Go with me if you would back
to Galatians 3. Galatians chapter 3. I believe this is the passage
that caused me to understand and really rejoice in God's law
more than any other passage. The first time I entered into
this. Galatians is all about God's law. Paul is teaching all
about God's law and I have been excited to tell you this. Knowing we were coming up to
this, the first time I truly understood what we just read,
we read a lot of verses, what, 14 verses, 15 verses about the
law, about the law. And the first time I understood
really what this was saying, it was eye-opening to me. I mean eye-opening. To me, this
is huge. This is huge. And everything
made sense. Everything made sense. It's the
purpose of God, the order of God, why he did this, when he
did it. It just all made sense. And I
pray the Lord would bring that clarity tonight. I really do. I pray that this would be eye-opening
for us. Just eye-opening. And I pray
that we'll rejoice in the reason God sent his law. Really rejoice
in it. I wanna break this up into three
parts. The promise, the purpose, and
the people. Okay, the promise, the purpose,
and the people. Here's the promise. Verse 15, that's where we begin.
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 430 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. Verse 15,
he said, brethren, I speak after the manner of men. I am speaking
in the terms of men. That's what he's saying. I'm
speaking about the ways of men. Something that is very common
with men. Men make covenants all the time. All the time. Men sign contracts
all the time. We do it when we buy a house.
We do it when we buy a car. We do it every time we go to
the grocery store. If we swipe a card, they print
off a piece of paper and say, sign right here. obligates you to pay for this
stuff. You are saying in this little
contract that you have signed, I will do this. All right? 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, even though it was made between two mere
mortals, two men, it is still binding. It will still hold up
in a court of law, right? 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." One party
can't say, I don't want to do it anymore. I just don't want to do it anymore. You can't just walk up to the
bank and say, never mind. Not without repercussions, right?
Not without being in default of your contract. You cannot just disannul it. You can't. Also, one party cannot
say, I know we agreed to this, but I want to change it. You
can't do that. You can't say that. I know I
agreed to sell my house for $100,000. And I know that we signed a contract
on it. After thinking about it, I'm
leaning a little more towards 125. You can't do that. You cannot do it. 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. It's a covenant. That's what it is. It's a covenant.
And even in the ways of men, one party cannot just disannul
it or add anything to it. Verse 16 says, Now, if that's the case with men,
how much more with God? Verse 16 says, Now, to Abraham
and his seed were the promises made. God made a promise to Abraham. He entered into a covenant, he
entered into a contract with Abraham and his seed. Now to
Abraham and his seed where the promise is made, he saith not
and to seeds as of many, but as of one and to thy seed, which
is Christ. Now turn with me over to Genesis
17. Genesis 17, look at verse 7. God said, and I will establish
my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their
generations for an everlasting covenant to be a God unto thee
and to thy seed after thee And I will give unto thee and to
thy seed after thee the 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 didn't make that to anybody
else. He made it to Abraham and to his seed. Now, let me ask
you this question. Where is the law at this time? Where is the law at this exact
moment in time? The answer is, it does not yet
exist. Okay? It does not exist. God did not say to Abraham, if
you will... He didn't give him something.
It would be a law. If you will obey this, then I'll do it for
you. He didn't say that. What he said
was, I'll do it for you. That's what he said. God did
not send his law until the children of Abraham's grandson, his name
was Jacob, and God turned his name into Israel. He did not
send his law until the children of Israel, the children of Jacob,
endured 430 years of bondage in Egypt. They were in Egypt under Pharaoh
for 430 years. And after 430 years, God sent
Moses to lead them out. And after Moses led them out,
God gave Moses the law. And he said, now you go tell
this to the people. Alright, now go with me back
to our text in Galatians 3. I don't know that I've ever known
better news than this right here. I don't know that I've ever come
across better news. All right, 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 430 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. God does not go back on His word. It was binding. And when God
made the covenant, He did not make the law part of the stipulation. Does that make sense? Even though the law came 430
years later, it could not disannul or add itself to the promise
that God made, to the covenant God made. It was a covenant. Does that make sense? Even though
God sent His law. God made a covenant. God signed a contract. And the
law came along. Have you ever seen anything that's
grandfathered in? Well, that's how it was then,
and now the laws have changed, but that's grandfathered in because
that was before that law came about. Right? I owned a house
in Rocky Mount that the lot was too small to build a house on.
They said, if your house burns down legally, you won't be able
to rebuild your house. I didn't know that when I bought
it. But the fact of the matter is, is the house was built on
the lot before they made that law. What are they going to do,
come tear my house down? No. That was the covenant at that
time. That was legal at that time. And God made this promise,
he made this covenant, and then he in mercy waited 430 years
to send his law. And that law, even though it
came along, it cannot disannul his promise. And it cannot say,
I'm now adding myself to what God said. We're gonna add to
that guy, can't do it. Cannot do it. All right, well.
If that's the case, Paul goes ahead and he asks the question
we all want to know. Everybody wants to know. Verse
19, he says, Wherefore then serveth the law? Why did God send it
then? All right, we just looked at
the promise. Here's the purpose. Verse 19,
Wherefore then sendeth the law? It was added because of transgressions. Number one, it was sent to expose
sin. It was sent to expose sin. Look at Romans 3 with me. 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. Have you ever been pulled
over and the police officer told you you were speeding? No, officer,
I wasn't. I saw a sign, 55. And he said,
well, you missed the sign that said you're in a school zone
25 miles an hour. And you say, I had no idea. Here
you are going through a 25 mile an hour zone at 55 miles an hour,
and you had no idea the whole time you were breaking the law.
God sent his law to expose sin, to show us I had no idea I was
breaking your law. I had no idea. Romans 4, verse
15 says, Because the law worketh wrath,
for where no law is, there is no transgression. Without the
law, a man would never see his own sin. So that's the first
reason God sent it. Go with me back to Galatians
3. 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
verse 16 says, 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. God sent the law to reveal the
Messiah that would come. He sent it in types and he sent
it in pictures to show us who the Redeemer was. He clearly
told us who would come. Don't turn, but Hebrews 10 verse
1 says, The law was a shadow of good things to come. That's
why God sent it. So verse 19, 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. He was a type of Christ, the
mediator between God and man. Verse 20, now a mediator is not
a mediator of one, but God is one. You have to have more than
one party involved to have a mediator or to need a mediator. Verse
20 says, but God is one. God is the only one who made
a promise in this covenant. You know, most covenants, you
say, I will, and I say, okay, I will. But in this covenant, God's the
only one who made a promise. He's the only one who said he
would do anything. Verse 21, is the law then against
the promise of God? That law, you know, 430 years
after he made that promise, came and exposed sin. It exposed us
for what we are. Will the law now encourage God
to not show mercy to us? Will it encourage him to go back
on his promise? Verse 21 says, 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 the promise of faith of Jesus Christ might
be given to them that believe. Had there been a law that could
save, then salvation could come by the law, but God never gave
one. He never gave one and that law
exposes that it's by the promise of faith in Christ. And the law
has made it so that all we can do is have faith in Christ. The
law has stopped every possible path we could think up to earn
our way to heaven. The law says no. The law says
no. And it causes us to completely trust Christ. That's all it does.
Verse 23, but before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut
up unto faith, which should afterwards be revealed. Wherefore, the law
was our schoolmaster to bring us to Christ, that we might be
justified by faith. What is the purpose of the law?
Why did God send the law? Now, I adore what I just told
you, but I really adore what I'm about to tell you. The law was our schoolmaster.
When this was written, back in these days, you know, there are
words, and this is why we have a concordance. We look up these
words because they might mean something different from what
we know them to mean today. And when this was written, the
job of a schoolmaster was not what it sounds like. All right,
the schoolmaster was not the principal. And the schoolmaster
was not the head teacher. The schoolmaster was not a teacher
at all. The schoolmaster was a slave. Okay, a slave that was hired
by the father of a house. to bring his kids safely to school
and bring them home at the end of the day. All right? Hired by a family, hired by a
father. He employed a slave to safely
take his children to school and then 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's it. He took them to the
teacher. That's what he did. He took them
to the teacher. He made sure they were on the
path that led to the teacher. If the children tried to veer
off, or if the children tried to lag behind, he was given the
authority to spank the children and discipline them to get to
the teacher. You have to get to that man. The father has given me the charge. The father has given me the responsibility
to make sure you get to that man. And this law has spanked me before. Has it spanked you? You know, prone to wander. Lord,
I feel it. This whole heart right here starts
to lag behind. Everything starts to lag behind.
And God, in his merciful schoolmaster right here, says, you've got
to get to the teacher. You've got to get to that man.
Verse 24 says, Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring
us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. You have
to get to that man. You have to. Thank God he gave a schoolmaster. He gave
his law. And he gave it to his children.
This law was sent to his children. That schoolmaster was for his
children. I don't want you to go correct everybody else's children.
You're here for my children. Verse 24, wherefore the law was
our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ that we might be
justified by faith. But after that faith is come,
we are no longer under a schoolmaster. All right, now we've seen the
promise that God made in that covenant. We've seen the purpose
of the law that he sent for his children. Now here's the people,
all right? Who is the promise to? Who is
the law bringing to Christ? Abraham and his seed. That's
what it says. Abraham and his seed. Go with
me to Romans 9. I'll be quick. Romans 9 verse 6, 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 just because a person is
not a direct descendant of Abraham, that does not mean that he is
not a child of the promise. Alright? Go with me to Romans
2. Romans 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. What does all that mean? What
does all that mean? Here's what it means. Turn with
me to Romans 8. And look at verse 14. For as
many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of
God. That's what it means. Whoever
God's Spirit lays hold of, And whoever God leads to Christ,
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. And then that verse goes on down
to say that God's Spirit leads them to do so. He leads them
to call on Him. Now, on our way back, look with
me at 1 Corinthians 12. 1 Corinthians 12, verse 13. 1 Corinthians 12, 13, for by one
spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews
or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free, and have been all made
to drink into one spirit. It's all by one spirit, every
bit of it. So we'll close out with our text,
Galatians 3. Verse 16 says, 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. Verse 26 says, For ye are all
the children of God by faith in Christ. Looking to Christ. Hoping in Christ. Seeing him
to be this mediator that Moses represented, seeing him to be
the end of the law, the end of the schoolmaster's journey, the
object that he was pointing God's children to, seeing all the promises
of God to be found in him. 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 immersed you into Christ, you're in Christ. That's it, you're in Christ.
Verse 28, There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond
nor free, There is neither male nor female, for ye 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 us faith, true faith, to see and believe that
it all hinges on Christ, I mean, it all hinges on Him. If I have
Christ, I have the promise. And if I don't have Christ, I
don't have the promise. It all hinges on Christ. If God has given us faith to
see that, then we're Abraham's seed. That's what it means. We
are Abraham's seed, and every promise he made to Abraham, he
has made to us. Every one of them. He will be
our God, and we will inherit the land. That's great, isn't
it? All right, let's stand together.