Many of us instinctively understand the world through “if…then…” logic. If you work hard, then you earn a paycheck. If you pay your mortgage, then you keep your house. If you meet expectations, then you are rewarded. It is practical, predictable, and deeply ingrained in how we navigate daily life.
The trouble begins when we carry that same logic into our relationship with God.
We may never say it out loud, but many of us live as if faith operates on a transactional system: If I obey God, then he will bless me. If I fail, then he will withhold his favor. God becomes less like a loving Father and more like a strict supervisor - carefully tracking performance, quick to reward, and quicker to punish.
The result is not freedom or joy, but anxiety and exhaustion. We are constantly wondering if we have done enough, crossed a line, or finally worn out God’s patience.
This is precisely the issue the apostle Paul addresses in Galatians 3.
Writing to the churches in Galatia, Paul confronts the idea that belonging to God depends on keeping the law. Some Jewish Christians were urging Gentile believers to adopt Jewish customs in order to truly belong. Paul responds sharply: reliance on the law does not bring life, it brings a curse. Not because the law is bad, but because no one can fully keep it.
To understand why, Paul points back to Israel’s story. God made covenants (relational agreements) with his people. He promised blessing, presence, and purpose, and invited Israel to live as his faithful partners. Yet again and again, Israel failed to uphold their side of the covenant. Sin ran deeper than isolated mistakes; it infected the human heart itself.
And if we are honest, the same is true of us.
We do not merely struggle to do what God asks, we struggle to want what God wants. Even our best obedience is incomplete and mixed with self-interest. If God’s favor depended on our consistency, none of us would stand a chance.
This is why the gospel is such good news.
Paul reminds us that Christ did what we could not. Jesus fulfilled the promises made to Abraham, lived as the faithful Israelite under the law, and took upon himself the curse that the law pronounced. Hung on a cross, he bore the weight of our failure and disobedience. And in his resurrection, he did not merely escape the curse, he broke it.
Because of Christ, our relationship with God is no longer built on “if…then…” We are not on probation. We are not earning our place.
Instead, we live by a new logic: because…now…
Because Christ has been faithful in our place, now we are free to live in obedience without fear.
Because we are already loved, now we can become a blessing to others.
Because the Spirit is at work in us, now our lives can reflect grace instead of anxiety.
This is the invitation of the gospel: not a transaction to manage, but a grace to live from.
Grace and peace,
Pastor Zac