THE RIGHTEOUS WILL LIVE BY FAITH

Galatians 3:1-14 / Keywords 3:11

Clearly no one is justified before God by the law, because, “The righteous will live by faith.”

Faith or Works of the Law

3:1 You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified. 2 I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by believing what you heard? 3 Are you so foolish? After beginning by means of the Spirit, are you now trying to finish by means of the flesh?[a]4 Have you experienced[b] so much in vain—if it really was in vain? 5 So again I ask, does God give you his Spirit and work miracles among you by the works of the law, or by your believing what you heard? 6 So also Abraham “believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”[c]

7 Understand, then, that those who have faithare children of Abraham. 8 Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: “All nations will be blessed through you.”[d] 9 So those who rely on faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.


10 For all who rely on the works of the law are under a curse, as it is written: “Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law.”[e]11 Clearly no one who relies on the law is justified before God, because “the righteous will live by faith.”[f] 12 The law is not based on faith; on the contrary, it says, “The person who does these things will live by them.”[g] 13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a pole.”[h]14 He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.

Footnotes

a. Galatians 3:3 In contexts like this, the Greek word for flesh (sarx) refers to the sinful state of human beings, often presented as a power in opposition to the Spirit.
b. Galatians 3:4 Or suffered
c. Galatians 3:6 Gen. 15:6
d. Galatians 3:8 Gen. 12:3; 18:18; 22:18
e. Galatians 3:10 Deut. 27:26
f. Galatians 3:11 Hab. 2:4
g. Galatians 3:12 Lev. 18:5
h. Galatians 3:13 Deut. 21:23

1. Paul saw that some of the Galatians were backsliding and were beginning to keep the Jewish laws again. However, Jesus Christ had been crucified. He alone is the fulfillment of the law. The Galatians had to be reminded that God does not work miracles or give us His Spirit because of our keeping of the law but through our faith in Christ. Is your trust in him today?

 

2. Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness. We receive this same blessing through faith. Like the Gentiles, we could never earn righteousness with the Holy God, but God made a way for us through His Son, who redeemed us by becoming a curse for us. His redemption meant that the very blessing given to Abraham would extend even to the Gentiles, who put their faith in Christ! We are now righteous in the sight of God, because of the work of the cross, and not in our own. As it is written, “The righteous will live by faith.”

 

Prayer Lord Jesus, thank you for what you did on the cross. I confess that I could never earn righteousness. May my faith be in you alone and enlighten eyes of all men to know you.

One Word Redeemed in Christ to live by faith