Morning Moments

B. Principles or Promises 3:6-17
1. The Declaration 3:6
Abraham's faith was credited to his account as righteousness. God demanded righteousness, but man could not produce what God demanded, so man had to trust God (as exercise of faith) for what man did not have and could not produce that only God could provide.

2. The Descendants 3:7-9
The faith which justified Abraham is the faith that justifies us, so we are his spiritual descendants. The faith in Father comes from Father and that is good news. That is the promise of God and not a principle of law.

3. The Dissidents 3:10
To cling to the law is to contradict the promise. Those who cling to the law must meet EVERY demand of the law and to fail in one brings the curse of all. That is why the Scripture concludes that "all have sinned and come short of the glory of God" in Rom 3:23 - Jew, Gentile, Barbarian, EVERYONE.

4. The Deliverance 3:11-17
a. The Obvious "evident" 3:11-12
If the "just are to live by faith" (Hab 2:4; Rom 1:17; Gal 3:11; Heb 10:38), they must first have been saved by faith (Eph 2:8-10). There is not one single person anywhere who has the assurance of salvation that is basing that assurance on keeping the law. That is a "hope so", "feel like it", "trying" all of works effort that will NEVER save anyone. Redemption, salvation, justification come by grace through faith plus nothing.

b. The Opportunity "redemption" 3:13-14
Originally the word redemption came from the combination of two words being "out of" and "marketplace". Put together they were used for purchasing something out of the marketplace. It is where slaves were purchased. As sinners, we are "sold under sin" and Jesus paid the price for our redemption. In other words, He bought us back. But to whom was the price paid? It was paid to the Father by the Son OUT OF OUR BONDAGE to sin. The Devil never owned us, he just held us captive but Jesus released us from that bondage.

QUESTION: If the devil never owned us, how could Jesus say to the Pharisees that they were children of the devil and whose children were we before salvation?

ANSWER: We are all God's creation, but we are only God's children through the new birth. We are children of God through faith in Jesus Christ. The Pharisees and all unbelievers are not "born" of the devil but are taken captive by him. They are born God's creation but must be born again to be His children because of the nature of Adam.

In the sense that the Pharisees rejected the truth about Jesus knowingly, they then aligned themselves with the devil as their father as a liar and deceiver. In other words they held the truth in unrighteousness.

c. The Obligation "confirmed" 3:15-17
The confirmation of the covenant was THE SEED (Messiah) of Abraham. This confirmation was made 430 years before the law was ever given and this covenant is binding and cannot be changed in anyway for the character of God Himself hangs on it. No such promise is anywhere at anytime attached to the law. Disannuled means to be made of no effect, cancelled, deprived of its power.

BLESSINGS!