Live By Faith, Not By the Law

Backstory:
After Saul (Paul) converted to Christianity, he became a formidable preacher. He later wrote letters to the churches he helped establish on his missionary journeys. After Paul’s successful ministry in Galatia, legalistic Jewish Christians began telling Gentile converts that they had to be circumcised and keep the Law of Moses in order to be saved. Paul addressed this situation head-on in his letter to the churches in Galatia.

God’s Story:
My people are struggling to make the transition from the old covenant to the new. Some want to rely on keeping the Law of Moses but live in the promise of the Spirit. They cannot reconcile obedience to the law with obedience to Christ. Paul will help them see that it was the law that led them to Christ, but they now must live by faith in my Son, who redeems the true children of Abraham from the crust of the law. Works (adhering to the law) won’t save them; faith in Jesus will.

Read Galatians 3:1-29

Your Story:
Christians today often get bogged down in superficial details about church order, style of worship, methods of preaching and ministry, and who’s in charge of the kitchen, nursery, food pantry ministry or sound equipment. Many of the details that spark disagreements among believers really don’t matter at all, but believing in God’s love does. The law teaches you about your need for salvation; it is through God’s grace that you receive it. True faith means believing in the Lord Jesus Christ to be saved.