Summer School: “Justification By Faith” — Thursday
Galatians 3:6-7
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. (NLT)
Martin Luther once said, “Every week I preach justification by faith to my people, because every week they forget it.” We’re currently in a teaching series at Southland called Summer School where we’re revisiting some truths that we’ve likely heard, but need to hear again. We’ve been using Paul’s letter to some early followers of Jesus in the region of Galatia to guide us this week and throughout this series.
Let’s review a bit of what we’ve learned over the last couple of weeks. With his letter to the Galatians, Paul was providing a strong response to false teaching that was infiltrating the church. But from where was the threat coming? Who were these false teachers? Judaizers emerged as people who identified with Jesus, but were not willing to give up getting access to God’s grace without some human effort through adherence to the law of Moses. Ironically, even Peter struggled with this. Paul had to take Peter to task for forcing Gentiles to “Judaize.” Publicly calling Peter out, Paul asked, “Since you, a Jew by birth, have discarded the Jewish laws and are living like a Gentile, why are you now trying to make these Gentiles follow the Jewish traditions?” (Galatians 2:14).
As Paul continues writing to the Galatians, he masterfully uses references the Judaizers would understand as he refutes their teaching. For example, Jewish people believed their ancestral relationships guaranteed them salvation. Read today’s verse again. Turning tradition upside down, Paul quotes Moses and reminds his readers that Abraham became righteous in the sight of God because of his belief in God. Therefore, children of God are not just limited to those with the same ancestral heritage but, rather, are linked by a shared belief in God. Paul was driving home the point that the only ancestral connection to Abraham that matters is Jesus (Galatians 3:16).
Thursday’s Reflection
Do you still find yourself attempting to earn God’s forgiveness and love? Find rest and peace today knowing that, having accepted Jesus, there’s nothing more for you to do. You are loved. You are forgiven. You are free.
