We begin our reading in verse
23. The title of the message is, The
Schoolmaster and the Sons. The Schoolmaster and the Sons
of God. Scripture says in verse 23, But
before faith came, we were kept under the law shut up unto the
faith which should afterwards be revealed. Wherefore the law
was our schoolmaster to bring us to Christ. And I want you
to know, to bring us is in italics, so we should read this. Wherefore
the law was our schoolmaster unto Christ. Until Christ. until Christ, that we may be
justified by faith." And what faith is that? The faith that
afterwards should be revealed, that faith of Christ. But after that faith has come,
we are no longer under a schoolmaster. For you are all the children
of God by faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as have been
baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew
nor Greek. There is neither bond nor free.
There is neither male nor female. For you are all one in Christ
Jesus. And if you be Christ, then are
you Abraham's seed and heirs according to the promise. In our study of this book, we
have seen the apostle clearly shown the great distinction and
separation between the two covenants, the covenant of law and the covenant
of God's will. God's testament. He testified that the law is
a covenant of works, and only those who are perfect in obedience
shall live. But because all are under sin,
because the scripture hath concluded, all of us, All of us are under
sin. We are cursed by the law. All
the law can do is curse. The law can only curse sinners. It cannot help. Because we have
sinned, therefore it is evident, Paul said, that no flesh is justified
by the law in the sight of God. But the covenant of will, now
this is what I love to hear, the covenant of will, God's will,
last will, we say it's a last will in Testament, but it's God's
first will. There is such a thing. It's God's eternal will, God's
purpose. God's will is one of promise
to give life, free justification by the works and responsibility
of Jesus Christ. that he should come and by his
faith. Now I had been preached in Galatians
this last week to the group out in Newcastle. And we had, one of the pastors
had come up afterward and he had, as he was reading this,
he said, I had one of those NIV Bibles. You know, and he said
everywhere it says the faith of Christ in the King James,
it says the faith in Christ in that version. Which puts the
emphasis of justification back on the faith of man, and not
the faith of Christ. That's why you read over and
over in the King James, the faith of Christ. Why? Because it was
the responsibility of Christ to obtain righteousness. to justify us who are named in
the covenant of grace. It was by the faith of Christ. And so then Paul makes this distinction,
seeing that the promise was given 430 years before the law. He says this, the law by no means
could add to or take away from this covenant. That is because these two covenants
are distinct. In verse 18 he says, "...for
if the inheritance be of the law, it is no more of promise,
but God gave it to Abraham by promise." That's a distinction.
Those two are separate covenants. The promise did not come by law. It came by promise to Abraham
through Jesus Christ. And as we know in the last will
and testament, once it is ratified, There is no addition to it. So then Paul goes into this,
wherefore then serveth the law? That's the only question, the
reasonable question then. Why then was the law given? Paul
makes this very clear, because of transgression. It was given
for the purpose to expose sin and guilt. It was added, Paul said, because
of the transgression in verse 19, until the seed should come
to whom the promise was made. It was meant to expose sin. And
what did the Scripture thus conclude in verse 22? The Scripture concluded this,
all under sin. all inclusively and all individually,
the whole man under sin. Now, what was this for? Why did
he use the law so as to expose sin? Look at this in verse 22,
that, "...in order that the promise by faith of Jesus," Christ might
be given to them that believe. In order that the promise according
to the will of God which comes by the faith of Jesus Christ,
by the work and obedience and one offering of his blood to
God for the sins of his elect, which he did obtain eternal redemption,
which has perfected forever those that are sanctified by God, this
faith comes to us through the grace of faith. Through the grace
of faith. It is given to them, who? That
believe. Now listen, do you believe? Have you believed all that is
written here? concerning yourself, concerning
your sin, concerning the law, concerning Christ, you believe
on Him as all your salvation, then this promise is given to
you. The promise of life, the promise
of justification, according to the will, the immutable, unchangeable,
eternal will of God. It is given to us. that the merit
by the merits of christ if you believe on him listen you have
this promise of god the blessings that god promised in christ purchased
the power of the spirit by grace has given you through me what
paul said in romans and romans five one therefore being justified
by I am not justified by my faith,
am I? My faith does not look to my
faith. My faith looks to the object
of my faith, which is the faith of Christ, by which I am justified. You who believe, you are justified
by the faith. I'm so thankful it's not my faith. How strong is your faith? If
your faith was depend... your justification was dependent
on your faith, how long would it last? It wouldn't. My faith is not dependent upon
my faith. It's dependent upon its object. Justified by faith. Faith, listen,
we have. You got that? We have peace with
God. You want peace with God? I have
peace with God. I don't always feel I have peace
with God. I don't manner into it, does it? He obtained faith. So then the
law was given for the express purpose of exposing sin so that
being condemned by it and finding no hope in it, we fled to Christ
for refuge. And by faith laid hold on Him
and found eternal life. Now in verse 23, he says this,
Before faith came. Whose faith is he talking about?
He's still talking about the faith of Christ. Before the faith
of Christ came, because that's the faith that was afterward
revealed. He says, unto, we were shut up
unto or until the faith that should afterwards be revealed.
That was the faith of the Son of God, the work of Christ. He
says before this, We were kept under the law. Now who he's referring
to here is the Jews. The Jews were kept under the
law. They were shut up to the law.
They were kept under the law and shut up until when? Until
Christ came. Until the faith had been revealed. which was promised should come.
Now Paul in verse 24 now illustrates this. How do you know this is
what he means? Because of the illustration he
uses in verse 24. Look at this. Wherefore, the
law was our schoolmaster. Until Christ or unto Christ those
words bring us the law doesn't bring you to Christ. I want you
to know that The law is not a schoolmaster to bring you to Christ who brings
you to Christ The Holy Spirit brings you to
Christ God brings you to Christ. Remember we are taught of who
we are taught of God We're taught of God and listen every time
i preach you hear me but if you're taught anything in must be of
god you learn anything it must be of god and so he do you want
to take those words bring us to christ it doesn't bring us
to christ god the holy spirit brings us to crack this schoolmaster
was unto christ why that we might be justified
like everybody that didn't have the law. Like everybody before
the law, and like everybody after the law, we should be justified
by the faith of Christ. Now this Greek, this schoolmaster
in Greek society was nothing more than a slave. A master,
a rich man, would take his most trusted slave, his most obedient
slave, and he would set that man of learning above his children. He would send this man to teach
his children, and not only just teach them, wherever that child
would go, the schoolmaster would be there. He would follow him. Why? So as to keep him from trouble. To keep him in the way so that
he should not socialize with those beneath his station. And he would do this until when? Until the child reached maturity. And after that, the schoolmaster
would be no longer needed for the child. He would have no authority
whatsoever over the child. So the law in relationship to
the Jews was one that guided them. And I don't mean just the
law in the commandments. I mean the whole Old Testament. The whole time, before Christ,
until Christ. They were kept under this law. They were kept there, separated
from other nations by its ordinances and by what the law pictured. You see, these things in the
law, though they should have to obey them, all of this was
used of God to point them to Christ, to preach the gospel. You see, that's what God was
doing by those sacrifices, by those types and pictures and
shadows. He was preaching to them Christ. But after Christ had come, the
law then was what? It was no longer needed. And
before Paul was showing this, I want you to see the two aspects
of the law that Paul is now showing us. The first aspect was one
of the law condemning. He said, this is the purpose
of the law, to condemn them. Now that I want to show you a
different aspect of the law as a schoolmaster. Now listen, you
cannot say that this would be a good illustration of the condemning
power of the law to use a schoolmaster, because that's not what he's
for. The schoolmaster had no, he may punish the child, but
I'll tell you this, he could not kill the child. In this capacity, the law could
not be illustrated as a schoolmaster if we're talking about condemnation. The different take on the law,
he is referring to the Old Covenant, the Old Testament, the whole
revelation until Christ. The whole period until the Jewish
believers lived, in which they lived and served
to keep Israel intact as a nation until Christ come. Consider this,
that the law kept this nation together because God promised
it by a certain seed. In Abraham, in thy seed shall
all the nations of the earth be blessed. In Isaac shall thy
seed be called. And Isaac, you remember, is Jacob
have I loved and Esau have I hated. So we see the seed. Then we progress
and we see David as part of this lineage, that his throne should
be established forever, meaning Christ should come from his seed. And so then you see the law separating
this nation from all other nations. This covenant, this Old Testament
period has separated them from every... It kept that lineage. Until when? Until Christ came. And also in the pages of the
law we have hidden in types and shadows the mystery of the purpose
of Christ. All that time, He was a schoolmaster,
not to give life, but rather to show them, to point them to
the One that did, Christ. You know what the law did? Let's
just use some illustrations. Passover. Passover. And the Jews kept this feast
of Passover. Yet they never fully understood
what it meant. They knew what it did for them
in Egypt. And it was a token, a remembrance
of what God had done for them in Egypt. That the spotless lamb
was shed, the blood was applied to the doorpost, and the firstborn
of the house was saved. was delivered from the judgment
of God. But this was not fully understood
until when? Until Christ came. And you remember
the beginning when he began his ministry. What was John's word
concerning him? Behold the Lamb of God that beareth
away the sin of the world. You see, now it's being revealed
because Christ had come. He is the spotless Lamb of God
that beareth away the sin of the world. And only after Jesus
on that feast day offered Himself to God without spot, shed His
blood as our substitute, that feast day was fully and absolutely
done away with. Why in the world would anybody
ever have a Passover after that? It's no need. What about another
one, the great day of atonement? It's another beautiful illustration
there, isn't it, that's in the law. Go to Hebrews chapter 9. Paul explains this one in great
detail. And see how it meshes with this text of the schoolmaster. Hebrews chapter 9 and verse 6. He says, now, when these things
were thus ordained, in the old dispensation, the priests went
always into the first tabernacle, accomplishing the service of
God. That is the daily sacrifices. But into the second, in that
second room, the Holy of Holies, went the high priest, not just
any priest, the high priest, and he went alone once every
year, not without blood, which he offered for himself and for
the errors of the people." Now, what was this for? The Holy Ghost,
this signifying. that the way into the holiest
of all was not yet manifest. The faith had not yet come. The faith had not yet been revealed. While that first tabernacle was
yet standing. Which was a figure for the time
then present. What's this time? The time of
the schoolmaster. time which they were under the
schoolmaster it was not yet made manifest in which both gifts
and sacrifices that could not make him that did the service
perfect as pertaining to the conscience which stood only in
meats and drinks and divers washings and carnal ordinances listen
imposed on them until the time of reformation until the faith
of Christ be revealed. But Christ, being come a high
priest, now listen, that doesn't say becoming a high priest, did
it? Being, He already was, a high priest, He came as our high priest. Good things to come by a greater
and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands that is to say
not of this building Neither by the blood of goats and calves,
but by his own blood he entered into the holy place listen having
obtained eternal redemption for us Now you see the way now is
manifest the way into the presence of God is now revealed But then it was in types and
shadows. It was not yet clearly manifest
as to how we should approach God. Now that Christ has come,
what need I of these shadows and types and pictures? Remember,
I told you this story before, but when me and my wife were
dating and we were engaged, she had to go away. And I had a picture
of her. and that picture to me was very
precious it was the only thing we didn't have this FaceTime
that y'all have now the only FaceTime I had was a telephone
call and I had a picture but you know what that picture
was precious to me until until she came now what need
have I of the picture It's the same here. Christ was pictured,
but now that there is no need of the picture, Christ has come
and fulfilled it. And we see it plainly. Verse
25, But after faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster. Therefore the law served its
purpose. in the life of the Jews to whom
Christ is now revealed and received by faith. Now then, if it no
longer applies to the Jews, how much more does it not apply to
us? Listen, Gentiles, this law was never given to us
to be our schoolmaster. It was never meant for us. So
then how much more free are we from the law? This is what he
was telling those Jews. Why are you now imposing on them
the things we ourselves could not bear, Peter said. It was not even given to them.
And we could not bear it given to us. Why then suppose you that
we should put it on them? No, we are free from it. How
do you know this? Well, that next word there, look
at the verse in your text. Look at verse 26. This is how
we know that no Gentile, no one who is a believer in Christ is
under the law. Look, that word for. Because. We are no longer under schoolmaster
for. Because. Paul says to these Galatian
Gentile believers, you were never under a schoolmaster because
you are children, sons of God. Now the Greek word for children
is this, pay attention, full grown sons. Full grown sons. The schoolmaster was not for
the mature son, but for the infant. Now, how foolish would it be
if a grown man were to sit in a kindergarten class? It would be inappropriate. Why? He doesn't belong there. It's
for kids, for little children. Behold, then, the greatness and
glory of this truth, that all who believe in Christ... I want
you to see this. You are not under a schoolmaster
because you are full-grown sons. The moment you believe in Christ,
you are a full-grown son. A full-grown son. Now, you are
a son. Why? You are a son by adoption. You are a son by an eternal adoption. If you are a son of God, it was
because you were a son in the election of grace. According
as He had chosen us in Christ, before the foundation of the
world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him,
in love, having predestinated us, listen, unto the adoption
of sons. by Jesus Christ. If you are a son of God, then
it was because you were redeemed by Jesus Christ, who had to pay
the adoption price, who purchased us. So then, what is the proof
of your sonship? I was not there when the Father
chose. I have not seen my name written
in the Lamb's Book of Life. I was not there when my Redeemer
died for my sins. And how do I know that it is
for me He died? Only by this. by the power of
the Holy Spirit in regeneration and faith." Faith in Christ. He says, "...for you are children
of God by faith." Now listen, the word here, in, is appropriate. By faith in Christ. Faith in Christ. only by the power of the Holy
Spirit who has robed us in the righteousness of Christ through
faith in Him alone for we are the sons of God by faith in Jesus
Christ. So then faith is the evidence
of sonship and proof that I am no longer or I am in no way under
the schoolmaster. Our faith, listen, is never the
cause of our adoption, nor is it the cause of our birth. Matter of fact, our faith is
a result of our sonship. Our faith in Christ is proof
of our sonship, but it is not the cause. It is that we are
sons that we believe. Look over in chapter 4 in verse
5. He says, "...to redeem them that
were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.
And because you are sons, God has sent forth His Spirit into
your hearts, crying, Abba, Father." That's why you believe on Him. I like this. Someone said, "...faith
in Christ does not make us sons." Faith in Christ does not make
us believers. the fact that we are the sheep
of god insurers that we would believe now what jesus said about
his sheep he said you don't believe because you are not of my sheep
he said my sheep hear my voice and i know them and they follow
me and i give unto them eternal life and they shall never perish
neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand so faith then
is the operation of one who believes. It is not the cause of his believing. I remember, you remember Danielle
when she came, she says when she heard the gospel, this was
her testimony, she said, before I knew what was happening, I
believed. It's something that God does
inside of us. It's a work of grace. Now listen,
when a man is born again of the Spirit, there is an aspect of
growth, isn't there? There's a necessity of growth.
When we are born again, we are born newborn babes, desiring
the sincere milk of the Word, that we may, listen, grow thereby. But the sense that Paul is using
sons here is not the sense of that, is not the sense of our
spiritual infancy, but rather it is about the inheritance.
Because in matters of inheritance, only the full-grown son was able
to receive the inheritance. And so what he is saying here
is that by faith in Christ, all this shows is that we all are
heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ. When? The moment
you believe. I want you to see this. This
is important. I have... You that have been believing
even longer than I have, some of you have believed for many,
many, many years. You have been faithful to the
things of Christ. You have been faithful in the
service of Christ. Some people have preached the
gospel of Christ and under them thousands and thousands have
come to Christ. And then you got a newborn babe
in Christ, one who has just believed. I want you to know that the man
who has believed for years and under whom God has called thousands
and thousands of people will receive nothing more than the
one that just believed. I thought that illustration our
Lord used about those workers, you remember? He hired one in
the morning and he worked all day long. Worked hard under the
sun. And at the end of the day, he
hired another one. And he worked just a couple of
hours. And at the end of the time, you remember, the one that
worked all day, he thought he's going to get some more. Because
he'd worked long. And you remember, the contract
was just for one penny. You know what they all got? They
all got one. You know what we all get? We
all get one. And that one is of infinite value. Christ. Eternal life. Peace with God. Perfect love
and righteousness and acceptance with God. There is no difference
here. Why? Because it's all about the
covenant. It's all obtained by the testator. And none of it is obtained by
the beneficiaries. And this is what he's getting
into here when he said, we are all baptized into Christ, and
there's neither Jew nor Greek, bond nor free, male nor female,
for you're all one in Christ. In other words, there's no difference
here. Listen, this culture is all about distinction and separation,
isn't it? They all build hierarchies based
on race or gender or sexuality. And then they say this is all
in the guise to bring us together. It never does. You know the only
thing that will bring all men together? Jesus Christ. Because in Him,
there is no distinction of race or gender or anything. Under
the Law, there was plenty of distinctions, wasn't there? There
were plenty of distinctions of race, especially race. You weren't
a Jew, you didn't get all the things a Jew's got. But under
this one, I don't care if you're a Jew or a Gentile. I don't care
if you're black or white, male or female. It does not matter. In all this, when we come to
Christ, we are all coming on the same level. A sinner seeking
mercy and grace. Now, what does your race have
to do with that? What does your gender have to do with that? Nothing. And so then, by grace, we may
see that this schoolmaster was not for us. But we who believe
in Christ are full-grown sons and heirs of all things. As we are in union with Christ,
one body, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one Lord and Savior,
Jesus Christ, who is above all in you all by His Holy Spirit. I pray God
will give us blessings. I have much, much more, but I'll
stop there and we'll continue later. Lord willing.