Good morning. How are y'all doing? I'm armed with my Beyoncé throat spray. Let me get
a shot. I fight allergies and so I think this helps a little bit, so let's see how it goes.
Has anybody seen my wife? I think she's with the grandbabies. So if you see her, would
you tell her she needs to come to church? I think she's watching right now. Hey, baby.
Well, our mission as a church is to lead people into a growing relationship with Jesus Christ.
Now, if that's our mission as a church, that means that it is your mission to lead people
into a growing relationship with Jesus Christ. You'll notice that our mission is others focused,
that it's not about you, that it's about other people leading them into a relationship with
Jesus. Our calling is to be a church for people who don't like church. Now, what does that mean?
Some of you are wondering. That means that we have chosen as a church not to be religious. That on
purpose, we don't do religious stuff. Like, there's a chance that you might hear in our church some
Stevie Wonder and some Coldplay and some U2 and some Chicago. And we think that's okay. You might
hear some Brian Regan and some Sinbad. Your preacher might sit down on a stool with some jeans
and tennis shoes. Thank you, Becky. And did you know those holes cost more? What in the world?
That we've decided not to be religious. Somebody asked me one time, why do I sit down when I preach?
And years ago, when I used to teach the youth, I started doing that. And Pastor Ken did it also,
and he would sit beside the table. I decided to take it to another step and sit behind the
table with my MacBook. And I've never seen anybody else do this. And I think that's why I like it,
because you're not supposed to. So I like that. But I read somewhere, I think it was in the Bible,
that the multitudes came to Jesus, and he was going to teach them, and he sat down and taught
them. And I thought, well, if it's good enough for Jesus, it's good enough for me. And in my mind,
what I'm doing, instead of standing up here and putting it on y'all, I'm sitting down like one
of you. And we're all in this thing together. You know, in fact, I would love to turn these lights
off if they lit me, but they won't let me. And just sit down here. That's what I'd like to do. I
might do that. Come and think of it. We'll see. But we believe that it's not to be religious,
but that relationship is more important. Relationship with each other and more importantly,
a relationship with God. And so to be a church for people who don't like church means that our
heartbeat is for people who have been hurt by church, and who has said that they're never
coming back again. And for people who have a negative stereotype of what church is, and so
they're saying they're not coming to church. But if they ever do, if they'll give us a chance,
that we'll do our very best to love and accept them. Our vision is to equip a thousand strong on
Sunday. Now you can tell we got some work to do. It's a vision to equip a thousand strong on Sunday
to be the church during the week, wherever they are. That's our vision. Our strategy is to provide
next steps that encourage intimacy with God. That means that you grow in your relationship with
God where you're on a first name basis with Him, that you talk to Him every day and He talks to
you, that you have authentic community with each other. And one of the ways we do that is in life
group, and that you have a servant's heart for our world, that you serve and do things in our
community with no strings attached. And then it's our prayer that we will all connect with our
community and connect with each other in a life group that will serve others in the community
and will serve each other in our church and that will give generously to our mission and that will
invest in the lives of other people and invite them to our God. That's what we're all about. Today,
is part six in our series that we're calling Free. It's a study in the book of Galatians and our
text today is Galatians chapter three and we'll be looking at verses 15 through 29. What we have
seen and heard in the first three chapters of Galatians is Paul driving home the truth again
and again over and over that we become a Christ follower, that we become a Christian by grace
through faith in Jesus Christ plus nothing and minus nothing. That means we don't add anything to
that and we don't take anything away from that. There seems to be something in all of us that
makes us want to add our self into this equation, that makes us want to have a bigger part in our
salvation and it's just hard for us to let it go and just put our trust in Jesus and in Jesus alone.
And I believe it's because of our pride. I believe it's because of our desire for self-glory and
so we cannot just let God do it all. James chapter four and verse six, God is against the proud,
but he gives grace to the humble. God is against the proud, but he gives grace to the humble. You
see we get upset when we don't get the place of leadership we think we ought to have in the church.
We get upset when our name doesn't get mentioned when we think that it should. We get upset when
we don't get the solo we think we deserve. We think that we should be the center of attention.
We think that we have to be in control. We think that it's all about us and that has been our
downfall beginning in the Garden of Eden and it continues to this day and until we learn to humble
ourselves we will never experience what it means to be free in Jesus. So would you like to be free
today? All you do is humble yourself and come to Jesus just like you are. You must come to God
in complete humility. Your heart must be broken because of your sin. You must realize that your
only hope is in Christ and in Christ alone and so through faith you accept God's gift of grace
and Jesus said then you will know the truth and the truth will set you free. In the second half
of Galatians chapter 3 Paul helps us understand the relationship between the promise and the law.
Galatians chapter 3 and verse 15. Brothers and sisters so who's he talking to? Us. He's talking
to the church. 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 the promises were spoken to
Abraham and to his seed. Scripture does not say and to seeds meaning many people but and to your
seed meaning one person who is Christ. 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
for if the inheritance depends on the law then it no longer depends on the promise but God in
his grace gave it to Abraham through a promise. Why then was the law given at all? It was added
because of transgressions until the seed to whom the promise referred to come. The law was given
through angels and entrusted to a mediator. A mediator however implies more than one party but
God is one. 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. But scripture
has locked up everything under the control of sin so that what was promised being given through
faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe. Before the coming of this faith we were
held in custody under the law locked up until the faith that was come would be revealed. So the
law was our guardian until Christ came that we might be justified by faith. Now that this faith
has come we are no longer under a guardian so in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through
faith. For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourself with Christ. There is
neither June or Gentile neither slave nor free nor is there male and female for you are all one in
Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ then you are Abraham's seed and heirs according to the promise.
We see this word promise used many times in this passage and this is the promise that God gave the
Abraham that all nations would be blessed through him. This promise included being justified by
faith that everyone who by grace through faith would put their trust in Jesus Christ would be
justified. Remember that the word justified means just as if I'd never sinned and by grace through
faith in Jesus Christ we are justified we are forgiven we are declared not guilty and this
has absolutely nothing to do with you being good it is a gift of God it is a miracle of God it is
a promise of God verse 15 brothers and sisters 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 a last will and testament is a good example of a human covenant once the will has been written
and signed and notarized it is illegal to change anything in it without everyone's consent now if
we as humans can honor or usually honor most of the agreements we make how much more well will a
holy God honor and keep his promises we can trust in the promises of God verse 16 the promises
were spoken to Abraham and to his seed scripture does not say and to seeds meaning many people and
but to and to your seed meaning one person who is Christ notice that Abraham here did not make a
promise to God God made a promise to Abraham and it was a promise of grace and God did not only
make the promise to Abraham but he also made it to his seed Jesus Christ in Genesis chapter 3
after the sin and the garden God said that there would be a struggle between Satan's seed and woman's
seed and Satan's goal was to keep the woman's seed Jesus Christ from being born because he knew
that Jesus Christ would one day defeat him God's promise to Abraham to deliver us from our sin was
made through Jesus Christ so the false teachers of Paul's day had absolutely no authority and no
right to add anything or take anything away from this promise of grace and so neither do we have
any authority to add anything or take anything away from this promise of grace and this is the
promise in Ephesians chapter 2 verses 8 and 9 for it is by grace you have been saved through
faith and this is not from yourselves it is the gift of God not by works so that no one can boast
I've heard people say that they grew up in church went to church every Sunday but never heard how to
become a Christian they were told all of the Bible stories they were told that they needed to be
good but somehow they never heard the gospel well you won't be able to say that here you become a
Christian by grace through faith in Jesus Christ not by being good not by coming to church going
to church does not make you a Christian anymore than going to McDonald's makes you a Big Mac but
because you are a Christian by grace through faith in Jesus Christ you should live a good life you
should be a person of integrity you should be nice yes even on social media you should be faithful
to your church but you became a Christian by grace through faith and scripture teaches that anyone
who adds anything to that brings a curse verse 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 215 years after God's promise to Abraham he repeats the promise again to Abraham's
grandson Jacob 430 years after that the law is given to Moses on Mount Sinai but the law cannot
change the promise of grace verse 18 for if the inheritance depends on the law then it no longer
depends on the promise but God in his grace gave it to Abraham through a promise in other words
if our salvation if our becoming a Christian depends on us keeping the law if it depends on
us being good enough then we are in big trouble and that's why it's so weird why we would ever
want to refuse grace why we would ever want to refuse freedom insisting on trying to earn our own
salvation it makes absolutely no sense at all and it must be because of our pride because pride
can blind you pride goes before the fall verse 19 why then was the law given at all if we become
a Christian by grace through faith and not by keeping the law and not by the religious stuff
that we do then what is the purpose of the law verse 19 why then was the law given at all it was
added because of transgressions transgressions is a big Bible word that simply means sin it was
added because of our sin the purpose of the law is to help us see our desperate need for a Savior
the purpose of the law is to help us see our desperate need for mercy and grace the purpose
of the law is to help us see our sinfulness before a holy God the purpose of the law is to help us
get over our religious pride you see no one needs to be saved if they don't think that they're
lost no one needs forgiveness if they think they're all good no one needs grace if they think
they're just fine the law exposes the need that we all have for grace and for forgiveness and for
salvation verse 19 why then was the law given at all it was added because of transgressions
until the seed to whom the promise referred had come the law was only temporary but the promise
of grace is forever when Jesus came and died on the cross and rose again from the dead the law
was fulfilled verse 19 be in verse 20 the law was given through angels and entrusted to a mediator a
mediator however implies that more than one party but God is one Paul is contrasting the way that
the law was given with the way that the promise was given when the law was given there was
trembling and fear and lightning God warned the people not to come near the mountain or
they would die but the promise given to Abraham was given as a friend to a friend it's the way
that God desires to come to all of us as a friend God wants a relationship with you through his
amazing grace the law had to come through a mediator we don't fully understand it but the
law was given to Moses through angels but the promise of grace was given directly to Abraham
without a mediator because God was the only one that was involved in making the promise there
were no conditions Abraham did not have any part in making the promise or keeping the promise and
the same is true with you and me I had no part in making the promise or in keeping the promise and
that's why it's called a promise of grace more than we deserve greater than we imagine the law
requires my obedience and that's a problem because I could never keep my part of the deal no matter
how hard I tried I failed every time I sinned and I'm so thankful that God's grace found me
verse 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 in other
words is God confused here is God contradicting himself the answer is no the law works with
God's promises to fulfill God's will while the law and grace seem to oppose each other they are
both part of God's master plan while the law can be a guide for life it can never give life and so
the law is never enough if we could be made right through the law then Jesus Christ would not have
had to die on the cross but Jesus did die on the cross because the law could never set us free the
only thing that can pay for our sin is the blood of Jesus on the cross oh precious is the flow that
washes whitest snow no other fountain I know nothing but the blood of Jesus one of the biggest
tragedies of all is when church people actually worship the law and worship their religious stuff
which leads to the rejection of Jesus and that's exactly what the Pharisees did in Jesus's day
and church people still do it today because of their pride verse 22 but scripture has locked up
everything under the control of sin you see we're talking today about what it means to be free but
the enemy will tell you that you can be free and sin will set you free but the truth is that sin
will lock you up and put you in chains the purpose of the law is to show you that sin will destroy
you and to remind you to have guardrails in place to protect your life verse 22 but scripture has
locked up everything under the control of sin so that what was promised being given through faith
in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe true freedom is only found in Jesus Christ
verse 23 before the coming of this faith we were held in custody under the law locked up until the
faith that was to come would be revealed the law even though we try very very hard to keep it we
do our very best it's nothing but a prison cell it's like being on death row waiting for your
execution ever since Cain came with his self-righteous offering to God we've been trying to come to God
on our own terms living our lives however we choose justifying our lifestyle making our own
religious rules and refusing to humble ourselves before God and until we change and come to God
in humility we will remain to be locked up in bondage and will never be free verse 24 so the
law was our guardian until Christ came that we might be justified by faith here Paul is using
an illustration that all of his readers understood the child guardian most Roman and Greek families
had a guardian who would take their children to and from school who would tutor their children who
would protect them and even discipline their children but the guardian was not their parent
but would help raise them Paul was saying that the law was not your parent either but the law
could help bring you up it is their guardian verse 25 now that this faith has come we are no
longer under a guardian the job of the guardian was to prepare children for being an adult when
the child grew up and became an adult the guardian was no longer needed the same was true of the
law when faith has come the law is no longer needed verse 26 so in Christ Jesus you are all
children of God through faith and by the way we need to clear something up we are not all children
of God we become children of God by faith in Jesus Christ John 14 6 Jesus answered I am the way
the truth and the life no one comes to the Father except through me if you have faith in Jesus
Christ you are a child of God no matter your race no matter your sex no matter your social status
verse 27 for all of you who are baptized into Christ have clothed yourself with Christ Paul is
talking about spiritual baptism here where we become one with Christ through spiritual baptism
he's not talking about water baptism water baptism does not make you a Christian once you become a
Christian by grace through faith in Jesus then you should be baptized under the water as a sign of
obedience and a desire to follow Jesus we symbolically take off our dirty clothes and put on
our clean clothes as our faith in Jesus has cleansed us from our sin verse 28 there is neither
Jew nor Gentile neither slave nor free nor is there male and female for you are all one in
Christ Jesus Christianity gets a bad rap sometimes as being narrow and judgmental that might be the
church but it's not Jesus the law created all kinds of walls and Jesus came and tore those
walls down God has made us equal with each other we are one in Christ verse 29 if you belong to
Christ then you are Abraham's seed and heirs according to the promise God's promise of grace
can set you free so would you like to be free today humble yourselves come to Jesus and he will
set you free you will know the truth and the truth will set you free
