DAY 14 - GALATIANS

March 16, 2023

Galatians 3:15-22 (NLT)

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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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.

Thought:

The Bible is one big, grand story of God’s grace from beginning to end. The promises made to Abraham and to his offspring were given many years before the law came. And Paul is arguing that a law given centuries later (which is temporary - Galatians 3:19) cannot change a permanent covenant made by God. In fact, there is a relationship between the promise and the law. They are not opposed to each other. Jesus is the promised “seed” of Abraham to whom each stage of the Old Testament looks. Both the promise and the law are designed to uphold Christ!

When we hear the demands of the law and see our sin, that upholds Christ. When we remind ourselves of God’s promises, that upholds Christ.

Application:

1. Often, we seek to prove ourselves holy when God intends to prove us needy. Ask God to show you your sin and your utter need to depend on Jesus to deliver you from it.

2. How aware are you of God’s promises? How do you live differently when, in faith, you expect Him to fulfill those promises? (Consider Matthew 6:31-33, Psalm 121, Philippians 4:6-7, Matthew 11:28-30, John 15:9-17)

DAY 13 - GALATIANS

March 15, 2023

Galatians 3:10-14 (NLT)

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.” 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.” 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.” 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.” 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.

Thought:

In this passage, Paul teaches that the law can only bring condemnation (or curse). He’s saying: What we rely on for our justification determines if we are blessed or cursed. If we rely on faith, we find the blessing of Abraham. If we rely on the works of the law, we find the curse (we stand condemned because we can’t obey the law perfectly no matter how hard we try). Going further, Christ died to redeem us from the curse of the law. The word “redeemed” in 3:13 means purchasing one who has been enslaved in order to free them. Christ purchased us so that we might be set free!

Let’s think about this another way: Why would any believer (the Galatians or believers today) deliberately want to choose curse instead of blessing? Bondage instead of liberty? Law instead of grace? Here’s one reason why: legalism appeals to the flesh. The flesh loves to follow rules and then boast about its achievements. A person who depends on religion can measure himself and compare himself with others. On the other hand, the true believer who lives by the Spirit measures himself with Christ, is redeemed by Christ, and is free in Christ!

Application:

1. In what ways might living by the law (following the rules of a religious subculture) seem easier for you than living by faith and the Holy Spirit’s guidance?

2. Think more about the word “redeemed.” Stop and thank Jesus for purchasing you (even when you were enslaved to sin and the law) in order to set you free.

DAY 12 - GALATIANS

March 14, 2023

Galatians 3:6-9 (NLT)

In the same way, “Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith.” The real children of Abraham, then, are those who put their faith in God. 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.” So all who put their faith in Christ share the same blessing Abraham received because of his faith.

Thought:

The main argument of the Judaizers was that Gentiles had to become Jews in order to be right with God. Paul quotes from scripture (Genesis) to expose the flaw in this argument and show that God’s righteousness was given to Abraham only because he believed God's promise (Genesis 15:1-6). For Abraham to believe God’s promise (that his offspring would outnumber the stars) wouldn’t have been easy. He was an old man, far beyond childbearing years, and his wife, Sarah, was just as old. But Abraham looked at his circumstances and then at the promise of God and trusted God’s promise. That’s faith. Faith is seeing beyond the outward appearances to the object of God standing behind it all.

In verse 8, Paul’s quotation of Moses “All nations will be blessed through you” (Genesis 12:3), proves that from the beginning, the blessing of salvation was promised to all the nations of the world. All believers at every age and from every nation share Abraham’s blessing (justification by faith).

Application:

1. Consider the obstacles Abraham faced in believing God’s promise. What obstacles might keep you from bold faith in Christ?

2. Pause right now and thank God that you already have His blessing (you’re blessed along with Abraham!) since you have faith. Meditate on what that means in your life.