GRACE
HAS ENEMIES By William Heinrich
Douglas Wilson said,
"Grace has no handles and is
impossible for sinners to pick up, but it does have
hands and consequently has no difficulty picking us up."
Grace had enemies in the Galatian church of the first
century and we find the same is true today. To
understand how we should respond we would be wise
to see how the apostle Paul responded in Galatia
during the first century.
Paul had gotten sick in Galatia so stayed there longer
than most stops. He was very clear on the Gospel of
grace and many embraced Christ through grace and
faith alone. When Paul left, a thriving church was
started. However the enemies of grace called then "the
Judaizers", were not far behind. They were dedicated
to overturn Paul's preaching, crying his message of
grace was dangerous or Paul is too gracie and did not
have a sufficient amount of human contributions.
Paul hearing of their effort wrote a stinging rebuke
calling all who do not come to Christ alone by grace
alone apart from any human merit as accursed. Since
the good news (Gospel) is found in Christ and apart
from human effort and those who taught the need of
human effort promoted another gospel, this was not
good news at all. Just-are the enemies of the gospel in
the first century taught that salvation was based on
Christ's death and man's circumcision (law keeping) so
today in our century, many teach the need of human
effort. Today some teach it's Christ's death and
baptism, other it's Christ's death and grace that come
through the sacraments of the church or Christ's death
and worshiping on Saturday or even Christ's death
and prayer and sincerity or holding faithful to the end.
But Paul argued then and now "A man is not justified
by the works of the law but by the faith in Christ......
for by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified.
(Galatians 2:16)
Enemies of grace will continue to plague the church.
We must resist and expose them lest others hear their
gospel that is not good news at all.