Freedom, It Comes Apart from Law (Part One)
(Galatians 3:1-5)
Theme: As faith justifies a human being, justification morally obligates that human being.
Purpose: What do I want to happen in the hearer when I preach this sermon?
A. Increased knowledge. After I preach this sermon, the hearer should be able to state, in general terms and from memory, that:
1. The New Covenant was talked about in the Old Testament in places like Jeremiah 31.
2. That the prophecy of Joel 2:28ff that God would pour forth his Spirit upon “all flesh” is fulfilled in the New Testament:
a. Beginning on the Day of Pentecost when God poured forth his Holy Spirit upon certain Jewish human beings.
b. Completely in Acts 10:44-48 when God “poured forth his Holy Spirit upon certain Gentile human beings.”
B. Increased insight. After I preach this sermon, the hearer should be able to discern that:
1. Faith in Jesus Christ and him crucified justifies a human being.
2. That justification creates a moral obligation upon the justified human being.
3. That same faith thereafter transforms that justified human being into a co-laborer with God in the awesome task of human redemption.
C. Changed attitude. After I preach this sermon, I want the hearer to determine to:
1. Quit focusing on external rules, regulations and observances as the means of insuring that they “will one day get to heaven.”
2. Instead, I want the hearer to focus on their faith in Jesus Christ and him crucified, and the implications of that event for their daily life, as the basis of their relationship with God.
Need to be
Surfaced: People of faith desperately want to know God intimately. However, our view that eternal life only implies a life that begins when this life ends causes us to miss the profound implications of what Jesus accomplished for us on the cross.
Solution to
be Offered: The gospel is not merely the means that God uses to save our souls from hell; it is also the means God uses to transform us from the inside out into co-laborers with him in the awesome task of human redemption.
Introduction. (Get attention, surface need, make a contract to deliver a solution.)
A. Illustration:
1. A young, successful, prominent businessman reverently approaches God with a question: What must I do now, in this life, in order to insure that my soul will go to heaven when I die?
2. The question itself reveals a number of positive things about this person’s theology, his understanding of God:
a. He believes in God.
b. He believes in the eternal nature of the human soul—an afterlife.
c. He sincerely wants to live a good, upright, respectable life here on earth.
d. He wants to, and appears willing to, do whatever it takes to insure that he does everything that is necessary to insure that his soul will go to heaven when he dies.
(1) He has some excellent beliefs, doesn’t he?
(2) That’s why the Bible says that Jesus loved him (Mark 10:21).
(3) I rake him over the coals but my Master LOVED HIM!
3. The question also reveals some misconceptions about God’s plan:
a. He may believe in God but his God seems to be “far off—way out there.”
b. He believes in the eternal nature of human beings but seems to reveal an understanding that this aspect of our nature only becomes relevant upon our physical death.
c. He seems to miss the point that heavy involvement with this realm distracts one to the point of blindness to the eternal purposes of God.
d. He does not seem to catch the profound implications of God’s desire to have an ongoing partnership (collaboration) with human beings right here and right now!
4. With all due respect, here’s how I would summarize this man’s approach to his life (by the way, I am intimately and personally familiar with this particular approach to life):
a. My life is grand!
(1) I have a beautiful wife, a great job, wonderful kids, huge house—all the trimmings. (2) I go to the “right church”—its got the right doctrines, the right approach, it even has the right name.
b. There are bad things going on in the world, I admit it!
(1) There are people who take drugs.
(a) But that doesn’t affect me. Why?
(b) Because I have made it perfectly clear doctrinally that taking drugs is a sin.
(c) I’ve discharged my obligation.
(2) There are people who are murdering their unborn children right here in my community, I KNOW that—and I am upset about it!
(a) But, that’s not my problem.
(b) I’ve taken a stand against abortion (and homosexuality and every other perversion that is being practiced in my community.)
c. But, the way I look at it, if God wanted something done about it, he’d come down out of heaven and get the job done!
(1) After all, it is he that is all loving.
(2) And it is he that is all powerful.
(3) Therefore, these problems are his problems—they are much too big for me to concern myself with.
(a) How do you expect me to get involved in the life of a teenaged drug addict?
(b) What am I supposed to say to a 15 year old pregnant girl?
d. My life? My life is grand!
(1) Wife, kids, cars.
(2) Listen, the only thing I lack in my entire life is:
(a) A clear, concise understanding,
(b) Of what must I do right now, right here, in this life,
(c) In order to insure that my soul,
(d) Will go to heaven when I die.
B. The incoherence that I detect:
1. As I try to come to a peaceful understanding,
2. Of what it is, exactly, that God wants out of me,
3. Is caused by the fact that:
a. My paradigm,
b. My perspective,
c. My world view,
(1) Is diametrically opposed to his!
(2) I am out of synch with God.
(3) I do not understand where he is coming from!
(a) And that can cause no small amount of frustration in my spiritual life.
(b) It can cause a spiritual crisis.
(c) Because I sincerely want to please him.
C. The Grand Two-Fold Proposition:
1. Compliance with the requirements of a code of rules, deeds and observances is not the SOURCE of justification for any human being, faith is. 2:15-16.
2. Compliance with the requirements of a code of rules, deeds and observances is not the STANDARD by which a justified human being lives out life upon the earth, faith is. 2:17-21.
D. Paul now unpacks, supports, explains, proves this proposition:
1. Arguments in support of the first part of the proposition (legalism is not the source of justification), 3:1-18.
a. An argument from their experience, 3:1-5.
b. An argument from Scripture, 3:6-9.
c. Another argument from Scripture, 3:10-14.
d. An argument taken from the opponents’ position, 3:15-18.
2. Arguments in support of the second part of the proposition (legalism is not the standard for living out a justified life), 3:19 - 4:7.
I. Paul’s Argument from Their Experience, 3:1-5.
ASV Galatians 3:1 O foolish Galatians, who did bewitch you, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was openly set forth crucified? 2 This only would I learn from you. Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? 3 Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now perfected in the flesh? 4 Did ye suffer so many things in vain? if it be indeed in vain. 5 He therefore that supplieth to you the Spirit, and worketh miracles among you, doeth he it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?
A. O Foolish Galatians!
1. Paul is still passionate, urgent, perplexed, pounding his fist on the pulpit!
a. His address is sharp to the verge of insulting.
b. His tone is biting and aggressive.
2. This is much more than a mere reprimand.
a. It expresses Paul’s deep concern and exasperation with them.
b. It is not a lack of intelligence that grieves Paul so deeply.
c. It is their failure to exercise even a smidgen of spiritual discernment.
(1) avno,htoϛ:
(a) A = without.
(b) Noeo = understanding.
(c) Not applying the mind.
(d) An unwillingness to use one’s mental faculties in order to understand.
(2) Foolish, stupid, without understanding.
3. Thankfully, he is about to calm down and present his case in a fairly rational, straightforward manner (and so am I!)
B. Who did bewitch you?
1. baskai,nw bewitch, cast the evil eye on, put a spell on someone.
2. Paul is probably using the word in an ironic sense here.
3. He’s doing everything in his power:
a. To get their attention.
b. To warn them that what is happening to them doctrinally:
(1) Defies all human reason and common sense!
(2) And is diametrically opposed to everything that he taught them.
C. Before whose eyes Jesus Christ was openly set forth crucified.
1. ASV 1 Corinthians 2:2 For I determined not to know anything among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified.
a. Why Paul?
b. Romans 1:16-17 For I am not ashamed of the gospel: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. 17 For therein is revealed a righteousness of God from faith unto faith: as it is written, But the righteous shall live by faith.
2. Compliance with rules is not the source of justification.
a. Christ and him crucified is the source.
b. Your trust in that redemptive act will put you into Christ.
(1) Where there is protection from the wrath to come, yes.
(2) But, where there is also newness of life:
(a) A transformation.
(b) Right here and right now!
(c) It has profound implications for this life not merely for the next life!
i) A new paradigm.
ii) A new perspective.
iii) A new way of looking at and interacting with God and with the world in which you live.
D. His appeal to their receipt of the Holy Spirit of God.
1. The New Covenant of Jeremiah 31:31-34 Behold, the days come, saith Jehovah, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: 32 not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was a husband unto them, saith Jehovah. 33 But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith Jehovah:
a. I will put my law in their inward parts, and in their heart will I write it;
b. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people:
c. 34 and they shall teach no more every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, Know Jehovah; for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith Jehovah:
d. for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin will I remember no more.
2. Some characteristics to note about the New Covenant:
a. It won’t be based upon a legal system (i.e., an external law of works).
(1) How do we know?
(2) Because an external law of works cannot forgive and forget sins! (Galatians 2:15-16).
b. It won’t be based upon physical birth.
(1) Physical descendants of Abraham were AUTOMATICALLY made parties to the Old Covenant by reason of their physical birth.
(2) Therefore, it was necessary to teach Jewish children the obligations and implications of God’s covenant AFTER they had already become parties to it!
c. It will be based upon the “new birth” (I recognize the anachronism here but bear with me).
(1) Those who are parties to the New Covenant will NOT need to be educated regarding the terms of the covenant.
(2) Why? because they will already understand the New Covenant BEFORE they become parties to it.
(a) In other words, and this is crucially important,
(b) They will VOLUNTARILY ASSUME THE OBLIGATIONS AND IMPLICATIONS INHERENT WITHIN THE NEW COVENANT,
(c) Before they agree to become parties to it!
d. It will involve a relationship between an Almighty God and a TRANSFORMED HUMAN BEING.
(1) Compliance with the requirements of a code of rules, deeds and observances will not be the SOURCE of justification.
(2) Compliance with the requirements of a code of rules, deeds and observances will not be the STANDARD by which a justified human being lives out life upon the earth.
(a) The source of justification will be God’s ability to forgive and forget human sin.
(b) The standard for living life for those justified under the new covenant will be an inward transformation of the heart.
i) Covenant people will not appeal to an external code in order to demonstrate their justification—they will appeal to God (i.e., to Jesus Christ and him crucified).
ii) Covenant people will not appeal to an external code in order to live out their justified lives—they will appeal to God WHO LIVES WITHIN THEM and who is transforming them from the inside out!
3. What was the most dramatic, historical proof that this New Covenant had dawned upon the human family?
a. The Day of Pentecost.
(1) The Spirit of God descended upon his people, his church.
(2) God now resided among and within human beings.
(a) No longer within the earthly, physical Tabernacle.
(b) But, within the hearts, minds, bodies and souls of human beings.
b. What was the “proof” offered by God that such an astounding event had in fact taken place?
(1) This is that, Peter says. Acts 2:16.
(2) Joel’s prophecy (Joel 2:28ff) is being fulfilled in your presence.
(3) God’s Spirit is being poured forth “upon all flesh.”
(a) Actually, it was here being poured forth “upon all Jewish flesh.”
(b) It is not until Acts 10:44-48 that we see the final fulfillment of Joel’s prophecy.
(c) God pours forth his Spirit upon Gentiles as well.
(4) The fact:
(a) God is now coming to reside within human beings.
(b) His Holy Spirit is going to reside within people.
(5) The proof:
(a) Those who hear the message of Jesus Christ and him crucified,
(b) And properly respond to that message in obedient faith,
(c) Who confess their sins,
(d) Repent of their sins,
(e) Confess Christ as Lord,
(f) And are immersed into him,
(g) Receive the Holy Spirit of God as a down payment of God’s faithfulness in fulfilling his promise.
(h) Those so receiving the Holy Spirit can and are now working miracles before your very eyes as a sign that what I am telling you is true!
II. The Application of their Experience to Paul’s Proposition.
A. Their experience summarized:
1. They heard the message preached by Paul.
a. Jesus Christ.
b. Him crucified.
c. His work at Calvary accomplished everything God desired in order to establish the New Covenant under which God could:
(1) Forgive human sin.
(2) Forget human sin.
(3) Redeem human beings from sin.
(4) Bring them back into an open relationship with him.
(5) Live within human beings in the form of his Holy Spirit.
(6) Transform human beings from the inside out.
(7) Accomplish his work upon the earth with and through his new partners, his voluntary collaborators, his co-laborers.
2. They obeyed that message:
a. They voluntarily embraced its implications for their lives.
b. Voluntarily submitted to God for transformation.
c. Voluntarily put their lives on the line to carry out God’s work upon the earth.
3. God sealed the deal:
a. Forgave, forgot, washed, cleansed.
b. Wiped out any further legal system that would only serve to once again kill these sinful human beings.
c. Gave them his Holy Spirit.
(1) To prove his faithfulness to his covenant.
(2) To assist them in their struggle against sin.
d. Empowered them to work miracles:
(1) To confirm all of what we have just said to the community of faith.
(2) To confirm all of what we have just said to the unbelieving yet sometimes curious world.
B. The implications of their experience.
1. None of this happened to them through compliance with a legal system.
2. They did not attain justification through a legal system.
3. They did not even obtain the Holy Spirit of God through compliance with a legal system.
a. They attained it through faith in the message that was preached.
b. Jesus Christ, and him crucified.
Conclusion. (The purpose of the conclusion is to conclude, not merely to stop.)
A. What must I do now, in this life, in order to insure that my soul will go to heaven when I die?
1. The question betrays a paradigm that believes that the eternal nature of human beings only becomes relevant upon our physical death.
2. The question betrays a paradigm that fails to see that the profound implication of the gospel is that God desires to have an ongoing partnership (collaboration) with human beings right here and right now!
B. The incoherence that we detect as we try to come to a peaceful understanding of what it is, exactly, that God wants out of us is caused by the fact that our paradigm, our perspective, our world view is diametrically opposed to his!
C. The Grand Two-Fold Proposition:
1. Compliance with the requirements of a code of rules, deeds and observances is not the SOURCE of justification for any human being, faith is. 2:15-16.
2. Compliance with the requirements of a code of rules, deeds and observances is not the STANDARD by which a justified human being lives out life upon the earth, faith is. 2:17-21.
a. Anyone who truly understands the implications of sin in their lives cries out for God to save them. (Romans 7).
b. God is able and willing to save any and all sinful human beings.
c. However, before you jump up and ask, What is it that I need to do in order to go to heaven when I die? Please understand the implications of Jesus Christ and him crucified:
(1) God is not only seeking beings who want to be done with sin,
(2) God is also seeking beings who, through trust in and obedience toward him, are willing to take upon themselves the awesome work of human redemption.
