Seek First – Kingdom Focused Devotionals

“However, the Law is not of faith; on the contrary, ‘He who practices them shall live by them’” (Gal. 3:12). 

                Paul continues to fortify his argument for faith alone as the means of salvation by quoting Scripture.  This time he quotes Leviticus 18:5—“So you shall keep My statues and My judgments, which a man may live if he does them; I am the Lord.” 

                This verse gives the condition that the Law lays down for life and that is to keep or practice the commandments.  That, Paul asserts is diametrically opposed to the way of life indicated in Habakkuk 2:4.  Remember that we must understand these utterances concerning the Law against the backdrop of Jewish legalism which had established a merit system of redemption based on the Law.  The Judaizers afflicting the new believers in Galatia were using the Law in the same manner as Jewish legalists. 

                There is life in the law but only when it is lived out of the grace of God’s covenant.  Thus there is no conflict between the affirmations of Leviticus 18 and Habakkuk 2 as long as one understands that life itself is sought in the grace of God and thus in faith.  If, however, one chooses the works of the Law, the utterances of the Law prove the impossibility of that as a means of pleasing God. 

Prayer:  Father, I cling today to grace.  Give me the grace to obey and serve You.  Amen

“Now that no one is justified by the Law before God is evident; for, ‘The righteous man shall live by faith” (Gal. 3:11).

                Paul takes yet another step in his argument as he asserts that the Scripture itself recognizes no way for man to be justified by works of the Law.  To establish this fact he quotes a portion of Habakkuk 2:4—“Behold, as for the proud one, his soul is not right within him; but the righteous will live by his faith.” 

                The Law does not speak of believing but of doing and thus those who think they can achieve righteousness and justification apart from faith are actually going against the witness of Scripture.  It is true that Deuteronomy 27:26 in its original context was designed to motivate men to careful obedience of the Law.  Nevertheless, the Law demonstrates man’s inability to “abide by all things.”  Thus Jewish legalism shifted the emphasis from divine grace to human achievement.  Thus the Law and the curse, had the positive effect of demonstrating man’s inability to obey it in its entirety.  This caused man to flee to righteousness based on faith. 

                This verse from Habakkuk 2:4, in its original context, was set over against the arrogant self-confidence of the wicked.  Faith then is seen and defined as resting in God without regard to human effort.  The man whose righteousness comes by faith in Christ will thus live in the joy of that faith relationship. 

Prayer:  Father, let me today live by faith in the Son of God.  Amen.

“For as many as are of the works of the Law are under a curse; for it is written, ‘Cursed is everyone who does not abide by all things written in the book of the law, to perform them” (Gal. 3:10).

                How good does one have to be to be good enough?  This is the problem with any system built on observance of the law.  We like to grade our own paper and therefore, we make the assumption that we have passed.  The problem is that the Law demands perfection and none of us can achieve that level of obedience to the Law. 

                The citation is from Deuteronomy 27:26—“Cursed is he who does not confirm the words of this law by doing them.  And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’”  Since no person can obey all the Law all the time, those who seek justification by the law actually lie under the curse of the Law and not under Abraham’s blessing.  

                The great tragedy of our day is that many people are still counting on their own righteousness to get them to heaven.  I hear such claims constantly.  “I am a good person.  I try to obey the commandments.  I am better than most of the people who go to church.”  How good is good enough?  Perfection!  It is this understanding that brings us to our knees and to the gospel. 

Prayer:  Father, thank You for providing the way through Christ.  Amen.

“So then those who are of faith are blessed with Abraham, the believer” (Gal. 3:9).

                 This verse is startling in its simplicity and breadth.  Paul calls Abraham “the believer.”  Since Abraham was saved by faith and not by works, the false teachers who were insisting that the believers in Galatia needed to be circumcised, were not themselves sons of Abraham. 

                This affirmation is based on the understanding that Abraham’s circumcision preceded the giving of the law.  Romans 4:9-11 provides a commentary and elaboration on this verse.  “Is this blessing then on the circumcised, or on the uncircumcised also?”  For we say, ‘Faith was credited to Abraham as righteousness.’  How then was it credited?  Not while circumcised, but while uncircumcised; and he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had while uncircumcised, so that he might be the father of all who believe without being circumcised, that righteousness might be credited to them.” 

                Since Abraham responded to God by faith and received God’s blessing prior to his circumcision then the promise and blessing for the nations (Gentiles) is not based in works of the law but in the response of faith.  After all these years, nothing has changed.  People still think they can achieve righteousness by their own works. 

Prayer:  Father, thank You for Your amazing grace.  Amen.

“The Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, ‘All the nations will be blessed in you’” (Gal. 3:8).

                In our last couple of devotions, we saw how Paul affirmed that Abraham’s faith was reckoned to him as righteousness.  Now he takes his argument a step further.  He indicates that kinship with Abraham and the blessing connected to that friendship depends on faith and thus the Gentiles can participate in the blessing to the nations by faith and not by works. 

                Notice that Scripture is personified and thus God Himself is speaking.  God’s foresight determined the utterance that all nations would be blessed in Abraham.  This verse affirms that Scripture preserves the word of God and makes it available to us. 

                You might recognize that Paul is alluding to the promise uttered in Genesis 12:3.  When this declaration came, the way of justification by faith was not yet seen or comprehended.  Still it was contained in the promise to Abraham since it was God’s plan from the beginning of time.  The sharing in Abraham’s blessing cannot be based on a biological relationship with him but by sharing in the same faith relationship with God by which Abraham was justified.  For that reason Paul speaks of the promise to Abraham as the gospel preached beforehand. 

                If you are still attempting to accomplish righteousness through your own works, put it aside today for the gospel. 

Prayer:  Father, thank You for the blessing that comes to me as the result of the gospel.  Amen.

“Therefore, be sure that it is those who are of faith who are sons of Abraham” (Gal. 3:7).

                It now becomes apparent that the Judaizers were emphasizing the necessity of first becoming sons of Abraham before one could be saved.  Now Paul directly addresses the question of who are the true sons of Abraham.  Paul points out that true descent from Abraham is not determined by physical descent but by spiritual kinship with Abraham. 

                “Those who are of faith” means those who are believers.  Now in the new covenant faith is the determining factor for being a son of Abraham.  Thus Paul links together the two covenants and demonstrates their continuity.  The promise to Abraham still holds true but the method of obtaining that promise is faith and not works, including the practice of circumcision. 

                You may recall that Jesus had to deal with the Jews arrogant assertion that they were sons of Abraham (John 8).  Jesus tells them that if that were true they should do the deeds of Abraham and yet they are threatening to kill Him.  Later He tells them that he existed before Abraham and that Abraham rejoiced to see His day.  Jesus is affirming that Abraham responded to the promises of God by faith. 

                The only way to become the spiritual children of Abraham is to affirm what Abraham knew by faith.  Have you responded by faith to the promises of God?

Prayer:  Help me daily to walk by faith.  Amen.

“Even so Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness” (Gal. 3:6).

                Abraham has been aptly called the father of faith.  Thus he comes to mind as an example of what it means to live by faith.  The use of Abraham as an example of faith may have also been prompted by an appeal to him by Paul’s opponents.  The reference to “sons of Abraham” in verse 7 may indicate that the Judaizers were arguing that one had to first become a “son of Abraham” through circumcision and observation of the law before they could share in the salvation of the Lord. 

                Abraham stood at the beginning of Israel’s redemptive history.  Paul now appeals to Genesis 15:6 where Moses indicates that Abraham’s faith in the promises of God were reckoned to him as righteousness.  Paul sets this faith in the foreground as the governing principle of Abraham’s life.  If you look at the original context in Gen. 15 concerning the promise of a covenant child, you will see that what is meant is Abraham’s readiness to surrender unreservedly to the word of the Lord. 

                Paul is in no way suggesting that Abraham’s faith accumulated to him as “merit” thus earning him access to heaven.  Such would be a return to works salvation which Paul is countering.  Thus “reckon” here must mean “reckon as of grace.”  Righteousness is a divinely conveyed condition whereby Abraham stands outside of the state of guilt and in right relationship with holy God.  This was accomplished by Christ accepting the punishment which God’s righteousness demands on the cross.  When man, by faith, is included in Christ he receives this righteous standing before God. 

Prayer:  Thank You for sending Your Son to die in my place, that I might be acquitted of my sin.  Amen.

“So then, does He who provides you with the Spirit and works miracles among you, do it by the works of the Law, or by hearing with faith” (Gal. 3:5).

                In a slightly different form, Paul is repeating the question he asked in verse 2.  The Galatians cannot avoid the question concerning the reception of the Spirit based on their hearing the gospel and responding in faith. 

                On this occasion, Paul adds the observation that they had witnessed miracles.  Once again no specifics are given but the book of Acts provides several examples where miracles such as healing followed upon the hearing of the gospel.  It is likely that such visible evidence had occurred as Paul preached and established the churches in Galatia.  We should never lose sight of the truth that the greatest miracle ever witnessed on earth is the new birth.  It is hard to imagine that sinful man can be made right with holy God.  It is a miracle that we can exchange our sins for God’s righteousness. 

                Once again Paul uses the phrase that has become a virtual refrain of this letter—“hearing with faith.”  The gospel has power but it must be proclaimed if it is to be heard.  When proclaimed, it must be appropriate by the response of faith.  Have you responded by putting your faith in Christ?

Prayer:  Father, help me daily to grow in faith.  Amen.

“Did you suffer so many things in vain—if indeed it was in vain?” (Gal. 3:4).

                  Paul does not give us any detail about the sufferings of the church in Galatia.  It is not surprising that Gentiles would face persecution from their own community for turning from paganism and its debauchery to Christianity.  Thus Paul appeals to their sufferings as another evidence of the work of the Spirit in bringing transformation. 

                Paul wants to know if they suffered in vain.  In other words, if they are now denying their conversion by turning to the law for righteousness, their suffering for converting to Christianity was in vain.  The second phrase “if indeed it was in vain” appears to soften the strength of the rhetoric and express Paul’s hope that they will not abandon their faith commitment.  Paul’s motive in writing with such passion is to call them to return to the simplicity of the gospel and stand against the heresy of the Judaizers. 

                We all need to be reminded that the Christian life is a journey and we must continue to grow in our faith relationship to Christ.  Any of our sufferings are light in view of the suffering of Christ under the law to redeem us from the power of the law and death. 

Prayer:  Father, help me daily to grow in my faith walk.  Amen.

“Are you so foolish?  Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?”  (Gal. 3:3).

                Paul assumed that they would agree with the question in verse 2 about how they began their Christian life and therefore he continues with his argument based on the agreed upon conclusion that they began their Christian life through “hearing with faith.” 

                Having begun the spiritual life by the Spirit it would be foolish to think that one would be perfected by the flesh.  The word “flesh” here means simply human power unaided by the divine.  Any attempt to obey the law for spiritual growth unaided by the power of the Holy Spirit would lead only to human despair.  Paul repeats the word “foolish” because he fears that they were at a critical juncture where they were thinking that they could grow in the Christian walk through legalistic observance of the law. 

                You may wonder why Paul uses the word perfected and what he means by it.  It is likely that it was being used by the heretical teachers who were upsetting this community.  He is not, himself, suggesting they were being perfected by the flesh.  On the contrary, they were at risk of falling away from divine power into the impotence of man.  This would be a tragic end to a glorious beginning. 

Prayer:  Help me to learn to rely upon Your Spirit daily.  Amen.