Are You Related to Abraham???

INTRODUCTION: Genealogy is BIG BUSINESS...Whole LIBRARIES across this country are devoted to WHO'S RELATED to WHOM....
 

The Mormons have an entire building in Utah dedicated to finding out WHO'S RELATED to WHOM....
 

People from all over spend countless HOURS and much money to trace out their genealogy....
 

You can get COMPUTER PROGRAMS now that will help you in your LINEAGE SEARCH....
 

QUESTION: What is more important to you? Being related to Abraham PHYSICALLY either through PEDIGREE or through CIRCUMCISION or being related to Abraham SPIRITUALLY???
 

That is a question that is addressed in the third chapter of the book of Galatians...
 

There were those who were PERVERTING THE TRUE GOSPEL and requiring Gentile converts to become JEWISH in their way of life....
 

It wasn't GOOD ENOUGH to have accepted Jesus Christ as savior...
 

They also wanted them to be circumcised and keep the Old Covenant Law....
 

I. Review of Galatians 1....Grace Declared and Demonstrated.... 

Two weeks ago, we saw grace was declared in Paul's Message...Galatians 1:1-10
 

Grace was declared in his ministry, his message and his motive....
 

Paul was anxious about the Galatians:
 

They were deserting the grace of God...
 

They were perverting the gospel...
 

They were confused....
 

Paul exposed the enemies of the gospel...pronounces a curse on them....
 

Last week, we saw grace was demonstrated in Paul's Life....Galatians 1:11-24 and chapter two...
 

Paul declares the SOURCE of his message: Jesus Christ...not man.
 

Paul explains his relationship with the Jerusalem leadership...
 

Paul describes his trip to Jerusalem, stating that the leadership didn't require circumcision...
 

Paul describes his rebuke of Peter for hypocrisy....
 

Paul describes the CRUX of the matter of justification....
 

GAL 2:15 NIV "We who are Jews by birth and not 'Gentile sinners' {16} know that a man is not justified by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by observing the law, because by observing the law no one will be justified. {17} "If, while we seek to be justified in Christ, it becomes evident that we ourselves are sinners, does that mean that Christ promotes sin? Absolutely not! {18} If I rebuild what I destroyed, I prove that I am a lawbreaker. {19} For through the law I died to the law so that I might live for God. {20} I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. {21} I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!"
 

S.P.S.: Now, we are ready to go to Galatians 3, where Paul talks further about the RELATIONSHIP between GRACE and the LAW...
 

In chapters 3 and 4, Paul gives SIX ARGUMENTS showing that we are indeed DEAD TO THE LAW but ALIVE to GOD through the GRACE of God...
 

He gives these SIX ARGUMENTS to show that we are NOT JUSTIFIED in God's sight by the Old Covenant LAW, but by FAITH in JESUS CHRIST...
 

We now live righteous lives because of the SPIRIT of God in us...
 

Today, we will see THREE of these SIX ARGUMENTS in Chapter Three...
 

We will see the PERSONAL ARGUMENT: Galatians 3:1-5
 

We will see the SCRIPTURAL ARGUMENT: Galatians 3:6-14
 

We will see the LOGICAL ARGUMENT: Galatians 3:15-29
 

II. The PERSONAL ARGUMENT....Galatians 3:1-5 
 

Here Paul argues from their own PERSONAL EXPERIENCE...
 

He asks them some very TELLING QUESTIONS to show that what they EXPERIENCED as Christians with the Holy Spirit was NOT the result of observance of Old Covenant Law...
 

He points to three things:
 

They had come to see the SON of GOD crucified...accepted that...
 

They had received the Holy Spirit apart from Old Covenant observance...
 

They even experienced MIRACLES from God, apart from the Old Covenant observance...
 

They ACCEPTED the Son of God crucified.... 
 

GAL 3:1 NIV You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified.
 

Argument: You yourselves came to grasp the significance of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ...You UNDERSTOOD!
 

Now it's as if someone has cast a spell on you...
 

I believe now that I indeed DID understand the sacrifice of Jesus when I came to Jesus Christ at age 14 or so...
 

I came to see MY NEED PERSONALLY for a savior.
 

But I also believe that I, like many of us, got sidetracked into LEGALISM...
 

Please don't be offended when I talk about people here coming to Jesus Christ...
 

Many of us no doubt DID come to Jesus Christ and, like myself, were sidetracked into DO's and DON'Ts or speculation or exclusivism or any number of things...
 

If we have come to RE-FOCUS on JESUS, then all well and good....
 

But if SOME of us HAVEN'T done that or PERHAPS never did it in the first place, then FOR SALVATION'S SAKE, we need to do it...We need to COME TO CHRIST...
 

We need to realize that the PRECIOUS LIFE'S BLOOD of One who became a FELLOW HUMAN BEING with us, was poured out on the ground for us...
 

ILLUSTRATION: I'll never forget the time I saw a puddle of human blood...I'd been going to work and I heard on the news that a motorcyclist hadn't made it around the corner...It really hit me that Jesus blood was poured out for me...But Jesus didn't make mistakes like this cyclist...He was the God-man....
 

They received the Holy Spirit apart from the Old Covenant Law.... 

{2} I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by observing the law, or by believing what you heard?
 

Argument: Were you perfectly obedient to God (law-wise) before you received the Holy Spirit...
 

A number us no doubt felt that we almost had to be perfect before coming to Christ....
 

ILLUSTRATION: Mr. Tkach, Sr., a number of years ago, caused a bit of stir by saying that he would baptize people BEFORE they quit smoking...He, rightly so, believed they NEEDED the Holy Spirit to overcome this nasty habit...
 

Perhaps some even today are putting off a deeper commitment to Christ and putting off their public proclamation of belief in Christ (Baptism) because they have some sort of "checklist" of things they want to "overcome" first...
 

Perhaps they think they need to pray and study more...

Perhaps they think they need to conquer a bad habit first...
 

Perhaps they think they need to be more "worthy..."
 

If that's the case with you, you, like the Galatians, have been BEWITCHED by legalism...
 

If that's the case, you are relying on your OWN WORKS and your OWN RIGHTEOUSNESS to be GOOD ENOUGH to receive the Holy Spirit...
 

The HEART is the HEART of the matter....
 

Do you BELIEVE from the depths of your being what you've heard????
 

ROM 10:1 NIV Brothers, my heart's desire and prayer to God for the Israelites is that they may be saved. {2} For I can testify about them that they are zealous for God, but their zeal is not based on knowledge. {3} Since they did not know the righteousness that comes from God and sought to establish their own, they did not submit to God's righteousness. {4} Christ is the end of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes. {5} Moses describes in this way the righteousness that is by the law: "The man who does these things will live by them." {6} But the righteousness that is by faith says: "Do not say in your heart, 'Who will ascend into heaven?' " (that is, to bring Christ down) {7} "or 'Who will descend into the deep?' " (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). {8} But what does it say? "The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart," that is, the word of faith we are proclaiming: {9} That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. {10} For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. {11} As the Scripture says, "Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame." {12} For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile--the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, {13} for, "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved."
 

{3} Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort?
 

ARGUMENT: You received the Holy Spirit and were beginning to grow...Why do you think you'll attain the goal on HUMAN efforts to keep Old Covenant Law?
 

They EXPERIENCED miracles from God apart from the Law... 

{4} Have you suffered so much for nothing--if it really was for nothing?
 

Should probably be translated "have you experienced so much for nothing"...
 

ARGUMENT: They obviously started out EXPERIENCING the renewing power of the Holy Spirit....Doesn't that show you something???
 

But now they were trying to "QUALIFY" for the Kingdom by their own efforts....
 

{5} Does God give you his Spirit and work miracles among you because you observe the law, or because you believe what you heard?
 

Here we see they were a GIFTED church...
 

They HAD received the Holy Spirit....
 

They saw MIRACLES at the hand of God...Doesn't that count for something???
 

III. The SCRIPTURAL ARGUMENT....Galatians 3:6-14 

Here Paul turns to the Old Testament itself to illustrate a number of things:
 

Abraham was SAVED BY FAITH...
 

This same salvation is also for the Gentiles...
 

This same salvation is by FAITH, not by Law....
 

This same salvation comes THROUGH CHRIST....
 

Abraham was saved by FAITH, not by LAW... 

{6} Consider Abraham: "He believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness." {7} Understand, then, that those who believe are children of Abraham.
 

Why does he refer to Abraham???
 

He was the Father of the Faithful...
 

He PRECEDED the Old Covenant by over 400 years....
 

The point is that Abraham is the father of the Jewish people.
 

Now what Paul is going to argue on the basis of these bits of evidence is that the true Children of Abraham therefore are not those who are circumcised as Abraham was but are those who trust God as Abraham did.
 

His trust was what was accredited to him for righteousness and that antedates both circumcision and the giving of the law.
 

For Paul that is the clear evidence that the true children of Abraham are those who are going to receive the promise on the basis of faith as Abraham did.
 

Hence he appeals at the end of this first paragraph to Gen.12:3.
 

This same SALVATION is for the Gentiles if they believe like Abraham did... 

{8} The Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: "All nations will be blessed through you."
 

{9} So those who have faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.
 
 
 
 
 

This SALVATION is by FAITH not by Law.... 

{10} All who rely on observing the law are under a curse, for it is written: "Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law."
 

If you take upon you the Old Covenant, you are CURSED if you don't do it ALL....
 

{11} Clearly no one is justified before God by the law, because, "The righteous will live by faith."
 

Here Paul quotes from the Old Testament...
 

{12} The law is not based on faith; on the contrary, "The man who does these things will live by them."
 

It was a DO the Law or DIE by the Law situation...
 

Here Paul quotes again from the Old Testament...
 

This SALVATION comes through Christ.... 
 

{13} Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: "Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree." {14} He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.
 

That is, to be under the law automatically brings one under the curse of being under the law.
 

He is not merely arguing that the curse comes from a disobedience.

He is arguing that the curse comes from being under law at all.
 

Cursed is everyone who is under law because he has to live by law and not by faith.
 

Whereas the righteous, the O.T. prophet says, live by faith not by being under law.
 

Those who come under law are bringing people under curse by the very fact that they have to do law instead of living by faith in Christ Jesus.
 

We see here two of the purposes of Christ's death:
 

To redeem us from the curse of the law...certainly the penalty due and also the curse of having to try to please God on our own power...
 

To redeem NOT JUST THE JEWISH PEOPLE, but also the Gentiles....
 

IV. The LOGICAL ARGUMENT.....Galatians 3:15-29.... 
 

Here Paul argues from common sense and logic that the PROMISE made to Abraham was one CONTRACT and the Covenant of Sinai was ANOTHER CONTRACT...The Sinai Covenant cannot legally change God's contract with Abraham...
 

We will see that:
 

That the coming of the Old Covenant at Mount Sinai could not CHANGE the PROMISE God made to Abraham....That PROMISE had to do with the coming of JESUS CHRIST....
 

That the Old Covenant Law is not greater than the PROMISE...
 

That the Old Covenant Law was not contrary to the PROMISE...
 

That the Old Covenant Law could not do what the PROMISE can do...
 
 
 

THe Law cannot change the promise...
 

{15} Brothers, let me take an example from everyday life. Just as no one can set aside or add to a human covenant that has been duly established, so it is in this case.
 

ILLUSTRATION: What do you think would happen if after a knock-down, drag-out union negotiation occured and an agreement was reached between the company and the union, all of a sudden the company came back and said, "The contract is all well and good, but we need you to all work an additional 10 hours a week without overtime pay."
 

You would have a STRIKE!
 

It's generally ILLEGAL to add something to a contract after it has already been signed...
 

{16} The promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. The Scripture does not say "and to seeds," meaning many people, but "and to your seed," meaning one person, who is Christ.
 

{17} What I mean is this: The law, introduced 430 years later, does not set aside the covenant previously established by God and thus do away with the promise.
 

What LAW is being talked about here??? The Law given at Sinai...
 

EXO 34:25 NIV "Do not offer the blood of a sacrifice to me along with anything containing yeast, and do not let any of the sacrifice from the Passover Feast remain until morning. {26} "Bring the best of the firstfruits of your soil to the house of the Lord your God. "Do not cook a young goat in its mother's milk." {27} Then the Lord said to Moses, "Write down these words, for in accordance with these words I have made a covenant with you and with Israel." {28} Moses was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights without eating bread or drinking water. And he wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant--the Ten Commandments.
 

DEU 4:12 NIV Then the Lord spoke to you out of the fire. You heard the sound of words but saw no form; there was only a voice. {13} He declared to you his covenant, the Ten Commandments, which he commanded you to follow and then wrote them on two stone tablets. {14} And the Lord directed me at that time to teach you the decrees and laws you are to follow in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess.
 

GAL 4:21 NIV Tell me, you who want to be under the law, are you not aware of what the law says? {22} For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by the slave woman and the other by the free woman. {23} His son by the slave woman was born in the ordinary way; but his son by the free woman was born as the result of a promise. {24} These things may be taken figuratively, for the women represent two covenants. One covenant is from Mount Sinai and bears children who are to be slaves: This is Hagar. {25} Now Hagar stands for Mount Sinai in Arabia and corresponds to the present city of Jerusalem, because she is in slavery with her children. {26} But the Jerusalem that is above is free, and she is our mother. {27} For it is written: "Be glad, O barren woman, who bears no children; break forth and cry aloud, you who have no labor pains; because more are the children of the desolate woman than of her who has a husband." {28} Now you, brothers, like Isaac, are children of promise. {29} At that time the son born in the ordinary way persecuted the son born by the power of the Spirit. It is the same now. {30} But what does the Scripture say? "Get rid of the slave woman and her son, for the slave woman's son will never share in the inheritance with the free woman's son." {31} Therefore, brothers, we are not children of the slave woman, but of the free woman.
 

HEB 12:18 NIV You have not come to a mountain that can be touched and that is burning with fire; to darkness, gloom and storm; {19} to a trumpet blast or to such a voice speaking words that those who heard it begged that no further word be spoken to them, {20} because they could not bear what was commanded: "If even an animal touches the mountain, it must be stoned." {21} The sight was so terrifying that Moses said, "I am trembling with fear." {22} But you have come to Mount Zion, to the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living God. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, {23} to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God, the judge of all men, to the spirits of righteous men made perfect, {24} to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.
 

{18} For if the inheritance depends on the law, then it no longer depends on a promise; but God in his grace gave it to Abraham through a promise.
 

The Law is not greater than the promise... 
 

It was TEMPORARY...
 

It required a MEDIATOR, Moses...
 

{19} What, then, was the purpose of the law? It was added because of transgressions until the Seed to whom the promise referred had come.
 

The Israelites were so prone to disobedience to God that the law was added as a restraint of sorts...
 

It was added as a means of REPROVING them...After all, they didn't have Christ living in them...
 

The spiritual, moral law of God was not WRITTEN ON THEIR HEARTS...
 

1TI 1:6 NIV Some have wandered away from these and turned to meaningless talk. {7} They want to be teachers of the law, but they do not know what they are talking about or what they so confidently affirm. {8} We know that the law is good if one uses it properly. {9} We also know that law is made not for the righteous but for lawbreakers and rebels, the ungodly and sinful, the unholy and irreligious; for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers, {10} for adulterers and perverts, for slave traders and liars and perjurers--and for whatever else is contrary to the sound doctrine
 

The law was put into effect through angels by a mediator. {20} A mediator, however, does not represent just one party; but God is one.
 

The Law is not contrary to the Promise.... 
 

It was not given to provide life...v. 21.
 

It was given to reveal sin....v. 22.
 

It was given to prepare the way for Christ...v. 23-26.
 

{21} Is the law, therefore, opposed to the promises of God? Absolutely not! For if a law had been given that could impart life, then righteousness would certainly have come by the law.
 

{22} But the Scripture declares that the whole world is a prisoner of sin, so that what was promised, being given through faith in Jesus Christ, might be given to those who believe.
 

{23} Before this faith came, we were held prisoners by the law, locked up until faith should be revealed.
 

{24} So the law was put in charge to lead us to Christ that we might be justified by faith. {25} Now that faith has come, we are no longer under the supervision of the law.
 

Verse 24, KJV...Schoolmaster...put in charge to bring us to Christ...
 

ILLUSTRATION: Debbie Byrd is a NANNY...she has charge of the kids because they are not old enough to be on their own...
 

The Law cannot do what the promise can do...
 

The law could never justify the guilty sinner...
 

The law could never make a person at one with God....
 

The law could never make us heirs of God...
 

{26} You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, {27} for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.
 

Someone CLOTHED with Christ is not a FLAGRANT, PROFLIGATE WORLDLY SINNER....
 

{28} There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. {29} If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.
 

CONCLUSION: Paul concludes this section by saying that you need to be RELATED to Abraham by SPIRIT, not by FLESH....
 

It's not a matter what your genealogy is...
 

It's not a matter of what your race is...
 

It's not a matter of what your gender is...
 

We are ALL RELATED to one another in the MOST IMPORTANT WAY--SPIRITUALLY, if we are SPIRITUALLY RELATED to ABRAHAM because we BELIEVE in Jesus Christ for our salvation....
 

PRAYER:
 

We come to you as ONE BODY in JESUS CHRIST....
 

We are not black or white or yellow or brown...
 

We are not rich or poor...
 

We are not slave or free...
 

We are not male or female...
 

We are ONE because of our SPIRITUAL RELATEDNESS to the Father of the Faithful, Abraham...
 

He believed and it was accounted to him for righteousness...
 

We believe with our hearts and confess with our mouths that Jesus Christ has risen from the dead and is our living savior...
 

That makes us brothers and sisters in Christ....
 

Thank you that we are not under the curse of the law because Jesus became a curse for us...
 

He took our place...
 

He showed us a NEW AND BETTER WAY of salvation...one that really works...
 

Now bless us as we depart here today...Help us to be better messengers of your grace and mercy...Help us to live a life worthy of the calling you've given us.