Galatians 3:15-18
"Brethren, I speak after the manner of men; Though it be but a man's covenant, yet if it be confirmed, no man disannulleth, or addeth thereto. Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ. And this I say, that the covenant, that was confirmed before of God in Christ, the law, which was four hundred and thirty years after, cannot disannul, that it should make the promise of none effect. For if the inheritance be of the law, it is no more of promise: but God gave it to Abraham by promise," Galatians 3:15-18.
Paul continues to stress that salvation is by faith alone, not by works. Though the Galatians are in a Gentile area, they have been infiltrated and influenced by the Judaizers. The Judaizers continue telling the Galatians that in order to be saved and to stay saved, they must adhere to the Mosaic Law. For anyone to say that salvation is by works is unbiblical. Paul said it plainly in chapter 1:6-9. Let us look at these verses.
In verse 15 Paul gives a simple earthly illustration. If two men make a covenant, and it is ratified, no man can set it aside, neutralize, or violate it. Nor can anyone add to it or amend it in any way. The point that is being made is that if a covenant made by men cannot be changed or done away with, how much more a covenant made by God? Especially when God is the initiator of the covenant. The promises that were given to Abraham were also given to his seed. His seed are all those who have and will believe. The Law cannot invalidate or make the promises of God of none effect. The promise of God to Abraham was of a future Saviour, and of future blessings and enjoyment of God's favour. Let us look at the Abrahamic covenant.
"Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee: And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed," Genesis 12:1-3. With each covenant that God makes with man He reveals more and more of the everlasting covenant made between the Father and the Son. We also see that God works everything after the counsel of His own will.
He formed Adam from the dust of the ground and breathed the breath of life into him. He made a covenant of works with Adam that Adam willfully broke. Because of Adam's transgression sin entered the world. Just when it seemed as if there was no hope because of Adam's transgression, God made a promise in Genesis 3:15. God was going to send One to crush satan's head, thus defeating satan, sin, and the grave. This One was looked for by all who believed the promise of God by faith.
People began to multiply on the earth. Then the flood came. Eight people survived the flood, because they were in the ark. God had shut them in. God delivered them from the wrath of God. After the flood people began to multiply on the earth again. It wasn't long before men were again in the depths of sin. Even though men were bound to wickedness, they could not thwart the purpose and promise of God. One would still come to defeat satan, sin, and the grave. With all the people upon the earth, who would this promise come through? What kind of people? Would it be a great and mighty nation? Would it be from someone who all the world knew? No. This promised One would come from the lineage of a man who lived in the middle of a pagan world. His name is Abram. God would later change his name to Abraham.
Was there anything special about Abram that would cause God to choose him? No. God called Abram out of a pagan land. Abram was not seeking after God. We have no Scriptural proof that Abram even knew about the God of the bible before God called him to leave his country, his kindred, and his father's house. God interrupted Abraham's life. This again proves that all men are dead in trespasses and sins until God quickens them. God chose Abraham, just as He chose Noah, and just as He chose to create Adam. God did more than just choose to save Abraham, He chose to bring forth His Eternal Son through the line of Abraham. Abraham did not earn this. Through Abraham the divine blessing would flow to all the families of the earth. The One promised back in Genesis 3:15 would be coming through Abraham.
Just like the other covenants, God included Abraham in this covenant without asking Abraham if he was interested. God did this on His timing. In Genesis 12 Abram leaves Haran (verse 5). Abram gets side tracked on the way and ends up in Egypt. While there he makes decisions that he would regret for the rest of his life. Yet God is faithful. Eventually we get to Genesis 15:1-18. We want to key in on verse 6, "And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness." This verse provides the early core doctrine of justification by faith apart from works. Abraham knew he was as good as dead, and that Sarah's womb was dead also, yet he believed God. By faith alone God counts Abraham as righteous. Abraham is a model of all who will believe in the promises of God by faith.
Abraham has two types of children, flesh and spiritual. Not all of Israel is of Israel. Those who try to work for their salvation such as the pharisee's are not of the seed of Abraham, but they are of the seed of their father, the devil, though they be Abraham's fleshly descendants. There is a difference between Abraham's fleshly descendants, and those who believe the promises of God as Abraham did. Now turn to Hebrews 11:8-16. In reading Hebrews 11 we see that all these people were longing to be with God, where God is. They were not concerned with earthly treasures or material things. They desired a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city.
Abraham was saved by faith, not by works. Everyone whom the Lord saves He saves by grace through faith, alone. "Therefore being justified by faith we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ," Romans 5:1.
Abraham believed God by faith, and it was imputed to him for righteousness. Imputed means it was put to his account. God treated Abraham as righteous. Wouldn't this make God unjust? The reason it does not make God unjust is because God didn't account Abraham's righteousness to Abraham's account, for Abraham had no righteousness of his own, but God imputed Christ's righteousness to Abraham's account. Abraham, by faith, looked forward to Christ. He believed in the One to come that would crush satan's kingdom, defeat sin and death; and he believed that this One would come through his family; and as a result all the families of the earth would be blessed through forgiveness of sins, and eternal life.
Abraham believed in the One to come, have you believed in the One who came? Have you believed to the saving of your soul? One of the evidences that you have is, like those in Hebrews 11, you will be living life looking and longing for the return of Christ. You will do this consistently from the day the Lord saved your soul, until either you go to Him, or He comes to you.
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