Are You Trying to Save Yourself?

“...yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.” Galatians 2:16 (ESV)

Have you ever tried to save yourself?

I was at the gym the other day doing a barbell chest press. I made it through nearly all of my reps, and then my arms gave out on the last one. I hadn’t adjusted the side bars before starting my workout, so I laid on the bench with the barbell pressed to my chest for several seconds.

My husband was on the other side of the room, but I didn’t want to ask for help. Instead, I laid there trying not to put too much pressure on my chest while I gave my arms a minute to rest and recover, so I could lift the weight on my own. 

Well, my husband turned around and noticed that I wasn’t lifting the barbell. So, he came over and helped me lift the weight.

I wasn’t in any danger or at risk of injury, but I still could’ve lightened the load by asking for help…

And by realizing it wasn’t within my power to save myself.

I don’t know about you, but I often try to save myself from different things (ahem… see above example) and earn my way to salvation. The Galatians were trying to do the same thing.

The church in Galatia was one of Paul’s early church plants of non-Jewish believers. They had heard the true gospel, but false teachers led them astray after Paul left. Jewish Christians were teaching non-Jewish Christians that they needed to obey Jewish laws and traditions in order to be saved, but this wasn’t true.

Paul quotes Deuteronomy 27:26 in his defense: “Cursed is anyone who does not uphold the words of this law by carrying them out…” (NIV).

The law didn’t save the Jewish people, and it wasn’t going to save the non-Jewish Christians either.

While you and I probably aren’t at risk of reverting to Jewish laws, we do probably try to work our way to salvation in other ways.

In what ways do you try to work for your salvation?

I’ve wrongly worked for my salvation by trying to look good in the ministries I’ve volunteered in—being part of important events, wanting to be recognized for things I was part of, and leading groups when I should’ve been led.

These weren’t wrong or bad things in and of themselves, but my heart wasn’t always in the right place. I was seeking the approval of others, and I was acting as if I could save or fix myself with these actions.

Paul writes in Ephesians 2:8–9, “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast” (ESV).

What is one way you can release control and rest in God’s grace this week?

Our salvation is a gift from God, not something we can earn or work our way to. I hope you’ll rest in His gift of grace this week.