Who Do You Belong To?

Galatians 3:1-14

3 O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified. 2 Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith? 3 Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh? 4 Did you suffer so many things in vain—if indeed it was in vain? 5 Does he who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you do so by works of the law, or by hearing with faith— 6 just as Abraham “believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”?
7 Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham. 8 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.” 9 So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.
The Righteous Shall Live by Faith
10 For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them.” 11 Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, for “The righteous shall live by faith.” 12 But the law is not of faith, rather “The one who does them shall live by them.” 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 hanged on a tree”— 14 so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith.

By Newspring Church

Life as a Christian can seem difficult if not impossible. How easy is it — really — to love our neighbors, to honor our parents, or to forgive someone who has hurt, betrayed or left us? How easy is it to share the Gospel with someone who you work with or sit next to in class?
It is impossible to follow Jesus on our own. The good news is Jesus gives us His power, so we’re never alone.

In Galatians 3, Paul calls the people “foolish” and “bewitched” for trying to earn their salvation. He reminds them that the Holy Spirit saved them. By trying to follow the law instead of accepting God’s grace, they were taking on an impossible burden and forgetting that they already belonged to Jesus.

Aren’t we just like that?

When we accept the gift of salvation through Jesus, He also gives us the Holy Spirit as our comforter and guide. The power of God lives in us! But instead of tapping into the power that enables us to follow Jesus, we slip into old habits and return to self-reliance. We allow others to dictate who we are.

Jesus enables us to be who He’s created us to be and to do what He calls us to do.
When we are burdened by worries, hurts, or problems, we must keep our focus on the one who knows us and remember whose we are. We live under Jesus’ mercy and grace. He enables us to be who He’s created us to be and to do what He calls us to do.


*  This devotion was found at Newspring.cc titled "Remember Whose You Are" by Newspring Church.