Fallen From Grace?
So, in previous studies, we talked about how a believer is justified and is eternally secure in Christ Jesus. So, what about this verse that talks about being "fallen from grace"? Does this mean that a believer can lose their salvation or their spiritual blessings in Christ?
Galatians 5:4
4 Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace.
The answer is NO a believer can NEVER loose their salvation. They are now identified with Christ (Col 3:3-4) and for a believer to loose their salvation, God would have to reject Christ too (2 Tim 2:13)! We also cannot loose our spiritual blessings in Christ. We did learn however that a believer can have loss of rewards at the believers judgment seat of Christ if they choose to live after the flesh instead of walking in the Spirit (1 Cor 3:15).
Now in this verse we are told that for believers who put themselves back under the law, they are fallen from grace, which means that they have walked away from sound grace doctrine and that will actually equal LOSS of rewards at the believers judgment seat of Christ. We do NOT live godly by trying to keep the law, but by getting sound GRACE doctrine (In Romans- Philemon) in our inner man, believing it and yielding ourselves to obey it. This is GODLY LIVING. But putting yourself under law only stirs up the sin nature and actually causes you to sin more (see Romans 7).
Let's look at some verses
Galatians 5:
1 Stand fast [don't be removed from sound grace doctrine] therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free [Christ freed us from the power of sin- we can now choose to live godly. Unbelievers, all they do is sin because all they have is a sin nature. Believers are also freed from the law which shows us we are sinners. We've already learned the lesson of the law, and have believed the gospel], and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage. [Law-keeping is bondage]
2 Behold, I Paul say unto you, that if ye be circumcised [you could add ANY religious works here such as water baptism, join a church, keep the sabbath, keep holy days, follow levitical food laws, fasting, pray a rosary, speak in tongues, try to keep the 10 commandments, tithing, etc], Christ shall profit you nothing. [It's not even worth any rewards! You are INSULTING the finished crosswork of Christ!]
3 For I testify again to every man that is circumcised, that he is a debtor to do the whole law. [If you are trying to keep the law, you will have to keep the WHOLE LAW perfectly]
4 Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace. [Believers are justified by grace through faith ALONE in the death, burial and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. We place our faith in His faithfulness to go to the cross, and that he was buried and he rose again for our justification].
When a believer walks away from the grace message, and puts themselves back under law they are "fallen from grace". [When a professing Christian puts others under the law, it's said that they have SEDUCED or BEWITCHED them (Gal 3:1). Rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft (1 Sam 15:23), which is an abomination unto the LORD (Deut 18). When a person is rebellious to sound grace doctrine, and puts themselves AND OTHERS under the law, they are practicing a form of witchcraft which is like a double abomination unto the LORD!] A believer under the law will loose rewards in heaven. Not only that, but it leads to more sin.
Romans 7:13c
"...But sin, that it might appear sin, working death in me by that which is good; that sin by the commandment [the law] might become exceeding sinful."
The purpose of the law is to show us that we are sinners. It literally stirs up the sin nature in our flesh and causes us to sin more so that we will recognize our sin nature and our desperate need for a savior and hopefully choose to believe the gospel for our salvation. But if we are already saved, the law has served its purpose for us and we can now choose to live godly by walking in the Spirit instead of trying to keep the law. We do this by reading and studying sound grace doctrine, believing it and obeying it. But if we, as believers, are still keeping ourselves under the law, we will just become exceeding sinful. This is why you hear of gross immorality in legalistic churches and groups.
The Galatians had become prideful, envious of one another and were biting and devouring one another (Gal 5:26). Had Paul not intervened to help bring them back to the grace message, things would have only gotten much worse. By trying to keep the law, they were "fulfilling the lusts of the flesh". The flesh loves religion! It wants to BOAST in itself!
Galatians 5:16-18 says,
16 This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, [get sound grace doctrine built up in your inner man by daily reading and studying God's Word rightly divided)
and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. [This includes the flesh's desires to live RELIGIOUSLY and to boast in itself]
17 For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: [The flesh hates the Spirit of God in you!] and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would. [You might TRY to keep the law but you will fail; and the Spirit of God in you wants you to walk in the Spirit instead of living legalisticly]
18 But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.
Because trying to keep the law stirs up sin in our flesh, it LEADS TO the following: Galatians 5
19 Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,
20 Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,
21 Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. [Even a believer who does these things will still go to heaven but unbelievers who do these things of course will not; we don't want to be like the people who end up in hell for eternity being punished for all of these sins, so we should want to walk in the Spirit instead; unbelievers and even fellow believers need to see Christ living in and through us]
But, if you walk in the Spirit instead it will produce: Galatians 5: "22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law."
A believer also cannot loose their identity in Christ or their spiritual blessings in Christ. All believers have been blessed equally forever from the very moment they believe the gospel. No one is blessed more or less because of their works. However, as mentioned before, a believer can gain or loose rewards in heaven. The difference between a blessing and a reward is that a blessing is a free gift from God from the moment you believe the gospel. Some of our blessings, that can NEVER be taken away includes being seated with Christ in Heavenly places, being a member of His Body, having the exceeding riches of his grace towards us, one day receiving a glorified body, etc. Rewards are things earned. ONLY a saved person can earn rewards from God. A believers rewards is very specifically about the positions we will take in God's heavenly government after the judgment seat of Christ. Just like there are different positions of government on earth, the same is true in the heavenly places. We could be someone who has very little responsibility in heaven, or we could be someone who has a lot of responsibility in heaven. God can only give more responsibility to those who have earned it and this is done by reading, studying, believing and obeying God's word rightly divided (essentially, it's us allowing Christ to live in and through us as believers! So even our earned rewards are all because of Christ, but it's earned because we have the freewill choice to choose to actually read, study, believe and obey the word of God rightly divided or not to. God gets ALL the glory!).
Hebrews 11:6 says,
6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
If, as a believer you spent most of your life just living after the flesh and had no desire to seek to understand the things of God or to live godly and suffer with Christ, then certainly God isn't going to give you a ton of rewards and responsibility in heaven! That would be like giving a kindergartener a scalpel to do brain surgery on someone! They would be completely clueless! They might have a little understanding, but not much. When we get to heaven and no longer have sinful flesh we will have more understanding of certain things, but we will also still be continuing to read and study scripture even in heaven for eternity! We have free will. God doesn't force us to learn. In heaven we will learn even more and grow in thankfulness over God's amazing grace!
Ephesians 2:7
“That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.”
So, our rewards are based upon how much sound grace doctrine, that we believed and obeyed (more so about the quality of our understanding and applying what we've learned and not just the quantity of what we learn; a believer can be puffed up in knowledge but not really applying it or not having a heart understanding of it). I personally believe that it's important to not just study scripture but also to really meditate upon the verses, to really think it over so that it is not just an intellectual understanding but something you know how to apply to your life and can help others in their understanding and application of scripture.
Psalms 1:2. “But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.”
So, fallen from grace is NOT about loosing your salvation or loosing your spiritual blessings in Christ, but about walking away from the grace message and putting yourself under law which leads to loss of rewards in heaven and to more sin in your daily Christian walk.
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