Galatians 3:15-29 (2)

(ESV) — 15 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. 16 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. 17 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. 18 For if the inheritance comes by the law, it no longer comes by promise; but God gave it to Abraham by a promise. 19 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. 20 Now an intermediary implies more than one, but God is one. 21 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. 22 But the Scripture imprisoned everything under sin, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe. 23 Now before faith came, we were held captive under the law, imprisoned until the coming faith would be revealed. 24 So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith. 25 But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian, 26 for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. 27 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. 28 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. 29 And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise.

(ESV) — 15 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. 16 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. 17 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. 18 For if the inheritance comes by the law, it no longer comes by promise; but God gave it to Abraham by a promise. 19 Why then the law? It was added because of transgressions, until the offspring should come to whom the promise had been made

Intro:

Depending on the flesh instead of the Spirit is foolish and an insult to Christ. — Facepalm: You mean to tell me that you want to depend on yourselves rather than Christ alone? What?!

The righteous shall live by faith. Cursed is everyone who does not abide by all things written in the law. Jesus, the Son, became cursed so that the cursed can become sons.

“In all three paragraphs so far in chapter 3 the point has been: you can't become a complete, sanctified Christian, you can't become a child of Abraham, you can't enjoy the promise of the Spirit, if you are living by "works of law" instead of by faith in the Son of God (2:20).” [Piper]

The difference between a life of faith and an “act” of faith - The Spirit testifies that we are children of God.

This sermon is a bit technical, but we are those who are seeking to live by the Spirit and not by the flesh. We aren’t just looking for a practical thing to do in order to validate ourselves, we are looking to be rooted in the Spirit - we need to be transformed by the renewing of our minds.

The Galatians were Moses people - they liked the validation that comes through the law. It’s like their license and registration - their proof of inheritance. We like that too because of our pride and our self-pity.

A Tale of Two Covenants

Covenant 1: The Promise (Key concern is how are we saved and how did this whole thing start)

(ESV) — (Back up to v.13)

13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”— 14 so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith. 15 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.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), –14.15 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. (Referring to Abraham)

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), .“Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”— 14 so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith. 15 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. (Referring to Abraham)

Story of Abraham - God’s unilateral covenant (walk through sacrifices) - God’s grace and blessing

Abraham is old and as good as dead (Rom. 4:19).

Never annulled: This act/gift of grace has never changed. 19 God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind ()

Has he said, and will he not do it? 

****The law is an attempt to walk through the sacrifices with God. It’s an attempt at a bilateral covenant.****

16 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.

Christ is the fulfillment of the promise of faith and obedience to the law.

We are not validated as God’s children by bloodline, but by faithline.

We are not validated by our bloodlines (family, church, culture, VBS, etc.) We are only validated by the Son. This whole process was started by grace! It has always been a gift to the undeserving. It has always and only ever been about God’s mercy through His Son!

“When Christ the reality comes, all those externals are gone.””

Covenant 2: The Law (Why the law? What’s the point?)

17 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. 18 For if the inheritance comes by the law, it no longer comes by promise; but God gave it to Abraham by a promise. 19 Why then the law? It was added because of transgressions, until the offspring should come to whom the promise had been made

The grace of God’s promise came before the law. Our Anchor is very deep and rooted solidly

If our inheritance comes by the law instead of grace then it is no longer by grace. (This is why this whole argument is so important.)

() "I do not nullify the grace of God; for if justification were through the law, then Christ died to no purpose.

Why the law? It’s design was to propel us to a Redeemer. It exposes.

“But in both covenants the faith which saves taps into God's power in such a way that obedience results. And this obedience is such a necessary extension of saving faith that in both covenants obedience to God is a condition of final salvation. Not legalistic "works of law," but Spirit-empowered "obedience of faith." - Piper

Works are not cause, they are effect.

says, “Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believe”

17 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. 18 For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. 19 Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 1 .

Looking to The Gospel:

Two covenants:

Abraham - Life — Anchored before the law. Anchored in God’s promises. Anchored in the Seed (Christ) who is resurrected and in heaven.

Moses - Death () - Meant to expose us, not puff us up - meant to send us flying for a Redeemer - cursed everyone who cannot fulfill it.

In Christ, the promise is fulfilled. God will take those who are as good as dead, helpless and give grace through His Son. The covenant of Moses (death) was fulfilled at the cross where Jesus took the curse of sin on behalf of those who believe. The covenant of Abraham (life and blessing) was fulfilled at the resurrection (Easter is coming) when Jesus conquered the curse and reigns in eternal life. That is our inheritance and blessing - it comes by his promise and it comes by his power.

So, this morning there is a promise to you from God - a promise made and anchored a long time ago. That through the gift of His son, we in our lostness and weakness can be adopted into the family of God.

God rightly puts in front of us a picture of our need through the law. I hope that you look at it and see how desperate you are. Don’t let it puff you up with pride, and don’t let it scare you away from the promise. Look at your need. And look at how magnificent the promise is to you, that you can be free of sin, and given life abundantly/purposefully in Christ. That’s who you are made to be as a human made in the image of God.

Here, Paul encourages us by anchoring us outside of ourselves. You can’t stabilize a storm-tossed boat by tying ropes from itself to itself; it needs an anchor down deep, beyond the choppy surface. Paul’s argument goes as follows: God’s covenant promise to Abraham will be in place forever; it cannot be annulled by the giving of the law (which came later). Therefore, your justification is eternally assured, safeguarded by God Almighty, sworn on the blood of his Son, sealed with the Spirit as the pledge of your inheritance. Your anchor is in heaven, not on earth; it’s in the life of the triune God, not the fickle emotions and feeble will of your vacillating heart.

When life gets difficult, when it all falls apart, where do you look? Christ is still there; the promise is for keeps. That’s our anchor.