Abraham the Man of Faith (Galatians 3:6-9)

Galatians 3:6-9 (ESV)

6 just as hAbraham “believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”?

7 Know then that it is ithose of faith who are jthe sons of Abraham. 8 And the Scripture, foreseeing that kGod would justify3 the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, l“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.

Paul is defending an essential truth about the work of Christ.  The false teachers were saying that you must obey God's law in order to earn his favor.  They were preaching that you must obey the law more than you disobey it in hopes that God might show you his favor.  No doubt they had an entire arsenal of twisted biblical truth that they were using to make their point.  No doubt they used the law to prove their works based justification.

Paul sees their deception and makes his next point by looking at the story of Abraham.  Abram (later to be called Abraham) was chosen by God.  He was not a Jew yet he was chosen.  He was considered righteous but he was not a Jew.  How was any of that possible?

The answer is very simple.  God promised Abraham three things:

1. That He would give him many descendants and make them a great nation
2. That He would give them a land of their own full of milk and honey
3. That they would be a blessing to all nations

And Abraham believed that God would not forsake these promises.  He had faith that God was going to do all that he said.  That faith was counted to him as righteousness.  Yet, the false teachers wanted that Galatians to obey the law of God given to Moses in order to earn God's favor.  To put it in perspective of the historical timeline (the reason Paul uses Abraham as an example), Abraham lived 500 years before Moses.  My point, the Old Testament Law didn't exist yet.  How could Abraham be considered righteous for obeying a law that didn't exist?  He couldn't.  It was his faith that he had in God and His promises.  The practical truth for today is that God has always been about having people believe in Him and his promises.  For us today it is believing that Christ was and is the Savior for mankind.  Charles Spurgeon said it in one of his sermons, "it is not so much as your grip of Christ as his grip on you."  Christ has come and we are saved that is the blessing of God.  That is the only way to God.

Why can't the law save us?

What then is the role of obedience if it doesn't change your position before God?

What is the blessing of God for those who have faith? (verse 9)

God Bless