#121-G67 ~ Galatians 3:7
We begin our study with some words about the importance of rightly dividing what we read in the Bible. II Timothy 2:15 is the command on this. To violate it creates confusion, misunderstanding, and division.
We’re now still in verse Galatians 3:6, having been on this for a while. Here we’ve been noting the importance of believing what God has said, accepting it wholeheartedly. In our case, we need to give our primary attention to the writings of the apostle Paul, the one Scripture speaks as being the apostle to the Gentiles. Paul’s message is to us, but Peter’s is not. It is FOR our learning, but it is NOT TO us. We saw that in our study of Galatians 2:7.
Here in 3:6 we’re looking at Abraham’s example of believing in what God has said. What an important lesson that is! People today sometimes speak of God speaking to people. But in our time that only happens through the Scriptures, the Bible. That and that alone is God’s way of “speaking” to us today. And He speaks to us primarily through the Pauline passages of Scripture. It is those that are specifically TO us.
We continue now with our 7th principle. [We won’t bother to review the other 6 we’re already covered.] What we have here is called a judicial imputation of the righteousness of God. When anyone puts their faith in Christ and His death, burial, and resurrection as the sole basis for their salvation, God credits them with the righteousness of Christ. And it is HIS righteousness that becomes the basis for our salvation, not our own. People typically think they need to be good to be saved. That’s true, but IT IS NOT based on our goodness or our righteousness. Salvation comes to us only when Christ’s righteousness is credited to us. That righteousness is what is called a JUDICIAL righteousness. That means it is not experiential, but positional in nature. It is this judicial righteousness that I discuss here.
We then continue with Verse 7. Here he’s not saying we’re physical descendants of Abraham. What he’s saying is that when we go by faith, we’re following Abraham’s example. It was because he simply expressed his faith in what God told him that he gained salvation. His salvation was not based on his own personal works of righteousness, and neither is ours. We here go to Genesis 12 and following where we see the history on all this. Here Abraham is given an order and a promise. Because he chose to believe it, and that is all, God blessed him. It is God then that gets all the glory for it. The exact same thing is true about our salvation today. It is a gift courtesy of the GRACE of God. Abraham’s works were not involved in this at all.
We then go to Romans 4:1-6 where Paul speaks of all this. Here, again, we see how God gets the glory for our salvation, not us. Ephesians 2:9 brings out this principle, but people often distort it. I then discuss this and close this lesson out with a discussion of Romans 4:4-5. All these verses stress God’s grace, not our works.
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