Daily Devotional 6-16-26
Faith Over Works
Reading: Galatians 2:15-21 - “We who are Jews by birth and not sinful Gentiles know that a person is not justified by the works of the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law, because by the works of the law no one will be justified. “But if, in seeking to be justified in Christ, we Jews find ourselves also among the sinners, doesn’t that mean that Christ promotes sin? Absolutely not! If I rebuild what I destroyed, then I really would be a lawbreaker. “For through the law I died to the law so that I might live for God. I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!”
Devotional: Religion says "do" to be accepted. Christianity says you're accepted, therefore you "do." This distinction changes everything. Paul, a devout Jew who had followed the law meticulously, declared that no one is justified by works of the law. Our best efforts fall short. Our good deeds cannot bridge the gap. Only faith in Christ makes us right with God. This isn't a license for laziness—it's liberation for loving service. When you grasp that you're already accepted, obedience flows from gratitude rather than fear. You don't serve to earn His love; you serve because you've already received it. Let this truth transform how you approach your relationship with God today.
Reading: Galatians 2:15-21 - “We who are Jews by birth and not sinful Gentiles know that a person is not justified by the works of the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law, because by the works of the law no one will be justified. “But if, in seeking to be justified in Christ, we Jews find ourselves also among the sinners, doesn’t that mean that Christ promotes sin? Absolutely not! If I rebuild what I destroyed, then I really would be a lawbreaker. “For through the law I died to the law so that I might live for God. I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!”
Devotional: Religion says "do" to be accepted. Christianity says you're accepted, therefore you "do." This distinction changes everything. Paul, a devout Jew who had followed the law meticulously, declared that no one is justified by works of the law. Our best efforts fall short. Our good deeds cannot bridge the gap. Only faith in Christ makes us right with God. This isn't a license for laziness—it's liberation for loving service. When you grasp that you're already accepted, obedience flows from gratitude rather than fear. You don't serve to earn His love; you serve because you've already received it. Let this truth transform how you approach your relationship with God today.
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