Kingsport Sovereign Grace Church,
located at 905 Yadkin Street in Kingsport, Tennessee, would
like to invite you to listen to a message of sovereign grace
by their pastor, Gabe Stoniker. And now, Pastor Gabe Stoniker. I would like to invite you to
open your Bible with me to Galatians chapter 3. This passage of Scripture
here in Galatians 3 is I believe the passage that caused me to
understand and really rejoice in God's law more than any other
passage. The first time that I truly understood
what this was saying, this was so eye-opening to me. It all
made sense. And I pray the Lord would bring
that clarity to us this morning. If you have a Bible handy, I
would strongly encourage you. to open it with me, and let's
look at these scriptures together. This is something that could
be tedious and may require a tuned-in ear, but if the Lord will make
this clear, this is such a blessing. This is so freeing. This is so
eye-opening, and honestly, it's wonderful. This will be one of
the most wonderful things we could ever see in the scripture. So I pray that our Lord will
indeed make this an eye-opening morning and message for us. And
I pray we'll rejoice in this, in the reason that God sent His
law, His holy law. Now I want to break this up into
three different parts. I want us to see the promise,
God's promise, and I want to see the purpose and I wanna see the people, the
promise, the purpose, and the people. Now here is God's promise. Read with me in Galatians 3 verse
15. Brethren, I speak after the manner
of men. Though it be but a man's covenant,
yet if it be confirmed, no man disannulleth or addeth thereto. Now to Abraham and his seed were
the promises made. He saith not unto seeds as of
many, but as of one, and to thy seed which is Christ. And this
I say, that the covenant that was confirmed before of God in
Christ, the law which was four hundred and thirty years after,
cannot disannul, that it should make the promise of none effect.
For if the inheritance be of the law, it is no more of promise,
but God gave it to Abraham by promise. Now, this is what he's
saying. In verse 15, he said, I speak
after the manner of men. I am speaking in the terms of
men. I'm speaking about the ways of
men, something that is very common with men. Men make covenants all the time. Men sign contracts all the time. We do it to buy a house. We do
it to buy a car. Every time we go to the store,
we lay things on the counter there and we swipe a credit card
and they print off a piece of paper and they say sign right
here. This binds you to pay for this stuff. Well, verse 15, he
said, Brethren, I speak after the manner of men. Though it
be but a man's covenant, yet if it be confirmed, no man disannulleth
or addeth thereto. Even though it was made between
two mere mortals, it's still binding. It still holds up in
a court of law. One party can't say, well, I
don't want to do it anymore. Nevermind. One party can't say
that you can't just disannull it. Also one party can't say,
well, I know we agreed to this, but I've decided to change it.
I want to add something to it. I know I agreed to sell my house
for $100,000, and I know we signed a contract on it, but after thinking
about it, I'm leaning more towards 125. I'd like to add 25,000 to
it. You can't do that. Brethren,
I speak after the manner of men, though it be but a man's covenant,
yet if it be confirmed, no man disannulleth or addeth thereto. It's a covenant. It's a covenant. And even in the ways of men,
one party can't just disannul it or add anything to it. Verse 16, he said, Now, if that's
the case for man, how much more for God? He said, Now, to Abraham
and his seed were the promises made. God made a promise to Abraham. He entered into a covenant, a
contract, with Abraham and his seed. And if you want to turn
with me over to Genesis 17, this is where he made that covenant,
that promise. In Genesis 17, verse 7, he said,
I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed
after thee and their generations for an everlasting covenant. That's a key. He said, this is
an everlasting covenant. There is no set date that this
covenant will end. It goes on forever. He said,
To be a God unto thee and to thy seed after thee. And I will
give unto thee and to thy seed after thee a land wherein thou
art a stranger, all the land of Canaan for an everlasting
possession. And I will be their God. He did
not make that promise to anyone else. He made it to Abraham and
his seed. Now let's ask this question.
Where is the law at this moment in time? Right here in Genesis
17. Where is the law at this exact
moment in time? The answer is It does not yet
exist. God did not say to Abraham, if
you will obey this, I'm going to set out these laws and these
commandments, and if you'll obey this, I'll do it for you. He never said that. He just said,
I'll do it for you. God did not send His law until
the children of Abraham's grandson, his name was Jacob." And God
changed his name to Israel. God did not send his law until
the children of Israel endured 430 years of bondage. And then God sent Moses to lead
them out. And then God gave Moses the law
and he said, now you tell this people that these are my commandments
and these are my laws. Alright, now back over in Galatians
chapter 3, verse 15 says, Brethren, I speak after the manner of men,
though it be but a man's covenant, yet if it be confirmed, no man
disannulleth or addeth thereto. Now to Abraham and his seed were
the promises made. He saith not unto seeds as of
many, but as of one unto thy seed, which is Christ. And this
I say, that the covenant that was confirmed before of God in
Christ, the law which was four hundred and thirty years after,
cannot disannul that it should make the promise of none effect. For if the inheritance be of
the law, it is no more of promise, but God gave it to Abraham by
promise." Once God made that covenant with Abraham, it was
binding. It was binding. And when God
made the covenant, He didn't make the law part of the stipulation. And even though the law came
430 years later, it could not be disannulled. That promise that God made to
Abraham, it couldn't be disannulled. And the law couldn't add itself
to the promise. It was a contract that God made
with Abraham and that law could not disannul it. That law could
not add itself to it. And verse 19, right here in Galatians
3, Paul goes on ahead and he asks the question everybody wants
to know. He said, Wherefore then serveth the law? Why did God send the law then?
Here's the purpose. All right, now we just saw the
promise. Now here's the purpose. Here's the reason God sent the
law. Verse 19, Wherefore then serveth the law? It was added
because of transgressions. It was sent to expose sin. That's the reason. Turn with
me over to Romans 3. Verse 19 says, Now we know that
what things soever the law saith. It saith to them who are under
the law, that every mouth may be stopped and all the world
may become guilty before God. Therefore, by the deeds of the
law, there shall no flesh be justified in His sight, For by
the law is the knowledge of sin. That's the purpose of the law. That's what the law accomplishes.
It exposes our sin. It shows us that we cannot keep
what God requires of us. God's requirements are what he
wrote down in that law and we cannot keep them. And the law
reveals that to us. It exposes our weakness. It exposes our sin. And without the law, man would
have never seen that. Man would have never seen his
own sin. So that's the first reason God
sent it. Back in Galatians 3, verse 19 says, Wherefore then
serveth the law? It was added because of transgressions. till the seed should come to
whom the promise was made." Now, what does that mean? Well, if you'll look one more
time at verse 16, it says, Now to Abraham and his seed where
the promise is made, He saith not unto seeds as of many, but
as of one, and to thy seed, which is Christ. God sent the law to
reveal the Messiah. God sent the law to reveal the
one that would come, the Messiah that would come in types and
in pictures, He showed us who the Redeemer was. Hebrews 10 verse 1 says, The
law was a shadow of good things to come. What does that mean? That means
Noah's ark is Jesus Christ. That's what it means. Every soul
inside that ark will live. Every soul outside of that ark
will die. A sinner's only hope is Christ
the ark. That's what it means. That Passover
lamb in Exodus, when God did deliver the people and all those
plagues, And he said, Pharaoh's gonna thrust you out after this
last one. He said, I'm coming through the land, and I'm gonna
kill the firstborn in every house. But he said, I'm gonna give you
a substitute. I'm gonna give you a lamb, and
you slay that lamb, and you put his blood on the doorpost of
your house, and when I see that blood, I'm gonna pass over you.
That lamb is Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God. That serpent of
brass that Moses put on a pole and lifted up, all the people
were dying. These venomous serpents were
biting and killing the people. That represents sin. And God
told Moses, you make a serpent of brass that looks just like
those snakes, and you lift it up on a pole, and you tell them
to look to that serpent of brass, and they'll lift. That's Jesus
Christ. He was made to be what was killing
His people. He was made to be sin for us,
the one who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness
of God in Him. It all pointed us to Christ. Verse 19 says, Wherefore then
serveth the law? It was added because of transgressions,
till the seed should come to whom the promise was made, and
it was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator. God gave
the law to Moses, and he was a type of Christ, a mediator
between God and man. Verse 20 says, Now a mediator
is not a mediator of one, but God is one. You have to have
more than one party involved to need a mediator, isn't that
right? A mediator is a go-between for two parties in a contract,
but God is the only one who made a promise in this contract. God
is the only one involved. He's the only one who promised
to do anything. Verse 21 says, is the law then
against the promises of God? God made these promises to us
and then the law exposed us for what we are. Will the law encourage
God to not show mercy to us after all? After it being fully exposed
what we are, will that encourage us to break His promise to us? Verse 21 says, God forbid. Isn't that wonderful? God forbid, for if there had
been a law given which could have given life, verily righteousness
should have been by the law. But the scripture hath concluded,
all under sin, that's me and you, we're both along with everybody
else completely covered in sin. The scripture hath concluded
all under sin that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might
be given to them that believe. The law has made it so that all
we can do is trust in his promise to us. The law has convinced
us that's all we have. That's all we have. We cannot
satisfy God. We cannot keep his commandments. And if we try to and if we cling
to that, we're going to die in our sins. Our only hope is Christ. Our only hope is Christ. Verse
23 says, But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut
up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed. Thank
God in His perfect timing He came to us by His Spirit and
He brought faith to our hearts and caused us to see what the
law was pointing us to. He revealed Christ to us. Verse
24, wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto
Christ that we might be justified by faith. What's the purpose of the law?
Why did God send the law? The law was our schoolmaster. Now, when this was written, the
job of a schoolmaster was not what it sounds like. The schoolmaster was not the
principal. The schoolmaster was not the
head teacher. The schoolmaster was not a teacher
at all. The schoolmaster was a slave.
A hired slave. He was hired by the father of
a large family. And he was hired for one reason.
His job was to take the children of this man to school And then
when school was over, safely bring them home again. His job
was not to teach them anything. It was to get them safely from
point A to point B. That was his job. He took them
to the teacher. He made sure they were on the
path that led to the teacher. And if the children tried to
veer off, Or if they tried to lag behind, he was given the
authority to discipline the children. Get them back on track. You have
to get to that man. That's what the schoolmaster
told this father's children. You have to get to that teacher. You have to get to that man. Has this law ever disciplined
you? It disciplines me. It disciplines me. Through the
law, whom the Lord loves, He chastens. He chastens through
His Word. Verse 24 says, Wherefore the
law was our schoolmaster to bring us to Christ. The law says you have to get
to Christ. You have to get to that man. Thank God for the law. Thank
God he would send his children a schoolmaster. Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster
to bring us." Did the schoolmaster bring every child to the teacher? No. The schoolmaster brought
the father's particular children to the teacher. If he wasn't hired by the father
to take that particular child, he didn't go around rounding
up all the children in the city. The law was our schoolmaster
to bring us, our us, unto Christ that we might be justified by
faith, looking to him, trusting him, relying on him. Verse 25 says, but after that
faith is come, we're no longer under a schoolmaster. Now, we've
seen God's promise, haven't we? God, through faith, reveals that
He made this promise. He made a covenant. He signed a contract. And we see the purpose of the
law that God sent for the care of his child, for the care of
us, and we thank God for it. And through this, we also see
the people. We see the people he made this
promise to. He did not make this promise
to everybody. He made this promise to a particular
people. And right here we see who the
law is bringing to Christ. God is going to bring every one
of His children to the Lord Jesus Christ. And right here we're
going to see who it is. We started this by saying it
was to Abraham and his seed. Isn't that right? Abraham and
his seed. Well, turn with me over to Romans
chapter 9. Romans chapter nine, verse six. It says, not as though the word
of God hath taken none effect, for they are not all Israel,
which are of Israel. Neither because they are the
seed of Abraham are they all children, but in Isaac shall
thy seed be called. That is, they which are the children
of the flesh, these are not the children of God, but the children
of the promise are counted for the seed. Just because a person
is a direct descendant of Abraham, that does not mean he is included
in God's promise. and thanks be to God just because
a person is not a direct descendant of Abraham. That doesn't mean
he is not included in God's promise. Over in Romans chapter 2, verse
28 says, For he is not a Jew which is one outwardly, Neither
is that circumcision which is outward in the flesh, but he
is a Jew which is one inwardly. And circumcision is that of the
heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter, whose praise is
not of men, but of God." Well, what does all that mean? In Romans 8 verse 14 tells us,
As many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of
God. As many as God sends His Spirit
to and brings faith to and causes that sinner to look to Christ
and follow Him, As many as God through His Spirit
calls us to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. As many as are
led by the Spirit, they're the sons of God. They are the sons
of God. Romans 10 verse 12 says, For
there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek, For the
same LORD over all is rich unto all that call upon Him." They're
led to call upon Him. Every single one of them. And
back in Galatians 3 verse 16 says, Now to Abraham and his
seed where the promise is made, He saith not unto seeds as of
many, but as of one, and to thy seed, which is Christ." And verse
26 says, for you are all the children of God by faith in Christ
Jesus. Looking to Christ, hoping in
Christ, I mean Him being all your salvation, seeing Him
to be the only mediator between God and man, the mediator that
Moses represented, seeing Him to be the end of the law, the
end of the schoolmaster's journey, seeing all the promises of God
to be found in Him, that's salvation. Verse 27 says,
For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put
on Christ. That means if the Spirit has
laid hold of you and put you in Him, if your belief is in
Him, if all your faith is in Him, if the Spirit has put you
in Him, you're in Him. You are in Him. Verse 28 says,
there is neither Jew nor Greek, there's neither bond nor free,
there's neither male nor female, for you are all one in Christ
Jesus. And if you be Christ's, then
are you Abraham's seed and heirs according to the promise. If
God has given you faith to see and believe that it all hinges
on Christ. If I have Christ, I have the
promise. And if I don't have Christ, I
don't have the promise. I don't have anything if I don't
have him. If God has given us that faith, then we're Abraham's
seed. And every promise he made to
Abraham, he's made it to us. He'll be our God. We'll be His
people and we'll inherit the land. We'll inherit the blessing. Thank God. Until next Sunday
morning, may the Lord bless His word to our hearts. You have
been listening to a message by Gabe Stoniker, pastor of Kingsport
Sovereign Grace Church in Kingsport, Tennessee. If you would like
a copy of this message or to hear other messages of Sovereign
Grace, you can write to our physical mailing address at 905 Yadkin
Street, Kingsport, Tennessee 37660 or log on to our website
at kingsportsovereigngracechurch.com. If you would like to come and
worship with us, our service times are Sunday morning Bible
study at 10 o'clock a.m., worship at 10.45 a.m. and 6 o'clock p.m.,
Wednesday evening at 7.30 p.m. Please tune in next Sunday morning
at 8.30 for another message of God's free and sovereign grace.