The Law and Faith in Christ
(From: New Living Translation)
Galatians 3
Oh, foolish Galatians! What
magician has cast an evil spell on you? For you used to see the meaning of
Jesus Christ's death as clearly as though I had shown you a signboard with a
picture of Christ dying on the cross. 2 Let me ask you this one
question: Did you receive the Holy Spirit by keeping the law? Of course not,
for the Holy Spirit came upon you only after you believed the message you heard
about Christ. 3 Have
you lost your senses? After starting your Christian lives in the Spirit, why are
you now trying to become perfect by your own human effort? 4 You have suffered so much
for the Good News. Surely it was not in vain, was it? Are you now going to just
throw it all away?
5
I ask
you again, does God give you the Holy Spirit and work miracles among you
because you obey the law of Moses? Of course not! It is because you believe the
message you heard about Christ.
6
In the
same way, "Abraham believed God, so God declared him righteous because of
his faith."* 7 The real children of Abraham, then, are all those
who put their faith in God.
8
What's
more, the Scriptures looked forward to this time when God would accept the
Gentiles, too, on the basis of their faith. God promised this good news to
Abraham long ago when he said, "All nations will be blessed through
you."* 9 And
so it is: 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 these commands that are written in God's Book of the Law."* 11 Consequently, it is clear
that no one can ever be right with God by trying to keep the law. For the
Scriptures say, "It is through faith that a righteous person has
life."* 12 How different from this way of faith is the way of law, which
says, "If you wish to find life by obeying the law, you must obey all of
its commands."* 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 the work of Christ Jesus, God has blessed
the Gentiles with the same blessing he promised to Abraham, and we Christians
receive the promised Holy Spirit through faith.
The Law and God's Promises
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 promise to
Abraham and his child.* And notice that it doesn't say the promise was to his
children,* as if it meant many descendants. But the promise was 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 only by keeping the law, then it would not be the result of
accepting God's promise. But God gave it to Abraham as a promise.
19
Well
then, why was the law given? It was given to show people how guilty they are.
But this system of law was to last only until the coming of the child to whom
God's promise was made. And there is this further difference. God gave his laws
to angels to give to Moses, who was the mediator between God and the people. 20 Now a mediator is needed if
two people enter into an agreement, but God acted on his own when he made his
promise to Abraham.
21
Well
then, is there a conflict between God's law and God's promises? Absolutely not!
If the law could have given us new life, we could have been made right with God
by obeying it. 22 But the Scriptures have declared that we are all prisoners of
sin, so the only way to receive God's promise is to believe in Jesus Christ.
23
Until
faith in Christ was shown to us as the way of becoming right with God, we were
guarded by the law. We were kept in protective custody, so to speak, until we
could put our faith in the coming Savior.
God's Children through
Faith
24 Let me put it another way.
The law was our guardian and teacher to lead us until Christ came. So now,
through faith in Christ, we are made right with God. 25 But now that faith in
Christ has come, we no longer need the law as our guardian. 26 So you are all children* of
God through faith in Christ Jesus. 27 And all who have been
united with Christ in baptism have been made like him. 28 There is no longer Jew or
Gentile,* slave or free, male or female. For you are all Christians-you are one
in Christ Jesus. 29 And now that you belong to Christ, you are the true
children of Abraham. You are his heirs, and now all the promises God gave to
him belong to you.
Footnotes:
3:6 Gen 15:6
3:8 Gen 12:3; 18:18; 22:18
3:10 Deut 27:26
3:11 Hab 2:4
3:12 Lev 18:5
3:13 Deut 21:23
3:15 Greek Brothers.
3:16 Greek seed; also in 3:16c, 19. See Gen 12:7
3:16 Greek seeds
3:26 Greek sons
3:28 Greek Jew or Greek
There just isn’t anything
I can add to this teaching… Paul says it all. Don’t be foolish by trying to be
good to please God (for obeying rules to be accepted, rules like the Jewish
laws, are flesh, but grace is Spirit), for only accepting the sacrifice Jesus
did on the cross pleases God. Jesus paid the price for our sin, and we do sin,
we cannot do right all the time, we fail! Our lives are now hid in Christ and
His blood is our covering, He paid the price in full, do not do despite to our
Lord, do the “best” you can to live a life of love for Jesus sake and leave the
rest under the blood of Jesus our Lord and Savior. Be repentant, when you know
you failed repent before God in the name of Jesus and you are forgiven. Forgive
everyone that has ever hurt you in any way, because that pleases God. You did
not deserve to be forgiven by God, it is through God’s grace you are forgiven…
those who have hurt you do not deserve to be forgiven… God is not asking you to
forgive them because they deserve it, He is asking you to forgive them because
He forgave you when you didn’t deserve it! Remember the Lords prayer…
Thank you for visiting
this website, come again … God bless you, Joy
If you need to talk just
e-mail me… Joygirl@interconnect.net
I will answer your e-mail if you ask me a question. And I so appreciate the
words of encouragement you all send me! It is needed, THANKS! If you need
prayer just e-mail me and I will put your prayer request on our prayer list to
put your need before God. Have a great day! And above all remember “JESUS LOVES
YOU!”