Title: Reform yourself
Galatians (11) Reform yourself (Galatians 2:17-17)
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Do not be self-righteous >
The text once again explains the principle of justification by faith. To promote keeping the law is to promote one's own actions and not to live obediently to God's will. It is a very erroneous idea to think that because God has opened the way of salvation incompletely, that one can achieve salvation perfectly through certain acts of keeping the law. In the end, legalism is humanism without God, who has no interest in God's glory and no gratitude for God.
If you have a humanistic mindset, there are many problems even if you believe in Jesus. This is because, unless the self-righteousness and pride of “I did this...” are not broken, no grace will be felt as grace, and no true grace and blessing will be given. God delights in being completely dependent on Him. Repentance is about doing something wrong and saying, “God! It is not just saying, “I was wrong,” but it is a confession that I will repent of my self-centered life and fully live a God-centered life. Ultimately, repentance is abandoning oneself.
If you do not forsake yourself and stand up for your own righteousness, you will not be able to come before God. However, there are surprisingly many people who advocate for their own righteousness. Some people think that not drinking and smoking is a big deal, and they judge people who drink and smoke while looking down. They don't drink and smoke, but in God's eyes they may be more judging sinners.
Some say: “No matter the butler! You said you were divorced?” And then you look down. Then God will say: “Have you never had a desire to divorce?” Everyone must have thought of divorce at one time or another. At that time, we did not have the courage to separate, and God gave us an opportunity for reconciliation. Now, don't be fooled by people's thoughts. Judge yourself first and reform yourself first.
< Reform yourself >
This is the anecdote of Morgan, who wrote the book 'Total Woman'. When she got married, she didn't like her husband's way of life. So I tried to change my husband's attitude. In the morning, he shook his procrastinating husband to wake him up, rushing him to work, writing down all the tasks to be done that day, and repeatedly urging him to come home immediately after work. It's been two years and my husband hasn't changed at all. At the same time, I felt that my personality was also getting worse, and I felt like I was going to break up if I kept going.
Then she made an important decision. She left her husband alone and decided that she had to change. So, I woke up much earlier than before in the morning, and my husband did his part regardless. Whether my husband came home early or not, I prepared my husband's home with all my heart, and even if my husband came in late, I took care of him so that he could enter the house without asking why. Then, as time went on, strangely enough, the husband became more different than he was. If we kill the legal self, the work of God's grace comes alive (verse 19).
There is a lot of talk about fortress reform, but there are some problems with clumsy reform. First, the goal of the reform for what is not clear. Reform itself cannot be the goal. Reform for the sake of reform is meaningless. Second, there are no reformers. Who reforms whom? It's all fifty steps. How can there be proper reform in such a situation? Third, we view the reform target only as others. That's the biggest problem. In other words, not only politicians, the rich, and the powerful should be the target of reform, but themselves and everyone else.
When we talk about reform, if we think only of the reform of others except ourselves and force it, the ripple effect or diffusion effect of the reform will be small. When reform begins, it should spread throughout the nation, but the problem is that it ends with cursing and restraining a few people. If you only watch other people's reforms and don't see your own reforms, then real reforms cannot be achieved.
The Reformation said, “Let’s save mankind! It did not start with the grand slogan, “Let’s save the church!”, but started with the religious concerns of a sincere believer. Martin Luther The world was eventually changed through the change that occurred in one man's heart. That is, there was self-reformation before the Reformation. Without such self-reform, there is no real reform, no power, and no God with us. Why is prayer important? Because prayer is the best tool that serves as the starting point for self-reform.