God Speaks
Oh, foolish Galatians! Who has cast an evil spell on you? For the meaning of Jesus Christ’s death was made as clear to you as if you had seen a picture of his death on the cross. 2 Let me ask you this one question: Did you receive the Holy Spirit by obeying the law of Moses? Of course not! You received the Spirit because you believed the message you heard about Christ. 3 How foolish can you be? After starting your new lives in the Spirit, why are you now trying to become perfect by your own human effort? 4 Have you experienced so much for nothing? Surely it was not in vain, was it?
5 I ask you again, does God give you the Holy Spirit and work miracles among you because you obey the law? Of course not! It is because you believe the message you heard about Christ.
6 In the same way, “Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith.” 7 The real children of Abraham, then, are those who put their faith in God.
8 What’s more, the Scriptures looked forward to this time when God would make the Gentiles right in his sight because of their faith. God proclaimed this good news to Abraham long ago when he said, “All nations will be blessed through you.” 9 So all who put their faith in Christ share the same blessing Abraham received because of his faith.
10 But those who depend on the law to make them right with God are under his curse, for the Scriptures say, “Cursed is everyone who does not observe and obey all the commands that are written in God’s Book of the Law.” 11 So it is clear that no one can be made right with God by trying to keep the law. For the Scriptures say, “It is through faith that a righteous person has life.” 12 This way of faith is very different from the way of law, which says, “It is through obeying the law that a person has life.”
13 But Christ has rescued us from the curse pronounced by the law. When he was hung on the cross, he took upon himself the curse for our wrongdoing. For it is written in the Scriptures, “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.” 14 Through Christ Jesus, God has blessed the Gentiles with the same blessing he promised to Abraham, so that we who are believers might receive the promised Holy Spirit through faith.
15 Dear brothers and sisters, here’s an example from everyday life. Just as no one can set aside or amend an irrevocable agreement, so it is in this case. 16 God gave the promises to Abraham and his child. And notice that the Scripture doesn’t say “to his children,” as if it meant many descendants. Rather, it says “to his child”—and that, of course, means Christ. 17 This is what I am trying to say: The agreement God made with Abraham could not be canceled 430 years later when God gave the law to Moses. God would be breaking his promise. 18 For if the inheritance could be received by keeping the law, then it would not be the result of accepting God’s promise. But God graciously gave it to Abraham as a promise.
19 Why, then, was the law given? It was given alongside the promise to show people their sins. But the law was designed to last only until the coming of the child who was promised. God gave his law through angels to Moses, who was the mediator between God and the people. 20 Now a mediator is helpful if more than one party must reach an agreement. But God, who is one, did not use a mediator when he gave his promise to Abraham.
21 Is there a conflict, then, between God’s law and God’s promises? Absolutely not! If the law could give us new life, we could be made right with God by obeying it. 22 But the Scriptures declare that we are all prisoners of sin, so we receive God’s promise of freedom only by believing in Jesus Christ.
23 Before the way of faith in Christ was available to us, we were placed under guard by the law. We were kept in protective custody, so to speak, until the way of faith was revealed.
24 Let me put it another way. The law was our guardian until Christ came; it protected us until we could be made right with God through faith. 25 And now that the way of faith has come, we no longer need the law as our guardian.
26 For you are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus. 27 And all who have been united with Christ in baptism have put on Christ, like putting on new clothes. 28 There is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male and female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 And now that you belong to Christ, you are the true children of Abraham. You are his heirs, and God’s promise to Abraham belongs to you.
Source: New Living Translation: BibleGateway.com
We Respond
Reflection: Galatians 3:1-6 asks the question, “Is a person saved by faith or works of the law?” Paul emphatically states that it is by faith in the LORD God (specifically in Jesus Christ’s crucifixion and resurrection) that a person is saved. Verses 7-9 give Abraham as an example of this truth. Paul also points out the importance of the Holy Spirit. In verses 10-14, he addresses the problem of the curse: everyone who does not keep the law perfectly is under a curse. He reminds the Galatians that “…Christ has rescued us from the curse pronounced by the law. When he hung on the cross, He took upon Himself the curse of our wrongdoing.” (Galatians 3:13 NLT). So, which should a person rely on for life and eternal salvation, the law, or God’s promises? Paul asserts “the righteous shall live by faith,” (Galatians 3:11 ESV) in God and His promises and gives practical examples to prove it.
Prayer: Dear God who turns fools into faith-filled followers of Jesus, please help me to understand and remember that I received Jesus and the Holy Spirit by faith, not by keeping all the rules and regulations of religion or society. I need to go on living by faith in my ordinary, day-to-day life. Even Abraham, whom You chose to be the father of nations, lived by faith in Your promises, Almighty God. It wasn’t until hundreds of years later that You gave Your people the Ten Commandments and the other laws and regulations. LORD, You did that so that even people who were not his physical descendants but who trusted in Your promises could be children of Abraham by faith. Of course, the most important descendant of Abraham was Jesus the Christ, the Son of God. It is You, Jesus, who fulfills all of the promises of God. You’re the only One who can. You bore the curse of our disobedience (sin) on the cross. You gave us the laws of Scripture to guide and protect Your people until the proper time for You to set us free from slavery to sin and the fear of death. Now, every one of us can be set free and be declared “children of God” through faith in Christ Jesus. Hallelujah. Praise the LORD! AMEN
Action: (Ask God, the Holy Spirit, if He wants you to work on one of the suggestions below or something else more personal that He points out.)
- I will memorize Galatians 3:11 and 13 so that I’ll be reminded to keep my faith centered in the LORD God rather than in keeping or not keeping religious, moral, social, or civil laws and regulations.
- I will share this scripture with _______ (someone I know who is counting on their keeping the moral laws of the Bible to be counted righteous before God).
- I will take some time to check my motivation when I’m making a decision. Am I choosing to do right because I’m just obeying God’s laws or am I holding God to a promise He has made?
- I will connect with someone (in person or through books or videos) who has lived by faith so that I can see it modeled, and/or I will serve as model to someone less experienced.
Share: I plan to share what I’ve learned with __________.