This Day in History: 0000-03-03
March 3 – Galatians 3:2-7
Let me ask you this one question: Did you receive the Holy Spirit by obeying the law of Moses? Of course not! You received the Spirit because you believed the message you heard about Christ. How foolish can you be? After starting your new lives in the Spirit, why are you now trying to become perfect by your own human effort? Have you experienced so much for nothing? Surely it was not in vain, was it?
I ask you again, does God give you the Holy Spirit and work miracles among you because you obey the law? OF COURSE NOT! It is because you believe the message you heard about Christ.
In the same way, “Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith.” The real children of Abraham, then, are those who put their faith in God.
Every ounce of power in our lives comes as a result of the Holy Spirit of God living within us. The power to overcome sin, the power to live victoriously, the power to find peace and joy through the trials of life, the power to love the fallen people in our lives, the power to bring our prayers and petitions before the throne of our gracious God, ALL OF IT. Everything we have been given is the direct result of the Spirit we have been given.
And how did we receive the Holy Spirit? Was it by being a good person? Absolutely not. Was it by completing the twelve steps? Not even a little bit. Was it because we attended the right church every week, sang the right songs, read our Bibles enough, helped enough people, did all the right things, or worked really hard? Of course not!
If we are Christians, then we received the Holy Spirit the exact same way every other child of God has been saved – through faith in Christ. Plain and simple. Salvation is by grace (the grace of God) through faith.
Even Abraham, and all those saved before Jesus died were justified in the same way we are. They believed God. They believed the message they had been given about Christ. For them, it was a belief that He would come, and that His work would have the power to atone for their sins. For us, it is a belief that He DID come, and that His work on the cross – His sacrifice had the power to atone for our sins.
So let’s stop it!
Let’s stop trying to become perfect by our own human efforts. It is foolishness.
We’ve experienced the power of the Holy Spirit! Is this for nothing? Is it in vain? Let’s renew our resolve to find our victories in Him. He is the power of Christ within us, and we don’t need to look anywhere else, neither do we need to suggest any other answer for others. May we be among those counted righteous because of our faith in the only Source of true righteousness – the Lord Jesus Christ.