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Children Of GodThe church was excited to have their new young pastor preach for the first time. And they were not disappointed, the young man who just had graduated from Seminary brought forth a powerful message from 1 John. “Beloved, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.” Well the next week there was anticipation about what he would preach that week, when he opened his bible to 1 John 4:7, again he spoke on 1 John 4:7-8 “Beloved, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.” The third Sunday sure enough once again he announced turn to 1John 4:7, and preach about the same thing. Well the elders and deacons called an emergency meeting and decided to approach the new pastor about why he kept preaching the same sermon each Sunday. One of the elder asked him, didn't you learn any other sermons in seminary? To which the pastor announced sure he knew lots of sermons. “Then why do you keep preaching the some thing each week?” To which the young pastor explained, “I thought when you guys get this one, we'll move on to the next thing.” That's kind of how Paul the Apostle sounds in his letter to the Galatians. He keeps hammering away about the same thing,-- freedom in Christ. Not being bound by religious rules, regulations, and rituals. He keeps sounding that same topic because the churches in Galatia had been bewitched, led astray, to somehow believe that it was though the keeping of the law that they were made right by God. But as we have seen in our ongoing studies in Galatians. Gal 3:11 Clearly no one is justified before God by the law, because, "The righteous will live by faith." No one is made- right with God- by what they do, rather the just / the righteous/ live by faith. A statement of fact, by faith in Jesus Christ sinners are made right with God, so by faith in Jesus Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit we continue to live a life worthy of God. Today as we continue our studies of Galatians, we will see Paul's approach take another turn. This time its a doctoral approach, using legal arguments to convince these young believers of their freedom in Christ. READ GALATIANS 3:26-29 When you come to Christ you are brought into the family of God, and are no longer viewed by God as a foreigner. By faith they are heirs of the promise of God, and no longer slaves to the things of this world or the curse of the law. The curse of the law is - that those who live by the law must fulfill all the law or be are guilty of breaking all the law. The law of God/ (commandments of God) condemn, but for those who are in Christ Jesus there is no condemnation. That is what Jesus taught. TURN TO MATTHEW 5:17-21 HIGHLIGHT THE POINTS -21-48 Jesus tells us that the law still stands and has authority over all peoples, authority to condemn, and power to reveal sin. But Jesus adds to the law by saying “I tell you this.” In reality he reveals that he law is not “doable.” The law is beyond the reach of anyone who thinks they can keep to be made right with God. Jesus conclude his exhortation with the impossibly of the law. Matt 5:48 Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect. In our daily action who can be perfect? There's only one, Jesus Christ, who was tempted in every way like us, yet without sin. So the law has another purpose, it has not passed away, heaven is still hear, earth is still here, so not one punctuation mark is gone from the law. What is the law for? As we have seen over the past few weeks, the three fold purpose of the law. 1. To reveal sin. 2. To point us to our perfect savior. 3. To guide us into right living. READ GALATIANS 4:l-7 Paul argument is our first point today. That by God's grace we have God's riches. The acronym for GRACE says it best. G.R.A.C.E. God's Riches At Christ's Expense! But what are the riches of God?
Our text shows us what it means to be in Christ Jesus. To be adopted and an heir according to the promise. Paul uses a simple example of someone who has inherited a fortune. If a twelve year old inherits a bazillion dollars, he does not have control of it until he reaches a certain age. Until that time, he lives by the law of the trust. His money, his fortune, and his life are all subject to the terms of the will - and the supervision of those in charge of him. That young man or woman has no more rights then a slave, even though they own it all. So Paul builds on that and takes us back to before we had faith in Jesus Christ. He says, you were just like that, you were in slavery to the “principles of the world,” or as one translation says, the “Spiritual powers of this world.” 1. Slaves to sin, ruled by a fallen nature. 2. Slaves to the law, knowing what is right and good and unable to perform. 3. Slaves to religion. Trying to worship God in a system that tries to earn its way to God. Maybe you were a slave to sin ruled by addictions, to drugs, alcohol, relationships, possessions, or whatever. Maybe you were a slave to the law, trying to be good but unable to keep it all. Maybe you were a slave to religion, trying to perform but left empty. The Galatians were like that – then they became free in Christ, but now they started to go back under bondage to things. So Paul uses this example to reveal the truth to us. One time some men came to Jesus, with a question --- they appeared to be very sincere but their question revealed their background. John 6:28 Then they asked him, "What must we do to do the works God requires?" After following him all the way across the lake, they came to Jesus seeking a list of good deeds / a list of activities that would give them favor with God. What must we do? I think Jesus answer must have set them back. Instead of giving them the list, “Go to church / pay your tithes / keep the law / be a good girl...” John 6:29 Jesus answered, "The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent." It must have knocked their socks off. “Believe in me” -- “that's the work that God requires.” Faith alone. From that Jesus compares himself to the manna that God sent to Israel in the wilderness. He tells them: “I am the bread that came from heaven.” Then he concludes with these words. John 6:40 “For my Father's will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day." Look to Jesus, believe in Jesus, have faith in him, and you are a child of God. That's Paul's message to the Galatians that's the message for us today. No wonder the text in John 6 goes on to say, “At this many began to grumble about him.” Those men and women who were building their hope on their own religious activities grumbled about Jesus, “who does he think he is?” What is this stuff he is teaching?” “We get our salvation the old fashion way.... We earn it.” Like a child subject to the trustees of his parents estate, like a slave who is bond to serve her master, that is how those who try earn God's promise are. Unable to live that way, unable to get to God, and unable to be perfect.
The time may not have seemed right, but the time was perfect, Rome ruled the world, and Caesar Augustus issued a decree that would force Joseph and Mary to make a 60 mile trek to Bethlehem, the time had fully come. So God sent his son, the Messiah, the savior, the time was right, the son was born, the plan was in place. What was God's plan? Paul points out four things in the birth of Jesus Christ. 1. BORN OF A WOMAN Jesus was born to a woman, he did not just appear on the scene, and begin to bring us God's word, he was born in a natural way so we could relate to him. Born by natural means so we could see his humility and his humanity. Taking the form of an infant, God in the flesh having his diapers changed, unable to feed himself, entrusted to the care of a sinful person. Who could not relate to Jesus, born in humility, born to humanity. Phil 2:6-8 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself... 2. BORN UNDER THE LAW The one who gave the law, was born subject to the law. Jesus was born under the law so he could relate to us – because the whole world is subject to the laws and commands of God. Jesus like all humans was born subject the laws, subject to the law of physics and nature, subject to authorizes in the land, and subject to the commands of God. If he were not born under the law he could not complete the law. So the purpose of God’s perfect law is to point the way to the perfect savior. 3. TO REDEEM THOSE UNDER THE LAW The word redeem means “to purchase”, or more precisely, to “ransom and loose.” Like a child who owns the inheritance, but can not control it, like a person kidnapped and tied up. So all humanity has been tied up, and kidnapped by sin and are subject to law. So Jesus was born under the law to pay the ransom for those under the curse of the law. The law’s curse, is that it is perfect, and we can not keep it. The ten commandments although perfect - condemn us to eternity away from God. But God had a plan. Isa 11:5 Righteousness will be his belt and faithfulness the sash around his waist.Jesus came to redeem / to purchase men and women from the bondage of sin. He came to bring freedom to those who were held captive. To ransom his life for ours, to bring judgment, righteousness, redemption, and eternal life to all who trust in him. Jesus was born to bring us to God, to bear our sins, to make us right with God, to become sin for us. 1 Cor 1:30-31 It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God-that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. Therefore, as it is written: "Let him who boasts boast in the Lord." 4. TO GIVE FULL RIGHTS When we think about adoption, I suppose most of us think of getting a little baby and bringing them into our home as our child. What a wonderful thing adoption is, when you choose to be a parent, when the child is someone you choose to love. But the biblical understanding of adoption is different-- we are not accepted by God because we are adopted. We are accepted because we are born again. We have Jesus Christ as our righteousness, we are born of the Spirit, accepted by God. Because we are born again, we are adopted by God as children of God. But we are not adopted as a little infant rather as full grown adults. Its like if Bill Gates came to you and said, I have need of an heir for Microsoft. Will you let me adopt you, you will receive all that I have, the 25 homes, the billions of dollars, the entire company its all yours. That's closer to biblical adoption, Paul says that we might receive full rights, all the rights as God's children. When you give your life to Jesus you are as much a child of God as the Apostle Paul. As we have said, you are no longer a slave, but a child of God and so much so, you can call out “Abba.” Or literally PAPA. What intimacy, what a personal relationship God desires with his children. Adopted as sons and daughters, but not equal with Jesus – but are adopted because of Jesus God's only begotten son. John 1:12-13 Yet to all who received him , to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God. We have seen 1st Adopted by God. 2 Adoption is God's plan. Finally
If you are here today and have not committed your life to Jesus Christ, like the Galatians, like every person in this room used to be, you are a slave to the things of this world. Slaves to sin, slaves to mute idols, slaves to the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. And slaves to religious law. The Galatians were going backwards in there faith: As Paul writes, “Now that you have found God” really, that's our perspective, so he says, “now that God has found you!” “Why do you want to go back and become a slave to religion?” Why would anyone do that? Because human thinking rejects God's plan of adoption. Most people think, most religion says, “if you want to know God, you do religious things.” You ring a bell, you climb a hill, you bang a gong, you burn incense, you light a candle, you keep holy days, you have holy men to intercede for you, you must be married in a certain temple, you have to wear special garments, you knock on doors, you dress this way, you act like this. Religious rules, and traditions abound, because in the natural they have an appearance of holiness. But we know God looks on the inward parts. He looks to the man / the woman who by faith in Jesus Christ offer their lives as living sacrifices to God. The Galatians were adopted by God in just that way, then they began adopting some of the Old Testament system of religion. They started to observe special "days, and they were embraced circumcision as a requirement for salvation. Paul tells them religious traditions only lead to enslavement. So does this mean that it is wrong for Christians to set aside Christmas to remember the birth of Jesus Christ, or celebrate God's blessing on Thanksgiving, or to have baby dedications? No -- but if we observe special days or have traditions believing from them we gain spiritual merit -- if we believe that a ritual will save us, then that is sin. But if in the observance, we express our liberty in Christ and we are guided by the Holy Spirit in these things, then those observances can be a spiritual blessing. Rom 14:17 For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking , but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. God's kingdom is not about what we do but about what Christ has done, he ushered in freedom, to bring us righteousness, peace and Joy in the Holy Spirit. Paul was a Jew, and a leader among the Jews, as such he understood and kept all the traditions and laws that were required under the Jewish law. But when God revealed his Grace to Paul, he became blind physically, because he was blinded of to those things that enslaved him. But when an obedient servant of God laid hands on Paul the scales fell off his eyes. Here in our text V12 he says, I became like you. No longer living under religious traditions, but free in Christ. So Paul takes them back to their roots of faith. “Remember when you first came to Christ?” “Remember the joy you had?” “Remember how you acted?” “Remember the love you poured out to me?” “Remember the roots of faith and the joy that you had when you first came to Jesus?” Rev 2:4-5 ... The church in Ephesus, Jesus says ... “...I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love. Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first.” Go back to your roots of faith, go back to your first love. The point of all this long section of scripture is simply that, be in love with Jesus and you will do the things of the law, you will keep the commands out of love for him. How does the law work for the believer? Like a young man who is in love with a woman does not need rules to tell him to hold a door open for her. He doesn't need a law to tell him to buy her flowers. He doesn't need regulations to remind him to spend time with her. He doesn't need rules because he is motivated by love. He wants to spend time with her, he wants to do nice things for her, his desire is to do things that show her- his love. No motivation coming from rules or rituals will ever make anyone right with God, nor will they ever brings us to love the Lord with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. No rules will ever empower us to keep them. Because rules condemn, but love sets free. So Paul exerts his Pastor's heart. He says to them, “What happened to your joy? “Look at those guys who are tying to win you over from grace, they are only trying to win you to their own ways.” Zeal is good, but misguided zeal, is what rejects God's adoption. He closes by expressing the agony he has toward them. In closing, what do we do with this adoption thing? We recognize that like the Galatians we can get off tract. We understand just as God's timing and plan were perfect in sending Jesus, his timing and plans for his children is perfect. We may not appreciate it now but God brings things to our lives for our good, and he answers our prayers according to our need and his perfect timing. Finally we understand the importance of scripture. Not everything people do, not everything folks say is of God. Know you bible, read the word of God, and unlike the Galatians we will not be led astray into religious sounding things. PRAY, INVITE, BENEDICTION, SING. Series: Galatians -Through the Bible |
(C) High Sierra Fellowship 2008 |
