If the
Christian faith is true -- and it is, blessedly true -- the importance
of a correct understanding of Christian truth and of the nature of the
life produced by it cannot be over-emphasized. Human destiny is at
stake. Yet the popular misconception of the Christian life, everywhere
prevalent in Christendom, both inside the Church and out, and that in
a day of boasted intelligence and learning, is nothing short of
tragic. It is both baffling and alarming. Yet, in a sense, the fact
that the essential character of Christian truth should be so far
beyond popular comprehension is a tribute to our Faith. To our mind,
as a result of wide observation, the most serious error of our day is
the popular notion that the Christian life is a matter of CONDUCT. Do
certain things; don't do certain things, and you are a Christian! This
confining of Christian living to behaviour is altogether shallow,
superficial, and above all else FUTILE. What is a Christian? The
answer runs somewhat thus: A Christian is one who accepts CHRIST,
especially as the teacher of a way of life; he adopts a set of habits,
such as church attendance, Bible reading, prayer; he associates with
other "Christian" people; he doesn't lie, steal, or get drunk; he is
fair in his dealings with his fellowmen; he can be counted on to take
a "Christian" attitude toward the questions of the day. A "Christian"
is one who conforms to certain standards! And essential change in the
PERSON, productive of such conduct, is ignored. This is GALATIANISM in
its modern, most common form. It is this against which the Apostle
Paul contended with passionate conviction that it was fatal to the
Christian system of truth and experience.
THE DISTINGUISHING
MARKS OF A TRUE CHRISTIAN
Turning to the Epistle to
the Galatians we find the Apostle Paul defining and describing a
Christian in such terms as these:
1 A Christian is one who has the living CHRIST living in him. (See Gal
2:20; 4:19). He has had a transforming experience.
2 A Christian is one who has the HOLY SPIRIT (Gal 4:6). He begets in
the believer new characteristics that are productive of Christian
conduct (Gal 5:22, 23).
3 A Christian is one who has shared the Cross experience with Christ,
as the basic solution of his personal problems. (see Gal 2:20; 5:24;
6:14, 17).
4 A Christian is one possessed of a life so divine, so ideal that it
cannot be pressed into a mould of external regulations (See Gal 4:9,
10, 11, 19, 20, 21; 5:1-6)
In other words, the Christian life consists not in BEHAVING but in
BEING, a life out of which behaviour naturally proceeds; not something
external, but internal, the root producing the fruit. It is a LIFE
that must be free to express itself; to impose regulations upon it is
fatal to it. Man in his natural state soon finds he is like the woody
growth of the grape vine; running to wood, the real life is choked
out. He has nothing but the external form, an empty shell of
respectability...Paul is contending against a twofold error. (1)
First, that our salvation is secured partly by faith in CHRIST and
partly by good works prescribed by the law. (2) Second, that our
perfecting in this life in CHRIST is a matter of self-effort on our
part in obedience to the law. Thus Paul sees at stake the two
essentials of the Christian faith, SALVATION and SANCTIFICATION, and
sets about zealously to safeguard them for all time. The difficulty
with the above errors is that they leave us impotently on Our Side, in
struggle and failure. They are powerless to transfer us to the
abounding resources of His Side. (Read
all the introductory comments
Galatians Introduction)
