How Does Our Position Point To Justification By Faith? (Galatians 3:23-29)
GIST: Our natural position is captivity, but our redeemed position is one of transformation & acceptance.
This morning we’re continuing our journey through Galatians. Paul has laid the foundation of justification through faith in Jesus alone and has now been unpacking arguments for why we can believe this truth. We broke down the first two arguments under two broad categories: personal experience and faith heritage. After reminding the Galatian believers they had been saved through faith not obedience to the law, he pointed out the same was true of Abraham (the first Jew). In this, he really hammered home that the purpose of the law was to point to our need for saving faith in Jesus, the long prophesied Messiah.
Today, we’re going to look at how he builds on that case. I would call this the argument from position, and it is definitely something we’ll unpack even more as we dive into chapter 4 next week. For now, let’s read these final verses from chapter 3.
“23 Now before faith came, we were held captive under the law, imprisoned until the coming faith would be revealed. 24 So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith. 25 But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian, 26 for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. 27 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to promise.”
Here’s our gist for this morning: Our natural position is captivity, but our redeemed position is one of transformation & acceptance. I hope not to keep you long this morning, so let’s just start breaking down these beautiful truths. First, let’s take a moment to remember our starting point→
I. Our Natural Position Is Captivity (23-24)
“23 Now before faith came, we were held captive under the law, imprisoned until the coming faith would be revealed. 24 So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith.”
There are two major concepts to break down here: imprisonment & guardianship. By nature we are→
Imprisoned. This is one of the central teachings of Scripture, and it flies in the face of so much popular thinking. In fact, one of the most common arguments against Christianity is that it restricts our freedoms. The opposite is actually true. Sinful living isn’t free. Typically, freedom is defined as being able to do whatever we want. I would say that’s not the best definition though. See, we’re trapped by our own desires, not freed by following them.
Think about it this way. We all have standards of what we believe to be right and wrong. We have expectations, and we hold other people accountable for these. If they cross lines we think they shouldn’t, we’re quick to judge. This may be in the privacy of our own hearts, but it happens nonetheless. You can see this really clearly in how parents interact with their kids. There’s stuff parents won’t tolerate, and when that “stuff” happens, hammers come down swiftly! BUT, how many of those issues are behaviors we know they got from us?
How many of our standards do we live up to ourselves? You can’t stand hypocrisy, but do you ever find yourself putting on a false face to please the crowd? You would never want someone to lie to you, but do little white ones ever slip from your lips? Bigger? You hate sexual transgressions, but have you ever lusted? You abhor violence, but do you harbor resentment and bitterness in your heart? Guys, those are our standards, and we don’t meet them. What about God’s? By nature, we are not truly free. We’re slaves to sin, so the law was given as a→
Guardian. It was here guiding and pointing to our need. It put the problem on full display, but it couldn’t fix our nature. By nature, we push limits and rebel against expectations. I mean, think about it. How many of you see a speed limit sign and think, “I will never exceed that”? There might be a few...but I feel fairly confident that most of us think, “How much faster than that can I go without really getting into trouble?” Being told what we shouldn’t do doesn’t change our heart that longs to do what we want anyway.
That’s our natural position, but→
II. Our Redeemed Position Is One Of Transformation & Acceptance (25-29)
“25 But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian, 26 for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. 27 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to promise.”
There are several observations I want to make here. After laying out where we’re coming from, Paul points to the redemption Jesus brings through faith. Significantly, we’re told first that we go from being slaves in sin to→
Sons Through Faith. We need to get this. Though it is popular to say we’re all God’s children, that is not what the Bible teaches. We are all created by God. We are all loved by Him and presented His amazing grace, but we are not all His children. By nature, we’ve set ourselves up as enemies of God and slaves to our own sin, but His rescue changes that. By faith, we’re rescued and transformed. We’re adopted as children. This is the opposite of being a slave. We’re granted unhindered access. We’re recipients of unfailing love and provision.
I know I’ve given this example before. However, it has always stuck with me. I once heard Tim Keller ask in a sermon, “Who has the right to enter into the bedroom of the President of the United States in the middle of the night and ask for a drink of water?” His child. No one else. This transformation is huge! We who were once enemies are granted intimate access→
Because We’ve Been Baptized Into & Covered By Christ. This is speaking of our new identity. When we think of baptism, we think about plunging someone under water, but that is just an external sign of the internal, spiritual immersion. We’re children because we’ve been rescued and changed. Our old selves have been fully washed and replaced with new life. The idea behind “putting on Christ” is one of being clothed by something entirely different. We aren’t who we once were. We’re new.
Now We Can Experience Salvation Without Distinction. “28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” This doesn’t mean these distinctions don’t exist. Ethnicities, gender, and social standing didn’t just disappear with salvation. In fact, God specifically used and uses those distinctions to open very specific opportunities. However, those barriers were shattered. There were no longer distinctions between believers. Jews, Gentiles, men, women, slaves, free men, young, and old are all offered salvation from the same Jesus and enter into the same fellowship.
We are saved into this unity, and should live changed by this perspective. Who is more worthy of God’s love? Which group is more “saveable” or “valuable”? None. ALL who have been adopted by faith are united in Christ. Oh, how we should live like this!
Ok, last observation. We were imprisoned by nature, but →
Our Futures Now Have Hope. We were slaves. Now we’re free in Christ! Next week, we’ll talk more about this concept of being heirs, but for now I want us to see the connection he’s made. Do you want to have a saving faith like Abraham? Come to Jesus and experience the same promise he experienced!
I just want to close by asking two questions as→
TAKEAWAYS
1. Are you living in captivity, or are you living like a transformed child of the King?
2. Are you treating others with the kind of indiscriminate grace Jesus poured out for you?
Takk for at du delte denne artikkelen. Det vil være nyttig for alle. Vi utfører alle typer tannbehandling og besøket begynner med en grundig undersøkelse for å se hvilke tiltak som er nødvendige. Hvis du trenger mer informasjon for å ta kontakt med nettstedet vårt.TANNLEGEVAKT I OSLO
ReplyDelete