Trying to outbid Jesus

 This week's verses are Galatians 5:1-6:

 For freedom Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not be subject again to the yoke of slavery. Listen! I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no benefit to you at all! And I testify again to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is obligated to obey the whole law. You who are trying to be declared righteous by the law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace! For through the Spirit, by faith, we wait expectantly for the hope of righteousness. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision carries any weight—the only thing that matters is faith working through love.

 These verses are part of Paul's response to growing legalism in the church in Galatia. Because the church was still connected to the synagogues at the time, there was a strong push to fit in with the Jewish traditions and to adhere to the purity laws of the Old Testament. And one of the key requirements of the Old Testament was circumcision for males.

Nobody gets circumcised for fun. Not even for a dare. But people were doing it because the legalistic believers convinced them it was required as part of their faith. It was presented as a requirement for making themselves holy and acceptable. But that's what the cross already did!

So Paul warns them that it doesn't stop there. It's not like they can get snipped and be done. If they're following the Old Testament, they have to follow all of it. That means unwavering dietary restrictions, clothing and hair restrictions, medical guidelines, endless animal sacrifices, and so on and so forth.  It's way more expensive than accepting Christ's sacrifice. Nobody in their right mind would choose the Old Testament law when offered Jesus instead.

That's not to say that there aren't benefits to doing good things, and that following some rules for life doesn't make sense. What Paul is saying is that these things can't make you righteous in the eyes of God, and if you are pursuing them for that reason, you are saying that Jesus' sacrifice wasn't enough. You are rejecting the gospel. Ouch!

There are still some Christians who try to follow Jewish customs in a futile attempt to get extra credit points, but there aren't many anymore. Instead we focus on things like tithing or wearing a suit to church. We don't do it out of generosity or respect but out of a sense of wanting to keep our accounts paid up to be "good" people. But if that was enough to make a difference, we wouldn't need Jesus. We are living out our Christianity by acting like the very thing our faith is centered on is actually pointless.

So Paul brings the point home: the only thing that matters is faith working through love. The other stuff does not carry "weight." When it is put on the scale it will not balance out the weight of our depravity. If you were standing there at the last judgment and the weight of your sin was being piled on to the one side of the scale, would you slap Jesus' hand away from tipping it in your favor and be like "naw I got this?" But that's exactly what we're doing when we do stuff so that we can be "good people."

 So take inventory this week of your religious activity. Are you trying to make it to heaven without the cross? Instead accept your limitations and give glory to God for the righteousness he offers us freely. He paid your debt so you don't have to.