Live By Faith and Not By Law

TNIV Scripture for Friday, August 29, 2008 [Galatians 3:5-9]

Does God give you his Spirit and work miracles among you by your observing the law, or by your believing what you heard? So also Abraham 'believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.' Understand, then, that those who have faith are children of Abraham. 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.' So those who rely on faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.

Because living by rules seemed so right (and still does) to people, Paul kept writing letters to explain that under the New Covenant, you don't live by rules, but by the Spirit through faith. Throughout the Old Testament, God gave people a chance to live by the rules and over and over again they failed. However, God all along had a plan in that failure to make those people ready for Jesus, a Savior, who could fulfill the law and make them righteous. Then, God made entrance into that new plan so easy, it was by faith alone, faith in the gospel of Jesus Christ. After receiving Christ by faith, God has called you to live by faith according to Paul. Paul pointed to the faith of Abraham as an Old Testament example of faith, a man who trusted an awesome God and believed God could not only make something out of nothing, but He could bring life out of death (Romans 4:17). May you, too, have faith to live by the Spirit of your awesome God today and not by the rules of man and be blessed.
God
Gives you His Spirit
Works miracles among you
Makes you righteous through faith in Jesus
Justifies the Gentiles by faith
Announced the gospel to Abraham
Blessed all nations through Abraham
Blesses those who rely on faith

Beth Warlick, 8/29/2008