150: Bringing Back the Carrot on the Stick

The book of Galatians is an amazing letter of encouragement to all of us who have been ambushed by grace and have been so gloriously undone by grace that we simply can’t go back to the mixture of grace and law.

Grace isn’t a doctrine. Grace is Jesus. When you try to add to grace, you’re saying Jesus isn’t enough.

Paul wrote the letter to the churches in Galatia to combat teaching by false brethren who wanted to bring works back into the church. These men were seducing the people to believe that Jesus alone wasn’t enough for salvation. They were bringing back the carrot on the end of the stick: “You must do this and do that for God to accept you. You must keep the law to maintain your salvation.” Paul was astounded with the Galatians who were allowing this teaching in their churches, and his language in this letter is forceful and even fierce at times.

In chapter 1, we see Paul’s emotional response to the perversion of the Gospel:

I am surprised and astonished that you are so quickly turning renegade and deserting Him Who invited and called you by the grace (unmerited favor) of Christ (the Messiah) [and that you are transferring your allegiance] to a different [even an opposition] gospel. (Galatians 1:6, Amplified Bible)¹

(from pages 240-241 of Unveiling Jesus)

Want more from Tricia Gunn? Check out excerpts from the Unveiling Jesus 20-part series!

Unveiling Jesus, by Tricia Gunn, is a verse by verse study of the pure gospel of grace. It’s an amazing journey of love, identity, and freedom in Christ.

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¹Scripture quotations taken from the Amplified® Bible,Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman FoundationUsed by permission.”” (www.Lockman.org)”