Taught 6/29/2008
Galatians 3:15-29
The Logical Argument
Pray
Intro
√ The logical argument
Last week we started a new section of Paul’s letter to the Galatian churches in which he puts forth a powerful apologia (defense) of Grace as the only means of salvation! Last week we looked at…
The Personal Experience Argument ~ 3:1-5
The Biblical Argument ~ 3:6-14
This morning we’ll look at his next defense…
The Logical Argument ~ 3:15-29
Which I like because it reinforces what we learned last week, that is, our faith can be defended on the basis of rational objective truth!
That certainly doesn’t mean that there aren’t divine mysteries that we won’t comprehend this side of eternity.
We all recognize that in our present condition we have limited intellectual and spiritual capacity!
But, what it does mean is that there are solid rational objective and divine reasons to believe in God and His Son Jesus Christ!
√ The Promise vs. the Law
Once again you’ll find in this section that Paul’s line of argument contrasts faith and law.
Specifically he points out that the promise of God for salvation is obtained by faith, not by works.
You’ll find the words “promise”, “faith” and “law” being repeated often in this section.
You might want to underline or highlight those words as it will help you see how Paul’s argument is laid out.
The main purpose of this section is to address the objections of the legalists who would challenge Paul’s defense by asking…
“If the Law is of no value, why then did God give it in the first place!?”
Paul answers that question by helping us to understand the relationship between the Promise given to Abraham…
…and the purpose for which God gave the Law to Moses.
Ap. What is the purpose of the Law?
Paul’s argument is important to understand so that you can defend your Biblical faith against the legalist of today.
For example, the legalist will often claim that they believe in salvation by grace alone…
…but will tell you that they keep the Law (or some set of rules and regulations) so that they might please the Lord.
Paul’s response is that they have missed the whole point of the Law!
The Law cannot change the Promise! (vs. 15-18)
Gal. 3:15 Brethren, I speak in the manner of men: Though it is only a man’s covenant, yet if it is confirmed, no one annuls or adds to it.
Gal. 3:16 Now to Abraham and his Seed were the promises made. He does not say, “And to seeds,” as of many, but as of one, “And to your Seed,” who is Christ.
Gal. 3:17 And this I say, that the law, which was four hundred and thirty years later, cannot annul the covenant that was confirmed before by God in Christ, that it should make the promise of no effect.
Gal. 3:18 For if the inheritance is of the law, it is no longer of promise; but God gave it to Abraham by promise.
√ The Law cannot change the Promise!
Paul begins his logical argument by reminding the Galatians, and us, how a covenant (contract) works!
“Brethren, I speak in the manner of men: Though it is only a man’s covenant, yet if it is confirmed, no one annuls or adds to it.”
Better translated from the NLT…
“Dear brothers and sisters, here’s an example from everyday life. Just as no one can set aside or amend an irrevocable agreement, so it is in this case.”
That is, a legal contract cannot be changed by anyone other than the original parties who entered into the agreement.
Paul’s point is that the Promise of justification by faith and salvation that God gave to Abraham predates the Law by hundreds of years!
Therefore, the Law given to Moses can’t change or altar God’s original promise made to Abraham and those who like Abraham place their trust in God!
So, the legalists who insisted that the promise of God was only available to those who kept the law were wrong!
The Promise stands on it’s own because it predates and supercedes the Law!
Furthermore, Paul reminds us that the covenant that God made with Abraham is unique because it has no conditions!
Therefore it is superior to the Law, which requires us to meet certain conditions!
Ex. God’s covenant with Abraham
Paul’s argument builds on this promise…
“And he believed in the LORD, and He accounted it to him for righteousness.” ~ Gen. 15:6
God promised by a covenant relationship with Abraham to…
Give him a son by Sarah
Give him innumerable amount of descendants
Give his descendants the Promised Land
Declare him righteous by faith
Here’s the cool part, none of the promises were conditional!
That is, these promises were unconditional!
Abraham didn’t have to do anything to bring them to pass, rather, God did it all!
In fact, read the account and you’ll find that Abraham was asleep when God confirmed the contract!
Very different from every other contract including the Law in which the promises of God are conditional…
…that is, you have keep your part of the agreement before God will bless you. If you don’t keep your part of the contract then God will curse you.
So, the Promise could not be undone by Abraham and therefore is still in force and supercedes the Law!
√ The Promise is to Christ
Paul makes another interesting point in that he tells us that God’s promise to Abraham included one of his descendants, vs. 16…
“Now to Abraham and his Seed were the promises made. He does not say, “And to seeds,” as of many, but as of one, “And to your Seed,” who is Christ.”
This time Paul looks back to Genesis 22 where we find God gives greater clarity to the promise He made to Abraham.
His point is that the promise God made to Abraham would find its fulfillment in one of his many descendants…
…whom Paul identifies as Christ, the Messiah!
So, the only people who can altar the covenant of Promise are God and His Son Jesus!
Paul’s point hers is that the legalist who were pushing the Law simply didn’t have the authority to change the promise God gave to Abraham because they weren’t a party to the agreement!
The Law is not greater than the Promise! (vs. 19-20)
Gal. 3:19 What purpose then does the law serve? It was added because of transgressions, till the Seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was appointed through angels by the hand of a mediator.
Gal. 3:20 Now a mediator does not mediate for one only, but God is one.
√ The Law is not greater than the Promise!
The Judaizers who pushed the Law did so in part because they were excited about how the Law was given!
You remember the movie!
Moses goes up to the top of the mountain, a cloud covers the peak, lightning blasts forth, thunder rolls across the camp…
…it was a terrifying and awesome display of God’s presence and power!
So, the legalist figured that if God made such a big deal about the Law then they shouldn’t disregard it.
But Paul counters that thought by pointing out the Promise of God is superior to the Law even though it wasn’t announced with all the fanfare of Mount Sinai!
The Law was only temporary
What a great point! Note…
“What purpose then does the law serve? It was added because of transgressions, till the Seed should come to whom the promise was made…” ~ vs. 19
That is, the Law was only a temporary fix until the permanent solution came!
The Law simply regulates our sinful behavior, but it’s powerless to change it!
The Promise however provides a permanent solution to our sinful behavior by first satisfying the penalty of the Law…
…and then transforming our sin nature into His holy nature!
Ex. Duct tape
Evan’s VW bug!
Duct tape was only a temporary fix…
…the real fix came with a replaced door, body work and new paint.
Once fixed I never heard Evan say…
“Oh I wish my car was still held together with duct tape!”
In the same way Paul is arguing that the Law only a temporary fix to a permanent problem…
…and was therefore inferior to the promise of the complete restoration of our lives through the work of Christ (the Seed).
The Law required a mediator
Paul’s next point to prove that the Promise is superior to the Law is to remind his readers that the Law required a mediator…
…a go-between, but the Promise did not!
Ex. Giving of the Law
Read the account in Exodus 19 & 20 and we find that Moses was the mediator between God and the people.
Moses would go up to the mountain and meet with God, then come back down and tell the people what God said.
The people would respond to Moses who then took their words back up the mountain and communicated them with God.
In fact, the people were so terrified by God’s power and presence that they insisted that Moses stand act as a mediator for them.
Ex. 20:19 Then they said to Moses, “You speak with us, and we will hear; but let not God speak with us, lest we die.”
So, under the Law there were two parties, God and Israel, and both were required to meet certain conditions.
The weakness of the Law is that it required both parties to keep their side of the contract to make it work!
Contrast that experience with the covenant of Promise that God made with Abraham…
There was no mediator!
God enacted the Promise of His own accord without Abraham!
As Paul writes in vs. 20…
“Now a mediator does not mediate for one only, but God is one.”
Or, as the NLT puts it…
“Now a mediator is needed if two people enter into an agreement, but God acted on his own when he made his promise to Abraham.”
The reason that the covenant of Promise is superior to the Law is that it doesn’t depend upon us to keep it!
The whole reason that God judged the nation of Israel as recorded in the Old Testament is that they continually failed to do their part!
So, the Law is not greater than the Promise because it was only temporary while the Promise is permanent…
…and the Law was weakened by the need for Man to keep his part of the contract while the Promise is superior because it depends only on God to bring it to pass!
Ap. Which deal do you want?
The contract that depends upon you and your performance…
…or the one that depends only on God?
The Law is not contrary to the Promise! (vs. 21-26)
Gal. 3:21 Is the law then against the promises of God? Certainly not! For if there had been a law given which could have given life, truly righteousness would have been by the law.
Gal. 3:22 But the Scripture has confined all under sin, that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe.
Gal. 3:23 But before faith came, we were kept under guard by the law, kept for the faith which would afterward be revealed.
Gal. 3:24 Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith.
Gal. 3:25 But after faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor.
Gal. 3:26 For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.
√ The Law is not contrary to the Promise!
Paul anticipates the objections of the legalist who would interpret his previous argument as a contradiction.
That Paul’s teaching that God dealt with Abraham one way through the Promise, and a different way with Israel through the Law…
…couldn’t be true because those ideas are contrary to one another!
So, Paul points out that they aren’t contrary to one another rather, the Law actually cooperates with the Promise!
How can we be sure of that?
By looking at the purpose of the Law!
√ The Purpose of the Law
First Paul corrects a common misunderstanding about the purpose of the Law…
…that is, it wasn’t given to bring us life!
The Jews in Paul’s day as well as many people in our own time wrongly think that by keeping the Law, or practicing the 10 Commandments we can earn a spot in heaven.
But that’s not why God gave the Law!
Rather, God gave the law to show us our need of a Savior! Note vs. 22…
“But the Scripture has confined all under sin, that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe.”
The word confined literally means…
“To shut together, to enclose, to shut up”
That is, the Law provides the evidence to prove that we are all sinners by defining what sin is!
The Law provides a standard by which our behavior, words, and attitudes can be judged.
In that sense we’re all then trapped (confined, enclosed, shut up) by the standard of the Law which reveals that we’re all sinners.
Paul makes the same point in his letter to the Romans…
Rom. 7:7 What shall we say then? Is the law sin? Certainly not! On the contrary, I would not have known sin except through the law. For I would not have known covetousness unless the law had said, “You shall not covet.”
Ex. New Tribes Mission work
The point is that until we recognize that we are sinners we won’t see our need for a Savior!
So the Law cooperates with the Promise in that it confronts us with our sinful condition.
That leads to the second purpose of the Law and that is to point us to the Person of the Promise, note vs. 24…
“Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith.”
The word “tutor” was rich with meaning to the original readers of Paul’s letter, but needs some explanation as the connotation of the word is different today.
Ex. Tutor
Today when we think of a tutor we think of a private teacher who helps to learn a subject we’re not doing well in.
In the 1st Century that was just a small part of what a tutor did!
A tutor was a well-educated slave, someone like Luke the author of the Gospel and Acts!
They were responsible for the well being of the children of their master.
They fed and clothed them.
Took them to and from school.
Taught them.
Protected them
Even disciplined them!
In short, the tutor prepared the kids in their care for life as an adult!
So when Paul says that the Law is our tutor he’s telling us that the Law cooperates with the Promise in that it brings us to Jesus!
Ex. The rich young ruler ~ Matt. 19:16-22
Read the account and you find a man who did his best to keep the whole Law.
But was still discontent.
So, he goes to Jesus and asks…
“Good Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?” ~ Matt. 19:16
That is, he was doing everything the Law demanded but had no assurance of eternal life.
The reason, the Law couldn’t give him life…
…but it did bring him to Jesus!
That is how the Law acts as tutor, it prepares us for salvation by revealing our sinful condition and then bringing us to the One who can take away our sin!
Ap. You don’t need the tutor anymore
Did you catch the wonderful proclamation of freedom in vs. 25…
Gal. 3:24 Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith.
Gal. 3:25 But after faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor.
Gal. 3:26 For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.
In Paul’s day when a young man reached maturity he moved from the status of a child to that of an adult.
He was no longer under the authority of the tutor.
He had full run of the house and the resources of his father.
He didn’t need the tutor any longer!
So it is in our spiritual experience! Once a person has come to faith in Christ they no longer need the Law, nor are they under its authority!
The Law can’t do what the Promise can! (vs. 27-29)
Gal. 3:27 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.
Gal. 3:28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
Gal. 3:29 And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.
√ The Law can’t do what the Promise can!
With the coming of Jesus Christ, God was signaling that the time of the Law was over.
It was time for the Jewish people to grow up and recognize that the Law was powerless to change a person or to grant them eternal life.
Time to acknowledge the Savior promised to Abraham as the only means of salvation.
Time as Paul writes to…
“put on Christ” ~ vs. 27
Literally to “put on” refers to a change of clothing.
Paul has in mind the Roman illustration of the tutor and child relationship.
When a child came of age he would change out his childhood garments…
…and put on the clothing of an adult, in that culture the toga of an adult citizen.
The spiritual implication of Paul’s illustration is that when a person puts their faith in Jesus they lay aside the childhood garments of the Law…
…and put on the clothing of an adult believer!
Paul’s point, the Law can’t make you spiritually mature, only the Promise in Christ can do that!
Ap. Counter intuitive!
We normally think the spiritually mature person is the one who is very “religious” in their activity.
The person who has all sorts of “disciplines” in their life and who is very careful to regulate their every move and thought.
But the reality is that the spiritually mature person is the one who has dispensed with all the formality and lives by the leading of the Holy Spirit.
√ The Law can’t bring us together
Vs. 28 is one of the most profound in all of Scripture…
“There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”
Paul gives us another benefit of the Promise that the Law can’t deliver…
…unity!
The Law called for a sharp division of just about every aspect of life.
A distinction between the priest and the people.
A distinction between the Jews and the Gentiles.
A distinction between male and female.
Clean and unclean.
But in Christ all the distinctions are done away with and every person is placed on an equal footing with God!
That was a radical and liberating concept to the Christians in Galatia!
Most of them were slaves.
So, they were looked down on by the Jews because they were Gentiles, and looked down on by the Romans because they weren’t free men!
But in Christ they now stood on an level playing field with all of humanity!
The point is that the Law separates, Christ brings unity.
So why give up the freedom they had in Christ to go back to the bondage of the Law!?
Ap. The Gospel of Christ brings freedom
Close
√ The logical argument
This section reminds us that the Law and the Promise are not contradictory…
…rather, they cooperate, the Law brining us to the Person of the Promise.