Galatians 3 – Faith, Not Law, Brings Life

“The road ahead is not paved by effort, but by faith — I walk not to earn the promise, but to live in the One who already fulfilled it.”

In Galatians 3, Paul takes the gloves off with the Galatians. With passionate clarity, he confronts their spiritual regression. They began by faith, receiving the Spirit and witnessing God’s work among them — not by obeying the law, but by believing what they heard. So why were they now living as if the law could perfect what faith had begun?

He reminds them of Abraham — justified by faith long before the law existed. Through Abraham, God promised that the blessing of justification would reach the nations, not through works, but through belief. But Paul doesn’t shy away from the curse that comes with relying on the law. Since the law demands perfect obedience and none can give it, all who cling to it are under a curse. The only escape? Christ. He became a curse for us so we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.

The Judaizers argued for circumcision and law-keeping as part of salvation, but Paul dismantles that idea. God’s covenant with Abraham — based on promise — came long before the law. The law was never meant to override that promise. It had a role: to expose sin, to serve as a guardian, to hold things in place until Christ came. But now that He has, believers are no longer under a guardian. We are sons and daughters — through faith — and that faith unites us with Christ Himself. There’s no second-class citizenship in God’s family. Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male or female — all who are in Christ are Abraham’s offspring and heirs of the promise.

Personalized Journal Entry – The Holy Spirit’s Voice Through Scripture

You began by receiving Me through faith — I filled you with My presence, not because of your effort but because you believed what you heard. You saw Me work miracles among you not through your striving, but through your trust. Just like Abraham believed Me and it was credited to him as righteousness, so you are counted among his true children, not by blood but by belief.

Through Abraham, I promised blessing to the nations, and that blessing flows through faith in Christ. But those who rely on their performance are not under blessing — they are under a curse, for no one keeps the whole law. The righteous live by faith, not by rule-keeping. The law demands perfect obedience — but I gave you something better. Christ took the curse upon Himself so that you could receive the blessing I promised.

The law had its time — a guardian holding things in place until Christ arrived. It exposed sin but could not deliver life. But now, in Christ Jesus, you are sons and daughters through faith. You have clothed yourself with Christ. You are not defined by race, status, or gender — you are defined by union with My Son. Because you are Christ’s, you are Abraham’s seed — heirs according to the promise.

You live not under supervision but as My child. You are free not to perform, but to rest. You belong — not because of what you do — but because of who you are in Christ.

Galatians 3:1–29, Genesis 15:6, Genesis 12:3, Deuteronomy 27:26, Habakkuk 2:4, Leviticus 18:5, Romans 10:5, Ephesians 1:7, Titus 2:14, 1 Corinthians 12:13, Colossians 3:11

Prayer of Trust

Father, I trust You. I trust that You have already given me the fullness of Your Spirit through faith in Christ. I will not return to the law to try to earn what You’ve freely given. I thank You that in Christ, I am an heir — not by effort, but by promise. I rest tonight in the reality that I am Your child, fully accepted, clothed with Christ, and empowered to live by the faith that unites me with Him. There is nothing more to earn, only more of You to enjoy. Thank You that the promise stands. Amen.

Devotional insights adapted from the Grace and Truth Study Bible (Zondervan, 2021).
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