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The Code and Faith

¹ You folks in Galatia are a bunch of gunsels. Why? Why Jesus died on the cross is as clear as the nose on your face. ² Let me explain. Did you get the Holy Spirit by obeying the code of Moses? Of course you didn't. You got the Holy Ghost by believing the story of Jesus. ³ But here's the part I don't understand, after getting into God's outfit by believing in Jesus, why are you now trying to be perfect by your own works? ⁴ Was everything you heard and saw a waste? I hope it wasn't all in vain.

⁵ Let me ask you again, is the Holy Ghost a gift from God for obeying rules or believing in Jesus? I think y'all know the answer. It's because you believed in Jesus and signed up to be a part of his crew.

⁶ Think about it! Abraham believed in God. He and God were tight because of that, not because he was good at following rules. It was because of his faith. ⁷ Abraham's real descendants are those who have faith in God, not rules.

⁸ Not only that, but the Good Book told us what was going to happen. It said all people, not just Jews, would be made right with God through faith. God told Abraham this good news when he said, "All cowboys will be blessed because of you." ⁹ So every cowboy who has faith in God shares the same blessing as Abraham did.

¹⁰ But those who trust in rules to make 'em right with God are cursed. The Good Book says, "Cursed is the cowboy who doesn't follow all the rules and obey them completely." ¹¹ This means no one is right with God by following rules. The Good Books also says, "It is by faith that a cowboy rides the right trail with God." ¹² This is a lot different than when the Code says, "It is only by following the Code that one will find life."

¹³ But Jesus saved us from this curse of following a code that can't be followed. When he was strung up on that cross, he took this curse for us and suffered our consequences. The Good Book said, "Cursed is the one who is strung up on a tree." ¹⁴ Because of Jesus, even Gentile outsiders can share the same blessing promised to Abraham. Those who ride for the brand will get the Holy Ghost through faith.

The Code and the Promise

¹⁵ Here's something that will maybe help you understand this better. When a contract is drawn up and agreed to by both sides and signed by a judge, you have to go by it. You can't be adding to or taking away from it just because you changed your mind for a minute. ¹⁶ God made a promise to Abraham and his child. I want you to notice that it didn't say, "and his children." The promise was made to Abraham and God's Boy, Jesus. ¹⁷ God made that promise 430 years before the Law was given to Moses. The Law didn't cancel God's promise. Nothing can cancel a promise from God. ¹⁸ Think about this, can following a set of rules bless us? If it could, then we wouldn't need God's promise, just good rule-following ability. But God blessed Abraham because of his faith, not because he followed rules. We have the same promise made to us.

¹⁹ So, what good was the Code? It was to show us how often we do wrong things. These rules would continue until the special cowboy came along—the child of Abraham. The Code was given through angels to Moses. And Moses was the middleman between God and his people. ²⁰ A middleman is needed when two sides must reach an agreement. But remember, God didn't use a middleman when he gave his promise to Abraham.

²¹ So, is it possible things don't line up between the code God gave and the promise he gave to Abraham? Absolutely not! If the Code could grant us eternal life, then we would have it by being good at following rules. ²² But the Good Book says we are all slaves to sin. We are only freed from sin by our faith in Jesus, not by following rules.

God's Kids

²³ Before Jesus came to set us free, we had a strict nanny called the code of Moses. It was for our protection until Jesus came.

²⁴ Here's another way of looking at it. The Law was like a prison guard until Jesus came. It kept us safe, but locked away until Jesus could make us right with God and set us free. ²⁵ Now that Jesus came, we don't need a prison guard anymore.

²⁶ Every single one of us is one of God's kids if we believe in Jesus and ride for his brand. ²⁷ Every cowboy who has been dunked in baptism is riding with Christ. It's a new way of life. A life we couldn't get on our own. ²⁸ There are no more labels like Jew or Gentile. There are no more prisoners or free men. There isn't even male or female in God's eyes. We are all equal in the sight of God through his son. ²⁹ And now that you ride for the brand, you are the real children of Abraham. You are his heirs and Abraham's inheritance belongs to you too.