What Really Matters To God?

What Really Matters To God?

Many believers are told that what matters to God is practicing spiritual disciplines and participating in spiritual activities.

They are told that if they really want to be close to God, please him, and grow in their relationship with him, then they should practice the disciplines and participate in the activities.

Consequently, believers base their relationship with God on their adherence to these disciplines and involvement in these activities.

When they fulfill these disciplines and activities, they feel good about their relationship with God.

They feel God is pleased with them.

They feel clean before and close to God.

But when they don’t, they feel bad about their relationship with him.

They feel God is displeased with them.

They feel dirty and distant from him.

So they rededicate themselves to the disciplines and activities, only to fail once more.

This is what was happening in Galatia.

The Galatian believers were being told by their spiritual leaders that what mattered to God, what really pleased him, was practicing spiritual disciplines and participating in spiritual activities associated with the Law of Moses, starting with circumcision.

By doing these, they were told, they would become righteous (forgiven and accepted) before God, be pleasing to God, and grow closer to him.

However, Paul made it clear that observing the old way of the Law of Moses, with its spiritual disciplines and activities, is not what matters to God, what matters to God is a new creation.

He writes in Galatians 6:15:

“For neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything; the only thing that matters is a new creation!”

So what is a new creation?

The context of Galatians 6:15 is the cross of Jesus compared to the Law of Moses.

People’s relationship with God under the law was based upon conduct...their adherence to the expectations of the law.

By relating to God in this manner, a person would feel good or guilty before God, depending upon their adherence to the expectations.

This is the old way of relating to God.

In Galatians, Paul teaches about the new way of relating to God.

The new way of relating to God is through the cross of Jesus and his Spirit in our hearts, enabling us to call God “Abba, Father.”

It is being set free from having to adhere to the expectations of the law, or any spiritual requirements, for God’s forgiveness and acceptance (righteousness) and to grow in relationship with him.

It is being set free to enjoy a love relationship with God, which produces growth.

It is being set free to express love to others, which is empowered by a love relationship with God.

So the new creation is being freed from spiritual expectations so we can enjoy a love relationship with God, which empowers us to express love to others.

This is the new way of relating to God.

This is the grace way of relating to God.

A new creation is a person who has come to faith in Jesus and is declared by God to be righteous, forgiven, and accepted by him.

This person is permanently clean before God because of the cross of Jesus and permanently close to God because of the Spirit of Jesus indwelling his heart.

A new creation does not relate to God based upon the old way of the law but relates to God based upon…

...the new way of grace

...the new way of the cross

...the new way of the Spirit.

The new creation relates to God as Father under grace, not judge under law.

As Father, God is not judging us based upon our practice of spiritual disciplines or participation in spiritual activities.

Rather, he is relating to us as his loved, forgiven, accepted, and righteous sons and daughters.

What matters to God is that we come to understand the new creation that we are through Jesus.

2 Corinthians 5:17 states:

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old is gone and the new has come!”

In context, starting with 2 Corinthians 3:1, this verse is referring to the old covenant of law, the Ten Commandments, which is a ministry of death, since no one can obey it and, as result, is under its death penalty.

In contrast to the old covenant of law is the new covenant of grace.

The new covenant of grace is a covenant of forgiveness, righteousness, and life through Jesus.

Anyone who turns away from following the law to faith in Jesus becomes a new creation.

In 2 Corinthians 3:1-5:21, this new creation is a person whom the Spirit lives, who has received forgiveness, and who is righteous before God and in relationship with him.

Therefore, since he is a new creation, the old covenant has gone and the new covenant has come!

So the new creation, the person who has come to faith in Jesus and is in relationship with God, does not base his relationship with God on adherence to spiritual disciplines or activities, where one day he feels clean and close to God and another day dirty and distant from him.

Instead, he bases his relationship on the cross of Christ, which made him clean before God, and the Spirit of Christ, which brings him close to God as Father.

This way of relating to God produces growth (fruit of the Spirit).

So what really matters to God?

Some will tell us, as they did in Galatia, what really matters to God are spiritual disciplines and activities.

But the Bible tells us what really matters to God is for us to know what it means to be a new creation, then enjoy relating to him based upon the new creation that we are.