Grace First: Rescued, Not Living for Approval

Devotional

Day 1: Rescued from the Treadmill of Self-Justification

The gospel is not a self-improvement plan but a rescue mission. Like a lifeguard plunging into dangerous waters, Jesus entered our chaos to save us from sin’s grip. His grace comes first, not as a reward for effort but as a gift to those drowning in guilt or striving to earn approval. Peace follows grace, not the other way around. When life feels like a race to prove our worth, the gospel whispers: stop swimming. You’re already safe. [32:11]

“Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father.”
(Galatians 1:3–4, ESV)

Reflection: Where do you feel the pressure to “justify your existence” this week? How might resting in Christ’s rescue free you from that burden?

Day 2: The Danger of “Jesus Plus”

Adding anything to Christ’s finished work—even good things—turns good news into a chain. The Galatians traded freedom for familiar slavery, clinging to rituals to feel secure. Yet grace humbles us: we bring nothing but open hands. Like showing up empty-handed to a feast, trusting the host’s generosity, faith means rejecting the lie that God’s love requires supplements. [38:29]

“I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose.”
(Galatians 2:21, ESV)

Reflection: What subtle “Jesus plus ___” formula have you been tempted to believe lately? How does Christ’s sufficiency disarm that lie?

Day 3: Running Under God’s Smile

Eric Liddell ran not to earn approval but because he already felt God’s pleasure. Unlike Harold Abrahams’ desperate quest for validation, the gospel declares our worth settled at the cross. Serving, giving, or apologizing becomes joyful freedom when done for an audience of One. No more hamster wheel—just the steady rhythm of belovedness. [51:13]

“Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.”
(Colossians 3:23–24, ESV)

Reflection: Where do you crave human applause most? How might living for God’s smile reshape that desire?

Day 4: Grace Offends the Self-Sufficient

The gospel scandalizes those who want to contribute. Like refusing a host’s gift unless we “pay our way,” we resist grace because it strips our pride. Yet Christ’s rescue leaves no room for boasting—only wonder. To preach grace alone is to risk criticism, but to dilute it is to withhold life. [49:05]

“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”
(Ephesians 2:8–9, ESV)

Reflection: When has grace felt uncomfortable to you? How might embracing it deepen your humility and joy?

Day 5: Repentance Is Remembering the Rescue

Repentance isn’t just turning from sin—it’s turning back to what’s true. When guilt whispers, “Try harder,” gospel repentance answers, “Christ already did.” Like Israel recalling the Red Sea, we rehearse our rescue: He gave Himself. He delivered us. Every day, we choose between the yoke of performance and the lightness of “It is finished.” [54:08]

“I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”
(Galatians 2:20, ESV)

Reflection: What failure or doubt makes you question God’s approval? How can you preach Galatians 2:20 to your heart today?

Sermon Summary

Galatians opens with Paul sounding the alarm before any usual warm thanksgiving, because the churches have started with Jesus and are now being told that Jesus is not enough. Paul’s greeting puts the whole Christian life in the right order: grace first, then peace. Christ gave himself for sins to rescue people from the present evil age, and God gives grace and peace as gifts, not wages. The gospel is not good advice for people who need a little improvement. The gospel is good news for drowning people who need rescue.

Paul’s authority matters because the gospel did not come from a committee, a workshop, or a church improvement process. God gave it, so people do not get to edit it, modernise it, or add something to make it more respectable. The rescue image carries the weight of the argument: a lifeguard does not shout from the beach, “swim better,” but jumps in and brings the helpless person back. The Exodus carries the same pattern, because God rescued Israel first, and only then called Israel to live his way.

Paul’s astonishment comes because the Galatians are turning to “a different gospel,” which is really no gospel at all. The Judaizers are not denying Jesus, but they are saying Jesus plus Moses, Jesus plus circumcision, Jesus plus law keeping. Paul says the moment something is added to Christ as the basis of acceptance with God, Christ has been treated as insufficient. The human heart reaches for chains again because earning feels more comfortable than receiving. Grace humbles, but performance flatters, and the heart likes being flattered.

The warning reaches its sharpest point when Paul says even an angel from heaven must be cursed if that angel brings another gospel. Eternity is too precious for people to tinker with God’s rescue plan, like swapping a doctor’s serious treatment for apple cider vinegar from Facebook. Paul then exposes the approval problem underneath false gospels. People tamper with grace because the human way wants something to contribute and someone to impress.

The contrast between Eric Liddell and Harold Abraham makes the issue plain. One runs because he knows he belongs; the other runs to justify his whole existence. Galatians calls Christians off the hamster wheel where worth rises and falls with the last performance. Christ has already given the verdict in his death and rescue, so the Christian life is lived from God’s smile, not for it.

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Key Takeaways

1. Grace first, then peace follows. Christ’s rescue comes before Christian obedience, not after enough effort has been offered. The order matters because reversing it turns peace into a wage and obedience into a desperate attempt to be accepted. Galatians gives tired consciences a better word: Jesus gave himself, Jesus rescued, and God gives grace before peace is ever felt. [29:34]
2. Jesus plus becomes no gospel. The moment Christ needs supplementing as the basis of acceptance, the good news has been changed into bad news. Good things like quiet times, church attendance, moral effort, or serving can quietly become chains when they become the ground of confidence before God. The test is not whether a practice is useful, but whether it makes Christ sufficient or insufficient. [43:30]
3. Grace humbles, performance flatters. The human heart often prefers earning because earning leaves room to boast, compare, and feel in control. Grace strips that away by saying Christ has done everything and the sinner contributes nothing but need. That is why grace feels unnatural, even offensive, but also why it is truly from heaven. [40:33]
4. Rescued people stop proving themselves. The gospel frees people from living every day as another examination of their worth. A servant of Christ does not need the applause of people, because Christ has already secured God’s approval. That freedom changes service, generosity, apology, and witness because the verdict is no longer hanging in the balance. [50:51]
5. Repentance believes what God says. Repentance is not just trying harder after failure, but changing the mind back to what is already true in Christ. Galatians trains the heart to answer guilt with God’s word: Jesus gave himself for sins, Jesus rescued, God accepts because of Christ. That is not positive thinking, but faith refusing the lies that performance keeps whispering.

## [54:08]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[21:18] - Galatians Reading Begins
[23:40] - Commonwealth Games And Running For Approval
[27:01] - Chasing A Verdict
[29:11] - Grace First, Then Peace
[30:10] - God Gave The True Gospel
[32:11] - Jesus Rescues The Drowning
[36:55] - Deserting Grace For Another Gospel
[40:08] - Why Earning Feels Easier Than Receiving
[43:30] - Testing Every Jesus Plus Formula
[45:32] - No Other Gospel, Even From An Angel
[48:24] - Living For God’s Approval
[52:34] - Believing The Gospel This Week
[55:09] - Prayer For Grace And Peace

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading

Galatians 1:1-10
Paul, an apostle—not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead— and all the brothers who are with me, To the churches of Galatia: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen. I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed. For am I now seeking the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ. [21:18]

Romans 12:1
I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.

Ephesians 2:1
And you were dead in the trespasses and sins

Observation questions

In Galatians 1:3-4, what does Paul say Jesus did, and what does he say God gives? [31:27]
What is the order in Paul’s greeting, and why is that order important: grace and peace, or peace and grace? [29:34]
In Galatians 1:6-7, what are the Galatians turning away from, and how does Paul describe this “different gospel”? [36:55]
What examples of “Jesus plus” were raised that can quietly become the basis of confidence before God? [43:57]

Interpretation questions

Paul says the gospel came from God, not from human beings. Why does that make it so serious to edit it, add to it, or make it more acceptable? [30:39]
Galatians 1:4 says Christ gave himself for sins to rescue people from the present evil age. How does the picture of rescue help explain what kind of condition people are in apart from Christ? [32:11]
Paul says that adding something to Christ as the basis of acceptance with God turns the gospel into no gospel at all. Why is “Jesus plus” such a deep problem, even when the added things seem good or religious? [38:23]
Paul connects false gospels with the desire for human approval. How can the need to contribute something or impress someone push a person away from grace? [48:24]

Application questions

Where is the pull to live for a verdict strongest right now: work, parenting, marriage, ministry, friendships, or something else? What does that pressure sound like in the heart? [27:29]
What is the most likely “Jesus plus” formula to creep into personal faith at the moment: quiet time, church attendance, moral effort, serving, being a good parent, or something else? How can that good thing slowly become a chain? [44:00]
Grace humbles and performance flatters. When does receiving grace feel harder than trying harder? What makes earning feel safer or more comfortable? [40:33]
Peace with God does not come from trying harder but from receiving what Christ has already done. What usually gets turned to when conscience feels heavy, and what would it look like instead to begin again with grace? [34:59]
Living from God’s smile changes the way a person serves, gives, apologises, and speaks about Jesus. In which of those areas would freedom from people’s approval make the biggest difference this week? [50:51]
When guilt rises after sin, the instinct is often to hide, delay prayer, or promise to do better first. What would repentance look like in that moment if it means coming back to what is already true in Christ? [54:08]
Every week offers other gospels: achievement, reputation, comparison, and last performance. Which of those voices is loudest right now, and what truth from Galatians 1:1-10 needs to answer it? [52:40]

Sermon Clips

55s

#GospelRescue

“``Rescue implies danger. It implies helplessness. And so I think of it this way, down at Cronulla, if you fall into a surf and you're caught in a rip, the lifeguard doesn't stand on the beach shouting at you, hey. You should swim better. It will it'll work out a lot better for you. What they grab their board, and they jump in, and they bring that person back. They are rescuers. And that's what Jesus has done for us. He's rescued us from the present evil age. So the gospel, the good news, isn't advice for people who need a little improvement, who need a little Jesus in their life. Like, they're going along just fine, but if you just add a little Jesus, you'll be okay. It's not good advice. It's good news for people drowning, who need rescue, who are helpless.”

61s

#WhoseApproval

“So I wanna ask the the question that Paul asked, whose approval are you living for? And then as we finish, a question. Will you believe the gospel? Not just understand it, not just agree with it, but will you actually believe it? Because every morning this week, you'll wake up and you'll hear another gospel. The world will tell you, you are what you achieve. You are what other people think of you. You are only as good as your last performance. And if you believe that gospel, you'll spend another week trying to justify your existence, another week trying to prove yourself, another week trying to carry a burden that Jesus never asked you to carry.”

62s

#RepentAndBelieve

“Remember, it's not I'll rescue you if, dot dot dot, he rescued you. So here's my challenge this week. When you find yourself thinking, oh, man, God is must be disappointed with me because of my sin, and we all sin. Don't just try harder. My challenge this week is to repent, which means that change your mind. Come back to what is already true. Preach Galatians three and four back to yourself and believe it. Grace and peace. Jesus gave himself for my sins. Jesus rescued me. God accepts me because of Christ. And so that's not positive thinking. I'm not giving you a mantra. That's called repentance. It's choosing to believe what God says instead of the lies that our hearts want to believe and so easily believe.”

44s

#JesusIsEnough

“Martin Luther, famously said that we will drift back towards Egypt. We'll drift back to self righteousness, and I think he's right. And so actually, every day, we need to hear the same wonderful truth. Jesus is enough. His cross is enough. His righteousness is enough. His grace is enough. Oh, there's some questions. Surely, I must contribute something. Surely, God expects me to prove myself. Surely there has to be something I can point to that makes me acceptable. That is not good news. That's a bondage.”

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