Justification by Faith: Abraham's Example and Freedom in Christ
Summary
In this session, we delve into Galatians 3:15-24, where Paul addresses the Galatians about the true nature of the gospel and justification by faith, using Abraham as a pivotal example. Paul challenges the Judaizers' insistence on circumcision by highlighting that Abraham was deemed righteous by faith before the practice of circumcision was introduced. This underscores the centrality of faith in the gospel, a theme that resonates with the Reformation's emphasis on justification by faith alone. Martin Luther, inspired by Galatians, articulated the dual nature of a Christian as both utterly free and dutiful, emphasizing that freedom in Christ does not negate the moral obligations of the law but transforms them into acts of gratitude and love.
Paul uses the example of covenants to illustrate that once a promise is made, it cannot be annulled or altered. He draws a parallel between human covenants and God's covenant with Abraham, emphasizing that the promises made to Abraham, including the coming of Christ, are irrevocable. The law, introduced 430 years after Abraham, does not nullify the promise of justification by faith. Instead, the law serves to highlight transgressions and guide believers, but it cannot enhance or secure justification.
The law's purpose is multifaceted: it provides societal stability, guides Christian sanctification, and reveals sin. Paul explains that the law was added because of transgressions, serving as a guardian until Christ came. This pedagogic use of the law is akin to a tutor guiding children until they reach maturity. In Christ, believers are no longer under the law's guardianship but are justified by faith, experiencing true freedom and life in Him.
Key Takeaways:
1. Justification by Faith Precedes the Law: Abraham's righteousness by faith before the law underscores that justification is rooted in faith, not legal adherence. This foundational truth challenges any attempt to add legalistic requirements to the gospel, affirming that faith alone is the basis of our righteousness. [00:45]
2. The Irrevocable Nature of God's Promises: Just as human covenants are binding, God's promises to Abraham are unchangeable. The law, given later, cannot alter these promises, highlighting the permanence and reliability of God's word. This assurance strengthens our faith, knowing that God's promises are steadfast. [09:03]
3. The Law's Role in Revealing Sin: The law serves to illuminate the contours of sin, making us aware of our transgressions. It acts as a mirror, reflecting our need for a savior and driving us to Christ for justification. This understanding deepens our appreciation for grace and the necessity of faith. [19:37]
4. Freedom in Christ Transforms Obedience: In Christ, we are free from the law's demands for justification, yet this freedom compels us to obey out of love and gratitude. Our obedience is not to earn righteousness but to express our transformed hearts, guided by the Holy Spirit. [04:22]
5. The Law as a Guardian Until Christ: The law functioned as a guardian, guiding and disciplining until the coming of Christ. In Him, we transition from being under the law's tutelage to living in the freedom of faith, maturing into the fullness of our identity in Christ. [21:41]
Youtube Chapters:
- [00:00] - Welcome
- [00:12] - Introduction to Galatians 3:15-24
- [00:45] - Abraham's Justification by Faith
- [01:19] - The Complexity of Paul's Writings
- [02:14] - Influence of Galatians on the Reformation
- [03:16] - Luther's Dual Propositions on Christian Freedom
- [04:40] - The Law's Limitations
- [05:15] - Covenants and Promises
- [06:08] - Abraham's Covenant and Christ
- [07:23] - Gentiles as Children of Abraham
- [09:03] - The Irrevocability of God's Promises
- [10:34] - The Law's Introduction and Its Implications
- [12:20] - The Law and Justification by Faith
- [13:57] - The Purpose of the Law
- [19:37] - The Law Revealing Sin
- [21:41] - The Law as a Guardian Until Christ
Study Guide
Bible Study Discussion Guide: Galatians 3:15-24
Bible Reading:
1. Galatians 3:15-24
2. Genesis 15:1-6
3. Romans 7:7-12
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Observation Questions:
1. How does Paul use the example of Abraham to challenge the Judaizers' insistence on circumcision? ([00:45])
2. What does Paul mean when he says that the law was added because of transgressions? ([16:15])
3. How does Paul describe the role of the law as a guardian until Christ came? ([21:41])
4. What is the significance of the promise being made to Abraham and his "offspring," according to Paul? ([06:42])
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Interpretation Questions:
1. How does the concept of justification by faith alone challenge the idea of adding legalistic requirements to the gospel? ([12:20])
2. In what ways does the irrevocable nature of God's promises to Abraham provide assurance to believers today? ([09:03])
3. How does the law function as a mirror to reveal our need for a savior, according to Paul's explanation? ([19:37])
4. What does it mean for a Christian to be both utterly free and dutiful, as articulated by Martin Luther? ([03:16])
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Application Questions:
1. Reflect on a time when you felt the need to earn your righteousness through actions. How can you shift your focus to faith in Christ for justification? ([12:53])
2. How can the assurance of God's unchangeable promises impact your daily faith and trust in Him? ([10:34])
3. In what ways can you allow the law to guide your sanctification without falling into legalism? ([15:08])
4. How can you express your freedom in Christ through acts of love and gratitude in your community? ([04:22])
5. Consider the role of the law as a guardian in your spiritual journey. How has your understanding of freedom in Christ matured over time? ([21:41])
6. Identify an area in your life where you struggle with sin. How can the law help you recognize and address this sin, driving you to seek Christ's grace? ([19:50])
7. How can you encourage others in your small group to embrace the freedom and responsibility that comes with being justified by faith? ([03:50])
Devotional
Day 1: Justification by Faith is Timeless
Justification by faith is a foundational truth that predates the law, as demonstrated by Abraham's righteousness before the introduction of circumcision. This challenges any notion that legalistic adherence is necessary for salvation. Instead, it affirms that faith alone is the basis of our righteousness. This understanding is crucial for believers, as it emphasizes that our relationship with God is not contingent on our ability to follow the law but on our faith in His promises. This truth resonates with the Reformation's emphasis on justification by faith alone, reminding us that our salvation is a gift from God, not something we can earn. [00:45]
Galatians 3:6-9 (ESV): "Just as Abraham 'believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness'? Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham. 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.' So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith."
Reflection: In what ways have you relied on your own efforts to earn God's favor? How can you shift your focus to trusting in His promises today?
Day 2: The Unchanging Nature of God's Promises
God's promises are irrevocable, much like human covenants that cannot be annulled once made. The promises made to Abraham, including the coming of Christ, are unchangeable and highlight the permanence and reliability of God's word. The law, introduced later, does not alter these promises but serves a different purpose. This assurance strengthens our faith, knowing that God's promises are steadfast and trustworthy. As believers, we can find comfort and confidence in the fact that God's word is unchanging and His promises are eternal. [09:03]
Hebrews 6:17-18 (ESV): "So when God desired to show more convincingly to the heirs of the promise the unchangeable character of his purpose, he guaranteed it with an oath, so that by two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us."
Reflection: What is one promise from God that you need to hold onto today? How can you remind yourself of His faithfulness in your daily life?
Day 3: The Law Illuminates Our Need for a Savior
The law serves to reveal the contours of sin, making us aware of our transgressions and our need for a savior. It acts as a mirror, reflecting our shortcomings and driving us to Christ for justification. This understanding deepens our appreciation for grace and the necessity of faith. By recognizing the law's role in highlighting our sin, we can better appreciate the gift of salvation through faith in Christ. This awareness should lead us to a greater reliance on God's grace and a deeper gratitude for the redemption we have in Him. [19:37]
Romans 7:7-8 (ESV): "What then shall we say? That the law is sin? By no means! Yet if it had not been for the law, I would not have known sin. For I would not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, 'You shall not covet.' But sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, produced in me all kinds of covetousness."
Reflection: How has the law revealed areas of sin in your life? In what ways can you seek God's grace and forgiveness today?
Day 4: Freedom in Christ Transforms Our Obedience
In Christ, we are free from the law's demands for justification, yet this freedom compels us to obey out of love and gratitude. Our obedience is not to earn righteousness but to express our transformed hearts, guided by the Holy Spirit. This transformation leads us to live lives that reflect God's love and grace, as we seek to honor Him in all that we do. By understanding the true nature of our freedom in Christ, we can embrace a life of joyful obedience, motivated by our love for God and gratitude for His salvation. [04:22]
2 Corinthians 5:14-15 (ESV): "For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died; and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised."
Reflection: How can you express your love and gratitude to God through your actions today? What specific steps can you take to live a life of joyful obedience?
Day 5: The Law as a Guardian Until Christ
The law functioned as a guardian, guiding and disciplining until the coming of Christ. In Him, we transition from being under the law's tutelage to living in the freedom of faith, maturing into the fullness of our identity in Christ. This transition marks a significant shift in our relationship with God, as we move from a focus on legal adherence to a life of faith and freedom. By embracing our identity in Christ, we can experience the true freedom and life that He offers, as we grow in our relationship with Him and mature in our faith. [21:41]
Galatians 4:1-5 (ESV): "I mean that the heir, as long as he is a child, is no different from a slave, though he is the owner of everything, but he is under guardians and managers until the date set by his father. In the same way, we also, when we were children, were enslaved to the elementary principles of the world. But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons."
Reflection: In what ways have you experienced the freedom of faith in your life? How can you continue to grow in your identity in Christ and embrace the fullness of life He offers?
Quotes
"Paul kind of upends them he I'm mixing my metaphors but he does a 180 on them and asks them how was Abraham saved how was he justified how was he reckoned righteous in the sight of God and he was reckoned righteous in the sight of God by faith before circumcision came into practice and so he wants to understand he wants the Galatians to understand in the light of what's going on in Galatia what was going on in Jerusalem with Titus what was going on in Antioch with Peter and Paul in that famous encounter that the issue is the gospel the issue is justification by faith." [00:00:36]
"A Christian is an utterly free man lord of all and subject to none a Christian is an utterly free man lord of all and subject to none and then he gave a second proposition a Christian is an utterly dutiful man servant of all and subject to all and in order to understand how he can say both things at the same time you need to understand the gospel in order to be righteous we are we are wholly unable to obey God's law but having been made free by the gospel we are free indeed we are free from the demands of the law in order to justify us we are free from its threats but we're not free from its obligations upon us to obey from gratitude to obey because we have experienced grace to obey because we love God and we want to do what pleases God by the help of the Holy Spirit." [00:03:24]
"To give a human example brothers even with a man-made covenant no one annulls it or adds to it once it has been ratified he's talking about covenants some people think he's talking about last will and testaments but I think he's talking about covenants promises agreements that are made formal agreements legal agreements you know where lawyers and stuff are involved and you know when you when you buy a house and and you sign a thousand pieces of paper for every conceivable contingency and once that thing is done there's no one doing it it's it's signed and and sealed and there's no taking away and there's no adding they try to conceive of every possible contingency." [00:04:57]
"Now the promises were made to Abraham he's already introduced Abraham and Abraham God made a covenant with Abraham you see it in chapter 12 and you see it in chapter 15 and you see it again in chapter 17 of Genesis he made a a covenant with Abraham and once that covenant is made the promises in that covenant he would have a son he would be the father of many nations and so on and one very specific promise and Paul engages now in some exegetical fancy footwork here that's how I see it he says the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring it doesn't say and to offsprings referring to many but referring to one and to your offspring who is Christ." [00:05:52]
"The point that he wants to make is that once a covenant is made you can't undo the promises the promises are sealed and they're binding I remember when I was in a former church there was a lady who had died and I was made an executor of her will she didn't have a lot of money but we're only talking about maybe 10 000 or something like that and she wanted to give half to the church and half to this cousin and this cousin had played absolutely no part in this woman's life and she only turned up uh out of the blue once she heard that she was a beneficiary in the will and she wanted more than half and she went to a lawyer and the lawyer was a friend of mine and he told me afterwards she she was quite insistent that she was entitled to more than half of this ten thousand dollars and I said well what did you do and I said he said well I I um I charged her a thousand dollars for the hours that I'd given to her and she only got four thousand uh because the promises were made and they couldn't be undone and we weren't in a position to undo those promises they were made and they were signed and sealed and it was a legal contract and it couldn't be undone and just to teach her a lesson he charged her a thousand dollars and that's a true story and but that's what Paul is talking about here the promise that God gives to Abraham and the point that you'll want to make is that it comes 430 years before the giving of the law the promise of justification the promise of uh being made right in the sight of God he he believed and it was reckon he was reckoned righteous in the sight of God that that came 400 plus years before the law was given on Mount Sinai the law on Mount Sinai played no part in Abraham's justification it was over 400 years into the future well the law coming after cannot change then the provision that God made the promises that God made in the covenant with Abraham." [00:09:03]
"The law cannot undo justification by faith your obedience to the law cannot make justification by faith more certain we do tend to default that way don't we when things are not going well when we're in periods of non-obedience when we're backslidden a whole multitude of pastoral conditions and we sometimes say to ourselves if only I if only I did a little bit more if only I prayed just a little bit more if I if I was sweeter or kinder or nicer or something that I would be more justified and and Paul is saying when you do that you've turned the gospel on its head and there is a tendency there is a proclivity it's here in Galatia but there is a default mechanism within all of us to start with the gospel and to continue in the flesh to receive the spirit by faith but to continue in the flesh and Paul says no that that cannot that cannot be so let's ask the positive question if we ask the question what the law cannot do it cannot make us more justified it cannot increase our justification it cannot make more certain the promise that God made and the example here is Abraham so what does the law do." [00:12:20]
"The reformation for example will divide the law into three uses so the first use of the law is the civil use of the law um the use of the law in uh providing stability for society laws general laws that maintain stability and order and and and what we call civilization a measure of peace and harmony in a fallen world and the law is a function uh in in ancient Israel the laws the the civil laws had a had a civil function and um and then there was what Paul what John Calvin called the third use of the law and that is the use of the law for sanctification that the law provides the pattern of our obedience as Christians not in order to be justified but because we are justified because we have a desire now within us given by the Holy Spirit to live for Christ to live for God I've been crucified and I now live for God so what is the pattern of that living for God what what does that living for God look like and it looks like obeying the law so that catechisms and so on uh will often be preoccupied half a catechism sometimes two-thirds of a catechism will be an exposition of the moral law exposition of the ten commandments but then that's not what Paul is talking about right here he'll come to talk about that a little bit more in later chapters but here he's still talking about justification he's still arguing with the Judaizers who are saying that unless you obey the ceremonial boundary markers you cannot be assured of your justification so what is the purpose of the law and he tells us in verse 19 why then the law it was added because of transgressions interesting isn't it it was added because of transgressions until the offspring should come to whom the promise had been made and it was put in place through angels by an intermediary now an intermediary implies more than one but God is one and I'm not sure what verse 20 means and no no amount of of a high-powered scholarship uh can can bring further light as to what Paul means I think what he is saying is that he's drawing a contrast between Abraham and Moses and the law was given through an intermediary it was given through Moses but the promise to Abraham just came through God himself God is one and and so he might be suggesting that there's something inferior to the covenant with Moses in comparison to the covenant with Abraham because of the use of this intermediary that's a possible interpretation and therefore he's extolling once again the Abrahamic covenant and the doctrine of justification by faith that we see in the life and narrative of Abraham it was added the law was added because of transgressions and there's a sense in which Paul is saying exactly what he says in Romans 7 in verses 7 through 12 what then shall we say that the law is sin by no means yet if it had not been for the law I would not have known sin for I would not have known that it is to covet what it is to covet if the law had said had not said you shall not covet but sin seizing an opportunity through the commandment there was a sense in which sin used the very commandment itself produced in me all kinds of covetousness for apart from the law sin was dead I was once alive apart from the law he was alive in a worldly sense he was alive in the sense that he thought he was a good person he was alive in the sense that he thought that he could make himself right with God it's like the rich young ruler what must I do to be saved and Jesus takes him to the law it's amazing isn't it that Jesus doesn't say to the rich young ruler believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved but this man had no sense of his need he didn't know why he needed to believe in Jesus he needed to understand something about his sin so Jesus took him to the law he was alive he he thought he was alive actually he was dead he was dead in trespasses and in sins but people who are dead in trespasses and in sins don't think they're dead they think they're alive but actually they're dead people walking and Paul says I was like that once but I died and I came to life again I came to life in union and communion with the Lord Jesus well you see what Paul is saying here about the law why was the law given well it was given in a sense to point out to us the contours of sin I mean how would I know what sin is unless the Lord said thou shalt not covet the law that says you must not murder you must not steal you must not bear false witness well how would I know that unless the unless there was law so the law multiplies and sharpens and brings into focus it's like a lens bringing into folkness the exact identity of my sins but there's also there's also something even more subtle about the law there's something about our fallenness that actually uses the law to exacerbate our sin to bring forth all manner of of sinfulness this is what the reformers called the pedagogic use of the law it's like a well it's like a pedagogue um you know Paul talks uh here uh scripture verse 22 imprisoned everything under sin there's a graphic picture the natural man imprisoned locked in a in a cell and he cannot get out so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe now before faith came we were held captive there it is imprisoned again we were held captive under the law imprisoned until the coming faith would be revealed now Paul may be speaking of that in a personal sense that he was he was he was held captive in his own personal experience or or he may be talking about the era of the old testament that there is a sense in which the law came by Moses but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ and he may be speaking here more in what we sometimes call redemptive historical terms rather than in experiential terms so then the law was our guardian pedagogue in Greek uh children teenagers and they were tutored by guardians who who often would inflict punishment for non-compliance you know sometimes sometimes it's like it's like the difference what's the difference in the old covenant and the new covenant and it's like the difference between being at home and your parents and there are 356 rules and then you graduate and you're on your own and you're not under all of those rules you've grown up you're an adult and and maybe that's what Paul means here that the law was our guardian until Christ came in order that we might be justified by faith well again there's more Paul is now going theologically deep and and will continue in our next session in chapter 3 and verse 25." [00:19:37]
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