Some time ago I attended a pastor's luncheon in Oregon. Before the program began, someone asked if I had heard about the hitchhiker who spoke about the Lord's return and then vanished. I told him yes, I had. Only the first time I had heard about it was way back in 1944 in Burbank, California. The story always had the same ending. The couple who picked up the hitchhiker pull into a service station only to hear the attendant tell them they are the ninth customers that day with the same story. The pastor who questioned me laughed and said, "That shows you how remote Oregon is - it took 50 years for this rumor to get here!"

How prone we are to getting all worked up over things that amount to nothing! And how grateful I am that our faith is based on the firm foundation of the Word of God. I would much prefer that the Lord speak to me from the tried and true pages of Scripture than to receive some kind of supernatural, special revelation. If even an angel came to me claiming to have some revolutionary truth, I would find myself questioning whether his message was of God.

Endless second-guessing is not a problem when we turn to the Word. The Bible is the only firm foundation for our faith and Christian walk. When our lives are founded on the truth of God's Word, we won't be carried away by the latest doctrinal fad or "new and improved" version of the gospel. How crucial it is that we stand fast on the truth of God's Word! This is the only way to maintain the glorious liberty provided to us so abundantly in Christ.

How Can We Stand Fast?

It is important to understand that those who fail to stand fast are moved from simple faith in Christ by a lack of understanding of God's Word. It is only a solid grasp of the Scriptures that brings real stability to our lives.

Paul once observed that God has provided the church with apostles, prophets, evangelists, and pastor-teachers for the "perfecting of the saints" (Ephesians 4:11,12). A mark of this perfection is a unity of faith so stable that we will be "no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they he in wait to deceive" (Ephesians 4:14). How important it is for us to be founded on the Word, especially in our deception-ridden times!

From the materialistic excesses of the prosperity movement ("Of course God wants all His children to drive Mercedes. You only drive a Toyota? How unspiritual can you be?") to "new" revelations about the only proper way to be baptized, strange twists of doctrine are the rule nowadays, not the exception.

When Paul exhorts his friends in Galatians 5:1 to "stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage," his message is as relevant for us today as when he first wrote his letter. Oftentimes the church itself will be the first to impose a legalistic standard of righteousness upon us. These rules and regulations are usually well-received because there is a certain security to the well-defined limitations a law provides. The cults offer people an overwhelming degree of personal direction and the "security" that comes from blind obedience to authority.

But those who give themselves to such strictly regimented lifestyles do so at the cost of personal freedom. They fail to realize that along with the sense of security these groups provide comes an intense level of condemnation if one breaks from the standards. Many who were enslaved in such systems tell us they believed that leaving the group was tantamount to leaving God. If a convert begins to question the group or wants to go somewhere else, they are told they are in danger of hell. These kind of pressure tactics and outrageous claims to an exclusive lock on the truth are the earmarks of bondage-based groups.

On the other hand, a church that encourages people to find a place where they will be able to grow in their walk with the Lord shows a sign of spiritual health. At Calvary Chapel, we often suggest that people look around and find a place that can minister most effectively to them. Some who come to our fellowship would like to see more emotionalism or sensationalism in our services. We encourage these people to exercise their freedom by finding a place more in keeping with their desires. We are not interested in seeing anyone bound to our church.

It is vital for us to embrace this truth: Putting our faith in any work cuts us off from the grace of God.

Paul's use of the phrase "yoke of bondage" is probably a reference to the words of Simon Peter at the first Jerusalem Council. In Acts 15, Peter recounted God's call for him to minister to the Gentiles at the house of Cornelius. He suggested that the council not place upon non-Jews a yoke of bondage "which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear" (verse 10). Paul cites Peter's words to emphasize that the message of freedom in grace was not something he developed on his own. This liberty in Christ was the solid position of the church.

Rituals Do Not Save

A key aspect of the teaching rejected at the Jerusalem Council was the insistence that Gentiles go through the ritual of circumcision in order to be saved. The council agreed with Paul that works cannot possibly make anyone righteous. Paul later stated that putting faith in a ritual runs counter to the gospel. He wrote, "Behold, I Paul say unto you, that if ye be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing" (Galatians 5:2).

This permits us to safely say that putting our faith in any work cuts us off from the grace of God. It is vital for us to embrace this truth. Not many teachers go around anymore advocating circumcision for salvation, but how many times have we heard very sincere people insist that we must go through the ritual of baptism in order to be saved?

Some take this principle to all kinds of strange extremes. There are sects who teach that not only must we be baptized to be saved, but we also must be baptized "correctly." Some insist we must be baptized in the name of Jesus only, Others maintain it must be done by an ordained minister of their particular denomination. Some get so obsessed with technicalities that they have split churches over sprinkling or immersion, or even whether people should be baptized forward or backward!

The root of all this division is an improper trust in a particular good work to achieve right standing with God. The clear teaching of Scripture is that if we trust in any good work for salvation, then Christ is of no value to us. We can't ride both sides of the fence and trust Christ and our good works. If we trust in baptism as the basis of our salvation, we are putting our faith in works. We are building our spiritual house on a sandy foundation that will be incapable of sustaining us.

A few years ago, a young man came to me and told me he was no longer a Christian, but had joined the Mormon church. When I asked in what he was trusting as his hope for eternal life, he replied his hope was based on his faith in Jesus Christ and continued membership in the Mormon church. I frankly told him his decision was tragic. The moment he put his trust in anything other than the finished work of Jesus Christ alone, he had gone too far.

All we need to stand righteously before God is faith in Christ. If we insist on trusting in Jesus and circumcision (or baptism or tithing or continued membership in a church), then Christ will be of no value to us whatsoever.

It's All or Nothing

Those who depend on their works for righteousness can't adopt a pick-and-choose approach. If we accept one good work as necessary for salvation, we become debtors to the whole law; we must keep the law in its entirety. As Paul pointed out in Galatians 3:10, "For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them." James amplified this truth when he stated, "Whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all" (James 2:10).

If we look to the law for righteousness, not only will Christ avail us nothing, but we also will have to keep every command to utter perfection. Our relationship with God is predicated on legalism or grace.

Paul pulled no punches in his rejection of the false teaching of the Judaizers. He wrote, "Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace" (Galatians 5:4). Those who bring their holier-than-thou sounding package to Christianity have rejected grace.

It is helpful to remember that no one will be in heaven because of his good works. We will not have to listen to Abraham or David or Paul talk about all the wonderful things they did to achieve a righteous standing before God. These men simply believed God, and their faith was accounted for righteousness. None of us will stand in heaven comparing good works with one another because there will be only one whose works will be honored before the throne of God - our Lord, Jesus Christ. Jesus and Jesus alone will receive the glory for our salvation. If it were not for Him, none of us would get there.

As Paul put it, "God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of Jesus Christ" (Galatians 6:14). No matter how many good deeds we've done for Him, no matter how many people we lead to Him or churches we establish for Him, our only glory is in Jesus Christ, who died for us. Our righteousness is not a question of good works, human efforts, keeping certain rituals or dietary laws. Our righteousness both at this moment and for all eternity is a result of our simple faith in God's Son, Jesus.

Righteousness by faith removes all the distinctions between those who belong to Christ. I am no better than you, or you than me. We are all sinners, saved only by God's glorious grace. There is no other way to right standing before God. There is only one kind of righteousness that God will accept: the imputed righteousness of Jesus Christ.

This is no small side issue for us as believers. We must stand fast in the liberty wherein Christ has made us free. We must not allow condemning rules to come in and dominate our lives until we feel that, unless we are praying seven hours a day or reading 25 chapters of Scripture in our devotions, we are not really righteous. Our righteousness is not predicated upon how much we read, pray, fast, or give. Our righteousness is based upon simple trust in Jesus to wash us and cleanse us of our sins and to make us pure in the eyes of the Father.

The work of our salvation has been done. There is nothing we can do to improve it. Our good works result from God's acceptance and love; we don't do works to earn His love. Walking according to Christ's commands doesn't make us more righteous - just happier and more satisfied. What better way to live than giving my existence to the one who loves me so much in the here and now and who has promised to take care of me forever? To be led and guided by God is the most fulfilling experience in the world.

Two Choices Only

All of us are either trying to work and be good enough to please God, or we are believing and trusting God to do for us what we can't do for ourselves. At each moment of our lives we find ourselves on one road or the other. If we are still trying to please God through being good enough, defeat and frustration will be our lot. If we have trusted in God's grace to transform us and form Christ within us, we will enjoy life and peace.

I learned the timeless lesson that laws and rule-keeping can never change our hearts.

I recall one incident when our family misguidedly tried to make a concerted effort at bringing a more Christlike atmosphere to our home. As our children were growing up there came a time when sibling rivalry seemed to be at an all-time high. Somehow our children had gotten into the habit of calling each other names. We found that addressing each other as "dummy," "stupid," or "idiot" had a way of creating friction. So we tried to bring some discipline to the situation and set up some rules.

Now, in a two-story house, one of the most distasteful tasks is vacuuming the stairs. So in order to improve the tenor of our home life, we decided to keep records of family members who insulted each other. The one with the most violations had to vacuum the stairs. All this seemed very reasonable at the time, but to this day, I have the sneaky feeling that I was being set up.

One day our two boys started to get into some mischief. When I came into the room they were in the middle of destroying, the first words out of my mouth were, "What stupid idiot left this mess?" No doubt you can figure out who ended up vacuuming the stairs.

One good thing came out of it, however. I learned again the timeless lesson that laws and rule-keeping can never change our hearts. Our motives were good. We all struggled in this family endeavor at righteousness - yet we all fell miserably short.

It seems that no matter how hard we try to be holy, we have to face the fact that our righteousness is as filthy rags in the sight of the Lord. God has provided a different hope of righteousness for us - a standing and a relationship with Himself that we must receive as a gift. Righteousness is imparted to us by believing in Jesus Christ and knowing that we can't live up to a perfect standard. This is the crucial choice set before us. We can try to clean up our old, tattered, dirty rags and try to look presentable in heaven; or we can choose to be robed in the complete righteousness of Christ by faith.

My vacuum cleaner reminds me that my only hope is to choose grace.

Off Course and Out of sight

It never ceases to amaze me how easy it is to get off course in the Christian life. Even a seemingly minor flaw in a relatively small area of faith or practice can get us completely off center in almost every facet of our Christian life. Therefore, making every effort to maintain doctrinal purity is growing more important every day.

Recently I had the opportunity to discuss spiritual issues with a fellow who believed the church would go through the Great Tribulation. He wondered why I would take such a strong stand on what he considered an unimportant facet of eschatology. I responded by asking, "If the church is going to go through the Great Tribulation, who are the 144,000 mentioned in the book of Revelation?" He replied that these people were part of the church because the church is spiritual Israel. I then asked him if he believed that all of God's promises to national Israel were somehow spiritually fulfilled in the church. He agreed that they were. "How interesting," I said, "that such an 'unimportant' area of eschatology has completely affected your doctrine of the church as well." To put it in Paul's terms, "a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump" (Galatians 5:9).

Let's put it another way. Imagine you are traveling by plane from Los Angeles to Hawaii. Before takeoff, the pilot comes on the loudspeaker and says, "Well folks, we're having a slight problem with our navigational system, but don't worry about it. We'll not be more than two degrees off course." Two degrees wouldn't be much just out of Los Angeles, but by the time we were 3,000 miles over the Pacific, we would be hopelessly lost. The Big Island would be nowhere in sight.

Clearly, the best approach is to avoid being even a slight degree off course. In matters of doctrine, it is imperative that we search the Scriptures, prove all things, and avoid being taken in by the persuasive arguments of men. That is how we stand in grace.

Costly Vigilance

Don't be deceived - this vigilance costs something. Controversy and persecution have surrounded the preaching of the gospel from the beginning. As Paul remarked in Galatians 5:11, 'And I, brethren, if I yet preach circumcision, why do I yet suffer persecution? Then is the offense of the cross ceased." If Paul were preaching that a right standing with God could be gained by a series of good works, there would be no opposition to Christianity. But the cross of Christ has always been an offense.

The cross shows us there is only one way to be righteous before God. The true message of salvation in Christ alone offends people because it is so narrow and exclusive. The cross declares to the world that there is only one hope for eternal life, the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Paul is in essence saying, "If I want to be liberal and say, 'Circumcision is fine if it works for you,' then no one would persecute me. But I am being persecuted because I have cared enough to stand for the truth."

Paul was never one to mince words. We can see his emotional commitment to the truth in his verbal broadside against those consumed with the issue of circumcision. "I would they were even cut off which trouble you," he wrote in Galatians 5:12. The term rendered "cut off" in the King James Version literally means "to emasculate" or "castrate." Paul meant, "If these false teachers believe a little mutilation of the flesh makes us righteous, then why don't they go all the way and start with themselves while they're at it!" A modern parallel to Paul's statement might be, "I wish those who tell you righteousness comes through baptism would go all the way and drown themselves!" Paul vented his feelings toward those who would dare to pervert the glorious gospel of grace.

Think of how heartsick these developments must have made the apostle. Here was a fellowship where the Spirit was working, where people were in love with God and each other. There was unity and excitement in the Lord until these false teachers arrived on the scene. With the introduction of their own version of the gospel, they created division and soon factions began to develop. The beautiful love and fellowship this body had known soon became but a distant memory. No wonder Paul's denunciation of their teaching was so direct!

Thanks, Paul!

We who have come to the glorious saving grace of Jesus Christ owe Paul a great measure of thanks. If it were not for him, many in the church might easily have become part of just another Jewish sect. But it was Paul who stood firm and established new believers in the grace of Jesus Christ. His stand cost him something. He was persecuted and slandered and viciously opposed for most of his ministry. But it was worth it. At the end of his life he could write these stirring words, "I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing" (II Timothy 4:7,8).

May God give us the grace to stand for the truth and the wisdom to share it in love. May He grant that we stand fast in Jesus Christ and in the knowledge of the truth. May we realize the incredible depth of blessing and freedom that God has so richly granted to us. And may we experience these blessings daily as we walk in God's beautiful love, standing fast in His glorious grace.