Sermon: God’s Promise is Superior to God’s Law Galatians 3:15-18
Truth Taught- Jesus is the fulfillment of God’s Promise to Abraham
Introduction
Through the Epistle to the Galatians, the Apostle Paul has argued very effectively for the superiority of the Gospel over the Law of God.
He has stated…
The Law is not the Gospel nor can it be added to the Gospel for one’s justification. Any addition to the Gospel will only work to actually detract from it distort it and make ineffective.
Galatians 1:6–7 (ESV)
6 I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— 7 not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ.
The Gospel is superior to the Law of God because the Law cannot justify us before God. It only has the power to condemn.
Galatians 2:16 (ESV)
16 yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.
If the Law of God could justify us then why did Jesus die?
Galatians 2:21 (ESV)
21 I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose.
Paul told us that all who seek to live by the Law of God for justification are unable to and all who have broken God’s Law live cursed.
Galatians 3:10 (ESV)
10 For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them.”
So, the clear logical deduction is that the Gospel justifies sinners before God while the Law cannot. For this reason, the Gospel is superior to the Law of God.
Now we see a transition in the Apostle’s argument. He highlights something else that is superior to God’s Law and that is God’s Promise.
Disciple Hour: 10 Commandments
Last time we covered the first two of the Ten Commandments.
Today I’d like to focus further on the 2nd Commandment…
Exodus 20:1–4 (ESV)
20 And God spoke all these words, saying,
2 “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.
3 “You shall have no other gods before me.
4 “You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.
We should notice that these two commands have the worship of the true God at their heart. To have a god is by definition to worship it. So, we must make sure we are worshipping the true God and not some cheap imposter.
To make a god is for the purpose of worship.
To see something in creation and bow down to it is worship.
Through the text by definition, an idol is something made by man. Later this command is expanded to also include anything in creation that God has made.
Idolatry blurs the distinction between the Creator and His creation.
Isaiah 42:8 (ESV)
8 I am the Lord; that is my name; my glory I give to no other, nor my praise to carved idols.
Israel was continually worshipping idols. It came to the point in the Book of Isaiah when God would pass judgement upon them for their idolatry.
What is the judgement for Idolatry?
Psalm 45 The Royal Wedding
Psalm 45
To the choirmaster: according to Lilies. A Maskil of the Sons of Korah; a love song.
1 My heart overflows with a pleasing theme;
I address my verses to the king;
my tongue is like the pen of a ready scribe.
Korah was the grandson of Kohath, and he began to run with another group of Reubenite rebels, namely, Dathan and Abiram, sons of Eliab, and On, son of Peleth. In pride, they roused a group of 250 men together to challenge the right of Moses and Aaron to the priesthood (Numbers 16). Moses summoned the rebellious men to stand before God and burn incense. God warned Moses to let the assembly know to get away from Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, their households, and the other rebels. Then a remarkable and terrifying event happened.
Numbers 16:28–35 (ESV)
28 And Moses said, “Hereby you shall know that the Lord has sent me to do all these works, and that it has not been of my own accord. 29 If these men die as all men die, or if they are visited by the fate of all mankind, then the Lord has not sent me. 30 But if the Lord creates something new, and the ground opens its mouth and swallows them up with all that belongs to them, and they go down alive into Sheol, then you shall know that these men have despised the Lord.”
31 And as soon as he had finished speaking all these words, the ground under them split apart. 32 And the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up, with their households and all the people who belonged to Korah and all their goods. 33 So they and all that belonged to them went down alive into Sheol, and the earth closed over them, and they perished from the midst of the assembly. 34 And all Israel who were around them fled at their cry, for they said, “Lest the earth swallow us up!” 35 And fire came out from the Lord and consumed the 250 men offering the incense.
The Korahites became doorkeepers and custodians for the tabernacle (1 Chronicles 9:19–21; 1 Chronicles 2.) One group of Korahites (1 Chronicles 12:6) joined King David in various military exploits and won the reputation of being expert warriors. However, the most remarkable thing to note about the sons of Korah is that during the time of King David, they became the great leaders in choral and orchestral music in the tabernacle.
Of all of the psalms in the Bible, eleven are attributed to the sons of Korah. These beautiful psalms express a spirit of great gratitude and humility to an awesome, mighty God. They express a longing for God and deep devotion. These poetic songs include Psalms 42, 44—49, 84—85, and 87—88. Psalm 42:1 contains the beautiful line, “As the deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, O God.” Psalm 84:1 states, “How lovely is your dwelling place, O God.” Psalm 46:1–3 conveys the powerful message, “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.”
Here in Psalm 45, we see the wedding of all weddings.
This Psalm was used for the royal weddings in Israel. Whenever a king of the Davidic line entered into marriage this amazing piece of literature was spoken to honor the king. Everyone knew however, it wasn’t ultimately to find its fulfillment in the human son or descendant of David but it’s ultimate meaning pointed to the Divine Son of David, our Lord Jesus Christ. Read More
Sermon: Two Ways to Live: by Works or by Faith Galatians 3:10-14
Truth Taught- We are taught that there are two ways to live by works and receive God’s just wrath or by faith and receive free justification.
Introduction
Today we are going to see two ways to live and the results of both. One way leads to death and eternal punishment, the other leads to great blessings earned for us by Christ’s finished work on our behalf and eternal life.
We are going to see that Jesus is the Substitute for all who believe.
There will be a very pointed Luther quote that should wake us all up to what Jesus did for us on the cross.
Please Stand
Galatians 3:10–14 (ESV)
10 For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them.” 11 Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, for “The righteous shall live by faith.” 12 But the law is not of faith, rather “The one who does them shall live by them.” 13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”— 14 so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith.
1. All Who Rely on Works for Justification Are Cursed (3:10)
10 For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them.”
The first thing we should notice about this verse is its all-inclusiveness. 10 For all and everyone. Without exception, all and everyone who works to achieve justification are all cursed by God.
Deuteronomy 27:26 (ESV)
26 “ ‘Cursed be anyone who does not confirm the words of this law by doing them.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’
This is the last curse stated in Deut. 27 and the people said amen. There is no grace in the Law. No forgiveness. No way possible for a fallen human to obey it perfectly. That’s what God requires.
Disciple Hour: Exodus 20:1–6
Exodus 20:1–6
20 And God spoke all these words, saying,
2 “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.
3 “You shall have no other gods before me.
4 “You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. 5 You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, 6 but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.
As we begin, I want us to remember the purpose of the Law of God. The purpose is 5-fold. You may hear people at some point refer to the three uses of the Law, however, before we begin, I’d like to give you 5.
1. Five-Fold Uses of the Law of God
A. God’s Law reveals man’s sinfulness
It’s like a mirror showing us that we are, in fact, sinners
Romans 3:19–20 (ESV)
19 Now we know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God. 20 For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.
B. God’s Law reveals the shocking evil of sin itself; it shows us what sin is and where it’s located
It’s like a microscope to help us see the evil of sin and where it’s located.
Romans 7:7–13 (ESV)
7 What then shall we say? That the law is sin? By no means! Yet if it had not been for the law, I would not have known sin. For I would not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, “You shall not covet.” 8 But sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, produced in me all kinds of covetousness. For apart from the law, sin lies dead. 9 I was once alive apart from the law, but when the commandment came, sin came alive and I died. 10 The very commandment that promised life proved to be death to me. 11 For sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, deceived me and through it killed me. 12 So the law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good.
