Today's reading expands on Paul's argument to the churches of Galatia that their Christian faith through the Holy Spirit is what God expects of them. For all who would suggest that it is necessary to follow Jewish law in order to be faithful, Paul points out that the sacred faithful relationship between people and God predates Torah. God's covenant with Abraham came long before the Ten Commandments.For Paul, the Jewish law was only given by God to check human sinfulness. Even worse, attempting to follow the law requires that you perfectly follow the entire law, which is impossible; if this is true, then the law is more of a curse than a blessing. Better in Paul's eyes to focus on imitating Abraham's righteous behavior -- believe in God, and God recognizes that as good. For Christians, then, we should believe in Jesus' teaching and the leading of the Holy Spirit -- and God will recognize our behavior as good. This opportunity for faith is open to all, regardless of heritage, gender, or class.
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Reading the Bible in Its Entirety
If you are planning to read the Bible in its entirety, you should read Galatians 3 today.
