October 15, 2017 | Galatians 3:26 - 4:7 |
The apostle Paul wanted to teach the Galatians how to be set free from that same bondage. He wanted them to know how to be set free by adoption. In his letter to the Galatians, Paul told believers that they were set free by spiritual adoption through faith in Christ Jesus. It is through faith in Christ Jesus that we are set free by spiritual adoption.
October 8, 2017 | Galatians 3:15-25 |
That our freedom and salvation depend on God’s promise, not our performance is good news to those who know they are enslaved by sin and want to be set free, but it is challenging news to those who either feel they are already good enough or don’t agree with the Bible’s morality. Since they don’t recognize themselves as a sinner, they don’t feel any need for a Savior.
It is this tension between grace and law, promise and performance, that Paul addresses most clearly today. In chapter 3 of Galatians, Paul taught the Galatian churches that while God’s law had its purpose and place, salvation had always depended on God’s promise, not human performance. It is only by believing God’s promise that we are saved and set free.
October 1, 2017 | Galatians 2:11 - 3:14 |
Freedom is connected to our faith. The word “faith” appears 12 times in today’s reading. Paul emphasized that it is faith in Christ that truly sets us free, not our own works of the law. In the apostle Paul’s letter to the Galatian churches, he told them that true freedom came not by works of the law, but by faith in Christ Jesus alone. Faith in Christ alone is the only way to experience true freedom.