19/11/2022
Galatians 3:7-8.
THE GREATEST COMMANDMENTS
During this early time of preaching the Good News to the Gentiles, a debate was raging over whether the Gentile converts needed to be circumcised and follow the dietary laws of the Jews. The council of Jerusalem said that they did not, but there was still controversy. Paul was making the point here that they were not bound to the Jewish laws. We still have some questions today about just what this phrase means. There are those who believe that faith alone is necessary for salvation and others talk about the necessity of good works. In his letter, James seems to answer this question by saying that the two go hand in hand. Having faith in Christ means that you follow his wayand do what he wants us to do. We may not have to follow the Jewish dietary laws, or any of the other laws with the exception of the Ten Commandments which we know are covered by the two great commandments, love God and love your neighbor. Following Jesus in faith includes loving others as Jesus loves us – the most difficult commandment of all! Because of the faith of Abraham, all the nations would be blessed, but justification, in reality, was only through the sacrifice of Jesus. No human could make up for the sins of mankind. It had to be Jesus who was both human and divine. Because of his saving act, we are all justified. But inthe same way that Abraham believed, we, too, must believe and in this, we are justified. Just as Abraham believed enough to be willing to sacrifice his son, we need to be willing to make sacrifices in our own lives.
