Being Led By Faith And Not By Works

Now to Abraham and his Seed

were the promises made,

He does not say, “And to seeds,”

as of many, but as of one,

“And to your Seed,”

who is Christ.

And this I say, that the law,

which was four hundred and thirty

years later, cannot annul the covenant

that was confirmed before by God in Christ,

that it should make the promise of no effect.

For if the inheritance is of the law,

It is no longer of promise;

but God gave it to Abraham by promise.

Galatians 3:16–18

            The apostle Paul points out a very important fact: the word “Seed” is singular and not plural and that this word “Seed” applied to Jesus Christ. Paul further points out that God confirmed His covenant, not by the law, rather by promise.  This confirmation was in Jesus Christ.  This promise was that all nations would by blessed.  Does this mean that every individual be blessed by means of this promise? No!  Why would someone who does not believe in Jesus Christ give praise to Him?  They would not! People today who will not believe in Jesus Christ will not praise Him, if fact they do all they can to defame Him. In Christ Jesus alone will people in all nations who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ give praise to Him.  The promise was to “Seed” and that “Seed” would bless the nations, therefore only those who have faith in Him and are converted to Him will receive the blessing and that blessing is salvation. Rather than surrender their lives to Jesus Christ and live this life in faith they make great attempts to work our their salvation as though by those works Jesus Christ will save them.  Works will not save anyone.  How much work must one do to have the blessing of Jesus Christ: one pound, two pounds, or more: what, how much?  The Law was a matter of works and by the Law man was under a curse and not to do the works of the Law is to bring upon a person condemnation.  Am I speaking of the Ten Commandments? No! For the Jew the Law was the five books of Moses with all the laws, secular, religious works that must be done, but those laws no matter how much of them were done, could not save them.  Required to be done? Yes!  Save by them? No!  The Law that has not been done away with is the Ten Commandments as those laws are the Law of God for all men to abide by and to not do them is to place themselves under the curse. The Ten Commandments are the moral law of God that is required by God and the ceremonial laws were done away with and now we are justified by God through the “Seed,” Jesus Christ, who has fulfilled the Law and now we live freely by faith. We are not in fear of not doing something, as with the law that would disgrace a person and make cause for vengeance.  Our desire is to live our life in faith, to worship God freely, according to His word, and not by some man’s opinion, for to do so is to become bewitched and be foolish. This was what was happening to the Galatians, they were returning to the law, they were following opinions that were of man and not by God: “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who love me and gave Himself for me” (Galatians 2:20). The justified live by faith and not by works.  Our works, whatever we do, whatever God may call you to do, is not done by means of works, it is done by means of faith in Jesus Christ and our works are a result of that faith. How often does a person do works out of fear, a fear that if they are not doing something they are not pleasing God.  Quit that thinking!  God has saved you by means of His Son Jesus Christ, you are saved, you have eternal life and you did nothing to earn that salvation.  God chose you, God bought you by the death of His Son, His very Wisdom clothed in flesh, and you are not your own, you are His.  What can you do to earn God’s promise?  Nothing!  Do we do nothing? No! We allow our faith to lead us into being all that God wants for us to be in this life.  Are you a mother? Great! Be a Christian mother! Are you a father? Great! Be a Christian father!  Are you a neighbor? Great! Be a Christian neighbor! Mow the lawn, fix the fence, etc. Have you been called into missionary work? Great! Live as a Christian and spread the gospel in whatever form of missionary work you are doing.  Why! Because we are Christians and we have faith in Jesus Christ and by that faith we produce works by means of that faith. If Abraham was justified by his works he may have come to be renown, but not before God.  This is true of you, and me. It is one thing not to be justified, another not to be justified before God.  He who is not entirely justified pays attention neither to those things which have a temporal reward not to those things which have an eternal reward.  A justified person before God does not by means of his work expect temporal things or some visible advantage. We as a child of God have been given freedom from the law and all its works, those works that man has added.  Even Jesus Christ did not keep all those man added works: “At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath, and His disciples were hungry, and began to pluck heads of grain and to eat” (Matthew 12:1). How this upset the Pharisees, but Jesus reminded them: “But if you had know what this means, ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the guiltless” (Matthew 12:7). By the mercy of God you are saved and now that promise of blessing is yours: live what you are by means of Jesus Christ.

Commit your works to the LORD,

            And your thoughts will be

Established.

                        Proverbs 16:3

Worship God by living according to His word

Richard L. Crumb