Understand, then, that those who have faith are children of Abraham. Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: “All nations will be blessed through you.” So those who rely on faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith. For all who rely on the works of the law are under a curse, as it is written: “Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law.” Clearly no one who relies on the law is justified before God, because “the righteous will live by faith.” The law is not based on faith; on the contrary, it says, “The person who does these things will live by them.”

Sometimes a message can get distorted over time. Abraham received a promise from God. “All nations will be blessed by you.” How did he gain this promise? He was faithful to God’s call on his life to leave his home and travel away to a far-off land where no one knew him. And this promise was handed down from one generation to another among the Israelites.

So the question in my mind is, how did they understand this promise? 1) They could have thought it meant that all nations were blessed simply by their existence. 2) They could have understood it to mean that because they served God as Jews, the nations around them who adopted their laws and customs would be blessed. 3) They could have reasoned that the blessing of the other nations might be a minor blessing compared to theirs being a major blessing.

Whatever they assumed, it was just that, an assumption. The only way to know the heart of God is to have a personal relationship with him. And so, when Jesus came and was the fulfillment of this blessing, most of the Jews missed it entirely.

The ironic thing was that, when Jesus forgave our sins and died on a cross to pay the price for them, he gave us a path, through his righteous life and sacrifice, to have a personal relationship with God. And now WE CAN KNOW THE HEART OF GOD.

If we hold onto righteousness as determined by the Law, we will die, because God requires perfection. So why would we hold onto this, when a righteousness by faith is offered through Jesus Christ?

This is Paul’s main point, and sadly, many “Christians” today live their lives thinking their “good works” will be good enough for a holy God. They are in for a rude awakening.

God is the Creator and Sustainer of life. He gets to make the rules and call the shots as to who gets to live with him forever. We get to follow him and become one with him on earth. And it is our privilege to serve him. He loves us so much, he forgave our sins and gave us a new life — a life of true spiritual significance.

So what will I choose today? A close relationship with God just by faith, or a life living by the rules and playing the comparison game? (The interesting thing I have found is that by building my relationship with Jesus, he gives me the power to obey him and to be good as a way of life; something foreign to me before.)

Lord, thank you for your reminder here of what we have been given. You have given us a way to a right relationship with the God of the universe. We can become like him if we submit to his way in life. Thank you for this great and very precious gift.