Galatians 3v15-29

Galatians chapter 3, we're going to look at verses 15 to 25, and we're doing an Advent series

Galatians 3 · chapter mention

! in the evening and from next week we'll do some Advent stuff in the mornings. Galatians 3, 15 to 25.

Let me again plug just Tabletalk Magazine. I think it's a brilliant magazine on helping us get into

the Bible and read the scriptures every day. The articles are terrific and in fact I wish I'd written,

I wish I'd read these articles before this sermon. And so there's some very, very helpful stuff on

Faith Alone, the differences between Biblical Christianity and Orthodoxy and Biblical Christianity

and the Roman Catholic Church. And so take one, take two, take as many as you can use. I think it's

a terrific magazine. In June of 1520, three years after Martin Luther nailed his 95 thesis to the door,

the castle door in Wittenberg, Martin Luther was condemned by the Roman Catholic Church.

He was condemned by the Pope, condemned as a heretic, officially. And so Luther was forbidden to preach

and teach. By way of response, Martin Luther, who by all accounts is pretty fiery, published three books.

The first book was on the Christian nobility of the German nation. It was a masterstroke.

If there's one way to get the Germans behind you in the Protestant Reformation is to say,

well, you're not Italians, are you? And it was a brilliant, brilliant book. It was a masterstroke,

politically. The second book that he wrote in 1520 was The Babylonian Captivity of the Church. It is a no-holds-barred

expose of the Roman Catholic Church and its abuses. You feel like you want to wear a safety helmet when

you read it. And then thirdly, he wrote a little book called The Freedom of the Christian.

You can still buy it today. There are those who say that The Freedom of the Christian by Martin Luther

is one of the great pieces of literature in Western civilization. And in that little book, he makes two

propositions. Number one, that a Christian, somebody who has put their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ,

is an utterly free man. Lord of all and subject to none. But secondly, he says that a Christian

is an utterly dutiful man. The servant of all and subject of all. A free man, Lord of all, subject to no one.

A dutiful man. A dutiful man. Subject, a servant of all and subject to all. And it's the first of those

prepositions that I think Galatians chapter 3 verses 15 to 25 is all about. That if you have put your faith

Galatians 3:15–25

in the Lord Jesus Christ and in him alone, you are free. The Lord of all, subject to none.

Perhaps the key verse in the book of Galatians is chapter 5 verse 1. Can you see that?

Isaiah 5:1

For freedom, Christ has set us free. For freedom, Christ has set us free. The theme tune of Galatians

is freedom. Freedom from the tyranny of the law. Freedom from the laws of men.

Freedom from a guilty conscience. Freedom from the laws which the church imposes upon us. Freedom from the laws

of the Judaizers of Paul's day that they were imposing. Freedom from the law as a means of justification.

As a means of getting right with God. It is for freedom that Jesus Christ has set us free.

There were those who turned up in the Galatian church. They were infiltrators.

And they were deeply suspicious of the apostle Paul and his message.

Of what he was preaching and what he was doing.

The church is made up largely of non-Jewish Gentile Christians.

And these infiltrators, these Judaizers, were insisting,

it's not enough to believe in the Lord Jesus.

It's not enough to believe in the Lord Jesus.

There are certain religious rites that you have to do.

You have to obey certain ceremonial laws.

Like circumcision and food laws.

And the Sabbath laws.

And feast day laws.

And you have to do that in order

to be made right with God.

To be justified.

It was insufficient.

It was not enough to believe in Jesus.

You need to do something extra.

And it was that which led Paul

to cite Father Abraham in Genesis 15.

Abraham was the father of the Jews.

Do you remember the infiltrators, the Judaizers,

were saying you've got to get back to Moses.

You've got to get back to the law.

And Paul says I see you Moses

and I raise you to Abraham,

the father of the Jews.

And what Genesis 15 and verse 6 says

that Abraham, the father of the Jews,

he believed.

He believed in God's promises.

And it was reckoned to him.

It was credited to him as righteousness.

It was through the instrument of faith

in the promise that God had made

that God counted Abraham as righteous.

God reckoned Abraham as a law keeper.

And so the question is then,

or what is the function of the law?

If you're possible, Paul is saying,

we are saved apart from the law,

apart from works,

apart from obedience,

apart from our trying.

we are made right with God

through faith in Jesus Christ alone,

and apart from obedience on our part,

what is the point of the law?

What is its purpose?

Look at verse 19 of chapter 3.

Why then the law?

Why then the law?

And Paul gives us two answers.

One is negative and one is positive.

So first of all,

let's look at the negative answer.

What the law cannot do.

What the law cannot do.

The law of God

cannot annul

the promise of God.

The law of God

cannot undo

the gospel of God,

the good news of God.

At whatever place,

at whatever function

the law had,

it cannot subvert the gospel.

You can't leave

justification by faith alone behind.

There were those in the church in Galatia,

just like there are those today,

who suggest something like this.

That the gospel

brings you to the front door.

That the gospel enables you

to put your feet on the front step.

But in order to keep going,

in order to reach the end,

it is entirely of works.

Do you remember when you were

slightly nervous of going

to someone's house?

You were being dropped off

by your parents.

And your parents would say,

listen, I'll drive you to the steps.

But you've got to get out

and knock the door yourself.

You've got to go in yourself.

I'll take you as far as I can take you,

but then it's up to you.

You've got to go in.

And there were people

that were saying,

that is what the Bible's message is.

The gospel gets you to the point

where it gets you on the front step.

But in order to keep going as a Christian,

in order to reach the end,

well then it's about what you do.

It's about our obedience.

And Paul is addressing that here.

That fundamental,

pharisaical spirit.

And all of us

are recovering Pharisees

in some form or another.

All of us revert

to that religious Pharisee mode.

And Paul is addressing that issue.

That you begin by faith

and then you are made perfect

by the works,

by flesh.

You begin by the spirit,

but you are made perfect

by the flesh.

And so he raises this example.

And it's an example

of history from Abraham.

And he says in verse 15,

can you see it?

I'll give you a human example.

Paul, brothers,

even with a man-made covenant,

no one annuls it

or adds to it

once it's been ratified.

And the word there for covenant

is a word called diotheke.

It's quite a prominent word

in Greek in the New Testament.

And there are people who say,

what Paul has in mind here

is not so much

God's covenant,

but a last will and testament.

And there's a raging debate.

Hundreds of PhDs

have been written on it.

Whether it should be rendered

covenant,

or last will and testament.

And if it's last will and testament,

there are kind of different choices.

Was Paul thinking of

the way Romans did

last wills and testaments?

Or was he thinking about

the way Greeks did

last wills and testaments?

They're different.

If he was thinking of

a Greek last will and testament,

it was very clear

that once the will had been made

and the testament had been made

and had been signed

and ratified

and placed in the depository,

it could not be changed.

It could not be annulled.

It could not be broken.

It could not be tampered with.

It's a minister I know

quite well in Wales

and very foolishly,

when he was asked

to be an executor

of an old lady in his church,

he said,

yes, never agree to that

if you're a minister.

It was a total disaster.

As she left her entire estate

between the church,

50% went to the church

and 50% went to her family.

When she died,

of course the family found out

about this

and they were incensed.

They were absolutely furious.

They contested it.

They went to the local press.

They were furious

that 50% of their mother's estate

went to the church

and they contested it.

They contested the way

that the will had been drawn up.

After endless hassle

and it being in the local papers,

about a month later,

the lawyer called my friend

and said,

I've looked into it

and the will cannot be altered.

The will was entered into legally,

it was ratified legally

and it cannot be changed.

And to the boot,

I've charged the family

£1,000 for the decision.

Can you imagine,

it made things a whole lot worse.

The point is this.

The illustration is saying this.

Once a will has been done,

it cannot be changed.

And once someone has died,

then the will certainly cannot be changed.

So it could be that,

or perhaps Paul doesn't have

the last will and testament in mind,

but as the ESV suggests,

he has God's covenant.

And the point about God's covenant

is this.

His word,

God's word,

can never be broken.

The grass withers

and the flowers fade,

but the word of our God

stands forever.

And when God gives his word,

it is utterly

and completely trustworthy.

And so he's talking about

God's covenant with Abraham

that we read of in Genesis 12

and then the covenant in Genesis 12

is ratified in Genesis 15.

It's confirmed.

In Genesis 12, actually,

the word covenant does not appear.

But in Genesis 15,

he speaks about the covenant

that's already been made.

And so we can defer from that,

can't we,

that what God did in Genesis 12

is a covenant with Abraham.

Abraham.

And in that covenant,

God promised to Abraham

land and seed

and children

and that his children

would be like

the stars in the sky

and like the sand on the seashore.

In chapter 15,

he ratifies that covenant.

He confirms it.

And that covenant

would eventually produce

the Lord Jesus Christ.

And Paul makes

what is a rather obscure

kind of exegetical point.

he kind of looks

and sees something

that we wouldn't initially see

from Genesis 12 and verse 15.

That when God made the promise

to Abraham,

he said,

to you and your offspring,

singular.

Now there's a sense

which that promise

that God made to Abraham

was to his children

and to his grandchildren

and his great-grandchildren

after them.

It's part of the argument

of why we baptise children,

that God's promises

always include

the children of believers,

that children are included

within the covenant.

But the Apostle Paul

looks at it

and he draws this one

particular point.

He says it's singular.

And the fulfilment

of the promise

in Genesis 12, 15, 17

is ultimately found

in the Lord Jesus Christ.

So let me tell you

the story of Genesis 15.

Do you remember

how God confirmed

how he ratified his covenant?

In Genesis 15,

we're told that Abraham

was to take a cow

and a goat

and a ram

and a dove

and he was to cut

those animals in half.

And he was to cut them

in half

and then he was to

separate the two halves

from each other

to leave a path

for people to walk through

between the carcasses.

And it's at that point

that Abraham

falls fast asleep.

into a deep sleep.

And then do you remember

what happened in Genesis 15

where he told that

a smoking furnace,

a firepot,

came down.

It was symbolic

of God's presence.

And so God's presence

comes down

while Abraham is

in a deep sleep

and the firepot,

the symbol of God's presence,

passes between

the severed pieces.

there's a covenant made

but one of the parties

of the covenant

is fast asleep

and the other party

of the covenant

walks through.

Now when they walk

through those

severed pieces of animals,

what were they saying?

They were saying

in that agreement

that what has happened

to these animals,

it should fall on me,

it should happen to me

if I break this covenant.

that if I break my promise,

if I break my word,

may what's happened

to this cow cut in two

happen to me.

May I be cut in two.

And so you have

this incredible promise,

don't you,

that God makes

where he takes

both the blessings

and the curses

of the covenant

upon himself

and he says

if Abraham or I

break this covenant,

may the curse

fall on

me.

And where is Abraham?

Fast asleep.

God is saying

if I fail

to observe

the terms

of my covenant

and if Abraham

fails to observe

the terms

of the covenant,

may the covenant

curse

fall on me.

It was a binding oath

on God,

on God's part

for blessing

and for curse.

His word

having been given

and blood

having been shed,

that covenant

cannot be nullified.

The law,

Mount Sinai,

came 430 years

after that.

430 years.

And so the Apostle Paul,

he looks over

the history

of God's dealings

with his people,

of the history

of redemption,

and he says

the law

coming 430 years

after that covenant

with Abraham

could not

break the promise,

could not annul

the promise

given to Abraham.

And so

that God

wasn't saying,

well,

it was by faith

in Abraham's day,

but now Moses'

time has come

and so it's the law

and works.

Paul is saying

it has always

been by faith

alone.

I remember being

asked,

as a kind of

young Christian,

how did

Old Testament

believers

become Christians,

if I can put it

like that?

and I remember

it was like

a lightbulb moment.

It was like

a lightbulb moment.

That they

become Christians

in exactly

the same way

that you and I do.

That by faith

we look back

to what Christ

has done.

By faith

they grasp

the promise

and they look

forward to

what Christ

has done.

I think Paul

is also speaking

here in terms

of Christian

experience.

That we receive

forgiveness

of sins

by faith

in Jesus

Christ

and by faith

in Jesus

Christ alone.

And we have

to be absolutely

clear because

the drift of

our hearts

is the opposite

way.

That we don't

begin by faith

and finish

by works.

We don't

begin by the

spirit

and finish

by the flesh.

We don't

get our foot

in the door

by the gospel

and then it's

entirely up to

us.

The promise

was given

to Abraham

and it

was a

promise

that at

the heart

of it

a promise

of Jesus.

A promise

of the

provision

of God

in the

gospel.

The law

cannot

undo

justification

by faith.

The law

cannot

undo

your right

standing

with God

through faith

in Jesus

Christ.

It is not

justification

by faith

and then

sanctification

by works.

The law

cannot

undo

the promise.

It's a

beautiful

verse,

verse 17.

You need

to meditate

on it

this week.

The law

does not

annul

God's

covenant.

It's an

amazing thing.

The law

cannot

undo

the promise

and so

you look

to the

promise.

But then

secondly,

Paul makes

a positive

statement.

What can

the law

do?

What does

the law

do?

What then

is the

function

of the

law?

If the

law cannot

undo

the promise,

what's the

function

of the

law?

Now the

Reformation

understood

God's

law in

three ways.

It says

there's

three uses

of the

law.

I know

it's been

hard work

this morning

but stick

with me.

First of

all, it

talks about

the civil

use of

the law.

And so

the use

of God's

law in

society,

this is

God's

world,

God's

law.

The use

of the

law in

framing

society

after the

Ten

Commandments.

The rules

and the

regulations

for ordinary

society

was God's

law.

And there's

a sense

in which

God's

law was

given

to bring

civilization.

The use

of the

law in

civil life

to

restrain

public

wickedness

and

maintain

order

in

society.

Of

course

you see

that

fully

in the

nation

of

Israel

in the

Old

Testament

but that

still

stands

today.

We see

the

disaster

that

comes

upon

a

country

that

gives

itself

up

on

God's

law.

But there's

a second

use of

the

law.

And it's

what we

see here

in the

Apostle

Paul.

He says

the law

is a

guardian

or a

pedagogue,

a teacher.

Then there's a

third use of

the law

where it's

a kind of

didactic sense.

The law

as a rule

for life

it is to

guide our

behavior as

believers

to reflect the

blessings of

the grace

which we've

received.

It sets a

pattern for

the Christian

law.

But what

Paul is

doing in

verse 19

is he's

saying about

that second

use of

the law

that it is

a teacher,

it is a

guardian.

it was

added because

of

transgressions,

rebellion.

It was

added because

of transgressions.

There's a

sense in

which the

law only

multiplies

our need.

The law

only multiplies

our sinfulness.

It only

shuts us up.

Look at what

it says in

verse 22.

He talks

about the

scriptures

there.

The

scriptures

imprisoned

everything.

The

scripture

imprisoned

everything

under sin

so that

the promise

by faith

in Jesus

Christ

might be

given to

those who

believe.

When the

law comes

it demonstrates

what sin

is.

When the

law comes

it magnifies

our sin

and our

failure

and our

inability

and our

bondage.

There is a

sense in

which when

the law

comes all

it does

is kill

and destroy

and imprison.

The world

thinks in

this way

the world

thinks that

the obligation

to do

something

implies the

ability to

do it.

That's how

the world

thinks.

The world

thinks if

you are

obliged to

do

something

then you

must have

the ability

to do

it.

The

Bible

however

flips that

on its

head.

You

are under

obligation

but you

cannot

obey.

That's the

frustration

isn't it?

the difficulty

of God's

law is

it says

do this

and you

and I

cannot do

it.

The law

says go

here

and you

find yourself

going in the

opposite direction.

And when the

law came

Paul here is

speaking perhaps

about the

history of

redemption

but also

when we

speak about

our experience

this is how

we experience

the law.

so think

with me

about

Romans

Romans 7 · chapter mention

chapter 7

in fact

come back

with me

to Romans

Romans 7 · chapter mention

chapter 7

Romans

Romans 7 · chapter mention

chapter 7

and verse

7

where Paul

says this

he says

and what

then

shall we

say

Romans

Romans 7:7

7

verse 7

what

then

shall

we

say

that

the

law

is

sin

by

no

means

yet

if it

had not

been

for the

law

I

would

not

have

known

sin

for I

would

not

have

known

what

it

is

to

covet

if

the

law

had

said

you

shall

not

covet

but

sin

seizing

an

opportunity

through

the

commandment

produced

in me

all

kinds

of

covetlessness

for

apart

from

the

law

sin

lies

dead

I

was

once

alive

apart

from

the

law

but

when

the

commandment

came

sin

came

alive

and I

died

what's

he

saying

there

he's

!

talking

about

his

life

as

a

Pharisee

as

a

religious

man

he's

talking

about

his

life

before

he

became

Christian

he

was

alive

once

that's

how

he

felt

he

felt

he

was

alive

a

man

full

of

vigour

and

moral

power

but

then

the

law

of

God

came

and

it

convicted

him

and

it

incarcerated

him

and

it

put

him

in

prison

and

shut

him

up

and

it

showed

the

apostle

Paul

that

he

couldn't

do

what

God

was

asking

him

to

do

it

showed

him

his

inability

it

showed

him

his

sinfulness

and

his

wretchedness

it

only

demonstrated

that

he

couldn't

save

himself

when

the

law

came

he

died

he

felt

once

he

felt

alive

he

felt

he

was

full

of

life

and

vigour

our

friends

who are

not

Christians

they're

not

gloomy

in the

main

they're

not

always

down

they

are

alive

without

the

law

and

then

the

law

comes

when

they

understand

it

and

it

shows

them

their

inability

and

it

shows

them

their

sinfulness

and

it

shows

them

their

need

!

and

it

it's

like

being

imprisoned

it's

like

the

rich

young

ruler

he

comes

to

Jesus

and

he

says

to

Jesus

this

amazing

question

what

must

I

do

to

inherit

eternal

life

and

Jesus

says

you

know

the

ten

commandments

go

and

do

them

the

rich

young

ruler

says

well

all

these

I've

kept

since

I

was

a

boy

he

hasn't

understood

the

law

he

feels

he's

!

he

feels

full

of

moral

courage

and

virtue

he

says

to

Jesus

all

these

I've

kept

since

I

was a

boy

was his

problem

he

didn't

understand

it

Paul

talks

in

Philippians

3

concerning

zeal

he

talks

about

his

life

before

he

became

a

Christian

concerning

zeal

as

to

the

law

as

to

righteousness

under

the

law

blameless

that's

what I

thought I

was

that's

how I

felt

I felt

alive

and

then

the

law

and

it

handed

me

in

and

Paul

uses

two

metaphors

one of

the

metaphors

that he

uses

is

this

metaphor

of

a

pedagogue

!

or a

guardian!

He

uses

the

image

of a

prison

guard

but

he

also

uses

this

metaphor

of a

pedagogue

a

pedagogue

in

Greek

or

Roman

culture

was

a

man

usually

was

a

slave

and

that

slave

would

be

hired

to

disciple

and

train

and

teach

the

child

and

he

would

go

everywhere

with

him

he

would

go

to

school

with

the

child

he

would

discipline

the

child

all

with

a

view

to

disciplining

him

that's

what

the

law

does

it

disciplines

us

the

law

hangs

us

in

the

law

is

like

one

of

those

sheep

dogs

in

a

sheep

trial

kind

of

biting

on

our

feet

trying

to

get

us

to

where

we

need

to

go

to

and

the

law

is

like

all

of

those

restraints

and

you

it

pushes

you

and

it

prods

you

until

you

realise

there

is

only

one

place

to

go

and

the

only

place

that

you

can

go

the

law

teaches

us

is

to

Jesus

Christ

what

does

the

law

do

the

law

drives

us

to

Jesus

Christ

the

law

kicks

away

our

self

reliance

and

it

drives

us

to

faith

and

to

faith

alone

and

not

just

for

our

justification

that's

Paul's

point

it's

not

just

for

our

justification

the

law

cannot

make

you

right

with

God

but

the

law

cannot

sanctify

you

it

cannot

make

you

more

holy

there

is

a

view

isn't

there

in

churches

like

ours

where

you're

justified

by

faith

but

you're

sanctified

by

the

law

and

that

is

a

disaster

because

we're

never

able

to

do

it

any

obedience

we are

to

offer

to

the

law

and

we

are

to

walk

by

the

fruit

of

the

Holy

Spirit

we

do

so

by

the

strength

and

the

power

of

the

Holy

Spirit

in

union

and

communion

with

Jesus

Christ

because

apart

from

the

Lord

Jesus

we

can

do

nothing

but

there

is

a

view

isn't

there

that

Paul

is

addressing

!

here

!

those

who

begin

by

faith

and

that

they

are

made

perfect

by

the

flesh

and

Paul

says

no

that's

nonsense

it's

a way

of

disaster

and

it's

a way

of

ruin

and

so

what

is

the

function

of

the

law

some

of

you

are

wondering

well

what

is

the

function

of

the

law

in

the

life

of

a

Christian

are

Christians

obligated

to

obey

the

Ten

Commandments

the

answer

to that

is

of

course

you've

got to

read

Galatians

Galatians 5:6

chapter 5

verse 6

where

Paul

gives

lots

of

prohibitions

and

lots

of

commands

do

this

and

don't

do

that

but

his

point

is

this

any

obedience

that we

offer

is

not

our

obedience

solely

it is

because

we are

united

by

faith

to

the

Lord

Jesus

Christ

and

it's

only

because

we are

cleansed

and

forgiven

and the

promise

has been

given

to us

that

cannot

be

annulled

and

cannot

be

taken

away

and

so

trusting

in

that

promise

we are

free

to

obey

God's

law

and

so

he

addresses

you

today

you

who

have

come

this

morning

bowed

down

beneath

a load

of care

and a load

of guilt

you

who have

come

and you

are

aware

that

you've

sinned

and you've

fallen

short

of the

glory

of God

like

all

of us

have

and

you've

not done

the

things

that you've

promised

to do

and you've

not lived

up to the

vows you made

last Sunday

and it

weighs on

you

it weighs

on you

there is

within each

one of us

a recovering

pharisaical

mode

that operates

in our minds

there's a view

in our minds

that we've got

from somewhere

that Jesus

brings us

to the front

door

he opens

the passenger

side

and he

says

you're

on your

own

from now

on

the rest

of life

is entirely

up to

you

but the

law of

God

drives us

to Jesus

Christ

and to

the gospel

and so we

are justified

by faith

and we

live

by faith

in the

Lord Jesus

Christ

let's

pray