02-18-2026 PART 3: Remain in Grace: Don’t Trade the Gift for the Law

Section 1

Galatians 5:1–5 addresses a dangerous drift, not from salvation itself, but from the foundation of how salvation operates. Paul declares, “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free,” urging believers not to return to a yoke of slavery. When he warns that those seeking justification by the law have “fallen away from grace,” he is not describing the loss of salvation but the abandonment of grace as the operating principle. Read in sequence with chapters 2, 3, and 4, the issue becomes clear: they began by faith, received the Spirit by grace, and then attempted to perfect themselves through works of the law. Paul’s frustration is pastoral and urgent. They are not losing Christ; they are alienating themselves from His method. Grace is how salvation is given, sustained, and completed. To substitute law-keeping as the engine of righteousness is to detach from the very source that gave them life.

Section 2

This warning echoes Jesus’ words in John 15:6 about remaining in Him. Christ does not begin as the captain of salvation only to hand the wheel over to human effort. He remains the author and finisher of faith. Attempting to “improve” the work of Christ by adding personal righteousness is not spiritual ambition; it is spiritual error. Romans repeatedly states that works become a stumbling block when used as a basis for justification. Isaiah 64:6 reinforces the point: all our righteous acts are like filthy rags before God. That reality does not produce despair; it produces clarity. If human righteousness could complement Christ’s sacrifice, the cross would be insufficient. Paul’s sharp tone in Galatians reflects the seriousness of the issue. To move from faith to law as the means of standing before God is to drift from grace and insult the Giver of the gift.

Section 3

The antidote to this drift is confidence rooted in God’s faithfulness. Philippians 1:6 anchors the believer: “He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” Salvation begins with God, proceeds through the redeeming work of Jesus Christ, and is sealed by the Holy Spirit. It continues the same way it started—by faith. The Spirit eagerly leads believers toward the righteousness promised, not through performance but through trust. Hebrews 12 calls Jesus the author and finisher of our faith, meaning He writes the story and completes it. The call is simple yet profound: remain in Him. Do not start in the Spirit and try to finish in the flesh. Leave the finishing to the One who began it.