The Big Idea
The Big Idea
An Introduction to Be Free
by Ken Baugh
Saving Private Ryan is one of my favorite World War II movies. Three out of four brothers are killed in action, and then a search is launched to find the fourth, Private James Ryan, so that he is not killed, leaving his mother childless. Eight men are sent out to find Private Ryan, who is missing somewhere in Normandy. As these men wander through the French countryside, they have a running dialogue of angst: “Why is the army risking the lives of eight men to save one?” Their anger and frustration only increases as they experience one life-threatening situation after another. Then, one evening, before they sack out for the night, Captain John Miller says to his sergeant:
This Ryan better be worth it, he better do something important with his life, he better become a doctor and cure some disease or invent a longer-lasting light bulb or something.
Captain Miller hopes Private Ryan will be worthy of the risks that he and his men are taking to find him. Eventually, Miller and his Rangers locate Ryan, but he is duty bound to stay and defend an important bridge from German forces. Miller agrees to join Ryan and his makeshift unit, but in the battle Miller and most of the men who came to find Ryan are killed. In the final moments before Captain Miller dies of his wounds, he says to Ryan in a low and shaky voice: “Earn this. Earn it.” In essence, Captain Miller is telling Ryan to live his life from that moment on in such a way that it is worthy of their sacrifices.
At the end of the movie, an elderly Ryan is seen visiting the graveside of Captain Miller and the other Rangers who sacrificed everything for him. Turning to his wife, he says, “Tell me I’ve led a good life. Tell me I’m a good man.” As the scene fades out you realize that Private James Ryan has lived his entire life with Captain Miller’s words echoing in his mind: “Earn this. Earn it.”
The end of the movie is powerful because it strikes a chord deep inside that many of us struggle with in our journey with Jesus. We often feel like we have to earn God’s love or do something that makes us deserve what Jesus went through on the cross. Yet these feelings contradict the clear teaching of the Bible that God’s love is unconditional and that our salvation is free. But we sure struggle with that, don’t we?
The apostle Paul penned his letter to the churches in Galatia to correct their misunderstanding of grace. A group of Jewish Christians whom Paul refers to as the “circumcision group” (2:12 NIV) has somehow convinced the Gentile Christians in Galatia that they have to both believe in Christ and practice Jewish laws and traditions in order for God to be happy with them. So Paul writes to them a stern letter of rebuke not to accept any other gospel than that which he has preached to them, because any other gospel is no gospel at all (1:6–7 NIV). What makes salvation good news is that it is free.
Herein lies the Big Idea that runs throughout the book of Galatians: God’s love is unconditional, and salvation is a free gift from God that can only be received by faith and responded to with love. But that truth is a tough pill to swallow, even for us today, because we have been so conditioned to believe that nothing is free. We have to do something, we have to perform in some way and earn what we get. Phillip Yancey says:
As early as preschool and kindergarten we are tested and evaluated before being slotted into an “advanced, normal, or slow academic track.” From then on we receive grades denoting our performance in math, science, reading and even social skills and citizenship. Test papers come back with errors in red, not correct answers highlighted. All this helps prepare us for the real world with its relentless ranking. (What’s So Amazing About Grace, 36)
The truth is that God’s grace and love being free and unconditional seems just too good to be true. Because of our conditioning, we feel compelled to do something to earn them. But the gospel that Paul personally received from the Lord Jesus stresses that grace cannot be earned, it can only be received. There are no spiritual hoops to jump through, no list of rules and regulations that need to be obeyed, no amount of biblical knowledge or helping the poor or going on some crusade for a righteous cause—there is nothing you can do to earn salvation or to make God love you any more than He does right this minute. His salvation is free, and His love is unconditional. But still, with all that being said, there is something inside us as human beings that makes us reluctant to accept God’s love as it is freely given.
For centuries people have tried to make themselves deserving of God’s love. Even today we find Christian groups sending the message to new believers, “Great! Now that you believe in Christ and are saved, here’s a list of things you need to start doing to make God (and us) happy. And here’s another list of things you need to stop doing in order to be acceptable in our fellowship.” It seems like trying to earn God’s favor is a persistent struggle for God’s people.
A couple of years ago I was staying at a hotel in Jerusalem on a Saturday. As I was taking the elevator down from my room to the lobby, it stopped by itself on each floor. The door opened for about thirty seconds, and then it closed, proceeded to the next floor, and did the same thing all over again. I thought something really weird was going on, and then I remembered that it was Saturday and Saturday is the Sabbath in Jerusalem. I was on what Jews call a “Shabbat elevator.” You see, Orthodox Jews believe that it is against the law of Moses to do any work on the Sabbath, including pushing an elevator button. Therefore, the elevators in every hotel in Israel stop automatically at each floor so that Orthodox Jews can keep their Sabbath free of any work. Thankfully, I’m not an Orthodox Jew, so the next time I took the stairs. I guess I’m just too impatient. I believe that Shabbat elevators are just another form of a legalistic, works-oriented salvation for the person who is trying to earn God’s favor.
True salvation is free of works and totally dependent upon God’s grace. And once you get this, once you allow the truth of the real gospel to penetrate your heart, you begin to live in freedom. Freedom from fear of losing God’s love, freedom from guilt, shame, and condemnation when you do something that doesn’t measure up, freedom from the frantic urge to perform for God so He will love you more. The gospel is the good news, and the good news is that God is for you, not against you, that God loves you right now as much as He will ever love you, and that salvation is a free gift that He makes available to anyone who will receive it by faith. This is Paul’s gospel, and this is truly good news! I hope and pray as you read through Galatians and this commentary that you will find freedom in God’s gift of grace and come to truly understand His amazing, unconditional love. The true gospel sets us free!
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Dr. Wiersbe’s commentaries have been a source of guidance and strength to me over the many years that I have been a pastor. His unique style is not overly academic, but theologically sound. He explains the deep truths of Scripture in a way that everyone can understand and apply. Whether you’re a Bible scholar or a brand-new believer in Christ, you will benefit, as I have, from Warren’s insights. With your Bible in one hand and Dr. Wiersbe’s commentary in the other, you will be able to accurately unpack the deep truths of God’s Word and learn how to apply them to your life.
Drink deeply, my friend, of the truths of God’s Word, for in them you will find Jesus Christ, and there is freedom, peace, assurance, and joy.
—Ken Baugh
Pastor of Coast Hills Community Church
Aliso Viejo, California