Having begun by the Spirit

I was reading today in Galatians and I was struck by Paul's barrage of questions at the beginning of chapter 3--the middle question hit me the most "Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh(v3).?" 

This question sums up the struggle of living in daily grace. Having trusted in the saving work of the Lord Jesus Christ and depending on His great grace to rescue me from sin and death, why do I persist in trying to "earn" His pleasure?

I have often said that as Protestant believers one of the great traps that we fall into is saying that we are good little Protestants and acting like good little Catholics. By this I mean that we often forget the completeness of our salvation and our continual dependency on grace and instead seek to please the Lord by some efforts of our own.

The most difficult aspect of this struggle is that from the outside no one may be able to see the difference. The one who lives under the law and the one who lives according to grace may do all the same things--the difference is the attitude of the heart.

The one who depends on the law is consumed with "getting it right," and can often be consumed with guilt and fear when faced with the reality of his or her own insufficiency and failure. This person is trying to make it on his or her own. This is the person to whom Paul says, " Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?"

By contrast the believer who lives according to grace is depending on the leading and strength of the Spirit. They are familiar with the throne of grace and turn there to find grace and forgiveness for their sin and shortcomings.

We have been saved by grace alone and we  must live in the reality of this grace. When asked several years ago what the most precious thing about my salvation was I responded "That His grace never ends--the miracle of my salvation is that my Lord saved me knowing full well that I would do most of my sinning after I was saved."

Living according to the law after being saved by grace is nothing short of pride,; the sin of saying that I can somehow do anything on my own when in truth I am dependent on the Lord Jesus for my very breath.

Living according to grace is the abundant life that the Lord Jesus promised us. It is the life free from guilt and fear. It is the life that is Spirit-led and Spirit-filled. It is the life free from anxiety and distress. It is the life lived in humble worship of the One who is alone worthy of all that we are!

Lord may we live according to the grace that HAS been given to us! Thank you Lord for this indescribable gift.