Falling From Grace
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At Galatians chapter five, Paul began to warn against what he described at verse four as "falling from grace." This is what happens when God’s children behave in such a spiritually unsatisfactory manner as to reap His disfavor.
The Galatian Christians had offended God by observing certain principles of the Law of Moses as if they were bound in the Law of Christ. While we may also fall from grace in such a manner, there are also other means and causes whereby we may do so. Let’s consider some causes for which many have fallen from God’s favor.
One reason is a lack of love for God. At Mark chapter twelve, Jesus taught that we should love the Lord God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. It isn’t hard to encourage us to do good for anyone we love. Similarly, one who loves God with all his being should find obedience to His will to be something he’d gladly do.
Others may fall from grace because they love the wrong thing. At First John the second chapter, we learn at verses fifteen through seventeen that we should never love the sinful content of the world. If we do, the love of God isn’t in us.
John described the sinful world in only three terms; the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. All this is destined to pass away, as will all those who lust after it. However, those that do the will of the Father will abide forever.
Others, though, may fall from grace while not enthusiastically loving either God or the world; they’re just indifferent to everything. Such folks accept the church in it’s context, and the world in it’s context, while not being particularly zealous about either one.
The church at Laodicea was like this, and, at Revelation chapter three, Jesus declared He’d rather see them be what He called "cold or hot" than to be "lukewarm". At verse nineteen, repentance would require that they become at last zealous for the Lord’s purposes.
Some fall from grace because they don’t love the Lord enough, and some because they love the world; others because they’re indifferent to either one. If you would seek God’s favor, to love Him with all your being will make obedience to Him both simple and a pleasure.