Galatians 3:23-4:7

Back in November 2013, three women were rescued from a 30 year ordeal. They'd been kept prisoners in a house in South London, it was an ordinary South London street.

! They'd been kept there, probably by cult leaders, imprisoned, enslaved, seldom allowed out, excluded from normal society, constantly living in fear, having to try and please the people

who had kept them slaves. Now I can't imagine what that ordeal must have been like, but I can imagine they would never choose to go back to it. I can imagine they would never want to go back to being slaves again.

Although I also can imagine that after 30 years of other people dominating your life, to suddenly have freedom would be a very strange thing, and a hard thing to get used to.

And no doubt they'd still live with the fears of those days, and the traumas of those days, for a long time to come.

And perhaps at times they would, they'd perhaps default to some of the behaviour they had when they were slaves, perhaps seeking approval of others.

What Paul is telling us, and telling the Galatians here, is that if you have faith in Christ, then you have been set free.

Like those women rescued from that house. You are no longer a slave, but you are free.

The trouble is for the Galatians, they were being tempted to go back into slavery.

They were being tempted to feel like they had to earn the right to be God's people.

That they had to do things to get closer to God, to get more secure.

I think actually that's a temptation for all of us.

We're so conditioned by our culture to think you don't get something for nothing.

We have to work for everything, don't we?

I was in a coffee shop just now, sitting next to some poor guy with his headphones on, reading an A-level chemistry textbook.

I think I know what he's slaving away for.

Brings back memories of a long, long time ago.

But we know we have to earn to achieve, in most cases.

And so often we can behave like that towards God as well.

We find it hard to trust that God's good promises in Christ are really unconditional.

And I think part of that is an underlying form of pride.

Actually we want to achieve something.

We want to feel like we've contributed.

We had a young lady come to our door a few weeks ago, trying to sell one of these fancy food delivery company things.

And the basic idea was, for a small sum of money, more than we could pay,

we could have these fresh ingredients, already chopped up, delivered to us.

Why do companies do that?

It's so we feel we've prepared our own food, even though actually somebody else has measured it all out,

weighed it all up, chopped it all up.

We can feel virtuous, because we cook the food.

Well, you feel less virtuous, you just shove it, the Tesco's ready meal, into your microwave and press it.

Start, don't you?

See, it's pride.

We want to feel we've achieved something.

There's two things, pride and fear.

It can be ruinous for us.

And that's what Paul is getting at here.

He wants us to show that simply through faith in Christ,

simply through trusting what Jesus has done,

God gives us great blessings, great promises.

In fact, to sum up these two particular blessings here in two words.

Inclusion and adoption.

See, inclusion in verses 25 to 29,

and adoption in verses 1 to 7.

We all want to be included, don't we?

None of us wants to be an outsider.

That's why we often hear that we are supposed to be an inclusive society.

No one's left out.

Of course, that's not true.

Secularism never manages to do that.

It always excludes some people.

But here we find in Christ, all are included, who trust in him.

A sense of both inclusion and adoption, if you look at verse 25.

But now that faith, that is Christ, the object of our faith, has come and lived and died for us,

now faith has come, we're no longer under a guardian,

we've no longer got the law to tell us what to do,

for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God through faith.

So through faith and faith alone we have inclusion and adoption.

Let's look at inclusion first.

We're part of a new community,

where once we were prisoners, enslaved, now we belong.

Look at verse 26, summed up there.

Paul says, starts at verse 26,

for in Christ you are all sons of God through faith.

What does it mean to be in Christ?

To be in Christ means to be joined to him,

to be planted into him.

It means that what is true of Jesus becomes true of us.

So Jesus died and was raised to life.

So our old selves have died,

and we've been raised to new life.

We are new people if we've trusted in Christ.

Paul gives us two little pictures in verse 27,

what being in Christ means,

or how it comes about.

So verse 27,

for as many as you were baptised into Christ

have put on Christ.

Being baptised in water is a sign

and a seal of being a member of God's covenant people.

It's a sign of being united to Christ.

It's a physical outward sign

of a spiritual inward reality.

And it's interesting what Paul says here.

He doesn't say baptism is a sign

that you told the world you believed in Jesus.

He says, no, baptism is a sign

of what God has done to you.

It's not a public declaration of your faith,

rather it's a public demonstration

of God's promises.

That you've trusted in him,

you've been washed and sealed

and united to Christ.

So baptism is a sign,

a picture of that.

Paul also goes on to say,

put on Christ,

verse 27.

Put on Christ.

Where I live in Isleworth,

I'm not too far from

Austley Underground Station,

quite often we see people

walking down our road

in blue uniforms,

I don't mean police,

dragging little

trolleys behind them,

little wheelie bags behind them,

and they're clearly

British Airways staff.

They're clothed in

British Airways uniform,

they're obviously on their way

to Heathrow.

The clothes they put on,

tell us who they belong to.

They're clothed in British Airways,

that's their identity.

That's their identity.

And think about clothes.

What is the closest thing to you?

It's your clothes, isn't it?

I got an extra jumper just now

because I realised I had

coffee spilled all over my shirt.

Clothes cover you, don't they?

Clothes are what people see.

They're also close to you.

So being in Christ means

that is your identity,

like those British Airways staff.

It means you're close to Christ,

you're covered with him.

It means that's your character,

it's what people see

as they look at you.

And this is a great change.

When we trust in Christ,

formerly we were imprisoned.

Verse 23, Paul said that.

We couldn't be free,

we were slaves,

like those poor women

rescued from that house

in South London.

But now we are included in Christ,

included in Christ,

and therefore included

in Christ's people,

this new community.

Look at verse 28.

Here there is neither Jew nor Greek,

there is neither slave nor free,

there is no male or female,

for you're all one in Christ Jesus.

Paul is saying you're now included

in this new community.

All the old social divisions

are broken down.

Jew and Greek,

Jew and Gentile was the biggest division

in the world of Paul's day.

Male and female was a big division.

A first century Jewish man

would pray every day,

thanking God that he was not born

a Gentile,

a dog,

or a woman.

Now Paul said all those old distinctions

are all gone.

You're all united in Christ.

The gender distinctions,

the socio-economic differences,

the racial differences,

no longer matter.

Now let's be clear for what this

doesn't mean.

It doesn't mean

everyone is the same

in Christ Jesus.

Jews still spoke Aramaic,

Greeks still spoke Greek.

Today, in this room,

many of us come from

different nations,

different backgrounds.

The cultures that we grew up in

are still part of this.

It's not that those differences

disappear.

Equally,

there are still differences

between men and women.

And in the Bible story,

and in the biblical teaching,

there are different roles

for men and women.

It doesn't mean

we're not equally valid

and equally loved by God,

but it does mean

there is a distinction

in our roles.

So that's what it doesn't mean.

What it does mean

is that no one

is excluded

because of their race,

because of their

socio-economic class,

because of their gender.

So the Galatians

were being taught

that they had to obey

a whole lot of Jewish laws.

If they really wanted

to be close to God,

if they really wanted

to be secure,

they had to go and obey

the Old Testament law.

And what that did

was created

at least a two-tier system

that the Jews

were really in

and really loved

and the others

who weren't.

They weren't quite

up to standard.

Paul was saying,

no,

we are all one

in Christ Jesus.

All his distinctions

are God

because what matters now

is faith in Christ.

Now,

what about us today?

We maybe don't think

we have to obey

the Jewish laws

to be more loved

by God.

But do you think

that some types

of people are

closer to God

than you are?

More loved,

more accepted?

See, here's a test.

Do you look at some people

and think,

oh, they're much better

Christians than I am.

They must be

more loved by God.

Or do you despair

sometimes

that there's something

in your life

that means you just

haven't,

you're just not

quite good enough.

you could never

make the grade.

Or perhaps

something in your

background

makes you feel

inferior in some way.

Or do you look

at other churches

other than the one

you go to

and think,

they don't really

have it.

You know,

their theology

isn't as good

as ours.

They do some

really weird

and wacky things.

So you think

like that,

if we think like that,

I think we probably

haven't really got

what Paul is saying here.

What matters

to be accepted

by God.

What matters

to be included

in his people

is not what

we've done,

not how good

our theology is,

not our

socioeconomic status,

but what Christ

has done.

There's no advantage

or disadvantage

in being a Jew

or a Greek,

in being British

or American,

in being a man

or a woman,

in being rich

or poor,

in being middle

class or working

class.

All these

distinctions are

transcended by

this new reality.

We have faith

in Christ,

we are one

in Christ Jesus.

We are included.

We are included

in God's people.

And that,

by the way,

is the one mark

of being included

in God's people.

That ties into

Christ,

faith in Christ.

So Paul is saying,

do you want to

enjoy the privilege

of belonging

to the one truly

multicultural society

on earth?

Then you need to

just trust in Jesus.

Don't try and add

to what Jesus

has done.

Don't try and

make yourself

better and more

loved by obeying

certain rules.

Don't trust in

your own performance

or your own

niceness or your

own church gang.

Trust in Christ

alone.

It is in him

that we are

included.

This is the first

privilege we have

through faith in

Christ,

is inclusion.

Included in Christ,

included in Christ's

community.

We are connected

to one another,

united to him.

That is the first

privilege to enjoy.

The second

privilege then is

adoption into a

new family.

We will go down

to verses 1-7.

See the people

from a Jewish

background in these

days could have

thought there was

something special.

So we were given

the law.

We have all this

Old Testament

history behind us.

You Gentile

believers, you

people who have

only just believed

this gospel message

about Jesus Christ,

you are a

benufferian.

you are not

quite as good

as us.

That is why you

need to live up

to our standards.

But look what

Paul says,

even about the

Jews.

Chapter 4,

verse 1.

I mean that the

heir, as long

as he is a child,

is no different

from a slave,

even though he is

the owner of

everything.

Now Paul is

using an

illustration that

would have been

well understood

by the people

of his day.

In the Roman

world, a son

in a wealthy

family would

stand to

inherit everything.

Inherit a house,

inherit all the

slaves,

inherit all the

land,

inherit the

business.

So there's a

sense that she

had everything

coming to him,

but while he

was a child,

he didn't

actually own

anything.

In fact,

while he was

a child,

he had a

slave assigned

to him as

his guardian,

as his

teacher.

And that's

what Paul is

referring to

back in

verse 24,

when he says

that so then

the law was

our guardian

until Christ

came.

So this

guardian slave

would be there

to teach and

instruct and

train up the

child.

Paul says

the law

that was

given to

Israel was

just that.

It was a

guardian sent

to instruct,

to show

Israel their

need for a

true saviour.

That's why he

goes on to

carry on in

chapter 4.

Paul says,

this child is

unbegadians

and marriages

until the

date set by

his father.

In the same

way we also,

when we were

children,

were enslaved

to the

elementary

principles of

this world.

See,

Paul's saying

even the

old Jewish

law,

where people

tried to

follow it,

ignoring Christ

and thinking

they could

earn their

way to God,

they were

actually just

being slaves

to the

elementary

principles of

this world.

What are

those elementary

principles of

the world?

Well,

they're the

basic religious

ideas that

you find in

any culture

around the

world.

The basic

religious idea

that to be

accepted,

to be on

God's side,

you need to

achieve,

you need to

do certain

things,

you need to

live up to

what God

wants.

And that

ends up in

slavishly

trying to

keep rules

which we

can never

keep.

See,

that Old

Testament

law was

never supposed

to perform

that function.

It was

always supposed

to teach

the people

of Israel

that they

were sinners,

they could

never be good

enough for

God.

It was to

teach them

that they

needed someone

that sin,

rebellion against

God,

failing to live

up to God's

standards,

always deserved

death.

And it was to

teach them they

needed somebody

else to die

so they could

have the life

and promises

God gave.

But it was

often misused.

So instead

they used it

as a way of

feeling they

could earn

God's favour.

Paul says

that is

nonsense.

Why?

Well look at

verse 4.

When the

fullness of

time had

come,

God sent

forth his

son,

born of

woman,

born under

the law,

to redeem

those under

the law,

so that we

might receive

the adoption

as sons.

See,

the fullness

of time

refers to

that illustration

again.

The father

would set a

date when

his child

could inherit

everything.

And God

finally sent

his own

son,

the Lord

Jesus,

at just

the right

time.

Born of

a woman,

Paul says,

an echo

of the very

first great

promise back

in Genesis

Genesis 3:15

chapter 3

verse 15,

when God

had promised

Adam and

Eve that

one day

someone would

come who

would end

Satan's reign

on the world,

he would be

born of a

woman.

And Paul

adds,

born under

the law.

In other

words,

Jesus was

born in

Nazareth,

in Palestine,

born as a

Jew,

circumcised on

the eighth

day,

keeping that

law all

his life.

But unlike

every other

human being,

he kept it

perfectly.

His life was

marked by

obedience to

that law.

And that is

why,

Paul says,

he could

redeem those

who are

under the

law.

See,

Jesus fulfilled

all the

obligations.

He loved

God with

all his

heart,

mind,

soul and

strength.

He loved

his neighbours

himself.

He kept

the law

perfectly,

which all

of us

fail to

do.

And then

he took

the curse,

the punishment

for breaking

the law,

which you

and I

deserve.

Let me

put it

like this,

Jesus lived

the life

that you

and I

could never

live,

and he

died the

death that

you and

I deserve

to die.

And in

doing so,

he redeemed

us,

he rescued

us from

the curse

of the

law.

Like the

police going

into that

house in

South London,

getting those

women out.

Jesus entered

into our

world,

took our

punishment,

and got

us out.

See,

we needed

Jesus'

perfect

obedience to

fulfil the

law,

we needed

Jesus'

death to

take the

curse of

the law

for us.

And what's

the result

of all

that?

Look at

verse 5,

the end

of it.

So that

we might

receive

adoption

as

sons.

No

longer

slaves,

no

longer

imprisoned,

but adopted

as sons.

Now what

happens when

a child is

adopted?

What happens

when a child

is adopted?

Well for a

start they

suddenly have

a family

where once

presumably

they may

have been

in care,

maybe living

in an orphanage

somewhere.

They receive

a new name,

they take

the family

name,

they get a

new identity,

a new

security,

they're loved,

they're indeed

chosen by

their parents.

Instead of

being excluded,

now they're

loved and

brought in.

And any

disadvantages of

their natural

circumstances

are done

away with.

If they

were born

into poverty

or born

unwanted

and deprived,

whatever.

Suddenly

those problems,

those natural

consequences

are being

dealt with,

may take time

for that to

work itself

out,

but they

are dealt

with,

they have

a fresh

and wonderful

new start.

And so

it is for

Christians.

When we

trust in

Christ,

we're

immediately

adopted by

the Father.

That's

his whole

purpose.

He wants

to adopt

us into

his family.

And that

is the

wonderful

truth of

the good

news.

If we've

trusted in

Christ,

we're

adopted.

We have

a Father

who loves

us.

Can I

ask you,

how do you

think of

God?

How do you

think of

God?

Do you

have this

image in

your mind

of a

distant,

stern,

taskmaster

who needs

to be

obeyed,

who gets

fed up

with you

a lot?

Is that

how you

think of

him?

Paul is

telling us

here we

can think

of him

as our

Father in

Heaven.

Now I

know some

of us in

this room

have had

terrible

fathers.

Maybe they

ran away,

maybe they

took no

responsibility,

maybe they

were abusive.

But even

if you've

had a bad

father,

you know

what a

good father

should have

looked like,

don't you?

At every

point you

would critique

your own

father,

you know

what a

good father

should look

like.

And here

we have a

father in

Heaven,

if we've

trusted in

Christ,

the perfect

father.

We do

not need

to own

his love,

rather he's

given his

own son,

so you can

be adopted

as his

child.

So those

women who

were freed

back in

November

2013,

they had a

lot to get

used to,

freedom in

the new

world.

But they'd

gone from

being imprisoned

and kept

apart from

society,

now they're

included.

They'd gone

from being

slaves to

being free.

Maybe they

weren't quite

adopted because

they were all

adults.

Perhaps they

were at least

adopted into

some communities

that would

look after

them.

This is

what freedom

means.

It means

freedom from

fear of

rejection because

of our

failure.

Freedom to be

included and

adopted and

loved.

Not because

of what we've

done but

because of

what Christ

has done.

It means

freedom from

our habits

and failings.

Look at

verse 6.

What does

Paul say

there?

Because you

are sons,

God has

sent the

spirit of

his son

into our

hearts,

crying,

Abba,

Father.

The Holy

Spirit changes

us and

enables us to

know we

are adopted

by God.

It also

means freedom

from fear

about the

future for

a real hope

of the future.

Look at

verse 7.

If you're

no longer

a slave

but a

son,

and if

a son,

then an

heir through

God.

An heir.

You have

an inheritance

to look

forward to.

A future

living forever

in God's

place with

all God's

people,

the new

family you're

included into

with our

Lord Jesus

Christ,

our big

brother,

in that new

creation.

That is the

inheritance.

And how

does all

this come?

Through our

own hard

work,

through our

own niceness,

Jesus.

Now look

at those

last two

words of

verse 7.

It comes

through

God,

through what

he has

done.

Let's

pray.