The Spirit Made You a Believer

Creation: A Divine Cycle
The Birthing of a New Community

Re-Created to Live in Harmony

Galatians 3:1-6. The Message

Trust in Christ, Not the Law

3 You crazy Galatians! Did someone put a hex on you? Have you taken leave of your senses? Something crazy has happened, for it’s obvious that you no longer have the crucified Jesus in clear focus in your lives. His sacrifice on the cross was certainly set before you clearly enough.
2-4 Let me put this question to you: How did your new life begin? Was it by working your heads off to please God? Or was it by responding to God’s Message to you? Are you going to continue this craziness? For only crazy people would think they could complete by their own efforts what was begun by God. If you weren’t smart enough or strong enough to begin it, how do you suppose you could perfect it? Did you go through this whole painful learning process for nothing? It is not yet a total loss, but it certainly will be if you keep this up!
5-6 Answer this question: Does the God who lavishly provides you with his own presence, his Holy Spirit, working things in your lives you could never do for yourselves, does he do these things because of your strenuous moral striving or because you trust him to do them in you? Don’t these things happen among you just as they happened with Abraham? He believed God, and that act of belief was turned into a life that was right with God.

For Reflection

Are we, like those the apostle is reproofing, worthy of a similar admonishment?  Have we also embraced the faith of Christ but still continue to seek justification by secular or religious law?  Are we living in an age of sermons and sacraments taken in vain?

Perhaps it is time to re-evaluate our faith by examining it from the case of Abraham.  What do we believe and to what extent has that belief turned into right living?

Pray

Pray for the revival of authentic faith.  Pray so that you might restore your confidence in the rightness of being obedient to the Way of Christ.