Fallen From Grace

• In the former part of this chapter (Galatians 5) the apostle cautions the Galatians to take heed of the judaizing teachers, who endeavored to bring them back under the bondage of the law.  Christians (are not) under any obligation to submit to it, therefore he would have them to stand fast in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and not to be again entangled with the yoke of bondage. Here observe, under the gospel we are enfranchised, we are brought into a state of liberty, wherein we are freed from the yoke of the ceremonial law and from the curse of the moral law; so that we are no longer tied to the observance of the one, nor tied up to the rigor of the other, which curses every one that continues not in all things written therein to do them,  We owe this liberty to Jesus Christ. It is he who has made us free;

In this day when so many authors are attacking conventional traditions of translating the Bible literally and disavowing Old Testament laws that literalists hold  to in a steadfast manner, those same literalists and Christian apologists tend to label ministers who propose concepts as well as the authors of pieces such as that above, as decidedly “New Age,” when in actuality the above commentary was authored by an 18th century minister whose “Concise Commentary on the Whole Bible” is widely revered as a corner stone of Christian Literature and thought. Matthew Henry (1662-1714) was a Welsh-born, English nonconformist minister and Bible commentator. He is remembered for his practical and devotional multi-volume Exposition of the Old and New Testaments which is still published. [1]

• Ye are severed from Christ, ye who would be justified by the law; ye are fallen away from grace. Galatians 5:4

Simply put, falling away from grace, is that state in which we enter when we become preoccupied with acting out the laws that have been authored by man and presented as God’s Holy word for all peoples.  The Galatians in the time of Paul’s ministry, were criticized by the Apostle as trying to emulate and reestablish those same ideals and traditions that the Pharisees held to which Christ constantly preached against, and in the same respect, today,  we are not 2000 year old Jews either.

• The Pharisees were a sort of men that pretended to (have) more knowledge in, and zeal for, the divine law, than other people; yet they were the most inveterate enemies to Christ and his doctrine. They were proud of the reputation they had among the people; that fed their pride, supported their power, and filled their purses……[2]

When we become so involved with the acting out of or the performance thereof regarding traditionally held legalisms, we separate ourselves from God by failing to get the point of Christ’s teachings and doctrine as did the Pharisees, which Matthew Henry noted in this quotation.  In the time of Christ’s ministry, the Apostle Paul’s ministry and even today, there are those that profess to have a clear and concise vision of God’s word and demand we recognize the necessity of adhering to the ancient legalisms when in reality their rhetoric is diametrically opposed to the core of Christ’s teachings.
These teachings do not honor God nor Christ but only serve to maintain the control over the people and the egos of the human authors of faith based legalisms.  Therefore when we turn our backs on the light of truth as defined by Christ and replace our devotions to God with devotions to these laws of man, we become nothing more than trainable animals that have fallen from Grace.  We become slaves to dogma and doctrine that divides us from God rather than following the greatest of commandments the greatest of legalisms as outlined by Jesus;

• Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the great and first commandment.  And a second like unto it is this, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments the whole law hangeth, and the prophets. Matthew 22:37-40

• On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets; that is, This is the sum and substance of all those precepts relating to practical religion which were written in men’s hearts by nature, revived by Moses, and backed and enforced by the preaching and writing of the prophets. All hang upon the law of love; take away this, and all falls to the ground, and comes to nothing [2]

Today, many faith based groups use hate and discrimination as a tool to energize a support base.  To encourage their supporters, they demonize minorities or issues, which in turn diverts the members minds and attentions away from not only the real issues that face society but also the word of God.  This gives their leaders control over the hearts and minds of their folowers as well as the bank accounts of those same mislead congregants.  While “love” for God and your neighbor is the law, these groups incite hate instead, sometimes for profit.  By focusing on legalisms,  we loose sight of the real issue of loving God above all else, a condition of falling from Grace.

[1] from: Christian Biography Resources, Wholesome Words, http://www.wholesomewords.org/biography/biorphenry.html
[2[ from: Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary on the Whole Bible