You Are All Sons Of God

Gilligan's Island

Daytime soaps

General Hospital

Days of our lives

48 hours

Blue Bloods

I think Magnum P.I.

The Brady Bunch

I think every one of these shows

had one particular episode

the amnesia episode

you know someone

Marsha Gilligan

they hit their head

they forget who they are

and for the whole episode

they're trying to remember

who they are

and when they remember

who they are

they remember

who they are

the episode is about

they're losing their identity

and all of the cast

is trying to help them

to remember their identity

well it makes for

great entertainment

but spiritually speaking

there's this thing out there

called gospel amnesia

amnesia

and what gospel amnesia

is

is this very harmful condition

Christians regularly deal with

it's when a Christian forgets

who they are in Christ

it's when a Christian forgets

what all God has done for them

in the person of Jesus

when that happens

it's gospel amnesia

and it's not just

kind of a condition

it's really dangerous

because when you forget

who you are

in the gospel of Jesus Christ

you then go back

to old addictions

and the greatest addiction

that we all face

as human beings

is trying to

save ourselves

to make ourselves

right in God's eyes

to try to

obey our way

into salvation

so what I want

to help you realize

is that

gospel amnesia

typically ends

in some kind

of a legalism

and classically defined

legalism

is

trying to

kind of

obey your way

into God's grace

trying to earn

your salvation

now

you may be thinking

when you hear

legalism

you think of those

Pharisees

from the gospels

those men

who just

stared down

their noses

in self-righteousness

at those people

who weren't as

righteous as they were

that is a kind

of legalism

but it's not the only

kind of legalism

there's a second

class kind of legalism

and it's what

the apostle Paul

raises

with these Galatians

in Galatians 3.3

he says

are you so foolish

having begun

by the spirit

are you now

being perfected

by the flesh

this second

class kind

of legalism

is this thinking

that well

what Jesus

began in me

I'll finish

off by my

own obedience

the salvation

that God

has started

in me

by grace

and his spirit

well I will

finish that off

by my own

obedience

through the power

of my flesh

that is

just another

kind of legalism

that's just

another way

of saying

my salvation

is dependent

on me

Jesus may have

saved me

but I keep

myself

saved

it's a salvation

by works

and it's not

the gospel

of grace

the book of Galatians

is all about

the gospel

of grace

how the gospel

Christ crucified

sets us free

from start

to finish

from sin

and the law

the gospel

is all about

God's grace

it's all about

Christ

the first people

who received

this letter

which is

approaching

2000 years old

now

this letter

to the Galatians

the first person

people that

received this

well they had

forgotten

who they were

in Christ

they had

forgotten

all of what

God had done

for them

through Jesus

Christ

it wasn't

connecting

for them

and because

they were

confused

about this

it made

them right

for some

false teachers

to come in

and there

were false

teachers

that came

in

and they

were teaching

these

Gentile

Christians

in Galatia

they were

saying

hey

it's okay

that you

started in

Jesus

but you know

what you

need to

start

getting

circumcised

and then

you need

to start

obeying

Jewish

dietary laws

no more

pork for you

and then

you really

need to

take off

from work

for Yom Kippur

and Rosh Hashanah

so you can

observe all

the Jewish

holy days

too

and so

what they're

saying is

hey

you know

I'm glad

you believe

in Jesus

but you

really need

to finish

this off

by obeying

the law

and so

Paul writes

this letter

to this

confused

church

to set

the gospel

record

straight

and so

this morning

in the passage

that we're

looking at

here's what

Paul's getting

done

he's saying

if you're

in Christ

you're not

under the

law

if you're

in Christ

you're not

under the

law

let's be

clear

Paul writes

if you're

in Christ

you're not

under

the law

of Moses

and in

order to

convince

us

that we

are in

Christ

and not

under the

law

Paul

clarifies

three realities

in Galatians

Galatians 3:15–29

chapter 3

verses 15

through 29

first he's

going to

clear up

this promise

that was

made to

Abraham

and I

got to

tell you

there is

some

theological

gold

here

that's in

verses 15

through 18

and then he's

going to

clarify

the actual

purpose of

the Mosaic

law

which

heightens

the promise

and then

in verses

25

through 29

he's going

to point

us to

the promised

fulfilled

he wants

us to be

clear

on who

we are

in Christ

and that

we're not

under the

law anymore

so this

this passage

it's

it's all

about

God's

promise

to Abraham

that's not

fulfilled by

the law

but fulfilled

in Christ

and in it

all

we're going

to walk

away

saying

oh that's

who I am

in Jesus

Christ

so you

may have

come in

here this

morning

and you

were suffering

gospel amnesia

and you

didn't even

really know

it

but my

desire

is for you

to leave

today

fully aware

of what

God and

Christ has

done for

you

so you

leave this

building

with your

head held

up in

Christ

Jesus

if you're

in Christ

you don't

need to

slump

under

the law

you hold

your head

up

and all

of God's

blessings

poured out

on you

in Christ

you ready

to dig in

let's look

at this

promise that

was made

in verses

15 through

18

Paul starts

off by saying

to give a human

example and all

of a sudden

we're like

wait

hold on a

second

what's going

on here

I feel

like I'm

entering

into a

conversation

halfway

through

and we

are

so he's

he's

saying

hey let

me give

you a

human

example

and what

he's going

to kind

of demonstrate

here

he's been

talking about

verse chapter

3 verse

8 and the

scripture

foreseeing that

God would

justify the

Gentiles by

faith

preach the

gospel

beforehand

to Abraham

saying in

all and you

shall all the

nations be

blessed

and then in

verse 14

it says so

that in Christ

Jesus the

blessing of

Abraham I

come to

the Gentiles

so what he's

going to say

is hey let me

help you

understand by

way of human

example how

Gentiles non-Jews

can become

sons of

Abraham

it's got

everything to do

with the

promise

so to give a

human example

he says

even with a

man-made covenant

no one annuls

it or adds

to it once

it's been

ratified

so here's

what's going

on here

Paul is

saying we

all get

this general

principle of

kind of

covenants and

wills and

it applies to

the relationship

between Abraham's

promise God's

promise to

Abraham and

the law of

Moses and so

here's the general

principle let me

let me try to

illustrate it

let's say

Jenny and I

make a will

we have it

ratified it

gets sealed by

some important

person and

none of our

children can now

change that will

however they see

fit

you don't go

back and change

something that's

been ratified

it's not like

one of my

children can go

and do that

because the

will's been

done

that's Paul's

logic

he's saying

there is a

covenant

this will

that's been

done

and that

whatever comes

afterwards

doesn't change

it

so here are the

two things he's

going to describe

the covenant

that's been

ratified is

God's promise

to Abraham

it's

irrevocable

it's unchanging

and there is

some gold here

and then he's

going to say

the law which

came afterwards

that doesn't

doesn't change

the nature

of this promise

God made to

Abraham

so let's look at

what this promise

is

verse 16

now the promises

there were multiple

promises God made

to Abraham

about God

blessing all the

nations

in Abraham

and in one of

his offspring

now the promises

were made

to Abraham

and to his

offspring

and then Paul

does something

really kind of

nerdy

it does not say

and to offsprings

referring to many

but referring to

one

and to your

offspring

who is Christ

Paul

is not

just getting

techno nerd

because he's

interested in

these things

the whole

argument

depends on it

what he's

saying is

based upon

the grammar

of the Hebrew

in Genesis

Genesis 12 · chapter mention

chapter 12

and Genesis

Genesis 22 · chapter mention

chapter 22

because

offspring

is not plural

but singular

what this means

is

God

made a promise

to Abraham's

one offspring

to

bless

all the

nations

of the world

and what he means

by that

is to bring

salvation

to

pour out

his grace

to

justify

the nations

by faith

he's going

to

God is going

to do

this

through

one

of

Abraham's

offspring

you ready

for the

eureka

moment

who is

Christ

it's

almost like

what

he's saying

this

one

offspring

that

God

promised

all the

blessings

of Abraham

is

Christ

here's

what he's

saying

that

way back

when that

covenant

was made

God

made it

to

Abraham's

offspring

who was

Christ

and so

what Paul's

saying

is

way back

in

Genesis

12

this

promise

to bless

all the

nations

of the

world

through

the

offspring

who is

Christ

was

ratified

and God

ratified it

by swearing

by himself

22

7

in other

words

what we're

being told

here is

from the

very

beginning

God

had

covenanted

that he

is going

to save

the nations

through

Christ

sign

sealed

delivered

done

that's

in play

and

that then

raises the

question

well what

about the

law

and so

that's

where Paul

goes

this is

what I

mean

the law

in verse

17

which came

430

years

afterwards

does not

annul a

covenant

previously

ratified by

God

so as to

make the

promise void

this promise

that God

made to

Abraham's

offspring

who is

Christ

is not

made null

and void

by the

coming

of all

613

commands

of Moses

on Mount

Sinai

430

years

later

those

laws

don't

nullify

this

promise

speaking of

that promise

in verse

18

for if the

inheritance

comes by

the law

it's no

longer

comes by

promise

but God

gave it

to Abraham

by a

promise

that's

how it

was

ratified

it's

interesting

he uses

the word

inheritance

here in

verse

18

that's

heir

language

an heir

h-e-i-r

receives

an

inheritance

and the

inheritance

he's speaking

of is

all the

blessings

of God's

salvation

in the

offspring

Christ

that's

the

inheritance

that

inheritance

doesn't

come by

the law

obedience

to the

law

it

comes

it

was

given

by a

promise

okay

what's

interesting

about

verse

18

but God

gave

it's not

that word

gave

it's not

the typical

Greek word

for gave

it's

it's an

interesting

Greek word

it at

its core

it has

this word

grace

to it

God

graced

to Abraham

the promise

this

this

covenant

he made

to Abraham's

offspring

Christ

to bless

all the

nations

of the

world

is by

grace

not by

law

so what

Paul is

doing here

is saying

hey

you got to

be clear

on what

this promise

God made

to Abraham

really is

it's a

promise to

Christ

and that's

unalterable

by whatever

comes after

it

so Paul

is clarifying

for us

the relationship

between

God's

promise

to Abraham

and the

law

of Moses

because if

you are

in Christ

you're no

longer under

the law

you know

what this

means

when God

promised

to Abraham

to his

offspring

to Christ

to bless

all the

nations of

the world

he had

you in

mind

way back

then

he had

you in

mind

he wanted

you

he's always

wanted

you

that's the

first point

Paul wants

to convince

us

no

that this

promise

in Christ

is not

changed

or altered

at all

by the

law

of Moses

now

it raises

a question

doesn't

it

what's

the

point

of the

law

then

look at

verse 19

Paul's like

hey I'm a step

ahead of you

why then

the law

what's the

point of it

what's the

purpose of it

well there's a couple

things I want to draw out

for you right now

the first thing I want you

to see

is the word

until

in verse 19

why then

the law

it was added

because of

transgressions

you see it

until

until what

until the

offspring

should come

to whom

the promise

had been made

and who is that

he's already

told us

Christ

so

what he's

starting to say

here is

why then

the law

well it

serves

a temporary

purpose

until

Christ

comes

until

you don't

believe me

look at

verse 23

now before

faith came

it's talking

it's a shorthand

for talking about

the coming of

Christ

we were held

captive under

the law

imprisoned

until

the coming

faith

Jesus

would be

revealed

still don't

buy it

look at

verse 24

so then

the law

was our

guardian

until

Christ

came

in order

that we

might be

justified

by faith

the law

came

after

God's

gospel

promise

the

gospel

that was

preached

beforehand

the law

came

after

as a

temporary

provision

until

Christ

came

the

Bible

speaks

of a

plan

of the

fullness

of time

this is

Ephesians

1 10

that is

realized

in Jesus

Christ

it's

all

about

Jesus

so

there's

this

until

functioning

of the

law

it's

temporary

provision

until

the

coming

of

Christ

the

offspring

the

one

who

is

promised

but

now

look

at

verse

19

we

read

why

then

the

law

it

was

added

because

of

transgressions

transgressions

is just

another

religious

way

of

talking

about

that

part

of

our

human

hearts

that

seek

to

rebel

against

God

sin

in

us

so

what

Paul

is

saying

here

is

the

law

doesn't

eradicate

the

promise

but

it

was

given

added

for

a

temporary

measure

because

of

transgressions

and

what

he

plays

out

in

verses

23

and

24

and

25

is

how

the

law

functions

and

so

in

verse

22

we

read

but

the

scripture

which

is

synonymous

with

the

law

in

this

context

but

the

scripture

it

imprisoned

everything

under

sin

so

what

the

law

does

is

it

doesn't

free

us

the

law

imprisons

us

until

Christ

comes

it's

the

picture

of a

jailer

and

we

see

it

showing

up

again

in

verse

23

now

before

Christ

came

we

were

held

captive

under

the

law

imprisoned

until

the

coming

faith

this

all

this

blessing

promised

to

Abraham's

offspring

in

Christ

until

that

was

revealed

we

were

imprisoned

held

captive

we

were

under

the

jailer

of

the

law

let

me

out

now

you

got to

understand

how

this

works

because

Paul

makes

it

very

clear

in

Romans

Romans 7 · chapter mention

chapter

7

the

law

isn't

the

bad

guy

you're

like

wait

hold

on

a

second

the

law

imprisons

me

that

makes

the

law

bad

no

actually

the

law

was

from

God

do

you

know

why

we

get

imprisoned

by

the

law

the

law

exposes

our

sinfulness

it's

our

sin

that

gets

imprisoned

sin

in

us

gets

exposed

by

all

613

commands

of the

Mosaic

law

it

shows

us

again

and

again

the

sinfulness

of

our

sin

in

Romans

7

Paul

says

I

would

have

not

known

what

covetousness

really

is

until

I

came

across

the

command

not

to

covet

it

shows

us

the

sinfulness

of

our

sin

it

imprisons

us

it

enslaves

us

it

captives

holds us

captive

it

it

it

makes

you

realize

the more

you know

of

God's

law

the more

you

realize

how

far

and

how

frequent

you

fall

short

of

what

God

requires

in

his

holiness

and

the

more

you

realize

the more

bars

there

are

the more

you

realize

there's

no way

I can

obey

my way

out of

this

I'm

condemned

by my

own

attempts

at

obedience

and

what

the

law

does

it

exposes

us

we're

law

breakers

we're

transgressors

we're

rightfully

held

captive

by

the

law

because

we're

law

breakers

but

that's

just

one

picture

of

how

the

law

functions

there's

another

picture

it's

in

verse

24

so

then

the

law

was

our

guardian

until

Christ

came

verse

25

but

now

that

faith

has

come

we

are

no

longer

under

a

guardian

when

you

hear

the

word

guardian

you

maybe

think

of

well

that's

kind

of

prison

guard

ish

it's

kind

of

the

jailer

thing

well

it's

it's

not

what

this

guardian

is

is

more

like

if

you're

familiar

with

the

legal

system

and

caring

for

children

it's

more

like

a

guardian

ad

litem

someone

who

is

put

given

responsibility

for

children

it's

it's

like

a

glorified

nanny

or

au pair

and

so

this

guardian

according

to

the

kind

of

first

century

Roman

Greco

Roman

culture

this

back

in

the

day

this

these

these

guardians

they

were

typically

men

and

they're

typically

household

slaves

so

they

were

living

within

a

household

and

their

job

was

to

make

sure

the

children

of

the

household

of

the

master

they

did

their

chores

they

did

their

schoolwork

they

minded

their

manners

and

usually

they

were

known

for

doing

it

with

kind

of

an

iron

fist

and

so

what

you

have

here

is

a

picture

of

someone

who

is

kind

of

a

restrainer

of

wrongdoing

and

someone

who

is

always

minding

you

and

so

these

two

pictures

are

of

a

jailer

who

imprisons

us

and

of

this

kind

of

glorified

au pair

that

is

trying

to

restrain

us

to some

degree

but

keep

an eye

on

us

and

what

Paul

makes

clear

especially

with

a

guardian

is

that

they're

temporary

until

until

Christ

comes

until

Christ

comes

we're

under

the

law

the

jailer

until

Christ

comes

we're

under

the

supervision

the

the

care

of

the

guardian

but

what

becomes

clear

in

verse

21

is

this

it's

what

the

law

is

incapable

of

doing

is

the

law

then

contrary

to

the

promises

of

God

this

the

blessing

of

God

on

Abraham's

offspring

Christ

is

it

opposed

to

that

no

it's

not

opposed

to

that

but

then

he

says

for

if

a

law

had

been

given

that

could

give

life

then

righteousness

would

indeed

be

by

the

law

but

it

can't

Paul's

point

is

saying

none

of the

613

laws

of

Moses

none

of

them

when

obeyed

or

attempted

to be

obeyed

can

give

anybody

spiritual

life

run

God

run

God

run

the

law

demands

but

gives

us

neither

feet

nor

hands