Two roads, two destinies

"The righteous will live by faith." Galatians 3:11

"Whoever has done these things will live by them." Galatians 3:12

In the defense of the Gospel to the Galatians, Paul presents two paths to life: the path of faith and that of obedience to the Law.

These two paths, both described in A.T., appear contradictory. One was borrowed by Abraham; It crosses the A.T. And extends into the N. The other, inaugurated by Moses, stops at the threshold of the N.T. One is the way of faith, the other the way of works. How to solve the difficulty ?

The way of faith, Abel has inaugurated it (Heb 11: 4) and Abraham has traveled extensively. He was childless, his only heir was Eliezer of Damascus. One night God brought Abraham out of his tent and said to him : "Look to the heavens and count the stars, if you can count them," and he said to him : "So shall your seed be" (Genesis 15: 4,5) .

This simple movement of the eye, accompanied by faith in the divine promise of an heir, enables God to declare Abraham just before him: "He believed the Lord ; And he counted this for righteousness" (Gen. 15: 4). Centuries later, God responds to the indignation of the prophet Habakkuk in the face of the violence that reigns in this declaration : "The righteous will live by his faith" (Paul 2, quoted by Paul in the first verse of the day). Faith is truly a way of life.

The other way is that of the Law given by God Himself to Moses, after the people have committed themselves to do all that God will say : "All that the Lord has said we will do" (Ex. 19. 8). In turn, God commits himself : "He who has done these things will live by them" (Lev. 18: 5, quoted by Paul in the second verse of the day). Man will live not by the Law, but by his own works. Henceforth, the apparent contradiction disappears, for no one has ever been able to obey all the Law except our Savior and Lord Jesus Christ who has accomplished it !

We must choose: the way of works leads to death, the way of faith to life. The Jews claimed Moses, Paul goes back to Abraham, the father of all believers.

Source (To pleasing the Lord)