Accepted By God – Galatians Part 3

ByJim Stephens

Scripture: Galatians 2 (Link)

“..So we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be accepted by God because of our faith in Christ—and not because we have obeyed the law. For no one will ever be saved by obeying the law.”  (Galatians 2:16b NLT)

From the earliest days of Christianity, people had a hard time remembering that the Good News of Jesus Christ is that we are accepted by God because of our faith in Christ alone. The Jews had depended on their efforts to obey the law of Moses and keep their Jewish traditions and practices to stay in God’s favor. The Gentiles had no real hope of ever pleasing God until the Good News of Jesus came along.

Now they were getting it all mixed up in a belief that was part Good News and partly the same old Bad News of trying to win God’s favor through trying a little harder to be good! Paul wrote to rescue the Galatian believers from this very thing—the false idea that God accepts us partly because of our faith AND partly because of our behavior.

Like the Galatian believers, our default setting is that in order to be accepted by God, we must believe in Christ and also think, speak, live, and act by a set of rules—rules defined by our religious culture. One of our greatest faith challenges is to learn to simply accept our acceptance!

I daily struggle to keep the balance between faith and works. Part of the solution is to remember that I am accepted by God. I have placed my faith, my mustard seed of faith, in Jesus Christ. That’s it! I’m accepted by God. Now I can live from that secure position rather than striving to try to attain that position.

God loves us just as we are, not just as we ought to be, because we’ll never be just as we ought to be!

You and I, friend, are accepted by God! Just as we are. Just because of Jesus.  Let’s think, speak, and act from that conviction—we are accepted by God!

Prayer:

Father, I know it’s absolutely true that I am already completely “accepted by God”—accepted by you! It’s easier to say it than to live it. Help my friends and me keep it simple but not simplistic. We are Accepted By God! In Jesus’ Name.