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[0:00] This message was recorded at Vision Baptist Church in Alfred, Georgia. It is our prayer that you will be blessed by the preaching of God's Word. If you have your Bibles tonight, you can stay. If you haven't already opened Galatians chapter number 3.

[0:11] Galatians chapter number 3. If you can remember back two years ago when the last time I preached in the book of Galatians, I'm guessing you can't because I can't remember where I was yesterday.

[0:23] But we are in Galatians chapter number 3. Now what I believe is one of the biggest problems we have as Christians, especially when it comes to the gospel, is that often we believe it when we are saved.

[0:35] We believe it, we make it our certificate, we now get into heaven, we are now forgiven. But we often take it, roll it up, stick it in our back pocket, and then we ignore it from that point on. You see, we seem to think that it has its place in salvation, but not in everyday life.

[0:51] That the gospel, yes, good for believing in Christ to be saved. However, not so much in my everyday. See, we know that salvation, of course, is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Jesus Christ alone.

[1:04] But there's always that deep down feeling within us that says, I have to add to it. It's not enough. We really think that. I mean, that goes back before we ever got saved. We always think, I have to do something in order to earn my way into heaven.

[1:18] I remember witnessing to a man one time, and as I was talking to him, explaining the gospel, saying, if you just believe all your sins can be forgiven, you'll never have to do anything to earn your way to get to heaven.

[1:29] He said, no, no, that can't be. I know, I just feel that I have to do something. And that's what we think. So we then place ourselves under a law in order to feel better about ourselves.

[1:42] We begin to put rules upon ourselves to make ourselves feel more accepted by God. To make ourselves think that we are more forgiven by God, that we are more saved by God, because we have these rules.

[1:56] And because of that, our belief, our knowledge of what we see salvation is, that we know it is by grace, it is by faith, but by practice, we are works salvationists. We think we have to earn it, so we try hard.

[2:08] We put ourselves under bondage in order to think that we must be more accepted by God. So we must keep a law. We must keep rules to do that.

[2:20] That salvation, yes, by faith, but it's not good enough is what we say. You see, that's not an uncommon problem. You see, we all have that. I mean, this was going on since the book of Galatians, because that's exactly what was going on in Galatians.

[2:33] Galatians, they had come and they had believed Paul, and Paul came to them, who gave them the gospel. They believed him, and they said, they put their faith in Christ. They were then saved. But then the Judaizers, false teachers, came in and said, yes, Jesus, he's a good guy, but it's not enough.

[2:49] Your faith isn't enough. And so they began to add the law to them. They began to add, you've got to be circumcised. You need to keep the Jewish festivals. You've got to keep the several hundred laws that are Jewish laws.

[3:01] So tonight, what I want to show you is that the law has nothing to do, well, to add to or to take away our salvation. But that also, the law has its purpose, and we'll see that tonight.

[3:12] But finally, that we have a great and amazing freedom that we can see in Christ. And that's where we're going to be tonight in Galatians 3, verses number 15 to 28, explaining what it means to be either in Christ or under the bondage of the law.

[3:25] So let's look at the first verse, and we'll see this, that the first of all, the law does not add to, nor does it take away anything from salvation. Look in verse number 15. It says, Brethren, I speak after the manner of men, though it be but a man's covenant, yet if it be confirmed, no man disannuleth or addeth thereto.

[3:44] You see, this is more than a contract. When we sign contracts, it's based on, I don't trust you. You know, we just, my wife and I signed a contract recently of ridding the house that we're at. And you know what?

[3:54] It says this, we will pay you and do this, this, and this. And you, landlord, you will do this, this, and this. And if either one of us don't do the things we say we're going to do, then we're going to have to pay each other money. I mean, that's what it comes down to, is we don't trust the other person.

[4:07] We don't think that they will keep their end of the bargain. But you see, this is a covenant. This is much more than that. See, a covenant is very different. A covenant is based on trust. Really the best picture of that is that of marriage.

[4:19] When we stand before one another in marriage, back in November 8, 2008, I got my anniversary right, points for me. We got, when my wife and I, we stood at the altar, we stood there, and I said, I'm going to do these things.

[4:33] And she stood on the other side, and she said, I'm going to do these things, and whether or not you or the other person keeps it, it doesn't matter, because I am supposed to keep my end of the bargain.

[4:44] You see, it is based on trust. It is based on, I will do what I said I will do, not so much you will say it, what you will do. And that we see, that's a man's example, is what we see in verse 15.

[4:55] He says, Brethren, look, this is a man's agreement, that when we confirm it, when we seal it, when we make it ratified, when we say, this is it, we don't add to it anymore. We don't take it away anymore.

[5:06] I mean, do you have that friend, who teaches you a new game, and then somehow, they like, oh, I forgot to tell you that rule. Anybody have that? I had that in college. I won't mention his name, because he's a missionary now.

[5:18] We support him too. But, we all have that friend, you know. He adds those rules, like, oh, I forgot that. Oh, I bet you did, when I was about to win. We always have those rules.

[5:29] But you see, that's a man's agreement. Now, think how much more, God's agreement would be, God's covenant would be, in relation to, a man's agreement, between one another.

[5:40] That as binding, and as solid, as a man's covenant is, God's covenant is much more, is much more. And what we see, is that God made a promise, to Abraham, through a covenant, not to Abraham, but himself.

[5:52] Let's look at verse 16. It says, now to Abraham, and his seed, where the promise is made, he saith not, and to seeds, as of many, but as of one, and to thy seed, which is Christ.

[6:02] And this I say, that the covenant, what was confirmed before, of God, in Christ. See, if a man's covenant, again, is so binding, God's covenant is much more. Well, when did God make this covenant?

[6:13] Well, we have to go back, even before Moses, you have to go back to Abraham, to Genesis, chapter number 15. Because you see, if you look in chapter number 3, verse 6 of Galatians, it says, that God, or Abraham, believed God, and it was counted to him, for righteousness.

[6:27] That the whole setup to this, is this, that God gave Abraham, a promise. God gave Abraham, a promise, and Abraham believed it. That's what we see, in Genesis 15. God says, I'm going to give you a land, I'm going to give you a seed, I'm going to give you a nation, by you, all nations will be blessed, and I'm going to give you this, to give this to you, and Abraham believed God.

[6:47] And then Abraham, after it says, he believed God, he said, well, God, how am I going to know, that these things will be? Well, he says, I'm going to make a covenant with you. And what he does, is he instructs Abraham, Abraham to take animals, split them in half, and he says, wait for me.

[7:01] So Abraham, of course, he does that, he divides the animals, he drives away the birds, from eating the animals, until he's waiting, and waiting for God, to show up, so that God, and Abraham, can walk through this, saying, hey, we have this agreement, God said, you're going to give me this thing, and I'll do this for you.

[7:17] But you see, Abraham keeps waiting, and waiting, until he falls asleep. It says, a great darkness, a whore fell on. He fell asleep, but you see, a burning furnace, and a smoking lamp, came through those pieces.

[7:29] Because God, himself, confirmed the covenant. See, we have a problem. We can't keep our end of the bargain. I mean, that's kind of the whole purpose of this, is why God made a covenant, not with Abraham, but with himself.

[7:44] Saying, I will do this, and because he will do this, he said, I'm not going to make it with you, Abraham, I'm going to make it to myself. Because Abraham, let's just face it, I can't trust you.

[7:55] I mean, that's anyone. God can't trust you, he can't trust me. But he said, I'm going to make this covenant, with myself. And that covenant, that promise, that blessing, was all fulfilled, it says, where?

[8:06] In Christ. That when that promise, was given to Abraham, it wasn't just given to Abraham, and his descendants. No, it says, not to seeds, as of many, but to thy seed, that is, Christ.

[8:17] That he gave this promise, in Abraham, it's going back, not to Abraham, but even before that, to Adam and Eve, Genesis chapter number 3, verse 15, where God promised, that the seed, would crush, the head of the serpent.

[8:29] That this covenant, would be confirmed in Christ. And so, at this covenant, at this promise, it takes priority, over the law. You with me? It takes priority. It is much more important.

[8:40] It is above that, because this is bigger, than the law. This is more important, than the law. Why? It was before this, and we'll see even more, why here. It says in verse 17, at the end of it, it says, the law, which was 430 years after, cannot disannul, that it should make, the promise of none effect.

[8:56] For if the inheritance, be of the law, it is no more of promise, but God gave it to Abraham, by promise. We cannot say, the covenant goes from Abraham, then the law starts, and then, that completely, nullifies that promise.

[9:11] No. Because you see, the law was 430 years after, it can't change that covenant. It can't change, what God promised to himself. He said, I didn't say, look, I have this covenant, this is for you, you believe me, and it will count to you, for righteousness.

[9:24] Oh wait, I have the law, I forgot about that, you got to keep this now. Keep these rules, and then come over here, and say, oh now it's my faith again. Oh no, it's faith, and keeping these rules. No, it was said, it has always been by promise, since Genesis 3.15, since Genesis 15 with Abraham, and even so now, even with the law, it is superior to that.

[9:44] That that law cannot disannul, what God promised to Abraham. That it is a promise, that we believe in. So what we see, is that salvation, has always been, by grace alone, through faith alone, in Jesus Christ alone.

[9:58] That God gave the promise, and Abraham believed the promise, and Abraham looked to the promise, but now, we are on the other side, we say, we believe God, and it counts for righteousness, and we look back to the promise, still Christ.

[10:12] Because that is the promise, that we have been given, and that is the promise. So, what we see from that is this, you cannot lose, your salvation, by breaking the law. You cannot lose it.

[10:24] See, a transgression of the law, a sin, cannot break this covenant. If God's law, did not change the covenant, he made with Abraham, then even so more now, when that covenant, was confirmed in Christ, can that not change?

[10:39] Because we are believing, just like Abraham believed God, and we are justified, by faith. So we almost do exactly, like Abraham again, but we just look, a different direction. Abraham looking to the promise, we are looking back, at the promise, seeing Christ there.

[10:54] But it is not just that. So you might agree with that. You will say, yeah, we cannot lose our salvation, amen. But you see, we cannot add anything, to our salvation either, by keeping a law.

[11:04] See, keeping the law, keeping the rules, does not change the promise. It does not make you more accepted. It does not make you more forgiven. It does not make you more saved. Because we see, it does not change anything.

[11:16] That this law, as we will see even a little bit, it is inferior, to this promise, that God gave. This law, gives us nothing, other than to serve, really two purposes, and that is what we are going to see, in verse 19.

[11:27] Let's see, the law has these two purposes. First of all, it was added, to show, that we are sinners. Look in verse number 19, it says, wherefore then serve the law? I am glad you asked, that is what I asked too.

[11:39] It was added, because of transgressions, till the seed should come, to whom the promise was made, and it was ordained by angels, in the hand of a mediator. Now a mediator, is not a mediator of one, but God is one.

[11:51] This is a very interesting, portion of scripture. I want you to notice this. When God gave the law, there was a mediator involved. There was someone involved. It says that right here, that the angels, it says, that ordained by angels, in the hands, of a mediator.

[12:08] Now why is that? Were there really angels? Yes, write this down. Deuteronomy 33, 2, Acts 7, 53. Both of those are references, showing that angels, were involved, at Mount Sinai, with the law.

[12:21] What purpose? We don't know exactly. We do know this. There was a mediator. And this is why I believe. You see, there was a mediator, in giving the law, because the law was bad news. Who in here, likes to give bad news to someone?

[12:34] How many shows, how many stories, do we have, where people, the whole plot is this. They are watching an animal. The animal dies. The whole show, is about how they are trying, to not give the bad news, to the owner of the animal.

[12:47] I mean, how many times, does it happen? No one wants to give bad news. I mean, who wants to walk, into the doctor's office, and say, you have cancer. No one likes to do that. No one likes to say, your loved one has passed away.

[12:58] No one likes to say that. I think one of the worst jobs, in the world, must have been back, during one of the wars. Where the, the, the, the, the person, carrying the telegraph, saying, your husband has died. No one likes to give, good, bad news.

[13:11] And that's what we see here. That there was, a mediator involved. Why? Because it was bad news. God knew that. He knew this, law right here, I know you can't own up to it. This law right here, all it does for you, is it shows you this.

[13:23] You, are, not, good enough. You can't keep it. You never will be able to. What the law does, is show us, we, are sinners, because we break it. And the law has no mercy.

[13:34] The law has absolutely no mercy. Its job is to show us, we are sinners. To show that we are sinners, and that we see, we are exceedingly sinful. There's a passage in Pilgrim's Progress.

[13:46] Faithful is explaining to Christian, as he said, I was walking up a hill, and I met this guy, and as I met him, he hit me on the chest, trying to kill me, basically. And I said, why did you do that?

[13:57] He tries to get back up, and the guy says, you're just like your dad, Adam the First, and so he knocks him down again. And he's like, this guy is going to kill me, until someone walked by, and told him to stop.

[14:08] And Christian responds, well that man who you met, who overtook you, that was Moses. He spares none, neither does he know how, because mercy, he has no mercy, to those who transgress the law.

[14:20] And that's what we see in the law. That we are sinners. That we are condemned. That we deserve punishment. See the law was given, not that we could earn righteousness, no. It was given, so we could show, that we are unrighteous.

[14:33] And the promise of God, by difference, was given not with a mediator, but God himself, came and told Abraham. God himself came to Adam and Eve. God himself came to this earth, and died for our sins, confirming that covenant.

[14:45] He didn't do it a mediator. He didn't hand it off. He didn't say, here, let's do this, to give this to someone else. No, he said, I'm going to do it myself. Because this is good news. Yes, I'm going to give you a law, it's going to show, that you're condemned, it's going to show, that you deserve punishment, but guess what?

[14:59] I'm going to come here, and I'm going to die, for your sins, and I'm going to confirm, this promise, that by faith, all your sins, can be forgiven, by faith, you can have all things, made right, between you, and God.

[15:11] And that's the negative aspect, that the law shows us, that we are sinners. But let's look at the second one, that the law was also given, to show, that we have, a Savior. Look in verse 21.

[15:22] It says, It says, faith.

[15:53] You see, the law is not, against the promise. We tend to be, on one side or the other, once again, with the law, or grace. We either want law, we want someone to be punished, we don't want mercy, or we're on grace.

[16:05] We really love them, we want them to get away with it. You know, we're often on those two sides, and often we don't meet. But here in the scripture, we see where both of those, are reconciled beautifully. Because yes, God had the law, He said, I need to show you, that you're sinners.

[16:18] But you see, I'm not going to stop there. Because you see, I'm going to use this, to show that you need a Savior. And I'm going to come here, and I'm going to die, that if you believe, your sins can be forgiven. You see, if we could regain righteousness, again by the law, then God would have done that.

[16:31] But we don't keep our end, of the bargains. It says, Scripture hath concluded, that all are under sin. All are condemned. We are all condemned already. No matter how hard we try, no matter how, how good we may think, we can be, we're all under sin.

[16:46] From the time we are born, to the time we are dying, if we do not put our faith in Christ, we are under sin. And the law shows, we can't do us, we can't earn it, we can't do it.

[16:57] That only our faith, in Christ, can save us. And because of that, wherefore, the law is our schoolmaster. See, the law has a proper use. See, the law isn't just there, yes, it's there to show we are condemned.

[17:11] It's to show that we are wrong. But that's not where it stops. You see, sadly, we as Christians, we're often known only as what we are for, what we are against, really. That we're against this, we're against that.

[17:22] We tell people, you're wrong. You tell people, according to the Bible, this is sin. But we often, stop right there. We don't go any further. And that, I believe, is very sad.

[17:32] Because you see, there is a much better news, than just, you're wrong. There is, yes, you're wrong, but there is one who can make it right. That we can look at that, and we can say, yes, you are wrong. But that's not the end of the equation.

[17:44] There is one who did do right. Who can make it right. And that's what we see. That the job of the law, was to bring us to Christ. He was our schoolmaster. Our tutor, if you will. And if you look back in history, at these schoolmasters, these guys were pretty brutal guys, who all they cared about, is making sure you were educated.

[18:02] I'm sure coach in here, would love to maybe be one of those schoolmasters. Where you could hit the kids, beat them. He can't publicly acknowledge that, because he's a school teacher. But you know, that's what we think is, all they cared about is, I'm going to make sure you learn this, by whatever means necessary.

[18:18] I'm going to make sure you learn it. And that's what the law, he says, I'm going to be brutal to you. I'm going to show you, I'm going to give you weight. I'm going to show you the burden, that I have for you. But you see, that's not the end of the law.

[18:29] The end of the law, is when we put our faith in Christ. Because that is the job of the law, to point us to Jesus Christ. Because without that law, without that schoolmaster, we have no knowledge of grace.

[18:40] We have no knowledge of mercy. See, if we don't know we're sinners, if we don't know we're condemned, if we are not brutally told, that you deserve to go to hell, we will never know, what mercy and forgiveness really means.

[18:53] We will never see, how good a God we have. We will never see that, unless there's a real wrath, unless there's a real punishment. There is no real grace. And that's what the law does for us. To show us, you're condemned.

[19:05] But there is one, who you can be justified by. And that's what we see. Because once we realize our sin, by the law, at that point, we can put our faith in Christ. And that's what we see, the freedom, that is in Christ.

[19:18] That our faith in Christ, frees us. Look in verse 25. It says, Faith removes that schoolmaster, but after that faith has come, we are no longer, under a schoolmaster.

[19:29] The law served its purpose. And by having faith in Christ, we outgrow our need, for that schoolmaster. I have a question here. Some of you who are, as I said before, not so younger.

[19:40] How many of you go back, and you ask to be under the rules, of your high school teachers? Anybody? No, I didn't think so. Me neither. I haven't seen my high school teachers, in years.

[19:51] Praise God. But that's what we see, that once we graduate, we don't care about, those high school teachers anymore. Sorry, Zach. We don't care about, those high school teachers anymore.

[20:02] They don't matter. We're not under their rules. You know who the most dangerous person, in a school is? It's the senior, who knows he's graduating on Friday, and it's Monday. That's the most dangerous person, in the school, because they're not going to be, under that schoolmaster much longer, and they know it.

[20:17] And that's what we see, that when we come out, from under that schoolmaster, we're free. That schoolmaster can't tell us, what to do anymore. Why? Because it's gone. We don't need it anymore. We're under Christ now.

[20:27] We're in Christ now. And in Christ, we have freedom. There's no more curse. There's no more bondage. There are performance, does not measure our salvation. Our performance, does not measure our acceptance.

[20:38] Our performance, does not measure our forgiveness. Because we are saved, completely by our faith. Because we don't need that law anymore. We don't need those rules anymore. We are saved, and we are saved completely.

[20:50] We don't have to worry about that, anymore. But not just that, but we are free, but we are now, the children of God, by faith. It says that in verse 26, for ye are all the children of God, by faith in Christ Jesus.

[21:04] Now this might shock some of you, but we are not all born, as God's children. Uh, I'm sorry. Even Santa, has bad theology on this. Just so you know. There's a song, here comes Santa calls.

[21:15] One of the verses, in the lines, in the verse says, Santa knows we're all God's children, and that makes everything right. I'm sorry, Santa is wrong too. I hate to break your bubble, on that one too.

[21:26] But you see, the reason is this. We are not the children of God, by birth. See, no act of flesh, can make you a child of God. Did you get that? No act of flesh, can make you a child of God.

[21:38] Whether by birth, or by trying to keep rules. That cannot make you a child of God. It is only by putting, our faith in Christ, that makes us a child of God.

[21:49] And then our relationship changes. You see, everyone will stand before God. The question is not, do we have a relationship with God? It's what kind of a relationship, do you have with your God?

[22:00] Is He your Father? Or will He be your judge? And that's what we see in the law. The law tells you, He will be your judge. He will condemn you. He will send you to eternal punishment. You see, when we come as His Father, we are His child.

[22:12] By faith. We are His child, and we are in right relationship with Him. No matter what my daughter does tonight, and I can trust you, she is not a perfect little angel, like many of you may suspect.

[22:22] Her grandparents are here and say, no, she's great. I live with that girl a lot. She is not. But you know what? No matter how bad or good she is, she's still my child. She is still my child.

[22:32] In the same way, if you are saved tonight, you have put your faith in God, and in Christ, you are still His child. No matter what you do. No matter the rules you keep. No matter the rules you break. You see, there is no law.

[22:44] The law is gone. But we see, it's not just that, but now we are made equal by faith. In verse 27 through 29, it says, For as many of you have been baptized into Christ, have put on Christ.

[22:55] There is neither Jew nor Greek. There is neither bond nor free. There is neither male nor female. For ye are all one in Christ Jesus. You see, this baptism here is not a water baptism like over here.

[23:09] This is a picture. Because in that baptism, of course, we are raised, put into the baptistry, raised out, because that's a picture. The word here means to be put into something, and then to come out of it, and to be changed completely.

[23:21] And that's what we see here. That when we go into Christ, we go in as a condemned sinner, and come out of Christ. Now we are a new creature. Now we are forgiven. Now we are seen as Christ.

[23:31] And that changes everything. That there is now, no Jew nor Greek. We put on His righteousness. We put on His perfection. And it eliminates all the borders that are in our lives.

[23:42] You see, the Judaizers, they came to this church, and they said, to be more Christian, to be more saved, to God, to really like you, you got to be more Jewish. So let's make the process of you being more Jewish.

[23:55] No, the Bible teaches that in order to be saved, in order to be forgiven, to be accepted, we must be like Christ. And the only way to do that is by faith. And so what we see is that now, there is no spiritual difference.

[24:07] That neither Jew, nor Greek, you're just as equal before God. There is neither bond, nor free. It doesn't matter your social standing either. It doesn't matter. It is all by faith.

[24:18] We are equally condemned. We are equally saved. There are no levels when it comes to salvation. And there's no sexual difference either. There's neither male, there's neither female. We're equal. This was completely foreign, to that day.

[24:30] And even so now, that we are now equal. Why? Not because of what we do. Not because of who we are. No, because of who we have put our faith in. That we are free in Christ.

[24:42] It doesn't matter what we do. We are not under that schoolmaster. We are not under bondage anymore. We are free. We are free in Christ. We are equal in Christ. And that gives great and wonderful news.

[24:55] So I ask you tonight, you who are still under the law, you need to put on Christ. No matter how hard you try, you cannot earn your way to heaven. No matter how many times you come to church, no matter how much money you give away, no matter what you do, you can never be a child of God.

[25:12] You can never be justified by your doing. You must put your faith in Christ for the forgiveness of sins. And for those of us who are in Christ, I ask this, do you seek to still be under the law?

[25:23] Do you go back to your high school teacher and ask to be under his rules again? I tell you, come out from the schoolmaster. Do you find yourself dwelling on whether or not God likes you right now?

[25:35] Well, I challenge you tonight, come out from under that schoolmaster. Come out from under him. Find your freedom that is in Christ. You see, Booker T. Washington, he wrote a book called Up From Slavery.

[25:47] This was right after the Civil War. And he said one of the problems they had for slaves who had just been set free is that they didn't know how to live as freemen. Because all they knew was what it meant to be under bondage.

[26:00] You see, we, especially us who grew up in the South, we get a lot of rules placed on us. I don't know about you North. Maybe you got rules too. I'm just from the South. Amen. You know, we have those rules.

[26:11] You know, go to church, be good, have morals, be friendly, all these things. But you see, we have that under us. So sometimes when we hear this and we come out from that schoolmaster under that bondage, under that law, and we are now free in Christ, that we don't really always know how to live.

[26:27] So I challenge you tonight, come out from under the schoolmaster. Realize that you are free. This message was recorded at Vision Baptist Church in Alfredo, Georgia.

[26:38] For more information, log on to www.visionbaptist.com where you can find our service times, location, contact information, and more audio and video recordings.