A PROMISE IS A PROMISE

Good morning Church! BIBLES OUT GALATIANS 3:15-26

DON’T HAVE A BIBLE? SEAT IN FRONT OF YOU…

INTRO:

Everyone in here has a title…

You have a job title…

CEO, Owner, Manager, Trainer, Accountant...

You have a title in your household as well:

Mom, Dad, Husband, Wife, Brother, sister…

What does a title do?

It tells us who you are and what your role is at work and at home…

In the bible we see a majority of people with the title of Jew…

When we hear the title JEW…

We know that we are dealing with a people who worship God, the God of the Old Testament…YHWH

We might think of a people who follow the Law…

Observe certain holidays and refrain from certain things in order to follow this Law…

All to be righteous enough to please God (or at least we believe that is there intention)

What we know of Jews as we read through the OT is that these are Gods’ people right?

Deuteronomy 7:6–8 ““For you are a people holy to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth. It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the Lord set his love on you and chose you, for you were the fewest of all peoples, but it is because the Lord loves you and is keeping the oath that he swore to your fathers…”

Who knows what the title Gentile means??

Greek word ETHNOS

Gentile simply means anything not Jew…

It means all the OTHER nations of the earth that aren't Jews

SO IF WE DO NOT HAVE THE TITLE OF JEW…THEN ARE WE NOT APART OF GODS CHOSEN PEOPLE???

I mean if thats the case how did we get here worshipping Jesus, who was a Jew?

YHWH IN THE FLESH???

How did we as gentiles get the availability to be apart of God’s people…

How did we get to be apart of the Church???

Thats the topic Paul OPENED UP as we ended last week…

Last week we saw Paul discussing how we as sinful man can only be made righteous through FAITH

AND WE ENDED LAST WEEK WITH WHAT PAUL SAYS 3:14 (READ)

So here we see a connection from the OT Jews to the NT Gentiles…

Paul says in v14 that the blessings of Abraham…

The blessings of the JEWS might come to the Gentiles through Jesus Christ…

BUT HOW????

WE ARE GOING TO FIND OUT TODAY???

IN ORDER TO DO THAT WE MUST FIRST ASK THE QUESTION…

WHAT IS THE BLESSING OF ABRAHAM????

Genesis 22:18 “and in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice.””

The blessing of Abraham… THE BLESSING TO THE JEWS…came in the form of this PROMISE

As we continue through this letter to the Galatian churches…

A gentile church who was being led astray by these Jewish converts

telling them that they must put their faith in a JESUS + GOSPEL

Paul is next going to show them and us today…

that nothing changes this promise God made to Abraham in Genesis…

That God’s promises are solid as a rock…

AND THAT WE TO AS GENTILES ARE INCLUDED IN THIS PROMISE!!!

THAT THROUGH JESUS WE ARE GRAFTED INTO THIS PROMISE..

THAT WE CAN BE FOUND IN THIS PROMISE GOD MADE TO ABRAHAM WAY BACK IN GENESIS…

LINE BY LINE, VERSE BY VERSE THROUGH THIS TODAY

YALL READY?!?!?!

READ v15-18

Here is what Paul is showing us first…

GOD’S PROMISE IS UNCHANGING, CHRIST CENTERED, AND UNFADING (V 15-18)

Verse 15- Paul gives us an illustration

Even in a man made covenant…once it is set its set

NO CHANGES MADE AFTER IT IS RATIFIED

Its a contract…

How much more solid is a covenant made with God???

THE PROMISE IS UNCHANGING CHURCH…

V16 — Paul goes on to say:

Remember Genesis 22 God tells Abraham in your “offspring” I will bless all nations

God was talking about Jesus here

This isn't a man centered promise…

THE PROMISE IS CHRIST CENTERED

V17- THE LAW was given to Moses and the Jews 430 years AFTER this promise was made to Abraham…

Time does not affect God’s promise…

THE PROMISE IS UNFADING

When something is unfading, unchanging, and Has God in the middle of it what do we call it church???

WE CALL IT PERFECT!!!!

THATS WHAT THIS PROMIS IS…ITS PERFECT!!!

So…WHY the LAW???

THE LAW SHOWED US OUR NEED FOR THE PROMISE (.v 19-22)

Why the law? It was put in place because of sin!!!

So that man would know his sinfulness

We cant be guilty of breaking the law if it was never established…

How did the world know it was sinful???

The law showed us!!!

We talked about this last week: The Law describes God’s perfect character and sets the measuring bar for human righteousness

After thousands of years of failing to hit that bar of righteousness…mankind can see that its not possible!!

Because the law just outs our sin…

Outs our shortcomings…

But praise God that the promise was made first!!!!

IF IT WAS LAW FIRST WE WOULD HAVE NO HOPE!!

I mean look at the difference between the law and the promise:

THE LAW-

Added because of SIN

Was Ordained BY ANGELS AND BY MEN (v19)

bible tells us the law was given to us by angels and ordained through moses to the people

The LAW Relies on MANS WORK REMEMBER FROM LAST WEEK:

Deuteronomy 27:26 ““ ‘Cursed be anyone who does not confirm the words of this law by doing them.’

WHEN WE COMPARE THIS TO THE PROMISE IT IS DRASTICALLY DIFFERENT AND DRASTICALLY BETTER!!!

THE PROMISE:

the law: Added because of SIN

THE PROMISE WAS GIVEN OUT OF GRACE

Abraham did nothing to earn it (often did the wrong things)

the law: was given to man by angels and men

THE PROMISE WAS GIVEN STRAIGHT TO ABRAHAM FROM GOD

Genesis 22 God is speaking directly to Abraham

AND FINALLY…

the law: relies on the work of man

THE PROMISE RELIES ON GOD’S WORK (THE WORK OF JESUS)

Paul tells us here, the law doesn't override the promise God made to Abraham…

THE LAW POINTS BACK TO THE PROMISE

THE LAW SHOWS THE WORLD THEIR ABSOLUTE NEED FOR A SAVIOR!!!!

THE NEED FOR THE OFFSPRING OF ABRAHAM TO COME AND BLESS THE WORLD!!!

As the Jews sit under the Law for thousands of years…they should be eagerly waiting for the PROMISE OF ABRAHAM TO BE FULFILLED!!!!

AND IT WAS!!!!

THATS WHAT PAUL SHOWS US NEXT!!!

READ V 23-26

GOD’S PROMISE WAS FULFILLED THROUGH JESUS (V. 23-26)

JESUS FULFILLED THE PROMISE!!!

YOU WANT PROOF OF THIS????

GOD TELLS ABRAHAM IN THE FIRST BOOK OF HIS WORD “In YOUR offspring I WILL bless the NATIONS”

Through you a son will come who brings peace between God and Man!!!

If you turn to the first book of the NEW TESTAMENT, Gospel of MATTHEW…

THE FIRST SENTENCE SAYS WHAT!!!

Matthew 1:1 “The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.”

verses 2-25 From Abraham to Jesus

JESUS IS THE PROMISED OFFSPRING!!!!

ALL THESE OTHER OFFSPRING (, ISAAC, JACOB,DAVID, SALOMON)

ALL GREAT MEN…BUT DIDN’T HIT THE BAR OF RIGHTEOUSNESS…

ALL SINFUL MEN…

BUT JESUS WAS RIGHTEOUSNESS…

WAS THE SPOTLESS LAMB…

GOD IN THE FLESH…

THE PROMISED SEED OF ABRAHAM HAS COME!!!!

(PAUSE)

IF YOU HAVE BEEN FOLLOWING ALONG CLOSELY

YOU MIGHT BE THINKING…”OKAY GREAT FOR THE JEWS…BUT WHAT DOES THIS HAVE TO DO WITH ME??”

“I AM NOT A JEW…”

LOOK AT VERSE 26!!! READ

YOU HAVE BEEN INCLUDED IN THE PROMISE!!!

YOU HAVE BEEN GRAFTED INTO THIS PROMISE…

AS WE WILL SEE NEXT WEEK: YOU HAVE BEEN ADOPTED THROUGH JESUS!!!

VERSE 26 KJV “For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.”

THE PROMISE WAS FULFILLED FOR ALL

ALL THE NATIONS (BOTH JEW AND GENTILE) WERE BLESSED BY JESUS!!!

BY HIS SHED BLOOD ON THE CROSS!!!

NOW SALVATION THROUGH FAITH IN JESUS IS OPEN TO ALL!!!

ALL WHO PLACE THEIR FAITH IN HIM WILL BE SAVED…

WE ARE TO CELEBRATE THAT EVERYDAY CHURCH!!!

IN FACT WE ARE GOING TO TAKE SOME TIME TO CELEBRATE THE GOSPEL AS A CHURCH BODY RIGHT NOW…

Communion

Together as a body of believers, we are going to take communion…

Not just as a ritual, but because we need this constant reminder of Christ’s love for us!

We are going to take some intentional quiet time as a church body to pray and remember Jesus’s death on the cross, the blood spilled that gave us eternal life!

THE PROMISE FULFILLED!!!

Now, Communion is a time for those who have placed their faith in Jesus Christ alone.

If you have not trusted Jesus with your eternal salvation, I ask that you not partake, but instead take this time to reflect on the truth that Jesus died for your sins on the cross, and through His resurrection you can live eternally with Him!

SO, TAKE THIS TIME IN SILENCE TO PRAY AND REMEMBER THE LOVE JESUS SHOWED US ON THE CROSS AND WE WILL TAKE THE BREAD AND THE CUP TOGETHER…

QUIET PRAYER!! 3-5 MIN

Paul says in 1 Corinthians 11,

“For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for[f] you. Do this in remembrance of me.”[g]

TAKE THE BREAD AND EAT

25 In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.”

TAKE THE CUP AND DRINK

PRAY!!!!