Blessings

Well, good morning, church. Would you turn with me to the book of Galatians? We are looking at chapter 3, verses 6-22.

! So, let me invite you to turn there with me. That's page 914 in the Pew Bible. Now, as we come to our passage today, you'll see that in our ESV Pew Bibles, and maybe this is even going to be the case on the screens above, verse 6 is

translated or sort of taken as the continuation of a rhetorical question that begins in verse 5. So, the ESV connects verse 6 to verse 5. Do you see that there? Now, that is a perfectly legitimate translation. There's nothing wrong with that, but in the Greek manuscripts, there actually isn't any punctuation, so we have to make some interpretive decisions.

Another perfectly legitimate way to translate verse 6 is not to see it as a question, but as the beginning of a new sentence that continues into verse 7.

And maybe if you've read the NIV or the NRSV, you'll see that that's how they translate that. Now, the meaning of the passage doesn't really change no matter which way you take it, but as Matt and I have studied this passage, we think it's a little smoother to translate verse 6 with verse 7.

And that is all to say why we are starting in verse 6 today. So, as you look at the ESV, just imagine that verse 5 ends with a question mark and verse 6 starts a new sentence. All right. Let me go ahead and read this passage for us. Galatians 3, 6 through 22.

Just as Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness, know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham.

And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying,

in you shall all the nations be blessed. So then those who are of faith are blessed, along with Abraham, the man of faith.

For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse, for it is written,

Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the book of the law and do them.

Now, it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, for the righteous shall live by faith.

But the law is not of faith, rather the one who does them shall live by them.

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.

So that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles,

so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith.

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.

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.

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 law, it no longer comes by promise,

but God gave it to Abraham by a promise.

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.

Now, an intermediary implies more than one,

but God is one.

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.

All right, let's pray.

Father, we ask for your help not just to understand,

what this passage is saying,

but also to experience in our hearts the good news

and the freedom that this passage proclaims,

so that we might live in the freedom and the blessing

that this passage proclaims,

on the basis of your Son,

our Lord Jesus Christ,

through whom all your blessings come to us.

In His name we pray.

Amen.

Amen.

Well, all right.

Well, as we've seen over the past six weeks

in our series in Galatians,

Paul has been arguing the radical,

liberating message

that our acceptance with God,

our right standing before God,

our confidence and assurance before God,

our Creator and the Judge of all things,

the basis on which God declares us righteous,

that is fully accepted by Him,

that comes not from works that we do

in obedience to the law,

but through faith in Jesus Christ.

Now, last week, Paul advanced an argument

in favor of this proclamation of the gospel.

He advanced an argument from the Galatians' own experience.

He asked them,

did you receive the Spirit by works of the law

or by hearing with faith?

The answer, of course,

was that the Spirit's work in their midst,

the Spirit's work of conversion,

of peace, of unity, of holiness,

yes, even of miracles,

didn't happen because they'd gone back

and started keeping the law.

It had happened because they believed

what they heard about Christ crucified.

So He could appeal to their own experience

that the full acceptance of God came through faith.

But now, in our text today,

Paul advances an argument,

not from experience,

but from Scripture.

What does the Scripture have to say

about this good news that Paul

and all the other apostles in unity proclaim?

What is it that God's Word actually teaches?

And now, before we dive into that,

I think the fact that Paul here turns to Scripture

and the fact that he spends so much more time

arguing from Scripture

is in itself a good point for us to consider.

You see, for Paul,

an argument of Old Testament Scripture support.

Well, consider first, Paul says,

Abraham's blessing.

Abraham's blessing.

Now, it is most likely that the teachers

who were agitating the Galatians' churches

and whom Paul's kind of refuting in this letter,

it's likely that they were saying

that in order to be sure of God's blessing of salvation,

in order to be included in the rich inheritance

of God's salvation,

you had to be a member of Abraham's family.

After all,

God said in Genesis that His blessing

would come to Abraham's offspring.

Right?

And these teachers probably went on to say

that the way you get into Abraham's family

is by circumcision,

and the way you stay in Abraham's family

is by keeping the law.

So, in response to all this,

Paul also goes back to Abraham.

What do we learn from Abraham after all?

Paul asks,

how did Abraham come to be accepted by God as righteous?

That is, on what basis did God give

His full acceptance and favor to Abraham?

And therefore, how does someone today

really become a child of Abraham?

Well, Paul says Genesis 15 is clear.

What does it say?

Abraham believed God,

and it was counted to him as righteousness.

Now, notice, it doesn't say

Abraham merely believed in God, right?

As in, Abraham sort of knew that God existed.

Abraham didn't merely believe certain facts

about God to be true.

No, it says Abraham believed God.

That is, Abraham trusted the promise God had made to him,

trusted that God would do what God said He would do.

And in Abraham's case,

he trusted that God would cause he and Sarah

to have a child in their old age,

even though, humanly speaking, it was impossible.

And when Abraham believed God,

Genesis says on that basis,

God treated him as if he was totally righteous.

Now, think about how radical that is.

Abraham, obviously, if you read the story of Genesis,

wasn't totally morally righteous in himself, right?

He had lots of doubts, didn't he?

He had lots of moral failures.

Do you remember what happened when Abraham,

during a famine, goes down to Egypt, right?

He gets really scared.

So he tells his wife, Sarah,

hey, let's tell a half-truth

and tell everyone you're my sister.

That way they won't kill me

and steal you from me, right?

And God actually thinks that's a really bad idea.

And you read Genesis and God sort of delivers Abraham out of that.

And then, a little bit later,

what does Abraham do?

He does the exact same thing again.

He's stuck in a pattern of habitual sin, right?

You know, is Abraham a morally flawless character?

Is he in and of himself a righteous person?

No.

He's full of flaws and doubts and fears,

just like you and me.

But rather than treating Abraham

according to what his works deserved,

God looked upon Abraham's trust in his promise,

and on that basis,

considered him as if he was completely righteous.

And was this just special treatment for Abraham?

Did God sort of make an exception for Abraham?

Did God think, well, you know, just this once,

Abraham can be justified by faith in my promise,

but you know, everyone else is going to have to earn it.

No.

What Paul sees and what he shows

is that Abraham wasn't an exception

because God had already said in Scripture,

in you, Abraham,

shall all the nations be blessed.

In other words,

the blessing of God would come to everyone

in the exact same way as it came to Abraham,

not by works that we do,

but by trusting the God who keeps his promise.

Now, I imagine not many of us today

think a whole lot about Abraham, right?

Most of us probably don't lose a lot of sleep

over wondering whether we are

or are not a child of Abraham, right?

When you woke up this morning,

you didn't sort of suddenly have

an existential moment of crisis and think,

am I a son of Abraham?

No, you're like, make some coffee, I'm tired,

or whatever it was, right?

Right?

But consider what Paul is saying

at the heart of what he's saying here.

Most of us, aren't we?

Most of us are living for a blessing

of some kind.

And, you know, I don't mean blessing

in some sort of cheesy,

materialistic, financial way, right?

We're living for a deeper blessing than that.

And blessing in the Bible means

favor, acceptance, belonging,

being known, being loved,

having someone for you.

And that's what all of our souls

are longing for.

And we can seek this deep acceptance

and belonging through any number of means,

can't we?

In the accolades of a professional circle,

in the arms of a lover,

in a tight-knit group of friends.

But the real blessing that you seek

cannot ultimately be found there,

as good as those things may be.

The real blessing that we seek

can't be found there,

and that's why those things

never really satisfy for long,

because it's a deeper blessing

that we're built for.

You see, when God created humans,

what was the first thing that God did?

He blessed us.

He spoke a blessing over us.

Humans were created to operate

under the favor of God,

the loving acceptance of our Creator,

like flowers opening up to the sun.

Our lives were meant to flourish

with the face of God shining upon us.

But the way back into this favor,

the way back into this blessing

and this belonging,

this righteousness before God,

isn't through striving

or through earning.

What we see in Abraham,

it's that it is offered to all

who believe God's promise.

And we know that that promise

has been fulfilled in Jesus Christ.

So, you see, you don't have to chase

the fleeting blessings of money

or love or profession.

The good news is that you can have

the blessing that lasts forever.

Your life can open up

in the created flourishing

you were meant to have

through God's promise.

So, Paul's first scriptural argument

is about blessing.

It's about Abraham's blessing,

that those who are of faith

are blessed along with Abraham,

the man of faith.

His second argument, then,

is about the law's curse.

The law's curse.

Again, the false teachers in Galatia

probably made the claim

that the way to be righteous

and get God's blessing

was to keep the law, right?

I mean, on the surface,

that obviously sounds right,

doesn't it?

After all, in practically

every other area of life,

that's how it operates,

doesn't it?

I work up to a certain standard

and then I receive

a certain reward.

If I want to get into

a good college,

I have to earn good grades, right?

If I want to play a sport,

I have to earn my place

on the team.

If I want to get a promotion

at work, I have to earn

more clients and more money

for the company.

I get out what I put in.

But is that how it works

with God?

Do we have to rely

on our works

in the same way?

Well, what does the Scripture say?

Paul quotes Deuteronomy 27, 26

that says,

Cursed be everyone

who does not abide by

all things written

in the book of the law

and do them.

Have you abided

by all things

written in the book of the law?

Have you actually done them?

This is the question

Paul's putting before

his audience and us.

Oh, you who would rely

on works of the law.

What does the law say?

What does the law

actually require?

It doesn't merely require

a few religious observances

here and there, right?

It doesn't even merely require

that we refrain

from murder

or adultery, right?

It requires that we love God

with all our heart

and soul

and mind

and strength

and that we love

our neighbor

as ourselves.

It requires

not just that we don't murder,

but that we don't harbor

hatred in our hearts,

that we don't speak evil

of another person,

that we forgive

and bless those

who wrong us.

It requires that we do

to others

what we expect others

to do to us.

But when we actually

consider God's law,

we realize that we don't

abide by all things

written in the book

of the law

and do them.

And that's true

even of the commandments

that we agree with.

Even the commandments

we think are good

and right,

we don't keep,

let alone the commandments

that we choose

to ignore,

right?

And what does the law,

what does God's law

pronounce

over those

who don't keep it?

It says

it pronounces a curse.

God's face

is turned away.

We no longer

belong in His favor.

We deserve to be

cast out

from His presence

in darkness,

in judgment,

in death.

So because no

fallen human being

can keep the law,

relying

on the works

of the law

only places us

and keeps us

under a curse.

Paul cites

two more verses

to drive home

this point.

Verse 11,

he says,

now it's evident

that no one is justified

before God

by the law

because,

as the prophet

Habakkuk said

so many years ago,

the righteous

shall live,

really live

before God

in His favor.

How?

By faith.

In other words,

the Old Testament

itself said

that faith

in God's promise

is how the righteous

will live.

And then in verse 12,

he clarifies,

but the law

is not of faith.

Rather,

the one who

does them

shall live by them.

In other words,

works and faith,

trying and trusting

are two totally

different things.

And only one of them

will put us

in a right relationship

with God.

And it can't be

works of the law.

It can't be trying.

Why?

Because the only,

the one

who actually

does them,

who actually

keeps them

and obeys them,

only that one

will live

in God's favor

by means of them.

So where does

this leave us?

You know,

we're often too quick

to kind of jump over

verses like these.

It's easy to say,

well,

I'm not relying

on works of the law.

Well,

that may be true,

but don't you see?

Whether you think

of God's law

every day

or whether you think

of it

not much at all,

the passage

that Paul quotes

in verse 10

is true.

Either way,

cursed be

everyone

who does not

abide by all things

written in the book

of the law

and do them.

All of us

stand condemned.

A dreadful curse

hangs over

all of us

because we have

disobeyed our Creator.

We have ignored

His good laws

and failed

to keep them.

Even the moral standards

that we have

by means of reason

or by means of conscience,

even those

we do not keep.

And you know,

if this rejection

were sort of

the mere rejection

of a colleague

or a friend,

you know,

if this curse

that came

was sort of

the sentence

of some

merely human court,

right,

if that was

the curse

that we were facing,

we could endure it,

right?

We could find

some other place

for solace.

We could find

some other group

of friends,

some other workplace.

We could move countries.

things.

But this is no

idle word

spoken by some

mere human.

This is the verdict

of God,

the one in whom

we live

and move

and have

our being.

imagine a grain

of sand

suspended

above the ocean.

Do you see

those dark waves

churning,

those endless

depths

of the sea?

Do you see

how fragile,

how lost

that falling

grain of sand

is

in comparison?

Any moment

it would just

be swallowed up.

friend,

that seemingly

infinite distance

between the

immensity

of the ocean

and that small

piece of sand,

oh,

that is nothing

compared

to the difference

between God's

infinite majesty

and every single

created thing

gathered up

together.

Picture earth.

Now zoom out,

zoom out

from this planet

of ours

further and

further.

See the earth

get smaller

and smaller

and smaller

just hanging

in space

until it is

the size

of a grain

of sand.

And now

do you see

the waves

of God's

majesty

filling your

view,

making not

just our

little planet

but all

of the universe

seem like

nothing but

a drop

in the scales.

there is

no escaping

God.

Only

God's

verdict

matters.

To be

cursed by

God

is to

lose

everything,

is to

be lost.

Don't you

see?

What hope

is there

for us?

Have we

not spurned

His blessing

and deserve

His curse?

Have we

not as humans

exalted

in wickedness?

Have we

not

enjoyed

our own

selfishness?

have we

not laughed

while the

oppressed

suffer

and worst

of all?

Have we

not taken

God's

name

in vain

upon our

lips?

And the

waves

of His

infinite

majesty

continue

to roll.

hope

is there

for us?

How can

this dreadful

curse

ever be

lifted?

How can

the shining

face of

our Creator

ever turn

toward us

again,

who have

sinned so

willingly,

so flippantly

against His

holy character

and law?

God

will

give us

to

God

to

God

and

Paul

says the

answer

comes not

from us

but from

God

Himself.

God

Himself

provides

the way.

as this

curse

hangs

over us

heavy

and thick

the bright

ray of the

gospel

shines

forth.

Christ

redeemed

us

from the

curse of

the law.

How?

By

becoming

a curse

for us.

For it is

written

Deuteronomy

21-23

cursed

is

everyone

who

is

hanged

on

a

tree

so

that

in

Christ

Jesus

the

blessing

the

blessing

of

Abraham

might

come

yes

even

to

the

Gentiles

so

that

we

might

receive

the

promised

spirit

through

faith.

When

Paul

writes

that

Christ

became

a

curse

for

us

what

does

he

mean?

He

means

that

all

our

sin

our

guilt

our

curse

is

imputed

to

Christ.

It

is

legally

transferred

to

him

before

the

bar

of

God's

judgment.

On

the

cross

Christ

the

sinless

one

is

reckoned

with

all

our

sin

for

us

in

our

place

as

our

substitute

and

in

exchange

what

does

he

offer

as

he

takes

our

curse

down

into

the

oceans

of

God's

wrath

what

do we

receive

in

exchange?

The

blessing.

And what

is that

blessing?

The

blessing

of being

counted

fully

and

completely

righteous.

And now

there is

no more

curse

for those

who are

in

Christ

Jesus.

Only

blessing.

Only

God's

smiling

face

now

upon

us.

And

is

this

blessing

only

offered

to

Jews

who

keep

the

law?

No.

It

is

offered

to

everyone

in

Christ

Jesus.

Gentiles

too.

But

Paul

says,

you

know,

the

blessings

abound.

It's

not

just

right

standing

with

God

that

we

receive

in

Christ.

It's

also

the

promised

spirit

through

faith.

Not

just

a new

standing,

a new

status

with

God,

but a

new

heart,

a new

power,

a new

internal

principle

within

us,

a new

internal

reality

that

can

delight

in

God

and

that

loves

God

and

others

in

freedom.

And

through

the

Spirit

we're

able to

love

and

rejoice

in

God

and

in

others

in

a way

that

the

law

by

itself

could

never

produce

in

us.

Friend,

are you

still

relying

on your

moral

performance

to give

you

assurance

before

God?

Are you

still

looking to

your own

efforts

to gauge

whether

God

will

bless

you?

Christian,

are you

still

looking

to your

own

performance

to

gauge

whether

God

is

going

to

bless

you?

Now,

if you've

ever been

there,

you know

what shaky

ground that

is,

right?

You know

how one

day,

looking to

our own

performance,

it feels

great,

right?

It feels

so good.

You look

out at

other people

and think,

how can

those

idiots

not be

like me?

Right?

But the

next day,

it fills

you with

anxiety

and

uncertainty.

Oh,

you know

how it

makes you

compare

yourself

endlessly

to others.

You know

how it

makes you

dread at

times to

even read

God's

Word or

to pray

for fear

that you'll

find another

command you

can't live

up to.

You know

how heavy

it makes

your soul

to rely

on works

of the

law.

But look,

friend,

look again

to Christ.

Do you

see how

He willingly

became

a curse

for you?

All the

sins that

you have

committed

for which

you do

deserve

judgment,

He took

those on

Himself.

Why?

Because of

His great

love for

you.

So that

the dark

clouds of

that curse

might be

forever

dispelled

and so that

the bright

rays of

God's

favor might

shine down

on you

forever.

You don't

need to

live under

that curse

any longer.

For all

who are

in Christ

by faith,

the curse

is gone

and nothing

but blessing

remains.

The blessing

won by

Christ's

righteousness.

So these

are Paul's

first two

scriptural

arguments.

First,

the blessing

of God

has always

come through

faith,

even all

the way

back to

Abraham.

It's always

been through

faith.

And second,

relying on

the law

only keeps

us under

the curse,

the very

curse that

Christ came

to redeem

us from.

Paul's

third and

fourth

arguments

in verses

15 through

22 now,

having set

out the

blessing by

promise and

the curse

under the

law,

now they

have to

do with

the

relationship

between

the law

and the

promise.

And even

though these

verses 15

through 22

are some

of the most

densely

packed verses

in all

of Galatians,

I think

they're actually

very practical,

very good

lessons for

us today.

In the

first half

of this

passage,

Paul tells

us what the

law can't

do,

and then

in the

second half

of this

passage,

Paul tells

us what

the law

can do.

So first,

what the

law can't

do,

this is

verses 15

through 18

as Paul

continues his

scriptural

arguments.

He says,

what the

law can't

do is

annul the

promise.

It can't

cancel it and

make it void.

Paul reminds

us here that

God's promise

to Abraham

came first,

and that

promise isn't

somehow overridden

or canceled

by the

law that

God put

in place

430 years

later.

Now,

keep that

in mind,

friend,

as you read

Scripture.

When you

come across

God's commands

in the Old

Testament or

in the New

Testament,

remember that

those commands,

they don't

cancel or

annul the

promise that

came first and

has priority

over them

all.

God's

inheritance of

salvation comes

not by your

keeping the

law.

It comes by

God keeping

His promise

because you

see what God

demanded in the

law, He

fulfilled in

Christ for

you.

He's kept

His promise

in Jesus.

That's Paul's

point,

actually,

in verse 16.

Some of you

might have

scratched your

head at that

one as we

read it earlier.

Paul's actually

making a subtle

point here based

on the word

offspring in

Genesis.

He's arguing

that the

promise to

Abraham's

offspring actually

wasn't fulfilled

by the

collective people

of Israel

keeping the

law.

He says that

wasn't actually

the offspring

God had in

mind.

In fact,

the offspring

God really

had in mind

was a single

person,

Jesus,

who would

represent His

people,

who would

do for them

on their

behalf,

in their

place,

what they

themselves

could never

do.

He would

be the

true Israel.

He would

be their

righteousness.

He would

be their

king and

keep the

law in its

entirety.

He would

face the

curse and

bear the

wrath of

sin,

and He

would rise

again in

victory,

and He

would do it

for all

those united

to Him

by faith.

That's

what the

Abrahamic

promise was

really all

about,

Paul says.

The seed

of Abraham

is a

messianic

promise

fulfilled in

Jesus,

Israel's

Messiah.

Practically

speaking,

then,

God's promise

isn't fulfilled

by your

keeping the

law,

it's fulfilled

by Jesus

keeping the

law,

and now

your part

is to

trust Him.

United,

unite yourself

to Him

by faith,

and you

are united

by faith

in Christ

to the

ancient

promised

blessing

of God

that

overthrows

the curse

of sin

and restores

our relationship

to our

Creator.

No law

can annul

that promise.

Now,

that doesn't

just help us

to read our

Bibles properly,

right?

It also helps

us to be filled

with joyful hope.

Verse 18

says,

for if the

inheritance comes

by law,

it no longer

comes by promise,

but God gave

it to Abraham

by a promise.

Your inheritance,

your eternal

future in the

new heavens

and new earth

are secured

by His

promise.

God promised

Abraham that

he would have

a great family

and that his

family would

dwell in the

land,

but you know,

that promise

wasn't just

about the

ancient land

of Canaan.

Not even

from the very

beginning was it

limited to that.

If Abraham's

family would

include all

nations because

all nations

would be blessed

in him,

what does that

mean?

It must mean

that all the

earth would be

his inheritance.

And that is

exactly how Jews

came to understand

the Abrahamic

promise and

exactly how the

New Testament

understands it.

The gospel

is for all

people,

for the

whole world.

God's promise

is that one

day the whole

world will be

covered with

His glory like

the waters

cover the

sea.

His promise

is that one

day there

will be no

more sickness

or sorrow

or death

or dying

in any

corner of

His creation.

Christ will

return and

God will be

all in all

and that

is secure

to you

because God

promised it

and He is

faithful.

And until

that day,

as His church,

we pray and

we partner

and we labor

to take this

gospel to the

ends of this

earth and

everywhere in

between,

still confident

that God

will keep

His promise

and God

will have a

people for

Himself from

every tribe

and tongue

and nation.

You know,

this is why we

do missions as

a church,

right?

Because we are

confident that

the promise

of God

fulfilled in

Jesus will

be fulfilled

and take root

in all the

nations.

Whether all

those nations

are in

Central Asia

or whether

all those

nations are

jammed right

here in

Little New

Haven,

God is

going to

save a

people from

every tribe

and tongue

and language

and nation

and we can

be confident

and filled

with joyful

hope for

this age

and for

the age

to come.

The law

doesn't

annul

the promise.

So that's

what the law

can't do.

Last,

Paul tells us

what the law

can do.

The law

can point

us back

to Christ

as our

greatest

treasure.

Paul asks

in verse 19,

so why did

God give us

the law

anyway?

Well,

the Mosaic

law was

given because

of transgressions

until the

offspring should

come to whom

the promise

had been made.

In other words,

the Mosaic law

was a temporary

administration

until the

Messiah came.

The ceremonies

and festivals

of the Mosaic law

were never meant

to be permanent.

They were just

a scaffolding

as it were

until the real

work was done

through Jesus

the Messiah.

And now that

that true building

is up,

the scaffolding

can come down.

And the

provisional nature

of the law

is probably

what the end

of verse 19

and verse 20

are getting at.

Now,

we all admit

that those

are confusing

verses.

It's not entirely

clear what Paul

means there.

But the big idea

seems to be

that the law

was just

an intermediary

stage,

a provisional

arrangement

that would

eventually pass.

Ah,

but you asked,

but what about

the moral

commands of the law?

What about

the commands

that continue

into the New

Testament,

right,

that we're

supposed to

keep?

Well,

those laws,

do they not?

Just like

those ceremonial

laws and just

like those laws

that pointed to

Christ through

pictures and

signs,

don't those

moral commands

also point us

to Jesus?

Don't they

also remind us

that we need

a Savior?

Because the laws

by themselves

don't have the

power to give

us life.

The laws don't

carry any power

to change us

or empower us

to keep them.

sin.

The laws

by themselves

only remind

us that we're

sinners and that

we need a Savior.

They remind us

that sin really

is sin,

but they show

us that our

Savior really

is a great

Savior and

that our only

hope is to be

justified by

faith in Him.

So the law

drives us to

Christ as our

only hope.

In verse 25,

Paul will say

it's like a

schoolmaster that's

been teaching us

and training us

and directing us

to Jesus.

So this is what

the law can do.

It can help us

to see again and

again what a

treasure we have

in Christ.

Now at this point

you might be

asking, well is

there any hope

for us humans

to actually

obey the law?

And Paul's

answer to that

is emphatically,

yes, yes, yes.

We humans can

begin to live a

life that reflects

God's character

as displayed in

the moral law.

Yes, we can

start to keep

God's laws,

but the power

to do that

doesn't come

from the law

itself,

and our standing

before God

doesn't depend

on that.

The power

to keep God's

law doesn't

come from the

law.

It comes from

the Spirit

living inside of

us, the Spirit

that Christ

has poured

out on those

whom He has

redeemed from

the curse.

The Spirit

of freedom,

of love,

of peace.

Now Paul will

have a lot to

say about that

in chapters 5

and 6,

so stay tuned

for when we get

to those chapters

in a couple

of weeks,

but for now

we end by

realizing what

the law can

do.

The law

can point

us to Christ.

So when you

are reading

Scripture and you

come across the

commands of God,

look to Christ.

Realize that they

are telling you

more about Him

than they are

about you.

And realize that

you need His

blood and

righteousness to

make you clean,

that you can't

do it by yourself,

but rejoice that

He has taken

away your curse

and given you

His blessing,

and then rely on

His Spirit within

you to empower

you and lead

you to live a

life of love,

which after all

is, as Paul

will say,

the fulfillment

of the law.

Let's pray.

Oh, Lord,

we give You

praise.

You are our

holy and

majestic

Creator.

Triune God,

nothing exists

apart from

Your will,

from Your

sustaining choice.

Lord, we give

You praise

this morning

that when we

had fallen

deep into the

curse of our

own sin,

when the law

had spoken over

us not a blessing

but a curse,

we praise You

that Christ has

come to handle

that curse for us,

to step under

its weighty load,

to be even

crushed by it,

so that we

could be blessed

and made whole.

Oh, Lord,

fill us with Your

Spirit, risen Christ.

Help us to live

in the blessing

that is now ours

because You

have died

and risen again.

Lord, and with

those here this

morning who are

not in You

through faith,

turn,

admit that they

need a rescuer,

need a Savior,

and fall into

Your open arms.

Lord, confident

that You

receive all

who come to You.

We pray this

in Your mighty

name, Jesus.

Amen.