Friday 7 Oct 2022

October 7: Galatians 3:7-14

Key Verse: Galatians 3:12
The law is not based on faith; on the contrary, it says, ‘The person who does these things will live by them.’

Devotion:
The people during this time in which the apostles went out to teach others were still fixated on the laws of Moses, or the scriptures as they were also known. These were the laws given to Moses for the people of Israel to live by – until they they had not had a strict code of conduct by which to try and live by. The problem being the laws were so numerous and strict nobody really had a chance of being able to live by them.

This was not a trick by God to make sure everyone was guilty, but a sign to show the people they could never compare to God and His ways. If the people wanted to be justified, they had to live up to all of the laws – a task which was impossible for mankind! But the scriptures also talked about being justified by faith, as Abraham was.

Some of the great leaders in our Old Testament were serious sinners as defined by the scriptures. Abraham and David both came to the conclusion they were sinners and had to have something more than the law to live up to otherwise they would never be able to be justified. They had faith God was going to give them a way through which they could be saved from the debt of sin they owed.

The laws were all written down so people did not have to have faith they were there – they were actual laws. This meant everyone who tried to live by them was condemned because they could never live up to them! But Christ came and allowed Himself to be cursed so we would not have to be cursed. He redeemed us so we could live up to the blessing given to Abraham; but people had to believe this was so otherwise they couldn’t live up to it – this was their faith!

Points to Ponder:
Do you believe Christ has given you a way to be forgiven?

Will you accept that way and be forgiven?