Daily Devotional for Thursday, December 19

All Believers Must Live by Faith

"I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me;' Galatians 2:20.

When I was a teenager, I had several verses on sticky notes that I had memorized. I wanted to have key verses that I could recall to mind in various situations. Several of them were from the books of Proverbs and Romans, but one of them was Galatians 2:20. I will always be a supporter of memorizing Scripture because there have been many moments in my life when this verse was manifested in my thoughts as I struggled with selfishness or pride.

It is unclear if the section from verses 15-21 was Paul's direct statements to Peter during his rebuke or if it was simply a statement to the Galatians concerning the topic of Peter's hypocrisy. Either way, Paul was making a case for justification through faith in Christ alone. Using the word "crucified," Paul painted a picture of his old self who was dead because of the sacrifice of Christ. Now, just as Christ came out of the grave, Paul said he lived again, not for himself by his own deeds, but for his Savior who gave Himself willingly to redeem us all.

Paul concluded this section of his argument succinctly. If we set aside grace and believe that righteousness truly is from the Law, then the death, burial and resurrection of Christ were pointless. Why even preach salvation in Christ's sacrifice if we are going to cling to the Law for righteousness? He wanted the Galatians to know that both cannot coexist. Either we are justified in the eyes of God by keeping the Law, or we are justified by the blood of Christ.

THOUGHT FOR TODAY

Let us live each day for Christ because He gave Himself that we might be free in Him.

Ashley Ridings