You have been severed from Christ, you who are seeking to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace.
-Galatians 5:4 Fallen From Grace And I Can't Get Up A number of years ago there was a humorous, yet memorable, commercial about a product for the home bound and the elderly.
The product was a device that, with a push of a button, would alert a loved one or caretaker that the elderly person had become incapacitated in some way.
The commercial featured a senior citizen who was shown laying on the floor of her home desperately calling out to anyone who might hear her, "Help! Help! I've fallen and I can't get up!" I'm assuming the masses of viewers cried out in anguish as I did, 'If only she had the XYZ alert buzzer!" Friends, there is another kind of incapacitation that has occurred in the body of Christ today.
It is not, however, a physical condition.
It is a condition of the heart and the mind in those who, of all people, should know "the peace of God, which passes all comprehension" (Philippians 4:7).
The afflicted have also "fallen" like the elderly woman in the commercial, only theirs is not a tumble to the ground but rather a fall from grace.
Let me reassure you that falling from grace does not mean that we lose our righteousness before God, for "if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works, otherwise grace is no longer grace" (Romans 11:6).
To say that God's grace can be taken away from you, or forfeited by you through your actions and deeds, is to contradict the very definition of the word.
Grace is no longer grace if it is initially attained, or perpetually kept, through our performance.
The apostle Paul taught that it was impossible for those in Christ to lose their salvation (Romans 8:38-39), going so far as to say that nothing present or anything to come could separate us from His love.
Who Has Fallen from Grace? So what does it mean to fall from grace? The answer lies not in religion, not in tradition, not in how you feel about it, but in the Word of truth.
In fact, Paul tells us in no uncertain terms who the people are who have fallen from grace.
He declares that "you who are seeking to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace" (Gal.
5:4).
Read it again.
Who is it that has fallen from grace? Is it those who are "living in sin" (a.
k.
a.
sex, drugs, and rock-and-roll) that we in the church so frequently condemn and point the finger at as those who have fallen? No, it is remarkably the opposite.
Those who have fallen from grace are those who are "seeking to be justified by the law"! That's right.
To fall from grace is to knowingly or unknowingly revert back to thinking that you can do something to maintain the right standing you already have with God through Jesus Christ.
It is foolishness that all of us have fallen into at one time or another and it is the greatest deception that the body of Christ has ever faced.
If the grace of God is undeserved, unmerited, unearned favor with God, then how can you lose it? The answer is you can't.
His grace was never something He rewarded you with because of your great performance.
It was a gift that He lovingly bestowed upon us and then asked for nothing in return other than our thanks.
And yet the gift is much more that that.
There is life and power in God's grace from one moment to the next as we rest in it.
In fact, it is his grace that is "instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age...
zealous for good deeds" (Titus 2:11-14).
To Fall From Grace Is To Put Yourself Back Under Law Paul's letter to the Galatians was not dealing with their embracing a lifestyle of sex, drugs, and rock-and-roll.
Just the opposite was the case.
These dear folks had drifted backwards in their thinking about the gospel to which they had once so gratefully responded.
The road they were sadly traveling back down again was the road of law-keeping for righteousness.
Paul, therefore, was disappointed and perplexed that they were "so quickly deserting Him who called you by the grace of Christ, for a different gospel; which is really not another; only there are some who are disturbing you, and want to distort the gospel of Christ" (Galatians 1:6-7).
Read this letter very closely and you will quickly see the common theme that runs throughout.
According to Paul, there were "false brethren who had sneaked in to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, in order to bring us into bondage" (Galatians 2:4).
Peter himself "began to withdraw and hold himself aloof (from the Gentiles), fearing the party of the circumcision" (Galatians 2:12) and the consequences he might face from them for enjoying his freedom in Christ.
This in turn put others back in bondage to law as "the rest of the Jews joined him (Peter) in hypocrisy, with the result that even Barnabas was carried away by their hypocrisy" (Galatians 2:11-13).
The issue at hand continues as Paul writes that "by the works of the Law shall no flesh be justified" (Galatians 2:16) and that "if righteousness comes through the Law, then Christ died needlessly" (Galatians 2:21).
He goes on to ask several rhetorical questions juxtaposing the works of law against faith in Christ, perhaps for the purpose of waking the Galatians from their foolish state of mind (Galatians 3:1-5).
Paul goes on to point out that "those who are of faith are blessed with Abraham, the believer" while those who "are of the works of the law are under a curse" (Galatians 3:9-10).
Like a tenacious bulldog, Paul presses on with his mission of dispelling any notion that a man can be right with God through his performance.
He reminds the people "that no one is justified by the Law before God is evident", that "the law is not of faith", and "Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the Law...
so that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith" (Galatians 3:11-14).
You Have Fallen From Grace If You Believe Righteousness Is Earned Folks, think about it.
Why would Paul be bringing these things up if the Galatians were standing confidently in the finished work of their Savior? If their falling from grace was tied to a sex, drugs, and rock-and-roll debacle, why doesn't he address these issues? I'll tell you why.
It's because they were not standing firm in the faith.
Their bondage was to working for righteousness, not drinking Budweisers.
The deception that the Galatians had fallen for was the same one that has plagued the saints throughout history.
They were doubting the testimony of Paul concerning the righteousness they had in Jesus Christ.
They, like so many through the ages, were going back to the law, back to their works, in an attempt to justify themselves before the Lord.
And it is that very mindset that puts you, me, and anyone else into the miserable condition of having fallen from grace.
Paul's impassioned plea to these confused saints in the first century is his same plea to us today: "It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery" (Galatians 5:1).
Trying to work for right standing with God will do nothing but knock you down, put you on your back, and make you feel like there is no way to get up out of your misery.
Friend, if you fall for that trap, the way you get right back up on your feet is by renewing your mind once again on the most comforting and reassuring message ever proclaimed...
the gospel of the grace of God (Acts 20:24)! Have You Fallen From Grace? Friend, because of what Christ has done for you, you are now seated high on the highest mountaintop of all that God has to give you.
You reside on the peek of "grace" mountain, seated in fact in the heavenlies (Ephesians 2:6).
There is no loftier position a man can enjoy.
Your righteousness is a gift that is now forever yours.
There are no exchanges, no refunds, no recalls.
You're stuck with the gift whether you choose to believe it, enjoy it, or not.
Have you fallen from grace? I hope not.
But if you have, you will know it because your confidence will have switched from what Jesus has done to what you are doing.
The peace and the joy that you once knew will be replaced by fear, anxiety, and condemnation day after day.
Why? Because your doing can never measure up to the righteous requirements of the law.
Heck, you can't even measure up to your own standards or that of your neighbor! So what is the solution? It is to believe the gospel and to rest in knowing that "having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ" (Romans 5:1).
Continually remind yourself of the righteousness that is now yours in Christ according to the gospel given to the apostle Paul by the risen, ascended Christ.
Do not give in to the temptations all around you to work your way into right standing with God.
Get up, my friend, and stand firm in the truth! He has made you right and to try to add to what He has done is to say you think He did not complete the task...
and another fall from grace.