Once again we have come to
one of those verses in the Bible that has had a tremendous impact
upon the lives of many individuals, and it turned the Church world
upside down through Martin Luther as it launched the Protestant
Reformation. Paul the apostle has been persuading the church members
of Galatia for some time that the grace of God is impetus for
salvation and not the keeping of the law. Because people could not
obey the law of God perfectly, God sent His only Son Jesus to live a
perfect life and then pay the price for the sin of those who didn't.
Faith in Jesus' death on the cross and sub-sequential resurrection
from the dead was all that was required for a relationship with God,
and any addition to this was only returning to the curse associated
with the law. Paul sums up his conclusion in chapter three and verse
eleven where we read:
But that no man is
justified by the law in the sight of God, [it is] evident: for, The
just shall live by faith.
Paul
said first, “But that no man is justified by the law in
the sight of God, [it is] evident:”.
We should remember that whenever we see the word “but”
in the Bible, it is considered a disassociated conjunction which
means what was previously stated takes less precedent than what is
about to be said. Paul wrote in our last verse, “Cursed
[is] every one that continues not in all things which are written in
the book of the law to do them”, so
when he writes “But”
we should pay particularly close attention. Paul says that it is
obvious that there is no one who is justified by the law in God's
sight. The reason is simple, no one keeps the law. Because there is a
“curse” associated with not keeping the law, then everyone is
under this “curse”. In simple terms, not only the church members
of Galatia were in trouble, but we are as well. “It is
evident” that unless there is
a different plan, we are all doomed to be under the curse of the law,
but alas, therein lies God's solution.
Paul
says, “for, The just shall live by faith.”
Paul employs a quote from the book of Habakkuk in chapter two and
verse four to give the answer to our dilemma. Habakkuk was dismayed
at the way God was handling the wickedness that was throughout the
land of Judah. As he poured out his complaint to God, God showed him
that he was going to use the Assyrians as agents of justice. This
startled Habakkuk because the Assyrians in Habakkuk's mind were worse
than the people of Judah. After appealing to God once again and
watching to see how God would answer, Habakkuk concluded that “the
just shall live by his faith.”
Paul employs these words to suggest the superiority of the faith of
an individual over keeping the law of God. By substitutionary
sacrifice, Jesus Christ kept the law, died for the penalty of the
law, was raised from death which defeated the curse of the law, and
now for those who will simply trust in, have faith in, rely upon and
cling to His finished work, they shall be saved. “The
just shall live by faith.”
How do
we live? Do we live by trying to keep the law of God, or do we live
by faith? If we were to be judged as “just” would it be based
upon our obedience to keeping the laws of God or by faith in the
substitutionary sacrifice of Jesus Christ? The danger in not living
by faith and attempting to live by the law is that should we obtain
any success in keeping the law at best we would have
“self-righteousness”, and “self-righteousness” is not enough
to have a relationship with God. As we consider the words of Paul
today, may our introspection lead us to accept and appreciate the
marvelous sacrifice of Jesus Christ the Savior, and realize that we
cannot improve upon the way that He has made for all who will simply
believe.
Next time we will
see the difference between the just living by faith and keeping the
law, so read ahead, and let us join together then.
Until
tomorrow...there is more...
Look for
the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation
to Generation” in all major
bookstore
sites, www.amazon.com ; www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to
e-books, and find it
locally
at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore
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