Live by Faith (Galatians 3:9)

So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.
– Galatians 3:9

This is such a simple verse with such profound truth for every facet of our lives. The whole picture here, well, really the book of Galatians and specifically Galatians 3, is that we’re saved from our sins by God’s grace through faith in Jesus, not by our works.

Galatians 3:9 reminds us that salvation is received, not earned.

We are not saved from our sin, reconciled to God by things we do, by work we perform. This is a gift. God’s grace is a gift to be received by faith. And all throughout this chapter, Paul’s looking back to the Old Testament, and specifically here, Abraham saying, “Abraham experienced God’s blessing by faith, the same way, because he trusted God.”

And yes, he obeyed God, but his obedience was the fruit of his faith in God. Trust in God, faith in God leads to obedience. Faith works, but it’s not that we work in order to get to faith. No, faith is the foundation for God’s blessing, God’s salvation. Faith is the foundation for obedience in our lives. We obey God because we trust God.

Even you think about Genesis 3, they sinned against God because they didn’t trust God, because they broke faith. That’s the language we see at so many different places in the Old Testament. So my encouragement, well, first and foremost, for anybody listening to this who’s never put their trust, not done work, not earned their way to God, but just trusted in God to save you from your sins through what Jesus did on the cross for you, his grace, let this be the day. Let today be the moment.

Even if you’ve called yourself a Christian or you’ve been involved in church, but you’ve been working to try to get to God, no, this misses the whole point. God’s blessing comes through faith, through trust in him. So either receive that blessing by faith today, his grace by faith, or remember, this is how you are saved, and then live this way, by faith. God’s blessing comes through trusting in God.

Galatians 3:9 calls us to rest in God’s faithfulness amid uncertainty.

And so is there anything in your life where you’re struggling to trust God right now? Are there any areas of your life, any circumstances you’re walking through, where you’re struggling to trust God? I just want to encourage you to come back to the foundation of it all, of your life. It’s faith in God. It’s trust in Jesus. And if you can trust God to save you from your sin, to give you eternal life for trillions of years and beyond, then surely you can trust him with that circumstance in your life today, with that struggle you’re walking through, with the confusion or questions you might have.

God is worthy of your trust. He’s worthy of your faith because he is faithful. And those who trust in him, who walk by faith in him, experience his blessing. It doesn’t mean everything goes just like we would desire. It certainly wasn’t the case in Abraham’s life, won’t be the case in any of our lives in this fallen world. But mark it down, God will prove himself worthy of your faith, of your trust.

So God, I simply pray over every single one of our lives right now that you would help us to trust in you. I pray for anyone who has never put their trust in you for salvation, that this would be the moment, by grace through faith, that they say, “Yes, I trust in you. Jesus, I trust in you, God, to save me from my sin, to be the Lord of my life.”

This verse reminds us that true blessing comes through faith alone.

And God, for all of us who have prayed that, who’ve entered into relationship with you through faith, help us to trust in you in a fresh way today, particularly with anything we’re struggling to trust you with. God, we pause and praise you for your infinite trustworthiness, for your infinite faithfulness. So God, help us to be full of faith today, to be faithful to walk by faith in you, knowing, trusting, believing with all our hearts that you will prove yourself, show yourself faithful.

And God, we pray you would help us to lead others to faith in you. Help us to encourage others and their faith around us today. We pray that you would help us to lead people to put their faith in you today.

A Prayer for the Kadia People

We pray for the spread of salvation by grace through faith in Jesus to all the peoples of the world. We pray for the Kadia people of India, for 150,000 plus Kannada speakers in the Kadia people of India. Please, oh God, we pray that the gospel would reach them, that they would trust in you for salvation, and that your blessing would flow to the nations through faith in Jesus.

Oh God, may it all be so according to your Word in Galatians 3:9. In Jesus’ name, we pray by faith, amen.