The Amish Voice 5
God’s covenant with Abraham was made. And nothing that
came in later can change that covenant any more than
anything can alter a will that has already been ratified and
signed.
(
William Barclay
.
The Letters to the Galatians and
Ephesians.
“
The Daily Study Bible.” (Philadelphia, PA:
Westminister Press, 1954), p.30.)
The inheritance given to Abraham is that of righteousness, of
being accepted by God and given the privilege of living forever
with Him in the new heavens and earth. The inheritance was not
given to Abraham by law, that is, Abraham could not earn, win, or
merit it; but as Scripture declares: “God gave it [the inheritance] to
Abraham by promise.”
APPLICATION:
The same promise is given to believers, that is, to all those who
walk in the faith of Abraham: the promise of being counted right-
eous and acceptable to God, and of being given the privilege of liv-
ing forever in the new heavens and earth.
“
Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God,
believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many man-
sions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to pre-
pare a place for you.” (Jn. 14:1-2)
ILLUSTRATION:
We should be thankful that God kept His promise after the law
came to Moses. Can you imagine what life would be like if our jus-
tification came because of our ability to keep all of the rules—
perfectly?
Booker T. Washington describes meeting an ex-slave from Vir-
ginia in his book
Up from Slavery:
I found that this man had made a contract with his
master, two or three years previous to the Emancipation
Proclamation, to the effect that the slave was to be permit-
ted to buy himself, by paying so much per year for his
body; and while he was paying for himself, he was to be
permitted to labor where and for whom he pleased.
Finding that he could secure better wages in Ohio, he
went there. When freedom came, he was still in debt to his
master some 300 hundred dollars.
Notwithstanding that the Emancipation Proclamation
freed him from any obligation to his master, this black man
walked the greater portion of the distance back to where
his old master lived in Virginia, and placed the last dollar,
with interest, in his hands.
In talking to me about this, the man told me that he
knew that he did not have to pay his debt, but that he had
given his word to his master, and his word he had never
broken. He felt that he could not enjoy his freedom till he
had fulfilled his promise. (Craig B. Larson, editor. Illustra-
tions for Preaching & Teaching, p.190.)
The law did not change this man’s commitment to keep his
promise. Even more so, the law did not change God’s plan for man.
As Malachi 3:6 says:
“
I am the LORD, I change not.”
SUMMARY:
The Christian believer has no reason to doubt God’s promises.
In particular, His promise to justify us has been guaranteed by His
covenant to Abraham. The major points of our lesson reinforce
this great truth:
1.
God gave a covenant that is permanent, lasting.
2.
God made His covenant with Abraham and his seed.
3.
God gave His covenant of faith before He gave the law.
4.
God gave His covenant or inheritance by promise—not
by law (the inheritance of righteousness, of being ac-
ceptable to God).
PERSONAL JOURNAL NOTES
(
Reflection & Response)
1.
The most important thing that I learned from this
lesson was:
2.
The area that I need to work on the most is:
3.
I can apply this lesson to my life by:
4.
Closing Statement of Commitment:
QUESTIONS:
1.
Can you really trust God to give you an inheritance--even
through you sin and fall short?
2.
How can you back up what you believe about God’s
promises?
3.
Do man-made laws have any bearing or effect on God’s
promises?
This article was taken from the Teacher’s Outline and
Study Bible (TOSB) Commentary, Galatians? Did you
know—you can buy the whole New Testament commentary
set? To order, please go to the back cover (page 11) and use
the ordering form.
————————————————————
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