It’s one of the most enticing words in the English language. In fact, few words capture our attention, like the word "free." Whether it's a BOGO deal or that free 30-day trial, we are drawn to the promise of something valuable without a price tag.
The problem is very few things in life are actually free. There always seems to be some string attached, some catch intended to hook us into a long-term payment plan. However, there is one notable exception – the Gospel!
The Gospel is truly free! God offers us salvation, forgiveness, and reconciliation freely as a gift. We can’t earn it through good works or merit it through religious efforts. Instead, we simply open our hearts in faith and humbly receive the free gift of God.
But the Gospel isn’t cheap! Even though the Gospel is free for us, it came at the highest cost to God. The price was the life of His only beloved Son, Jesus. God's love for humanity is so profound that He was willing to sacrifice His Son to provide us with the gift of salvation.
This is why Paul is so astonished that the believers in Galatia abandoned the Gospel in favor of legalism. He writes, "I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you to live in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— which is really no gospel at all" (Galatians 1:6–7).
They took the gift that God gave at the cost of His Son and tried to pay for it themselves. They put more value on their own effort than they did on Jesus’ sacrifice. They’d rather take credit than receive a free gift. They’d rather live under legalism than grace.
The problem with legalism is that we choose to live under it we tend to put others under it as well. We start pressuring people to conform and perform to our expectations. We get critical and judgmental when they don’t measure up. We end up turning the Gospel into something that is no longer free and no longer good news.
Let’s humbly and gratefully embrace the free gift of God so that we can offer it freely to others.
The problem is very few things in life are actually free. There always seems to be some string attached, some catch intended to hook us into a long-term payment plan. However, there is one notable exception – the Gospel!
The Gospel is truly free! God offers us salvation, forgiveness, and reconciliation freely as a gift. We can’t earn it through good works or merit it through religious efforts. Instead, we simply open our hearts in faith and humbly receive the free gift of God.
But the Gospel isn’t cheap! Even though the Gospel is free for us, it came at the highest cost to God. The price was the life of His only beloved Son, Jesus. God's love for humanity is so profound that He was willing to sacrifice His Son to provide us with the gift of salvation.
This is why Paul is so astonished that the believers in Galatia abandoned the Gospel in favor of legalism. He writes, "I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you to live in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— which is really no gospel at all" (Galatians 1:6–7).
They took the gift that God gave at the cost of His Son and tried to pay for it themselves. They put more value on their own effort than they did on Jesus’ sacrifice. They’d rather take credit than receive a free gift. They’d rather live under legalism than grace.
The problem with legalism is that we choose to live under it we tend to put others under it as well. We start pressuring people to conform and perform to our expectations. We get critical and judgmental when they don’t measure up. We end up turning the Gospel into something that is no longer free and no longer good news.
Let’s humbly and gratefully embrace the free gift of God so that we can offer it freely to others.
Posted in devo