The Law and the Promise

Intro:

Rules/laws - don’t provide heart change but communicate a desired outcome. Talk about kids.

One of our rules- the kids can have some tv time in the morning once they’re ready for the day.

That rule exists because of a problem- getting the kids ready was hard work. It was a fight. This was an incentive, motivation for them to be independant and diligent.

Whilst helpful, and providing structure, laws and rules don’t bring heart change.

My kids don’t get dressed because of their unswerving devotion to Hayley and I. They do love us, but they get dressed on time and on their own because they like watching TV!

Laws and rules don’t bring heart change, they also don’t bring life.

Today, my kids get dressed and ready for school often without prompting- often, not all the time. Yet, there is always a new rule or agreement having to be struck. New structure to be in put in palce and new fights to enforce them. That’s parenting. Or one part.

The rules aren’t life giving, their part of the human experience which involves much struggle.

The rules and laws exist to bless our kids, to help them grow up understanding boundaries and expectations. They bless our family by reducing conflict and providing clarity of what they’re responsible for.

But with them, my kids always have my love. That is promsied to them, it is delievered to them though by an imperfect Father. That promise will lack patience, grace and mercy at times.

Better is the promises from our Heavenly Father- promises of grace, patience, mercy and hope- that which leads to eternal life.

This is what Paul is addressing in our text today- following the rules may bring a reprieve or a breath of air but never freedom or life.

Being a good person, following the rules- not doing the bad stuff. This won’t bring it either.

That’s the bad news- the good news is that Jesus freely offers both freedom and life through his life- and it is a blessing to the whole world made by God through a promise.

So let’s dive in and unpack this together today.

Galatians 3:15 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.

So Paul is teaching the Galatians about the Covenant made between God and Abraham. A covenant is an agreement or promise between two parties. It usuall involveds oaths and the consequence for breaking it, or changing it, were severe.

The word for covenant, in trhe original greek is diatheke. It is translated covenant, but it also means testament- that’s where we get the division of the bible- the old testament is the old covenant, or what is sometimes referred to as the period of the law. The New Testament is the New covenant- the one which comes though promise, through Jesus.

Diatheke also means will, as in a will written with promises or commitments of one’s estate to their heirs. In other words, an inheritance.

Galatians 3:16 ESV

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.

The promises made by God were to Abraham and as an inheritance to his offspring.

Paul is quoting here from the book of Genesis, where God ratifies the covenant with Abraham. God is promising to bless the world through Abraham’s Offspring- which is Jesus. We will talk about exaclty what that blessing is later.

These promises began with Abraham and were built upon with Moses, King David and through many of the prophets. They include a kingdom that goes on unending, a king with an eternal reign and an unshakable belonging to God as His people forever.

What is important to point out is, A- these promises began solely by God’s will, there was no human component which compelled God to seek out Abraham. And B- this inheritance comes by promise.

1. The inheritance comes by promise.

Galatians 3:17–18 ESV

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.

The Law does not supersede or replace God’s promises. If the law voids the promise, it compromises God’s faithfulness.

So, there is no otehr way to recieve what God has promised, excpet by waiting. You can’t earn it or force God’s hand. The inheritance comes by promise. That prompts an obvious question-

Galatians 3:19 ESV

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.

Why then the Law? The Law literally exists because of our unfaithfulness- not God’s. We are terrible promise keepers.

In Genesis, in the garden of Eden, we couldn’t keep God’s commands, we broke them. We still can’t keep it now. God has prescribed a path to righteousness, but we can’t follow it.

Look at our kids- why do they need rules to know right from wrong? They don’t naturally gravitate to the right thing, quite the opposite. This is our nature, we do wrong.

The bible describes this as sin. Sin is both an inability and a lack of desire to honour God or submit to Him as our creator. A simpler term is selfishness. I think that is the simplest summary of human nature.

We’re selfish, self-absorbed and self-concerned. We can do good, but we often do it for our own gain.

Sin often means then, because of our selfishness, we find ourselves in conflict as our own desires collide with each other’s, with God’s and often with our own well-being.

And so God determined for us to have the Law, provided by an intermediary.

Paul is going to describe the Law as being provided to us like a guardian.

A good example of what Paul is trying to teach us, is this: suppose a young prince, say 6 years old, for whatever reason finds that their parents and any other older royal has deceased- they now become the ruling monarch- the crown falls to them. One problem- a 6 year old can’t rule. So what happens?

Generally, what you’d find is a council is formed of qualified persons to govern in the child’s place. The child is being prepared and trained in the background whilst the council determines rules, laws and decisions for the kingdom in his stead.

In the ideal scenario, once the child turns the appropiate age, say 16, he is crowned King and the council relinquishes control and dominion to him. They would, if he is a good King, be invited to remain as His council of advisers to assist him in his rule or be provided other positions to continue leading his people as a delagatory- but not an authority.

This is what the LAw is- it has no real power or authority- only that which God granted it and only for a time.

2. The Law was only temporary

The Law was a guardian for God’s people until Christ came. The Law provided governance and rule so God’s people knew the expectations of their coming King while they waited for him.

Once the King came, the guardian’s authority was superseded by the King’s authority.

In v.19 Paul speaks of the law being provided through Angels. Under the old covenant, in the old testament, we once recieved direction and governance through messengers, we now have direct access to the King.

Under a guardian there is distance. That is no longer true under Christ.

Which is what Paul continues to unpack in Gal 3:20

Galatians 3:20 ESV

Now an intermediary implies more than one, but God is one.

Jesus is superior to the the Law and is its fulfilment.

That is what Paul is likely trying to communicate here. Ts the superiority of the new covenant, over the old. The promises of Jesus over the requirements of the Law. In other words, the old testament temporarily required mediators, until the promised offspring of Abraham, the promised future king of Israel, could come- and mediators would no longer be required.

The Old and New covenants do not stand side by side. The Old is necessary for the New, but it is superseded.

Additionally, the old covenants and the law had two components- God’s promises and then our human obligations. We couldn’t fulfil our obligations. That’s the story we read of over and over again in the old testament- human failure against the backdrop of God’s enduring faithfulness and patience.

But in Christ, who was both fully man and fully God, we have something more complete and perfect. He is the fulfilment of both God’s promises and mankind’s obligations under the law.

It is a funny part of the story of salvation- the distance of time between God’s original promises and it’s eventual fulfillment in Jesus. I believe God allowed this period to be a testament in and of itself- a playbook to show the world and the nations that would one day be grafted into the promises made to Israel; the true state of our human heart.

That even those with the promises, witnesses to the miracles, still need something more- we need transformation of our hearts and minds before true obedience can occur and therefore experience life in adundance and eternal.

This doesn’t reveal any mistake on God’s part, but it was the purpose.

Paul asks another question-

Galatians 3:21–22 ESV

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.

The law does not contradict the promises but it cannot give you life. It cannot bring heart transformation, even if you keep the Law completely- there is no redeeming quality.

Instead, Paul says the Law acted to restrain sin, it created boundaries, thus revealing when we sinned.

Here’s something: the rules we hold in our home will only ever serve to get my kids in trouble. Think about it, right, if there are no rules, they’d never get in trouble with the rules. They can’t break rules which don’t exist.

If there were no rules, would I still get angry with them? Frustrated with them? Absolutaley. My children are sinners and so am I- plus, they;re provided at some point the instruction manual on how to drive their own parents up the wall. (I didn’t design them, okay?)

If they’re yelling inside I’m going to get annoyed. If I trip over toys and clothes strewn through the house I’ll get angry as my foot reels in terror with lego sticking out of it.

If I don’t want my kids to yell inside the house, they need a rule- “Inside voices inside.”

If I want my kids to pack away their things and keep the house tidy, then we need rules- “Pack away these toys before getting others out; your clothes belong in the dirty wash or in your cupboard if they’re clean; no books at bed until the house is tidy.”

It is actual a grace and a mercy to provide our kids with clear rules, boundaries and consequences.

I remember growing up, we had good rules. My parents were on the stricter side- not crazy strict, and most relaxed with me (ask my sister bout it) and that was healthy. We all, as siblings, each had friends who had parents who were unclear and absent of responsibility in keeping an orderly home.

All of these friends loved our parents and many even treated our parents as their own. My sister and I both had friends who expressed a desire to have had parents who had rules and kept them like ours.

Modern ideologies tell you to set your kids free, let them be their own person and celebrate whatever delusion they declare. Whether your son believes he is a girl or that they were born in the wrong body, and that what they decide for themselves is “good”- I’ve heard that one somewhere before...

The science of phsycology tells us this is wrong, and the bible, for over three millenia has told us it is foolishness.

Laws and rules, even that of the natural world, exist for a good purpose.

However, that purpose is not to give life, simply because they cannot. When laws and rules are looked to for that purpose, the opposite becomes true: they bring death.

The Law provides you with the guidance in doing God’s will but it cannot give you the motivation. It can light the way for a God-honouring life but not the God-honouring desire in your heart to keep it.

This is not the fault of the Law nor the Law-giver, but a result of our enslaved nature to sin and selfishness.

And so, it was necessary for God to give us His Law as a guardian, until Christ could come.

It is an age-old question and at the top of my list to ask my Maker when I meet Him, “why so long between the Law and Christ?”

I believe it was to reveal to us our inability to demonstrate our faithfulness, even with the Law and the promises to us, humankind showed its weakness, and so revealed also our great need for a saviour.

Galatians 3:23 ESV

Now before faith came, we were held captive under the law, imprisoned until the coming faith would be revealed.

The curse of the Law could be explained as this: to have the ability to look toward a coming hope but an inability to get ourselves there. We had to wait patiently in expectation.

The Law acted as our guardian until this time.

Let’s go back to an overview here before we tackle the last few verses.

Genesis 3 - at creation, mankind “falls”. We sinned, we rejected God’s rule, seeking to live for ourselves. But what is sin and what isn’t sin? What is righteous and just and what isn’t?

God provides to Abraham a promise to restore relationships and bless the world through his offspring.

Then the Law is given as a temporary measure to teach right/wrong due to the sin of God’s people. To reveal or make plain to us what God defines as wrong or right behaviour. Societies have done the same thing. Is it wrong to speed?

Well yes, but according to who? The Law. If it is illegal to drive 100km in an 80 zone but not a 100 zone, how do you know? The Law.

We are “held captive” then because if we break the Law, we stand condemned.

Galatians 3:24 ESV

So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith.

So the Law was our guardian, to help us know what is right from wrong, it is a curse, we were held captive until Christ came. When He does, Jesus fulfils the Law, He is the promise and now through faith we are justified. The Law is not necessary for faith, life or righteousness. We also receieve the Holy Spirit, Whom you could say is a guardian of sorts- he sustains, strengthens, illuminates, gives wisdom and convicts of our sin. He is the third person of our triune God- not an intermediary but God with us.

Galatians 3:25 “But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian,”

3. The promise is found in Christ Jesus

It is not found in the Law, but in Jesus.

Galatians 3:26–27 ESV

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.

Ps Gary is going to tackle this concept in more detail next week so I don’t want to steal away what he will bring for us.

All to say, in the cultural context, sons, namely first born sons, would recieve the inheritance or atleast the lion’s share, when it became available.

Not so with the promises of God. Anyone who is “In Christ Jesus” becomes a son through adoption and an heir.

How do we become “in Christ Jesus”? Through faith. Trust and hope in Christ Jesus means achnowledging your short comings and turning away from the things of the world, the term we use for this is repentance- a literally turning away.

Faith means declaring. Like declaring your allegiance. Can’t call you a loyal supporter if it isn’t public. This is part of what baptism is for.

Galatians 3:27 “For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.”

Romans 6 uses beautfiul language, describing how we join with Christ, by symbolically joining in His death by immersion, and his resurrection by coming out of the water- it’s the passage we teach when preparaing for baptism.

It’s a very public declaration and a marker for new Christians as a turning point in their life. A landmark in their story of transformation.

For the early church, baptism stood as a symbolic initiation, a rite of passage of entrance into the church.

There is a theological term used for this, it is a common one for us too- incorporation. Incorporation means to be included into something. We are incorporated into Christ. We recieve full benefits of His saving grace.

We aren’t just associated with Christ, where we might be in around but not under an obligation of belonging. We belong and are bound to Him. There are requirements expected of us, obligations we now have in Him.

We are also bound to each other. We have all died with Christ, we all look forward to new life in Him. We have all put on Christ.

And that’s the context for our final verse in this section, vs Gal 3:28

Galatians 3:28 ESV

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.

If you have been joined with Christ Jesus, he becomes your primary identifier. You’re now Christian. Everything else is secondary and less important.

4. We are all one in Christ Jesus

We are all one in Christ those whom have put on Christ. Like a bride, adorned in splendour for her wedding day. As she walks down the aisle in her dress, that becomes the primary identity for her in that moment. Adorned in splendour and glory to be bound with the one whom she loves.

We are adorned in splendour and the glory of Christ Jesus.

There is equal access to the promises to Abraham to both the Jew, who recieved it, and the Greek (this just means non-Jew) who are invited in, through Jesus they are one people. Both the slave and the free, if they are in Christ are free. Infact, the Christian slave has more freedom than the non-Christian master. Both male and female, in Christ Jesus your gender doesn’t impact your access.

These identifying factors are not erased in Jesus. Let’s make that clear. You don’t become non-binary when you become Christian. This isn’t a proof text for unisex bathrooms.

Paul who writes this text gives specific teaching for every single one of these identity categories.

Yet in Christ, they all become radically subordinate to Christ. You are whatever you are, gender, race or class for the glory of Christ Jesus and the good of His Church, for His purposes.

He has made you as you are, for such a time as this.

Let me invite you to look around the room, awkwardly lock eyes with someone. Take note of each other and let me say somethign quite possibly contoversial- if not for Christ Jesus many of you would likely not have crossed paths or have any sort of relationship or friendship.

And yet, here you are- shoulder to shoulder to worship God together. You serve on a sunday, together, making coffes and welcoming people in as one.

That’s the beauty of Christ, here, before His cross and at His feet gather the rich and the poor, the young and the old, men and women, the nations of the world. All are welcome, all are one in Christ Jesus.

All other identifying factors are subordinate in being Christ’s. So let me make a point of that- we will only have unity in Christ if our own identity’s are subordinate to Him. If you glory in yourself because of who or what you are, other than Christ Jesus’, let me warn you lest your pride tear you from the fold of Jesus.

The identity politics of the secular world are contrary to the promises of Jersus. They offer false promises and that is all the evidence you need to know they are false gods. The promises will not fulfil you, give you a grander purpose or set you free- it is slavery.

Do not let secondary identities divide what Christ has united.

Our diversity is the grace of God, our unity is our strength.

We are all one in Christ Jesus and we all share equally in the promises of inheritance in Christ Jesus.

Galatians 3:29 ESV

And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise.

What is the inheritance? It is the Kingdom of God- a kingdom where God rules indefinitely- and sin, darkness and death does not. A Kingdom marked by abundant life, a Kingdom where all people from all places are made new and one. A Kingdom described as unshakeable, a dwelling place with God in wholeness and completeness, eternal.

Friends, that’s our future and it can’t be taken, pushed, shoved and diluted. Glory be to Jesus, in Christ alone are we found!

If you belong to Christ you are a child of God, you are promised an unshakable future and a resting place. Are you living from what He has given you?

Do you need to sit this morning and be reminded of it?

Are you living like an heir to an unshakable kingdom?

Are you living freely for it or like you’re still trying to find your own way there?

If in Christ you have been given life are you living for Christ or some other future glory?

And, If you are yet to come to Jesus, would you look around and see your future family? Come home to him, we’re waiting for you.