December 1
December 1
Understanding what it means to live by faith is foundational to the Christian life.
“No one is justified before God by the law.” These words from Galatians 3:11 challenge our natural thoughts and inclinations. Christianity is not a meritocracy; we don’t earn a place in God’s family based on our track record of righteousness. Our standing with God does not depend upon our obedience. Keeping the law has no power whatsoever to purchase the most important thing in life: a relationship with God. No one keeps the law perfectly. No one is perfectly righteous all of the time and in every way. This verse devastates all forms of human pride, self-righteousness, and self-sufficiency.
My level of biblical literacy and understanding of theology does not determine my righteousness before God. My faithful participation in a local body of Christ does not secure my good standing with the Lord. Though I am called to be generous and kind, my treatment of others does not, on its own, merit God’s favor. My Christian heritage and commitment to ministry do not secure my adoption as God’s child. These nine words of Galatians 3:11 crush my pride in achievement and knowledge. They confront my skewed assessment that I am one of the good guys and “those people” are the bad guys. You cannot be self-righteously self-assured and thankful for redeeming grace at the same time. You cannot erect self-atoning arguments that make you look more righteous than you really are and also be thankful for God’s rescuing and empowering mercies.
When I am tempted to trust in my own righteousness, the end of Galatians 3:11 sets me straight: “The righteous shall live by faith.” These six words must follow the first nine; otherwise we would have no hope. Just as we physically cannot live without oxygen, so we spiritually cannot live without faith. To give your body life and vitality, God provides both oxygen and your capacity to breathe it in. In the same way, God meets us in our sin with divine grace, and he empowers us to take it in by faith. Both grace and faith are gifts from God; he gives us humility, willingness, and belief so that we can breathe into our hearts what he has provided.
These two truths define our standing with God and the nature of the Christian life: “No one is justified before God by the law” and “the righteous shall live by faith.” May God give us faithfulness, humility, and steadfastness so that we might live in light of these gospel words that he has recorded and preserved for us. May they shape the way we think about ourselves and how we live. And may they fill us with awe, gratitude, and surrender.