and systems for each church’s bespoke needs.
That - as they say - is no way to build a railroad. As the church grew it started to lay down universal rules and structures across all the different places and spaces which were part of this new movement. Creeds and Confessions popped up defining exactly what you were allowed to believe and think - and those were taken so seriously people were at one point burned at the stake for heresies like wanting to own their own Bible in a language they could read and understand.
There has always been a tension between the structure of the institution and the freedom Christ (and St. Paul) proclaim to be ours in God. While we say we want unlimited freedom, the truth is, most of us need some boundaries and structures in order to feel safe and secure. We want a parent to lay down rules for us, to the point where most people struggle in their 20s to figure out how to recreate those rules for themselves. We feel uncertain and unsafe when there are not clear expectations.
The freedom of God’s grace doesn’t always feel like freedom. Sometimes we hear the words “God loves you just as you are” and think, “Yeah - but how do I know we are doing the right thing? How do we know God loves us if there isn’t a checklist of expectations?”
The challenge for most of us is to actually hear the good news of the gospel - God gives us freedom and love in equal measure, not conditioned by how well we follow the Ten Commandments. Which is the good news because most of us would fail that test.
Maybe the biggest test of faith is how well we can follow the rules, but whether or not we can own God’s love wholly and completely without linking it to our behavior or the thoughts and beliefs in our head. It’s hard work because it is not only counter-cultural, it goes against 3000 years of training. But the freedom to act out of gratitude instead of obligation is a gift we all deserve to open.
Respond:
How do you find yourself limiting God’s grace on your life? We often try to set up rules, ones which allow us to cast judgement on ourselves and others so we know if we (or they) are “in” or “out”. If God’s grace is the defining factor of your value, how would your attitude towards yourself change?
Pray:
God of light, help me to see myself as you see me, a child of the light. Lift the veil from my view which limits how well I can see myself or others, so that I may more fully bask in your glory. Amen.
These posts will always be free, however, if you find them meaningful and would like to consider supporting our online outreach, you can donate using this link.
