Galatians chapter 3, this is
the sincere milk of the word. What we're dealing with here
is the pure, sincere milk, or what we cut our teeth on as babes. And now we come back
to it, because this is the beginning of our confidence. And you will
like this. Now look at Galatians 3 verse
10. This is where we pick up. As many as are of the works of
the law are under the curse. For it is written, curse it is
every one that continueth not in all things which are written
in the book of the law to do them. As many as are of the works
of the law are under the curse. Now, I said this last Sunday,
and I want to say it again. It won't be the last time I say
it. I keep reminding us that when we speak of God's holy law,
that we should never speak ill of it, never speak in a way that
we make it sound like there's something wrong with God's law.
I've been guilty of that as a young preacher, and I've heard others
do it, and I don't want to be guilty now. Look with me at Romans
7. Here's what the Apostle said,
and we'll be looking, going back and forth perhaps between Galatians
and Romans, because they are so similar. In Romans chapter
7, the apostle Paul, whom the Lord used to write the book of
Galatians, also wrote this. Look at verse 12. Paul says,
The law is holy and the commandment holy and just and good. So we should never speak of God's
law or or use it in a way that people think that it's something
bad. No, the law is not the problem. We're the problem. Look at verse
22 in Romans 7. He said, I delight in the law
of God after the inward man. That new man, that new creature
delights in the law of God. Alright, now go back to Galatians.
And that needs to be said because If we're not careful, we'll speak
of God's law in a bad way. But if a person tries to be justified,
that is, to be holy by the law, Paul writes in this
book, You're a fool. You're an utter fool. And he
said, you're under the curse. You're under the curse. What
it will bring you is death. Just death. That's all. Trying
to keep the law to be holy before God. That's all that will happen. Look at verse 10 here in Galatians
3. As many as are of the works of the law are under Now, the word curse means to
pronounce evil on. You and I think of some witch,
you know, casting a spell or a curse on somebody. But this
is the true meaning. It means evil will be pronounced
upon you if you try to be under the law. And over in chapter
4, go over there real quick, chapter 4, verse 21, Paul says, tell me, ye that desire
to be under the law, do you not hear it? You must not hear it.
And I remind you of a story that happened, a true story back in
the Old Testament of a man who went out on the Sabbath day, and God's law is very strict.
And a man went out on the Sabbath day and began to pick up sticks. And he was going to take those
sticks of firewood home and light a fire, and I guess cook a meal
for his family, and God killed him. And so Paul, who knew something
about the law, says, want to be under it, they don't
hear it. Don't you hear it? It's just a curse. Go back quickly
to Deuteronomy 27. Deuteronomy chapter 27. And I prayed just a while ago,
and I hope right now that I don't want this just to be a doctrine. I want this to come alive to
you. Deuteronomy 27. Look at verses
15. We won't read all of these, but
look at verse 15. Cursed be the man that maketh
any graven or molten image. Verse 16. Cursed be he that setteth
light by. Verse 17. Cursed be. Verse 18. Cursed be. Verse 19. Cursed be. And on and on and on it goes.
And verse 26 is what Paul is quoting. Cursed be. He that confirmeth
not all the words of this law to do them, and all the people
shall say." Nobody can say, but, but, but. Amen. That's the way it is. Curse it.
Curse it. Go back to Galatians. That's
what he's quoting there as it is written. Curse it, everyone
that continueth not. That means everyone that doesn't
do and continue to do. What things? All things that
are written in the book of the law to do them. All things. All things. Not just what you
know. And here's how foolish and how ignorant people are. They go back, and we have a sect
here in this county. who is obviously under the law,
and they make no bones about it. They try to look like Levites,
but they don't come from Levi. How foolish can you get? They're
Gentiles. They weren't born of the tribe
of Levi, so you can't be a Levitical priest and dress like him and
so forth. They go back there and pull out
some obscure things and say, we can do this, we can look this
way and act this way, so here we're keeping the law. In some
of those same chapters that they design their way of life by are
strict things like this. You've got to leave your land
the seventh year philo, you can't touch it. Do they still farm their land?
Do they eat off of it? Then you're breaking the law. You broke it
off. And on and on it goes. Those
that desire to be under the law are ignorant and foolish. They
don't adhere to the law. It's not just what you like.
It's not just what you pick and choose. It's all things. And
our Lord stood before the people that day and said, you've heard
it said? You've read the law? I say unto you. Now, he magnified
the law, Scripture said. He blew it up to show us. He's
just not keeping it outwardly. He said, I say, you've heard
it said thou shalt not kill? I say unto you. Who? I wrote
the law. I say unto you, to hate someone,
you've killed them already before God. So, what things whoever
the law sayeth, it sayeth to them that are under the law,
what does it say? Guilty. It's a curse. It's a curse. And Paul wrote, as we said, Paul
wrote, the problem is not with the law, but it's us. It's us,
the weakness of the flesh, the sinfulness of the flesh. Now,
look at verse 11. And well, verse 10, he said,
it's evident, it's evident. I'm sorry, verse 11, he says,
It's evident. No man is justified by the law
and the sight of God. It is evident. It's clearly shown,
clearly proved that nobody is justified, accepted, declared
holy by God, by the law. It's evident. There were only
two persons of all those hundreds of thousands, even millions of
Jews in the wilderness who received the law. How many entered the promised
land over 20? Two. It's evident. And they didn't go in because
they kept the law. Joshua and Caleb? They went in
because they represent Christ and his followers by faith. Two persons. And he says, evident. No one is justified in the sight
of God. by the law. It's evident, it's
clear, it's proved. Now Paul can write this with conviction.
Turn quickly over to Philippians 3, just a few pages over to Galatians,
Ephesians, Philippians chapter 3. Paul could write this with
conviction because if anyone could have earned heaven by his
morality or keeping the law, Paul could have. This is what
he writes here in Philippians 3. Look at it. Philippians 3
verse 4. He said, if any man, look at the middle
part of verse 4, if any man, any other man thinks he has whereof
he might trust in the flesh I more. You're going to brag about your
holiness, about your morality. Nobody today could stand if Paul
said, alright, let's talk about morality and keeping the law.
They would have been ashamed before Paul's life. Look at verse 5. He said, I was
circumcised the eighth day. I was of the stock of Israel,
of the tribe of Benjamin, Hebrew of Hebrew, a Jew through and
through. As touching the law, I was a
doctor of it. Pharisee of it, a teacher of
it. Concerning zeal, verse 6, persecuting the church, I was
zealous. Touching the righteousness which
is in the law, I was blameless. Or so he thought. Or so others
thought. Or if you look outwardly, he
looked like he was, didn't Oh my. But Paul says now, no
man in our text, no man can be justified by the law. It's evident. Alright? Here's what God said. He said, God looked down from
heaven upon the children of men to see if there were any. And
Paul quotes this in Romans chapter 3. Any. And he says, there's
none that doeth good. God whom looks on the Well, God
doesn't see as man sees. You see, Saul of Tarsus, who
was outwardly moral, he had hatred in his heart for living in the
true God and his Christ and his people, didn't he? And it's the same today of those
who claim to keep it. But the Scripture plainly says,
There's none that doeth good, not one. Over in Ecclesiastes
7.20, it says, there's not a just man on earth that doeth good
and sinneth not. Not one. Who said that? God did. It's evident, isn't it? And that's
the reason our Lord said, you do err to some people. He said,
you do err not knowing the Scripture. You can't be justified before
God by keeping the law. God doesn't see like a man sees. There's not one on earth when
that was written. There wasn't one. But one came. One. Just one. The only one, right? The only one whom God out loud
from heaven said, I'm well pleased for his righteousness, his keeping
the law. Who is it? You know who it is. You're so blessed. Just one, Jesus Christ. The just,
now look at our text. that no man is justified by the
law, and the sight of God is evident." It's clear. It's obvious
from God's Word and from experience. "...that the just shall live
by faith." The just shall live by faith. I hope you have that
verse underlined or highlighted or something. This is recorded
four times in Scripture. The first time is in Habakkuk
and then Romans and Galatians and Hebrew. Four times. The just shall live by faith. Faith in Christ. Faith toward Jesus Christ. Faith of Jesus Christ. The just shall live before God
and won't die. Christ said this. He said, He
that liveth, and if you have faith because you live, you see,
life comes first. He that hath the Son hath life. Christ said, He that liveth and
believeth in me shall never die. The just shall live before God. Never die. Never die. The just shall live eternally.
The just shall live now. on this earth. I mean, really
live. Stay with me. Our Lord called it life more
abundant. If you look at people that are
under the law, you'll see a miserable people. Some of them are literally in
bondage, aren't they? Are you happy? Yeah, I'm happy. You're free? Yeah. Sad, isn't
it? I'm not making fun of them, and
I'm making fun of that ignorance. Our Lord said, you shall have
life more abundant. Life more abundant. Life is free
from fear. To really live, you've got to
be free from death. Right? Free from the fear of
it. Doesn't it say Christ came to deliver His people who all
their lifetime were subject to this bondage, this fear of death? Huh? Free from the law. I was trying
to think who said it. Dan, you can tell me later who
said this. Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Somebody. One of the old patriots. Darnell, who said it? Okay. But somebody said that and it's
kind of a part of the Constitution. Okay. In this free country. Life, liberty, and the pursuit
of happiness. Nobody on earth, except people
who live in a country like this, know that. We have it. Life. Free from fear of, you
know, just bondage and so forth. Free from fear of the law. I have a fear of the law. Fear
of being cast out. Liberty. Liberty. Liberty. Freedom. Our Lord, whatsoever
He saith unto us, we are to do it. What did He tell us to do? Well,
His commandments are grievous. They are not grievous. Live in
the pursuit of happiness. You want to be blessed, really
blessed? That's what happy, blessed means, happy. The blessedness. Well, this comes upon those who
live by faith. The just shall live by faith. What is faith? It's just looking
to Christ. It's trust. Faith is trust. Faith
is dependence upon. Faith is leaning upon. Faith is somebody else taking
care of things for you. Now, being dependent is a wonderful
thing. It really is. Being independent
and in charge and having to care for yourself, it's hard. But faith is depending upon Him,
looking to Him, trusting the Lord Jesus Christ. Look at verse
12. He says, The law is not of faith, but the law says the man
that doeth them shall live in them. The law says do. The law
says do. Okay, okay, I'll do it. Now keep
doing it. I'm trying. Did you do this? No, I forgot. Do, do, do, do,
do, do. I'll never get this done. You're
right. Do. The law says do. That's all
the law says. Do. Do. Do this and live. Do this and live. The law says
this, do. What? All things. And about the time you think,
well, I've got that taken care of, you read something else,
oh, I didn't know about it. Now, here's faith. Faith says,
look and live. Maybe you didn't hear that. The
law says, do and live. Have you done it? Yeah, I think
I have. No, you haven't. Look here. Faith says, and God
said this over in Isaiah 55, look unto me and live. Christ said, come unto me and
live. Because I've done it. I came. And I did it. over in Joshua, you know, oh,
it's so significant. Moses died. Moses, who represents
the law. And God raised up Joshua. Moses
never was going to bring them into the promised land. Joshua
was waiting in the wings the whole time. And it says of Joshua,
do you remember those chapters there in the first part of Joshua
where it says, now he's going to keep, the law is, he's going
to keep it. He's going to bring you in. Joshua.
Who? What is that name? Savior. It's an Old Testament name for
Jesus. Who will bring us in. This do
and live. Christ said, I've done it. Look
to me and live. You remember that old illustration
where this believing woman was talking to a man who thought
you know, a legalistic fellow who thought he was keeping the
law and all that. And she said, there's a big difference between
your religion and mine. She said, your religion consists
of two letters. Mine consists of four. He said,
I don't know what you mean, lady. She said, yours is D-O-D-O-D-O. She said, mine? D-O-N-E. Done. And I am quite sure he was miserable
and she was happy. Not a lawless woman, you know,
that is not free to break the law, but free from its curse.
Free from its curse. How do we know? How do we know
this is all so? How do we know? Because verse
13 says, Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law
being made a curse for us. For it is written, Deuteronomy
21, verse 23, Cursed is everyone that hangeth on a tree. He was made a curse. Christ died. This is what Paul also wrote
in Romans 8. He said, Who shall lay anything
to the charge of God's elect? Christ died. God justified it. Who is he that condemneth? Christ
died. Christ was made a curse. Christ was made sin. Christ was
made a curse, etc. Made a curse. Made sin. Made a curse by God. Substitution. That's what this is talking about.
Substitution. For it is written, cursed is
everyone that hangeth on a tree. Christ crucified. That's what
that's talking about. Christ crucified. When he hung
there, he hung there as the greatest sinner who ever lived, though
he himself did not commit one sin. Right. But God Almighty
laid on Him the iniquity of us all. Who all? All the elect. All the just ones. All who by
faith in Christ come to Him. Laid on Him. Substitution. And then what did God do? Killed
Him. Killed Him. The soul that sinneth
must surely die. God made His soul an offering
for sin. He died. Christ died. So, the
broken law, the penalty of death, was satisfied. And it has no more claim on us. I've broken the law. Yeah, but
Christ died as my substitute. God said, this do and live. I
haven't. Christ did though, my substitute.
So I live. He died. I live. Right? That's why he said, you'll
never die. You'll just go to sleep. But
Christ died. Being made sin and made a curse.
God was just. And He did just what He said
He would do. And Christ died. Hung on that
tree. Crucified. Now look, read on.
I've got to hurry. Well, my time's up. Bye-bye. He said, The blessing of Abraham.
This is all that the blessing of Abraham might come on the
Gentiles. Not just natural-born Jews. Abraham wasn't born a Jew. There was no such thing as a
Jew when God chose Abraham. He lived over what is now Turkey. somewhere around in there, Iraq
or somewhere. He wasn't a Jew. There was no such thing when
he called Abraham as a Jew. He said this blessing of Abraham
comes on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ, the blessing of
Abraham. Oh, I wish I had time to deal
with this. Just real quickly, Genesis 12.
I'm going to make time because I want to deal with it. I don't
want Donnie to have all his enjoyment. Genesis 12, look at this. Here's the blessing of Abraham.
The blessing of Abraham is this. Look at it. Do you have it real
quick? Genesis 12. This is where the Lord called Abraham. And
what He said to Abraham, He said before the world began, to Christ. You see, this is a covenant God
made with Abraham, but it's really talking about the covenant with
Christ. and all those in Christ. Look at it. He said to Abraham,
Get thee out of thy country from thy kindred, from thy father's
house unto the land that I will show thee. Our Lord left his
father's house to cleave unto his wife. I will make of thee a great nation. Who? Christ. Christ. I will bless thee, and I will make thy name great. And thou shalt be a blessing. All those that are in you, he
was talking about, he's going to talk about his seed. And that
means that miracle son, Isaac, and Isaac shall thy seed be called.
And I know everybody's not going to understand all this, but I
got to say it. And Donnie will build on it,
I'm sure. But it was a miracle son promised by God. Isaac, I
will make in thee a great nation, a number as the stars of the
sky and the sands of the seashore. That's all those in Christ. And
verse 13, I will bless them that bless thee. Those that love you,
I will love. Those that believe you, I will
receive. I'll curse them that curse at
thee. Amen. Love not the Lord Jesus Christ,
Paul wrote, let him be anathema. Cursed. Yeah, but he's sincere. He keeps it. Cursed. No man cometh but by my freedom.
And I'll in thee shall all the families of the earth be blessed. out of every tribe, kindred,
nation, tongue under heaven. All that come unto God by Christ
are blessed. Not just Jews, but Gentiles. That's us. This is the blessing
of Abraham, you see. And that came 400 years, 430,
before the law was written. Boy, I wish I could teach the
rest of it, I guess. Well, what was said I hope needn't
be said, but he talks about this covenant that God made. If he
made it, you can't dis-annul it. You can't add to it. You can't take away from it.
You can't dis-annul it. No matter what anybody, the law
can't dis-annul it. He said you can't even do that
to a man's will and testament. You can now, but you couldn't
then. And he said, but God, His oath and His covenant with Christ,
you can't touch it. Okay.