“But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach; That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation”. – Romans 10:8-10
LIGHT FOR NOW: Man in Christ is God’s plan for the world.
A group referred to as the Judaizers were attempting to convince believers in Galatia that they must be circumcised and follow the Law of Moses, in addition to believing in Christ, if they wanted to be saved (Galatians 2:4). Paul is writing to explain what is so wrong with this idea (Galatians 3:1). He is in the middle of describing what the point of the law really was.
In the previous verses, he showed that the law can not give life to people because people can not keep the law perfectly. It serves the purpose of showing us just how sinful we are once we understand what God would require of us to live up to His standards for righteousness. The law shows us that we can not do it; we can not stop sinning.
In this way, the law held Israel and all those who wanted to be right with God – in a form of captivity. They became aware that they were prisoners of their own sin. That season under the law was temporary; eventually, faith came. More specifically, Christ came and died to pray for the sin we could not escape. Through faith in Him, we can find a way out of captivity under the law. The following verse will reveal that the law served a vital purpose in the history of Israel, but purpose came to an end when the opportunity to put our faith in Christ was revealed. God never intended the law to be the final solution for the problem of sin. Instead, it was meant to “guard” mankind until the arrival of Christ. Glory!
INSTRUCTION: There is sufficiency in God’s grace, even more than the law; think about this!
CONFESSION: Father, I thank you for setting me free from the bondage of the law and for giving me grace through your son, in Jesus’ name, Amen.
QUOTE: The life of the believer is a life of grace received by God.
DAILY BIBLE READING: MORNING: MARK CHAPTER 11; EVENING: MARK CHAPTER 12
LIGHT FROM THE WORD 