Day 1

Galatians 3

¹¹ Clearly no one who relies on the law is justified before God, because “the righteous will live by faith.

It is clear that human beings cannot keep fully the law of God and yet the word of the Lord still expects us to live in righteousness. It is a strain between emphasizing the fact that we must live righteous lives but at the same time wanting everybody to know we can only be saved by grace. On our own, we cannot live a perfect righteous life.

I think that must be what Paul is teaching the Galatians who feel like they must get circumcised in order to fulfil all the law. And he is telling them that even if you get circumcised there will be something else you haven’t been able to do. The best thing is to know you cannot rely on your perfection. You need to rely on the perfection of Jesus who lived, was tempted in every way, yet without sin. So, when he died, he died for our sins not his.

Let us look at verse seven to fourteen of Galatians chapter three;

understand then that those who have faith are children of Abraham, scripture foresaw that God will just fight the Gentiles by faith and announced the gospel by far to Abraham; “all nations will be blessed through you” so those who rely on faith are blessed along with Abraham the man of faith.

Then in Verse ten;

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”

Clearly no one who relies on the law is justified before God. This is because the righteous can only live by faith. The law is not based on faith. On the contrary it says the person who does these things will live by them. Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us for it is written cursed is everyone who is hanged on a pole.

He redeemed us in order that the blessings given by Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus. This way by faith we might receive the promise of the spirit. So, what is this saying? It is not possible for us to fully meet the requirements of the law. So, if you are trying to go to heaven through that line you should give up early.

That is what we have just read; understand then that those who have faith are the children of Abraham. Abraham was righteous way before the law was given for he knew the way of faith, trusting God. So, all you need in order to make it to heaven is to inherit Abraham’s blessings which is a blessing you gain by faith, by fully trusting the cross. So, if you have the faith like that of Abraham you have hope. What is faith? Trusting in the finished work of Christ on the crossand believing that he died for you. Trust that whatever your sins when you repent God forgive you on the basis of what Christ has done.

That is what faith is. Look at Genesis chapter twelve. That is where Gentiles are promised that they will be blessed via Abraham. This is because all those who believe like him, from all the nations of the earth; not just the Jews, will be blessed through him. That is why way back in Genesis when it was prophesied, that through Abraham, though a child of Abraham Jesus Christ; every nation of the earth will be blessed it was a prediction of our days.

That is why Christianity is not for the Jews alone. God said so right from then, that Abraham was going to be a blessing to every corner of the earth. So irrespective of whom you are which tribe you come from; when you have faith in God like that of Abraham then you get the blessings like those of Abraham.

Because Abraham is not the blesser, it is the God of Abraham whom you trust, and then you are assured of blessings of Abraham. We do not have to follow Jewish laws when we trust in him. When we trust the God of Abraham, we follow what is taught by the seed Abraham. The law came well after Abraham; so, we are not asked to trust in the law. We are being asked to trust in the God of Abraham.

Day 2

Galatians 3

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

In verse eight, scriptures foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham. In other words, it was clear that early, a time will come when the pilot study will be opened up to a wider world. So, for some time God was operating under specific controlled positions among the Jews but he promised to Abraham that he is finally going to open up to everyone. That is why he said, all nations will be blessed through him through you, Abraham.

Verse nine says; those who rely on faith are blessed. you are relying on just simply trusting God, you have righteousness, not because of the things you have done, not because of customs and traditions you have kept but because you are doing exactly what Abraham did and became the man of faith.

Verse ten is saying.

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.”

Are you getting this point? Why it is better to go to God via faith, trusting the work of Christ on the cross; rather than to trust things you can do? Keeping to the law; keeping to the requirement of the Ancestors is not fully possible. Do not rely on that. Why? For those who rely on the works of the law are under a curse. What is this curse? That they will struggle continuously but you will not make it.

To illustrate how difficult, it is to be perfectly righteous I normally give the example of two children who are visiting their grandmother and normally when they visit one grandmother; the later cross a river to the other grandma. They have to cross a river yet there is no bridge. You therefore have the alternative of walking through the water because it is not too deep or jump. So the bigger boys just jump across the stream. Now the two boys are going together; one can jump longer than the other, but they are both small. The river is six feet wide; one can jump three the other one can jump five feet. Can you guess what happens?

When you decide not to walk through the water but instead to jump; it means water will splash you all over, and you will be totally wet by the time you reach the grandmothers place, unless you jump the six feet. By the time they reach the grandma both are wet. It will not show that one jumped further than the other because both are wet. True five feet and three feet are quite different; one is far much better than the other but the truth is none of them is good enough.

Day 3

Romans 3:23

²³ for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

And that is the trouble of the law. That if you think God will bless you because you are better than me; the trouble is you are still not up to standard. Certainly, you will be better than me in terms of righteousness, but you are not righteous enough to please God. According to Romans chapter three verse twenty-three which says

for all have sinned and fall short of the Glory of God.

We like the two boys jump short of the length of the stream; so, we end up wet.

Paul is telling Galatians, starting to feel that you can do this Jewish law and the other Jewish law so that God will be happy with you; you are wasting your time. This is because one may be better than the other, but none will be good enough to please God. None will go the righteous way to the end without breaking one. Yes, you might keep most of the laws but even if you are breaking only one; like the boy who jumps five feet, and the river is six feet; you almost win but you are still going to be wet. That is why you do not bother going that route of trusting the things you do will fully please God.

You argue I have been baptized, I have been confirmed; I have been married in church, and you start thinking the things you have done are going to make you righteous? No; no, because even if you do all those things but last night you had lust in your thoughts or last night you hated someone, or last night you thought evil, you still can’t make it to heaven. This is because God is not judging on the things you have counted but on everything. What about the other wrong things you have done?

So That is why he says according to Ephesians chapter two verse eight to ten...we are saved by faith; not of works that any man can boast.

So, in Galatians Paul is telling them it is a real pity for you to be going back to try to fulfil on your own the things God has already accomplished for you.  This is because even if you try, you will succeed in some but not in all and you will therefore still be a failure. Yes, you might have been keeping the law for some time; maybe the last forty, thirty years but if you now do not continue, by the time of your death, a few things you will not have done right. This then means, you are under a curse. That is why Paul is saying if you really are trying to please the Lord by the things you do, it is like you are cursed. You will certainly not make it.

Therefore, you certainly will not get the blessings that way. So, it is not a route that you would really want to follow. For example, you think you will be blessed because you keep your ancestral laws? In fact you emphasize how you paid dowry? I fully paid dowry, you say. But that is just one requirement of the ancestors; they have got other things to do with the birth of the child, things to do with the burial of your relatives; there are many African traditional requirements if you are to please the ancestral spirits.

So even if you keep some of the ancestral rules but you do not keep all of them; how do you expect the spirit of the ancestors would be happy with you? That is why you have to make up your mind which way to please God. Do you want to trust your life to your ancestral spirits, or do you want to entrust it to Jesus Christ? If you put your trust in Jesus Christ then he says he has done it all. He did it all at Calvary. In him you do not get blessed on the basis of the things you do but you get blessed on the basis of your faith in him. That is if you fully trust him.

Day 4

Galatians 3

¹¹ Clearly no one who relies on the law is justified before God, because “the righteous will live by faith.

On the basis of what we have been clearly discussing Paul says; no one, not even a few, no one who is relying on doing what the ancestors are doing, what the Jews require; will please God. If you think that is the way to make it; that you do what your church requires, you are lost.

So, no one who relies on the law is justified before God. And what did we say is the meaning of justified? To be made just as if you have never sinned. For all your sins to be forgiven and you are justified, your sins are held against you. How does that happen? Not through the law. If you use that route, you will never be justified because like we have been arguing you will do well in some laws but do badly in others, that is not how to be justified. And that is why the conclusion that excited Martin Luther the reformer; “the just-all the righteous will live by faith” also excites us .God recognizes those who trusts the holiness of his son, not their own holiness because he knows they are not holy enough. They have decided, God I am not good enough, I want you to take me under your son. So, I am now hiding not on my own righteousness but on the righteousness of your son Jesus Christ.

So, he is saying clearly God only recognizes as holy those who trust the holiness of his son. God only recognizes the righteousness of those who hide themselves in the son. Yeah, in prayer you ask the father to wear the sunglasses; of the blood of his son on the cross; the pain he suffered was for your sin. Now when the father looks at you, despite all your evil; you are justified. It is just as if you have never sinned. I think that is something that you need to be excited about.

Ask yourself. What do you rely on? This is not true but, if you were going to be at a gate in heaven and you met an angel who is guarding the gate and asked you, why should I allow you to heaven? What answer would you give; is it the number of people you preached to; is it the fact that you are baptized, is it the fact that you are a Christian who has done many things or is it that you have preached and you have brought many people to the Lord or is it that your ancestry; your grandfather, your father have always served the Lord and so that you have been involved in the social gospel, you have helped many people? What is it that you will count as the basis for which Christ should allow you to heaven?

Let me suggest to you that, if you find a reason why the Angel should allow you to heaven other than the fact that heaven was purchased for you by Jesus Christ, you will not go in. because the reason he knows us; he knows our frame that  we can never be righteous enough. That is why everybody who is a follower of Christ needs to reach a level where they accept that they can’t make it on their own; they can’t achieve righteousness on their own. They can’t find one reason, so they tell the angel; I do not deserve to go to heaven, but Christ has made it possible for non-deserving individual like me to be able to go to heaven. Not the works I do; not my own righteousness but what Christ has done on the cross for me’.

So clearly, the reason you go that route of faith in Christ work is because no one can be righteous enough. Paul wants you to know you should not bother even trying; no one who relies on anything other than Christ can make it to heaven.

Day 5

Galatians 3

¹² The law is not based on faith; on the contrary, it says, “The person who does these things will live by them

In other words, you can always ask yourself which of the two routes ,works or faith do you follow? Do you rely on what Christ? Or do you rely on what you, yourself can do? The law is not based on faith. You can’t say I trust; if you are doing okay and you are achieving everything, where does faith come in? You feel you do not have to trust in God. You can make it on your own. So, the law does not rely on faith.

If you take the works route you should not trust Christ to accomplish righteousness for you. You feel I can do it myself. Then if that is your thinking then to you it says, the person who does the law will live by it. In other words, whatever the consequences of fulfilling the law and not fulfilling it will be yours because you are the one that you have chosen to be under law yet that in itself will give you trouble. When you choose that route, you will get rewards when you do well. But the law only wants obedience not faith. You therefore also have to accept the punishment that comes from the few laws that you fail in. You will still have to get the punishment even after some rewards.

Let me remind you what is worse, that to enter heaven; not even a single sin will go to heaven; even one. Even if you have you have lived your life in righteousness totally except in one area, you still can’t make it to heaven, but you will get the rewards of what you have been sacrificing and doing.

If you can’t fully keep the law; why bother trying to go that route? Be honest just look at the last one week; have you measured up to the righteousness of Jesus Christ in every way? In what you have done, in the way you have related to others; in the thoughts that have crossed your mind, are they all righteous and perfect? If you have not fully met that standard that means you should not even bother going that route.

Like the Jews wanted you might get circumcised, but after that; circumcision is only one thing; you will need to also pay dowry, then after that, what else? Dowry is only one thing. To follow the route of wanting to get blessings through doing things that please the Ancestors rather than through the blood of Jesus, it is not very wise.

Day 6

Galatians 3

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.”^[h^]

The word it uses here is redeemed or redemption which is where you find somebody has been condemned and his penalty, he has been given is very high yet unless he pays the penalty he will be jailed, then you pay the penalty for him. You have thus redeemed him from jail.

So, we are learning that by Christ dying on the cross he redeemed us from the curse. So now it does not matter the ancestral curses you had, that your clan may have been cursed by an ancestor, telling you, if you do this; this will happen. Paul is saying that by Christ dying on the cross he became a curse himself for us. This is because already under the law, you are not allowed to die on the cross. Cursed is he who dies on a pole, and he did. He died on a pole, yet he had done nothing wrong; so, without his own curse but ours. Therefore, if truth be told it was your curse that took him to the cross. So now you do not have to suffer any curse. It does not matter what your ancestors had said or not said. It does not matter what the curses Jews had written from the Old Testament, it does not matter; all of them are nailed at the cross of Jesus Christ.

So now He has suffered our curse, you also do not have to actually suffer the curse because now that you know he became a curse. Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a pole then because he had done nothing wrong; that paid your penalty. He became the penalty you would have gotten. So, the penalty for breaking the law was fully paid for on the cross. All your evil tendencies, past, present, and future is covered by the blood of Jesus. No other death is needed whether of a cow or goat.

The book of Hebrews keep emphasizing His was one death; once for all; covering past, present and future sins.As long as the sinner acknowledges his sin and puts faith in the work of Jesus on the cross his penalty is then fully paid for. So, the penalty for breaking the law is fully paid in Christ.So you can’t start doing its sacrifices. You know sacrificing this, or doing that, and thus shedding useless blood is not right for Christian. So you can’t get involved in blood of animals because the blood of Jesus was painful, precious, and adequate. So, have you seen that all your curses are removed? Like they say oh, my grandfather said this or the other we must do to avoid ancestral curse. No, no; you now can live a free life. You do not have to do anything to come out of the curse. You no longer now fear what Luos call it chiira; or what the kikuyus call it kirumi’.

Day 7

Galatians 3

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.

So, you can now do things not necessarily in line with the law of the ancestors or the law of the Jews without risking curses. You no longer say if I do not do that; I will be cursed; no. Cursed is he who puts his trust on man but instead blessed is he who puts his trust on Christ who died on the cross. I think That is something that you need to have at the back of your mind.

Verse fourteen emphasizes the same thing .It is not possible to fully keep the law and because it is not possible it means that any effort to try to go to the route of seeking forgiveness by the things you have accomplished is a waste of time. It just shows that you are still under a curse.

You know verse fourteen is saying.

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 is the word of God saying, Christ redeemed us; rescued us; paid our penalty in order that the blessings given to Abraham; the man of faith, will now become ours because we are connected to Abraham not through blood but through his son; Jesus Christ dying on the cross for us so that by faith we might receive the promise of the spirit.

In other words, once you put your faith in Christ; he gives you his holy spirit to dwell in you and help you to live a victorious life; a life that is honouring to God. That is what Paul is saying. Yeah, at the cross he paid for all sins; the sins of the Jews who were willing to accept or the sins of the Gentiles who lived under the fear of the Ancestors. All of them were paid at the cross of Jesus Christ. We now can access the blessings of Abraham; yes, we have access to all God has to offer.

What then that means is that we can read the Old Testament with understanding; drawing principles but not doing the things that were required of the Old Testament saints. Yes, drawing lessons out of it but not operating under the law that is set therein.

The Bible for sure has Old and New Testament because the old is helping the new to be better understood. The old is interpreted by the New Testament. And so, we enjoy the things God has placed for us to enjoy. So, I think Paul is coming out very clear that if you are really going to enjoy fellowship with God, peace with God; it will be important that you put your trust in what Christ did on the cross.

Thus, if you are asked,’ why do you believe you will make it to heaven? You admit it is nothing to do with your ability or your accomplishments, but what Christ did on the cross. He has been waiting for any one of us to accept our plight. We must accept we need this help. And he then is willing to help. That is basically how you will make it to heaven, by trusting yourself into the hands of God and walking in righteousness as you walk with him, trusting him.

So, it is not possible to fully keep the law and the righteous therefore shall live by faith. If you really want to be a righteous person, a justified person, just put your trust in God and let him walk with you into the future. So do not trust anything you can do on your own; trust in God.

 

 

 

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