Galatians 3:3
In Galatians 3, Paul is explaining to the Christians in Galatia that it’s not about following the law that makes us free.
Some Jewish converts to Christianity in Antioch were telling the Gentile Christians the men had to be circumcised if they wanted to be true Christians. They were trying to make it a condition of salvation.
They were teaching this because under the law of the Old Testament, God told all Jewish men to be circumcised.
Paul was explaining that it was no longer necessary to live according to the law.
Once Christ came the Old Testament law was fulfilled by His life, death, burial, and resurrection. Therefore it no longer applied.
Then Paul brought the point home when he asked the question:
Are you so foolish? After beginning by means of the Spirit, are you now trying to finish by means of the flesh? Galatians 3:3 NIV
In other words, you know it’s grace that saves you by having faith in Christ and what He did for you at Calvary. Why are you now trying to use your works and your actions to make it happen?
The truth is we can’t.
Salvation is only given to us by us having faith in Jesus, not by anything else we do.
No matter what we do, we can never be “good enough” to earn our way in to Heaven.
It doesn’t work that way.
As I was reading this verse I thought about how we as humans often try to make things happen, not just concerning salvation but also in our lives and the lives of others.