Faith or works of the law
by Faye Schmidt
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Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: ‘All nations will be blessed through you.’ So those who rely on faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith (Galatians 3:8,9).
Read Galatians 3:1–14
It’s not easy to have faith in God. It is far easier to rely on what we think, what we do and what we want. There are times when we may even think God doesn’t know what he is doing, and we have to take control.
Is God the ruler in your life? Are you living a life of faith in him? Or are our prayers directive, even demanding? Do we bargain with God? Letting go and leaving everything in God’s hands counters our human nature.
If we have faith in God, we must also trust him. It’s not enough to say, ‘I believe’, and then not trust that God’s will is paramount.
There are times when fellow believers will say, ‘I know the will of God. I have studied the Scriptures. I have read them in the original Hebrew and Greek. I know’. What a claim! Is it really possible to reduce God to our own intellect and understanding?
Our reading today points us to relying on our faith, God’s gift to us through the Holy Spirit. In his explanation of the Third Article of the Apostle’s Creed, Martin Luther stated, ‘I believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ my Lord or come to him’. By my own ‘reason’?
There is a story about a tightrope walker attempting to walk across a wire over Niagara Falls. A crowd had gathered to witness this event.
He approached the crowd and asked, ‘Do you believe I can walk across this wire to the other side?’
‘Yes’, they cried and cheered.
‘Do you believe I can walk across the wire carrying a chair?’
Again, they cried yes.
‘And if I carried someone sitting in the chair, could I do that?’
With wild cheering, they cried yes, yes. ‘Well then,’ he said, ‘who will volunteer to sit in the chair?’ There was silence.
With belief comes trust – and how fortunate we are to have a God who sends his Spirit to aid us.
Dear Lord, may I be counted among the blessed with Abraham and trust in you and your will for me and the nations of the world. Amen.
Faye Schmidt continues her diaconal calling through governance, having served on the Vic–Tas District Church Board, the General Church Board and currently as chair of the Standing Committee on Constitutions and her congregation, Bethlehem Lutheran Church, Adelaide. Having lived and worked in many locations within Australia and overseas, Faye has a heart for the stranger and the newcomer and for being open to new ideas, learning from others and responding to needs.
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