I'm going to share with you one of the most sobering truths in the scripture. Are you or someone you know trusting in your own goodness to save them on Judgement day. If so share this.
"You have fallen from grace." Ever heard that phrase? Well it comes from the Bible. Let's discover what the Bible says about what could cause us to fall from His grace and disqualify us ultimately from Jesus...(yeah I know, serious stuff right here!): Galatians 5:4 reads:
"You who have become estranged from Christ, you who attempt to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace"
I would encourage you to read all of Galatians to get the full context of what Paul is saying to the believers in Galatia. Essentially, what is going on is that someone or some people are attempting to persuade the Galatians to believe that they have to do something in addition to believing the gospel to be saved. So we can see from the scripture above that when one attempts to justify one's self by the law then they become estranged from Christ and have fallen from grace. So it is of extreme importance to understand what it means to attempt to be justified by the law, seeing as its repercussions can cause someone to become "estranged from Christ."
To be justified by the law means that we are claiming our own ability to uphold the law and our own goodness to render us just and righteous before God. It's important to note here that Paul is speaking to believers and to Christ professing people. He has already labored in this city to bring the good news of the gospel and now that he is absent he learns that some are attempting to undo what he labored to do. In 2:3,4 he says,
"Yet not even Titus who was with me, being a Greek, was compelled to be circumcised. And this occurred because of false brethren secretly brought in (who came in by stealth to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, that they might bring us into bondage)."
These "false brethren" are trying to bring the believers back into needing to follow the demands of the law in order to be saved, but as Paul points out that "if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died in vain."
You see we have learned that the point of the Law (the 10 commandments) was never to show us how to get heaven, but to show us our great need for a Savior. And it is here where we begin to understand the stark contrast between faith and works. This is some heavy duty theology, but I know we can get through it. To help clear things up we're going to define justification. The Greek work is dikaioo which means to render just or innocent, to be righteous. The question to the church in Galatia is how are you going to become righteous before God? How are you to become innocent from your sins?? It is either through faith or works. And it cannot be both. In 3:3 paul says, "Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh?" In other words, if you were saved by the Spirit how can it be that you are now saving yourself?
Now we're going to look at how we must enter the Kingdom of heaven. The only way to enter in. Paul takes us to father Abraham. To him was given the covenant that pertains to us today! In 3:5-9 Paul says,
'Therefore He who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you, does He do it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?-just as Abraham "believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness." Therefore know that only those who are of faith are sons of Abraham. And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel to Abraham beforehand, saying, "In you all the nations shall be blessed." So then those who are of faith are blessed with believing Abraham.'
Did you hear that? The gospel was preached to Abraham! The gospel that righteousness (justification) comes by faith was exemplified by Abraham who believed God. So there it is. The simple, yet profound and vital truth that salvation comes through faith. Righteousness was accounted to Abraham because he believed. Not because Abraham did anything. And what did he believe?- that God would make a nation out of him, and make him a father in his old age. Not only that but from his Seed all the nations will be blessed. That Seed is Jesus from whom eternal salvation would come.
Now what of this works thing? Well for those who might claim that faith is a work it is clear that it is not. God did all the work necessary to save us. Believing in that work is how we receive it, not how we earn it. Look at Ephesians 2:8,9: "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast." (italics added for emphasis, and not in the original text.) Notice, it doesn't say by faith, no, it says, through faith. We are saved by grace period. But faith is the channel by which we receive this free gift of everlasting life.
It is important to understand that if we attempt to be justified by our works then that means we are attempting to uphold the demands of the law in order to achieve everlasting life. But as we read in chapter 3 of Galatians that the Law actually brings a curse. For it is written in Deuteronomy 27:26:
"Cursed is everyone who does not continue in all things which are written in the book of the law, to do them."
Notice the word "all." Those who attempt to be justified by the law must continue in "all" the law, not just some of it. It is a curse because the demands of the law involve perfection in thought, word, and deed, which no one can do. So, in order to be justified by the keeping of the law one must be perfect. And as James writes in James 2:10 "For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it." So it is impossible to become justified by the law because we sinners are incapable of upholding it. The only One who did keep the entire law was Jesus, and that is why He was the only One worthy to pay for our sin. Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written 'cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree')-Gal 3:13.
That is why the law is in stark contrast to faith. Instead of trying to live by the law, we understand that the just shall live by faith. Gal 3:11 says that "no one is justified by the law in the sight of God is evident, for "the just shall live by faith'."
So it is in fact a big deal to try to earn salvation. Some believe that its kinda pious and noble to try your best to do good deeds in the sight of God to try to earn His approval. On the face of this way of thinking one might think that it is a noble thing to try and earn our way into heaven, which is why many religions approach heaven in this way. But! The other side of the coin of this is self righteousness. For what does the rest of Ephesians 2:9 say?......"not of works, lest anyone should boast." We cannot touch the glory for our salvation for that belongs solely to God. Yes we exercise our free-will in receiving this gift of salvation through faith, but faith is not a work it is merely a channel by which we receive God's grace. God alone did all the work needed to save us when Jesus died on the Cross, and arose to life.
All of this is to say it is of extreme, eternal importance to make sure you are not trusting in yourself to go to heaven. You know I've spoken to a lot of people who say their Christian and when I ask them why they are going to heaven they either allude to it or outright declare it's because they are pretty good. They even often claim they go to church or do certain good deeds- and that that is why they are going to heaven. But what did Galatians 5:4 say!- it said "You have become estranged from Christ, you who attempt to be justified by the law; you have fallen from grace." So we see that when we claim our goodness as a reason to go to heaven then we are disqualifying ourselves from the grace that is offered through the cross and becoming strangers to Christ!! You see the implications of trusting in one's goodness can forfeit your eternal inheritance! So don't do it. Instead trust solely in the One who is perfect and died on the cross for you. And that's good news! The pressure to be perfect is lifted. Now, like "believing Abraham" you too can live (eternally) by faith instead of by works.
Imagine the following scenarios:
You die and stand before God. He asks you why you should enter into His glory. You say, "because I went to Church and did many good things in Your name." The response from the Almighty is a list of ways that you broke His holy law. He names every thought and deed done in darkness and every idle word spoken. He lists your lies and blasphemies. The list is long. And in the end He declares, "to you who try to justify yourself by the law, the curse of everlasting torment is your just due, for you have not trusted my Son, but your self."
Instead imagine this:
You die and stand before God. He asks you why you should enter into His glory. You say, "because I'm trusting in (having faith in) Your Son who paid for my sin and in His righteousness." Now the scripture that says, "the just shall LIVE by faith" becomes an eternal reality.