"... ye are fallen from grace" - Galatians 5:4
Oftentimes, Christians will use the phrase "fallen from grace" to explain why a person has lost their status or position. A good example of this is mentality can be seen in the 1980's Jimmy Swaggart scandal. For anyone that isn't familiar with this story, a famous television evangelist was caught having sex with prostitutes. The tabloids and newspapers had a field day with the scandal. In an article by the New York Times (click here), the reporter wrote that Jimmy Swaggart "said he blamed no one for his own fall from grace".
There are many people that believe and teach that falling from grace means that a believer has sinned and is being punished. We need to look at what the Apostle Paul said in Galatians, to understand what the falling from grace means according to God's Word.
"Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage. Behold, I Paul say unto you, that if ye be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing. For I testify again to every man that is circumcised, that he is a debtor to do the whole Law. Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the Law; ye are fallen from grace." - Galatians 5:1-4
Ancient Galatia was in modern-day Turkey and was comprised primarily of Gentile believers. In Acts chapter 15, there were Jews that went around to the churches teaching that the Mosaic Law still needed to be followed. For Jewish believers, Peter called the Law a yoke that "neither our fathers nor we were able to bear" (15:10).
What about the Gentiles that did not follow the Law of Moses? After all, the Law was given to Israel - not the world (Deut. 4:6-8). Paul answered this question in his letter to the Romans. Romans 2:14-15 says that "the Gentiles, which have not the Law, do by nature the things contained in the Law, these, having not the Law, are a law unto themselves: Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another". For us Gentiles, we are all convicted by our consciences. We all have a moral law. We know right from wrong.
According to the Bible, if anyone tries to justify themselves by their own works under their own law, then they have fallen from grace. We cannot earn salvation (Eph. 2:8-9) nor can we do any works that please God until we are saved (Eph 2:10, 2 Tim. 3:16-17).
As shown in the Assurance of Salvation lesson, sin is not more powerful than the cross. When Jesus took our punishment upon Himself, He freed us from the Law once and for all (Gal. 2:16, 3:13). It does not please God if we try to follow the Ten Commandments, get circumcised, or anything else that the Law stated we were to do because we are working in our own strength when it should be His strength that we rely upon (Phil. 4:13). When we live by His grace, then we naturally fulfill the Law (Gal. 5:14, 16, 22-25) and have no desire to sin.