What does Galatians 3:6 mean?
What is the meaning of Galatians 3:6?

So also

Paul has just asked whether the Galatians received the Spirit “by works of the law, or by hearing with faith” (Galatians 3:5). “So also” links that question to Abraham’s story—showing that God’s pattern has never changed. From the patriarch to the present, righteousness is granted through faith, not law-keeping. Peter echoes this in Acts 15:11, insisting that Jews and Gentiles “are saved by the grace of the Lord Jesus in the same way.”


Abraham believed God

Genesis 15:6 (quoted here) records that Abraham took God at His word regarding descendants as numerous as the stars.

• His faith rested on God’s character, not on visible proof (Hebrews 11:8-12).

• It came long before circumcision (Romans 4:10-11), proving that ritual cannot earn favor.

• It modeled the simple trust Jesus described: “This is the work of God: to believe in the One He has sent” (John 6:29).


and it was credited to him

“Credited” is an accounting term: God places righteousness in Abraham’s ledger while removing the debt of sin (Psalm 32:1-2; 2 Corinthians 5:19).

Romans 4:4-5 contrasts earned wages with this unearned credit.

James 2:23 shows that genuine faith produces obedient actions, yet those actions follow the credit, not cause it.


as righteousness

What God credited was nothing less than perfect right standing with Himself.

Philippians 3:9 celebrates the same gift: “not having my own righteousness from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ.”

2 Corinthians 5:21 explains the exchange behind this gift—our sin laid on Christ, His righteousness laid on us.

Romans 5:1 points to the result: “having been justified by faith, we have peace with God.”


summary

Galatians 3:6 teaches that, just like Abraham, anyone who trusts God’s promise—now centered in Christ—is declared righteous apart from works. The gospel has always been a matter of faith, always grounded in God’s gracious accounting, and always resulting in a right relationship with Him.

How does Galatians 3:5 challenge the belief in earning salvation through the law?
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