A question of faith
Genesis 12 v1-4
Galations 3 v26-29
These are a couple of passages that we were looking at in our bible study the other night, to get a better feel for things it is probably worth reading all Galations, but I just wanted to focus on these few verses. I find these passages incredible as they seem to sum up what it means to follow Christ.
In the first passage we have Abram, not a jew, the patriarch, and the father of all three of the major monotheistic faiths. Coming from Mesopotamia, he somehow has a great understanding of God that has not been shaped by scripture of thousands of years of tradition as ours has. I find it incredibly difficult to imagine how we would view God without all our scriptual/teaching input, how would we view the truth of God? I don't know, but for whatever reason, Abram knew God existed and had incredible faith in that he would do what God asked of him. Through this faith God promised to bless all peoples, and also later that he would make his line into a great nation. Now in one sense the jewish people/israel became this nation, carrying the witness of God amongst all the other nations.
Then we have Paul, a jewish scholar and well versed in scripture. Brought up with the idea that through faith Israel was a chosen nation, set apart from the rest, having a special relationship with God. But due to their sinful nature, this relationship was veiled and a law was needed to help them remain focused on God and to set them apart from their neighbours. Then he has this revelation from Christ on the road to Damascus and his whole theology turns on its head. He suddenly realises that these promises made to Abram are not just for one nation, but for all peoples (which is summed up so magnificently in these verses from galations). The physical distinction required with the law (the case in point for the Galation debate is whether christians need to be circumcised) is no longer necessary. Through the grace of God and the death and ressurection of Christ we can now be justified through faith, the same kind of faith showed by Abram. To me it is just an incredible concept that all of a sudden these scriptures he has been studying suddenly take on a fresh idea and suddenly more of God is revealed in them. At last the ideal that God envisaged at creation is possible, through faith we can come into perfect communion with his spirit and live the way he wants us to. Sometimes I try to imagine what the world would be like if everyone was so in tune with God's Spirit we lived in perfect communion with no need for the law, just living to please God, no selfish desires or motives. Perhaps that is heaven....
Which is why I think it is important to keep studying the word, sometimes a new truth is revealed about God, perhaps as we hear from people reading scripture from a different context, perhaps as God's spirit works in us. This makes His word dynamic and alive.
Galations 3 v26-29
These are a couple of passages that we were looking at in our bible study the other night, to get a better feel for things it is probably worth reading all Galations, but I just wanted to focus on these few verses. I find these passages incredible as they seem to sum up what it means to follow Christ.
In the first passage we have Abram, not a jew, the patriarch, and the father of all three of the major monotheistic faiths. Coming from Mesopotamia, he somehow has a great understanding of God that has not been shaped by scripture of thousands of years of tradition as ours has. I find it incredibly difficult to imagine how we would view God without all our scriptual/teaching input, how would we view the truth of God? I don't know, but for whatever reason, Abram knew God existed and had incredible faith in that he would do what God asked of him. Through this faith God promised to bless all peoples, and also later that he would make his line into a great nation. Now in one sense the jewish people/israel became this nation, carrying the witness of God amongst all the other nations.
Then we have Paul, a jewish scholar and well versed in scripture. Brought up with the idea that through faith Israel was a chosen nation, set apart from the rest, having a special relationship with God. But due to their sinful nature, this relationship was veiled and a law was needed to help them remain focused on God and to set them apart from their neighbours. Then he has this revelation from Christ on the road to Damascus and his whole theology turns on its head. He suddenly realises that these promises made to Abram are not just for one nation, but for all peoples (which is summed up so magnificently in these verses from galations). The physical distinction required with the law (the case in point for the Galation debate is whether christians need to be circumcised) is no longer necessary. Through the grace of God and the death and ressurection of Christ we can now be justified through faith, the same kind of faith showed by Abram. To me it is just an incredible concept that all of a sudden these scriptures he has been studying suddenly take on a fresh idea and suddenly more of God is revealed in them. At last the ideal that God envisaged at creation is possible, through faith we can come into perfect communion with his spirit and live the way he wants us to. Sometimes I try to imagine what the world would be like if everyone was so in tune with God's Spirit we lived in perfect communion with no need for the law, just living to please God, no selfish desires or motives. Perhaps that is heaven....
Which is why I think it is important to keep studying the word, sometimes a new truth is revealed about God, perhaps as we hear from people reading scripture from a different context, perhaps as God's spirit works in us. This makes His word dynamic and alive.
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3:07 pm
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