I think since Paul was writing to Christians in Galatians, he was telling them that their Gospel +plus thinking of going back to things associated with the law to keep them in a right relationship with God or to "maintain" their salvation (and he referred to it as "fallen away from grace") didn't mean they had lost their salvation; I think he was telling them that they had corrupted the meaning of grace and had damaged that knowledge and relationship because it meant they had to do something on their part to gain and maintain their salvation when salvation by grace was actually all of God's doing.
My mother was raised in a church where they taught she could fall from grace, meaning she could lose her salvation, so she had no assurance of her salvation until years later when a preacher from another denomination referred her to John 3:16 - 'For God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believed in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life,' - and asked her how long everlasting was.
I think I probably caught the opposite easy believe-ism of "once saved, always saved," which meant walking down the aisle to obtain one's fire insurance from hell, and then living life however one wanted to. I remember as a church clerk having to dig back through the years of records to find when a deceased person was baptized (which supposedly documented their salvation experience) to find a man's name who had moved away from our town years before and had never transferred his membership to another church. I'm sure it was comforting to the family to know he had walked the aisle many years before, but his life should've been the evidence of his faith in Christ. So if a name on a church roll is the only way people knew if someone had a relationship with Christ, then sadly, that's actually more indicative that he probably didn't have a relationship with Christ.
Although I knew most all of the stories of the Bible, and I could tell you the right words and answers pertaining to Christian dogma, it wasn't until my thirties or early forties that I truly grasped the concept of grace (finally)-- that my salvation was completely and totally based on what God did through his Son, and not anything else on my part other than to believe and accept it. I remember how freeing that felt because before that, the logical, human side of me kept needling me at the back of my mind that surely there was something more I could do to get on God's good side, to make my salvation stick if I did more for him.
I went from spending more time working down at the church than the preacher did (& keeping God at arm's distance) to not doing nearly as much work down at the church and focusing more on my relationship with Him. I want any evidence that I'm a Christian to come naturally out of an overflowing heart of love for and gratefulness to and dependence on Him, rather than an obligation to insure that my relationship with Him is on good terms based on what I do for Him. I was living the Gospel+ life for years and didn't even realize it. But I also believe during that time that I was still God's child based on what He'd done for me, not on my immature and misguided thinking.
According to the book of James, he makes it sound like good works are a requirement of salvation on the surface, but when you take that message and put it alongside the rest of the New Testament, good works are the evidence of our faith and relationship with Christ. And I've learned through the years that most of the 'good works' God intends for us to do are outside of the church. It was so easy for me to work hard (and comfortably) within the walls of the church on activities and events and musical efforts with and for other Christians, and always with the hope that a non-Christian would come through the door. But most non-Christians never cross that threshold.
I'm not discounting the importance of the church to minister and teach and edify the Body [church members]; my Bible study class is such a source of inspiration and strength to me during this time of my life, and I've learned so much from my pastor's sermons. But when our 'good works' take place only at church, I think we're missing the point of the Great Commission where Jesus says to 'go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always,to the very end of the age.' Matthew 28:19-20.
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