Can't Get Free by Your Own Efforts! (Galatians 2)

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To God be the glory, for His gift of grace and freedom.

We read in Galatians 2:16,

"yet we know that a man is not justified [and placed in right standing with God] by works of the Law, but [only] through faith in [God’s beloved Son,] Christ Jesus. And even we [as Jews] have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the Law. By observing the Law no one will ever be justified [declared free of the guilt of sin and its penalty]." (Gal. 2:16, AMP)

"By observing the Law no one will ever be justified." We spoke about in the last article, how this also refers to healing, or freedom- no man can ever be healed or freed by his own efforts either. If salvation (the highest and greatest gift from God) comes by faith, a simple reception in the heart, then any other blessing (which would be lesser than salvation) must also come through faith. It does!

As it says on our website home page, statistics show that most rehabilitation centres have an extremely low percentage of success, when it comes to people getting free (and never coming back). It's also true for the correctional system: when I worked in a juvenile detention centre, the staff were quick to point out that nearly all of the adolescents in their custody had been in and out, several times. (As an aside, one of the young people there told me the reason he did drugs was because he had found no other way to be happy...)

We're talking between 1 and 2% success rates. Yet, some Christian ministries claim to have upwards of 80% success rates- people getting free and getting their lives together, never to return to addiction or dysfunction again.

How can this be? Why is this not known? The success rate comes from God- as one man of God said, "faith works; Jesus never fails." How true!

Unfortunately, most people are under the impression that they should put their trust in counselling, facilities, programs- all of which have little or nothing to do with God. They send their loved ones there (or the courts do)... and truly, the intentions are golden. It's just that, the fact is, these programs don't work for most (nearly all) people.

Because people don't read their Bibles, and because true Scriptural principles of freedom (the tenets of the Gospel) are not taught or preached from many pulpits, people don't realize that counselling/programs/etc. are not the answer: Jesus is. People say, "well, Jesus is just for church or religion...what our loved one/what I need is a counsellor/a rehab program..." and this is what the world tells us to believe. It is what the world actually does believe. The sad but true reality is, many celebrities and politicians attend counseling, but the same group of people hosts numerous addiction problems and a high suicide rate (just as an example).

The thing is, Jesus is a real, living person. You can meet Him, you can experience Him. You can feel His love, like you know your spouse or loved one loves you, and you can feel it.

The Bible is the Living Word- it actually is Jesus, "the Word made flesh." (John 1) There's a story of a man who was addicted to alcohol. He had tried and tried and tried to get free from it on his own efforts to abstain. He desired change so much, he was willing to try anything- but nothing had worked. Since he was a Christian, he decided whenever he had the urge to drink each night after work, he would read the Bible instead. He started small and ended up reading Scripture for three hours a day. That was when he came across the Scripture from the Song of Songs 1:2, "your love is sweeter than wine." He received a revelation that changed his life...he saw in that moment that what he needed was God's love- something far greater than alcohol had been in his life, something that wouldn't enslave him...he was changed by the Word. Thank You, Father God!

When we read the Bible with open hearts, we can receive a personal revelation. Remember Galatians 1:11-12, when Paul described this. It's as if you knew it in your mind all along, and suddenly it explodes into your heart. It's an "aha!" turn on the lights moment. Enlightenment, innovation, illumination, whatever- it's a revelation from God that people need. And, it only comes from God's Word!

God reveals something personally to you ---> this gives you FAITH ---> leads to trusting and receiving FREEDOM

Wow. You might be saying, "if this really works..." It does. You can trust God will see you through.

We are not bashing counseling (I'm a certified Christian counselor!) or programs, etc. God can work through just about anything. But...He has a method that actually works every time- because the method is His love, and "love never fails." (1 Cor. 13)

Perhaps the success of the 12 step programs stems from the basic step of "surrender to a higher power."

See, it's not magic, or a program that actually brings freedom in a person's soul. These are works that we do, to achieve a result.

Faith is different- it's spiritual, supernatural. It's not really what we do, but rather what God does! It's simply that we have to learn to walk by faith to receive what God can do.

Prayer, reading and speaking Scripture over one's life (all part of the ICM Manual) are all good things- necessary things- but they simply position us to receive freedom from God. We don't work for it, can't earn or produce it. Galatians 2:16.

The spiritual life is more "passive" than we think, in terms of the flesh (what we do in our own efforts). It's activity of the spirit, not the things we can do. It's an openness of the heart to God's free gift of grace, that makes us righteous and free, and powerful in His Name.

There's another story (one included in the ICM Manual) of a young man who was diagnosed with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. He was tormented nearly constantly with horrible, ugly thoughts. Torment was the perfect word for it...he thought he might be going insane. He went through counseling, even for an entire year, and it did nothing, bore no fruit in his life whatsoever. They put him on anti-depressants, taught him mental techniques, breathing exercises...but finally, a fellow Christian witnessed to him about getting back into daily Scripture reading. This is where his freedom began. He started to take seriously a daily devotion to the Word of God...and he started to get free by God's grace, not his own or other people's efforts or treatment. Isn't that amazing? He came to Identity Crisis Management then, and realized what he had started to grasp was really true. It was confirmed to him in ICM that he should, in fact, believe the Word of God over any thoughts he may have, or feelings, etc., that the Word of God is truer than anything and more powerful, as well. Today he is happier than ever, and walking in the power of the Holy Spirit of freedom. Thank You, Jesus!

What God can do for us is limitless, unimaginable. When you get down to it, the people that believe in God will admit that, yes, they believe God is All-powerful, Almighty. But, when they have a problem, they don't know how to access God's power to save them. It's all to do with FAITH, surrendering to God's grace...More to come!

"And even we [as Jews] have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the Law. By observing the Law no one will ever be justified [declared free of the guilt of sin and its penalty]." (Gal. 2:16, AMP)

"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." (Gal. 5:1)

Dan Devine, M. Div

Identity Crisis Management (Outreach for Men)

https://howtobefree.wixsite.com/identity