Galatians 3b (5-21-25)

What's up everybody? It's Pastor James. Welcome back to our Midweek Bible Study.

Today we're gonna finish up chapter 3 as Paul continues to talk about the law of

Moses and faith in Jesus Christ. Today Paul begins talking about God's promise

that is available for all people and how the law doesn't give us access to that

promise but it's only found in Jesus Christ. So read with me Galatians 3

Galatians 3:15–22

verses 15 through 22 as we finish up today's chapter. Dear brothers and

sisters, here's an example from everyday life just as no one can set aside or amend

an irrevocable agreement. So it is in this case God gave the promises to

Abraham and his child and notice that the scripture doesn't say to his children

as if it meant many descendants. Rather it says to his child and that of course

means Christ. This is what I'm trying to say. The agreement God made with Abraham

could not be canceled 430 years later when God gave the law to Moses. God would

be breaking his promise for if the inheritance could be received by

keeping the law then it would not be the result of accepting God's promise.

But God graciously gave it to Abraham as a promise. Why then was the law given?

It was given alongside the promise to show people their sins but the law was

designed to last only until the coming of the child who was promised. God gave

his law through angels to Moses who was the mediator between God and the people.

Now a mediator is helpful if more than one party must reach an agreement but

God who is one did not use a mediator when he gave his promise to Abraham. Is

there a conflict then between God's law and God's promises? Absolutely not. If the

law could give us new life, we could be made right with God by obeying it. But the

scriptures declare that we are all prisoners of sin so we receive God's

promise of freedom only by believing in Jesus Christ. Alright, now let's talk

about this conundrum that we keep encountering. Okay, Paul continues to

explain how the law cannot give us eternal life and only faith in Jesus

Christ can. But the law is good and the law was perfect but yet it was incomplete.

And the issue is, is what do we do with this confusing thing? Because you know

trying to have this conversation with people who have been saved for a

long time and who are familiar with God's Word is difficult. But having this

conversation with someone who hasn't been saved very long or maybe who has no

knowledge of Scripture at all is a very confusing thing. So in verse 15, Paul

starts back at the beginning of the original covenant between God and Abraham

that was established in Genesis chapter 12. God promised Abraham a son but yet

Genesis 12 · chapter mention

the child Paul is referring to is the Messiah. Jesus Christ that would come

through Abraham's lineage and would save his descendants and everyone else in

the world. Now we've talked about this a few times but this is the first time

Paul really addresses the fact that the law actually came after the promise was

made to Abraham that there would be a Messiah come through him, that the

entire world would be saved through his descendants. The law comes over 400

years after that, 430 years later. But the law did not cancel the original

agreement between God and Abraham. That's really important to remember. Also God

never meant for the promise to be carried through with the law. It was

already promised before the law was given and cannot truly be fulfilled with

the law. Okay so the law of Moses is good. It was part of God's plan. It is a

perfect thing that God gave but it was not part of the promise that God gave

to Abraham for his people to be free. Now in verse 19, Paul reveals that the

law was given alongside the promise to reveal to people their sins and it is

important that we all realize and acknowledge that we are sinners. This is

in fact the first key to accepting Christ. You have to acknowledge that you

are a sin, that you are a sinner, that as a sinner we are separated from God and

we must call on the name of Jesus Christ for forgiveness of that sin so

that Jesus Christ can bring us back into the presence of God and bring us

into a relationship with God. So in that essence, the law of Moses is very much

necessary because it reveals our sin to us so that the sin can be dealt with. Now

the law of Moses only gives temporary measures on how sin can be dealt with

through sacrifices and offerings and things like that but Jesus Christ is the

only one who can truly deal with the issue of sin to wash it away completely

and to cleanse us of it. Now we all feel like this has been somewhat

contradictory by having this good imperfect law but at the same time this

good imperfect law is what actually condemns us. So that brings up the

question, is the law bad and what should we do with it? But verse 21 tells

us that we respect the law and we put the law in its proper place. There is no

conflict between the law and Christ. Rather, Jesus completes and fulfills the

law as he comes into this world and he embodies flesh and blood like we do. He

tells us as God's children in realizing our true need for Christ. We realize how

much we need Jesus because the law reveals to us how sinful we truly are.

Now the law only becomes a problem when we put the law first or above Christ

because the law by itself condemns us. The law tells us that we deserve

punishment for our sins. It tells us that we deserve to be separated from God.

It tells us that there are consequences of our sins and it can't do anything to

save us. So if we put the law above Christ, the law condemns us. But if we

put Christ above the law and we put our faith in Christ, Christ saves us and

sets us free and he uses that law to draw us to himself. We can only

receive the promise of God that he made to Abraham 430 years before the law on

Mount Sinai and we can only receive the forgiveness and the freedom by believing

in Jesus Christ. Let's read verses 23 through 29 and we'll finish up his

chapter. It says, before the way of faith in Christ was available to us, we were

placed under guard by the law. We were kept in protective custody, so to speak,

until the way of faith was revealed. Let me put it another way. The law was our

guardian until Christ came. It protected us until we could be made right with

God through faith. And now that the way of faith has come, we no longer need the

law as our guardian. For you are all children of God through faith in Christ

Jesus and all who have been united with Christ in baptism have put on Christ

like putting on new clothes. There is no longer Jew or Gentile, slaver free, male

and female, for you are all one in Christ. And now that you belong to

Christ, you are the true children of Abraham. You are his heirs and God's

promise to Abraham belongs to you. Okay, so verse 23 gives us an indication as to

the condition of following the law. Paul describes it as kind of this soft

captivity. Okay, you know, he refers to it in the NLT as protective custody. And

so we're placed under guard. Like we have this protection around us, and the reason

why those are good analogies are because people must be willing to choose

to follow the law. It doesn't take hold of us and force us into its bondage,

rather we willingly choose to be in the custody of the law and the protection

that it provides. We surrender to God and commit ourselves. This is why the people

of Israel had to choose to make that covenant at the base of Mount Sinai and

commit themselves to following the Lord and be obedient to the law. So it is a

choice. We're not forced into captivity. We choose to go into that protective

custody and be guarded by that thing. And remember that the law of Moses is

good, and it does offer benefits both in the physical world and eternally. However,

it does not save us from sin or give us eternal life. It is a temporary thing.

This is why it's referred to as our guardian until it was time for Christ

to come. So if you think about a guardian, think about a child whose parents

have died. As a child, you need someone to care for. You just cannot survive on

your own. So you need some adult to come in and take temporary custody over you

to raise you and support you until you come of age where you can take care of

yourself. This was a very common thing in biblical times, but it's also a very

common thing today. This was a form of protection, and it prevented people from

getting absolutely out of hand in our desire for the world and the sins that

it offers. The goal was always to be made right with faith. When you look at

the story of Abraham and the way that God called him, Abraham was made righteous

through faith. God counted him as righteous through faith. Before the law

ever came into being, Abraham was made righteous through faith. So the goal was

always to be made right through faith for every person on earth, even in the

Testament. And because Christ the Messiah has come, we no longer need the law as

our guardian. The law is good. It has great benefits. It's great for revealing

sins in our lives and helping us grow in our relationship with the Lord, but it

is not what saves. Because Jesus has come, we can put our faith and hope and

trust in Christ. He can now be our guardian. He can now be our lot and our

God and our source of life. Christ sets us free, and His Holy Spirit puts God's

laws in our hearts. So we don't even have to be... I think it's great for us to

read God's law, to read the Old Testament and be familiar with it as we

can be. But in reality, when you get saved and you invite the Lord in your

life, and you ask God to fill you with His Holy Spirit, and you are surrendering

to Him, it is amazing at how God will put His law in your heart. And He does this

for everyone who is truly surrendering to Him. You won't have to read in the

Bible that something is wrong. You will fill in your heart that it is wrong.

God will lead you and guide you into all truth through the power of His

Holy Spirit. So in verse 26, Paul proclaims that all of the Galatians are

children of God through faith in Jesus. Everyone who has professed faith and

has been baptized now wears the mark of Christ as a badge. A badge is something

that you display for everyone to see. You're proud of it. It identifies you.

It immediately displays something about you that people can recognize. And we

wear Christ as a badge. It is slave or free person. There's no more male or

female. We are all equal in God's eyes and we're all one. We are true children of

Abraham because we believe. So if you want to be a child of God or a child of

Abraham, as scripture calls it, you don't become a child of God or a child of

Abraham by being obedient to the law. You become a child of God or of Abraham

by believing. And through your belief there will be obedience, but the belief

comes first. And now, because the Messiah has come, we are called to believe in the

Messiah. And because we're His true children, because of faith in Jesus

Christ, we get to inherit all the promises that God made to Abraham and

His descendants 430 years before the law of Moses was ever given to His

descendants. So the law is good. We shouldn't throw it away. It very much has

a place. It very much has a time. It is great for us to be familiar with it,

but we put our faith in Christ. We receive salvation and forgiveness of sin

through Jesus Christ. And then, as we're filled with the Holy Spirit, God puts His

law, which He gave to Moses, He puts His law in our hearts so that we don't have

to read, for instance, that this thing is wrong or we should be doing this

thing. We will fill it in our hearts and know that, hey, we shouldn't be

doing this, but maybe we should be doing this instead. And God will reveal

truth to us and what we should be doing. And that's the good news. So as

this battle between God's law and faith in Jesus Christ continues on, we kind of

see that there's this issue of, okay, well, what do we do with this law that's

becoming an issue? Because apparently things are being put out of order. Jesus

Christ always comes first. Our faith and hope and trust is in Him. Our reward lies

in Him. Our eternal reward lies in Him. And salvation is only found through

Jesus. Obedience will come because we belong to Christ, but we cannot be

obedient apart from Christ. That's the good news. All right, let's pray together.

Fathers, thank you for this day and for everything you've given us. I pray that

you would speak into our hearts, speak into our lives, guide us, show us, shape

us, and mold us into who you want us to be. Lord, help us to put our trust and

faith in you and your Son, Jesus. Lord, we don't want to discard any good

things that you've given us, but Lord, we do want to keep things in their proper

place. Help us more than anything to keep Jesus first. And if we do that, you

will show us and guide us, and everything else will take its proper

place from their own. Lord, we love you, and we ask all this in Jesus' name.

Amen. All right, guys, thanks for tuning in for another week. We love you. We're

praying for you. We hope to see you in person, but if not, catch us on

Facebook, YouTube, and the podcast. Have a great week.