Deeply Rooted (When I Read Your Word)

R EAD THIS:  2 Timothy 1:11-12 11 And of this gospel I was appointed a herald and an apostle and a teacher. 12 That is why I am suffering as I am. Yet this is no cause for shame, because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him until that day.   WHAT’S THIS MEAN, ANYWAY? Have you ever been in trouble and you felt embarrassed about it? Like that time you hit a kid with a stick a few times (gently) and then that kid broke out in hives and tattled on you, and you had to talk to a bunch of teachers about it and get removed from class? No? Just me? Well, anyway, we all do things that we are ashamed of, and sometimes it can be intensified when we get in trouble for it. Like, it was already bad enough you hit the kid, but now you have to be publicly reprimanded.  Paul was thrown in jail because he would not stop talking about Jesus. The good news that there's nothing we can do to earn Heaven because Jesus earned it for...

R EAD THIS:  2 Timothy 1:9-10 9 He has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time, 10 but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.   WHAT’S THIS MEAN, ANYWAY? MAN! What a great picture of the Gospel! We have been saved and given a chance to have a holy life... a life set apart from the rest of the world, a life with Jesus, and a life that never ends. But the key words here are found at the end of verse 9. We have been saved and given this life through one way: Jesus! If heaven came down to what we were able to do on our own, then none of us would make it! Thank the Lord that He loved us enough to give us more than we could ever deserve through the gift of His Son, the One who conquered death and brought us life...

  R EAD THIS:  2 Timothy 1:6-8 6 For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. 7 For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline. 8 So do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord or of me his prisoner. Rather, join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God.    WHAT’S THIS MEAN, ANYWAY? What's the "this" in "for this reason" that Paul's talking about? He's referring to yesterday where he talked about Timothy's "sincere faith." When we have a genuine faith in God, we want to follow Him, and we want to fully live into the gifts that He gives us! The most important gift is the gift of the Holy Spirit, which is the gift Paul talks about in verse 6.  Then verse 7 hits. The ESV translation writes it like this: "for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control." When we are l...

R EAD THIS: 2 Timothy 1:3-5 3 I thank God, whom I serve, as my ancestors did, with a clear conscience, as night and day I constantly remember you in my prayers. 4 Recalling your tears, I long to see you, so that I may be filled with joy. 5 I am reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also.   WHAT’S THIS MEAN, ANYWAY? Family can have a huge impact on someone's faith journey, and Timothy is a perfect example of it. Timothy was likely a 2nd generation Christian, meaning he was likely not even alive during the time of Jesus, or if anything, he was just a kid. He didn't see the life of Jesus with his own eyes, so how did he come to know Christ? Through his mom and his grandmother! Timothy grew up around people who raised him to know Jesus as his Savior, and it left an amazing impact on his life. He grew to be the kind of leader that Paul thanked God for daily and nightly, and that w...

R EAD THIS: 2 Timothy 1:1-2 1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, in keeping with the promise of life that is in Christ Jesus,   2 To Timothy, my dear son: Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.   WHAT’S THIS MEAN, ANYWAY? WELCOME TO A NEW BOOK OF THE BIBLE!!!!! 2 TIMOTHY TIME LETSGOOO!!! "But...guys...what about 1 Timothy? What is this heresy?!" Calm down. 2 Timothy is only called 2 Timothy because it is the second letter Paul wrote to Timothy that we have today. We don't need to read 1 Timothy first to understand 2 Timothy...just like we don't need to read Matthew to understand John.  Anyhow, we'll learn tomorrow about who Timothy actually is and why he's cool and how Paul knows him (sneak peek, Timothy isn't Paul's actual son). Today, it's just important to know that this letter is the last letter Paul wrote, as far as we know. He wrote this letter in a Roman prison while he was waiting to be behea...

  R EAD THIS:  Galatians 6:16-18 16 Peace and mercy to all who follow this rule—to the Israel of God.  17 From now on, let no one cause me trouble, for I bear on my body the marks of Jesus.  18 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brothers and sisters. Amen.   WHAT’S THIS MEAN, ANYWAY? We've made it to the end of Galatians, wow!! Here we see Paul give his final words, which are really more of a prayer, to the believers there. First, we see Paul pray for peace and mercy for all who follow a certain rule... what's that about? Either Paul means those who are under God's rule and follow Him, or he means those who follow the rule God has set before us through Jesus and through His Word. Either way, we learn that as we submit ourselves to God and follow Him, we can expect God to bless us with His peace and mercy. The other interesting thing here is Paul saying that he bears the marks of Jesus on his body. He wasn't crucified, so what's that abo...

  R EAD THIS:  Galatians 6:11-15 11 See what large letters I use as I write to you with my own hand!   12 Those who want to impress people by means of the flesh are trying to compel you to be circumcised. The only reason they do this is to avoid being persecuted for the cross of Christ. 13 Not even those who are circumcised keep the law, yet they want you to be circumcised that they may boast about your circumcision in the flesh. 14 May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. 15 Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything; what counts is the new creation.    WHAT’S THIS MEAN, ANYWAY? Fun fact, Paul liked to talk out loud and have someone else write down his letters. But, verse 11, he takes the pen for himself and starts writing. So, of course, he decided to go back and talk about what's been making him so upset this whole time--the Judaizers who told the bel...

R EAD THIS:  Galatians 6:7-10 7 Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. 8 Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. 9 Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. 10 Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers. WHAT’S THIS MEAN, ANYWAY? Can you imagine planting apple seeds in the ground, waiting for the seeds to grow, but when the fruit is fully grown, you end up with oranges instead? That's not how it works! Apple seeds don't make oranges, and orange seeds can't make apples. The same thing applies to how we live. If we choose to plant fleshly/worldly seeds, we shouldn't expect to end up looking like Jesus. But if we take the time to plant the seeds of the fruit of the Spirit, we can start to se...

  R EAD THIS:  Galatians 6:3-6 3 If anyone thinks they are something when they are not, they deceive themselves. 4 Each one should test their own actions. Then they can take pride in themselves alone, without comparing themselves to someone else, 5 for each one should carry their own load. 6 Nevertheless, the one who receives instruction in the word should share all good things with their instructor.    WHAT’S THIS MEAN, ANYWAY? Yesterday we spoke about carrying each other's burdens, but today is about carrying our own load! We are for sure supposed to be supporting one another, but each person has a responsibility to stand on his/her own as well. We shouldn't think of ourselves as useless OR as the most important person. If we think of ourselves as part of a group of people working together, then we know how important it is to carry our own weight while also helping others and allowing others to help us! It's basically the idea of a group project where everyone does...

R EAD THIS:  Galatians 6:1-2 1 Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently. But watch yourselves, or you also may be tempted. 2 Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.    WHAT’S THIS MEAN, ANYWAY? Paul gives two clear instructions in these verses, so let's break each one down! The first thing Paul talks about is restoring others when they are caught in sin. When people around us are doing the wrong thing, sometimes it is easier and more comfortable to just let it slide because we don't want them to be mad at us, but the Bible says it is our job to call other people out when they mess up. However, the Bible makes it very clear that how we call someone out is just as important as calling them out at all. When we call each other out for sin, we need to do it in a way that builds others up! But Paul also talks about one other thing here: carrying each other's burde...

R EAD THIS:  Galatians 5:19-21 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.   WHAT’S THIS MEAN, ANYWAY? So the fruit of the Spirit looks a LOT different from the rotten fruits of the flesh from yesterday. But, what verse 24 shows us is that giving up the fruits of the flesh is HARD. Being crucified is a long and painful process. When we give our lives to Jesus, some people get to experience a cool immediate freedom from the fleshy stuff we talked about yesterday, but other people have to work hard at it over time. Even Paul, in a different place in Scripture, talks about how he struggled with a fleshly desire that just wouldn't ...

R EAD THIS:  Galatians 5:19-21 19 The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.   WHAT’S THIS MEAN, ANYWAY? Ever heard of the fruits of the Spirit before? If so, SWEET! If not, that's okay... we will be reading about them tomorrow!!! The Bible uses the phrase "fruit of ___" to mean the result or the actions of something. In this passage, Paul describes the actions, or the fruit, of the flesh (our selfish, worldly desires). I don't know about y'all, but these fruit don't seem as good as the ones I have read in other parts of the Bible... these are some rotten fruits! These actions all seem a little different from each other, but they all have one thing in common: these things h...

R EAD THIS:  Galatians 5:16-18 16 So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.   WHAT’S THIS MEAN, ANYWAY? We talked yesterday about how important it is to love one another and to avoid just doing stuff to please our own selves all the time...but how do we do that? Paul says here that we can do that by walking by the Spirit! The Holy Spirit wants good, godly things even when we as humans want some things that are less than godly. That tension we feel when we want to do something that isn't okay is the Spirit fighting back against our flesh/our human desires. And what's so cool is that we don't need to read the Law or the Ten Commandments every second of every day to figure out what to do, b...

R EAD THIS:  Galatians 5:13-15 13 You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love. 14 For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” 15 If you bite and devour each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.   WHAT’S THIS MEAN, ANYWAY? GUYS! GREAT NEWS! JESUS SET US FREE FROM SIN! THAT MEANS WE CAN DO ANYTHING WE WANT NOW... RIGHT?! .......right??? Oh....... God's grace, shown through Jesus dying for us, is the most beautiful gift ever given. It means that no matter how broken we are, how many times we mess up, and how far away we feel from Jesus, we will always be met with love, forgiveness, and eternal life if we believe in Him. BUT, that doesn't mean we should abuse that gift! If we are truly set free from sin and the law, we should be living like it, and that will show up in how we live our lives. Paul says that we...

R EAD THIS:  Galatians 5:9-12 9 “A little yeast works through the whole batch of dough.”  10 I am confident in the Lord that you will take no other view. The one who is throwing you into confusion, whoever that may be, will have to pay the penalty. 11 Brothers and sisters, if I am still preaching circumcision, why am I still being persecuted? In that case the offense of the cross has been abolished. 12 As for those agitators, I wish they would go the whole way and emasculate themselves!   WHAT’S THIS MEAN, ANYWAY? Yesterday we spoke about how we can start off really strong for Jesus but then get distracted. The Galatians got distracted from Jesus by the idea of following the law (like by getting circumcised). A little yeast changes dough entirely. With yeast, bread gets all big and puffy. Without it, it stays flat. Paul is saying that insisting that the law is still important for being right with God is changing everything about the good news of Jesus...in a bad way....

R EAD THIS:  Galatians 5:7-9 7 You were running a good race. Who cut in on you to keep you from obeying the truth? 8 That kind of persuasion does not come from the one who calls you.   WHAT’S THIS MEAN, ANYWAY? When I gave my life to Jesus, it was on a mission trip! I walked out that week 100% intending to read my Bible every day, tell everyone I knew about Jesus, and never sin again... that did NOT happen. I've heard that exact same story many times. This pattern is often called the "Mission Trip High." You leave the trip feeling great spiritually, but over time, you lose it. What went wrong? I was running a good race with Jesus... but I got distracted, took my eyes off of Jesus, and started running in a different direction. That's kind of like what the Galatians were going through. Paul and other believers did their best to share the Gospel to the Galatians, and it worked! Many people gave their lives to Jesus and started that good race the right way. But over tim...

R EAD THIS:  Galatians 5:1-6 1 It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.  2 Mark my words! I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no value to you at all. 3 Again I declare to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is obligated to obey the whole law. 4 You who are trying to be justified by the law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace. 5 For through the Spirit we eagerly await by faith the righteousness for which we hope. 6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.   WHAT’S THIS MEAN, ANYWAY? This whole section I think we've got down, now. In short, we can choose to try to earn our way into right relationship with God through following the law, or we can accept that there's nothing we can do to earn life...

R EAD THIS:  Galatians 4:28-31 28 Now you, brothers and sisters, like Isaac, are children of promise. 29 At that time the son born according to the flesh persecuted the son born by the power of the Spirit. It is the same now. 30 But what does Scripture say? “Get rid of the slave woman and her son, for the slave woman’s son will never share in the inheritance with the free woman’s son.” 31 Therefore, brothers and sisters, we are not children of the slave woman, but of the free woman.   WHAT’S THIS MEAN, ANYWAY? It's important to know the family you are a part of, whether you were born into it or adopted into it. There are certain things your family does, certain things they say, and certain ways they live that make them your family. Being a part of a family also means you are a representative of your family. In our world, people see the way someone acts, and they don't just make judgements about that person, but they also make judgements about where the person comes from an...

R EAD THIS:  Galatians 4:24-27 24 These things are being taken figuratively: The women represent two covenants. One covenant is from Mount Sinai and bears children who are to be slaves: This is Hagar. 25 Now Hagar stands for Mount Sinai in Arabia and corresponds to the present city of Jerusalem, because she is in slavery with her children. 26 But the Jerusalem that is above is free, and she is our mother. 27 For it is written: “Be glad, barren woman, you who never bore a child; shout for joy and cry aloud, you who were never in labor; because more are the children of the desolate woman than of her who has a husband.”   WHAT’S THIS MEAN, ANYWAY? This section won't make any sense unless you understand yesterday's reading, so make sure you got that on lock so you can get how Hagar and Sarah from yesterday are being used as an analogy here! Hagar represents the Old Covenant while Sarah represents the new one. The Old Covenant is basically the deal between God and Israel that was s...

R EAD THIS:  Galatians 4:21-23 21 Tell me, you who want to be under the law, are you not aware of what the law says? 22 For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by the slave woman and the other by the free woman. 23 His son by the slave woman was born according to the flesh, but his son by the free woman was born as the result of a divine promise.   WHAT’S THIS MEAN, ANYWAY? Let's go back to Abraham! Remember, we spoke about him at the beginning of this month? As a reminder, God promised Abraham that he would have more descendants than he could ever try to count, but he was already very old. After 10 years of waiting for God to deliver him a son, he and his wife, Sarah, grew impatient. So, without talking with God about it, Sarah and Abraham agreed to let Abraham have a child with one of their servants, Hagar... not a wise choice. This led to jealousy, broken hearts, and Hagar (and her new son, Ishmael) fleeing the land in fear. Not long after that, Abraham ended up...

R EAD THIS:  Galatians 4:17-20 17 Those people are zealous to win you over, but for no good. What they want is to alienate you from us, so that you may have zeal for them. 18 It is fine to be zealous, provided the purpose is good, and to be so always, not just when I am with you. 19 My dear children, for whom I am again in the pains of childbirth until Christ is formed in you, 20 how I wish I could be with you now and change my tone, because I am perplexed about you!   WHAT’S THIS MEAN, ANYWAY? "Those people" are the Judaizers. They're the ones who have been telling the Galatians the false gospel from the first chapter, emphasizing the law instead of the grace of Jesus. The Judaizers are convincing the Galatians to separate from Paul and do things differently, but it's just because the Judaizers are passionate (zealous) about themselves. They don't really care about the Galatians' wellbeing. Verses 19-20 then show how stressed Paul is about the Galatians b...

R EAD THIS:  Galatians 4:12-16 12 I plead with you, brothers and sisters, become like me, for I became like you. You did me no wrong. 13 As you know, it was because of an illness that I first preached the gospel to you, 14 and even though my illness was a trial to you, you did not treat me with contempt or scorn. Instead, you welcomed me as if I were an angel of God, as if I were Christ Jesus himself. 15 Where, then, is your blessing of me now? I can testify that, if you could have done so, you would have torn out your eyes and given them to me. 16 Have I now become your enemy by telling you the truth?   WHAT’S THIS MEAN, ANYWAY? We don't know what exactly Paul was going through, but we do know that Paul was dealing with some form of physical issue. This version of the Bible calls it an illness, but it could have been from him recovering from being beaten or treated poorly on his mission journeys or something entirely different. What we do know is that when Paul was goin...

R EAD THIS:  Galatians 4:8-11 8 Formerly, when you did not know God, you were slaves to those who by nature are not gods. 9 But now that you know God—or rather are known by God—how is it that you are turning back to those weak and miserable forces? Do you wish to be enslaved by them all over again? 10 You are observing special days and months and seasons and years! 11 I fear for you, that somehow I have wasted my efforts on you.   WHAT’S THIS MEAN, ANYWAY? Brace yourselves for this analogy that might just expose me for being weird, but I'm going to pretend it's one of those things everyone has experienced.  You know when you use really horrible toilet paper for a long time? The really thin stuff that breaks when you touch it? And then you finally get to use some quality stuff like Charmin Ultra Soft? You have this moment where you decide you will never purposefully use anything less quality ever again. Then, your friends are using horrible toilet paper, and you introdu...

R EAD THIS:  Galatians 4:1-7 1 What I am saying is that as long as an heir is underage, he is no different from a slave, although he owns the whole estate. 2 The heir is subject to guardians and trustees until the time set by his father. 3 So also, when we were underage, we were in slavery under the elemental spiritual forces of the world. 4 But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, 5 to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship. 6 Because you are his sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba, Father.” 7 So you are no longer a slave, but God’s child; and since you are his child, God has made you also an heir.   WHAT’S THIS MEAN, ANYWAY? Picture this: you are the child of a powerful king! When your father dies or decides to let you rule, you will be given things like power and wealth and all of these amazing blessings... but until then, what are you?...

  R EAD THIS:  Galatians 3:26-29 26 So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, 27 for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.   WHAT’S THIS MEAN, ANYWAY? I kind of think of these verses like this: a mission trip where we all wear the same shirt and walk around. It doesn't matter if you're a dude, a girl, tall, small, whether you're from one country or another, or if you look a certain way. Y'all are wearing the same shirt. People look at you, they know nothing about you except that 1) you know each other and 2) you have enough joy in your group to actually wear matching shirts.  In Jesus, we are all wearing matching shirts. It's like the jersey concept on a sports team...when you're a ...

R EAD THIS:  Galatians 3:23-25 23 Before the coming of this faith, we were held in custody under the law, locked up until the faith that was to come would be revealed. 24 So the law was our guardian until Christ came that we might be justified by faith. 25 Now that this faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian.   WHAT’S THIS MEAN, ANYWAY? This passage talks about a lot of what we've been covering already this week, so let's use an analogy to make this more fun! Think of the last time you had a babysitter. Babysitters have to follow certain rules given to them by the parents, but they also may come with their own rules (things like no watching TV past a certain time or no running around outside near a busy street). But when the night is done or the next day comes, the babysitter leaves and the parents are back in charge, and their rules take over the ones the babysitter made. Jesus, since He is God, is our Father. The law was our guardian (like a good babysitter, se...

R EAD THIS:  Galatians 3:21-22 21 Is the law, therefore, opposed to the promises of God? Absolutely not! For if a law had been given that could impart life, then righteousness would certainly have come by the law. 22 But Scripture has locked up everything under the control of sin, so that what was promised, being given through faith in Jesus Christ, might be given to those who believe. WHAT’S THIS MEAN, ANYWAY? The law was supposed to show us right from wrong and remind us that we all fall short of perfection, but following it does NOT give us righteousness. So...does that mean people were doing something wrong when they followed the law and God was just like "haha, gotchu?" Paul says no. The law doesn't give us eternal life or anything like that because we literally are too messed up to ever do everything in the law perfectly. The whole Bible (Scripture) shows us how every human except for Jesus sinned in some way. That's what Paul means when he says Scripture has ...

R EAD THIS:  Galatians 3:19-20 19 Why, then, was the law given at all? It was added because of transgressions until the Seed to whom the promise referred had come. The law was given through angels and entrusted to a mediator. 20 A mediator, however, implies more than one party; but God is one. WHAT’S THIS MEAN, ANYWAY? Paul asks a really important question here: why do we even have the law if Jesus was just gonna come in and change everything through His grace? Paul makes it clear that the law certainly had a purpose for both the Galatians and us. The law was given to do two big things: to show us right from wrong, and to remind us that we all fall short of what God calls us to do (...we typically call that sin!). But Jesus is our mediator. Google just told me that a mediator is " a person who attempts to make people involved in a conflict come to an agreement." So Jesus helped bring the conflict between us and God (we were and keep on sinning, right?) to an agreement: Jesu...

  R EAD THIS:  Galatians 3:15-18 15 Brothers and sisters, let me take an example from everyday life. Just as no one can set aside or add to a human covenant that has been duly established, so it is in this case. 16 The promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. Scripture does not say “and to seeds,” meaning many people, but “and to your seed," meaning one person, who is Christ. 17 What I mean is this: The law, introduced 430 years later, does not set aside the covenant previously established by God and thus do away with the promise. 18 For if the inheritance depends on the law, then it no longer depends on the promise; but God in his grace gave it to Abraham through a promise.   WHAT’S THIS MEAN, ANYWAY? So Paul really likes to try to make his points clear. We've got here another example AND another explanation about Abraham to explain how we are righteous through God's goodness. So first of all, verse 15 just says that when we make a contract with somebody, we c...

R EAD THIS:  Galatians 3:10-14 10 For all who rely on the works of the law are under a curse, as it is written: “Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law.” 11 Clearly no one who relies on the law is justified before God, because “the righteous will live by faith.” 12 The law is not based on faith; on the contrary, it says, “The person who does these things will live by them.” 13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a pole.” 14 He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.   WHAT’S THIS MEAN, ANYWAY? So the main takeaway here is similar to what we have been learning the last few days: we live by faith now, not the law, because of Jesus and His sacrifice! If we relied on the law, we would never make it, because we are...

R EAD THIS:  Galatians 3:6-9 6 So also Abraham “believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.” 7 Understand, then, that those who have faith are children of Abraham. 8 Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: “All nations will be blessed through you.” 9 So those who rely on faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.   WHAT’S THIS MEAN, ANYWAY? Paul is trying to make his point from yesterday clear by using the example of Abraham. Abraham, as written in Genesis 15:6, simply believed what God told him, and God let that count as rightness. God basically promised that Abraham in his old age would have kids, and those kids would end up being a nation. It wasn't until hundreds of years later that that nation was given the law. Yet, a lot of Jewish people thought that they could earn righteousness, like we talked about yesterday. But, if we go back to the beginning of the nation with Ab...