I'm really looking forward to the next few weeks in Galatians.

The trouble makers were "telling lies about God." As the believers fed on these lies, they were deserting God as they drifted from the simple gospel.

It is wicked to tell a person a lie about God because, if we come to believe the wrong things about God, we will think the wrong things about ourselves, our lives will be skewiff.

"Telling a person a lie about God distorts reality, perverts life and damages all the processes of living" (E. Petersen)

And the lie is this: that who you are depends on what you do;

that your identity, worth, and importance depend on your ability to perform.

This is the way the world functions. But to say that it is the same with God is a lie. And if we believe this lie, we are living under the law. We are getting tied up again in slavery. We lose our precious freedom.

Our identity is who we are; our behaviour is what we do.

Christians get into trouble by confusing these two things, identity and behaviour. If we confuse these two, our identity will always be uncertain and we will base our identity on keeping rules, being "good," keeping our promises, never disappointing others, seeking approval. This is what drives the world. But it is not so with God.

The truth of the gospel is that God loves you more than you could ever hope to be loved.

There is nothing you can do that will change what he thinks about you.

Everything has been done in Christ.

In terms of our behaviour, there will be issues that he will have to take care of, but our identity in Christ is never at stake. That has been settled once and for all.

Stop dragging up the corpse! He's dead!! Listen instead to the truth that Jesus only makes you free. Let's tell one another the truth about our status in Christ. Let's remind each other what he did with our sin and guilt. Let's determine to live the truth of being set free. Stop going back to slavery.

Gal 5v1 It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.