The life of Abraham is a story of learning to trust God’s promises. God called him to leave his homeland, promised to make him a great nation, and assured him that through his offspring all the nations would be blessed. Yet, like many of us, Abraham struggled to wait on God. When the promise seemed impossible, he and Sarah tried to accomplish God’s purposes themselves through Hagar. If you know the story, Abraham believed God, but he also struggled with self-sufficiency. If we are honest, we all know what it is like to hear the promises of God and yet feel like everything ultimately depends upon us. Galatians 3:15–22 calls us to a better way: not striving to establish our own plan, but resting by faith in the God who keeps His promises. When the Apostle Paul addresses the Galatian controversy, he points to the OT as a means to demonstrate God’s faithful covenant and the law’s ultimate purpose. As Paul reveals in Galatians 3, God’s covenant did not depend upon Abraham’s flawless performance, and His promise was not overturned by the establishment of the law.
What we find is that God would fulfill His blessing through Christ, and He would accomplish what He had promised. For us, that means we can stop carrying the burden of self-sufficiency. When you fail, confess your sin and rest in Christ. When you succeed, give thanks rather than taking credit for your standing before God. When the future is uncertain, trust the God who has promised to be faithful. And when obedience is difficult, obey from a position of acceptance rather than striving for acceptance. In the end, may we trust God’s covenant faithfulness like Abraham and rest in the blessing that is ours in Christ.
–Pastor Nate
Sunday at Liberty
9AM: BTH–American Gospel: Christ Alone
10AM: Pastor Nate–No Other Promise by Faith–Galatians 3:15-22 (sermon notes)
No Evening Gathering