Curse or Covenant? - Galatians 3:10-18

If your turn to Galatians chapter 3 going to be diving back into a series entitled slaves to Sons on we're going through the book of Galatians the letter to the Galatians I should say and it's also encourage you to turn to Galatians chapter 3. We took a little bit of a break because of Palm Sunday and Easter Sunday, but now we're going to jump back in NM just to give a little bit of a recap if you are just now joining us and you don't know what's been going on with the first couple of chapters. Let me just give you a quick recap of what's happened. And the reason why does letters being written the Apostle Paul was a missionary. He became a missionary after he'd been persecuting the church. He became an apostle for Christ Jesus and he began a missionary journey through all through Roman different Roman provinces. And one of those provinces was the region of galatia and in this Jen e started a number of the church's he was sharing the gospel and many people wanted to hear and some of these were new converts to Christianity who were from Gentile speaking at Gentile Nations. They were not Jews. In other words. These were people from various other nations and people groups who were trusting in Jesus as their lord and savior because they had heard the gospel from the Apostle Paul. He preached it and they had received what what what they were hearing and so Paul was able to establish a number of churches throughout this province of galatia, but the problem was once he moved on and once he went on to other places some Jewish Christian some June what we called judaizers because they were coming in and telling people. I don't know what you heard from Paul. That's not right. You know, that's too easy, you know, if it's too easy to just accept Jesus by faith instead. These judaizers came in behind Paul. And they begin telling these new babes in Christ know what you got to do is you've got to be circumcised as the first step in your salvation. That's got to be the first step is is circumcision where Paul have been telling them that Jesus had done work for them on the cross. He had died for their sins and they are to trust in him by faith. He has done the work but what these judaizers were telling them was that they had to be circumcised and if if they were telling them they had to be circumcised as the first step or maybe I should say first snip then from that point on nobody got that joke, that's fine from that point on they would then need to continue with all of the Old Testament requirements. All of the Jewish laws all of the mosaic laws. That have been given and so if circumcision circumcision was the first step for us to have salvation in Christ in God, then he was the first step of then there were all the other requirements as well. And so the judaizers were pushing sort of a Works based religion back on top of the Gospel. And that doesn't work and we seen that doesn't work. And the problem is that we continue to do this to this day. But a lot of times we trust in Jesus by faith, but then we try to live out our Salvation through Works through the law. Now we do works because we have been graciously saved but those Works don't add anything to our Salvation. We're not saved by works. We're saved by grace through faith in Christ alone. As a Paul is addressing this controversy in his letter and he spends the first couple of chapters talking about it from a personal standpoint that he himself he received the Holy Spirit and he received Grace and he received the gospel not by the traditions of man, but by a revelation from God himself through Jesus Christ, and and then he talks about a few anecdotes of how even the Gentiles or or sort of even some of the Hostiles had gotten some things wrong and they had to be corrected. Peter himself had to be corrected in his understanding of the Gospel. Thank the Lord that he heard what all had to say and that he he did agree that the gospel had been brought to the Gentiles just as much as it had been to the Jews. And so what Paul is doing in chapter 3 is he's laying out an argument to these new Christians for why they don't need to trust in the law. They need to trust in Jesus Christ Alone. They need to trust in faith that fits their faith in Jesus Christ that saves them not the works of the law. You don't need circumcision as your first step of Salvation and you don't need sacrifices and you don't need ceremonies and you don't need rituals and you don't need Works based religions. You don't need the the, you know, the Ridgid. Blowing of the wall to be saved know these Gentile believers. They have been saved by faith.

And so Paul is laying out this argument and so as we look at Galatians 3, we're going to start in verse 10 and read through Verse 18, and then we're going to come back and unpack Falls argument. It says in verse to send. For all who rely on the works of the law are under a curse? Okay. That's a great reason why you don't go under the works of the law. Don't rely on that he says because it is written everyone who does not do everything written in the book of the law is cursed. He says now it is clear that no one is Justified before God by the law because the righteous will live by faith, but the law is not based on faith instead the one who does these things and other words. These laws will live by them Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us because it is written cursing is everyone who is hung on a tree the purpose was that the blessing of Abraham would come to the Gentiles by Christ Jesus so that we can receive the promised Spirit through faith brothers and sisters. I'm using a human illustration. No one sets aside or makes additions to a validated human will now the promises were spoke to Abraham and to his seed he does not say and to seeds as though referring too many but referring to one and to your seat Who is Christ? My point is this. The law which came 430 years later does not invalidate a covenant previously established by God and does cancel. The promise for is the inheritance is based on the law. It is no longer based on the promise. But God has graciously given it to Abraham through the promise was Battle for prayer just as we asked the Lord to help us understand.

father died before you once again and this time just really asking that you would help us to approach your word with humility recognizing that that we don't know everything.

But we also approached your word with gratitude thanking you that you have revealed these truths for our benefit and so that you might be glorified through them. as we pray for the power of your Holy Spirit

to speak to us this morning. Or we may have misconceptions about scripture. What help us help me never to approach scripture as if I've got everything figured out. But enable us Lord to approach this with humility recognizing that there may be some ways in which I have allowed the works of the law or a Reliance on the law to guide me rather than allowing the spirit of God to guide me into all truth. That's why I pray the Lord that you would guide us into all truth as it pertains to this passage of scripture this morning help us to apply this truth to our lives and to live according to it. We pray this in Jesus name. Amen.

I want to see a began by talking about the laws first the laws curse. We read in the first few verses here in Briston and 11 that all who rely on the works of the law are under a curse. That doesn't mean that the law was not given by God and that doesn't mean that the law did not serve a purpose or did the law was the curse the law was not the curse, but if you rely on the log, you are under a curse and in next the next passage later on in chapter 3 that will get to Lord willing. We'll get to next Sunday. We'll talk about the purpose of the law and why it was given and and kind of give a fuller explanation of the benefit of the lawn. Why why we even have the law why did Moses have the Ten Commandments? Why do we even to this day have the law in our Bibles? But but for today we're going to talk about what happens when you rely wholly and an incomplete. on the law It says very plainly in verse 10 for all who rely on the works of the law are under a curse. And here's why he gives the example right away. He says everyone who does not do everything written in the book of the law is Curse. That's according to Deuteronomy 27 verse 26. The law itself is not a curse. All right, but if you rely on doing good works and and doing it and fulfilling Glock like dinner in other words. If you are such a stickler for for obeying the law then guess what you're going to fail somewhere. I'm at Falls Pointe. And that's the point of the law that that again will get to a little bit later is that the point of the law is to to be our Schoolmaster? It's it's to teach us what we should and should not do but guess what you're going to fail. There's going to be some point of the law that you do not fulfill and there was a whole system of religious people in the first century. The Paul was addressing their religious leaders Jewish people who were slave Ashley trying to follow the law to the letter course, they were missing the spirit of the law. But but but they were doing their best to do every single requirement and they would lift themselves up as if they were the most holy of all the people and and yet even they We're missing certain things. So again, the law itself is not a curse. The law was a blessing and it was given by God for a purpose. They will talk about next week. But if you don't keep every instance of the law, if you don't cook keep every requirement that is given in the law. Then you are under a curse.

So what are the requirements of the law while we could read through them? We can talk about them but here's the thing. There's a good chance that you're going to forget what the law says the Pharisees were spending morning noon and night. These religious leaders were spending all day long talking about the law just so they wouldn't mess up and disobey and they presented themselves as the most holy of all the people but the thing is you could talk about it all day long. You can go back and read all of the laws that were given and you can do your best every single day to fulfill every single requirement and every single day. You probably forget one. You probably mess up. You know, we're giving 10 major Commandments in Exodus 20 and in in the book of Deuteronomy as well, but then there were a whole host of other laws that were given. As to the point that Paul is making is if you live according to the log you rely on the law for your salvation. Then you are going to miss one and you are living under a curse. In fact, he says in verse 11 now it is clear that no one is Justified before God by the lock. The reason why he says that is because he knows that he himself was a Pharisee. He knows that he himself had been trained as a Pharisee of Pharisees. He boasts not at one point he even boast about how he was up in your the best of the best the cream of the crop when it came to the Pharisees. He was the best at it and he realized when he met Jesus he realized that all of it was filthy racks, all of it was for nothing. None of it could give him the you know, he could not earn his salvation from God by fulfilling the requirements of the law so he can say this as someone who had lived under the law and is someone who had done his best to fulfill every requirement of every law and so he says in verse 11 now it is clear that no one is Justified before God by the law. In other words. No one is saved in this way. There's no one who can fulfill every requirement of the law. What was just take Jesus boiling down the laws and the prophets into the first and second greatest commandment. Here's what Jesus says he says you are to love the Lord your God with all your heart with all your soul with all your might and with all your mind.

And secondly your to love your neighbor as yourself.

I have violated those two commands this week. And if I'm honest with you probably multiple times. And Paul would say the same thing. He said I am the chief of sinners. We're talking about goody-two-shoes, you know, Pharisee Paul. He says no in my MMI on Strang I am the chief of sinners.

A lot of times we try to compare ourselves don't we as Christians? We think well, you know, maybe I'm not quite as good as Mother Teresa or you know, Billy Graham, right? Maybe I'm not quite as but I'm certainly not as bad as Osama Bin Laden. Okay somewhere in the middle of God will look with favor at me. So I'm somewhere in there. Okay, you know that Billy Graham is a is a 9 can't put anybody is at 10, but you know Season 9 then, you know, maybe I'm around us 6, you know, so I'm still kind of on the upper side of of good, you know, I'm not a fiber or below that would be bad. Sometimes we compare ourselves to other people but the point is when you compare yourself to Christ and when you compare yourself to the law You're a criminal.

All right in the Bible has a term for this sinner. And the Bible tells us in Romans 3 that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. You are a sinner you in some cases over the last 24 hour. You have put yourself as more important than your neighbor you put yourself as more important than God. You haven't love God with all your soul it with all your heart soul mind and strength and love your neighbor as yourself. You love yourself. And you're a sinner and if you are guilty on any one point of the law, then you're guilty of the whole thing. Any sin will place you in hell?

That is the curse see if you rely on the works of the law if you rely on a perfect record. You never going to have a perfect record, which means you live under a curse. He says instead verse 12 but the law but the law is not based on faith instead. The one who does these things will live by them that's in Leviticus 18:5. Is it where you know when we're giving the law where we're supposed to live according to the law but it's supposed to point us to something greater than the law and that is Jesus. You know the law only brings judgment. you are never going to get Perfection as you rely on the law. You're never going to do it perfectly. Jesus was the only one who can live a life of senlis perfection working was holy in every way that he never violated the commands of God. But you and I we can't do that on our own effort. We can't be perfect. I've seen this in civil law not just in biblical law but but in the world around that's right. You you are probably very good law-abiding citizens. But do you know that you have probably broken and American law of some sort Maybe by Omission or obey Me Maybe by commission, but you have probably broken a lot. Have you ever gone over 65 miles an hour in a sixty-five my speed limit, but the point of the law of God is that he is so holy he is so perfect. He is so righteous that the equivalent of going 66 in a 65 would land you in hell. Not that he's the one giving you the 65 mile per hour speed limit just to be clear. But the point is that the just just doing one thing wrong. Violating the command of God is worth putting you in Eternal punishment for your sin. Now I've had this happen to me before when I was living in Queens, you know, everywhere there in Queens is you know, you have to park with meters, right and you had to put money in the in the slot. Well, there was this Diner that I was going to in Ridgewood and I park the car it was 8:00. So as I looked at the signs, I've I try to make sure I was reading the signs correctly, but the problem was I didn't realize that they had installed another sign that had more information about some other requirements just a little bit further down from where I parked. So I was reading this one sign and it said that the meters weren't even in effect until 8:30. So I was like, okay, it's 8 I'm going in and I'll be out of here before then. So so I don't need to pay anything. Well, then one that was a head that it said this is all times only for unloading and loading. I'm so another words trucks would come by and they would unload. There's a grocery store there. There were some other businesses. It was only for loading and unloading. Well, I don't know why they had that other sign there at all. Because if you can't park there any time then why even have that other thing but nevertheless I I didn't know that I didn't see that sign. I didn't read that sign. I didn't know what the law required and so I parked my car with a clear conscience. I parked the car at 8 and at one point the the the guy at the front counter was like hey is that your car that they're putting a ticket? I was like what it's 8:15. Why would they put it before you take it? So I went outside too late to do anything about it, but I went outside and saw that I had gotten a ticket so unlikeable, that doesn't make sense. And so this is what you do in Queens it if you've ever been in the city, you know that if you've already gotten a ticket we might as well just leave your car there, right? So that's what I did. I mean, I've already gotten my ticket so I left my car there. And I stayed a little bit past 8:30, but hey, I've already got my ticket. I didn't even know what I didn't read the ticket. I just saw that I got a ticket. So I left my car there and it's past 8:30. Somebody wrote me another ticket and this time it was because I was there cast 8:30, which I knew that one but because I already received a ticket I was like I must you know how well, you know, no no worries. I can just leave it there now. I have two tickets. So I get to the car and I'm like I'm really confused. So I opened them out and I read them and I read the requirements of the law and I look up and I say oh yet I violated that long and then yes, I can clearly because that was for that law and now there's this law that I understand why they did that. I'm not happy about it. But yes, I I I am a sinner. Okay. I am a criminal. I did violate those laws and I did get the tickets. I got the penalty for what I did wrong. And it is not fun. You know, it's like 35 40 bucks a ticket for some stuff like that. And now there's two of them.

Whether you been in the church all your life or this is your first day. There are going to be laws it it doesn't matter if you don't know the law.

You're guilty.

You're a sinner. You have violated God's law. Whether you know it or not and maybe you don't get an orange sticker on your windshield every time you do it. But probably every single day in some way you are violating the law. And it's not just that you owe. $40 Because you spoke harshly to your spouse. It is not that you owe $35 because

you look at something online that you shouldn't be looking at. Your ass is not that you owe me fifty fifty or sixty dollars. Because you stole something from work.

every violation of God's law you are cursed. You are under the Wrath and the Judgment of God for every time you have send see I don't like getting those parking tickets and especially to because if you get too and then you get another one a couple weeks later cuz you extended your time or like that starts to add up $35 $70. Whatever. The math is a hundred and something dollars you like. It just keeps adding up. But in this case, it's already at its ultimate penalty. You you can't pay it. Uo it and that is the curse that we live on her. If you rely on the law because you first of all you don't know what the law says you you didn't read the signs. Clearly. There's something you're violating every time you open your eyes every time you get up. You're probably doing something you shouldn't do. You're a sinner and you are convicted you are guilty as charged. Whether you know what the law says or not you are a sinner. The law only brings judgment and my ignorance of the law doesn't keep me from being penalized for breaking the law.

But there's some amazing news in verse 13. It says Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us because it is written and this is from Deuteronomy 21:23. It says cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree? For Jesus to die on a cross tube to be hung on a cross on that Roman cross those two thousand years ago this to the Jewish mindset was terrific it. It was just absolutely shameful for for for someone to be hanging on a Roman cross. This was a curse to hang on a tree was a curse and yet what Paul is saying and reminding these new Believers in galatia. Is he saying to them put Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law and again not the law was accursed but that if you rely on trying to do but your own Works do the works of the law that you are under a curse because you have violated something in the law. And Paul is saying look Christ redeemed us from the curse by becoming a curse for us. He hung on a tree. Which was a curse to the Jewish people. It was shameful to them and yet Jesus willingly hung on that tree and died and paid the full penalty of your sin and Mine by dying on the cross for us. for you and for me

And so we see the laws curse. We see what it brings. We see what it would take if we were lied on working and doing an end in just trying to have to put our hand to the plow and fulfill every requirement that we can think of in and do everything according to the law and we can exhaust ourselves.

Jesus Christ has redeemed us he is already paid the penalty for our sins. We are no longer under the curse. We are in a covenant relationship with him that brings us to the next part which is The Lord's Covenant with all the laws curse. Let's look at the Covenant of the Lord. Now. What is a covenant? First of all the Covenant in the Old Testament had blessings and curses. It was in other words. It was sort of a list of things that we were going to do. In fact one dictionary of theological dictionary says it this way that the Covenant is an agreement enacted between two parties in which one or both make promises under oath to perform or refrain from certain actions an example of this is found in Second Kings 23 verse 3 where it says next the king stood by the pillar and made a covenant in the Lord's presence to follow the lord and keep his commands his decrees and his statutes with all his heart and with all his soul in order to carry out the words of this Covenant. They were written in this book all the people agreed to the Covenant. That was an example in Second Kings 23, but I also noticed something about the wording there. It says next the king stood. Popular and made a covenant that's a little tricky in English because it doesn't quite convey. What was actually happening. The verb made a covenant is not really what they were doing in ancient Israel. It didn't make a covenant. They didn't keep a covenant. They didn't align themselves around a covenant instead of what they did they cut a covenant. Okay, they cut a covenant and that's the word in the original language is that they that this King he made a covenant in other words he cut a covenant. The reason why bring that up is because every Covenant that was made was an agreement that had if you do this here are the blessings here are the benefits of what happens if you continue keeping this Covenant, but if you don't keep the Covenant, you don't keep your promise and you you violate the terms of the Covenant then There are curses so there are blessings and curses that are always attached to every Covenant. But you cut a covenant with a person or as a nation you cut this Covenant by sacrificing a bowl and cutting that cup.. Bull in two pieces. And then the two parties of the Covenant were supposed to take that that bull that has been cut into two pieces and they're supposed to walk through door the bloody pathway between these two pieces of the carcass and the two parties that are agreeing to this Covenant are supposed to walk through it and as they walk through and they say to one another they say say what has happened to this bowl happen to me if I violate this agreement. That was how you cut a covenant you cut the Covenant by cutting a bull in half and then and then making this go through this valve that what happened to this bowl is what will happen to me if we violate the Covenant so they were blessings and curses when you cut a covenant. And what's interesting about Paul's next argument is he brings up this Covenant? Is bringing up the Covenant it was made with Moses. But he's also bringing up a prior, He's bringing up a covenant it was made with Abraham. And the Covenant that was made with Abraham was made a little bit differently than what the ancient Israelites were used to it was more of a promise. with no It was a promise that was made to Abraham that did not have to be that there was nothing that Abraham had to do. to earn this our torture received his promise. Whereas with the Mosaic Covenant there were blessings and curses attached to it. And if you don't do the the things that are said in the Loft and you are cursed if you do all of them, then you're blast but we've already said that nobody can do all of the all of the things so as we look at verse 14 and 15 Paul tells us his purpose. He says the purpose Was that the blessing of Abraham would come to the Gentiles by Christ Jesus so that we could receive the promised Spirit through faith brothers and sisters and this is the first time he uses like his term of endearment. He's been saying, you know you foolish Galatians like what are you thinking? He's been referring to them like that but not as his brothers and sisters. I'm using a human illustration. No one sets aside or makes a dish into a validated human. Well, so what is he saying here all the saying in verses 14 and 15 is that What God had already promised to Abraham was not in the Gated. When Moses came along the promise that was made to Abraham. continued through the time of the wall and all the way up until Jesus Abraham truly is Father Abraham, but it's the promise that was made to Abraham that is binding on not just the Jewish people but on All Nations, You know the judaizers instead they were arguing and you got understand what they were what they were what Paul was addressing. They were arguing that since the law came after Abraham around the 1450s BC. Then the law had priority over the abrahamic Covenant. Which means that they thought the law had priority over Grace over the promise that was made to Abraham. And so In this passage to refute this point Paul is appealing to a burnt permanently binding contract or will and once this permanently binding contract has been enacted. Then there's no one who is going to change it. Now you and I set up a will or we have some sort of a contract then yes in our society. Yes, you can go back in and change the terms whatever but here's what you can't do. If you set up a will.

And die and you left your inheritance to your children and your grandchildren?

Then after you die, no one can come back in and say yeah, I'm the great the great grandson of this person who passed away and this is the this is the will but you know how I want to change all of it and make it more favorable to me. see, nobody can change the will the courts can't change the will what the will says is what the will does and that that's that is our that's the human illustration that Paul is using

So I let me put it this way if a guy named Abe for example the last name riham.

Create a will. For himself and then he dies and then his grandson was call him. You know moe moe comes along and he decides he wants to change the the the terms of the will or the contract. He can't do that in so what Paul is saying is that Abe and Moe and in his case Abraham and Moses that Paul is saying that Moses didn't change any terms of the contract. Nothing was changed the terms of the promises that were given to Abraham. And what were those promises first 16 out of promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed Look at what it says in Genesis 12:3 when God spoke to Abraham. He said I will bless those who bless you I will curse anyone who treats you with contempt and all the peoples on Earth will be blessed through. This is interesting because this is a promise that God makes the Abraham, but it's not that Abraham. Would be blessed or cursed. Well, he does say he will be blessed but it's not that Abraham if he violates something that he will be blessed or cursed. It's that the people if they reject This Promise will be blessed or cursed that makes sense in the middle of chapter 3 years, but but the point that he's making is that Abrahams the promise to Abraham was different there's something different and unique but I also want you to notice in verse 3 of Genesis 12 is that all the peoples on Earth will be blessed through you right? So it's to the point that God made to Abraham the promise that he made was for All Peoples to be blessed all the way from the beginning. This is Genesis chapter 12. This is the 12th chapter of the Bible. He's already making this promise that this is not just for one nation. This is for all of humanity that they will be blessed through you. But then Paul gets back to his argument in verse 16. He says he does not say follow Paul's argument here. He does not say N2 seems as though referring to many but referring to one and two-year see who is

in Genesis chapter 12 the promise that is being made to Abraham is for Abraham and his see his offspring is descendant and it's not just referring. I think it's a double entendre written in in the in in Genesis. But the double meaning here is it? Yeah, it does actually it actually does apply to the nation of Israel. But the point that Paul is making is that now that Jesus has come the point is that all of these promises are being fulfilled in Christ. It wasn't to the seed the seeds as if in many people butt into his see the Promise was spoken to Abraham and to Christ. She also see Abraham and Christ as book ends of what God is doing and he hit he does get the law which we'll talk about next week. But the point is that the promise made to Abraham was permanent. It was permanent that through the seed meaning Christ through Abraham seed all the nations would be blessed. So this was a permanent promise and so finally not only coming to the end of Paul's logic here, but also to the end of our sermon and our time together today, we we're eating versus 17 and 18. Paul says my point is this. Okay? So thank you Paul. Thank you. You're going to boil it down for us. You're going to give us your main point. Like what is all of this about between Abraham and Moses and everything else my point. Is this the law which came 430 years later does not invalidate a covenant previously established by God and this cancel. The promise for The Inheritance is based on the law. It is no longer based on the promise. Get get what was just said there. See the law did was given by God. But when God gave us the law when he gave the Jewish people the law, he wasn't negating the promise to understand that it wasn't to say now the nation's no longer matter. Now salvation can only come to the Jews now. He's saying it's it's always been for all people and it's always been by faith. It's never been by The Works of the law. Even the people who were day in and day out sacrificing for their sins in the Jewish customs and it of the Jewish religion. They were doing so either by faith or by works. There were relying on the works. There were relying on the sacrifice. There were relying on circumcision. They were relying on doing the deeds and fulfilling the requirements or they were relying on faith. See even as they did the sacrifice. There was some who truly had faith. It is never been on works. It's never been based on the law. It has always been even in ancient Israel, even in the days of Jesus. It was only through faith that you could be saved. It's never been any different.

This Covenant is binding it's permanent. It's never been changed and was beautiful about this reader the less the last part birthday 18th birthday inheritance. Is based on the law it is no longer based on the promise. But God has graciously given to Abraham through the promise. If you want to be saying this morning.

If you want to be forgiven of your sins. Then let me tell you that the law teaches us. We are sinners. The law teaches us. I am never going to be able to fulfill the requirements of that law.

But Jesus teaches us something greater. Jesus tells us that he gave his life to pay the penalty that you couldn't ever have paid. He gave his life. He shed his blood. So that your sins could be wiped clean. That your criminal record before God. Could be expunged and just completely washed clean. Jesus did that willingly even knowing that you would have to hang on a shameful cursed cross. He became a curse he who knew no, sin became sin on our behalf so that we might become the righteousness of God in him. So praise God in your salvation and mine does not depend on us, you know, just rigidly relying. On the requirements of the law. But it is based on Grace that is gracious provision. This promise that was given to Abraham. All those years ago is the same promise he gives to you that trust him follow him by faith rely on him rely on the work that Jesus did on the cross rather than relying on your own strength. So if you're not a Christian, I just want to encourage you you don't have to base your standing with God based on comparison with other people around you. You don't have to base your standing with God on just working hard enough to earn his favor. You can't do it. You can't pay for your sins. So again, if you are not a Christian I encourage you to look to Jesus Christ as the one who has already paid the penalty for your sins and he and he has offered himself to you as the acceptable payment for the sins that you have committed and trust me you have committed sins against God. You're guilty but in Christ, you can be made righteous. And if you're a Christian hear you've been living a Christian Life for maybe many years don't go back. To relying on the law. It's not through circumcision is not through sacrifices. It's not through just doing my best. None of us can do our best. Your salvation is not based on that salvation is by faith in Christ alone. Trust him. Not only In your salvation the moment of salvation. But in working out your salvation for the rest of your life that you would rely on the work that he did on the cross and then we're going to get to in the book of Galatians and Reliance on the spirit. The we walk by the spirit. We don't rely on the law. We rely on the spirit of God. So there's a lot more that we're going to get to in the days ahead. So let's just pray that he will give us the ability to to follow father. Thank you for this text. Thank you for the The clear teaching In this passage of scripture, even though it may be a little bit thick at times and it might take some. Extra thinking but I pray the Lord by your spirit that you would teach us where we have. been relying on the works of the law rather than relying on the spirit of Lord thank you for this precious promise. of the blessings that cam of those who trust just the same way that Abraham did but now that we have Jesus that we trust in what Jesus has done for us on the cross. Lord we thank you for the law. We're not abolishing the law when I getting rid of the law or not forsaking the law or not trashing law. We thank you for what you have accomplished through the law. But we think you even more importantly for what you have given us by grace. In faith in Jesus Christ Alone. We thank you for what you have accomplished through him and we thank you that we can live by faith that we can have abundance of life. And Lord that you just continue to teach us how we are to live according to your spirit. We pray this in Jesus name. Amen.