"I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me."
--Galatians 2:20 (NKJV)
From the daily Bible reading on June 20, 2013 of Psalm 109:16-25; Galatians 2; 2 Kings 3-4:37.
Paul addresses this epistle "to the churches of Galatia" (please see verse 2), a geopolitical region of central Asia Minor. The timing of this letter and the particular churches it may pertain to are uncertain; it could have been written after either Paul's first or his second missionary journey. (If the former, this would likely be the earliest of Paul's letters.) We do know it was written for the benefit of more than one church family and that the date of its authorship is not nearly as important to us as its main theme: justification by faith.
The primary problem that Paul speaks to is how can man, who is sinful by nature, come to God, who is holy. Certain Jewish Christians, who we know as the Judaizers, were spreading out from Jerusalem and teaching that some aspects of Mosaic Law must be adhered to, perhaps most notably that the Gentiles must be circumcised as are the Jews before they can be considered among the redeemed. The Judaizers even harassed Peter, to whom was given apostleship to the Jews as was Paul to the Gentiles, so much so that he stopped eating with the Gentiles unless they were circumcised. Paul's response was that the only way man can ever come to God is by accepting the salvation that God Himself makes available by His grace alone, through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ His Son. In the scripture surrounding and including today's focus verse, Paul recalls the argument he used as he openly rebuked Peter to his face for not staying true to this point of what Jesus Himself taught.
We are justified in approaching God the Father by our faith in Jesus His Son, and only by our faith and nothing else. No manner nor amount of works or deeds can ever save us, only our faith. We are sanctified by the Holy Spirit, not by the Law of Moses nor any law of man, set apart from a sin-filled world for the service of the Father and the Son. We are "crucified with Christ" so that we might be dead to our old sinful nature and resurrected and reborn into a new life in Christ and Christ in us. And even though we still live in this corrupt world, "in the flesh", we live by our "faith in the Son of God" and the hope and promise of our resurrection life with Him hereafter. Only by the grace of God are we saved. Only by our faith are we redeemed. Amen.
Gracious God, thank You for the gift of salvation You so freely give us! Thank You, Jesus, for loving us and for paying the price for us so that our Father might see us through Your eyes. Our faith in You is our only hope, the only promise we need. In Your perfect name, dearest Jesus we pray. Amen.
The primary problem that Paul speaks to is how can man, who is sinful by nature, come to God, who is holy. Certain Jewish Christians, who we know as the Judaizers, were spreading out from Jerusalem and teaching that some aspects of Mosaic Law must be adhered to, perhaps most notably that the Gentiles must be circumcised as are the Jews before they can be considered among the redeemed. The Judaizers even harassed Peter, to whom was given apostleship to the Jews as was Paul to the Gentiles, so much so that he stopped eating with the Gentiles unless they were circumcised. Paul's response was that the only way man can ever come to God is by accepting the salvation that God Himself makes available by His grace alone, through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ His Son. In the scripture surrounding and including today's focus verse, Paul recalls the argument he used as he openly rebuked Peter to his face for not staying true to this point of what Jesus Himself taught.
We are justified in approaching God the Father by our faith in Jesus His Son, and only by our faith and nothing else. No manner nor amount of works or deeds can ever save us, only our faith. We are sanctified by the Holy Spirit, not by the Law of Moses nor any law of man, set apart from a sin-filled world for the service of the Father and the Son. We are "crucified with Christ" so that we might be dead to our old sinful nature and resurrected and reborn into a new life in Christ and Christ in us. And even though we still live in this corrupt world, "in the flesh", we live by our "faith in the Son of God" and the hope and promise of our resurrection life with Him hereafter. Only by the grace of God are we saved. Only by our faith are we redeemed. Amen.
Gracious God, thank You for the gift of salvation You so freely give us! Thank You, Jesus, for loving us and for paying the price for us so that our Father might see us through Your eyes. Our faith in You is our only hope, the only promise we need. In Your perfect name, dearest Jesus we pray. Amen.
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