The All-Or-Nothing God
Opening Prayer
Lord, how grateful I am for the faith You’ve given me. Strengthen my faith today as I read Your Word.
Read GALATIANS 3:1-14
[1] 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. Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 International Bible Society. All rights reserved throughout the world. Used by permission of International Bible Society.
Reflect
What was the Galatians very serious mistake?Here in Galatians is the shocking paradox of God’s righteous law. It is a shining light of truth, beauty and joy. And yet, for ordinary people like you, me and the Galatians, it brings a wretched, intolerable curse.
This is in large part because God’s law is just that: a single covenant. Either we embrace and obey it all, unquestioningly, or else we’re doomed. We must conform to every detail: those sections that naturally appeal to us, those we’re baffled by and the parts that are frightening. They may scare us either because we know we can’t keep these rules, however hard we try, or because we can’t understand how our loving Lord could have made such laws in the first place.
But what we think about it is not the point at all. Only by faith can a human being receive anything from God (14). It is fascinating that this is also true of the heroes of the Old Testament such as Abraham and Moses (see Heb. 11:23-31). But our faith does not depend upon anything we can do: only on the good news we have heard about Jesus.
Apply
Reflect on the faith you’ve received. Read 1 John 3:1,2. Thank God for giving you faith and making you his child.
Closing prayer
Lord Jesus, I know Your ways are right and good. Thank You for giving me the faith to follow them.
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