NOTES for Gal 3:1-7

What is the first thing we remember about Abraham? That he “believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” In this case, “believed” does not mean anything frivolous or easy. Abraham’s faith was labor and an ascetic feat. He gathered his family and went where God called him—and no one could stop him; he listened to no one. He trusted God so deeply that he was ready to sacrifice his only son; he received Him into his home and was the first to experience communion with the Trinity.

All this happened to him not because he was righteous in himself. On the contrary, Abraham was sinful, and the Bible describes not only his faith but also everything that was utterly incompatible with it. What became his righteousness, however, was not the fulfillment of every ritual prescription, but unconditional trust.

Paul calls believers sons of Abraham—not distant descendants, but the next generation. This means that if we too believe, we inherit these fundamental traits from him. Yes, sin is still strong within us. But faith in the God whom we serve, for whose sake we rise again every time we fall, and with whom we continue to live—this very faith will be accounted to us as righteousness.