Don’t Try to Earn What You Never Can

A Few Thoughts to Consider

Do you struggle with always trying to earn your way in life?

If so, you might find Paul’s word to the Galatians helpful. God made a covenant with Abraham that all the earth's nations would be blessed through his offspring. Four hundred thirty years after this covenant, God established the law with Moses on Mount Sinai. The law was essentially a marriage contract that outlined how God wanted his people to live.

But this Old Testament law was fulfilled with the coming of Jesus Christ. The Old Testament was written for a specific group of people for a specific period of time. This does not mean it is irrelevant to our lives today. Instead, through the Old Testament, we can better understand God's character and appreciate our need for a Savior.

Unfortunately, the Galatian churches Paul helped found were running into turmoil. Certain Judaizers were coming into these assemblies and teaching their people that they were still obligated to follow the law. By doing so, they were undermining what Christ had done on the cross and espousing that salvation is a matter of works, not faith in Christ. They taught that the Good News is that every Galatian must first become a nationalized Jew to be in good standing with God. But Paul denounces this line of thinking.

In Galatians chapter 3:29, he states, “And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed, heirs according to the promise.” Paul clearly teaches that being a follower of Christ is not about nationality. Rather, it is about commitment to the person of Jesus. Then, in Galatians 4:8-11 addresses his concerns:

⁸ But in the past, since you didn’t know God, you were enslaved to things that by nature are not gods. ⁹ But now, since you know God, or rather have become known by God, how can you turn back again to the weak and worthless elements? Do you want to be enslaved to them all over again? ¹⁰ You are observing special days, months, seasons, and years. ¹¹ I am fearful for you, that perhaps my labor for you has been wasted.

Paul's point in these verses would have been jaw-dropping to the original readers. Timothy Keller notes, “Paul is saying that earning one’s own salvation through scrupulous biblical morality and religion is just as much enslavement to idols as outright paganism and all its immoral practices! In the end, the religious person is as lost and enslaved as the irreligious person.”[1] Keller goes on to say, “If anything, the idolatry and slavery of religion is more dangerous than the idolatry and slavery of irreligion, because it is less obvious. The irreligious person knows he is far away from God, but the religious person does not.”[2]