A Record of God’s Faithfulness

Passage: Galatians 3:14

So that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith.

Devotion

“Faith” is one of those words we hear so often that we might forget what it truly means. The concepts of “faith” and “trust” are very important to the Biblical story. In fact, we could say that faith is the story: there is a God so faithful we can trust Him with everything.

Our modern notions of faith are usually tied to ideas of trusting in something despite the evidence—“blind” faith. However, examining faith and trust throughout the Biblical story reveals something quite different. The Bible is a written record of God's faithfulness, evident from the very beginning. The clearest evidence is the story of how God chose one family to carry out a very important mission. The Lord tells Abraham—a childless, aging man—that He will make Abraham into a great nation and bless the world. Despite Abraham’s failures, he saw continual blessings throughout his life. In other words, he saw evidence that God was faithful even when he was not.

The evidence continues through Abraham's descendants when God displays amazing signs so the Israelites might believe in His power and message of salvation. He leads them through the desert and reminds them that He has not forgotten them or His promise. In Exodus 34:10, God tells them, “Behold, I am making a covenant. Before all your people I will do marvels, such as have not been created in all the earth or in any nation. And all the people among whom you are shall see the work of the Lord, for it is an awesome thing that I will do with you.”

God establishes them (despite all their failures) as a kingdom of priests, gives them the responsibility to witness to other nations, and showers them with His blessings, presence, and protection. But Israel forgot their commission, and God gave them over to the consequences. Even then, God did not leave them in exile but preserved a remnant, and He sent prophets to remind them that He would send a Savior who would make everything right.

Once again, God was faithful. He sent His son, Jesus Christ, to fulfill His promises and save His people from their sins.

Martin Luther’s rediscovery of faith in Jesus and His finished work on the cross as presented in Paul’s letter to the Galatians helped contribute to the launch of the Reformation. At a time when the necessity of good works and obedience to the seven sacraments were taught as requisite for salvation, Luther stood firm that the Bible taught that salvation was through grace alone through faith alone. Luther, a priest and theology professor at the University of Wittenberg, found himself a wanted man after confronting the official Church teaching. After Luther was “kidnapped” by a German prince sympathetic to his teaching, Luther went on to translate the New Testament (and later the Old Testament) in German.

A rare 1524 edition of Luther’s New Testament—known as the Septembertestament due to the month of its printing in 1522—is on display in the museum, complete with richly ornamented and brilliantly colored woodcuts.

Reflection

Q1. What are the main themes or ideas of the Scripture passage?

Q2. What does this devotional tell me about who God is?

Q3. How does this devotional challenge or encourage me?

Q4. What specific action can I take to live out this teaching?

Q5. Who should I share this with for encouragement or accountability?