Faith to believe...
Galatians 3:1-14 You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified. [2] I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by observing the law, or by believing what you heard? [3] Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort? [4] Have you suffered so much for nothing—if it really was for nothing? [5] Does God give you his Spirit and work miracles among you because you observe the law, or because you believe what you heard?
[6] Consider Abraham: "He believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness." [7] Understand, then, that those who believe are children of Abraham. [8] The Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: "All nations will be blessed through you." [9] So those who have faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.
[10] All who rely on observing the law are under a curse, for it is written: "Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law." [11] Clearly no-one is justified before God by the law, because, "The righteous will live by faith." [12] The law is not based on faith; on the contrary, "The man who does these things will live by them." [13] Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: "Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree." [14] He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.
What has actually moved you forward in your journey with God, Paul asks the Galatians – trying by human effort or by the Holy Spirit working from within and changing what you do on the outside? Moving forward has come because you believed in what Jesus has done and receiving his grace. So here’s something for us to ponder – what evidence is there in our lives, and the lives of our churches, that we have been changed by faith. Paul points to the work of the Spirit in the Galatians’ churches, of lives changed, miracles and transformations. Can we point to the evidence of faith in our communities?
Abraham followed God, not because of a written down code of behaviour, but because he met God, believed and followed him, even though it meant moving from one side of the ancient world to another. It was faith that made him follow, and made him a child of God. Paul is telling us this, because later he is going to develop a theology of us all being children of God, if we have heard and believed. It is those who believe in faith, in faith of what Jesus has done on the cross, that are descendants of Abraham and children of God.
Because following the law can only do so much. In fact what it tells us is that unless we follow everything that is in the law, always and forever, we are in trouble. The truth is that we cannot do this for ourselves…. Which is why we need Jesus. We were under a curse. We needed somebody to accept that curse for us. It had to be Jesus, God who was also man, because only a man could be punished since only man was guilty, but only God’s Son was good enough. Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: "Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree." This is the great truth of the Gospel, the Good News – Jesus did for us that which we could not do for ourselves. He put things right between us and God – if you like, and if you remember the analogy of the other day, he fixed the car. And because of Jesus acting in faith, he made it possible for all men, not just the Jewish nation, to share in the promise God gave to bless the world to Abraham, a blessing which is passed on by faith…..
What do we have faith to believe in?
If you are a regular visitor to the ‘Deployed’ site then please leave your thoughts in what we have faith, as children of Abraham, who are destined to bring blessing to all nations, for….
[6] Consider Abraham: "He believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness." [7] Understand, then, that those who believe are children of Abraham. [8] The Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: "All nations will be blessed through you." [9] So those who have faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.
[10] All who rely on observing the law are under a curse, for it is written: "Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law." [11] Clearly no-one is justified before God by the law, because, "The righteous will live by faith." [12] The law is not based on faith; on the contrary, "The man who does these things will live by them." [13] Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: "Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree." [14] He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.
What has actually moved you forward in your journey with God, Paul asks the Galatians – trying by human effort or by the Holy Spirit working from within and changing what you do on the outside? Moving forward has come because you believed in what Jesus has done and receiving his grace. So here’s something for us to ponder – what evidence is there in our lives, and the lives of our churches, that we have been changed by faith. Paul points to the work of the Spirit in the Galatians’ churches, of lives changed, miracles and transformations. Can we point to the evidence of faith in our communities?
Abraham followed God, not because of a written down code of behaviour, but because he met God, believed and followed him, even though it meant moving from one side of the ancient world to another. It was faith that made him follow, and made him a child of God. Paul is telling us this, because later he is going to develop a theology of us all being children of God, if we have heard and believed. It is those who believe in faith, in faith of what Jesus has done on the cross, that are descendants of Abraham and children of God.
Because following the law can only do so much. In fact what it tells us is that unless we follow everything that is in the law, always and forever, we are in trouble. The truth is that we cannot do this for ourselves…. Which is why we need Jesus. We were under a curse. We needed somebody to accept that curse for us. It had to be Jesus, God who was also man, because only a man could be punished since only man was guilty, but only God’s Son was good enough. Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: "Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree." This is the great truth of the Gospel, the Good News – Jesus did for us that which we could not do for ourselves. He put things right between us and God – if you like, and if you remember the analogy of the other day, he fixed the car. And because of Jesus acting in faith, he made it possible for all men, not just the Jewish nation, to share in the promise God gave to bless the world to Abraham, a blessing which is passed on by faith…..
What do we have faith to believe in?
If you are a regular visitor to the ‘Deployed’ site then please leave your thoughts in what we have faith, as children of Abraham, who are destined to bring blessing to all nations, for….
posted by Gordon at
8:17 am
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