Why then the law?

Good morning. JP has drill this weekend so you get me today. And I’m going to do everything I can to set him up as poorly as possible so he has a ton of work to do next week. Na, I wouldn’t do him like that. This is God’s word, believe me, I take this very seriously.

Hey How many of us remember our first time driving by ourselves? When you’ve just got your license, that first drive when you’re 15 or 16. No parents in the car with you. It’s kind of a rite of passage for us. You’re now beginning to enter adulthood. It can be a little intimidating but you eventually get comfortable. Some of us got a little too comfortable. There’s tons of freedom there and responsibility. You’re coming into adulthood, you better act like it.

This is similar to the language Paul is using in Galatians when describing that we are now free in Christ. We are no longer children under the law. We have “put on Christ”, which in Greek what Paul is referencing is the putting on of a toga. A robe symbolizing a boy coming into manhood. So the first 3 or 4 chapters Paul is focused on justification, how we are made right with God. And then the last couple chapters he’ll get into sanctification, what we should do with that justification. Today we are right in the middle as Paul is driving home what our salvation is and what that means for us. And then what’s the purpose of the law? How does all this play together? Fun stuff. I know we had 3 weeks off from Galatians so let me briefly catch us up. So this is Paul’s letter to the Galatians. Which would have been a group of churches in Galatia. These galatians were new believers who were quickly being led astray by false teachings. They were quickly turning away from the gospel they had been taught and were beginning to listen to the judaizers, who were jews who believed in Jesus but taught that you had to believe in Jesus plus keep the law. And Paul is saying no, no, no. Once you do that, you are then putting yourself under the law, which can not save you. Our salvation is faith in Christ alone! Not the law, which was never intended to justify. It is not good works, it is not being circumcised (which was their issue), it is not coming to church every sunday. Our salvation is faith in Christ. Now that faith will produce good works. The scriptures are clear that God will always call us to be a part of the local body. So He’ll always call us to the church. These are things that will tell us what true salvation will look like. But they are not what saves us, nor do they give us any better standing with God. Someone can come to church every sunday, do all kinds of good works, and really look the part. That’s all great but if there is no relationship with Christ then it is all for nothing. If we haven't been crucified with Christ, as Paul says in Galatians, then it’s all for nothing. And that's the exact point Paul is trying to drive home with the Galatians.

Paul gets straight to it in chapter 3 and goes for the jugular of the judaizers argument. That hundreds of years before the law, Abraham was counted righteous bc of his faith. Before the law was given to Moses, God had already counted Abraham righteous bc of his faith and made a promise to Abraham that all the nations will be blessed through his offspring. So let’s pick up at Galatians chapter 3, verse 15, 15Dear brothers and sisters,i here’s an example from everyday life. Just as no one can set aside or amend an irrevocable agreement, so it is in this case. 16God gave the promises to Abraham and his child.j And notice that the Scripture doesn’t say “to his children,k” as if it meant many descendants. Rather, it says “to his child”—and that, of course, means Christ. 17This is what I am trying to say: The agreement God made with Abraham could not be canceled 430 years later when God gave the law to Moses. God would be breaking his promise. 18For if the inheritance could be received by keeping the law, then it would not be the result of accepting God’s promise. But God graciously gave it to Abraham as a promise.

And then the very next line… Why then, was the law given? And what's up with the promise? Why the old covenant in the 1st place? If Jesus was the plan all along then why give us a law to follow that ultimately can’t even save anyone.

So what Paul is saying is that the promise came first, and then the law hundreds of years later. So justification, our inheritance, could not have come from the law bc it was already promised to Abraham long before the law was ever given. And God doesn’t break promises. And then Paul goes ahead and ask the very next objection. Why then the law? If it can’t justify us.

Well it was never intended to save anyone. So before I knew better this is something I struggled with, wondering if the old covenant was a failure on God’s part. He gave us a law we couldn’t keep, but according to Paul it did exactly what it was supposed to do. It showed us just how sinful we are, and then it protects us and restrains us from that sin until Christ’s finished work on the cross. Paul tells us that in Romans 3:19 Obviously, the law applies to those to whom it was given, for its purpose is to keep people from having excuses, and to show that the entire world is guilty before God. 20 For no one can ever be made right with God by doing what the law commands. The law simply shows us how sinful we are. So not that we’re clueless, he establishes that in his letter to the Romans as well. That it is written on our hearts and if you’ve seen creation then you are without excuse. But it was to show us just how sinful we are. If we’re out of town driving down the road and we don’t see a speed limit sign, then we assume it’s 55. So we know that means 60 so we’re going 60 and then all of a sudden roll up on a 45mph sign. Well now we are 15mph over. We didn’t know what we didn’t know but what will we hear? Ignorance is no excuse. The same with sin, it’s pushing us away from God whether we know it or not. And then here in Galatians he is telling us that not only was it bc we are sinful but that it was temporary all along to protect and restrain us from sin until the finished work of Christ. Which was the life, death, and resurrection of Christ that not only covered our sins but as Hebrews tells us, it covered those under the 1st covenant as well. The law was our guardian to get us to Christ.

Let’s keep going, starting at Galatians chapter 3 verse 19Why, then, was the law given? It was given alongside the promise to show people their sins. But the law was designed to last only until the coming of the child who was promised. God gave his law through angels to Moses, who was the mediator between God and the people. 20Now a mediator is helpful if more than one party must reach an agreement. But God, who is one, did not use a mediator when he gave his promise to Abraham.

21Is there a conflict, then, between God’s law and God’s promises?l Absolutely not! If the law could give us new life, we could be made right with God by obeying it. 22But the Scriptures declare that we are all prisoners of sin, so we receive God’s promise of freedom only by believing in Jesus Christ.

The law, or being religious, does not give us life. Christ does. The promise didn’t go anywhere. It was still there, it was just being held back. Until the finished work of Christ.

So the last time I preached I mentioned how I used to love to watch wrestling. And how my dad made me burn my stone cold steve austin t-shirt bc it said austin 3:16, which was a play off John 3:16. So I get it now. But funny enough, recently I cleaned up and fixed a toy box of mine for my girls to use and inside of it were some old toys like some hot wheel cars. So Ellie immediately wanted them and the one she likes the most is this gold one that has Goldberg wrote down the side of it. Since it’s gold she says it’s special. She wants one of these cars, no problem, take it. It’s yours. I’m a grown man, I’m not still playing with hot wheels cars. But if she asked me for a real car, well now that's totally different. There’s way too much freedom behind the wheel of a real car. She’s not ready for that. She still has a lot to learn. And she doesn’t know what she doesn’t know. It’s mine and my wife's responsibility to teach her what she doesn’t know. Now I can promise her a car. But it would be very irresponsible of us to let her try to drive it. So she’ll get one when the time is right. As her parents, her guardians, we’re to teach her right from wrong. Well the law, the old covenant, is often referred to as a guardian. Or a pedagogue. Some say school master. So this pedagogue or guardian was usually a trusted slave or servant who’s duty was to see that the student was taken to the teacher and brought home each day. And to oversee the students' conduct. So discipline them when needed. They were there to ensure that kids did not squander their inheritance before they came of age and could receive it.

Keep that in mind as we keep reading. Verse 23Before the way of faith in Christ was available to us, we were placed under guard by the law. We were kept in protective custody, so to speak, until the way of faith was revealed.

24Let me put it another way. The law was our guardian until Christ came; it protected us until we could be made right with God through faith. 25And now that the way of faith has come, we no longer need the law as our guardian.

The guardian could get us to the school teacher but it was not the teacher.

When you get your license and you start driving a real car, those toy cars soon get put into perspective. They were right for a time, but nothing is like the real thing. The feeling of freedom you get behind the wheel - that's like life with God, not under law but grace. Extremely liberating.

The toy car resembles the real thing, but cannot power itself. With the Holy Spirit living in us, we have the power to say no to fleshly desires and live a life of godliness (see 2 Peter 1). We're not needing all the ritual that came with the law - Jesus fulfilled it. We don't need any more sacrifice. But in our desire to be godly, our quest for holiness, we should have even more zeal than the Pharisees, and hopefully more evidence of sanctification as we seek to grow by grace.

This is actually one of the great things about being a part of a small group, where you can spend more time and go in more depth about what this means and what it looks like and really help each other on our quest to grow in our relationships with Christ. Bc there is a ton here as Paul really establishes the truth of God’s law and His promise of faith. And it’s such a big deal. I know here in America, and especially in the south, there's a church on every corner. Many of us grew up in one and heard that we were saved by faith in Christ alone a million times. But it is that big of a deal. We don’t want to miss it and we don't want to get it wrong. Bc if we do then we are, by definition, eternally wrong. Paul is saying that if our faith is in Christ then we share in the promise God made to Abraham. What does that mean for us as christians. Let's look at it…

26For you are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus. 27And all who have been united with Christ in baptism have put on Christ, like putting on new clothes. 28There is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male and female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus. This is where we put the toga on. Our identity is now in Christ and everything else is secondary.We put Him on like a jersey. But far more than that. He is our identity. This most likely refers to our spiritual baptism that happens at conversion. We just had 3 water baptisms last week out front, one this past Thursday in front of the men's group. Which would be the public display of someone who has recently put their faith in Christ. We have put on Christ, like putting on new clothes. That is now our identity.

We identify ourselves through Christ and who He calls us to be, everything else is secondary (if not even less than that). Paul pulls no punches on this, 28There is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male and female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus. The great human divide. For the Jews, you had to be a Jewish free man in order to have access to God or privileges with God. Paul is saying that we all have access to God. That your race, your social status, or your gender have nothing to do with your salvation. None of that saves us. When you put on Christ, all those things are now secondary and we all have the same access to God through our faith in Christ. NOT that the distinctions between those groups would be wiped out. I say that bc this verse has been abused and used out of context in our world today. Part of why we meet on Sundays is to equip the saints. That’s all of us who believe. So when I say amen saints, I’m talking to y'all. Which means I expect an amen back. It’s so important for us to read scripture in context. Who the letter is to, what's he talking about, how did the people at the time perceive it. The entire book of Galatians Paul is talking about salvation and how we are saved through faith in Christ alone. Not through works, or keeping the law, or our race, social status, or gender. None of that gets you any more saved than anyone else. It’s through faith in Christ alone. 29And now that you belong to Christ, you are the true children of Abraham. You are his heirs, and God’s promise to Abraham belongs to you.

So we have freedom in Christ. The law is not riding shotgun or driving us around anymore. We have direct access to God. If you’ve put your faith in Christ, you now have the holy spirit within you. That is our GPS. Which is why our relationship is so important. If we want to know where we’re going or who we’re called to be then we better be on our knees taking it to the creator. At some point you’ll have to stop looking out the window and check the GPS. I can not count how many times I have struggled with an issue whether it's life or just questions I have, for weeks or months, and then I’ll finally get on my knees and give it to God. And so many times when I’ve finally given it to Him, in the middle of the prayer it clicks. When that happens over and over, it’s not a coincidence. He hears us. And he continues, chapter 4 1Think of it this way. If a father dies and leaves an inheritance for his young children, those children are not much better off than slaves until they grow up, even though they actually own everything their father had. 2They have to obey their guardians until they reach whatever age their father set. 3And that’s the way it was with us before Christ came. We were like children; we were slaves to the basic spiritual principlesa of this world.

Paul could be referencing a few different things when he says the spiritual principles of this world. They could have heard him getting at their old religions (bc these were gentiles), superstitions, and the law that he was just talking about. The jews and most of the world today still have these cause and effect systems. We do something good then we deserve something good. We do something bad then we deserve something bad. But that logic is poison when you bring it to God. God is not of this world and He doesn’t justify us based on what we have done in the world but instead by what’s been done in Him. We don’t want to bring the world to His kingdom. We want to bring His kingdom to the world.

4But when the right time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman, subject to the law. 5God sent him to buy freedom for us who were slaves to the law, so that he could adopt us as his very own children.b 6And because wec are his children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, prompting us to call out, “Abba, Father.”d 7Now you are no longer a slave but God’s own child.e And since you are his child, God has made you his heir.

For those who believe, you are now a child of God. No you were not always a child of God. That is not what the bible teaches. We are all made in His image but the bible over and over makes it clear that only those who put their faith in Christ are children of God. Jesus tells the jewish scribe and pharisees this in the gospel of John when He says “You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your fathers desires.” So it comes straight from Jesus. We have been adopted as sons and daughters, and are now full heirs.

Before the finished work of Christ, the Isrealites would’ve been like children who had an inheritance but could not access it. The law was their guardian who they had to listen to and follow until the fullness of time came. The law of Moses got them right there, it pointed them to the teacher but it was not the teacher!

The teacher came and fulfilled the law. We are now full heirs bc of that. To those who believe. The custom of that day was that it was only a son who received a full inheritance. Paul is using this language to express once again that no matter if you’re jew or gentile, slave or free, male or female; if you’ve placed your faith in Christ then you’re a full heir. No matter if you’re a son or a daughter. How foolish it would be for us to go back. We are not children under a guardian. We are adult sons and daughters who share in the privileges of sonship. When you put your faith in Christ, you are now a child of God. An adult child who shares an inheritance, has access to God, and has the holy spirit dwelling within you. There will still be a lot of growth to happen, in what we call sanctification. But the training wheels are off, you have what it takes. We are not going back, we are going to keep moving forward.

"When a sinner trusts Christ and is saved, as far as his condition is concerned, he is a 'spiritual babe' who needs to grow (1 Peter 2:2-3); but as far as his position is concerned, he is an adult son who can draw on the Father's wealth and who can exercise all the wonderful privileges of sonship."

Bc God has sent the spirit of His Son into our hearts. So if we fall, we cry out Abba, Father!

When my 2 year old falls, she’s going to reach her arms out and call out “daddy” or “dadun”. When I fall, I’m not reaching my arms calling for my dad. But what this is telling us is that when we fall in life that we have a father in heaven and a spirit within us prompting us to call out to Him. That He hears us, He is with us, and He will not leave us.

We have come of age. We are no longer under a guardian. The law was temporary all along and did exactly what it was supposed to do. Not justify but to protect and instruct until Christ came. Which was in the fullness of time, not a minute too soon and not a minute late. We are now children of God who have put on Christ. That is our primary identity. That is who we now represent. We’re ambassadors. This is not our home. Let’s not make Him look bad, the church has done enough of that throughout history. Instead let’s be in step with the Holy Spirit and willing to live out the greatness of Christ for the world to see. We do that by being in a constant relationship, in constant prayer. Bc we now have the Holy Spirit within us. That's our gps, except He doesn’t freeze up or get it wrong.

The law came through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.

Our salvation is faith in Christ alone. If your relationship looks more like law keeping, then it’s not really a relationship, that's legalism. That’s religion, not relationship. So if you’re struggling with that, please let it go. You are free of that bondage. Our serving, our giving, our relationship with Christ should be joyful.

So before you became a christian, you were still capable of good works. Still capable of being a good person by the standards of our world. The moral law is written on our hearts. Which is one of the philosophical arguments for there being a God. That no matter your culture or time in history, murdering an innocent person is wrong. Like we all agree Hitler was evil. If there’s no God then it should all just be an opinion. But we all agree murder and stealing is wrong, where does that moral code come from? No where other than a moral giver, God. So we’re capable of doing some good but Christ is calling us to be radical. Any sin separates us from God. He has covered us on that. Now go and be pure. Take that leap of faith. Show your radius, radical giving and radical love. Let’s be radical servants for Christ!

Amen Saints!

The band can come on up.

So not too long ago Radius had a man from Africa who we support in planting churches come speak to us. It was awesome to see their faith and how they can do so much with so little. One of their motos really stuck out to me, they don't have a lot of buildings so when they are looking to plant they say “If there’s a tree, then there’s a church.” And then he went on to talk about how people will flock to a nearby town when they hear that there is a church bc of the hope, and the joy, and the peace it will bring the town. I pray that for us. That we won’t miss that.

Let me pray for us…