Jesus and the Law (Gal 4:4)

WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.240 --> 00:00:07.830 Let's turn our attention to glacians chapter four. I'm going to be reading a 2 00:00:07.950 --> 00:00:12.669 lot from this book tonight, but for now let's just look at glacians for 3 00:00:14.029 --> 00:00:29.140 versus one through seven. Let's her God's Word Glaciers, for I mean that 4 00:00:29.339 --> 00:00:33.700 the heir, as long as he is a child, is no different from 5 00:00:33.700 --> 00:00:38.289 a slave, though he is the owner of everything, but he is under 6 00:00:38.329 --> 00:00:43.729 guardians and managers until the date set by his father. In the same way, 7 00:00:43.969 --> 00:00:49.329 we also, when we were children, were enslaved to the elementary principles 8 00:00:49.490 --> 00:00:53.880 of the world. But when the fullness of time had come, God sent 9 00:00:54.039 --> 00:00:58.520 forth his son, born of a woman, born under the law, to 10 00:00:58.679 --> 00:01:03.079 redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as 11 00:01:03.240 --> 00:01:07.310 sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the spirit of his 12 00:01:07.469 --> 00:01:12.109 son into our hearts, crying Abba father. So you are no longer a 13 00:01:12.349 --> 00:01:18.579 slave but a son, and of a son, than an heir through God. 14 00:01:22.219 --> 00:01:25.739 Well, for the time being, this is my final sermon on this 15 00:01:26.099 --> 00:01:32.659 passage and glaciers four verse, for where we hear the beginnings of the one 16 00:01:32.739 --> 00:01:38.250 who has no beginning, the beginnings of the incarnation, that is, of 17 00:01:38.489 --> 00:01:44.209 our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. We've considered in turn these four phrases, 18 00:01:44.329 --> 00:01:47.760 or three phrases and then a fourth one this evening. The first was 19 00:01:47.920 --> 00:01:53.000 in the fullness of time, the second was that the Lord God, God 20 00:01:53.040 --> 00:01:57.959 the father, sent forth his son. The one we covered this morning was 21 00:01:57.079 --> 00:02:00.510 that he was born of a woman, and then to this evening, that 22 00:02:00.670 --> 00:02:06.870 he was born under the law. Each of these things leads from one to 23 00:02:06.909 --> 00:02:12.310 the next to develop an and paint a picture for us by which we understand 24 00:02:12.469 --> 00:02:16.500 the work of Christ. Paul gives to us these four phrases so that we 25 00:02:16.620 --> 00:02:23.379 might know how it is and by whom it is that we are redeemed from 26 00:02:23.379 --> 00:02:28.020 under the law, that we no longer are under the law. Everything's been 27 00:02:28.419 --> 00:02:32.009 building to this point and it's important to take a moment to reflect and what 28 00:02:32.129 --> 00:02:39.009 it means that Jesus was born under the law to redeem us from under the 29 00:02:39.090 --> 00:02:45.039 law. Now, the Bible uses the word law in a lot of different 30 00:02:45.039 --> 00:02:49.319 ways and to refer to different things at different times. Sometimes it refers to 31 00:02:49.400 --> 00:02:53.159 a specific law, I'm sometimes it refers to natural law, law that we 32 00:02:53.400 --> 00:03:00.030 are all obligated to fulfill. Sometimes it refers to the Mosaic Law, the 33 00:03:00.069 --> 00:03:05.870 Law Moses or particular laws in Moses, and there are other we could add 34 00:03:05.870 --> 00:03:09.270 to this list as well. And so the best way to determine what the 35 00:03:09.389 --> 00:03:14.460 word law means has this range of possible meetings, is, of course, 36 00:03:14.580 --> 00:03:19.819 to look at the context. And the context tells us that here Paul's referring 37 00:03:19.939 --> 00:03:23.979 directly to the law of Moses, but has something bigger in mind as he 38 00:03:24.099 --> 00:03:29.409 speaks of it. So I want to prove that to you and show you 39 00:03:29.610 --> 00:03:35.090 that from the scriptures here, from Galatians. Begin with me in Glacians, 40 00:03:35.169 --> 00:03:43.360 Chapter Two, glaciers to Paul lays down this principle in verse sixteen. He 41 00:03:43.479 --> 00:03:47.280 says, yet we know that a person is not justified by the works of 42 00:03:47.400 --> 00:03:53.520 the law but through faith in Jesus Christ. So we also have believed in 43 00:03:53.560 --> 00:03:55.909 Christ, Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not 44 00:03:57.069 --> 00:04:00.509 by the works of the law, because by works of the law no one 45 00:04:01.030 --> 00:04:05.349 will be justified. Now the reason the Paul lays down this principle here is 46 00:04:05.430 --> 00:04:11.699 that the people of Galatia were tempted to put themselves back under the works of 47 00:04:11.780 --> 00:04:15.019 the law Christ had redeemed them out as we read, and did glacians, 48 00:04:15.060 --> 00:04:18.819 for redeemed them out from under the law, but they were trying to go 49 00:04:19.060 --> 00:04:24.290 back to it. He says, Oh, foolish glacians, who has a 50 00:04:24.410 --> 00:04:27.970 bewitched you? In the beginning of chapter three, this is a bad thing. 51 00:04:28.730 --> 00:04:30.449 He says of those who are trying to do this that he wishes they 52 00:04:30.490 --> 00:04:36.610 would emasculate themselves. He says that this is a contrary Gospel, a false 53 00:04:36.730 --> 00:04:43.399 gospel, a promise of good news that is really terrible news, bad news. 54 00:04:43.480 --> 00:04:46.000 He says that even if an angel should preach it from heaven, we 55 00:04:46.120 --> 00:04:53.110 should not believe it. So this principle that we cannot be saved by the 56 00:04:53.230 --> 00:04:57.230 works of the law, by that or even more specifically, by the works 57 00:04:57.269 --> 00:05:01.029 of the law, no one is justified, is laid down here at the 58 00:05:01.069 --> 00:05:05.949 beginning, at the be in this passage that we've read. So what does 59 00:05:06.029 --> 00:05:09.980 he want us to do instead of live by works of the law? Well, 60 00:05:09.980 --> 00:05:14.779 he tells us he will calls us to live by faith, and he 61 00:05:14.899 --> 00:05:17.660 points us to a very particular person. As we lead up to Galatians chapter 62 00:05:17.819 --> 00:05:24.649 four, he points us to Abraham. He says this is how we came 63 00:05:24.970 --> 00:05:29.649 to have life notice what he says. For example, in verse two of 64 00:05:29.730 --> 00:05:31.970 Chapter Three, he says, let me ask you only this. Did you 65 00:05:32.170 --> 00:05:38.199 receive the spirit by the works of the law or by hearing with faith? 66 00:05:38.240 --> 00:05:43.439 Are you so foolish? Having begun by the spirit, are you now perfected 67 00:05:43.480 --> 00:05:46.279 by the flesh? Did you suffer so many things in vain? If indeed 68 00:05:46.319 --> 00:05:51.230 it was in vain, does he who supplies the spirit to you and works 69 00:05:51.350 --> 00:05:56.310 miracles among you do so by the works of the law or by the hearing 70 00:05:56.430 --> 00:06:00.509 with faith, just as Abraham the leaved, and it was counted to him 71 00:06:00.550 --> 00:06:06.139 as righteousness? This Abraham as an example to us, as shows us how 72 00:06:06.300 --> 00:06:11.660 it is that we live. We live by faith. Abraham was not justified 73 00:06:11.660 --> 00:06:16.620 by the works of the law, he was justified by by faith counted to 74 00:06:16.699 --> 00:06:21.250 him as righteousness. And so when we put our faith in God, we 75 00:06:21.449 --> 00:06:27.689 become like Abraham, even sons of Abraham. So galatians three, verse seven 76 00:06:27.730 --> 00:06:30.370 says. Know, then, that it is those of faith who are the 77 00:06:30.490 --> 00:06:34.879 sons of Abraham. Well, you remember that back in Genesis, God made 78 00:06:34.920 --> 00:06:40.279 this Grand Promise to Abraham. He promised him this, he made a covenant 79 00:06:40.319 --> 00:06:44.079 with him and promised that through him, all the people of the world, 80 00:06:44.120 --> 00:06:48.069 all nations, all the families of the world would be blessed. In other 81 00:06:48.110 --> 00:06:54.069 words, Abraham would receive this inheritance and all of his airs would receive that 82 00:06:54.230 --> 00:06:58.910 inheritance as well. So the question is, how do we become sons of 83 00:06:58.949 --> 00:07:02.339 Abraham? Do we come sons of Abraham by the works of the law, 84 00:07:03.139 --> 00:07:06.139 by being justified in God's say, by the works of the law, or 85 00:07:06.180 --> 00:07:12.459 do we receive the righteousness of God through faith? Well, the answer is 86 00:07:12.540 --> 00:07:16.490 the second. Abraham was justified by faith, and so also his son's share 87 00:07:17.050 --> 00:07:23.170 in that inheritance through faith. Verse Seven again. Know, then, that 88 00:07:23.329 --> 00:07:27.889 it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham. The nation's are 89 00:07:28.009 --> 00:07:32.839 blessed through him, him, and we live by faith. Again Paul Repeats 90 00:07:32.879 --> 00:07:36.279 himself. In verse ten, he says for all who rely on the works 91 00:07:36.319 --> 00:07:42.120 of the law are under a curse. Now this is a this is adding 92 00:07:42.279 --> 00:07:46.189 something in a way. Before he has said that we only live, we 93 00:07:46.350 --> 00:07:48.269 come to life, we come to have the spirit, not through the works 94 00:07:48.310 --> 00:07:51.589 of the law but through faith. And now we add something else. He 95 00:07:51.670 --> 00:07:55.550 says that those who try to live by the works of the law, those 96 00:07:55.790 --> 00:08:01.699 who say I will be justified before God by doing the things that God requires. 97 00:08:01.740 --> 00:08:07.540 He says that that kind of person is under a curse. Now that 98 00:08:07.660 --> 00:08:13.290 runs counter to what a lot of times we are taught and what we are 99 00:08:13.569 --> 00:08:18.970 tempted to believe about God. We believe that if we rely on our works 100 00:08:18.089 --> 00:08:22.250 of the law, that if we go and do the things that are obedient, 101 00:08:22.329 --> 00:08:26.290 if we strive really hard and keep trying and keep trying and keep trying, 102 00:08:26.610 --> 00:08:31.079 eventually God will be pleased with us again. Eventually God will say, 103 00:08:31.639 --> 00:08:37.919 blessed are you. But what Paul says is those who rely on the works 104 00:08:37.960 --> 00:08:41.309 of the law, which sounds like a good thing, are under a curse. 105 00:08:43.070 --> 00:08:50.590 Here's why. Any quotes from Deuteronomy Twenty six, twenty six, and 106 00:08:50.669 --> 00:08:56.379 saying this, he says, cursed be everyone who does not abide by all 107 00:08:56.460 --> 00:09:01.940 the things written in the book of the Law and do them. Deuteronomy Twenty 108 00:09:01.980 --> 00:09:05.620 six were he quotes from says curse to be everyone who does not confirm the 109 00:09:05.700 --> 00:09:11.090 words of this law by doing them, and all the people shall say Amen. 110 00:09:11.889 --> 00:09:16.690 Of course this is similar to the Covenant of Works that God made with 111 00:09:16.809 --> 00:09:22.330 Abraham in the garden. She broke, like the people of Israel did Jose 112 00:09:22.490 --> 00:09:26.360 is six seven, we are told that, like Adam, they transgressed the 113 00:09:26.399 --> 00:09:31.639 covenant. They did not abide by all the things written in the book of 114 00:09:31.679 --> 00:09:33.720 the law. They did not fulfill the law, they did not do the 115 00:09:33.879 --> 00:09:39.789 things that were required and therefore cursed. Are they cursed? Are they? 116 00:09:41.470 --> 00:09:48.190 And this book of the law here refers to specifically to the law of Moses, 117 00:09:48.350 --> 00:09:52.659 the law that God gave to his people on Mount Sinai, maybe even 118 00:09:52.899 --> 00:09:58.539 especially, of the book of Deuteronomy, in which the Covenant is laid out 119 00:09:58.539 --> 00:10:03.019 a second time, right as the people are about to enter the land? 120 00:10:03.100 --> 00:10:07.490 How do we know that it's the law of Moses that he has in mind? 121 00:10:07.370 --> 00:10:13.009 Well, it's because he tells us this. Notice in a chapter three. 122 00:10:13.049 --> 00:10:18.009 Again, as he continues, in verse Seventeen, he speaks about the 123 00:10:18.049 --> 00:10:22.240 promises of Abraham and what comes after it. Look at Verse Sixteen. Paul 124 00:10:22.279 --> 00:10:26.360 says, now promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring. It does 125 00:10:26.399 --> 00:10:30.879 not say two offsp rings, referring to many, but referring to one and 126 00:10:31.039 --> 00:10:33.879 to your offspring, who is Christ. This is what I mean. The 127 00:10:35.039 --> 00:10:39.990 law which came four hundred and thirty years afterward, does not annull a covenant 128 00:10:41.470 --> 00:10:48.309 previously ratified by God so as to make the promise void. So you see 129 00:10:48.309 --> 00:10:50.820 what he's saying here. He's saying God has done these two things in history. 130 00:10:50.899 --> 00:10:56.580 He speaking about two things God has done in history. The first one 131 00:10:56.659 --> 00:11:03.179 is God's promise to Abraham and to his offspring Christ. The second thing is 132 00:11:03.580 --> 00:11:07.809 the adding of the law four hundred and thirty years afterwards. This refers to 133 00:11:07.889 --> 00:11:11.929 the law of Moses, or the book of the law. He draws from 134 00:11:11.929 --> 00:11:16.610 exodus twelve, verse forty, where we read the time that the people of 135 00:11:16.769 --> 00:11:22.879 Israel lived in Egypt was four hundred and thirty years. So Paul is talking 136 00:11:22.919 --> 00:11:26.039 about the law that God gave to his people under Moses after they came out 137 00:11:26.080 --> 00:11:33.149 of Egypt. Abraham was promised these things. His family grew, they multiplied 138 00:11:33.230 --> 00:11:37.509 and then they went into Egypt and after four hundred and thirty years they came 139 00:11:37.549 --> 00:11:43.110 out of Egypt and God gave them his law on Mount Sinai. He gave 140 00:11:43.230 --> 00:11:50.100 them this law and he commanded obedience. He commanded them to do the law 141 00:11:50.299 --> 00:11:54.460 and said, as we read in Deuteronomy, is Paul quotes here in glacians, 142 00:11:54.820 --> 00:11:58.179 cursed be everyone who does not abide by all the things of the law. 143 00:12:00.740 --> 00:12:03.610 And now ask yourself, is that what happened to the people of God? 144 00:12:03.769 --> 00:12:07.929 Were they cursed by not abiding by the things of law? Absolutely, 145 00:12:09.129 --> 00:12:13.169 over and over again, the prophets warned and called them to obedience. Over 146 00:12:13.289 --> 00:12:20.159 and over again, God gave parables and Miracles and symbols and all kinds of 147 00:12:20.279 --> 00:12:24.960 events to call them to obedience. And over and over again they failed, 148 00:12:26.799 --> 00:12:31.470 and not in minor ways, as we know from the sermons and is equal 149 00:12:31.549 --> 00:12:39.149 and other places. The people of Israel failed on every account and did horrible 150 00:12:39.309 --> 00:12:43.539 things. They filled the land with murder and bloodshed and justice. Those who 151 00:12:43.539 --> 00:12:48.580 are in power, who are called to protect and keep the people, robbed 152 00:12:48.779 --> 00:12:52.259 the people. Instead of giving them and key and keeping them in the law 153 00:12:52.299 --> 00:12:58.539 of God, they supplanted their they they replaced God's law with their own law, 154 00:12:58.169 --> 00:13:01.570 God's priesthood with their own priesthood, God's temple with their own temples, 155 00:13:01.610 --> 00:13:07.970 and on and on and on it went. We read that they even sacrifice 156 00:13:07.129 --> 00:13:13.320 their own children to these idols. Murder and justice, bloodshed, idolatry, 157 00:13:13.320 --> 00:13:18.080 all kinds of sexual immorality. It built up a built up in God, 158 00:13:18.279 --> 00:13:24.240 in his kindness, kept calling down the repentance and they did not obey and 159 00:13:24.399 --> 00:13:28.710 eventually they lost the blessings that that were promised, the blessings of the land, 160 00:13:28.789 --> 00:13:33.870 the blessings of Cain and the blessings of peace and prosperity. They broke 161 00:13:35.029 --> 00:13:43.580 the covenant and they were cursed. This curse came about for them. But 162 00:13:43.740 --> 00:13:48.379 we and we also read, and as we continue to read, this flows 163 00:13:48.500 --> 00:13:56.490 into our next section. God speaks about those and the purpose of these this 164 00:13:56.690 --> 00:14:01.690 period of time, before getting to our section about sons and heirs. What 165 00:14:01.809 --> 00:14:05.250 does he say? What was the law for during this time? Then, 166 00:14:05.850 --> 00:14:09.289 if God gave this law to his people, what does that do with the 167 00:14:09.610 --> 00:14:13.200 promise to Abraham and what does it do? What was its purpose in history? 168 00:14:15.200 --> 00:14:18.039 Well, with regard to the promise of Abraham, it doesn't annull it, 169 00:14:18.679 --> 00:14:20.679 right, remember that, Paul says. When the law came four hundred 170 00:14:20.679 --> 00:14:24.669 and thirty years afterward, it doesn't annul the covenant that was made to Abraham. 171 00:14:26.389 --> 00:14:31.750 The promise is still there. Verse Eighteen of Chapter Three. Four. 172 00:14:31.789 --> 00:14:35.389 If the inheritance comes by the law, it is no longer by promise. 173 00:14:35.629 --> 00:14:39.659 But God gave it to Abraham by promise. So then this question. Well 174 00:14:39.700 --> 00:14:43.419 then, why then the law? Well, that's exactly what verse Nineteen says. 175 00:14:43.580 --> 00:14:48.899 WHY THEM LAW? Here's the answer. It was added because of transgressions, 176 00:14:48.940 --> 00:14:54.450 until the offspring should come to whom the promise had been made, and 177 00:14:54.570 --> 00:14:58.169 it was put in place through angels, by an intermediate hear He. Now 178 00:14:58.250 --> 00:15:03.730 an intermediary implies more than one, but God is one. Is the law 179 00:15:03.809 --> 00:15:07.320 then, contrary to the promises of God? Certainly not, for if a 180 00:15:07.399 --> 00:15:13.240 law had been given that could give life and I could not on, then 181 00:15:13.399 --> 00:15:18.080 righteousness would indeed by be by the law. But the scripture imprisoned everything under 182 00:15:18.159 --> 00:15:22.190 sin so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those 183 00:15:22.269 --> 00:15:28.669 who believe. I'm going to keep reading here now. Before faith came, 184 00:15:28.830 --> 00:15:33.070 we were held captive under the law, imprisoned until the coming of faith would 185 00:15:33.070 --> 00:15:37.779 be revealed, or coming faith would be revealed. So then, the law 186 00:15:37.179 --> 00:15:41.259 was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by 187 00:15:41.299 --> 00:15:46.700 faith. Now that faith is come, we're no longer under a guardian, 188 00:15:46.299 --> 00:15:50.250 for in Christ Jesus you are sons of God through faith. For as many 189 00:15:50.289 --> 00:15:54.529 of you who are baptized into Christ have would put put on Christ. There 190 00:15:54.610 --> 00:15:58.289 is neither Jew nor Greek, nor slave nor free, there is neither male 191 00:15:58.370 --> 00:16:00.250 or female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus, and if you 192 00:16:00.330 --> 00:16:04.480 are Christ, then you are Abraham's offspring airs, according to the promise. 193 00:16:06.919 --> 00:16:10.000 So you will see what he's saying here. He's saying that there was a 194 00:16:10.039 --> 00:16:15.879 period of time when we were, when God's people were under the law. 195 00:16:15.559 --> 00:16:18.830 But what was the purpose of that? It was to serve as a guardian. 196 00:16:18.909 --> 00:16:22.909 It was a temporary period of time, during what we might call childhood, 197 00:16:22.909 --> 00:16:27.309 under which the people of God would match. Sure, as the plan 198 00:16:27.429 --> 00:16:32.789 of God mature, it is the offspring of Abraham Jesus, Christ would be 199 00:16:32.899 --> 00:16:37.100 revealed. But when we come to chapter four, what he says is while 200 00:16:37.299 --> 00:16:41.899 they're in this period of guardianship, while they're under the tutelage of the law, 201 00:16:42.179 --> 00:16:48.610 this temporary time, they're kind of like slaves. Notice what he says 202 00:16:48.649 --> 00:16:52.529 in Verse Four. Are Sorry chapter, for I mean that the air, 203 00:16:52.809 --> 00:16:55.970 as long as he is a child, is no different from a slave. 204 00:16:56.009 --> 00:17:00.049 Yes, he's a child, yes he's an air, but he he does 205 00:17:00.090 --> 00:17:03.399 not the master of the House, he doesn't enjoy all the privileges of the 206 00:17:03.440 --> 00:17:07.279 house, he's still won under control. He's still one who's being told what 207 00:17:07.440 --> 00:17:11.359 to do, he's still one who's being directed, often because of lack of 208 00:17:11.480 --> 00:17:15.710 wisdom, hardheartedness, all these kinds of things. He's no different than a 209 00:17:15.789 --> 00:17:21.230 slave, even though he is the owner of everything, but he's under guardians 210 00:17:21.309 --> 00:17:25.349 and managers until the date set by his father. In the same way, 211 00:17:25.509 --> 00:17:29.349 we also, when we were children, were enslaved the elementary principles of this 212 00:17:29.549 --> 00:17:33.220 world. So he says that there was this slavery that we were under when 213 00:17:33.259 --> 00:17:40.579 we were under the law of God, under the Law of Moses, this 214 00:17:40.700 --> 00:17:42.819 law that he speaks of. He continues to go on and compare it to 215 00:17:44.140 --> 00:17:48.289 hag ore and Sarah. He says of Hag are that she is Mount Sinai, 216 00:17:48.809 --> 00:17:53.490 that Sarah is Jerusalem. The formerly we were under HAG are, we 217 00:17:53.569 --> 00:17:59.400 were under signed, I under its law, but now we are under Jerusalem 218 00:17:59.480 --> 00:18:03.480 and we are not to put ourselves again under that yoke of slavery. Looking 219 00:18:03.519 --> 00:18:07.119 at chapter five, verse one, for Freedom, Christ to set us free. 220 00:18:07.200 --> 00:18:11.440 Stand firm, therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of 221 00:18:11.680 --> 00:18:18.509 slavery. He says that we are not to put ourselves back under the law. 222 00:18:18.950 --> 00:18:23.589 These Christians who are being tempted to go back and be circumcised again, 223 00:18:23.630 --> 00:18:27.140 go back and submits the law of Moses. Paul is saying no, no, 224 00:18:27.539 --> 00:18:33.099 no. That period of time, that covenant, was for a particular 225 00:18:33.259 --> 00:18:38.339 purpose. It didn't annul the Covenant Abraham, but it was to bring God's 226 00:18:38.420 --> 00:18:45.890 people under a period of teaching, a time of learning. Paul is saying 227 00:18:45.970 --> 00:18:49.609 that the law of Moses played an important part in the redemption of God, 228 00:18:51.410 --> 00:18:56.920 in the unfolding of grace that was first promised after man fell, but the 229 00:18:56.039 --> 00:19:00.559 rule it played was a temporary one, a limited one, and we're not 230 00:19:00.640 --> 00:19:03.720 to put ourselves back under it. It was a guardian, it was a 231 00:19:03.880 --> 00:19:07.480 manager until the date set by the father, the date when the fullness of 232 00:19:07.559 --> 00:19:12.990 time would come, when we would be made no longer children under tutelage, 233 00:19:14.549 --> 00:19:21.309 but heirs according to the promise of Abraham. Any who put their faith in 234 00:19:21.390 --> 00:19:26.579 the promise where airs, and that's a really amazing thing. Notice, remember 235 00:19:26.619 --> 00:19:30.700 what's Paul said. Either Jew nor Greek, slave, nor free, male 236 00:19:30.779 --> 00:19:37.339 or female, these distinctions don't matter. It means that we who are gentiles 237 00:19:37.500 --> 00:19:42.210 can become sons of Abraham airs of the inheritance, even though we were never 238 00:19:42.410 --> 00:19:48.930 formerly under the law of Moses. Under the Law of Moses, the Jews 239 00:19:48.970 --> 00:19:52.759 were in some ways like slaves. Their blessings were contingent upon the obedience to 240 00:19:52.799 --> 00:19:59.480 the law. They're entering into its particular kind of life, this temporal life 241 00:19:59.480 --> 00:20:03.720 in the world. But the lesson they learned, and the lesson that we 242 00:20:03.119 --> 00:20:07.910 is the watching world, can learn even from a future point in history, 243 00:20:07.190 --> 00:20:12.309 is that they could not obey. They did not obey. The blessings promised 244 00:20:12.349 --> 00:20:18.470 in Deuteronomy were never secured, much less the eternal blessings that the temporal ones 245 00:20:18.549 --> 00:20:23.380 pointed to. But the law of Moses, Paul says, was never intended 246 00:20:23.420 --> 00:20:29.140 to secure eternal blessings. That was never the point, Remember Chapter Twenty One, 247 00:20:29.619 --> 00:20:33.299 for if a law had been given that could give life, then righteousness 248 00:20:33.299 --> 00:20:37.769 would indeed be of the law. But it wasn't. It never could. 249 00:20:37.490 --> 00:20:42.450 The righteousness could never come through the law, it could only come through faith, 250 00:20:42.730 --> 00:20:48.450 only through faith. And so he speaks to these Christians who attempted to 251 00:20:48.769 --> 00:20:53.039 come back under the law of Moses, and he says, did you begin 252 00:20:53.160 --> 00:20:57.720 by the Law of Moses? Did you gain in the spirit by obedience to 253 00:20:57.799 --> 00:21:00.519 the works of the law. No, you, of course you didn't. 254 00:21:00.680 --> 00:21:04.309 You did it by hearing the faith. You heard the preaching of the Gospel. 255 00:21:04.349 --> 00:21:11.349 You Heard of Christ crucified before you. You are taught these things, 256 00:21:11.230 --> 00:21:15.430 as he says in Galatians three, verse one, Oh Foolish Glacians, who 257 00:21:15.509 --> 00:21:19.779 is bewitched you? It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed 258 00:21:19.859 --> 00:21:26.380 as crucified. They heard the preaching of Christ, they heard the preaching of 259 00:21:26.460 --> 00:21:30.420 the Cross, and they believed and they were given the spirit of God. 260 00:21:30.619 --> 00:21:34.690 And so he says. I if you came to faith, if you were 261 00:21:34.809 --> 00:21:41.049 regenerated and if now received the spirit of God dwelling in you by the hearing 262 00:21:41.089 --> 00:21:45.130 of faith, why do you think now that, having the spirit, you 263 00:21:45.250 --> 00:21:48.880 are going to be perfected in the flesh, which is to say you're going 264 00:21:48.920 --> 00:21:55.079 to be perfected in the striving after obedience according to the natural man, that 265 00:21:55.160 --> 00:21:59.599 you're going to just go into yourself and work out your salvation and and earn 266 00:21:59.680 --> 00:22:03.549 it out of Your Own Righteousness and strength? It's not going to happen. 267 00:22:03.670 --> 00:22:08.829 Paul says, we live by faith. The righteous live by faith, not 268 00:22:10.430 --> 00:22:17.900 by the works of the law. So when Paul says that Jesus was born 269 00:22:17.980 --> 00:22:21.660 under the law, he clearly means the law of Moses, as he calls 270 00:22:21.700 --> 00:22:26.420 it, the book of the law, the requirements of which resulted in blessing 271 00:22:26.660 --> 00:22:32.210 for those who obey and curse for those who disobey. And as our mediator, 272 00:22:32.289 --> 00:22:37.009 he suffered those curses. Not because of his disobedience, though, but 273 00:22:37.130 --> 00:22:42.730 because of ours. Jesus, as the was cursed and hung on a tree, 274 00:22:42.930 --> 00:22:48.559 not because he disobeyed the Law Deuteronomy Two, one hundred and twenty three, 275 00:22:48.640 --> 00:22:52.839 cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree, but because he would 276 00:22:52.839 --> 00:22:59.190 take the curse for us. Being cursed by hanging on a tree is not 277 00:22:59.390 --> 00:23:04.230 just. It was the was the consequence, the demonstration of of the curse, 278 00:23:04.390 --> 00:23:12.420 the public shame and dishonor. There's a reprehensibleness in our sin that was 279 00:23:12.579 --> 00:23:19.099 shown in the hanging of someone publicly on a tree. Why did Jesus undergo 280 00:23:19.220 --> 00:23:23.220 that sort of thing? Why did he undergo the shame and humiliation, the 281 00:23:23.539 --> 00:23:29.650 death, the cursed death? Death is, after all, aspect apart the 282 00:23:29.769 --> 00:23:33.890 sum of the curse. He did it to redeem us out from under the 283 00:23:34.009 --> 00:23:38.769 law. So to those who, in error, thought that Christians must submit 284 00:23:38.849 --> 00:23:44.680 themselves to the law of Moses in order to become Christians, Paul gives an 285 00:23:44.920 --> 00:23:51.640 emphatic no, absolutely not. Christ was born under the law for the very 286 00:23:51.759 --> 00:23:56.190 purpose of redeeming those who were under the law, who were essentially slaves and 287 00:23:56.470 --> 00:24:02.230 cursed to death because of disobedience. But now, through faith, we are 288 00:24:02.349 --> 00:24:07.509 sons and heirs, having received the promise of Abraham. What's amazing about this 289 00:24:07.549 --> 00:24:11.420 is that, whether you are born under the Law of Moses as a Jew 290 00:24:12.140 --> 00:24:18.380 or not as a gentile, no one should submit to those requirements. They 291 00:24:18.460 --> 00:24:23.180 have passed, they are over. That covenant has been broken, but the 292 00:24:23.329 --> 00:24:27.809 first promise that was made to Abraham, the the promise that was made before 293 00:24:27.930 --> 00:24:33.210 the law. It still stands. It still stands though the Covenant was broken, 294 00:24:33.369 --> 00:24:37.329 though Christ hung on a tree to take on all of the curse of 295 00:24:37.450 --> 00:24:44.000 the law, the promise of Abraham still stands. The covenant that was at 296 00:24:44.119 --> 00:24:48.279 four hundred and thirty years afterwards, didn't annul it. It's still there, 297 00:24:48.599 --> 00:24:53.430 it's still strong, and that covenant is not founded upon a principle of obedience 298 00:24:53.470 --> 00:24:57.789 to the law, but on the promise of grace on the promise of grace 299 00:24:57.950 --> 00:25:03.069 to those who believed. The promise still holds, and those who put their 300 00:25:03.109 --> 00:25:07.819 faith in the promise have life. And this is so, so important to 301 00:25:07.980 --> 00:25:12.500 remember, because Christians, at various times, going all the way back to 302 00:25:12.579 --> 00:25:18.059 the New Testament, have often been tempted to go back and submit themselves again 303 00:25:18.539 --> 00:25:23.569 to the law of Moses, to think that somehow our obedience to this good 304 00:25:23.609 --> 00:25:32.250 and holy law will give us the spirit blessing favor. But what is Paul 305 00:25:32.329 --> 00:25:37.279 say? Is this the source of even Jewish hope? No, is this 306 00:25:37.480 --> 00:25:44.200 the hope of gentile hope? Source of Gentile Hope? Know again. What 307 00:25:44.240 --> 00:25:47.240 does he say in Chapter Three, verse seven? Know, then, that 308 00:25:47.440 --> 00:25:52.869 is those of faith, or sons of Abraham. And the scripture, foreseeing 309 00:25:52.990 --> 00:25:57.430 that God would justify the gentiles by faith, preached the Gospel Beforehand. It 310 00:25:59.109 --> 00:26:03.470 to Abraham, saying in you shall all the nations be blessed. So then, 311 00:26:03.549 --> 00:26:07.180 it is those who are faith who are blessed. Along with Abraham, 312 00:26:07.819 --> 00:26:14.380 the man of faith, we see in Chapter Three of sin, Chapter Three, 313 00:26:14.420 --> 00:26:18.420 verses thirteen and fourteen. Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law 314 00:26:18.970 --> 00:26:22.049 by becoming a curse for us, for it is written, cursed is everyone 315 00:26:22.089 --> 00:26:26.650 who hangs on a tree. And then notice what he says. Christ in 316 00:26:26.809 --> 00:26:32.210 fulfilling the curse, in undergoing the curse of the law. What's the reason? 317 00:26:33.160 --> 00:26:36.519 It's not just for the Jews, it says, so that in Christ 318 00:26:36.559 --> 00:26:42.519 Jesus, the blessing of Abraham might come to the gentiles. The blessing of 319 00:26:42.640 --> 00:26:48.990 Abraham might come to the gentiles so that we might receive the promised spirit through 320 00:26:48.069 --> 00:26:52.990 faith. This is an amazing passage. Paul is telling us that the redemption 321 00:26:53.269 --> 00:26:57.910 that he talks about in chapter for this promise of being airs and adopted, 322 00:26:59.230 --> 00:27:03.900 calling out to God, Ab a father, that redemption from being under the 323 00:27:03.940 --> 00:27:11.339 law and it's curse comes even to gentiles by Christ, who became a curse 324 00:27:11.420 --> 00:27:17.769 for us. He paid our debt. Now, if you have this question 325 00:27:17.890 --> 00:27:22.009 in your mind, how is it that I have a debt when I wasn't 326 00:27:22.049 --> 00:27:26.369 under the Law of Moses in the first place? There's a good question. 327 00:27:27.769 --> 00:27:32.279 How is it that Christ is born under the law and fulfills the law for 328 00:27:32.480 --> 00:27:34.960 me, as a gentile, when I was never really under the law, 329 00:27:36.960 --> 00:27:40.440 when I was not under the Law of Moses? How can I break a 330 00:27:40.680 --> 00:27:45.630 covenant to which I'm not party to. The scriptures themselves say we were strangers 331 00:27:47.670 --> 00:27:51.029 from the Covenant, we were not connected to it. Well, the answers 332 00:27:51.109 --> 00:27:56.789 two fold. Although not originally part of the Party and therefore not able to 333 00:27:56.950 --> 00:28:03.220 break the Covenant, neither were we able to fulfill it or receive its blessings. 334 00:28:03.900 --> 00:28:07.539 These it's temporal blessings. In other words, gentiles were no better position, 335 00:28:07.700 --> 00:28:11.700 being cut off from the covenant, than the Jews, who were does, 336 00:28:11.779 --> 00:28:17.609 who disobeyed and were therefore a cutoff from the covenant. It's not as 337 00:28:17.609 --> 00:28:22.369 though being outside of the law of Moses not brought us children of Abraham by 338 00:28:22.410 --> 00:28:29.720 the flesh, that were somehow in a better position. However, by Jesus 339 00:28:29.799 --> 00:28:33.839 being cut off and bringing the law of Moses to an end, what did 340 00:28:33.880 --> 00:28:37.839 he do? The scriptures tell us that he broke down the dividing wall between 341 00:28:37.880 --> 00:28:45.150 us and the gentiles so that through him, we might become sons of Abraham. 342 00:28:45.630 --> 00:28:48.750 In other words, Jesus doesn't say in order to become a son of 343 00:28:48.789 --> 00:28:52.869 Abraham, in order to receive all of these great promises, you got to 344 00:28:52.910 --> 00:28:56.059 kind of work your back way, that backwards all the way through history. 345 00:28:56.259 --> 00:28:59.740 You need to first submit under the Law of Moses, come and obey all 346 00:28:59.779 --> 00:29:03.980 of that, and then you'll be counted as a son of Abraham. No, 347 00:29:03.180 --> 00:29:07.779 he says, from the very beginning the promise was always by faith. 348 00:29:11.490 --> 00:29:15.930 The second point is this. Although his gentiles, we are not party to 349 00:29:15.930 --> 00:29:21.890 the Covenant and not formally under the Law of Moses, the Law of Moses 350 00:29:21.930 --> 00:29:25.519 does function in a similar way to the law under which we are all born, 351 00:29:25.559 --> 00:29:29.920 under of the law of Adam. Notice what Paul says in Chapter Five, 352 00:29:30.000 --> 00:29:36.359 verse fourteen. He says the whole law is fulfilled in one word. 353 00:29:37.359 --> 00:29:41.349 You shall love your neighbor as yourself. All of the law of Moses, 354 00:29:41.430 --> 00:29:45.750 and other words is grounded in the law to which every single man, Jew 355 00:29:45.950 --> 00:29:52.710 and gentile, is called to obey. Love. What's the Law of Moses 356 00:29:52.750 --> 00:29:56.859 all about? What's it what's grounding it? What's the thing that holds it 357 00:29:56.940 --> 00:30:00.940 all together? One of those things that we could say one central point is 358 00:30:02.059 --> 00:30:06.500 Love, love of God and love of neighbor. Jesus says this. It's 359 00:30:06.539 --> 00:30:08.609 all summed up in that. Paul says. It's here, it's all some 360 00:30:08.730 --> 00:30:14.049 of them, and that the whole law is fulfilled in one word love. 361 00:30:15.609 --> 00:30:18.930 The Law of Moses is grounded into that law, which everyone is called to 362 00:30:19.130 --> 00:30:25.839 obey, whether we are formerly under the mosaic law or not, as Jews 363 00:30:25.880 --> 00:30:32.000 or gentiles. In other words, because the law of Moses was an expression 364 00:30:32.200 --> 00:30:37.190 of the law of love, which we are all under a requirement to love. 365 00:30:37.390 --> 00:30:41.910 Even those who are outside of Moses, who are not Jews by birth, 366 00:30:41.950 --> 00:30:45.710 are condemned by the law. Why? Because we've failed to do the 367 00:30:45.910 --> 00:30:52.059 basic thing that God has called us to do, to love. It's so 368 00:30:52.299 --> 00:30:56.859 simple in a way. Just love each other. That's all you've got to 369 00:30:56.940 --> 00:31:02.660 do. Just apply that in every way. But we don't do it, 370 00:31:03.819 --> 00:31:07.009 we don't think it, we don't will it, we don't desire it, 371 00:31:07.170 --> 00:31:11.450 we don't act on it. God says, love me with all your heart, 372 00:31:11.490 --> 00:31:15.410 all your mind, all your soul, all your strength, love your 373 00:31:15.450 --> 00:31:18.079 neighbor as yourself. The law of Moses in many ways is a is a 374 00:31:18.240 --> 00:31:22.559 playing out of this. And even the law of Moses is not exhaustive. 375 00:31:23.400 --> 00:31:29.160 The scriptures tell us, and told the people of Israel, to think about 376 00:31:29.160 --> 00:31:32.440 the law with wisdom, to look at it, to study it, to 377 00:31:32.519 --> 00:31:37.589 figure out how the different pieces are interrelated, to figure out the underlying principles 378 00:31:37.670 --> 00:31:41.589 to learn how to apply it in situations which aren't mentioned. They were called 379 00:31:41.710 --> 00:31:49.059 to learn how to love, as we are all called to do. Therefore, 380 00:31:49.180 --> 00:31:53.900 even those who are outside of Moses, US gentiles, are condemned by 381 00:31:53.940 --> 00:32:00.569 the law because we fail to love, we fail to obey. What does 382 00:32:00.769 --> 00:32:07.450 failure of obedience look like, even for gentiles right? What is failure for 383 00:32:07.609 --> 00:32:12.529 Ab to obedience look like? Paul gives us some examples if you need some, 384 00:32:12.569 --> 00:32:20.160 verse Nineteen of Chapter Five Hundred Nineteen. Now the works of the flesh 385 00:32:20.200 --> 00:32:28.319 are evident. Sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, 386 00:32:28.440 --> 00:32:32.670 strife, jealousy, fits of angry anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions 387 00:32:34.029 --> 00:32:39.349 and the drunkenness, orgies and things like these. I warn you, I 388 00:32:39.470 --> 00:32:44.380 warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the Kingdom 389 00:32:44.420 --> 00:32:51.940 of God. To draw this same point from Paul's letter to the Romans, 390 00:32:51.980 --> 00:32:57.900 he says all are condemned under the law, whether it be from the natural 391 00:32:57.980 --> 00:33:01.490 law that's written on our hearts and expressed in the world, or it be 392 00:33:01.769 --> 00:33:08.369 written law written on tablets of Stone under Moses, Jew and gentile. No 393 00:33:08.569 --> 00:33:14.400 one escapes. All are condemned, all our slaves. None are free, 394 00:33:15.079 --> 00:33:20.720 and because of this we all need to hear about the one who was born 395 00:33:20.880 --> 00:33:27.549 under the law to redeem us out from under the law. It's not because 396 00:33:27.670 --> 00:33:32.509 the law is bad, the law is good, but because our civil flesh 397 00:33:32.950 --> 00:33:39.069 is incited by it and disobeys it, we find ourselves, would we are 398 00:33:39.190 --> 00:33:44.019 under the law, in what Paul Calls, in another place, a ministry 399 00:33:44.099 --> 00:33:47.660 of condemnation and death. It's not that the law is bad, it's that 400 00:33:47.779 --> 00:33:52.460 we always buck against it, we always fight against we don't love as we 401 00:33:52.500 --> 00:33:55.569 do, as we ought to, and so it's condemnation, condemnation, condemnation, 402 00:33:55.650 --> 00:34:00.490 a place where we are constantly stuck. When we are under the law, 403 00:34:00.529 --> 00:34:05.690 there's no hope, there's no getting out. You just try and you 404 00:34:05.930 --> 00:34:08.969 try and you try harder and you strive more and you work harder and you 405 00:34:09.159 --> 00:34:14.280 try again and over and over again, the message comes back. Condemned, 406 00:34:14.480 --> 00:34:17.360 condemned, condemned, condemned. Death, death, death, you aren't going 407 00:34:17.559 --> 00:34:24.190 anywhere. That's the message of the law. It speaks truly, if speaks 408 00:34:24.230 --> 00:34:30.030 justly, it speaks out of holiness, it speaks to our sin, to 409 00:34:30.150 --> 00:34:35.710 our foolish and selfishness, our idolatry and these other sins that are mentioned here. 410 00:34:37.940 --> 00:34:45.019 We need to be reminded of this. It's funny that around Christmas time, 411 00:34:45.179 --> 00:34:47.340 this time where a lot of people celebrate, you know, and the 412 00:34:47.460 --> 00:34:52.300 birth of Christ and remember his coming into the world, that's often the time 413 00:34:52.420 --> 00:34:57.090 that were so busy and so full of anxiety and striving and striving and striving 414 00:34:57.130 --> 00:35:00.929 and thinking about how we failed over and over again all yearlong and how we're 415 00:35:00.929 --> 00:35:05.210 going to fail again next year. And it's just this mass of works and 416 00:35:05.449 --> 00:35:09.920 anxiousness. We worry about the things that haven't been done, the things that 417 00:35:10.000 --> 00:35:14.679 are yet to come, and we're afraid and we're afraid and we're afraid. 418 00:35:15.639 --> 00:35:20.639 That's a word of condemnation. That's the Ministry of the law. It's not 419 00:35:20.880 --> 00:35:24.949 freedom, that's not that's a freedom. That's not resting, that's not finding 420 00:35:25.070 --> 00:35:30.469 ourselves in Christ, but that's what Christ gave us. He gives us freedom. 421 00:35:31.590 --> 00:35:35.820 He says you're no longer under slavery, you're no longer, as we 422 00:35:35.900 --> 00:35:38.500 read this morning from Hebrews, under the fear of death, you're no longer 423 00:35:38.579 --> 00:35:43.300 under the curse. I took it all for you. I took it all 424 00:35:43.380 --> 00:35:49.619 for you. When Paul says that Jesus was born unto the law, his 425 00:35:49.739 --> 00:35:52.409 first reference is the law of Moses, but that law stands on the broader 426 00:35:52.449 --> 00:35:57.090 law of love which we all owe to God and one another and which we 427 00:35:57.130 --> 00:36:02.329 all have disobeyed. The law of Moses and his consequences is therefore for all 428 00:36:02.369 --> 00:36:07.559 of us to study and to know, even as gentiles, so that we 429 00:36:07.760 --> 00:36:13.320 might see how deeply our sin goes and how much Christ has saved us from, 430 00:36:14.599 --> 00:36:16.239 so that we might see that God, in the fullness of time, 431 00:36:16.679 --> 00:36:20.909 sent his son, born of an of a woman, born under the law, 432 00:36:21.389 --> 00:36:27.750 to redeem us, which means when we put our faith in him and 433 00:36:27.909 --> 00:36:32.579 become sons of Abraham, whether we are Jews by birth or gentiles by birth, 434 00:36:34.019 --> 00:36:37.820 we have no reason to despair any more. As Paul says, in 435 00:36:37.980 --> 00:36:45.460 Romans E, there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ. Jesus, 436 00:36:46.530 --> 00:36:52.889 do you hear that word from the Lord? There is no condemnation on 437 00:36:52.050 --> 00:37:00.690 you. You can stop beating yourself up, you can let it go, 438 00:37:01.320 --> 00:37:08.159 you can admit your sins and then relax into the freedom of the forgiveness of 439 00:37:08.320 --> 00:37:14.199 sins. You can act as though, not as though as one. You 440 00:37:14.239 --> 00:37:20.309 can act your live your life as one who is truly free, free to 441 00:37:20.510 --> 00:37:24.989 love, free to obey, free to serve, off and give and worship, 442 00:37:27.510 --> 00:37:34.579 free because of Jesus Christ. Neither Jew nor gentile needs to despair, 443 00:37:35.940 --> 00:37:38.460 because this one, who is born under law, became a curse for us. 444 00:37:38.500 --> 00:37:43.659 He took it all away, he took the condemnation away and his Paul 445 00:37:43.739 --> 00:37:46.650 says, through his death he redeemed us out from under the law so that 446 00:37:46.769 --> 00:37:52.730 we might receive the blessings of God, including life and obedience from the heart, 447 00:37:53.489 --> 00:38:00.679 and obedience that comes from faith, from receiving the very life of Christ 448 00:38:00.880 --> 00:38:05.880 into ourselves, from living in him, living in his strength, like a 449 00:38:06.000 --> 00:38:10.760 vine attached to a branch. We live and bear forth fruit because of him, 450 00:38:12.400 --> 00:38:16.110 not because we're squeezing ourselves on the ground pushing fruit out. We live 451 00:38:16.510 --> 00:38:22.550 because of him, if we have been redeemed and rescued and brought forth by 452 00:38:22.550 --> 00:38:28.219 the spirit in the hearing of faith. Let us continue, then, let 453 00:38:28.260 --> 00:38:31.780 us learn to see Christ, this one who's come in the fullness of time, 454 00:38:31.940 --> 00:38:36.940 this one who is sent by God, and see his love and love 455 00:38:37.099 --> 00:38:39.940 his love, to see the freedom he gives us, the inheritance he gives 456 00:38:39.980 --> 00:38:46.650 us, the promise he gives us and believe, just believe, receive that 457 00:38:46.849 --> 00:38:52.170 promise by faith alone and walk by faith alone in Him