The Relationship of the Law to Believers

Transcript

GR 2096
9/24/2017
The Relationship of the Law to Believers
Galatians 3:26-29
Gil Rugh

An article that I came across here this week – it was a study by John Hopkins University School of Public Health and School of Medicine and it was published in a Journal of Technology and Society and it seriously challenges the myth perpetuated by the LGBT community and its advocates that people with diverse sexual orientation and transgender confusion are born that way and it mentions the doctors, Dr. Luque and a Dr. Mayor. Dr. Luque is considered within his field as arguably the most important figure in American psychiatry in the last 50 years. They edited this work and had other contributors.

What was interesting to me is not only the content but this statement: “Some of those involved in the study did not want their names mentioned for fear of retaliation from the LGBT community. According to Dr. Mayor some feared reprisals from their own universities for engaging such controversial topics regardless of the reports conduct, a sad statement about academic freedom.” And they go on with the article but while they want to know and what science says but it is not a matter of science. It is a matter of opposition to the truth that God has revealed. Our universities have become centers of that opposition as you are aware. That is just gently related to what we are in in Galatians but we will be talking about some of these matters as we move along.

We are in Galatians chapter 3. Remember the book of Galatians is about the Law and its relationship to believers. That is an ongoing problem in New Testament times. It is hard to find a letter that does not have to touch on that as we get to the epistles. The book of Romans has extensive material on the Law and the believers. It is an issue in Paul’s letter to the Corinthians. It comes up clearly in Colossians and Paul mentions it writing to Timothy. It is just an ongoing problem.

So in chapter 3 where we are going to be finishing up in our study together, Paul has been talking about the relationship of the Law to believers. The problem is there are people who have professed faith in Christ, Jews who are now trying to bring the requirements of the Law upon the Gentiles. The confusion is these Judaizers, as we call them, professed the basics of evangelical Christianity as we call it. They are not denying the person or work of Christ directly. But they are saying that is not enough. Salvation is not complete until you have been circumcised and committed yourself to keeping the Law. If you believe you have been saved, the necessity of how are you going to grow and be sanctified involves the Law.

So early as chapter 3 began Paul called them “foolish Galatians” who have come under the spell of this kind of teaching. Verse 2: “The only thing I want to find out from you, ‘Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the Law or by hearing with faith?’” If you got saved when I came and presented the Gospel to you and you believed the message of Christ, what makes you think now that you go under the Law from this point on? “Are you now being perfected by the flesh?”

In this section that we have been considering, chapter 3, Paul really breaks down history into three divisions, the history of God’s revelation, particularly to the nation Israel. The first was promise. The original covenant with Abraham was given by promise. In verse 6, “Abraham believed God. It was reckoned to him as righteousness.” Therefore it is those who are of faith who are the sons of Abraham. The Scripture foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith preached the Gospel beforehand to Abraham saying, “all the nations will be blessed in you.” So those who are of faith are blessed with Abraham, the believers. This is referred as to the time of promise.

Look at verse 16: “Now the promises were spoken to Abraham,” the promises contained in that Abrahamic Covenant and to his seed. Remember that play on ‘seed’ where it can be singular referring to an individual or it can be corporate encompassing all of the descendants of Abraham through Isaac and Jacob. Here he says, “The focus in particular passages as we looked at from Genesis was on ‘seed’ singular.” In other words the seed to Abraham’s posterity, the Jews, Abraham through Isaac through Jacob could only be fulfilled in the work of the ‘seed’ singular, Christ.

So all the provisions of the Abraham Covenant could only find their fulfillment through the finished work of Christ who was a descendant of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. So it was a matter of promise. That becomes key. So the first category that Paul dealt with was ‘promised.’ God gave a promise and all Abraham had to do was respond in faith to the promise. Then the second division he talked about was the Law; and the Mosaic Law or the covenant which was established by Moses following the Exodus from Egypt. And it was given to guide and direct the conduct of the nation Israel. Now they were a nation coming out of Egypt, perhaps two million in number. This was given to guide and control their conduct. It was never given as a way of salvation. It will be an add-on. It was to show them their sinful condition and what God required of them.

Chapter 3, verse 10: “For as many as are of the works of the Law are under a curse for it is written, ‘cursed is everyone is doesn’t abide by all things written in the book of the Law to perform them.’ Now no one is justified by the Law before God is evident for the righteous man shall live by faith.” And you can see the contrast between the promise given to Abraham and in verse 6 “Abraham believed God and it was reckoned to him as righteousness.”

So those who were in the line of Abraham and salvation as was given to Abraham righteousness, verse 7: “It was those who were of faith are the sons of Abraham,” the true descendants they had the righteousness that Abraham had. But now you have the contrast with the Law and no one could be justified, declared righteous by the Law. The Law is not of faith. It is a matter of conduct.

Now it was never for salvation. Salvation has always been by faith. That’s why he keeps taking us back to Abraham remember that the Law would be added. You come down to verse 19, “Why the Law then? It was added because of transgressions. Having been ordained through angels by the agency of a Mediator until the seed” (which according to verse 16 was Christ, the One who could bring about the fulfillment of all that is promised in the covenant to Abraham.) He is drawing a contrast. There was no mediator between God and Abraham. God spoke to Abraham promises. It is a promise covenant. We would normally call it an unconditional covenant. God simply gave Abraham promises. Abraham believed God and it was fulfilled.

With the Law God gave a whole package of instructions, 613 commandments and it was done through mediators from God to angels; from angels to Moses; from Moses to the nation. So in that sense it is a different character from the beginning. Furthermore anything in the Mosaic Covenant, the Law could not alter the covenant that had been given to Abraham. That was what he said in verse 15: “Brethren I speak in terms of human relations. Even though it is only a man’s covenant yet when it has been ratified no one sets it aside or adds conditions to it.” So when you get into that covenant, that contract and sign off on you can’t go back and change it.

“So the promises were spoken to Abraham,” verse 16. This was a matter of promise. Now 500 years later God gives the Mosaic Law, the Mosaic Covenant to Israel through Moses but that can’t change anything in the Abrahamic Covenant. It is an add-on for a period of time. That was the point. It kept Israel confined and imprisoned if you will. That may be a little strong but it governed their conduct. It served as the tutor as we had in verse 24 until Christ would come. So that is the second division we deal with. First the promise, second the Law.

Now thirdly he is talking about faith. Faith refers to the “coming of the seed” in verse 16. That One in whom all that God promised could be realized. Now we started out with the faith of Abraham but with the coming of Christ now there is faith with a fullness that was not clear before that this seed singular is a descendant of Abraham who is the Son of God as well as the Son of Man and He is the One in whom by His person and then His work can bring all to fruition that was promised in the covenant given to Abraham.

So verses 13 and 14 of chapter 3: “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law having become a curse for us. For it is written in the Law, ‘cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree’ in order that in Christ the blessings of Abraham might come to the Gentiles so that we would receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.” And remember that was included in the original Abrahamic Covenant. Important because if we forget it was included in the original provisions of the Abrahamic Covenant some people say the church has replaced Israel. As Christ comes and we have a new covenant but no, you can’t cancel out the prior covenant. And the Abrahamic Covenant included the Gentiles. That is the point he made in verse 8. “The Scripture foreseeing that God would justify, declare righteous the Gentiles by faith preached the Gospel beforehand saying ‘all the nations of the earth will be blessed in you.’” “So then those who are of faith are blessed with Abraham the believer.” That does not in any way cancel out any of the provisions for the physical descendants of Abraham. You can’t change the covenant and parts of the covenant.

It seems Paul’s argument here should be clearly understood by us. So faith was the foundation of the covenant of promise to Abraham. Faith has always been the foundation of a relationship with God; faith in the revelation that He gives of Himself. But we can talk about faith coming with the coming of Christ because here now we believe in all that God has provided. Abraham did not understand that it would be his descendants who would come and suffer and die, provide salvation that would bring in the Gentiles in huge numbers. The Jews thought the Gentiles could be saved by converting to Judaism.

So Abraham believed what God promised but he couldn’t grasp all the details. So the coming of Christ is the time now of faith. It began with Abraham, the faith, the Mosaic Law was added. Not because that was what you believed to be saved but to govern and control Israel’s conduct and prepare them for the coming of Christ and all the offerings and all the offerings and everything in that revealing their sin and their need for a sacrifice and a Savior. So indeed it was only the nation Israel that was looking for a coming Savior, Messiah and the Law had prepared them for that. The unbelief in Israel clouded that but none the less they, of all the nations, were the ones that were prepared. So that is what the Law did. It kept Israel under control and prepared for the coming of Christ.

Verse 25: “Now that faith has come we no longer under a tutor.” So that is true for Israel. It is true for the Gentiles. “You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.” That would be verse 9. “So then those who are faith are blessed with Abraham the believer.” So now he is ready to elaborate on this. “You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.”

The Jews were no longer under the custody of the Law. It was to guide, control and prepare them for the coming of the appointed seed, singular, Christ. Verse 16: “With the coming of Christ the Law had served its purpose for Israel.” It was never a salvation purpose. That is the point. It gave all the rules to govern their conduct, all the rules that showed what God required which showed how great their need was of the Savior that God would ultimately provide. “So the days of custody are over.”

In the contrast, remember, in this section verse 23 and 24 where being under the custody of the Law was like the child in New Testament times under the custody of what is called a tutor here; that person responsible for the oversight. He wasn’t the teacher of the child but he was to see that the child was conducting himself properly, would see he got to his lessons on time, the overall responsibility of care for the child. We see some of that.

We sometimes see a lady called a governess in a wealthy family and they would have the child cared for kind of thing, someone responsible for that child and his upbringing, of course, under the oversight of the parents.

So the contrast, verse 25: “Now that faith has come we are no longer under a tutor” because the Law was during a time of childhood. The fullness has not yet come. Maturity had not come but now Christ has come, verse 25: “Now that faith has come” and faith in the fullness of God’s revelation. Remember Christ brings a fullness of the revelation and clarity of God’s purpose and plan that had not been there before. “We are no longer under a tutor for you are all sons of God.” We arrived at the goal in that sense – to be adult children, adult sons, better than the word children, so no longer the tutor. It was like the child. He came to the level of maturity. Now that tutor, that overseer of his conduct no longer has responsibility. That task has been fulfilled. He has no authority anymore.

So “you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.” And you will note ‘all’ here. “You are all.” What the Jews here in Galatia, the Judaizers were saying is “You Gentiles have to come over under the Law with us Jews to be complete.” Paul says “Really, the issue is the opposite.” “You Jews have to realize the Law is no longer operative. You have to move over here and be like the Gentiles understanding that it is only faith in Christ that brings complete redemption.”

So that is true for Jew as well as Gentile and that is consistent with as the promise was originally given to Abraham. In some ways what do you say with the Law? You have the tutors like putting training wheels on the bike. It served its purpose, take them off. Maturity has come.

Here we are, “You are all sons of God.” How? Through faith in Christ. You are no longer underage children, under the authority of the appointed guardian. Now you have son-ship as adults. So this will come out in other passages in the New Testament. The Law was a time of the ABC’s. Now we are at adulthood. So we have moved on.

I want you to note here as well, “You are sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.” Salvation comes about through faith. I mentioned reformed theology. One of these times I am going to do an open forum on reformed theology to give it off my chest but reformed theology, covenant theology, Calvinism – we are talking all about the same thing has a lot of confused ideas that come more from theological reasoning than it does from exegetical study. This verse says “You are sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.” We understand how you are born again – through faith in Christ Jesus. It is not the view of reformed theology.

Let me read you from one of their writers. “It should especially be noted that even faith that Jesus is the Christ is the effect or result of regeneration. This, of course is the clear implication of John chapter 3, verse 3-8. John the apostle here takes pains to make this plain. Regeneration is the beginning of all saving grace in us and all saving grace and exercise on our part proceeds from the fountain of regeneration. We are not born again by faith.” That is his statement. We are not born again by faith or repentance or conversion. We repent and believe because we have been regenerated.

Basically what reformed theology teaches is since we are dead in our sins we can’t do anything. So God has to regenerate us first. We have no part in it. We are totally passive. He just intervenes in our life and regenerates us. To regenerate means He causes us to be born again. “Now that He made us to be born again we can believe in Jesus and be declared righteous.” It doesn’t come from Scripture. Now he takes you to John chapter 3 and John chapter 3 is Jesus discussion with Nicodemus where He says, “Unless you are born again you will never see the kingdom of God.” We would say that is true. You would have to be born again. And I would say in light of Galatians 3:26 that would happen when he believed in Christ. But that is not what the reformed people will have to say.

Let me clarify this for you; if you find it confusing welcome to the club. “The embrace of Christ in faith is the first evidence of the fact you have been regenerated.” How does he get here? Let me read you his explanation of John 3. “Unless you are born again you will never see the kingdom.” He quotes that. “It is important (he says) that you remember John 3:3, ‘Except a man be born from above he cannot see the kingdom of God.’ Surely seeing the kingdom of God is the act of faith.” Now wait a minute. You see what he is doing. The kingdom of God is not the kingdom promised and prophesied to Israel. The kingdom of God is salvation, it is saving faith. So you can’t have saving faith until you are born again.
Now where do you get the idea that the kingdom is your salvation and faith? But he takes it from John 3, “Unless you are born again you will never see the kingdom.” I say I think the kingdom is what Christ will establish on earth at His second coming. No, no, no, no, no, no. How can you be so whatever you are? He says “Seeing the kingdom of God is the act of faith.” And so that means unless you are born again you can never have faith. “Hence regeneration must be prior to faith. We can affirm then on these grounds that the order is regeneration, faith, justification.”

I mention this because this becomes a popular view. It is held by evangelical churches in the city and is part of reformed theology. That’s why I say it becomes a matter of coming up with a theological system and imposing it. First we ought to determine what is the kingdom? What would Nicodemus a teacher in Israel believe the kingdom was? What were the Jews looking for? What were they anticipating from the Messiah? He would come and set up a kingdom. Even in Acts 1 His disciples asked, “Will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?”

The covenant theology of John Murray, a covenant theologian said, “No, we are not talking about an earthly kingdom. We are talking about salvation.” So you have to be born again or you will never have salvation and you will never see salvation. So if it is seeing salvation is salvation is by faith you have to be born again so you can become a partaker of salvation which will follow.

I say, I read this stuff and I don’t think I am smart enough to be a covenant theologian. It’s a matter of some kind of scholarly development. That’s why I say, they say they follow historical, literal, theological interpretation but they determine in their theology and they impose it. I take a simple verse like this, “You were all sons of God.” How? “Through faith in Jesus Christ.” What does it mean to be born again, born from above? You’ve become God’s child, His son and that happens through faith in Christ. Alright, regeneration does not precede faith. It is when you believe in Christ that you are born again.

Okay, let’s move on. “For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.” I don’t think this can be water baptism here because he is just dealing with the Mosaic Law and the physical things involved in the Mosaic Law and that would involve circumcision. It is not that if something physical that brings about these spiritual realities. So when he talks about “You were all baptized into Christ, have clothed yourselves with Christ” I take it he is talking about what happens when you believe and what did he say in verse 2 of chapter 3? “This is the only thing I want to find out from you. Did you receive the Spirit by works of the Law or by hearing with faith?” So that work of the Spirit, with the baptism of the Spirit which identifies us with Christ in His death, burial and resurrection and results in the Spirit taking up residence in our life occurred when you believed. We were baptized into Christ.

Come over to I Corinthians chapter 12, I Corinthians chapter 12 and here he is talking about the work of the Spirit and placing us into the body of Christ. So then he says down in verse 13: “For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body.” So it’s not water baptism he is talking about. It’s that supernatural work of the Spirit that placed us into the spiritual body of Christ. “Whether Jews or Greeks, slaves or free, we were all made to drink of one Spirit.” So you see they go hand in hand and happened at the same time when the Spirit identifies us with Christ in His death, burial and resurrection, He is taking up residence in us. So we are made to partake of the Spirit and He is doing that work of identifying us with Christ.

This all happens when we place our faith in Christ. Most awesome event and then we want to constantly want to pull it down to something physical, circumcision, baptism, taking communion, doing sacraments. It happened spiritually. There is a place for being baptized but water baptism doesn’t do anything in the spirit realm. It is just a public declaration of something that has happened in the spirit realm.

Come back to Romans chapter 6, Romans chapter 6. He is talking about in the context in Romans and he is going to come into the Law in chapter 7 and he talks about the Law in chapter 5 as well. Verse 20 of chapter 5: “The Law came in so that the transgression would increase. Where sin increased grace abounded all the more that as sin reigned in death so grace would reign in righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ,” helping to clarify this whole issue again of the Law and the believer.

Then verse 6: “Are we free since we are not under the Law to do all we want.” Free from the Law, O happy condition, sin all you want for there is remission. Not so! May it never be! Meganoito, such a thought is inconceivable. “How shall we who died to sin still live in it? Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death?”

So there is a spiritual transaction here. Being baptized by the Spirit is being identified with Christ. He was taking my place when I placed my faith in Him, God views me as being identified with Him when He died, when He was buried and when He was resurrected. So His death is credited to my account. All of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death. “Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death so as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father so we too might walk in newness of life.” And we have been born again and being in Christ he is a new creature, a new creation. That means “old things have passed away new things have come” as 2 Corinthians 5 tells us. “If we have been in the likeness united with Him, (verse 5) in the likeness of His death certainly we will be in the likeness of His resurrection.” In other words no one dies with Christ so has their penalty paid but they are left in the grave. We are raised as new creatures.

Isn’t it amazing, the power of God in bringing about salvation and what transpires in that instant of time when you place your faith in Christ and the Spirit impacts your life with the truth and identifying you with Christ and taking up residence within you.

So you told in verse 6: “Knowing this our old self (literally our old man) was crucified with Him in order that our body of sin might be done away with so we would no longer be slaves to sin. For he who has died is freed from sin.” That is what set up free. He made us new so now the body is no longer to be lived under the control of sin. “For if we have died with Christ we believe we will live with Him. Knowing Christ has been raised form the dead, never to die again death is no longer His master.”

So verse 11: “Consider yourselves dead to sin, alive to God. Don’t let sin reign in your mortal body. Don’t go on presenting the members of your body as instruments of unrighteousness. Present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead. Your body and the parts to serve righteousness which is God’s will. Sin will not be master over you. You are not under the Law but under grace.” And under grace the salvation brought in Christ we are empowered now to live for Him.

Verse 18: “Having been free from sin you became slaves of righteousness.” So there is no such thing as you know freedom is often used. You are either a slave of sin and Satan or you are a slave of righteousness in God. There is no in between kind of situation. Jesus said, “If you are not with Me you are against Me.” You have either died with Christ and been raised to newness of life or you are still dead in your sins. You are either a slave to sin or now you are a slave to righteousness. That is the whole point and he goes on through the chapter.

Verse 22: “Now having been freed from sin and enslaved to God.” That’s why the question that started the chapter you will say, “Oh you are not under the Mosaic Law then you are free to do all you want and anything you want.” No. You are freed from sin and enslaved to God but that is true freedom because true freedom is the ability to function in the context of a relationship you were created to function in and that is in a relationship with the living God. So that is what he is talking about.

We’ve been back in Galatians, being identified with Christ in His death, burial and resurrection, the baptism of the Holy Spirit. That is what brings about your salvation. That is not something that happens as a subsequent experience. It happened on the Day of Pentecost. It happens in unique ways in the book of Acts because there is a transition going on.

We have been moved to a new realm. Old Testament saints were saved but they didn’t have the fullness and intimacy of a relationship that we are privileged to have, the indwelling Spirit all the time, awesome and amazing.

Come over to Colossians 2. Some people that think that baptism is necessary for salvation misunderstand some of the passages that talk about baptism. There is a place for water baptism but it is not to bring about salvation. Just like there was a place for circumcision in Israel but it wasn’t to bring about salvation. Colossians chapter 2. We have been in this chapter in our recent studies. Verse 9: “In Him (Christ) all the fullness of deity dwells in bodily form and in Him you have been made complete.” Verse 11: “In Him you were circumcised.” Note this. “With a circumcision made without hands.”

Remember this is a spiritual condition. Physical circumcision was to be a reflection of that but it required a circumcision of the heart for a person to be saved, the removal of sin and so in the same context when he says here, “You were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands and the removal of the body of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ having been buried with Him in baptism you were raised up.” He doesn’t now go and say well a physical rite like water baptism is – no he says the baptism of the Spirit and then identified us with Christ. “You were raised with Him through faith in the working of God who raised Him from the dead. When you were dead in your transgressions, the uncircumcision of your flesh He made you alive together with Him having forgiven all our transgressions. He cancelled out the certificate of death and decrees. The wage of sin is death.” It is cancelled, paid in full. No charge is to be brought. What an awesome truth that is.

So there he is dealing with the Colossians with some of the same problems he has to deal with the Galatians. Don’t now be lured back into submission to laws and regulations and rules like that.

Come back to Galatians. “So all of you who have been baptized with Christ have clothed yourself with Christ.” Same thing we have been reading about. We could have been that as we moved on into Colossians 3, Romans 6, what and now we use our body and all parts for righteousness. We say we are clothed with Christ. Now it is His character, the righteousness been provided by His death, the righteousness of God that is our clothing.

We have the fruit of the Spirit when we get to chapter 5 of Galatians. This is now what characterizes our life. The unbeliever is characterized by sin, a life of disobedience to God but when we come to believe in Christ now we are made new because now remember all sin starts within. “It is out of the heart: Jesus said in Mark 7 proceeds all kinds of sinful conduct.” Jeremiah 17 “The heart is deceitful and desperately wicked.” That is man’s problem. It is on the inside. Until that is taken – that is why the Old Testament talked about the circumcision of the heart. You have to get to the heart of the sin that is at the root. You can’t you know like Jesus condemned the Pharisees. You are whitewashed tombs but you are all defiled on the inside “Like a whitewashed tomb with dead men’s bones on the inside.” That is you. You make the outside look somewhat righteous but on the inside and where God is looking He sees nothing but sin. So that picture here. “All of you that were baptized into Christ have clothed yourself with Christ.”

Verse 28 in Galatians 3: “There is neither Jew nor Greek. There is neither slave nor free man. There is neither male nor female. You are all one in Christ.” Now we have to put this verse in context. Most commentators note how used this has been and continues to be. What have we been talking about, God’s salvation. He made clear. There is no difference in God’s work of salvation and sanctification for Jew or Gentile. It is the same way. So when he says in this verse there is neither “Jew nor Greek” what is he talking about? There is not a different way for the Jew or the Gentile. It is the same way and it is the same way Abraham was saved and now what Abraham could only anticipate we have experienced, the fullness of the coming of God’s revelation and we believe in Him. No difference.

So you can’t have a different way of salvation for the Jews and for the Gentiles. It is by faith! So the Law is out of the picture; the governor, the child overseer thank you for your work. It is done. Now we have sons of God. How did the Jew become a son of God? Well verse 26: “You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.” There is not a different way for the Jew. Not a different way for the Gentile. Alright, that is clear.

It doesn’t mean that the Jews now have been removed from the Abrahamic Covenant as a special people. We can’t change that covenant but for the Jews who are the physical descendants of Abraham, the only way they can become the beneficiaries of the Abrahamic Covenant is through faith in the ‘seed’ (singular) that was promised to Abraham. And the only way the Gentiles can enter into the blessings of salvation promised in the Abrahamic Covenant to the non-Jews is by faith in the promise of the seed found in the Abrahamic Covenant. Okay, no problem.

“There is neither slave nor free man.” Now all of a sudden some want to wipe out the distinction between Jews and Gentiles so we have changed the Abrahamic Covenant and I would say covenant theologians are honest now with the coming of Christ they say we go back and reinterpret the Old Testament. I puzzle over this in light of verse 15 and 16 when God is clear. There will be no changes in the covenant. You ought to understand that. It’s clear. “Neither slave nor free man.” This is not a verse that is telling now slavery ought to be done away with.

You know it is amazing the commentaries. I brought one with me that will go into here what the Bible is laying down is doing away with any slavery. I am not saying slavery is a good thing. There are a lot of not good things in the world but we have Christians come to this and see what God intention is, those kinds of things we finally recognize. Spiritually, the way of salvation is open and it is on the same terms as is it for the master of the slave which is what? Faith in the promised seed and when you believe on Jesus Christ, His person and work, you become a son of the living God. It doesn’t matter whether you are a master with a thousand slaves or at the lowest rung of slavery in terms of the salvation of the same, faith in Christ. “You are all sons of God through faith in Christ.”

It is not dealing with anything about whether slavery is right or wrong or ought to be done away with. All the Bible talks about is a master who is a believer had certain responsibilities to God who is his Master in the treatment of slaves. And slaves have a responsibility as those who are slaves of the living God to serve their earthly masters properly.

We read into all this Scripture here and it becomes – we have many people who had never experienced the power of God’s saving grace who reinterpret Scripture in light of the flow of the movement of the day and the next one is the worst as you might expect and commentaries and all agree on that.

“There is neither male nor female.” The whole evangelical feminist movement is based on a verse like this. Christ said there is neither male nor female. So any hierarchy or any order has been cancelled out. It is worse than silliness. It is too serious. And one of my commentaries I just pulled off the shelf, he acknowledges some of the misuse of this context but then he spends 10 pages talking about how we have to look at male and female relations now in light of this. I was going to read it to you but I won’t bother, not all 10 pages. I read it for you. It changes nothing. He clarifies salvation is the same for a woman as it is for a man. The same for a man as it is for a woman. How is it? You must believe, have faith in the seed that was promised, the One who could bring about all the provisions of the covenant God gave to Abraham which included the salvation of Gentiles. You must believe. Well I am a woman. You must believe in Jesus Christ. Well, I am a man. I can see a woman needs to get, you know…… No, you have to be saved.

You know the way the world goes as Frances Schaeffer used to say (he has been dead for some time but he would say), “See where the world is today. You know where the church will be in ten years.” We have cut that down now to about ten minutes. It seems the church is running as fast as it can to be like the world. All of a sudden now we reinterpret everything the Bible says about male and female. God created them from the beginning to be different. The coming of Christ changes nothing in that realm. It doesn’t mean that if a godly man ought to treat a woman in a godly way. A godly woman ought to function according to principles God sets down.

Come back to Genesis 1. I want to note something. This is an attack coming from within; those who claim to be evangelicals. Evangelical feminism is an oxymoron. It is like talking about an evangelical Hindu. Evangelical doesn’t mean much anymore.

Look at verse 26, Genesis 1:26: “Then God said, ‘Let us make man in our image according to our likeness. Let them rule.’” Come to verse 27: “God created man in His own image. In the image of God He created him. Male and female He created them.” You know we have to have gender neuter terms now. We have to have gender neuter Bibles but who started out the race mankind? God did. He said, “Let’s make man as male and female.” Man was the encompassing over term. It would refer to both the male and the female. “Let’s make man in our image.” He created man in His own image. “In the image of God He created him. Male and female He created them.”

I talked with a man involved with Bible translation. I said I have a problem with your gender neuter language. Well that’s the way we communicate today. In other words we adjust the Bible to where the unbelievers are. They are offended by talking about man, all the men, mankind. You’ve got to get that out of here. It’s people kind or human kind or guess when we change our Bible. Let us create humanity in our own image. Now wait a minute. I am not called to be God’s corrector and this comes then through the rest of Scripture. I realize sometimes He’s talking about both male and female like He is in Genesis 1:26 and 27 when He says, “I will create man.” That includes the male and the female and furthermore He is going to call the first male, man which was what Adam means. It is man and then you will have the woman made out of the man. So he gives the general overview.

Then in chapter 2 He makes clear the man as male is created first directly by God. Then the woman will be created out of the man. There is a difference from the creation. This drives the world crazy because we say equality. There is equality in salvation. There is equality in that both bear the image of God but there is a major distinction that is made in Scripture that is carried out in the New Testament and that is the man was created first and then the woman. The woman was created out of the man so the man as male is the direct glory of God. The woman is the glory of man. Oh boy, now we really got things on fire.

You know this begins to grate on people. So you read even big commentators and they have to go out of their way. We are not in any way putting down woman. We have to be so careful what we say about the women. You know it is just as serious. The women are just as serious as the men. We have just as many conflicts in the church because the women are out of line as we do with the men.

We have a whole uproar in our society about any authority and leadership. So look at the way they talk about the president. I don’t care who the president is. The Bible says we as believers what? We recognize that those in power have been put there by God. We show them respect. You know what He says? You dishonor God if you don’t show them respect because He put them there, Romans 13. It doesn’t matter, good president, bad president, your choice, somebody else’s choice. We understand but there is a whole breakdown, male, female. To say the man should be in authority and you will note here this is just not in the church. This is the order of creation.

You say, well, I am reading a seminary professor’s commentary written. He said, “I don’t have any trouble with women leading in the seminary because that is not the church. You understand there were no churches when Genesis 1 and 2 were written and the interpretation when we come to the New Testament is that is the order God expects to be followed. Things are said in passages like I Corinthians 11, the woman was made for the man, not the man for the woman. We move through the New Testament, the order. You know what happens, what you find in a church, it grates on you and they don’t want to necessarily come out and say, “Oh, I don’t agree with that.” They find something else they don’t like and that becomes…. There is an order established.

It doesn’t mean the woman is not important. She has a key role to play and the New Testament says the man is not complete without the woman. It doesn’t change the fact. The man is given the responsibility of leadership and oversight and when a woman doesn’t follow the leadership of her husband or the men God has put in place, she is in rebellion against God. When you and I don’t follow the leadership of those God has put in place, we are in rebellion against God. That is the order God has established.

You come to Galatians 2:28 and you say this changes everything because now male and female, man and woman, they are the same. No, the way of salvation is the same. It has always been by faith and now there is a clarity. He is just making clear that even in that society where men and women were and women were mistreated and viewed lower than men. The way of salvation is the same for everybody, same for Jews, same for Gentiles, same for slaves, same for free, same for male, same for female. Those who come in they try to twist and change the Scripture to fit the modern tide of the day are corrupting the Word of God and we are out of step. There is no doubt about it but we have to be where the Scripture is and don’t apologize for it. God has appointed the man to lead. We only have male leadership in the church here. We have male elders. We have our evangelical seminaries filled with woman.

The last time I was at an evangelical seminary where the professors I studied under came from there was as many women there that I looked at like as men. Now they have women professors. Well it’s not a church. It is the creation order God has established. I mean that’s it.

There was one queen in Israel’s history but she is not a model we want to follow. There has to be God’s order carried out.

Come back to Galatians. I haven’t forgotten where we are and there are many verses that we are going to leave out. But this is a verse you will see it again and again. It doesn’t change anything in the order God has established but the way of salvation, thank the Lord is the same. So whoever you talk to, wherever they are, whatever their position it is the same Gospel for them.

So verse 29: “If you belong to Christ then you are Abraham’s seed, heirs according to promise.” Now you see here in verse 16 we had the ‘seed’ used singular, just Christ but obviously we have expanded it now to more of a corporate group. Everyone who belongs to Christ is a descendant of Abraham. Well therefore the church has replaced Israel, no. To be a true descendant of Abraham, a physical descendant had to have the faith of Abraham and then in the Abrahamic Covenant all nations shall be blessed in you was an indication there would be provision for the Gentiles. So Gentiles could be saved, Jews can be saved but only those who belong to Christ are Abraham’s descendants because according to verse 16 that singular ‘seed’ is the focal point that all the promises to Abraham and his descendants in the corporate sense focus in that seed the singular but that doesn’t cancel out the distinctions to saying how Jews would be saved, how Gentiles would be saved.

So again, why would Gentiles go back under the Law? Why would Jews see themselves under the Law? That was just a temporary oversight provision until Christ would come. When you place your faith in Christ you are a descendant of Abraham. You are in line to receive the fulfillment of all those promises and nobody replaced anybody because you can’t change the covenant and the covenant had promises to the physical descendants of Abraham and to those who were not his physical descendants but since Abraham is the father of those who have faith because he is the first one about whom that clear statement is made, “Abraham believed God and God credited it to him as righteousness” and the promise given to him in that covenant – we are heirs according to promise.

So you see the Law has dropped out. Faith takes us back to the promise. You are heirs according to promise. Well what about if I am a Jew? What about if I am a Greek? What about if I am a slave? What about if I am a free man? What about if I am a man? What about if I am a woman? If you belong to Christ you are Abraham’s seed, heirs according to promise.

So a salvation that is broad, all encompassing, narrow in that it focuses in the one Person and the work of that Person of our Savior Jesus Christ.

We will move into chapter 4, “I say then, ‘as long as the heir is a child he doesn’t differ from a slave.’” Going to move on again to make clear so that this gets settled in the churches so that the work that God is doing in the world today doesn’t get corrupted.

Let’s pray together. Thank You Lord for Your Word. Lord thank You for its clarity. Thank You for the presence of the Spirit to enlighten our hearts and minds as we study it and Father we would be careful to handle Your Word accurately. We would be diligent in our study of the Word so that we might have Your approval by handling accurately Your Word, which is a Word of truth. How important it is in these days of the darkness that encompasses our world spiritually, of the opposition to truth to be faithful to You that the church would be the pillar and support of the truth not following the course of the world but following and serving You as the God who loves us, called us to Yourself and promised the eternal glory of Your presence. Bless the week ahead of us. Lord may we be strong in the light that we shine wherever we are we pray in Christ’s name, amen.