Paul’s words in Galatians 5:1-6 are a powerful call to "Stand firm therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and don’t be entangled again with a yoke of bondage." He warns against practices like circumcision, which some were pushing believers to adopt for salvation, stating plainly that if you try to be justified by human actions or religious rituals, "Christ will profit you nothing." This means you effectively declare that Jesus’ sacrifice was not enough for your complete salvation.
To seek justification through the law, even just one part of it, makes you "a debtor to do the whole law." This is an impossible burden, as none of us can perfectly keep God's entire law. Trying to earn God’s favor through works means you are "alienated from Christ" and have "fallen away from grace." This is not a condemnation, but a serious warning from Paul about the danger of relying on our own efforts instead of God's perfect and complete provision in Jesus.
In Kampala today, we might not be dealing with circumcision, but the principle remains the same. Do we sometimes find ourselves adding things to Christ’s finished work? Perhaps it’s believing that specific fasts compel God to act, or that buying a special item guarantees a miracle, or that a financial offering will manipulate God into blessing us. These acts, when performed with the belief that they add to our justification or compel God, miss the central point. They subtly imply Christ’s sacrifice was insufficient, making us fall away from grace.
True faith, as Paul explains, is not about what we do to earn God's favor, but about "faith working through love." It’s a complete trust in what Jesus has already done for us, allowing His Holy Spirit to work in us and through us. We are saved by grace through faith, a pure gift from God (Ephesians 2:8-9). Let us embrace this freedom and live from a place of love and gratitude for His perfect and complete work.