In his letter to the churches of Galatia (part of modern-day Türkiye), the apostle Paul expresses great alarm at how some of the gentile Christians are being persuaded to obey Jewish religious customs and going back to a kind of Christianity that is based on earning forgiveness by obedience to religious laws and commandments (typified by circumcision as a mark of belonging to God). The result is that the gospel (“good news”) is no longer good news at all! If we try to earn forgiveness by our own efforts at being righteous, we are doomed and destined to failure!
It is imperitive that we understand that the gospel is a message of salvation and forgiveness that comes to us as a free gift through Jesus Christ. We can’t add anything of our own efforts to somehow impress God or make our salvation more effective; Jesus has done it all and all we must do is to trust and believe in him! This is the freedom that we have through the true Good News – free from guilt and condemnation because Jesus paid the price for all our sin, and freedom to live in right-standing with God because in Jesus we become God’s children, his heirs.
Brian Simmons (author of The Passion Translation) writes in his introduction to Galatians:
‘Heavens freedom! This “grace gospel” brings heaven’s freedom into our lives—freedom to live for God and serve one another, as well as freedom from religious bondage.’
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