Gálatas 5
Leon Morris · Citado em PreceptAustin
Gálatas 5
Morris - Paul is not discussing the security of one’s salvation here, but rather the two different proposed ways of achieving salvation. If we propose to earn salvation by the works of the law, we thereby reject the free grace of Christ, and He is “cut off” from saving us. In this sense only can we fall from grace. We are both saved by grace and kept saved by grace. We cannot cancel the grace which gives salvation by failing to keep working for it, for works could never earn God’s grace in the first place. (Defender's Study Bible) Duncan - But he does say here that a person can fall from grace. What does that mean? It means that a person can fall away from the principle of grace as the method of salvation. Grace itself is not salvation. It is the means or the way to salvation. So a person falls from grace by falling into legalism by adopting the way of works for salvation and abandoning the way of grace. This is the danger that Paul warns of all through this book. Deserting Him who called you by the grace of Christ, the way of grace for a different gospel. That's how he begins 1:6. Now, ultimately a true believer cannot do that, and the Galatians had not yet done that. Paul believed they were true believers and would respond to his warnings. He had not given up on the Galatians. So in these verses, verses 2-4, he was giving them a wake-up call to renounce legalism for the gospel before they took that fatal step. Fallen from (1601)(ekpipto) means basically to fall out of or down from or to lose one's grasp on something. In context ekpipto speaks of the loss of favor or grace, so that it is no longer experienced. Think of it this way -- they were trying to hold on to law but in so doing they lost their grip on grace. The point is that when one seeks to be justified by law, he/she in effect rejects the narrow way of God's grace. The aorist tense of fallen pictures this consequence as immediate! The moment you begin to dabble in the sphere of legalism, you immediately depart from the sphere of grace.The spiritual results are immediate and damaging. Just try to life a graceless Christian life! You can't! You will be miserable! Donald Campbell applies this to believers - If the Galatians accepted circumcision as necessary for salvation, they would be leaving the grace system for the Mosaic Law system. The same error is repeated today when a believer leaves a church that emphasizes salvation by grace through faith and joins one which teaches that salvation depends on repentance, confession, faith, baptism, and church membership. (Ibid) Swindoll - Once the Galatians chose the Law as their savior and lord, they cut their ties to Christ as Savior and Lord. Does this mean that the Galatians actually lost the eternal life they had received when they believed? Not at all! Paul is now discussing law and grace as two diametrically opposed rules of life. Notice that Paul doesn't say they had fallen from salvation. When somebody chooses the legalistic lifestyle, they've fallen from the lifestyle of grace and all of its benefits. They are seeking to be justified before God and men by their works done in the power of the flesh—their own abilities, unaided by grace—rather than by grace through faith by the power of the Holy Spirit. In short, when we take up the torch of the flesh, we scorch the work of the Spirit! (Swindoll's Living Insights New Testament Commentary – Galatians) Todd Wilson comments - If we try to do it all ourselves, we will be left to fend for ourselves. We won’t have Christ’s blood, we won’t have Christ’s life, and we won’t have Christ’s grace. All we’ll have is our sinful, silly, little, dissatisfied self, which isn’t all that much comfort.We know we’ve lost sight of what ultimately counts in the Christian life when we begin to lose the joy of living the Christian life. This is the telltale sign." (Preaching the Word – Galatians: Gospel-Rooted Living) Luther on “You have fallen from grace” illustrating it writing "For just as someone on a ship is drowned regardless of the part of the ship from which he falls into the sea, so someone who falls away from grace cannot help perishing. The desire to be justified by the law, therefore, is shipwreck; it is exposure to the surest peril of eternal death. What can be more insane and wicked than to want to lose the grace and favor of God and to retain the law of Moses, whose retention makes it necessary for you to accumulate wrath and every other evil for yourself? Now if those who seek to be justified on the basis of the moral law fall away from grace, where, I ask, will those fall who, in their self-righteousness, seek to be justified on the basis of their traditions and vows? To the lowest depths of hell!" Timothy George writes that "Contrary to the Arminian interpretation of this text, Paul did not here contemplate the forfeiture of salvation by a truly regenerated believer. He was writing to Christian churches that were founded on the doctrines of grace but that were in danger of forsaking that sound doctrinal bedrock for a theology that can only lead to ruin." (New American Commentary – Volume 30: Galatians) Oliver Greene explains what fallen from grace means to genuine believers - Here we learn that the moment a believer begins to work, to try to keep the Law or to be circumcised in order to keep himself saved, that person has fallen from Grace. The harder a person works to be saved or to keep saved, the further from Grace that person has fallen. It is utterly impossible to mix works with redemption. It is possible for a believer to fall from Grace, but it is not possible for a believer to fall from sonship if the believer is truly born into the family of GOD, is truly a son of GOD through the application of the blood of JESUS to the heart. GOD saves us through the power of the blood, covers us with the blood - and keeps us by the power of the Blood. The whole process is by Grace through faith plus nothing. I preach with all my heart that a Christian should do all the good, perform all the good works, he possibly can. A Christian should not be unfruitful (read Titus 3:14). We should bear fruit, more fruit, much fruit. We should not be satisfied with thirty-fold, or sixty-fold. We should strive for a hundred-fold . . . and according to I Corinthians 3:11-15 it is possible for a born again son of GOD to enter GOD's Heaven and completely lose his reward! Works do not save us, works do not help to save us; works do not keep us saved, works do not help to keep us saved. From the beginning to the end of a true experience with GOD, it is all Grace plus nothing. "AND IF BY GRACE, THEN IS IT NO MORE OF WORKS: OTHERWISE GRACE IS NO MORE GRACE. BUT IF IT BE OF WORKS, THEN IS IT NO MORE GRACE: OTHERWISE WORK IS NO MORE WORK" (Romans 11:6). If there is any one thing that is clear and understandable in the New Testament, it is the fact that Law and Grace do not mix . . . cannot mix. It is all of Grace - one hundred percent Grace - plus nothing. I know someone is asking the question, "What happens to a believer who thus falls from Grace and returns to Law or works for justification?" The answer is very clearly stated in Gal 5:4: "CHRIST IS BECOME OF NO EFFECT UNTO YOU, WHOSOEVER OF YOU ARE JUSTIFIED BY THE LAW; YE ARE FALLEN FROM GRACE." What the literal Greek language says here is simply, "Ye are severed from CHRIST. Ye who would be justified by the Law, ye are fallen away from Grace." The Greek translated by the Authorized Version as "become of no effect" has the same meaning as "severed...or brought to naught." The same expression is used by Paul in Romans 7:2 where the Authorized Version translates it "loosed [discharged]." Read Romans 7:6. The effect of such loosing (discharging) or severing from CHRIST has nothing to do with sonship. What is meant is simply that during the time the believer is practicing Law, CHRIST becomes of no experimental effect. The believer's position in CHRIST has not changed, but the believer's liberty is lost and therefore his joy is lost. And if the believer continues in this state, the reward will be lost. (Stand Fast Therefore in the Liberty) Wayne Barber on fallen from grace - Talking about falling from grace, losing your salvation, that’s nowhere in Galatians. That’s not even the context of what he’s saying. Galatians is written to believers who have lost that sense of blessing. They never rejected Christ as the means of their salvation. But what they did was reject Christ as the means of their sanctification. They thought now they could be perfected by law. In Gal 3:1-3, Paul talks about that. Well, how many of us have walked in and out of the sphere of grace again and again? Besides me, has anybody else done that since they’ve been saved? Now, do you understand what he’s talking about? How in the world have you fallen out from under? And the word pipto for fallen is the word “stumble.” How did you stumble out of that sphere of grace? What happened in your life that caused you to be over here? What’s going on in your life that you’re not living in the freedom you once had? (Commentary) S Lewis Johnson on fallen from grace - So the apostle here when he was, “If you try to be justified by the law you have fallen from grace.” He does not mean fallen from salvation. He means fallen from the grace method of salvation. You have fallen into legalism. So how can we fall from grace? Why, my dear Christian friend, we fall from grace when we fall into law. That’s the only way in which we can fall from grace, when we fall into law, when we fall into legalism. Well, what happens when a person does sin? Well, do you know that then a person sins he does not fall from grace, he falls into grace. He falls into the grace of a loving God who institutes in his family his system of discipline by which he restores us to fellowship with himself. Let me illustrate that....It is the conviction of all of us who teach here that when a person has come to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and truly possesses eternal life, that he cannot lose that eternal life. Does not our Lord Jesus say in John 10:28-29, “And I give unto them eternal life and they shall never perish.” Did you notice the word never? Well, it’s not even as strong as the original Greek expression. “They shall by no means ever perish neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father who gave them to me is greater than all and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand.” So we have affirmed that once we have possessed salvation we cannot lose that salvation. We believe in the perseverance of the saints because of the preserving work of our Savior who works in the hearts of those who have believed, and therefore, they persevere in their faith. (Sermon) Jack Arnold on fallen from grace - By going back under law, these Christians had fallen from grace. They had not lost their salvation but they had gone away from the teachings of grace for salvation and sanctification. The word "fallen" means "to lose one's hold on" which indicates that these saved people had lost their hold upon grace for daily living by the power of the Holy Spirit. If a person seeks to be justified or sanctified by law, he has abandoned the grace principle and is operating outside of the sphere of grace. These Galatians had fallen from the grace method, Just because the Galatians lost hold of Christ in sanctifying grace does not mean that Christ lost hold of them for salvation. A Christian can fall from grace by going into any form of legalism, but he cannot fall from salvation, for Christ died for any and all sins of the Christian. If one could lose his salvation, this would make a mockery of Christ and His perfect death for sin. A person could be saved and then through false teaching think that circumcision, law keeping, baptism, church membership, walking an aisle or any physical act was necessary for salvation or sanctification. The person would fall from grace but not salvation. This person falls from the grace method or grace principle because he does not understand God’s sovereign grace in salvation or the grace manifested by Christ in His completed and perfect death for sinners. A more common form of legalism in some Christian circles is to think that some man-made taboos are necessary for spirituality, such as style of hair, length of skirts, types of dress, involvement in certain amusements, being seen in certain places and so on. This, too, is a form of legalism and is falling from grace. Legalists, whether saved or unsaved, are miserable people because they are filled with pride and have a critical attitude about any and everything they do not like. They want everyone to conform to their picky set of man-made rules and regulations even though the Bible has nothing at all to say about these things. This is why it is so important for the Christian to understand his salvation was begun in grace and must continue in grace (Acts 13:43+ “When the congregation was dismissed, many of the Jews and devout converts to Judaism followed Paul and Barnabas, who talked with them and urged them to continue in the grace of God.”). (Liberty not Legalism) MacArthur on fallen from grace - Paul is not dealing with the security of the believer but with the contrasting ways of grace and law, works and faith, as means of salvation. He is not teaching that a person who has once been justified can lose his righteous standing before God and become lost again by being circumcised or otherwise legalistic. The Bible knows nothing of becoming unjustified. Those "whom [God] predestined, these He also called; and whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified" (Ro 8:30+). Paul's primary point in this passage, as throughout the letter, is that law and grace cannot be mixed. As a means to salvation they are totally incompatible and mutually exclusive. To mix law with grace is to obliterate grace. For a believer to start living again under the law to merit salvation is, in fact, to reject salvation by grace. Contrary to the teaching of the Judaizers, to add circumcision and other works of the law to what Christ accomplished by grace is not to raise one's spiritual level but to severely lower it. Legalism does not please God but offends Him. It does not bring a person closer to God but rather drives him away....Contrary to justifying grace, sanctifying grace is interruptible. Living by the flesh interferes with living by the Spirit, and living by the flesh may even involve doing the right things for the wrong reasons or in the wrong way. For example, to worship God from the heart and for His own sake is to live by the Spirit. But to worship Him only outwardly or to impress others with our supposed spirituality is to live by the flesh. To witness to a person while trusting in God to convict and convert him is to live by the Spirit. To witness with the intention of converting a person through our own knowledge of Scripture and powers of persuasion is to live by the flesh. No matter how worthy and God-ordained a person's outward activities may be, to perform them by the flesh is to live by the way of law and to forsake the way of grace. (MacArthur New Testament Commentary – Galatians) Wil Pounds on fallen from grace - The context of that statement is Jewish teachers who emphasized that a person had to keep the Law of Moses to be saved had confuse the Christians in the church at Galatia. They were insisting that all non-Jews must be circumcised and become Jews first. The apostle Paul had taught them clearly that salvation is by grace through faith in Christ (Gal. 1:10; 2:16-21; 3:1-14, 22-29; 5:5-6). Paul wrote his letter to the church admonishing the believers to stand firm against the bondage of legalism. The immediate context states Paul’s conviction clearly, “Behold I, Paul, say to you that if you receive circumcision, Christ will be of no benefit to you. And I testify again to every man who receives circumcision that he is under obligation to keep the whole Law. You have been severed from Christ, you who are seeking to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace” (Galatians 5:2-4). Paul is not saying, “You have lost your salvation.” What happens when you fall from grace? You fall into law observance. You become legalists. A. T. Robertson, writes, "'You left the sphere of grace in Christ and took your stand in the sphere of law’ as your hope of salvation. Paul does not mince words and carries the logic to the end of the course. He is not, of course, speaking of occasional sins, but he has in mind a far more serious matter, that of substituting law for Christ as the agent in salvation.” It is a very serious matter. Paul is concerned that if the Galatians accepted the right of circumcision as necessary for salvation, then they would be leaving the principle of grace and going back to the Mosaic Law. Here are two opposing approaches to God. One system based on legalism and the other on God's grace. The same error can be seen in a church that teaches that salvation depends on repentance, confession, faith, baptism, and church membership as opposed to one that emphasizes salvation by grace through faith. There is nothing wrong with these teachings except when they become the means of salvation. Baptism by immersion and church membership are not things you do in order to be saved. That is legalism at its worst scenario. The biggest tragedy for the believer is that he is robbed of the spiritual wealth that is his by abiding in Christ. Legalists rob the Christian of his liberty. Legalists do not live by the Spirit, but by rules and regulations. He is bound to laws and traditions instead of walking by faith in Christ. Legalism gives a false sense of security, but it chokes the Christ-life out of the believer. (Abide in Christ) Related Resources: Eternal security - is it biblical? What is the relationship of faith, works, and security in salvation? Is eternal security a “license” to sin? Did Old Testament believers have eternal security? ILLUSTRATION - The Methodist movement began in the mid-eighteenth century with a small band of intensely devout students at the University of Oxford. These were towering figures like John and Charles Wesley and George Whitefield. They would meet regularly for study and devotion; they were known as the Holy Club because they practiced strict methods of increasing their spiritual zeal for God. Yet amid all the religious devotion and moral striving, these men had lost sight of what ultimately counts.In fact, the Holy Club men knew little or nothing of grace as taught in the Scriptures. Their ironclad régime was one of human effort, that provided no assurance and left the all-important salvation of the soul a distant uncertainty. Its practices brought little joy.... These ardent men strove on and on, yet saw no point of arrival. Following his conversion, George Whitefield admitted how he’d gotten off track by losing sight of what ultimately counts: “God showed me that I must be born again, or be damned! I learned that a man may go to church, say his prayers, receive the sacrament, and yet not be a Christian.” (Preaching the Word – Galatians: Gospel-Rooted Living) Galatians 5:5 For we through the Spirit, by faith, are waiting for the hope of righteousness. Phillips Paraphrase - For it is by faith that we await in his Spirit the righteousness we hope to see.
Gálatas 5
Morris - “The loveless life is a life lived on the level of animals, with a concern only for oneself, no matter what the cost to other people.”