Song of Solomon 1-3 Galatians 2

“Yet we know that a person is made right with God not by following the law, but by trusting in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus, that we might be made right with God because we trusted in Christ. It is not because we followed the law, because no one can be made right with God by following the law.” (Galatians 2:16 NCV)

If you ask people the question, “Why should God let you into Heaven?” many people would react by listing all the good things that they can remember doing. Paul wrote the book of Galatians to counter that attitude. He used his time in Antioch as an example and noted that while he and other apostles and leaders were teaching and living grace among the Gentiles, when some of the Jewish Christians came around, many of those who’d been working around the Gentiles started hanging around with those who were proclaiming that Christians needed to follow the Jewish law and that Gentiles needed to show their commitment to Jesus AND the law by being circumcised.

Paul called out those apostles and leaders, reminding them that the reason Jesus came was because no one could follow the law in the first place. Paul fought for the truth that the only way to be right with God was by trusting in Jesus. Many of us still have that same issue with grace. It’s hard to believe that such a simple thing as trusting in Jesus can make things right with God. Perhaps it’s our western mindset that doesn’t want to take something for nothing. Many of us want to pay our own way in everything. When the bill for sin comes due, we want to take out our wallets, so to speak, and chip in our part. Only, we don’t have the right currency to pay the bill. The cashier would look us in the eye and speak truth as they told us, “Your money’s no good here.” The only way to pay the bill for our sin is by trusting in Jesus to take care of things for us. Our sins are forgiven because Jesus paid the penalty. We continue to live each day by putting our sins on Jesus’s tab. We grow in grace by trusting in Him to take care of all that we need. So, put your wallet away, God doesn’t take American Express, Visa, Mastercard, or cash. The only way to be made right with Him is through faith.

Lord, it’s hard for me to understand that the only way to be right with You is by trusting in You. I want to do my part. I want to pay my way. Remind me when I think this way that the only way I can be right with You is by having faith.

Scripture taken from the New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.