Grace in Galatians (Part 125): Why Would You Go Back?
Today, we continue our series entitled “Living the Grace Life,” where we will learn to embrace and walk in God’s unmerited, unearned, and often undeserved favor throughout 2025.
As part of this series, I am teaching a verse-by-verse exposition of the book of Galatians.
Key scriptures for this year:
(2 Corinthians 9:8 TPT)
"Yes, God is more than ready to overwhelm you with every form of grace, so that you will have more than enough of everything—every moment and in every way. He will make you overflow with abundance in every good thing you do."
(Galatians 5:4 TPT)
"If you want to be made right with God by fulfilling the obligations of the law, you have cut off more than your flesh—you have cut yourselves off from Christ and have fallen away from the revelation of grace!"
(Romans 6:14 ERV)
"Sin will not be your master, because you are not under law. You now live under God's grace."
(1 Corinthians 15:10 CEV)
"But God treated me with undeserved grace! He made me what I am, and his grace wasn't wasted. I worked much harder than any of the other apostles, although it was really God's grace at work and not me."
Scripture we will study today:
(Galatians 4:8-9 TPT)
“Before we knew God as our Father, we were unwitting servants to the powers that be, which are nothing compared to God. But now that we truly know him and are intimately known by him, why would we for a moment consider turning back to those weak and feeble principles of religion, as though we were still subject to them?”
Supporting scriptures:
(Colossians 2:20-21 NLT)
“You have died with Christ, and he has set you free from the spiritual powers of this world. So why do you keep on following the rules of the world, such as, ‘Don’t handle! Don’t taste! Don’t touch!’?”
(Hebrews 10:38 NKJV)
“Now the just shall live by faith; But if anyone draws back, My soul has no pleasure in him.”
(John 17:3 NLT)
“And this is the way to have eternal life—to know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, the one you sent to earth.”
(Luke 9:62 NLT)
“But Jesus told him, ‘Anyone who puts a hand to the plow and then looks back is not fit for the Kingdom of God.'”
Setting the Stage:
In our last message, we looked at the beautiful reality that the Holy Spirit cries “Abba, Father” in our hearts, confirming our sonship. We are no longer slaves or servants; we are sons and heirs. Now, Paul’s tone shifts from encouragement to confusion. He looks at the Galatians (people who had experienced the power of the Holy Spirit, people who had been adopted into God’s family), and he sees them turning back to religious rule-keeping.
Paul is essentially asking what the young people would say today: “Make it make sense!” He cannot understand why anyone who has tasted the freedom of God’s grace and the intimacy of knowing God would voluntarily go back to the slavery and bondage of the Law. He challenges them (and us) to recognize that going back to performance-based religion is a spiritual regression and our God is a God of progression!
So, what does this mean for you today? A few things.
1. The Shift from Ignorance to Intimacy.
Paul describes their past as a time “Before we knew God as our Father.” In that state of ignorance, they were slaves to servants to rules, rites, and religious practices. But the gospel changed everything. It didn’t just give them a new code of conduct; it introduced them to a Person. His name is Jesus, and what He offers is grace!
How this applies to you:
— Christianity is not about memorizing a rulebook; it is about knowing a Person. The essence of eternal life is knowing the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ (John 17:3).
— Paul explains that before you knew God intimately, you were a slave to the “powers that be.” You were a pawn in the systems of this world: the drive for money, the pursuit of status, or, when it came to spiritual things, the fear of superstitious practices. But God’s grace broke all of those chains.
— You have moved from being an “unwitting servant” in the religious machine to a knowledgeable son in covenant with your Father. You now have a relationship with the Father, through Jesus His Son, and the direct connection of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit empowers you to know the heart of the Father for you and for others. This positions you to become a conduit of His grace in this world! This is much different than living by rules.
— Paul emphasizes that they now “truly know him.” This isn’t just intellectual knowledge; it is experiential, relational knowledge. As my Spiritual Father, Pastor Tony Brazelton, says, “You can’t just know God from a book.” When you know God intimately, you are free from the bondage of religion, which is why Paul was baffled that the Galatians were GOING BACK!
— Please don’t be like the Galatians. Don’t go back! Do not let religion reduce your relationship with God to a transaction. You know Him, and that knowledge should change how you live.
— Don’t trade your relationship for the rituals or religion. Please don’t GO BACK!
2. The Security of Being “Intimately Known” by God.
Paul adds a powerful phrase: “and are intimately known by him.” This is even more important than us knowing God. Our knowledge of God is growing, but His knowledge of us is perfect. He knows everything about you (your good, your bad, and your ugly), and He still loves you, chose you, and adopted you.
How this applies to you:
— Religion teaches that if God really knew you, He would reject you unless you performed perfectly. Grace teaches that God fully knows you and has fully accepted you in Christ, despite your faults, flaws, and failures!
— Being “known by God” is the foundation of your security. He didn’t choose you because you tricked Him into thinking you were perfect. He chose you, knowing all of your flaws, even the ones you have not developed yet.
— Embracing the truth and power of God’s grace destroys the fear of rejection. If God knows the worst about you and still calls you His son/daughter, then who can disqualify you? And how can you disqualify yourself when Jesus was the one who qualified FOR you?
— When you understand that you are intimately known, you stop trying to “fake it” with God. You stop wearing religious masks. You don’t have to use fancy words when you pray, and you don’t have to hide anything (since you can’t hide anything from Him anyway). You can be transparent because you are already loved.
— The Law focuses on what you know and what you do. Grace focuses on His knowledge of you and His finished work for you.
— You are not a number to God. You are not just a face in the crowd. You are intimately known, deeply loved, and highly favored.
— Religion focuses on you knowing God. The grace-based relationship Jesus died to usher you into is rooted in the truth that God knows you! God knows your thoughts before you think them, your words before you speak them, your actions before you take them, and your errors before you make them; and He loves you and called you anyway.
3. Why Would You Turn Back to “Weak and Feeble” Religion?
Paul asks a rhetorical question: “Why would we for a moment consider turning back?” He calls the religious rules “weak and feeble principles.” This would have been shocking language in his day. Most people think of the Law as strong and holy. But Paul says that compared to the Spirit, the Law is weak and feeble because it has no power to help or empower you. All the rules can do is show you when you are wrong. Grace calls you (in a way that is unmerited) and also empowers you (in a way that is undeserved) to do what you are called to do!
How this applies to you:
— Going from grace back to the Law is spiritual regression. It is going backward, not forward.
— The principles of religion are “weak” because they cannot change your heart. They can only modify your behavior on the outside. Only the Holy Spirit provides the power for internal transformation.
— Why would you trade the power of the Spirit for the weakness of the flesh?
— When you start trusting in your own goodness, your prayer life becomes weak, your faith becomes feeble, and your confidence fades because you know you aren’t perfect. The only way to have unshakable confidence is by keeping your confidence rooted and grounded in God and not yourself!
— “Turning back” is an insult to the work of Christ. It is saying that what Jesus did is not enough and that you need to add your effort to salvation. I don’t know about you, but I refuse to go back!
4. Stop Submitting to a System You Have Already Died To!
Paul asks, “Why would you… consider turning back… as though we were still subject to them?” The key phrase here is “as though.” Paul is implying that you are NOT subject to them, so why are you acting like you are? The reality is that the Law only has jurisdiction over a person as long as they are alive (Romans 7:1). But the Good News is that you died with Christ!
Paul uses a powerful marriage analogy to explain this. A marriage contract is binding only as long as both parties are alive. If one dies, the contract is void. Paul explains in Romans 7:4 (NKJV):
“Therefore, my brethren, you also have become dead to the law through the body of Christ, that you may be married to another—to Him who was raised from the dead, that we should bear fruit to God.”
You cannot be married to the Law and to Christ at the same time. Because you have died to that old system, you are no longer held by its demands. Romans 7:6 (NKJV) declares:
“But now we have been delivered from the law, having died to what we were held by, so that we should serve in the newness of the Spirit and not in the oldness of the letter.”
How this applies to you:
— You are “Dead to the Law”: This means the Law has no legal claim on you. It cannot condemn you, prosecute you, or judge you, because its authority ends at the grave, and you were co-crucified with Christ!
— You have a New Way to Serve: You are no longer serving God in the “oldness of the letter” (checking boxes, following external rules, and fearing punishment). You now serve in the “newness of the Spirit” (the internal leadership, motivation, empowerment, and love of the Holy Spirit).
— Stop Living for the Rules and Live for God: Paul said in Galatians 2:19 (NKJV), “For I through the law died to the law that I might live to God.” Paul realized that trying to keep the Law perfectly only condemned him. He had to “die” to the expectation that his performance could save him so that he could truly live for God by faith.
— Freedom is Not a License to Sin: Being dead to the Law doesn’t mean you are free to sin; it means you are free to bear fruit. As Romans 7:4 says, the purpose of your union with Christ is “that we should bear fruit to God.” Grace produces what the Law demanded but could never supply.
— The New System Brings New Motivation: The old system (the Law) motivated you through fear of death and punishment. The new system (Grace) motivates you through the life and leadership of the Holy Spirit.
— Stop living “as though” you are subject to a system that you are dead to. You are alive to God, you are led by the Spirit, and you are free to serve Him out of love and not fear!
That's enough for today.
Declaration of Faith:
Father, I thank You that I truly know You and, more importantly, I am intimately known by You!
You saw all my flaws, faults, and failures, yet You still chose me, called me, and adopted me as Your own.
I refuse to turn back to the weak and feeble principles of religion.
I will not trade the power of the Holy Spirit for the weakness of my own flesh.
I have put my hand to the plow, and I will not look back.
I embrace the intimacy of our relationship and reject the slavery of religious rules.
I am moving forward in faith, growing in grace, and walking in the liberty of sonship.
I am Living the Grace Life, and GREATER IS COMING FOR ME!
I declare this by faith. In Jesus’ name. Amen!
This is Today’s Word. Apply it and prosper!
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