2 I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by observing the law, or by believing what you heard?
There are only two ways to approach God. One works, the other does not. The one begins and ends with our actions, our abilities, our ‘rightness’. It is up to us to get to God. This can take many different forms depending on the religion or non-religion the person is following. It has to do with both outward and inward actions and non-actions. There are checklists and big warning signs that get posted to keep people on the path. And it is up to the person on the spiritual journey to achieve the goal. Paul is having to combat this type of teaching in the Galatian Church. False teachers followed Paul and introduced a very subtle error into their understanding. That subtlety was simply “Jesus plus.” They were saying that Jesus is great, but not quite enough. Or to put it in modern terms, Jesus was a good person, but you had better get on the ball or you won’t be good enough to receive what He provided. Once we start down the path that has us at the center, we are in trouble. If we could do it ourselves, we didn’t need Jesus. If we could contribute anything, then the something we do is something we could brag about. And if we can brag, then we can try harder and maybe get there on our own. It is a slippery slope. All the world religions except Christianity fall in this category. Christianity starts and ends with God’s work. We never could and never will accomplish anything of value in the climb to God. No matter how hard we try we never make it off the ground. But God has provided a full journey. If we simply trust His way of getting us there, we get there. We live right out of gratitude, not out of an expectation that our right-living gets us closer to God. We are already close to God, as close as anyone can be. Nothing we do brings us closer. That is faith, belief, trust. Which path are you on? Join the trust, belief, faith path. It will actually get you to your destination.
The Arnold Journey 