If you order from Amazon, I'm sure you've seen the ADD ON items. The description says " add on to a qualifying order". These ADD-ONs are a great perk when you're placing a mail order. When it comes to salvation, however, the only thing that matters is what qualifies us to be accepted by God. No ADD ONs allowed! Sometimes people try to take "the qualifying" act of Jesus and his sacrificial death on the cross and then they ADD ON a list of actions man must do as well. Paul had to deal with this ADD- ON mentality which created a lot of tension in the early church.
For centuries the Jewish people were set apart from other people by their belief in God and their adherence to believing they must live by the strict practices of the Law. One of the most fundamental practices of the Jewish people was circumcision. In Genesis 17, God made circumcision a requirement of the covenant with Abraham and his descendants. Other nations were often referred to as "uncircumcised" people and it was considered that the uncircumcised could not be acceptable to God. The Jews would not eat with or socially engage with the uncircumcised.
It was hard for the Jews to accept the "uncircumcised" Gentiles as spiritual equals. They were willing to accept that the Gentiles could be saved by belief in Jesus but they wanted TO ADD the requirement of circumcision. This thinking, however, meant they believed that what Jesus did wasn't enough and that man still had to ADD ON his acts of performance.
Listen to what Paul says for he is clear that salvation is through Jesus, and Jesus alone.
“yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified." (v16)
Even today, many find it hard to accept " Christ alone" as the means for securing salvation. After all, wouldn't that just give us a free license to sin without worry about consequences? A key point to focus on, however, is that we are talking about what "justifies" us to be accepted by God. The Law points out that we are sinners and serves to condemn us. No human has ever kept the Law except Jesus. If you can't keep all of it, you are condemned by it.
Because Jesus kept the Law and was the sacrifice that atoned for our failures, we became receivers of God's grace. Grace is God's unmerited, undeserved favor. Paul tells us our faith in Jesus is what justifies us to God. If our salvation is based on Jesus and any ADD ONs then Jesus isn't a minister of Grace and we are still condemned sinners.
Paul preached that Christ fulfilled the Law and that the Gentiles were saved based on accepting Christ. If he allowed the Jews to require them to be circumcised as a condition of acceptance then he had preached his message in vain. If he allowed Jesus + circumcision as a belief, then he might as well not preach Jesus as the complete fulfillment of the Law.
For Paul, it was simple.
the Law = Death and Condemnation.
The Atoning Blood of Christ = Life and Acceptance
Only Christ could meet God's Holy standards and only Christ could empower one to live a spirit led life.
“I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose.” (v20-21)
Points to Ponder:
* Are you 100% relying on Christ? Or are you weighed down by THE ADD-ONs of Christ + _________.
* Salvation is through Christ alone. The Law shows us we are sinners in need of a Savior. We aren't "good enough " to earn our salvation or keep it. Through Christ, we can receive the unmerited favor of God's grace.
* God's grace should not be considered a free license to sin. Our salvation is the beginning of a spiritual relationship with God, a life empowered by dependence on Christ as he lives in us.
There are no ADD-ONs. Christ saves us through his perfectly accepted sacrifice and Christ alone can help us live a spiritual life that honors God.