Faith Alone

Focus on Galatians 2:15-19

This was an interesting section.  Some of the concepts have puzzled me over the years, and I think Joyce clarified some things for me.

First of all.....

We are justified by faith alone and not by works of the law.

This confuses me because Leo always said that his work would speak for him, and there was a saying to that effect on the medallions that were placed on his casket, then given  to each of his four children.  Gary's medallion is placed on the back of the door to the dining room from the deck (the front door, as Gary calls it).   If his works are not to speak for him, then the statement on the medallion is not true.  However, the key, I think, lies in the last four words in bold above.  "Works of the law"  Leo's works were charity type works, works that he did to provide for his family, works that made him a 'good man in the community.'  I don't think anyone would fault him for those works.  He was also considered a good Christian man as well, and I think that was why his works were so important to him...to be kind to others, to serve others, to support his community and his family.

God's Word and time with Him is our spiritual food.

I agree with this wholeheartedly, and I admit that when I take the time to start the day with devotions or with the assignment in the OBS, if we are studying one at the time, I feel better and more relaxed about the day itself.  However, I have felt guilty, mainly when I was trying to "Read the Bible in 365 Days" because I couldn't keep up every day.  I would fall behind for one reason or another, then I would try to catch up and fail.  Sometimes I would skim a chapter, such as those with excessive lineage in them.  It became cumbersome for me to read about who begat whom and how many wives this person had and how many children were borne to the union with this particular woman.  Then they traveled from this place to that place and spent so many years there before they went somewhere else.  Not being familiar with the names and the places caused me even more confusion.  I felt like a failure.  Even with the OBS sometimes I fall behind somewhere around the 4th week when things get busy or something changes in my routine.  I feel really good if I stick with it and finish.  But from what I read today, what is most important is not the time spent or the number of chapters read, but the communication with God in the process and how much I learn about God's word.  That makes sense to me, and I don't feel like such a bad Christian knowing that when I can read and pray and study, I am doing what I can, not falling short.

God does want us to work, and we will receive rewards for the work we do on earth, but those works do not save us.

This passage makes me feel better about the saying that I always connect with Leo.  Even though Leo and Agnes did not attend church much during the years that I knew them, I do know that their belief in God was strong.   I do know  in particular that Agnes' faith was strong; that was evident as she drew closer to her last days.

Anyone who is born again through faith in Christ instinctively know right from wrong in most instances.  We do grow and learn more and more all the time, but the Holy Spirit who lives in us will guide us if we will pay close attention to Him.

I do believe this.  I also believe that no one is perfect and that no one knows EVERYTHING there is to know about the Bible and what it says to us as Christians...not even Bible scholars.  Not even ministers.  There is always something new to learn, some new perspective from which to read a verse.  For instance, when I first learned that "Thou shalt not commit adultery" was a commandment, I was very young, and I probably had no idea what that word even meant.  Cheating on a husband or wife?  But the meaning wasn't full for me until I was a married woman.  I had promised in front of God and the guests at the wedding, in front of the minister and repeated to Gary, my marriage vows, and I took them seriously.  'Till death do us part' is exactly what that means, not 'until we get tired of each other' or 'until we find someone we like better.'  Adultery can have various shades of meaning also.  I remember one of the women at the Ladies' Bible Study saying that her husband would not meet with a woman professionally without another woman being present.  He also would not travel to a meeting with another woman unless she, his wife, went along.  He didn't want anyone who might happen to see them think that he might be committing adultery even though he wasn't.  That gave me something to ponder, because I had gone to professional meetings with other teachers, some of them male, without Gary.  Jeff and I traveled to other schools together for in-service presentations.  Was that wrong?  Gary went with Kathy and then with Gina to coaches meetings.  Was that wrong?   Something to think about...and discuss too.

As this section ends, I am not sure I understand the title of it, "Faith Alone."  Something to think about before I move on....