Galatians 3:6-9 (ESV) just as Abraham “believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”?

2. Galatians 3:6-9 (ESV) just as Abraham “believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”?

3. Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham.

4. And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “In you shall all the nations be blessed.”

5. So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.

6. just as Abraham “believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”?Galatians 3:6, ESV

7. Evidence from Scripture The ESV places verse 6 with verses 1-5 It is debatable where this verse really “fits” Though it seems likely that it is a conclusion of 1-5 and expanded on in 7-9 Verses 1-5 These verses focus on the Galatians own experience They received the Spirit by faith, not by works of the Law, and because of this they are justified by their faith Now the focus is on Abraham Why Abraham? It stems from Paul’s own understanding of Salvation, and because the agitators were likely using Abraham as a way to argue their point

8. Evidence from Scripture “[9] And God said to Abraham, “As for you, you shall keep my covenant, you and your offspring after you throughout their generations. [10] This is my covenant, which you shall keep, between me and you and your offspring after you: Every male among you shall be circumcised. [11] You shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and you.

9. Evidence from Scripture [12] He who is eight days old among you shall be circumcised. Every male throughout your generations, whether born in your house or bought with your money from any foreigner who is not of your offspring, [13] both he who is born in your house and he who is bought with your money, shall surely be circumcised. So shall my covenant be in your flesh an everlasting covenant. [14] Any uncircumcised male who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin shall be cut off from his people; he has broken my covenant.” –Genesis 17:9-14

10. Evidence from Scripture (2) So, to follow the Scripture, circumcision would be necessary to be part of the covenant It is likely that the agitators used this kind of Scriptural argument Paul sees something drastically different in Abraham Which is why he says, “just as Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness” Most would think that this is coming from Genesis 21, but that’s not where Paul is looking Instead, Paul is looking at Genesis 15, consider what verses 1-6 say

11. Evidence from Scripture (2) [1] After these things the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision: “Fear not, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great.” [2] But Abram said, “O Lord GOD, what will you give me, for I continue childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” [3] And Abram said, “Behold, you have given me no offspring, and a member of my household will be my heir.”

12. Evidence from Scripture (2) [4] And behold, the word of the LORD came to him: “This man shall not be your heir; your very own son shall be your heir.” [5] And he brought him outside and said, “Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” [6] And he believed the LORD, and he counted it to him as righteousness.” –Genesis 15:1-6, ESV

13. Evidence from Scripture (3) As we can see, faith, belief, is what counted Abraham as righteous Because Abraham believed in God, he (Abraham) was declared righteous Abraham believed that God would give him a son and descendants to match the stars It was this faith which declared him righteous It is also later in this chapter (Genesis 15) where God makes a covenant with Abraham Before the covenant can be made, however, Abraham must be declared righteous (which he is in Genesis 15:6)

14. Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham. Galatians 3:7, ESV

15. Children of Abraham Paul understands that Abraham was made right before God because of faith So those who also have faith will be declared righteous as well If one has the same faith as Abraham one would be declared righteous before God Those who have faith are the true children of Abraham Paul deduces this from two things (the second of which will come with verse 8) The first is that he can come to this conclusion because of verses 1-4, their own experience speaks of them being declared righteous, just as Abraham was declared righteous, by faith

16. And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “In you shall all the nations be blessed.” Galatians 3:8, ESV

17. Foretelling Paul recognizes that the entirety of the Old Testament foretells the Gospel The Gospel that those who have faith, including the Gentiles, will be justified before God Paul then goes to a specific text to prove the point It stems from Genesis 12:3, but includes 18:18, 22:28, and 26:4, since they all focus on the same point which is that through Abraham the nations will be blessed

18. So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.Galatians 3:9, ESV

19. Conclusion Paul concludes the previous argument Faith here is to be understood as believing Those who believe will receive the blessing along with Abraham What is the blessing? The blessing is justification This combines what we learn in Genesis 12:3, which is that all nations will be blessed by Abraham With what we learn in Genesis 15:6, that the blessing is righteousness through faith

20. Main Points The main point is that one is justified by faith not by works The agitators were probably using Abraham to argue against Paul, that one must especially be circumcised to be saved Paul shows, however, that Abraham is not justified by his works but by his faith/belief in God Therefore, those who have faith are the heirs which were promised to Abraham and receive the same blessing he received: Justification through faith

21. Application Points Salvation: Old and New Testaments One of the greatest arguments against the Christian worldview was by the Judaizers who argued that it was works of the law, or faith plus works which leads to salvation As we see today, however, the Old Testament argues for a faith based righteousness In many times throughout Church history the Old Testament has either been rejected or ignored Many think that the Old Testament is too dark, and end up taking the same heretical stance as Marcion who rejected the Old Testament completely

22. Application Points Salvation: Old and New Testaments (2) The Old Testament proclaimed the Gospel before Christ came in time, history, space, and flesh The Old Testament aligns with the New The New Testament writers had the Old Testament in mind when they wrote Romans, for example, has the Old Testament in the background like the rhythm of a blues guitarist The Christian should remember this, that both Testaments reveal the Gospel to us Yet, they show so much more as well

23. Application Points Salvation: Old and New Testaments (3) They inform us who God is, revealing His Attributes to us It also shows us who we are as created by God and fallen in sin As soon as we reject the Scriptures we find ourselves lost Many who reject the Scriptures lose who God is, and who they are and we are as humanity For those who do believe the Scriptures they have a worldview which has a strong foundation So be encouraged to seek out the Scriptures, as He has revealed Himself, and who we are, and the world through the Scriptures God is not a silent God, but a God who has spoken and continues to speak through His Word

24. Application Points Obedience Abraham was not justified by works but by faith Paul’s argument from Abraham shows that we too are saved by faith alone While Abraham is justified by faith, this does not negate his obedience He still obeys God, and he still honors God This obedience does not save us, but it is evidence to having been saved The evidence of faith is made plain by how we live

25. Application Points Obedience (2) This makes the Christian message unique While all other religions state that one can only be made right with god/the universe through what they do Christianity teaches that it is by faith in what Jesus has done which justifies When we have faith and are justified then we can live according to His will, not to be justified, not because He is forcing us, but because we can see the love of God clearly, and this causes us to love Him and live according to His will

26. Application Points Obedience (3) Justification by faith does not mean that one lives whatever lifestyle is most pleasing Instead it allows us to live freely according to the Word of God for the glory of God It allows us to know truth and live according to the truth as revealed through Jesus, the Scriptures, and even nature Just as those who came before us, on whose shoulders we’re standing, stood up against the darkness, so can we

27. Application Points Obedience (4) Do not fall into the trap of believing that we can live in anyway we desire To do this would be to miss the point as greatly as believing that we are justified by our works Instead, bear good fruit by keeping with Repentance (see Matthew 3) Turning away from sin and to a lifestyle which honors God in heaven, who loves you as His own if you have faith in Christ

28. Application Points Faith-Work Some may wonder if our faith is itself a work If we are required to have faith, doesn’t that same requirement mean that we must work for our salvation? There are two answers to this The first is that faith itself is a gift from God It is because of this none can boast saying, “Look at my great faith” Instead all who belong to God have been given faith by God (see Romans 3:24 and Ephesians 2:8)

29. Application Points Faith-Work (2) A works-based righteousness will declare someone righteous because of their works If they don’t do this, or if they do that, they will be declared righteous It then becomes their righteousness In Christianity this is not the case All the righteousness we can attain is from faith in Jesus Christ and His work and it is His righteousness This is what many call imputed righteousness That is, all the righteousness of Christ is imputed, given, to us when we are saved

30. Application Points Faith-Work (3) This means two things The first is that at our conversion all of our sin and righteousness are made clean Imagine all the debt of America placed on your shoulders When we place our faith in Jesus, that debt is set to zero This is great news! Yet if that is all there is then our religion would be faith plus works, because though our debt is reduced to zero we would still need to accumulate righteousness for ourselves

31. Application Points Faith-Work (4) Instead of our accounts being in the negative, and instead of us being at zero, we find our accounts are filled wit the righteousness of Christ Where we once owed trillions we now have trillions This should cause us to celebrate! It should cause us to rejoice over the moral debt we once have being taken off our shoulders Though we should be in sin God calls us out of sin to be His children No other righteousness could sustain us as the righteousness of Christ given to us

32. Application Points Faith-Work (5) Remember this the next time the world throws your faults in your face The next time the Devil comes and says you’re not good enough, you’re all alone When this happens, stand and say “I am no saint, I am a sinner, but the righteousness of Christ is given to me by the grace of God through faith. For though I am a sinner, God sent His Son to die so that I might live. It is not my doing, but Jesus Christ and His doing which saves me.” Stand firm against these things, knowing that Christ is our firm foundation

33. Application Points Children of Abraham Another application of this is that we are children of Abraham This makes me think of Rich Mullins and Beaker Rich Mullins wrote the song “Awesome God” Beaker was one of his best friends and was so named “Beaker” because he looked like the Muppet Beaker

36. Application Points Children of Abraham (2) Rich and Beaker wrote a song called, “Sometimes by Step” and one of the verses Rich sings Sometimes I think of Abraham, how one star he saw had been lit for me, he was a stranger in this land, and I am that no less than he, and on this road to righteousness, sometimes the climb can be so steep, I may falter in my steps, but never beyond your reach.

37. Application Points Children of Abraham (3) Consider that one line, “Sometimes I think of Abraham, how one star he saw had been lit for me” Have you ever stopped and considered that moment? When Abraham stood beneath a clear night, staring up at the stars in the sky, and God telling him his descendants will be more than the stars How amazing is our God? How unbelievable that He should make this promise and would bring it about through faith in His own Son Jesus Christ So don’t lose heart, for the light of Christ is brighter than the darkness, and His light is within us

38. Application Points The Gospel When we consider the plan God had set for salvation through faith, we consider the Gospel It informs us of our origins, we are created in the image of God We can love, reason, know truth, because God is love, He reasons, and He is truth Yet even with these things we fell into sin, darkness, and death The darkness is deep It is not only a loss of innocence, but also a loss of relationship with God, ourselves, each other, and the world So while we dwell in the darkness we sin, and as we sin we have a great moral debt against us

39. Application Points The Gospel (2) God could have remained silent Instead He sent His Son Jesus Christ to be the Light and life of the World While we were yet sinners, He sent His Son to die for us as a propitiation for our sins In this way He reconciles us to Himself He reconciles us with ourselves, each other, and the world Though it is not yet perfect, it is being perfected So we are no longer enemies of God, but children of God

40. Application Points The Gospel (3) This all leads to a future For those who remain unrepentant of sin and without faith in Christ there is judgment Yet for those who are repentant and do place their faith in Christ there is an eternal kingdom, where they will be at peace with God forever