Sermon Text: Galatians 3:23-29
July 8, 2001
WE ARE THE FAMILY OF GOD
Families have a definite purpose. Among those, I would consider the family to be a sort of test-lab for the real world. The family is the place where people learn to cooperate and communicate. The family is the place where people learn right from wrong. The family is the place where people see love, honesty, and forgiveness practiced.
Now, the family structure we see in the world is an ideal extension of the very family God has established himself. For God not only provides families for this life, but also for the life to come. And today the Holy Spirit leads us to see the truth that WE ARE THE FAMILY OF GOD. 1) We’re Well Provided, and 2) We belong.
1) We’re Well Provided
In our Scripture text for today, we hear about a family of sorts; the family God had gathered together in the province of Galatia. This was also one of the apostle Paul’s families, so to speak. God had sent Paul out as the apostle to the gentiles. And so, Paul was responsible for teaching God’s Word to these people. He did so with the Galatians. They had been brought to faith by the Word of God, and formed a small congregation there – part of Paul’s “family.”
Now, the Galatians weren’t exclusively Gentiles, or non-Jews. There were a number of Jewish Christians living in the area as well. They were also part of this little church. The problem was that some of these Jewish Christians were still hanging on to the Old Testament ceremonies and regulations. In essence, they were saying that in order to be a Christian one needed to believe in Jesus Christ as Savior, but that wasn’t enough; to be a real Christian a person had to also keep the ceremonial laws as well. This confused the Gentiles. On the one hand, they had Paul and the other apostles saying that Jesus Christ fulfilled all of the law perfectly. And on the other hand, there others saying that Jesus really didn’t do it all and that people still need to follow certain laws and traditions to please God.
The family of God in Galatia was divided. The apostle’s response was that those Old Testament regulations and traditions no longer mattered. Christ did, indeed, fulfill the Law and its regulations – every last bit of it. What matters most is faith in Christ. In fact, the apostle Paul tells us that the purpose of the law, with all of its regulations, was to lead people to Christ. He says: “so the law was put in charge to lead us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith.” The whole point of the Old Testament ceremonial laws and its sacrificial code was to lead people to realize they could not save themselves. Only the One whom God would send could save the world from sin. It’s a matter of faith not works. Simply believing in Jesus Christ as Savior makes a person justified – declared “Not guilty!” – in God’s eyes. No amount of good works or effort on our part can do it.
God alone provides for his family. We’re given a beautiful picture of God’s providence. It’s a picture of baptism. Paul says: “for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.” Baptism is one of the ways God connects with his people. When a person is baptized in the name of the Triune God, he/she is baptized into Christ. He/she is connected to Christ. That means everything that belongs to Jesus becomes ours. Baptism connects us to Jesus’ suffering – it becomes ours. Baptism connects us to Jesus’ death – it becomes ours. Baptism connects us to Jesus’ resurrection – it becomes ours.
I recently got a cell phone. It’s a great piece of technology. And like most tech stuff, once you get it you don’t understand how you ever lived without it. As nice as my phone is, it was useless when I first got it. When my phone was delivered, I couldn’t just pick it up and use it. It needed to be activated. Think about the Means of Grace – the Word and Sacraments – in that way. Those are the tools the Holy Spirit uses to activate us. And Paul says that Baptism is one of those blessed tools the Holy Spirit uses to activate us, to connect us to Christ. In Baptism, God provides for his family. He leads us to see that we are clean in God’s eyes and that we now have faith to believe that Jesus has paid the eternal consequences the law demands for sin.
There’s another beautiful picture of baptism given here: “For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.” Did you catch it? Baptism clothes us with Christ. We’re wrapped up in Jesus and all of his goodness in baptism. We’re clothed with his work and his righteousness. Armani, Gucci, Abercrombie and Fitch – none of those designer labels can compare with the garments we have in Jesus’ name. God “clothes” us with forgiveness and salvation. In other words, he says that these things are ours. They’re real, just like a change of clothes. All who believe that these garments are theirs have what’s needed to be part of God’s family.
The Lord offers a wonderful wardrobe for his people. It’s his Son’s life, death, and resurrection. These are ours to “wear” spiritually. God does have a dress code for his family. This is what identifies the Christian as such. Let’s face it. People often wear the clothes they do because the want to be noticed. Quite often it’s the label or the name brand that supposedly makes a person a “somebody.” Well, you want to be labeled as a “somebody”, then be labeled as one who is wrapped up with Jesus. Be labeled with Christ. Be proud that you are a Christian. Don’t be ashamed of all the Christ has done for you! God has made you part of his family.
2) We Belong
Lately, there’s a lot of pressure to break up the family. I’m talking in a spiritual sense. There’s constant pressure to divide God’s household. There were people in the Galatian church who were trying to divide things. Whether they knew it or not, those Jews who were insisting on following the law were dividing Christ. They were robbing people of the dress code God had provided. They were forcing people to take their eyes off of Christ and to focus on themselves, thinking they could earn salvation by obeying the ceremonial law.
It’s the same today. Many people call themselves “Christian” and yet have no idea of who Jesus is or what he has accomplished. Out in the world, as we speak, there are hordes of people trying to earn God’s favor and appease his wrath. There are countless thousands who are trying to convince God that they are faithful and worthy of his attention. The reason is that the Word of God has been divided and broken. The Scriptures stand as a clear testimony to God. Still people refuse to listen to it. People dissect, manipulate, and rationalize the Bible away, until it meets the opinions of all.
The problem is that the Bible is so simple. Think of it. The overriding message in Scripture is this: “You can’t save yourself. And what you can’t do, God did it for you. End of story.” Yet, each of us is tempted to think that we have to chip in our own two-cents-worth. We feel we have to earn our right to belong. When all along God has been telling us, “You do belong. Just believe it.” Notice how Paul says this: “You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.” There is unity. We do belong. None of this is based on physical qualities or social standing. Membership in God’s family is based solely on the merits of Jesus Christ. And God’s door is open to all people. We are all God’s “sons.” Now, that is not a sexist statement. Understand that God doesn’t care as much about political correctness as perhaps we do. This is not a gender term. That is a term of status. We have every right to call ourselves God’s family. The reason is we’re his sons. We’re the one’s in line to inherit the goods. When you think of it we share something special with Jesus. It’s true. There is one “only-begotten Son”, yet, though him alone God has become Father to all sorts of “sons.” God honors every man, woman, and child, in every stage of life, by addressing us with the same word with which he addresses Jesus himself. It’s the word “son.”
We are united. We do belong. This is true individually and collectively. I have a penny collection that I’ve had since grade school. Over the years I have grown to appreciate this collection. It’s not just because I have a few aged, more valuable coins. There’s a place for more recent pennies in the collection as well. My penny collection is important because of each penny. If it weren’t for the individual coins, the collection would be incomplete. It’s not the individual value from one coin to the next that matters. The value of the collection depends on the individuals.
We’re more than pennies in a collection. We’re all sons in a household; part of a family gathered together by God’s grace. What lesson can we learn about family from the Galatians? Simply this: “where God does not put up a barrier we ought not.” As the Scriptures say: “There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you all are one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.” The more we realize all that Jesus has done to bring us into God’s family, the more we will see each other as members of God’s family, and the more we will live as such.
After all, we are Abraham’s seed. Would it surprise you that you are the descendant of a nomad from the Middle East who had African roots? It shouldn’t. We are not simply descendants of Abraham’s flesh and blood. We are related to Abraham in matters of faith, first and foremost. The Bible tells us: “Abraham believed and it was credited to him as righteousness.” Abraham believed before he saw. The only flesh and blood that mattered to him was the flesh and blood of the One who would come as the Savior of all. Faith in Jesus Christ as our Savior is what’s most important. When that’s the most important thing, the rest of it – the flesh and blood or the social status --shouldn’t even matter.
What’s most glorious is to know that we are heirs of Christ. As true sons we will equally inherit everything that God has given and will ever give to Jesus. What belongs to Jesus is ours! After all, we’re family. Keep busy focusing on the promises God has made in his Son. Remember who you are in Jesus. Remember who the person next to you is in Jesus. We’re God’s family – his precious cargo – strapped in by his grace. Let’s treat each other as such. The Lord certainly does! Amen.
