What the Bible Is All About
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The Bible is All About How God Blesses Faith
The Bible is All About How God Blesses Faith
Why is this important? Why is it important to know that God blesses faith?
Because we live in a world that believes that blessing comes with merit.
“You get what you pay for”
“You get out what you put in...”
We live in a society of fairness. We believe that people should get the fair treatment for what they do or dont do…right?
But in Galatians…what we find is that God just isnt fair.
He’s gracious.
Look at what Paul says beginning in verse 5:
5 Does he who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you do so by works of the law, or by hearing with faith—
So here is the question that Paul is asking this church. He says, “Does God bless you according to your merit? Or does he bless you according to faith in what you heard?”
And for Paul the answer was pretty clear…God never blesses someone according to what they deserve. Why? Because no-one deserves to be blessed.
If God gave human beings what they deserved…we would all be under His judgement. But God graciously has chosen to make a way for undeserving sinners to experience something better than what they deserve…his blessing…
How? By Faith...
To prove this point…Paul gives the example of the hero of Faith…Abraham.
Look at what he says…
6 just as Abraham “believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”?
You see what Paul is saying is that Abraham wasnt made right with God because of his obedience.
It wasnt because Abraham left his country and went to the land that God would later show him...
It wasnt because Abraham left his relativizes...
It wasnt because Abraham left his fathers house to go out into the unknown....
It wasnt because Abraham was circumcized according to the law...
It wasnt because Abraham was willing to sacrifice his only son, Issac...
Abraham was justified by God, not because he was obedient, he was justified…made righteous because he believed.
The Jewish people in Galatia were concerned with how a person could be a child of Abraham—and therefore be included in the promise that God gave to Abraham.
The Galatian Christians were asking the same question that we ask ourselves…who can we be made right with God? How can we be blessed by God? How can we have assurance that we are saved, that we are justified?
ANSWER: WE ARE SAVED JUST LIKE ABRAHAM WAS SAVED…BY FAITH...
You dont believe me?
Just look at what Paul goes on to say...
7 Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham. 8 And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “In you shall all the nations be blessed.” 9 So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.
You see it isnt just Abraham that was justified by faith.
Abraham was the example.
The Bible is a story about how God justifies everyone…not by their moral efforts…not by their religious fervor…not by their obedience…but by faith!
Why? Why does God justify by faith?
Answer: Because there is no other way...
Look at what Paul says:
10 For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them.” 11 Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, for “The righteous shall live by faith.” 12 But the law is not of faith, rather “The one who does them shall live by them.”
What Paul essentially says here is that it is impossible for someone to be justified according to their religious obedience and zeal. Why? He says it pretty plainly in verse 10… “For all who rely on works of the law (all who rely on their obedience, their religious merit, their good works, their bible reading, their prayer life, their church attendance, their giving statements) are under a curse… What curse? Paul tells us by quoting Deut. 27:26: “cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law…and do them.”
So What Paul says is the law’s demand is perfection…if you attempt to be justified through your obedience to the laws command…but fail at any point to obey everything written in the law, you are cursed.
So here is the point...
The truth from scripture is this…you and I will never be perfect according to the law.
But even though we will never be perfect…but we can be Holy this morning...
How?
Verse 13:
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 hanged on a tree”—
Jesus Christ was obedient where we werent.
When Jesus died on the tree at Calvary…he took the curse of sin, the curse of shame, the curse of death and the grave...
And he offered us his perfect righteousness that is received by faith....
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 hanged on a tree”— 14 so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith.
Why does Paul say that we might receive the Promised Spirit through faith?
Its because in order to be a Christain 2 things have to happen:
You have to understand the objective truth of what Christ has done...
You have to experience the transformation of what Christ has done....
you see, you cant be a Christian without both…you cant be right with God just because you know what Christ did....
you have to recieve what Christ did and be transformed...
You have to experience death to your sin and recienve the life of Christ through the gift of the Holy Spirit.
How? BY FAITH....