NOTES for Gal 3:1-7

What is the first thing we remember about Abraham? That he “believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness.” In this case, “believed” does not mean anything easy or simple. Abraham’s faith is labor and spiritual struggle. He gathered his family and went where God had called him. No one could stop him; he listened to no one. He trusted God so deeply that he was ready to offer his only son as a sacrifice. He received God in his home; he was the first to experience communion with the Trinity. And all this happened to him not because he was righteous in himself. On the contrary, he was sinful, and the Bible describes not only his faith but also everything that was utterly incompatible with it. Yet Abraham’s righteousness consisted not in fulfilling every ritual prescription, but in unconditional trust. Paul calls believers sons of Abraham—not distant descendants, but the next generation. This means that if we believe, we inherit Abraham’s principal traits. Yes, sin is still strong within us. But faith in God, whom we serve, for whose sake we rise again each time we fall, and with whom we continue to live—this very faith will become our justification.