Cooking is getting more complicated. When I was a kid my sister and I would help my mom cook. I only remember us using a skillet pan, boiling pot, and a rolling pin. But over the years what is in the kitchen to cook has become more complicated. People on TV and people in cookbooks are telling us we need more.
This has resulted in rice cookers, crock pots, instant pots, George Foreman grills, charcoal/gas/pellet BBQs and smokers, air friers, blenders, food processors, juicers, cast iron skills, non-stick pans, pans that have no chemicals in them, stove-top kettles, electric kettles, bread makers, microwave ovens, new wave ovens, French friers and air friers.
Companies and personalities are always adding to our kitchen and are further complicatingwhat we have and how we store it.
The Galatians faced a similar issue. But it didn’t deal with their kitchen, it dealt with their faith. Was their faith in Christ enough for salvation? Did they need something else in addition to belief in Christ Jesus as their savior? Paul reminds them of that truth writing, “Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness” (Galatians 3:6). Paul needed to remind the believers in Galatia they were saved based on their faith and not anything else because of a group of people that were following him and confusing people about his teachings.
After Paul left the region of Galatia and traveled to other places a group of people arrived in Galatia I call “Legalizers” (also called “Judaizers” in many study Bibles and commentaries). These Legalizers were teaching that salvation by faith in Christ was not enough. Instead, the Legalizers taught that people also had to follow parts of the Old Testament Law such as getting circumcised (Galatians 5:2-6; 6:12-13), following the Jewish festivals and feasts such as Passover, Pentecost, Purim (Galatians 4:8-11), and that the Holy Spirit was given to them through the works of the Law (Galatians 3:1-3). These Legalizers were adding to the gospel and complicating it.
But Paul reminds the believers living in Galatia that “those who are of faith are blessed with Abraham, the believer” (Galatians 3:9). We are saved because of our faith in Christ for salvation. Nothing else. It’s a simple concept, but easy to complicate. While Paul had to remind the Galatian believers that they were saved by faith and faith alone, we too need reminders. It’s easy to get caught up in what Bible translation a church should use, what type of music is best for us to sing, or what day is appropriate for worship services. But those things don’t matter when it comes to our salvation.
What matters is that we are saved by faith alone in Christ alone.