The Law & The Promise

Introduction

Recap Galatians

Paul is writing to this church, or group of churches, that he helped to plant on a previous missionary journey.

Paul writes specifically to address the false teaching of the Judaizers - who were teaching that Gentile Christians were required to adhere to the law.

Paul explains that salvation comes by faith alone & not by works & that there is no such requirement that should placed upon Christians.

Galatians 3 we see Paul explain that righteousness comes through faith & not by works

And that in fact it is those that have faith in the death, burial & resurrection of Jesus Christ that are the true sons of Abraham & God’s promise to Abraham.

Paul is building this effective argument - using the Scriptures (OT) to prove that this is true…

Body

Explanation of the text:

We will see that Paul does three things in these 8 verses.

Gives an Example for Understanding

Explains the Role & Function of the Law

Shows that the Inheritance, originally promised to Abraham, Comes Through Faith Alone in Jesus Christ.

READ: Galatians 3:15-22 (Stand for the Reading of the Word)

Galatians 3:15–22 ESV

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. 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. 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. For if the inheritance comes by the law, it no longer comes by promise; but God gave it to Abraham by a promise. 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. Now an intermediary implies more than one, but God is one. 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. But the Scripture imprisoned everything under sin, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe.

PRAY

1. An Example to Understand

A man-made covenant - An agreement between two parties that specifies requirements for at least one party, and includes blessing and curses for obedience or failure.

COVENANT (בְּרִית, berith; διαθήκη, diathēkē). A sacred kinship bond between two parties, ratified by swearing an oath. Covenant making was a widespread custom throughout the ancient Near East and Graeco-Roman culture.

Most of Paul’s audience would likely have made covenants with other people (business, etc.).

Abrahamic Covenant - Genesis 15:9-18

Genesis 15:9–18 (ESV)

He said to him, “Bring me a heifer three years old, a female goat three years old, a ram three years old, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.” And he brought him all these, cut them in half, and laid each half over against the other. But he did not cut the birds in half. And when birds of prey came down on the carcasses, Abram drove them away.

As the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell on Abram. And behold, dreadful and great darkness fell upon him. Then the Lord said to Abram, “Know for certain that your offspring will be sojourners in a land that is not theirs and will be servants there, and they will be afflicted for four hundred years. But I will bring judgment on the nation that they serve, and afterward they shall come out with great possessions. As for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you shall be buried in a good old age. And they shall come back here in the fourth generation, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.”

When the sun had gone down and it was dark, behold, a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch passed between these pieces. On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, “To your offspring I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates,

Jeremiah 34:18 “And the men who transgressed my covenant and did not keep the terms of the covenant that they made before me, I will make them like the calf that they cut in two and passed between its parts

This Covenant practice would have been top of mind to the hearers of Paul’s letter these Galatian believers would have been aware of the Abrahamic Covenant that Paul is describing.

Covenant vs. Contract

Contract = An agreement between two or more parties which specify responsibilities, as well as liability for failure to fulfill responsibilities.

Both sides have responsibilities to complete.

Both side have consequences for failing to complete those responsibilities.

Covenant = An agreement between two parties that specifies requirements for at least one party, and includes blessing and curses for obedience or failure.

Can only be only side with responsibilities.

Blessing & curses for obedience or failure - not a simple transaction - but an ongoing nature.

This is the Promise that Paul is speaking of - The Promise was the blessing assured by the Covenant that God himself ratified.

CAPITAL P - Promise - outflow of the Covenant

p - promises of God - peace, comfort, rest, God will be with us…

These are all outflows of THE Promise, but when Paul uses “promise” in this passage it is referencing the Promise of the Covenant.

Covenant - Promise - The Law

2. The Role & Function of the Law

The False Teachers that were leading the Galatians astray - the ones that Paul is responding to - were the Judaizers.

JUDAIZERS = Gentile Christians who adopted Jewish customs, and/or those (Jews or Gentiles) who encouraged such practices.

Were very common in first century Christian communities - Different types…

Some did believe adherence to the Mosaic Law was salvific

Some simply continued to observe the customs, even Gentiles.

Some would segregate within Christian community, base on continued adherence to Mosaic Law.

They believed that because the Law came AFTER the Covenant, that the Law now took the place of the Covenant.

This idea was abhorrent to Paul…

vs. 17 —> “does not annul a covenant… or make the promise void.”

It also did not add a new provision —> “Yeah I know, I already made a Covenant & a Promise that you would be my people and I would be your God and through you All nations will be blessed; BUT — now there’s these other rules I need you to make sure follow ALSO.”

The Covenant has already been RATIFIED, by God Himself.

vs. 19 —> “Why then the Law? It was added because of transgressions” AND “until the offspring should come.”

The Law is meant to clarify the sins of the people, their transgression.

It also serves as a sort of “guardian” for the people UNTIL the Offspring, Jesus, should come.

Think - substitute teacher, or babysitter, etc.

Four Reasons God Gave the Law

1. To Provide & Protect

Three parts of the Mosaic Law

Ceremonial - Washings/ staying clean & able to be part of society - cleansing from sin. Expired with the fulfillment of the priestly work in Christ.

Cleaning house of a leper | Festivals | Offerings | Priest consecration | Priestly duties, etc.

Civil - communal standards - Deals with disputes between individuals.  Expired with the demise of the Jewish civil government.

Dress, attire | Inheritance | Cattle of a neighbor | Sabbath breaking | Warfare | Theft

2. Reveals the Character of God

Moral - No expiration because it is based on God’s character.

Ten Commandments - Love God | Idolatry | Love your neighbor as yourself | Stealing & Lying, etc.

Matthew 22:37–39 ESV

And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.

Jesus affirms the commandments as 4 deal with the holiness of God & how we should love Him & the other 6 concern relating to your “neighbor”.

The Moral Law specifically teaches us what is important to God & about His character.

The Law as a whole teaches us about his character…

Ceremonial - teaches us God’s standard - “be holy as I am holy” - yet allows a way for his people to commune with Him - through cleansing & the priests who have been set apart.

Civil - God is good & desires good things for his people

“Freedom is not the absence of restrictions, but the presence of the right restrictions” - Tim Keller

The Law - Provides & Protects | Reveals the Character of God.

3. Increases Transgression (Sin)

Romans 5:20 “Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more,”

vs. 19 “It was added because of transgression”

vs. 21 “The Scripture (OT passage - the Law) imprisoned everything under sin”

Now we not only see that our Father Adam’s sin - that was passed down to us - but we continue to sin & be separated from God.

Continual need for the priest & the Day of Atonement…

The Law - Provides & Protects | Reveals the Character of God | Increases Transgression —>

4. Reveals our need for a Savior

Romans 4:15 “For the law brings wrath, but where there is no law there is no transgression.”

In the first 2.5 chapters of Romans, Paul takes the time to show us that ALL have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

Romans 1:18–21 ESV

For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened.

“There is a gospel in the sea, in the heavens, in the stars, and in the sun; and if people will not read it, they are guilty; for they are willingly ignorant of what they might know.” - Charles Spurgeon

If we are all under the wrath of God - We need a savior.

“You’ve got to get people lost before you can get them saved.” - D.L. Moody

Ministry in the South vs. In Northern Virginia - Our Call?

Jangling Keys don’t sound good - until your in a jail cell - [Expand on This]

4 Reasons God Gave the Law

To Protect & Provide | Reveal the Character of God | Increase Transgression | Reveal our Need for a Savior

3. The Inheritance Only Comes Through Faith in Jesus

If you are getting tired of hearing about “faith” - I have some bad news -> we are only halfway through Galatians…

If the Pulpit sounds like a ‘Broken Record’ just repeating faith over an over again - we are doing our job.

We can think that we “get faith”, but the truth is that because of sin - our hearts are opposed to this.

That’s why Paul has to hammer it home over and over again to the Galatians.

That’s why we had to have the great Protestant Reformation of the 16th Century.

Martin Luther - Lectures on Galatians from 1516 - 1517 - was immersed in Galatians

Posts his 95 Theses on the door of the Castle Church Wittenburg, Germany. (506 years ago).

His intention was to debate & reform the Catholic Church where it had strayed from Scripture —> But it would spark the Protestant Reformation.

The Catholic Church had created these “new Laws” that had to be followed for salvation…

As humans we are tuned to creating rules & regulations.

Via Religion or self-creation

Culture today - Support the right causes | Use the right language | Do certain things & don’t do certain things.

These are *required* to be a ‘good person’.

We want a road map —>

“7 Steps to a Better Marriage, etc.” | “10 Easy Steps to Get Rock Solid Abs from the Comfort of Your Own Home” | “21 Steps for a Productive Day” | “Here are 12 things I do every morning…” —> Spiritually —>

“5 Simple Ways to Strengthen Your Faith”

“12 Ways to Grow Deeper in your Faith”

Galatians 3:23–29 (ESV)

Now before faith came, we were held captive under the law, imprisoned until the coming faith would be revealed. So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian, for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. 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. And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise.

God makes a Covenant with Abraham - A Promise - And then God himself - Through Jesus fulfills that Covenant.

This is not a TWO-sided proposition.

God is ONE & is the Covenant Keeper.

Because Jesus has fulfilled the Covenant & as Abraham’s ‘offspring’ has now secured the Inheritance —> He institutes a New Covenant

Hebrews 12:24 “and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.”

This is what we celebrate in Communion - Next Week - This new Covenant - that because of the Blood of Jesus & through Faith in His Life, Death, Burial, & Resurrection —> We receive the Inheritance that Jesus has earned.

Conclusion

Paul Does 3 Things in this passage…

Provides an Example we can understand | Explains the Role & Function of the Law (4 Reasons) | Reminds us that the Inheritance of the Promise Only Comes Through Faith in Jesus.