Read Galatians 3:6-14

This past semester, I was in an Old Testament Literature class, affectionately called “OT” by Cedarville students. Before taking OT, I had never thought deeply about how the Old Testament and New Testament relate to one another and the greater storyline of the Bible. I knew that the New Testament commented on and referenced the Old Testament, but I never thought about it beyond that. I learned a lot of dates and historical landmarks in OT, but my greatest takeaway was how powerful the New Testament is, because of its foundation in the Old Testament.

You see, God promised Abraham that his name would be made great and that every person on this earth would someday be blessed through Abraham. “I will bless those who bless you, I will curse those who treat you with contempt, and all the peoples on earth will be blessed through you (Genesis 12:3).”

About 2,000 years later, Paul writes to the Galatians, “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.’ So those who rely on faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith (Galatians 3:8-9).”

It is just incredible to me how the Word of God stands the test of time. The connections between the Old and New Testament further secure our trust in the Bible.

There are times that it can be difficult to understand the Bible, though. We’ve all been there, right? One area that can be a little difficult is where the Biblical law is concerned. God places quite a few laws on the people of Israel. Just read Leviticus. You may notice that we no longer follow most of these laws. We no longer have to sacrifice sheep or goats to repent and be purified because of Jesus’ death on the cross.

“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.” Galatians 3: 14

Friend, Jesus came to free you from your chains and to bring you everlasting life.

God promised Abraham that the Gentiles would be justified through faith. Abraham didn’t understand it at the time, but God did and He followed through. He always follows through.

In what area of your life are you living like the law still binds you? Do you keep a set of rules thinking that your rule keeping somehow endears you to God? What do you need to do to live in the freedom of God’s grace?