November 26 Galatians 1-6 Works Righteousness Alienates from Christ

Galatians 5:2-4 Mark my words! I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no value to you at all. Again I declare to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is obligated to obey the whole law. You who are trying to be justified by law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace.

Faith in Christ alone saves. Faith in Christ plus anything is a false gospel - this is the argument Paul presents in this letter. Faith alone in Christ (Protestant gospel) is a different gospel from the faith plus works gospel of Roman Catholicism, Mormonism, and Jehovah's Witnesses. These false gospels are actually more insidious that the false messages of Buddhism, Hinduism, etc. because they combine some truths about God and Christ with their false gospel. Too, too many Biblical Christians are soft on this important distinction.

Paul clearly says that those "trying to be justified by law have been alienated from Christ." Hear clearly what Paul is saying:

1. He says "trying" to be justified by law. The law can justify a person - IF one could keep it perfectly - as Jesus did - but NOBODY can. 
2. When we try to justify ourselves before God by keeping the Law (or any set of rules), we are declaring that what Jesus did on the cross was insufficient. In fact, we are saying that it wasn't even necessary. In that case, we have fallen away from - rejected - the grace of Christ.

The gospel is one. Anything different "is no gospel at all."