The Promise and the Law

The Promise and the Law | Galatians 3:15-29 October 1, 2023 We're back in Galatians 3 this morning, beginning at verse 15. In this text, we'll be discussing two things: the promise and the law. Since the larger section speaks to the law, I want to begin with some interesting facts related to laws. Did you know that there are some strange and outdated laws that are still technically in place in the United States? Here are some examples: In Arizona (we must start here, of course) no donkeys are allowed to sleep in your bathtub. In California you are not allowed to whistle for your lost canary before 7:00am. In Georgia, you are not allowed to tie up a giraffe to a telephone pole or a streetlamp. In Louisiana, you are not allowed to send a surprise pizza to someone. I can't forget about Illinois, apparently, it is illegal to give lighted cigars to dogs, cats, and other domesticated animals kept as pets. You want one more? Alright: in Vermont, it is illegal to paint a horse. The primary article I used as a source for this made this good point: While these laws may seem strange, they often have historical or cultural significance. Some were created to address specific issues at the time ... I think we can easily agree to that, particularly when we read some of the 613 commands in the Old Testament, can't we? This morning, in our text, Paul continues his defense that Pastor Pat spoke about last week and I spoke about a couple of weeks ago. Namely, that we are justified by faith in Christ alone, and that no matter how hard we work at keeping the law, without Christ, we cannot be justified and made right with God. We've discussed the tension here before, haven't we? The fact that God says you can't do enough to be made right with me, however, He still expects us to behave in a certain manner, as a proof of our changed hearts. It is a difficult topic to discuss, which is why Paul continues to address it here. Let's read verses 15-29 to see how Paul decides to address this again: 15 TO GIVE A HUMAN EXAMPLE, BROTHERS: EVEN WITH A MAN-MADE COVENANT, NO ONE ANNULS IT OR ADDS TO IT ONCE IT HAS BEEN RATIFIED. 16 NOW THE PROMISES WERE MADE TO ABRAHAM AND TO HIS OFFSPRING. IT DOES NOT SAY, "AND TO OFFSPRINGS," REFERRING TO MANY, BUT REFERRING TO ONE, "AND TO YOUR OFFSPRING," WHO IS CHRIST. 17 THIS IS WHAT I MEAN: THE LAW, WHICH CAME 430 YEARS AFTERWARD, DOES NOT ANNUL A COVENANT PREVIOUSLY RATIFIED BY GOD, SO AS TO MAKE THE PROMISE VOID. 18 FOR IF THE INHERITANCE COMES BY THE LAW, IT NO LONGER COMES BY PROMISE; BUT GOD GAVE IT TO ABRAHAM BY A PROMISE. 19 WHY THEN THE LAW? IT WAS ADDED BECAUSE OF TRANSGRESSIONS, UNTIL THE OFFSPRING SHOULD COME TO WHOM THE PROMISE HAD BEEN MADE, AND IT WAS PUT IN PLACE THROUGH ANGELS BY AN INTERMEDIARY. 20 NOW AN INTERMEDIARY IMPLIES MORE THAN ONE, BUT GOD IS ONE. 21 IS THE LAW THEN CONTRARY TO THE PROMISES OF GOD? CERTAINLY NOT! FOR IF A LAW HAD BEEN GIVEN THAT COULD GIVE LIFE, THEN RIGHTEOUSNESS WOULD INDEED BE BY THE LAW. 22 BUT THE SCRIPTURE IMPRISONED EVERYTHING UNDER SIN, SO THAT THE PROMISE BY FAITH IN JESUS CHRIST MIGHT BE GIVEN TO THOSE WHO BELIEVE. 23 NOW BEFORE FAITH CAME, WE WERE HELD CAPTIVE UNDER THE LAW, IMPRISONED UNTIL THE COMING FAITH WOULD BE REVEALED. 24 SO THEN, THE LAW WAS OUR GUARDIAN UNTIL CHRIST CAME, IN ORDER THAT WE MIGHT BE JUSTIFIED BY FAITH. 25 BUT NOW THAT FAITH HAS COME, WE ARE NO LONGER UNDER A GUARDIAN, 26 FOR IN CHRIST JESUS YOU ARE ALL SONS OF GOD, THROUGH FAITH. 27 FOR AS MANY OF YOU AS WERE BAPTIZED INTO CHRIST HAVE PUT ON CHRIST. 28 THERE IS NEITHER JEW NOR GREEK, THERE IS NEITHER SLAVE NOR FREE, THERE IS NO MALE AND FEMALE, FOR YOU ARE ALL ONE IN CHRIST JESUS. 29 AND IF YOU ARE CHRIST'S, THEN YOU ARE ABRAHAM'S OFFSPRING, HEIRS ACCORDING TO PROMISE. Paul here continues his defense, this time with two examples. First is a "human example" - the will and testament. Paul calls it a covenant here, then relates this to the promise we'll discuss here shortly. Paul then addresses the issue of the law, and its relation to justification. Naturally, then, we need to discuss these two examples. First, let's begin with our main idea: When I place my faith in Christ, the promise and the Law will draw me to Him. So, what is this promise? THE PROMISE is twofold: * The offspring (16,19) o This word is first used in this context in Genesis 3:15 when God delivers the judgement on the serpent in the Garden, following the Fall. There we read: I WILL PUT ENMITY BETWEEN YOU AND THE WOMAN, AND BETWEEN YOUR OFFSPRING AND HER OFFSPRING; HE SHALL BRUISE YOUR HEAD, AND YOU SHALL BRUISE HIS HEEL. o But this specific promise takes us back to the Abrahamic Covenant, first introduced in Genesis 12 during the call of Abram. Here's what it says in verses 1-3: NOW THE LORD SAID TO ABRAM, "GO FROM YOUR COUNTRY AND YOUR KINDRED AND YOUR FATHER'S HOUSE TO THE LAND THAT I WILL SHOW YOU. 2 AND I WILL MAKE OF YOU A GREAT NATION, AND I WILL BLESS YOU AND MAKE YOUR NAME GREAT, SO THAT YOU WILL BE A BLESSING. 3 I WILL BLESS THOSE WHO BLESS YOU, AND HIM WHO DISHONORS YOU I WILL CURSE, AND IN YOU ALL THE FAMILIES OF THE EARTH SHALL BE BLESSED." o Then, in verse 7 we read: THEN THE LORD APPEARED TO ABRAM AND SAID, TO YOUR OFFSPRING I WILL GIVE THIS LAND o The promise included land as well as offspring. o This promise was repeated in Genesis 15, then again in Genesis 22. Of course, this was confirmed with Isaac and Jacob as well. o So, Paul here is reminding the reader that God was faithful in His promises. o But more importantly, this offspring is Christ. The promised offspring that will bless ALL THE FAMILIES OF THE EARTH, is Christ. o The argument, as we saw a bit last week, was that this promise not only came before the Law, as we'll see shortly, it also came before the outward mark of the covenant - circumcision, which is discussed in Genesis 17, and even the act of sacrificing Isaac in Genesis 22. o Back in verse 15, Paul states that he was using a HUMAN EXAMPLE of a covenant. The idea here is more of a will and testament. And his primary point here is that man would not add to or change a will or testament, but the Judaizers, and those who fell for their false teaching, were willing to add to God's promise to Abraham. o This is part of what Paul is speaking about in verses 19-20 as well. He is speaking about the fact that the law was given to Moses, through the angels, but the promise (which came 430 years prior) was given directly to Abraham, by God. * And this promise cannot be broken because God will not go back on His word. o So, if part of this promise includes Jesus, as the promised Offspring, then we are also under the promise of ... * The inheritance (18,23-25,26,29) o This refers to the adoptions as sons (and daughters), as we see in verse 26. o So, what does that mean? Paul talks about adoption a lot in his letters. o Here it simply means; having been adopted into God's family, [we] now enjoy all the privileges, obligations, and inheritance rights of God's children. o This includes the gift of faith, as seen in verses 23-25. This promise of God to Abraham, Paul says, was never nullified when the Law was given. We learned last week that Abraham was declared righteous by faith, not the Law. A simple principle for us is this: Be faithful, as God is faithful. God doesn't break His promises, nor does He fail to follow through, like you and I are prone to do. Because of this, we should strive to be faithful servants, too. That leads us to Paul's second argument, and that deals with: THE LAW: In addressing this, Paul asks two questions. His first question is: * Why the law? (19) o He answers this immediately, as he says the law was added because of our transgressions (19) o What does that mean? o Think about light. When a light comes on in a dark room, what does it do? It reveals the contents of that room. o The Law (rules, regulations, etc.) reveals our sin. o Paul talks about this extensively in Romans. Let's look at a couple of examples: • Romans 3:20 says: FOR BY WORKS OF THE LAW NO HUMAN BEING WILL BE JUSTIFIED IN HIS SIGHT, SINCE THROUGH THE LAW COMES KNOWLEDGE OF SIN. • And Romans 7:7 says: WHAT THEN SHALL WE SAY? THAT THE LAW IS SIN? BY NO MEANS! YET IF IT HAD NOT BEEN FOR THE LAW, I WOULD NOT HAVE KNOWN SIN. FOR I WOULD NOT HAVE KNOWN WHAT IT IS TO COVET IF THE LAW HAD NOT SAID, "YOU SHALL NOT COVET." o Have you ever done something wrong, and didn't know it was wrong until someone told you it was wrong? • Early in my first hotel job, I had a task I was assigned to. The people who trained me on this task forgot to train me on a very important part of the task, and when a new manager came in, he asked me why it wasn't being done properly. • It wasn't until he pointed out my error that I knew I was doing it wrong all along. • So, you see, when the law is defined, we are aware that we are missing the mark because now there is a target to aim for. o So, if the Law reveals our sin, Paul must address the next possible issue with this, so in verse 21 he asks the next question: * Is the law then contrary to the promises of God? (21) o His answer of course is "certainly not!" o Conversely, the Judaizers were the ones making the law contradict the gospel. o More than that, Paul's telling us that under the law, which as we just saw, reveals sin, we were actually held captive. o In verse 24, Paul calls the Law a "guardian" or "schoolmaster" o This role in the Roman home was a servant who looked after the child before he was able to be sent to the formal school of the day o They were charged with the complete care of the child, to include discipline, and when they were finally able to be sent to school, this guardian literally took him by the hand and led them to school. o J. Vernon McGee said it this way: The Law took mankind by the hand, led him to the cross of Christ, and said, "Little man, you need a Savior." The Law turns us over to Christ. We are under Christ now and not under the Law. o So, we are no longer under the control of the law, and still under the promise to Abraham. Now that we have this information, what is THE ANSWER? Paul says is to ... * Receive the gift of faith in Christ (22-25) o When you have done this, you are no longer held captive to the law, to sin, or to this world. o You are free in Christ. o We are under Him now in life, no longer under the Law. o Have you done this? o This is the most important decision you can make in your lifetime. And he says that THE RESULT of this is twofold: * We are adopted into the family of God (26,29) o You may have noticed that many of these terms used in the doctrine of salvation are legal terms. o This one is no different. o Paul, in his letter to the Romans, uses the example of the Gentiles being grafted in with the Jews. o They were being joined. Brought together. United. o That's really the whole purpose of this section. Unity in Christ. o Next ... * We are one in Christ Jesus (28) o In the age of the first century church, there was nothing but division. o Jews and Greeks o Slaves and free o Male and female o It was so severe, that the devout Jew would wake up each morning and pray: "I thank Thee, God, that I am a Jew, not a Gentile; a man, not a woman; and a freeman, and not a slave." o In Christ, there are no divisions of race, rank, or sex. o Jesus says, all are welcome. Under Christ - the promised offspring - we are adopted into the family of God as we just saw a moment ago. o This doesn't mean that God doesn't appoint or define roles, it simply means that salvation is available to all. o It means that there are no more barriers keeping us from faith in Jesus, only our own unbelief. So, finally, what is OUR RESPONSE? First, we are to ... * Be baptized into Christ (27) o This is interesting, as it is the only mention of baptism in the letter. o This is probably because it seems to be "works based" and Paul is refuting this all throughout the letter. o Another reason for this is because Paul is likely not speaking only of water baptism here. o Baptism, you may recall, literally means "immersed," so when a believer is baptized in Christ, they are literally immersed in Jesus. o Paul is saying we need to be immersed in Christ. o It's a picture of being joined together in Christ o He puts it another way in the next phrase when he says to ... * Put on Christ (27) o This phrase paints the picture of putting on a garment o More specifically, changing clothes, from the law to Christ. From the old man to the new man. o Putting on Christ here, as with baptism, identifies us with Christ o How do we do that? * This won't be a shock to you at all, but it comes down to relationship. * Your relationship with God through prayer and bible reading. * Your relationship with others through fellowship and service. o Martin Luther said: "clothing ourselves with Christ by the Gospel does not consist in imitation but in a new birth and a new creation - that is, putting on Christ's innocence, his righteousness, wisdom, power, saving health, life, and spirit" o It's the process of being Christ-like. We've seen this morning that: When I place my faith in Christ, the promise and the Law will draw me to Him. That was its purpose. To point us to Jesus. To humble us to the fact that we cannot measure up to the standard of God the Father, and that we need a Savior to justify us and make us right before Him. For us today, some of these laws probably seem kind of silly, like those we read to begin our message today. But for the early church, this is what they knew. This is what they saw from God's Chosen people, so they fell for the performance trap that Pat talked about last week. Trying to contribute to their salvation. Paul says, don't do that. The Law and works were designed to draw you to the Savior. He says, please look to Jesus. Remember God's faithfulness. Become one with Christ and receive His gift of salvation. He says to be immersed with Christ, put Christ on and be joined together in unity with fellow believers who are also called children of God. Wherever you are this morning in your walk with Jesus, remember these words: Christ is enough. Christ is that promise to Abraham. Christ, because He kept the Law perfectly, was the only One who can declare us righteous before a Holy God. Is Christ enough for you? Or are you still searching for a way into heaven? For me. Christ is enough. Let's pray. 2