Bible Reading: Galatians 2:16-21
Key
Verse: Verse 20 – “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I
live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the
flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for
me.”
Key Words: I live by the faith of the
Son of God
Galatians, like no
other book in the Bible, shows the difference between the law and faith. It is in this blessed book that we see Jesus
as our Savior through our faith in Him, rather than being saved by the law.
There is a great
illustration of salvation through faith in the life of John Wesley.
“Not long after the
first Moravian missionaries had left for the West Indies,
John Wesley, unconverted at the time, found himself aboard ship alongside
another group of them. It was January
25, 1736, and the weather was rough.
Three storms had already battered the boat, and a fourth was
brewing. Wesley scribbled in his
journal, ‘Storm greater: afraid!’ But
the Moravians were trusting God so simply and so completely that they evidenced
no signs of fear, and they even persevered in their plans for a worship
service. In the middle of their singing,
a gigantic wave rose over the side of the vessel, splitting the main-sail,
covering the ship, pouring water like Niagara Falls between decks ‘as if the
great deep had already swallowed us up.’
“The English
passengers screamed as the ship lurched and pitched between towering
waves. A terrified Wesley clung on for
dear life. But the German missionaries
didn’t miss a note. Wesley, awestruck by
their composure, later went to the leader and asked, ‘Weren’t you afraid?’
‘I thank God, no.’
‘Were not your women
and children afraid?’
‘No,’ replied the
man. ‘Our women and children are not
afraid.’
“Back in London, Wesley was so
struck by their sturdy faith that he attended a Moravian meeting on Aldersgate Street
on May 24, 1738. He later said, ‘I felt
my heart strangely warmed. I felt I did
trust in Christ, Christ alone for salvation, and an assurance was given to me
that He had taken away my sins, even mine.’
“Wesley became a famous evangelist and social
reformer, with the world as his parish.
But he himself was won to Christ by the power of a small group whose
faith in Christ was strong enough to keep them unflappable in a storm.”
What to do: ✞ Does your faith draw others to Jesus?
