One Faith, One Justification, One Savior: The Root of Unity
Notes
Transcript
Main Point: SALVATION comes through FAITH in JESUS alone. Our SALVATION provides us with UNITY as believers.
Main Point: SALVATION comes through FAITH in JESUS alone. Our SALVATION provides us with UNITY as believers.
Before this faith came, we were confined under the law, imprisoned until the coming faith was revealed. The law, then, was our guardian until Christ, so that we could be justified by faith. But since that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian, for through faith you are all sons of God in Christ Jesus.
For those of you who were baptized into Christ have been clothed with Christ. There is no Jew or Greek, slave or free, male and female; since you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, heirs according to the promise.
INTRO: 1936 US Olympic Team- saw a movie friday, have to work as a team, all united by one set of rules that they NEED TO FOLLOW! THEY HAVE A GUIDE- THE COXSWAIN, WHO MUST BE FOLLOWED! When he isn’t, it’s disaster!
BODY: Galatians is one of Paul’s epistles to local churches. Galatians was written to the churches in the region of Galatia.
This was likely his first letter that is in the NT. It’s often dated to the mid-late 40’s AD. (Judaizers have snuck into the church)
Today, we are going to look at a section of his letter. Galatians 3:23-29 is a powerful reminder of our shared salvation and of our unity that we can have as believers.
We pick up in a section where Paul is talking about the covenants that God has made with us.
Before this faith came, we were confined under the law, imprisoned until the coming faith was revealed.
Paul starts off by talking about a FAITH THAT CAME- that is the NEW COVENANT!
The New Covenant came ACTIVELY according to Paul. How did it happen?
It happened because of the price that Jesus paid so that we can be saved.
Jesus paid a price for US! Our welcome into the NEW COVENANT is AN ACTIVE WELCOME! It takes a high price, a price that could only be paid by JESUS!
What was the price?
The price was the cross! The price was our sinless savior going to the cross, as a lamb taken to be slaughtered, innocent yet paying the price for us!
The price was Jesus being beaten, mocked and scorned while taking the weight of our sins!
The price was DEATH! And then Jesus more than paid the price when he ROSE AGAIN ON THE THIRD DAY!
THAT IS THE PRICE OF THIS FAITH THAT HAS COME!
Paul continues on saying that before this faith came, we were confined under the law.
The word here is literally, GUARDED, or KEPT PRISONER!
It is the same word that Paul uses in 2 Corinthians 11:32 to talk about an attempt to IMPRISON HIM!
The meaning is clear- the LAW IMPRISONED US!
The OLD COVENANT in some ways was a prison!
Paul continues to emphasize this concept in the next part of verse 23. Galatians 3:23
Before this faith came, we were confined under the law, imprisoned until the coming faith was revealed.
Not only were we confined, or guarded under the law, he says that we were imprisoned or caught and locked up!
So the question becomes, WHY WOULD GOD GIVE US SOMETHING THAT IMPRISONS US?
Well, it’s because the law was never the end goal! It was always about pointing us towards the COMING FAITH, or the NEW COVENANT!
Without the law in place though, we wouldn’t understand why we NEED the new covenant and HEAR ME, we NEED the New Covenant!
We need the forgiveness of sins not because of OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS, but because of GOD’S FORGIVENESS!
I don’t know about you, but this is a true fact for me on a daily basis!
Every day I am amazed by how I can fall short. So could I save myself? Definitely not!
We need a savior! We talked about how a rowing team needs a coxswain to steer the ship and keep them in unison. Without it they would row in circles! We need JESUS TO SAVE US FROM CIRCLING AROUND THE LAW, NEVER ACTUALLY COMING TO KNOW GOD!
The law, then, was our guardian until Christ, so that we could be justified by faith.
Paul explains the law further here! The law was our guardian.
A Roman guardian was someone who had almost complete control over a child in Rome.
They managed all wealth, all decisions that were made- everything was handled by the guardian!
It was the Guardian’s job to ensure that the child reached maturity and adulthood and was set up for success.
The law likewise was designed to tell us what to do so that we could see how FAR SHORT we fall!
Then, we see our NEED FOR GOD!
Another translation of this word is guide.
Donner Party illustration 1846-1847 (Got reading about it this week- bad guidebook led them astray and 39 people out of 87 died!)— good guide gets many through safely, but a bad guide destroys a party!
The law is a good guide because it shows us what we NEED! The law should guide us to our knees in repentance and in prayer!
When we fall to our knees, we should be filled with hope, because we are JUSTIFIED BY FAITH!
When Christ came so did our justification!
Even under the Old Covenant, it was about faith, but now the fulfillment of our faith is here!
But since that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian,
Now that faith has come we are not under a guardian. Instead, we are set free!
In Galatians, this is a HUGE THEME! The Galatians faced a desire to back slide into legalism and to add on to salvation!
This tendency robbed them of their freedom in Christ for GENUINE WORSHIP!
Rather than following God in faith and in FREEDOM, the Galatians were being misled and had added legalism and works to their salvation.
But hear me, you can’t have saved by faith AND WORKS, you are either saved by faith or you are not!
We can’t have it both ways. When we reject salvation PURELY BY FAITH IN JESUS, we are SPITTING IN THE FACE OF OUR SAVIOR WHO DIED FOR US!
For the Galatians, they are confused on this. They are adding extra laws to their salvation.
Let me encourage us that we can fall into this GALATIANS TRAP TOO!
We can turn our faith into WHAT WE DO instead of WHAT JESUS DID!
Hear me out. It is so important that we are in the Word of God and it is so important that we gather and fellowship together. BUT, none of this is what SAVES US!
This is something that we must be on guard against.
It is so easy to turn our faith into a combination of works and Jesus, but we simply can’t!
Instead, we need to cling to REAL AND GENUINE WORSHIP!
We are not just here to offer activities, we are here for a mission- helping others know the TRUTH OF THE GOSPEL!
Paul finishes this thought in verses 26-27. He says Galatians 3:26-27
for through faith you are all sons of God in Christ Jesus.
For those of you who were baptized into Christ have been clothed with Christ.
So how exactly are we saved? ONCE AGAIN, don’t miss this- Paul is emphasizing his point here, we are saved through FAITH!
And because we are saved by faith in Jesus only, we are all on equal footing!
We are all united because of that!
In verse 27 he immediately emphasizes it again.
Once again- why are we all equal? BECAUSE OF CHRIST! WE ARE ALL SAVED THE SAME WAY!
Paul here says that he is talking to people who have been baptized into Christ.
Baptism here though is used less to talk about water baptism and is used to instead talk about discipleship.
The way that he constructs this sentence emphasizes it.
We are BAPTIZED IN CHRIST which means that we have been clothed with Christ, or that we have PUT ON CHRIST!
That’s discipleship! We PUT ON CHRIST!
We put on a NEW IDENTITY, ONE OF BEING IN CHRIST!
Paul talks about this in Galatians 2:20!
I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
We have a new identity- one that is totally in Christ!
And because of that, we are all on equal footing!
We are all called to be united and we should be because we have all been saved in the same way!
We are not saved because of our OWN goodness, but rather because we are clothed WITH CHRIST!
So hear me out, that should give us DEEP UNITY!
Why? Well, because our identity is in Christ. Paul continues on in verse 28 by showing us the importance of this unity!
I’ll read it and then we’ll walk through each phrase of it.
There is no Jew or Greek, slave or free, male and female; since you are all one in Christ Jesus.
Each one of these phrases covers a few divisions that could cause problems for believers.
Remember, Paul is only talking about BELIEVERS! He’s talking about those who HAVE BEEN CLOTHED WITH CHRIST!
First, Paul says that there is no Jew or Greek.
In other words, among believers there is no room for division based on our ethnicity!
Remember, we are ALL equal because of the source of our salvation!
Our salvation comes not from our ethnic background, but because of JESUS!
Not only is Paul talking about ethnic division, he is also talking about RELIGIOUS BACKGROUND!
Let me be clear on this- Jews and Greeks had very different religious practices!
Jews were obviously Jewish. They lived by the law, they worshipped just one God and they took their guidance from scripture.
On the other hand, Greeks and gentiles worshipped many gods. They had many different ways of worshipping, but they were very foreign to the Israelites.
The forms of sacrifices were different, the prayers were different and it was ALL DIFFERENT!
Yet, Paul says that there is NO JEW OR GREEK!
You aren’t a better christian because you come from a JEWISH background and you aren’t better if you come from a GREEK BACKGROUND!
In the same way for us today, there is no room to give preferential treatment based on the way that people acted before knowing Jesus!
Let me give an example here. Pretend there were two men. One was a Roman who believed wholeheartedly in his gods. The other was a Jew.
If they both get saved at the same time, we cannot treat them differently!
Naturally, the Jewish believer will understand the law more, but we can’t hold that against the gentile believer!
Instead, we need to disciple both of them and help them PUT ON CHRIST!
THERE CAN BE NO DIVISION BETWEEN JEW OR GREEK!
THAT MUCH MUST BE CLEAR!
Secondly, there is no slave or free.
There can be no division because of our job.
In this case, the words are quite clear. Slave- or Doulos- someone who is UNDER ANOTHER’S AUTHORITY, or Eleutheros, or FREE, someone who is NOT UNDER ANYONE ELSE’S AUTHORITY!
It doesn’t matter what your job is, or your position in society, WE ARE ALL ONE IN GOD’S EYES!
Jesus came to die for the most powerful and for the least powerful!
Because in the face of SIN and the punishment for sin, there is no amount of earthly power or money that can save you!
This division also applies to our wealth.
Slaves obviously were poor and the free were seen as wealthier.
But hear me, regardless of financial situation, whether someone gives trillions of dollars a year- and I know that sounds crazy, or if someone is literally starving, we are to LOVE THEM EQUALLY!
WHY? BECAUSE JESUS PAID THE PRICE FOR US ALL!
We cannot buy salvation, JESUS GIVES IT TO US!
After this, Paul says that there is neither no male and female.
This one is referring to another separation that was big in culture.
It was common for men to look down on women. Women’s testimony was considered less than and was honestly close to worthless.
Society afforded more rights to men, including freedom from a guardian!
At this time, a woman would spend her entire life under the authority of a guardian. They were not given the opportunity to make any form of a decision.
THIS IS NOT THE CASE IN CHRIST THOUGH!
IN JESUS, WE ARE ALL EQUAL! MALE AND FEMALE, WE ARE ALL EQUAL!
And Paul ends this verse by reminding us that we are ALL ONE IN CHRIST JESUS!
EVERY SINGLE ONE OF US, ALL OF US ARE ONE IN CHRSIT JESUS! The word here is PANTES- write that down if you want to- we transliterate it PANTES. It literally means, EVERY SINGLE ONE, ALL, EACH ONE!
REGARDLESS OF BACKGROUND, or ANY OTHER DEFINING “CHARACTERISTIC” WE ARE ALL ONE IN CHRIST!
BUT HEAR ME- THE WAY TO HAVE THIS UNITY IS BY BEING CLOTHED IN JESUS!
Paul’s description of this only applies to those who are IN CHRIST JESUS!
In Galatians 3:29 we read: Galatians 3:29
And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, heirs according to the promise.
Here it is! Paul makes clear that this entire discussion centers upon us BELONGING TO CHRIST!
Paul says that we are HEIRS to the promise- what promise?
The covenant that God made with Abraham!
Paul is showing us that the Abrahamic covenant is not just about some land that we now call Israel.
Paul uses the comparison to the Abrahamic Covenant to help us understand JUST HOW BIG OUR COVENANT IS WITH GOD!
The covenant that we are now in is not about land. It’s about our ETERNAL SOULS AND WHERE WE WILL SPEND ETERNITY!
Our Promised Land is not about a nation, it is our PROMISED ETERNITY THAT WE WILL SPEND IN HEAVEN WITH GOD!
CONCLUSION: Before we go today, I want to take some time to apply this passage to our lives.
Today, I have three applications for us.
RENOUNCE THE GUARDIAN
CLOTHE YOURSELF IN CHRIST
TOTAL UNITY
RENOUNCE the GUARDIAN (Faith in Jesus alone)
In Galatians we see clear call after clear call to abandon any level of works based salvation. Galatians 3 is clear on that also!
Remember, 5 times FAITH is talked about in just a few verses.
Clearly FAITH IS CENTRAL IN THIS PASSAGE!
The law as Paul said was our GUARDIAN POINTING US TOWARDS CHRIST!
So let’s take a minute and talk about CHRIST AND WHY HE MATTERS!
GOSPEL- SHOW HOW JESUS IS MORE THAN THE LAW! SHOW WHAT FREEDOM HE BRINGS!
CLOTHE yourself in CHRIST (Be an active disciple)
We also saw how Paul tells us to CLOTHE OURSELVES IN CHRIST! We are literally to PUT ON CHRIST!
So let me encourage us to PUT ON CHRIST!
What does that mean? It’s a call to be an active disciple!
Although our works will never save us, there are things we can and SHOULD DO to strengthen our walk with God.
The Navigators have a really helpful illustration about what it means to be an ACTIVE DISCIPLE!
They call it the wheel. And inside the wheel there is a cross.
On each section of the cross (there are four sections) there’s a different part of our walk with God mentioned.
These are:
Evangelism
The Word
Prayer
Fellowship
Let’s take a quick second and talk about these four aspects of it.
Evangelism
SHARING OUR FAITH- AS WE SHARE OUR FAITH, WE WILL SEE GOD WORK! (EXAMPLE FROM TRINIDAD)
Fellowship
As we are together, we are able to POINT ONE ANOTHER TOWARDS GOD!
WE ARE ALSO ABLE TO REJOICE TOGETHER!
The Word
GOD’S WORD TO US!
WE MUST BE IN IT!
Prayer
We must talk to God! He wants to hear us! Jesus teaches us how to PRAY! GOD WANTS US TO PRAY!
It’s worship, it’s thanksgiving, it’s bringing requests to God and so much more! WE SHOULD LOOK FORWARD TO PRAYER AND BUILD IT INTO OUR LIVES!
We should always be striving to be in prayer as much as possible!
The dream is to be in almost constant prayer right? Let’s start with consistent prayer!
THE CHALLENGE OF THESE FOUR:
We are coming into a New Year tomorrow.
Let me challenge us, each of us, to make a resolution about each of these 4 areas and how we will grow in them or practice them!
Depending on your source, the numbers vary, but some sources such as Fisher Business College at OSU suggest that up to 91% of resolutions fail! Let’s be on guard against that and RELY ON GOD as we seek to live these out!
TOTAL UNITY (Unity because of our shared salvation)
Unity can be a bit of buzzword. It’s popular to talk about, but the nitty gritty details of what it means are sometimes a little less fun and they are DEFINITELY less talked about. Let me encourage us though that we NEED to talk about all of those things.
So let’s start with the biggest one. Unity requires humility! Why? BECAUSE WE HAVE TO REMEMBER THAT WE ARE NOT BETTER THAN ANYONE ELSE!
Remember, there is no slave or free, no jew or greek and no male or female!
We are all of value and importance because JESUS HAS SAVED EACH AND EVERY ONE OF US! Remember- PANTES- EACH ONE OF US IS SAVED BY JESUS AND JESUS ONLY! REGARDLESS OF OUR PAST, WE ARE ALL SAVED BY JESUS AND JESUS ONLY!
Let me just plead with you to remember that! Unity is not built on anything that WE DO, but rather unity is built on JESUS AND WHAT HE DID!
Can I also encourage you to remember that we are tightly bonded because of Jesus? We may not always see eye to eye, but we do need to work together and keep our focus on JESUS!
And that’s why another key to TOTAL UNITY is forgiveness!
We have to forgive one another and WORK TOGETHER!
Our lives should be marked by genuine forgiveness and a singleminded focus- SERVING GOD!
It will not always be easy, but let me encourage each of us- and trust me, I’m preaching to MYSELF ALSO, that we must forgive one another when wronged and we must then keep our eyes fixed on what unites us. And what is it that unites us? As we’ve seen in Galatians 3:23-29 it is Jesus.
Maybe Titus 3 it rebukes our divisions and instead challenges us to live as Christ calls us to! In unity and focused attention on JESUS!
Remind them to submit to rulers and authorities, to obey, to be ready for every good work, to slander no one, to avoid fighting, and to be kind, always showing gentleness to all people.
Titus 3:9–11 (CSB)
But avoid foolish debates, genealogies, quarrels, and disputes about the law, because they are unprofitable and worthless. Reject a divisive person after a first and second warning. For you know that such a person has gone astray and is sinning; he is self-condemned.
Pray