Click here to go to Galatians 3
As I read the opening paragraph I think about how similar we are today. We start out really excited as a new Christian, but over time some of us get into a rut, where we start living under law. Maybe not the law as Moses gave it to the Israelites, but we start doing things because it's the expectation, not out of love for Christ. It's so good to be reminded of that, it's all about relationship with Jesus that is fresh and alive every day.
I don't remember verses 23-25 ever jumping out at me like it did today:
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.
I never thought of the law as 'protective custody' but it is an interesting concept. So of course I wanted to see how The Voice put the verse:
23) Before faith came on the scene, the law did its best to keep us in line, restraining us until the faith that was to come was fully revealed.
24) So then, the law was like a tutor assigned to train us and point us to the Anointed, so we will be acquitted of all wrong and made right by faith.
25) But now that true faith has come, we have no need for a tutor.
An interesting way to look at the relationship between the law and faith in Jesus.
Yes, this entire chapter is a good one.
ReplyDelete"27 And all who have been united with Christ in baptism have put on Christ, like putting on new clothes."
I just have to remember to put on those new clothes each day. There is nothing old, boring or tired about walking with Christ. Each day brings new wonders and joy. If it gets boring and routine, I'm probably wearing old laws rather than Christ.
Galatians 3
ReplyDelete2b Did you receive the Spirit by your own efforts to live according to a set of standards or by believing what you heard?
Revelation 22:18 Beware, everyone who hears the prophetic words of this book. Know this for certain: if anyone adds to these words, God will add to that person the plagues described in this book.
Not God +
Not our works which will be burned up, stubble and hay; 1 Corinthians 3:3b,10-15, 23 "You belong to the Anointed One, and the Anointed One belongs to God."
Not what someone else tells us; 2 Timothy 2:8-18, 19 "Regardless of what they do or say, God's foundation is strong and firmly in place, etched with this seal: 'The Lord knows the ones who belong to Him,' and, 'Everyone who invokes the name of the Lord ought to stop doing what they know to be wrong.'" vs 22:26
Not tradition
Not "we've always done it this way"
But God only
His Word is true
He is the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end; Rev. 22:13 "I am the Alpha and Omega, the First One and the Last One, the beginning and the end."
No one comes to the Father but through Me; John 14:6 "I am the path, the truth, and the energy of life. No one comes to the Father except through Me."
Jesus has provided the way. He is the Way. No effort on our part is needed except to believe in faith what He has told us. Not one dot or tittle... Matthew 5:17-18 "Do not think that I have come to overturn or do away with the law or the words of our prophets. To the contrary: I have not come to overturn them but to fulfill them. This, beloved, is the truth: until heaven and earth disappear, not one letter, not one pen stroke, will disappear from the sacred law-for everything, everything in the sacred law will be fulfilled and accomplished."
He is enough. We are not to live by our own efforts but by every word out of the mouth of God; Matthew 4:4 Jesus answered, "It is written: 'Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.'"
Galatians 3
14 Christ paid the price so that the blessing promised to Abraham would come to all the people of the world through Jesus Christ and we would receive the promised Spirit through faith.
20 A mediator is not used when there is only one person involved, and God has acted on his own.
25-26 But now that this faith has come, we are no longer under the control of a guardian. You are all God’s children by believing in Christ Jesus.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=brVIlXlJRkQ
Jesus Paid It All - Kristian Stanfill