Freed by Faith

Passage: Galatians 3:23-29

Point
1. Before faith we were held captive under the law.
2. The law was our guardian, kept watch over us until Jesus made us sons and daughters through faith.
3. We, who have been baptized into Christ, have put on Christ and we are all one in Christ. There is no distinction among those in Christ because we are all in Christ.

Personalize
As we read Galatians we discover that the followers of Christ had been pressured by Jewish believers to return to the law and not solely trust their faith in Christ. In Galatians we read: "O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified". (Galatians 3:1 ESV). They had visually seen and experienced the death of Christ and have tasted of the gift of salvation through faith, but now they were returning back to the captivity of the law. Why do we return back to the law as our guardian if we have been made free in Christ?

In his commentary on Galatians, Martin Luther writes: "The office, therefore, of the law is to kill, and yet so that God may revive and quicken again. So it is not given only to kill: but because man is proud, and dreameth that he is wise, righteous, and holy, it is necessary that he should be humbled by the law, that so the beast, the opinion of righteousness, might be slain: for otherwise no man can obtain life". Before Christ we are under the law that is our guardian or warden. It protects us from ourselves. We remain under its guard and captivity until we are made free in Christ. Without Christ, we think we can be righteous or we are good enough but the law reminds us that we are not as good as we think we are and our condition is that of sinfulness. The law reminds us we are sinners and we need a Savior.

When Christ comes and we place our faith in His perfect and completed sacrifice, we are made free from the control of the law because we have been freed. We become sons and daughters of Christ. We are no longer prisoners but we are free to call out to our "Abba Father" or heavenly dad. The law reminds of how far we are from our heavenly Father, but when we place our faith in Jesus Christ it is revealed how near to God Christ brings us. We have access to his throne through the blood and sacrifice of Christ. Think about it. We are not bound by the task master of the law but we are free to walk in fellowship with a Savior who loves us and allows us to walk freely and forgiven.

Prayer
Lord we praise you that we have been freed from the rule of the law. Thank you for freeing us and calling us your sons and daughters. We are no longer under the control of the law but now we walk in your grace and forgiveness.

Created 7 months ago