Understanding: This week Paul focused on the encounter Joshua had with the Lord in verses 13-15 of chapter 5. He posed three questions that he felt the encounter raised for us today. 1) Who is in charge, you or God? 2) Are you a worshipping servant? 3) Are you standing on Holy ground?
The first two questions centred on our relationship with the Lord and our heart motivation to obey and serve him.
Paul explained that exploring our heart motivation to obey & serve God will reveal whether we are subtly displacing God’s authority and leadership over our lives with that of our own. Paul explained that it is quite possible for an earnest well meaning Christian to follow the Lord (obey and serve) with mixed motives, ones that are more self centred than God centred. He explained that a wrong motivation for obeying and serving the Lord may make your experience of the Christian life a dull, unsatisfying, frustrating, joyless drudge!
The third question focused on the basis or ground of our faith, i.e. what is your faith actually based and built upon? Romans 5:1-5 tells us that through Jesus Christ we have obtained access to stand on the ‘Holy ground’ of grace. The gospel of grace means that the Christian is secure in the presence, acceptance and approval of God, because God has graciously chosen them. Read how the Apostle Paul describes it in Ephesians 2:1-5, 8-9.
Q: Does what Paul described as ‘Religious moralism’ (a classic misunderstanding of the Christian gospel) match the gospel of grace that Paul describes? The Apostle Paul in (read) Galatians 5:1-8 reveals to us that Christians can whilst having received the grace of God end up following a form of ‘Christianised’ religious moralism. This means that they serve and obey God with the motivation to get something from God, be it salvation, control of your life, favour, approval, status, sense of identity, personal worth and value. In so doing Paul the Apostle tells us that we miss the grace of God and can ‘fall away from grace’.
Application: How can you tell if you’re standing on holy ground or contaminated ground? Do you: Constantly doubt the security of your relationship with God - Do you lack assurance of God’s love for you and therefore your salvation.
Do you struggle to live up to self imposed standards of behaviour and feel condemned when you don’t meet those standards? You may be trying hard to earn God’s approval and acceptance.
How do you feel about your Christian life? Often those not standing on the ground of grace experience not a life of joy, peace, acceptance and security but they feel anxious and insecure and their experience of serving is that it is a joyless, fear-based duty.
NB: Explore some of all of these questions. However as there are many aspects to God’s grace, please pray beforehand and ask the Holy Spirit which particular he wants to bring a focus on for the people in your particular group (He will know!).
