Sola Gratia: Only One Gospel

This past Sunday, Jared Mellinger kicked off a new sermon series at Covenant Fellowship Church called Sola Gratia (grace alone). It is an expository series going through Paul’s letter to the churches of Galatia (the book of Galatians).

Jared started the series by preaching through the first ten verses of chapter one, while also giving an overview of the whole letter and what was to come in the series.

The sermon surrounded the question, “What does it mean to stand on grace alone?” and was followed by three answers:

1. We uphold the one true way of salvation!
2. We deepen our understanding of the Cross of Christ!
3. We enjoy the privileges we have in Christ!

At first glance, we think this letter does not apply to us, because we don’t believe we need adherence to the Jewish law for salvation; we do believe in salvation through grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. However, as Jared pointed out, the book of Galatians does apply to us. Jared said,

God gave us the book of Galatians because the foolish galatian tendency to drift, from grace, is in every single one of us. If the Christians in Galatia were vulnerable to this drift and if Peter and if Barnabas were vulnerable to that drift, then I think it’s good for us to acknowledge that every one of us is vulnerable to that same exact drift away from a Biblical understanding of God’s grace.

He then referenced the famous hymn, Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing saying,

Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,
Prone to leave the God I love;

Personally, I know that I am prone to wander – I know that I am prone to leave God. We must actively flee from our good works; flee from that subtle drift away from grace. When God calls us to flee from something – it is always to flee to something else. We must flee to the Cross of Christ!

Aren’t you glad that, Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing doesn’t end there, but continues?

Here’s my heart, O take and seal it,
Seal it for Thy courts above.

God, in his mercy, will take our hearts and will seal them for his courts above!

Application Questions:

1. In what ways am I tempted to subtly believe that my acceptance before God is based on something that I do rather than what Christ has done?
2. Am I growing in my understanding and the appreciation of the Cross? Do you find yourself more amazed by grace the more you advance in your Christian walk?
3. Am I enjoying the privileges that we have in Christ?