Galatians 2:20-21 (NKJV) I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which 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 set aside the grace of God; for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died in vain.”
In the book of Galatians, the central argument was between living by the law and living by faith in Christ’s redemptive work. The Apostle Paul confronted the Apostle Peter for agreeing with the Judaizers that the Galatians needed circumcision. The Judaizers were legalists who added the Law of Moses and dietary rules to the gospel of Jesus and His finished work on the cross as conditions for salvation. This contradicts God’s Word, which says that the law was given through Moses, while grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
We are saved by grace through faith, not by works, so that no one can boast. Paul didn’t want the Galatians to return to the law but to live the new life in Christ Jesus through faith in the redemptive work of the cross, the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
All Christians have a right standing before God because of the atonement purchased by the blood of Jesus Christ. He has redeemed us from our sins through the shedding of His blood. Paul said that if the law could attain righteousness for us, Christ would have died in vain!
Christianity is not a set of rules and laws to be observed from the outside. It is like holding a mirror as we try to change ourselves from the outside, while the issue is the sin nature within us. Jesus came to enable us to live from within by giving us a heart of flesh in place of a heart of stone. Christianity changes us from the inside—it happens spiritually in the hearts of men. The moment we put our trust in Jesus, the Holy Spirit lives in us, enabling us to live in the newness of life from the inside out.
If we live by the law and try to please God through our own efforts, we will eventually burn out; the yoke of the law and the burden of trying to fulfil it with our flesh will cause us to give up our Christian walk. Christianity becomes a yoke and a burden because we will feel that we are never good enough for God. Having a legalistic mindset makes attending church an obligation rather than a desire. The law cannot make us perfect before God; it cannot commend men but can only condemn them.
In contrast, living by the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus is from within. The Holy Spirit will empower the spirit man in the new creation to break free from the works of the flesh.
Reflection: What would it look like for you to stop defining yourself by spiritual disciplines and good works, and instead rest in who you already are in Christ—a new creation?
Sermon Series- Legalism or Life in Christ
从内而外的改变
加拉太书 2:20-21 我已经与基督同钉十字架，现在活着的不再是我，乃是基督在我里面活着。并且我如今在肉身活着，是因信神的儿子而活，他是爱我，为我舍己。 我不废掉神的恩，义若是借着律法得的，基督就是徒然死了！
在加拉太书中，最核心的争论是：人究竟应当靠律法而活，还是靠信靠基督已经完成的救赎工作而活。使徒保罗曾当面责备使徒彼得，因为彼得认同了犹太化派（Judaizers）的观点，认为加拉太信徒需要接受割礼。犹太化派是律法主义者，他们将摩西律法和饮食条例加在耶稣基督的福音以及祂在十字架上所成就的工作之上，把这些视为得救的条件。这与神的话语完全相违背。圣经告诉我们，律法是借着摩西传下来的，而恩典和真理则是借着耶稣基督来到世上的。
我们得救是本乎恩，也因着信，并不是靠行为，免得有人自夸。因此，保罗不希望加拉太信徒再回到律法之下，而是盼望他们凭着信心，活出在基督耶稣里的新生命，单单依靠十字架所成就的救赎工作——就是耶稣基督的死、埋葬与复活。
所有基督徒都因着耶稣基督宝血所成就的赎罪祭，在神面前拥有正确的地位（称义）。祂借着流出自己的宝血，将我们从罪中救赎出来。保罗说，如果律法能够使我们得着义，那么基督的死就是徒然的！
基督信仰并不是一套需要从外在去遵守的规则和律法。那就像一个人拿着镜子，不断试图从外面改变自己；然而真正的问题却在于我们里面的罪性。耶稣来到世上，是为了使我们能够从里面活出新的生命。祂将石心除去，赐给我们肉心。基督信仰所带来的改变，是从里面开始的改变——这是发生在人灵里的工作，是发生在人的心中的更新。当我们将信心放在耶稣身上的那一刻，圣灵就住在我们里面，使我们能够活在生命的新样中，从内而外地经历生命的更新与改变。
如果我们靠着律法生活，并试图通过自己的努力来讨神喜悦，最终必然会精疲力竭。律法的轭以及靠肉体去满足律法要求的重担，会使人灰心失望，甚至放弃自己的基督徒生活。基督信仰之所以会变成一个沉重的轭和负担，是因为我们会不断觉得自己永远达不到神的标准，永远不够好。律法主义的心态会使人把参加教会聚会看作一种责任，而不是一种发自内心的渴望。律法不能使我们在神面前成为完全，也不能使人蒙神悦纳；律法只能定人的罪，却不能改变人的生命。
相反地，在基督耶稣里生命之灵的律，是从里面开始运行的。圣灵会不断加添力量给新造的人，使我们脱离肉体行为的辖制，得着自由，活出神所喜悦的生命。
默想：如果你不再用自己的属灵操练、善行或服事表现来定义自己，而是安息在你已经在基督里所拥有的身份——一个新造的人——那么你的生活会是什么样子？
讲章系列：律法主义，还是在基督里的生命？