Setting – The law doesn’t override God’s promise to Abraham.
Content – The law didn’t invalidate the promise giving to Abraham (v. 17), “What I am saying is this: the Law, which came four hundred and thirty years later, does not invalidate a covenant previously ratified by God, so as to nullify the promise.” The promise (see Gen. 15) was to Abraham’s seed, which is Christ (v. 16), “Now the promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. He does not say, "And to seeds," as {referring} to many, but {rather} to one, "And to your seed," that is, Christ.” If our inheritance was based upon the law, then the God’s promise is no longer valid.
So our salvation is based upon a promise God made to Abraham, which extended to the Gentiles. We see why the law was established in the next verses.
Application – Our salvation (the “seed”, that is Christ) was based on a promise. So salvation is not based upon the law. The law was established to direct us to Christ, that is, God’s promise. We can’t do works to achieve the promise only trust in the promise. In other words, salvation is our faith (or belief) that the given promise from God to Abraham is true.
In our walk we can often loose focus on Christ and get distracted by the details of living out our faith. We don’t sit with the basic idea of salvation, that is, God created us to show how great a love He has for us. He fulfilled His promise (giving to Abraham) through Christ. Sitting with this reality puts one in awe of knowing that eternal life with God is offered by God and fulfilled by God. We can do nothing to earn it; we can only accept this gift and believe in it.
Content – The law didn’t invalidate the promise giving to Abraham (v. 17), “What I am saying is this: the Law, which came four hundred and thirty years later, does not invalidate a covenant previously ratified by God, so as to nullify the promise.” The promise (see Gen. 15) was to Abraham’s seed, which is Christ (v. 16), “Now the promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. He does not say, "And to seeds," as {referring} to many, but {rather} to one, "And to your seed," that is, Christ.” If our inheritance was based upon the law, then the God’s promise is no longer valid.
So our salvation is based upon a promise God made to Abraham, which extended to the Gentiles. We see why the law was established in the next verses.
Application – Our salvation (the “seed”, that is Christ) was based on a promise. So salvation is not based upon the law. The law was established to direct us to Christ, that is, God’s promise. We can’t do works to achieve the promise only trust in the promise. In other words, salvation is our faith (or belief) that the given promise from God to Abraham is true.
In our walk we can often loose focus on Christ and get distracted by the details of living out our faith. We don’t sit with the basic idea of salvation, that is, God created us to show how great a love He has for us. He fulfilled His promise (giving to Abraham) through Christ. Sitting with this reality puts one in awe of knowing that eternal life with God is offered by God and fulfilled by God. We can do nothing to earn it; we can only accept this gift and believe in it.
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