A Promise Is A Promise Series

A PROMISE IS A PROMISE

Galatians 3:15-18

S: God’s Faithfulness

Th: Grace-Full Living

Pr: WE CAN TRUST GOD.

?: Why?

KW: Reasons

TS: We will find in our study of Galatians 3:15-18 three reasons that explain why we can trust God.

The _____ reason that explains why we can trust God is…

I. HE PROMISES BLESSING (15-16).

II. HE FULFILLS THE PROMISE (16).

III. HE ACTS CONSISTENTLY (17-18).

RMBC 6/18/00 AM

INTRODUCTION:

ILL Notebook: Pastor (good news…bad news)

You know, for pastors, ministry is a series of good news and bad news. Listen to these scenarios:

Good news: You baptized seven people today in the river.

Bad news: You lost two of them in the swift current.

Good news: The Women’s ministry voted to send you a get-well card.

Bad news: The vote passed 21-20.

Good news: The Deacons accepted your job description the way you wrote it.

Bad news: They were so inspired by it, they formed a search committee to find somebody capable of filling the position.

Good news: Mrs. Jones is wild about your sermons.

Bad news: Mrs. Jones is also wild about soap operas, the “Gong show” and the “Texas Chain Saw Massacre.”

Good news: The women’s softball team finally won a game.

Bad news: They beat your men’s softball team.

Good news: Church attendance rose dramatically the last three weeks.

Bad news: You were on vacation.

Good news: Your deacons want to send you to Holy Land.

Bad news: They are stalling until the next war.

1. Have you ever wondered where you stood with someone?

If you were the pastor at that church, you would have to wonder, wouldn’t you?

ILL Personal: Al Graffam visiting (where do we stand?)

Back when we were in the early process with the church here, Al G. came to visit us in Pennsylvania. We had him over for dinner and we were having a great time talking about the church and ministry. At one point in time, I finally asked, “Al, where do we stand with Randall?” And he said, “Don’t you know? You’re are number one guy!”

That’s what I needed to know!

We like to know where we are in the relationship.

Is this something that is going to go on?

Or are the prospects not so good?

1. Where we stand with God is of utmost importance.

It is, after all, a matter of eternity.

Is God smiling and happy when we are doing it His way, but frowning and displeased when we disobey?

Is it true that we need to obey God so that He will continue to love us?

Is it true that when things are going well, God is pleased with us?

TRANSITION:

This, actually, is very natural thinking.

In fact, it gives us insight into this letter written to the Galatian church.

It helps us understand the context to which Paul was writing.

For the context was…

1. Context: The Judaizers had infiltrated the Galatian church.

The Judaizers were a group of very conservative “Christians” who had come into the church after Paul had left and contradicted his teaching.

They were taking what Paul said, and twisted it.

Paul was angry at their deceptive methods and considered them an extension of Judaism’s Pharisees.

In fact, he called their gospel, no gospel at all.

1. They were teaching a form of legalism that equates works with faith.

The people in Galatia were told that the way to be right with God was to believe in Jesus and follow the right set of rules.

They were bewitched into thinking that you start the Christian life by faith, but you complete yourself by works.

The Spirit was sort of a booster rocket to get you going, but then your own engines kick in and the flesh completes what the Spirit began.

Paul considered this impossible and ludicrous.

This nullifies grace and dishonors Christ.

For not only is justification by faith, so also is our sanctification (our Christian growth).

In the passage that we considered last week, Paul argued that the same gospel that God communicated to Abraham was the same gospel he was proclaiming.

He was no innovator.

He was not making up something new.

In the next section of Scripture, to the end of the chapter (which we will finish next week), Paul finishes off the Judaizer argument.

Since he has proven that they cannot derive support from Abraham, he now anticipated their appeal to Moses.

1. They argued that the law was added to make clear what our part is in the process.

The Judaizer’s anticipated argument probably would have been something like this:

“Well, Paul, we don’t agree with you about Abraham; we think it was his works that showed him worthy of the promised blessing.

But let’s grant you your point that Abraham was justified by faith.