To spy out our liberty

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), to whom we did not yield submission even for an hour, that the truth of the gospel might continue with you. – Galatians 2.4-5

Chuck Swindoll used the term ‘grace robbers’ when he wrote about these Galatian legalists who wanted to bring the people back under the Law. They could not stand the liberty which the Gentile believers enjoyed. Thye tried to impose on the Gentiles what they had had to do as Jews.

This problem still exists today. There still are people who want to bind us with rules and regulations and man-made standards. I spent a lot of time with Christians who decided people’s maturity or spirituality by a tick list of man-made rules and regulations. If you met their standards you were godly – it not your godliness was in doubt.

It is easy to let grace robbers steal our joy of them Lord and impose their standards instead of the word of God. I have been caught in that trap.When you are there peer pressure forces conformity. When that happens people constantly walk in fear of crossing the line and making God angry and inviting His wrath.

Grace living means that I walk in the same grace that saved me and the same grace that will carry me through to eternity. When I walk in grace I want to do what pleases God because of what He has done for me. I don’t walk to please men who impose their rules on me.

Sure, it is easy to take advantage of that kind of liberty. God though has something to say about that how we use that liberty. We don’t use it to serve our own flesh, but to love others. At the end of the day walking in grace ought to produce much more holy living than rules based man pleasing living.

Walk in God’s grace. Don’t the the grace robbers have their way with you.