Why Do We Need This King?

Introduction:

As we continue with our worship of the Lord this morning, I want to invite you to open up your Bibles to Galatians 3:19-4:7 as we study the Word of the Lord this morning.

19 Why, then, was the law given? It was added for the sake of transgressions until the Seed to whom the promise was made would come. The law was put into effect through angels by means of a mediator. 20 Now a mediator is not just for one person alone, but God is one. 21 Is the law therefore contrary to God’s promises? Absolutely not! For if the law had been granted with the ability to give life, then righteousness would certainly be on the basis of the law. 22 But the Scripture imprisoned everything under sin’s power, so that the promise might be given on the basis of faith in Jesus Christ to those who believe. 23 Before this faith came, we were confined under the law, imprisoned until the coming faith was revealed. 24 The law, then, was our guardian until Christ, so that we could be justified by faith. 25 But since that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian, 26 for through faith you are all sons of God in Christ Jesus. 27 For those of you who were baptized into Christ have been clothed with Christ. 28 There is no Jew or Greek, slave or free, male and female; since you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, heirs according to the promise. 4 Now I say that as long as the heir is a child, he differs in no way from a slave, though he is the owner of everything. 2 Instead, he is under guardians and trustees until the time set by his father. 3 In the same way we also, when we were children, were in slavery under the elements of the world. 4 When the time came to completion, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, 5 to redeem those under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. 6 And because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba, Father!” 7 So you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then God has made you an heir (Gal 3:19-4:7)

Let’s pray together.

Last week we started our sermon series for the Advent Season. We talked about taking time this year to actually prepare our hearts to worship Christ. So often, at least for myself, I get caught up in trying to do a billion different things that I actually never do of them. It is the problem of trying to do too much....that you never accomplish anything. I do not want that to happen this year… and I can tell you already that it is becoming a struggle. It is already a fight. I am already being pulled in 100 different directions with 100 billion different things fighting for my attention.

Are you facing the same problem?

This is why we need to hold each other accountable as we seek to worship Christ.... as we seek to focus our hearts and minds on Him… because I am telling you that there is a war that is going on for our affections. The world wants to sell a cheap version of what Christmas is supposed to be about… and if we are not careful we will buy it!

I don't want that for us. I don't want that for me… and I don't want that for you.

This is why last week we said that we need to focus on two areas of life this season to help get our hearts in shape before God. Without going through last week's message all over again, let me give you the short version.

We said that there were two primary things that we needed to focus on as we seek to prepare our hearts: 1. We need to get our hearts right before God. 2. We need to focus on sharing the good news with those who are far from God. This is what Christmas is about... This was Great News of Great Joy that will be FOR ALL OF THE PEOPLE. That is what the angels said to the shepherds. Great News of Great Joy.... people only get to experience that News.... if someone tells them about it. News is to be shared with other people. These two things need to become our focus.

Body:

Last week the driving question was, How Do We Prepare Him Room?

This week, what I want us to think about is...

Why Do We Need This King?

This sounds like a strange question to ask, but it is something that many take for granted. They believe that they know why this is the case. Many people believe that Jesus Christ only came as a good example for us to follow. Some are going to celebrate Christmas, but they have no idea what this day is about.

As a culture we have taken Christmas and made it to be about family, food, presents, giving, and doing nice things for others.... and all of these things are good things. I have even said that we need to be doing some of these things.... but doing this is not the answer.... it does not get to the heart of the problem. We can do all of these things and still miss why Jesus had to Come. We can do all of these activities and still not see our need for this King.

That is what I want to focus on today. I want us to why it was necessary for Jesus to come. And this is what Paul is getting at here in our text this morning. He gets there for different reasons. The churches in Galatia were not trying to figure out Christmas. They were wrestling with if they had to follow all of the OT laws or not. They were struggling with seeing the value of faith in Christ… and Paul writes to them to encourage them to remain in the Gospel.

What I want to do this morning is look at 4 truths from this text that remind us to stay in the Gospel, and at the same time, explain to us why we need this King.

We Are Born In Sin.

This truth simply does not just apply to everyone in this room; this applies to everyone on the face of the planet for all time.

We see this most clearly in verse 3 of chapter 4 when it reads,

3 In the same way we also, when we were children, were in slavery under the elements of the world.

This is Scriptures teaching. Everyone who has walked this earth is born with a sinful nature. We are born naturally in rebellion against God. We do things that are against His will for our lives. This is seen from the youngest of ages. Children are a great example of this. We do not spend our time teaching kids to do bad things.... they seem just to find doing them on their own. We do, however, spend a great amount of time trying to teach them right from wrong. Why is that?

Because by their nature they are rebels. By nature, they are under the power of sin. God tells us in his word that all of us are this way. That there is no one good. That all of us have turned our way. We all think that we have it figured out.

Our relationship with God has been broken and messed up. This is what happened in the garden of Eden when Adam and Eve rebelled against God and followed their desires over God’s commands. Their actions have impacted the whole world. This is why we see the brokenness in that world that we do… it is because we, in our humanity, are all slaves to sin.

This is the first answer to the question, Why Do We Need This King? The Answer is because of The World is A Slave to Sin.

The second thing that I want us to see from this passage is ...

The Law Cannot Set Us Free.

Although God gave the people of Israel the Law… the purpose of the law was not so that they could earn their way into a right relationship with God. In fact, the purpose of the law was to show the people of Israel that they could not possibly live up to God’s standards.

Let’s take for example the 10 commandments from Scripture.

The Ten Commandments

1. I am the Lord your God. You shall not

have strange gods before me.

2. You shall not take the name of the

Lord your god in vain.

3. Remember to keep holy the Lord’s Day.

4. Honor your father and your mother.

5. You shall not kill. Do not hurt

yourself or others.

6. You shall not commit adultery.

7. You shall not steal.

8. You shall not bear false witness

against your neighbor.

9. You shall not covet your neighbor’s

wife.

10. You shall not covet your neighbor’s

As you think about these, don't you realize that you are guilty of breaking many of them? However, the moment that we think that we have not broken all them… we find out that God even judges the heart as well as our actions. And that if we break 1 of them that we are guilty of breaking them all because it is not about if we have done the action or not it is about whom we have offended. We have violated God’s law.

All that the OT Law does is show us how sinful we really are. This is what we see in Paul’s words in verses 21-24

21 Is the law therefore contrary to God’s promises? Absolutely not! For if the law had been granted with the ability to give life, then righteousness would certainly be on the basis of the law. 22 But the Scripture imprisoned everything under sin’s power,, so that the promise might be given on the basis of faith in Jesus Christ to those who believe. 23 Before this faith came, we were confined under the law, imprisoned until the coming faith was revealed. 24 The law, then, was our guardian until Christ, so that we could be justified by faith. (Gal. 3:21-24)

When the text says that the law was our guardian our minds naturally want to think about something that is there to protect us… and that is not exactly what is being described here. A better translation would be a schoolmaster. A schoolmaster was someone who would come to pick up the kids to take them to school and would keep them in line while they went there and while they were there. Their job was to get the kids to where they needed to be.

This is what the law does for us. It shows us how far we really are to meeting God’s standard, and it points forward to one who was going to come and save us. It takes us to where we need to go.

This leads to the 3rd point I want us to see.

God Made A Promise.

19 Why, then, was the law given? It was added for the sake of transgressions until the Seed to whom the promise was made would come. (Gal. 3:19)

Back when Adam and Even rebelled against God, God made a promise in Gen. 3:15 that one day that the woman would have a Son and He would crush the head of the Snake. This promise is later given to Abram in Gen 12:1-3 when God tells him that through his family line that all of the nations on the face of the earth will be blessed.

This promise is then passed down through generations and generations. Everyone is hoping that God is going to fulfill His promise soon.... but what we see in the OT is that the promise just keeps getting reiterated. God is still waiting to fulfill it. He has not brought it about yet. It wasn't through Issac or Jacob, of any of his kids. God worked through all of them… and every single one of them had a part to play in the promise.. but they were not the promise. God had a better plan. A plan that no one could make up.

This leads to the last truth I want us to see… and it is found down in Gal 4:3-7

3 In the same way we also, when we were children, were in slavery under the elements of the world. 4 When the time came to completion, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, 5 to redeem those under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. 6 And because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba, Father!” 7 So you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then God has made you an heir. (Gal 4:3-7)

God Sent Christ To Redeem Us!

How great a truth this is for us to think about this morning. God fulfilled His promise at just the right time 2000 years ago when God the Son stepped down from heaven and came to earth. Born under the law… born in a time when the law was still in effect. Born of a woman… so that He could be like us in every way..... so that He could come and die for our rebellion and sins.... so that we can be adopted as God’s children. This is the Good News of Great Joy that the angels were talking about in Luke 2 that we looked at last week.

Jesus, the Savior, was BORN!

Let’s go back to the question that we posed at the beginning of the message this morning.

Why Do We Need This King?

We Need This King Because We Could Not Get To God On Our Own. We ARE Sinful and Rebellious. We Cannot Keep the Whole Law. We Needed Another Way... A Better Way.

God Sent His Son To Save Us From The Law and Make Us His Sons and Daughters.

This is the truth that I want to leave you with this morning. I want you to see all that Christ has done for you. I want you to rest completely in Him. I encourage you today… if you have not given your life to Christ… then this could happen for you today. Today you could become a son or daughter.

For those of us who are struggling… I want you to see what Christ has already done for you. He has given you a Father. He Has gone to the cross for you to redeem you. Rest in Him This season. Know that He is worth it. Focus on Him.

Let Christ Reign In Your Heart.

Let’s pray together.