“But now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how can you turn back again to the weak and worthless elementary principles of the world, whose slaves you want to be once more?” (Galatians 4:9, ESV)
It is Christmas time. It is a time where we exchange gifts. Most of us can think back to the time when we received the perfect gift from someone. Normally it was in childhood. One that still sticks in my mind was a new surf fishing reel. My dad introduced my brother and I to surf-fishing at a young age. Our first rods and reels were pretty much low end. The reels especially were pretty junky. We longed for the state-of-the-art reel, which at that time was a RuMer.
Then one Christmas morning, my brother and I unwrapped our gifts and saw the box. It had Ru-Mer printed on the outside. We, of course, opened the box and gazed at the reel. We took it out and began to turn the handle and experience its performance. We imagined going to the surf and hooking up to that big Striped Bass. We could not wait for the season to open again in March.
What did we do with these reels when the season opened? We used them of course and never put them aside for the old junky reels. In fact, I still use that reel today, some sixty years later.
Here, Paul pondered a great question.
“But now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how can you turn back again to the weak and worthless elementary principles of the world, whose slaves you want to be once more?” (Galatians 4:9, ESV)
God had granted them the greatest gift that one could ever receive. Why after receiving the greatest gift, the gift of salvation, would they ever want to return to their former ways? Why would they want to return to the elementary principles of the world? Why would they want to put away the gift of life and freedom, and pick back up the system that offered no real hope and only made them slaves to a “weak and worthless”system?
Today, I am afraid that many have or are teetering with the same decision. Some have truly experienced salvation and others are just seeking. How are those who are truly saved teetering on the same problem that the Galatians were?
Well, one great problem is that many are caught up in churches that heap burdens on people. It goes like this. “If you want to be approved by God, you must do this.” So, people, even those who are believers who have received the gift of eternal life go on a frantic, restless, and impossible effort to gain God’s approval through human effort. They add works to grace. We must remember that believers are approved by God, not on the basis of their works, but on the basis of the finished work that Jesus Christ has done. He has saved believer and is in them by His Spirit to complete His sanctifying work.
Do not put aside this gift of eternal life and go back to an old weak and worthless system of works to gain God’s approval. Realize that you are secure in your salvation because of the work of Jesus on the cross. Realize that by grace through faith you have already gained His approval. Learn to rest in your relationship with Jesus and experience the joy of your salvation. Draw close to Him and learn from Him and you will find true rest for your souls.
Renewing the Heart 