Now in Chapter 3, his opening statement is about their foolishness! He says, Who bewitched you? 

But let's think about this. Friends, do you remember when you first heard the gospel, and believed? Did you receive the Spirit of God because you volunteered at a soup kitchen or did something nice for someone? Or did you hear a word or a message that resonated inside you? That made you feel more alive or hopeful?

Paul says that we got born again because we heard a message of good news, the gospel, and it brought hope and we believed it.

That's what happened to me. I heard that Jesus loved me, took the punishment for all of my sins and wanted a relationship with me. And I believed it! I was so happy!

But after awhile, I started to think that...that's just too easy. It can't be that easy. What's the catch? Jesus took my punishment and I get to receive everything He deserves as the Son of God? There has to be a catch.

And well meaning people told me that I needed to go to church on Sunday and Wednesday, read the Bible, tithe, fast and pray, ...and there can be a whole list of things that people say we need to do in order to be righteous. Those things are all good, of course. But according to Paul they do not make us righteous.

And as we try to do better, obey more, try harder to be good, and do everything right....something happens. We start to feel kind of miserable. And we do what kind of feels natural to most of us; we start to work for it. And if you've been given something for free, it's foolish to start working for it. If someone gave you a free car, would you take a second job to pay for it?
No because that's foolishness!

Paul says in verse 23 that we can be imprisoned by the law (the rules and commandments). That's because once we make obedience to the law our main path to righteousness, we are obligated to keep all of it. If you've ever tried it, you know that it's exhausting. And impossible. At least I hope you know that it is impossible. If not, you'll find out.

That's because all the law could do was to make people aware of their sin. It's job was always to point us to the One who would put away our sins once and for all.

That's why Paul said, "Who bewitched you?" You know that people could try to put a spell on you or put you under a curse. But if you're born-again, it won't work. But you can put yourself under a curse. The curse of the law. People were trying to convince them to go back under the law.

But Jesus redeemed us from the curse by becoming a curse for us. He went on the cross for us. That way the Blessing of Abraham could come to the Gentiles so that we could receive the promised Spirit of God by faith.

That's because all the law could do was to make people aware of their sin. It's job was always to point us to the One who would put away our sins once and for all.

That's why Paul said, "Who bewitched you?" You know that people could try to put a spell on you or put you under a curse. But if you're born-again, it won't work. But you can put yourself under a curse. The curse of the law. People were trying to convince them to go back under the law.

But Jesus redeemed us from the curse by becoming a curse for us. He went on the cross for us. That way the Blessing of Abraham could come to the Gentiles so that we could receive the promised Spirit of God by faith.

If we look at the order of things, the blessing always came first. In fact, at creation God blessed the birds and the animals. And He blessed his first man and woman to be fruitful and multiply and have dominion over the earth.

Later, after the Flood, God blessed Noah and his family to be fruitful and multiply. And then in Genesis 12 and 15, God made a covenant, or contract, of blessing with Abraham. He was so careful not to let Abe mess it up, that He put him into a deep sleep. God would be responsible for the blessing.

The Law was not given to Moses until 430 years later. And we are told that the law did not annul or cancel the covenant of blessing. It was there to point us to the time of the Seed of Abraham, who is Jesus, in whom all nations would be blessed.

So Christ is the true fulfillment of the blessing of Abraham. And it was given to Abraham as a promise. When God promises something, it means that He does the work. You don't work for a promise. Kids know that. All we have to do is believe and receive what He promised.

After God told Abraham all that He was going to do for him, it says that Abraham believed the Lord and it was credited to him as righteousness. So question of the day is: What causes us to be righteous? It is only one thing that God requires of us. That is faith. We must simply believe and receive.

And daughters, I don't want you to feel left out. Sons was a legal term, meaning the ones who will legally inherit the Father's inheritance. That includes us daughters too as we are also legal heirs of God.

You will get the most out of your study of scripture if you spend time engaging with it. Spending time in scripture is synonymous with spending time with God. He is is Word.

The best way is to have a journal handy and write some things down.