The one thing you need more than anything is perfect righteousness, but you can't produce it yourself.
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Galatians 3 Summary
The Galatian Christians were under immense pressure that Christians must follow Jewish laws and customs, since they signified righteousness.
These early Christians were right to understand that the most important attribute a person can have is righteousness, since that is what God requires of His people. Only those with perfect righteousness will enter into His Kingdom.
Paul had to be so forceful with the Galatians (he opens this chapter by calling them 'bewitched fools!') because they had fallen into a trap that we often fall into as well: they thought that they could earn the righteousness they needed by following these laws, rather than by simply believing in the gospel they had heard.
Dig Deeper
This is one of the most important chapters in the Bible for understanding soteriology: that is, the study of salvation. That's a big word you won't need to use very often, but even if you don't remember the word, you need to understand the concept.
The way in which Christ's perfect righteousness is transmitted to you is communicated in three key verses:
The first step in becoming right with God is having sin removed, which Christ did for you on the cross:
v13 - Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us.
Paul uses a quotation from Genesis 15:6 teaches that the righteousness you need comes by faith.
v6 - Abraham “believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”
Finally, understand that as a Christian, your primary identity is in Christ, not in the various boxes the world wants to stuff you in:
v27-28 - For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
AAA Prayer:
ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: God is the God of Abraham, the God of the promise (v18), and your God (v26). God is one (v20);
ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray that you will depend on Christ alone.
ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED:
