Galatians 1 Devotional

Nothing Added to Grace

“who gave Himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father,”Galatians 1:4 (BSB)

Galatians opens with good news. Jesus gave himself for our sins to free us from the evil age we live in, all according to the Father's will (1:4). Then, skipping any thanksgiving, Paul voices his amazement. The Galatians are quickly deserting the God who called them by grace and turning to a different gospel, which is no gospel at all (1:6-7). Even an angel preaching another gospel, Paul says, should be under God's curse (1:8-9).

Paul's own story shows why. He did not invent this message or learn it from others but had it revealed to him by Jesus Christ (1:11-12). Once he violently persecuted the church (1:13). Then God, who had set him apart before he was born, called him by grace and revealed his Son to him (1:15-16). Nothing in Paul's record earned that. The gospel is not advice for improving ourselves but news of what God has done. Holding to it means refusing to add anything to grace, even when human approval pulls the other way (1:10).

To think about: What are you tempted to add to the grace of Christ, as if it were needed to make you acceptable to God?