Excellent. Well, folks, Galatians chapter 3, as we get back into this series this morning,
having had a little break last week. It's great to think about last week, wasn't it? Jesus saying that
he is the way, the truth, and the life, and that reminder to be a church that's driven by that zeal
to reach lost people with the good news of Jesus. But we're back in this morning at Galatians chapter
3. So come with me to verse 15. And maybe to get us started, I wonder if you've ever heard the joke
about Michael O'Leary, the owner of Ryanair. He walks into a pub in Dublin one evening and he asks
for a drink. And the barman nods, goes to the till and says, that'll be 65 pence, please.
Wow, that's cheap, says Michael O'Leary. Ah, says the barman, but that's just the price for the drink.
You'll be wanting a glass as well. And back to the till he goes. Ryanair is the masters of the
hidden terms and conditions, the changing terms and conditions. What is it we'd say today? Someone
has moved the goalposts. You know that phrase? Have you ever used it? The terms have changed.
What's going on? Where can we stand? What's true in life? Friends, here's the wonderful thing that
we can be strengthened by from this passage today. And it's that the God of the Bible is a God of
wonderful consistency. There's no shadow of change due to him. And if you're in our world, if you're
living your life in this world today and you're thinking, I don't know what's going on. I see so
much change. I don't know who to trust. And this passage is for you, my friend, because it tells you
about who the God of the Bible is. And at the heart of this, it tells us that he's the God who is
wonderfully trustworthy. And if you're after a story in your life just now, one that's maybe bigger than
what you can see, then it doesn't get much older than this. Someone that's been tried and tested and
not found wanting, but found to be wonderfully delivering. He's the God of wonderful consistency.
He's not like the football manager who switches formation at halftime because who knew Harry
Maguire couldn't play in a back three. Or the politician who gets wind of shifting public opinion
and so rose back on manifesto pledges. Or like the tradesperson who rings you up saying,
listen, perhaps I underestimated how long this is going to take and how much this is going to cost.
You know, I just love those phone calls. No, human beings are like that. Our world is like that.
But this passage here is telling us, if you take one thing from this, let it be this, that this
God isn't like that. He never goes back on his word. And in his wisdom, he really has planned
the end from the beginning. And that kind of God we can totally trust with our uncertain times
and our uncertain lives. And we're going to find exactly where specifically we can entrust them
today in this passage. Here's the thing though. Paul knows there's a rumor that's doing the rounds in
Galatia. All about how we're made right with God. Essentially, the rumor is that God has ditched plan A
and he's now moved to plan B. The word standing at the center of plan A comes up eight times in these
verses. And it's always worth when you're reading the passage looking for words that are repeated
because it more often than not gives you an idea into the center of the passage. Did you pick up the
word? It's the word promise. That's the word that's at the center of plan A. The phrase at the middle of
plan B, however, is keeping the law. And Paul's arguing in this passage that God's never had a plan B.
You can't even really call it plan A. It's just always been the plan. A plan that centers on a promise
that God made that cannot be, verse 15 and 17, a plan that cannot be set aside.
And so as we enter the game at verse 16, see the connection to what we thought about last time
about the promises God made to Abraham back in Genesis 12.
promises of a place, promises of a people, promises of blessing that through him and his line would come
to the nations of the world. And key to the argument in this passage is the timeline.
those promises were made 430 years before the law was even a thing.
But see who Paul says these promises that God made were specifically made to. Do you see it?
Do you see it in the passage? And that word, according to Paul, isn't plural.
That word is singular. Now we're building up a case here that we're going to hopefully,
magnificently come back to at the end. So these details are all really important, okay?
It's singular. Do you see him say it? So God made these promises, not so much to a people,
but to a person who would come down Abraham's family line. You with me? Right? What does he say?
That person is Jesus. Didn't quite get the arc or the PowerPoint.
So Jesus, even though he comes way later in the Bible story, is no late addition.
He's in the father's mind, even as he speaks these promises to Abraham.
Now Jesus is the one who deserves the blessings of God.
Jesus is the one who will inherit the promises of God.
So these promises in Genesis 12 are made to Jesus.
Park that thought for where we're going to finish in about 15 minutes time, okay?
Promises made to Jesus.
So Paul anticipates a question at verse 19.
If it's always been about that promise,
then what on earth was the point in God giving the law to his people?
Do you see the question?
Great question.
And the law there is almost like it's an umbrella term for the Ten Commandments
and all the periphery laws and the sacrificial system that God had given to his people.
And Paul simply anticipating the question, what on earth was the point in all of that?
Because up until this point in the letter, you could be forgiven for thinking that Paul is anti-law.
Like he's encouraging people now to ditch it.
But Paul's attitude to the law in this letter is a lot more nuanced than that.
Paul knows, and remember his background, we thought about it a few weeks ago,
his background having been raised in the school of Judaism.
Paul knows that the law that God gave Israel after he saved them from Egypt
and called them out to be his special possession is a glorious thing.
It is a revelation of just how good and how different
and how just and how holy and how perfect and how loving this God is.
And if you want to know what it looks like to keep the law,
just look at Jesus who kept it perfectly and who kept it joyously.
In fact, you read Psalm 119.
It's a psalm that's all about the beauty of the law.
Paul's not against the law.
How could he be?
But he is against people thinking they can use it
as a means by which they try and get right with God.
So what was the point then?
Paul's going to give us three things in this passage.
Now, if you're a note taker, I've tried to break this up into three Es.
And if you're thinking about the Bible and how it fits together
and how you can understand particularly the Old Testament
and light of the new and Jesus coming,
friends, this is a great thing to get into today
if you want to understand the Bible story.
Are you with me?
Here's the three things.
If you're taking notes, three Es.
First purpose was to expose people.
Verse 19, do you see in the passage here,
the law was given because of what?
Transgressions.
Do you see it?
That word there, it just means overstepping the line,
overstepping the mark, crossing the line.
What we would say as parents, if you're like me,
you've gone too far this time, right?
What was thin ice is now cracked.
So the law was given so that God's people would know
what is right and what is wrong in God's eyes.
I guess it's a bit like the scene in The Lion King
when Mephasa says to Simba,
that shadowy place, don't go there, right?
Elfin graveyard, don't go there.
Why?
Because it's for your good that you don't go there.
It's for your good that you don't go there.
And I think that's why so much of it is in negative form.
Again, it's because of the hardness of the human heart.
We need to be told what is not good for us to do, right?
Like God's saying to his people,
it's not good for you or your neighbor
or your community for you to do that.
But you know what?
It is good for you and your soul
and your community and your neighbor
if you'd go this way.
And so the law, if you like, it does two things.
It curbs sin, stops them doing things
that God knows is harmful.
But here's the other thing.
Think back to Mephasa.
What does Simba now know?
He knows where not to go.
Mephasa has named it.
He's named it.
And that's what the law does.
It names sin.
Names it.
So it's not like anger and murder and stealing and envy
weren't a thing before the law.
No, those things, if you like,
now God has written down on paper
so that you see it.
God's named it.
So you see that you've crossed the line
and you see it in a new way
and you see it for the evil, for what it is.
And by naming it, verse 21,
you see that no one gets righteous
by trying to earnestly and perfectly keep it.
You can't do it.
The law, it exposes.
Exposes us.
Exposes you.
And because that's true,
secondly, verse 23,
it enslaves you.
Enslaves you.
That's the image that the custody language there
is meant to conjure up in our minds.
Twice Paul says it, doesn't he?
Verse 22, first of all.
And verse 23,
the law had you locked up.
It found you guilty.
It found you facing life in the cell.
Enslaved you.
So God's people were meant to look at the law,
understand that they couldn't keep the law perfectly,
and conclude that I am up the creek without a paddle.
It enslaves you.
And thirdly, verse 25,
it educates you.
So Paul uses, and we'll riff on this for a little bit, right?
He uses that word, do you see it in the text?
Guardian.
In the Greek, it's pedagogos, that's it there,
but it is someone who is in authority over you,
and whose job it is,
because of that authority over you,
to teach you.
And a big function of the law
was to teach you about and get you ready for
Jesus.
And here's how this plays out
in your quiet times,
in your Bible reading,
in our Bible reading every day.
You're reading Exodus, for example.
That whole rescuing people from slavery stuff,
what's the point?
Paul would say,
in its own unique way,
it was to teach you things
about the person and the work
of Jesus,
ultimately.
You're reading Leviticus,
what's the point of the day
of atonement,
all this stuff about
me needing to offer a sacrifice,
and blood needing to be shed
for my trespasses.
What's the point?
Paul would say,
in its own unique way,
it was to teach you something
about your heart,
and about the person
and work of Jesus.
And this is what you get,
particularly in the first five
books of the Bible,
history.
You get types,
you get pictures,
you get,
as you move on in the story,
you get prophecies.
The law
is prepping you
for Jesus.
And all of that
made me think about
my old biology teacher
at school.
His name was
Dr. Williams.
Right?
I sat in his class
for about four years
trying to learn biology.
I remember,
I don't tell him this,
I remember one phrase
from all that time
that he taught me.
Do you know what it is?
You'll never guess.
Three words.
Larger surface area.
Everyone know
what I'm talking about?
Yeah?
No?
Right.
Larger surface area.
It's all I can hear
in my mind.
Right?
So every time,
here's how this plays out,
every time we get
some new flowers
in our house,
I get the stems,
and the first thing I do
is I cut them
at a right angle.
Anyone else do that?
Why?
Larger surface area.
Yeah?
No.
Okay.
Larger surface area.
I learned this stuff
from him.
He was kind of prepping me
for what life
would be like
in the real world
when I graduated.
Okay?
But here's the thing
about Dr. Williams.
He's taught me stuff,
but he didn't take
any snash.
Didn't take any nonsense.
He was no stranger
to the dishing out
of detentions.
He taught me stuff.
I was under his authority.
And in the same way,
the law,
says Paul,
the law
was your teacher.
It was your guardian
teaching you
and disciplining you.
But you know what would be
the weirdest thing,
going back to Dr. Williams
for a minute,
the weirdest thing,
is if he phoned me tonight
and he said,
are you remembering
your homework
for Monday morning?
I tell him
to get on his bike.
Because the moment
I walked out that door
of his class
at the end of sixth year,
our relationship
totally changed.
And that's what Paul
is saying
has happened
with the arrival
of Jesus
in terms of
your relationship
to the law.
the law
has served
its exposing
and enslaving
and educating
purpose.
It has
done
its job.
It's done
its role
because
now
Christ,
the one
who
the law
was getting
you ready
for,
the promise
inheritor
has
arrived.
So do you see
in the context
of Galatians,
Paul is saying
it doesn't make
any sense
for you
to go back
to the law,
to think
and that's
how you get
right with
God.
If you do
that,
do you see
how you're
just self-admitting
yourself to
prison?
Now
Christ has
come,
Paul says,
verse 29,
by faith
you are
now
Abraham's
seed.
Whoa,
whoa,
wait a
minute.
Time out.
I thought
Jesus was
Abraham's
seed.
You've
just told us
that,
Paul.
I thought
Jesus alone,
singular,
you made a
big thing
about that.
I thought
Jesus alone,
singular,
inherited the
promise.
Correct.
Well,
how does
that work?
And friends,
this is where
it gets
really good.
Paul would
say,
it works
because of
your,
verse 29,
faith,
because of
your faith,
and notice
this,
you belong
to him.
Do you see
it?
Got to see
it.
You belong
to him.
now,
imagine
one with
me that
one day
a team
of scientists
discover a
new tallest
mountain in
the world.
It's twice
the size of
Everest.
It is more
dangerous than
Kilimanjaro.
In fact,
so treacherous is
it that no
one has
ever or
will ever
have any
hope of
getting to
the top.
Except
one day
a woman
does.
No team,
no Sherpa,
no nothing.
She overcomes
all the odds.
She reaches
the summit.
She plants
her victor's
pole at
the peak.
And let's
assume they
get mobile
coverage at
the top of
the mountain.
She takes
a selfie of
herself,
posts it on
Instagram with
the caption,
we did it.
We did it.
Sorry,
we?
Well,
it turns out
this woman is
carrying a
child.
We did it.
Now,
question for
you,
how did
the child
come to
share in
her victory?
Not by
doing anything
other than
being one
with the
woman.
Now,
friends,
Jesus,
through his
life and
his death
and his
glorious
resurrection,
is the
great
victor.
Unrivaled,
unmatched,
unrepeatable,
no one
can topple
him from
his throne.
To him
alone belong
the blessings
of God.
To him
alone belong
the promises
of God.
And we
sang that
song earlier,
Christ is
victor.
Jesus is
the victor.
But my
friends at
Nidri would
call that a
kingdom
banger.
Okay,
looking forward
to learning
it.
Christ is
victor.
And I
love singing
songs about
the victory
of Jesus.
But here's
the question,
what on
earth does
that have
to do
with me?
Friends,
if your
faith is
in Jesus,
the answer
to that
question is
everything.
Everything.
His
victory.
Because we
are one
with him.
The promises
he's inherited.
The future
that he has
won.
The victory
over sin
and death
that's his.
How do we
share it?
We belong
to him.
That's it.
We belong
to him.
And if
you're feeling
today like,
what on
earth am I
doing with
my life?
Is there
any future?
Is it
worth keeping
on going?
Life is
so hard.
Friends,
this one's
for you.
You
belong
to him.
Can I
just give you
two quick
things that
that means
to try and
whet your
appetite for
next week?
You've got to
come back
next week
and Ian
will take
us through
the first
little bit
of chapter
four,
which is
golden.
Two quick
things that
that means.
Firstly,
it means,
friends,
that there's
a new
me.
Because I
belong to
him.
In Christ,
you are
someone who
has been,
verse 27,
clothed with
Christ.
You see the
language?
Put off the
old,
you've put
on the
new.
You are
a child
of God.
That is
who you
are.
It's not
speculation.
It's
declaration.
You have
new
privileges.
You have
a new
future.
And you
have a
new
calling on
your life.
Kevin
de Young
in his
great little
book called
The Hole
in Our
Holiness
says this
rather cheekily
and I love
it.
He says,
God does
want you to
be true to
yourself.
But the
you that he's
talking about
is the
you that you
are by
grace and
not by
nature.
Yeah?
The
you,
the new
you,
the you
that you
are by
grace.
He wants
you to
be true
to yourself.
No,
they owed
you.
Do you
see what
he's
saying?
God
has saved
us for
radical
holiness
that baffles
the world.
And I
take it if
growing as a
Christian is
being transformed
more into
Jesus'
image,
if it was
a joy for
Jesus to
obey the
law,
friends,
it's going
to look like
that in
our lives
as well.
We're going
to think
about that
in a few
weeks'
time.
Not saved
by the
law,
but as
we follow
Christ,
I take it
this will
be all
over our
lives.
Number two,
it means that
there's a new
we.
And this is
bigger here.
Because you
belong to
him,
you belong
to each
other.
God's
holy
blessings of God in the same way? Do you see how God has created a radical equality among you?
Remember we saw a few weeks ago how Peter, he withdrew himself from the Gentiles because of
the sneers of these Jewish teachers that had come up from Jerusalem, who said to Peter,
you're eating with who? You're eating with them? I wonder if the Gentiles in Galatia might just
have been feeling like second-class citizens in God's kingdom. Like if God's people were all to
board a flight, they would be shown right to economy while the Jews would go left to business.
Why? Well, because they've got the history, they've got the law, got all the stuff, got all the stories.
Remember Jewish men in this day would pray each morning thanking God that he hadn't made them a
Gentile, a slave, or a female. Categories that would have meant an awful lot in terms of the social
hierarchy of the Roman Empire as well. Paul says, see when it comes to being children of God? Not so.
And that's why verse 28, friends, is so, so explosive. And it is the proverbial cat in among
the pigeons. And remember in the context, it's all about being God's children, probably more accurately
God's sons. Again, that's not the gender stuff there is specific and important because it's all
about inheritance. We'll see that more next week. But here's what Paul writes, there's neither Jew nor
Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
All one in Christ Jesus. Now, understand that the distinctions haven't disappeared.
But the barriers have been demolished. And the relationship between you all has totally changed.
Imagine a community like that living in the Roman Empire.
A CEO working in Mayfair in London, hanging out with a single mom living
in the east end of Glasgow. They're one. Why are they one? Well, they're one in Christ Jesus.
See how radical that is, what he's saying.
Oh, friends, you are all one in Christ Jesus. Listen, just as we close,
our doorbell went at 6.43 on Monday evening.
And I opened it and there was a lady standing there.
And she said, it's Graham, isn't it? And I could see where the conversation was going.
And I almost thought about saying no, but I thought, no, I'll go with this one.
So I nodded. And she said, do you mind me asking who you are planning to vote for at next year's election?
And at that point, I was so grateful for four little children who poked their heads around the door
at that precise moment. And she read the room and got the vibe that now maybe wasn't the time
for a long, deep and meaningful conversation.
But here's the thing. See, as I closed the door and said my goodbyes to her,
I wondered why that question made me so uneasy.
And I think the answer that I came away with is that we're all aware just how divisive a question that is currently.
And if you like it, that is just a difference of opinion.
But you look at our world, friends, and it is full of so much inequality.
Economic inequality, social inequality, ethnic inequality.
And we don't have any answers for it.
And this week of all weeks has helped us realize the evil that exists in human hearts
and the divisions that there are amongst the peoples of our country.
And so do you see how glorious a picture that is?
In a world that is so divided and hotly so, do you see how precious and beautiful
and stunning the unity and diversity, the radical equality that God has brought about through his son?
In his multinational, multi-generational, multi-lingual people of faith,
that somehow, somehow, through the cross of Jesus, he has made them one.
And it's all because God doesn't have a plan B.
This is the plan.
And this is what Jesus is doing.
He is building his church.
And so maybe, listen, maybe put it at this point.
As we move towards communion,
since we pass it around to each other, friends,
take a moment just to look the other person in the eye.
Right?
Just think to yourself,
brother and sister in Christ.
Let me pray.
And so, Father, we're just so thankful this morning for Jesus.
Jesus, who is our life.
Father, we thank you for the forgiveness and the newness of life that we have in him.
That nothing in our hands that we bring simply to the cross we cling.
Naked run to you for dress, helpless run to you for grace.
Thank you that Jesus is an all-sufficient saviour.
So, Father, I just pray, Lord, that you would remind us this morning of the glorious unity that we have.
What we were thinking about a few weeks ago,
this snow globe, this little microcosm of this global reality across the church,
that in Christ Jesus, you are all children of God through faith.
So, Father, be with us as we move to a time of communion now.
In Jesus' name we pray.
Amen.