Galatians 3-Some Food for Thought

When I read this, what sticks out to me is how faith in Jesus trumps everything man can do to try to please God. Paul is writing to people who have been wrongly taught that the Old Testament law bring s life and salvation. It is cool how Paul takes the Law, what the church is wrongly holding up as the standard for living, and uses it to point to Jesus. How does he do that? By going after the biggest Hero for the Jews in the Old Testament...Abraham. When Paul says that Abraham was justified by FAITH and not by works and through this great hero Jesus was promised to us, he begins to completely unravel the church’s wrong line of thinking and points them to faith in Christ alone.

What can we learn from Galatians 3? We learn that through faith in Christ, we are rescued from the penalty of death that the law brings. If we try to follow the Old Testament Law...or any other set of religious rules, we are going to fall very short of the righteousness God demands.

The other thing that sticks out to me is how faith in Christ destroys all social barriers and everyone is on an equal playing field. He says that gender (male or female), economic status (slave or free), or ethnicity (Jew or Gentile) affect who you are in Christ. Our youth group is to be one unified body that loves each other and belongs to Jesus. Our faith is to be placed in Him alone as He freely works among us to accomplish His will.

What about you guys, where does it hit home for you?