Human Law Shows the Promise to Abraham Stands and Is Fulfilled in Jesus (Galatians 3:15-18)

Prepared and preached by Pastor Steve Rhodes for and at Bethel Friends Church on Sunday, February 10, 2019

A Hands-Tied Experience

Imagine if I was preaching in a straight jacket right now…

I would illustrate our tendency to return over and over again to the constraints and strictures of the Law instead of enjoying the fact that we are “Free to Enjoy” the new life God gives us.

We limit ourselves by thinking we are saved by keeping the law. We limit our ability to rely on the Holy Spirit. We end up literally tying our hands because we are living on our own strength and not the strength of God.

Think more about grace… 

I know a family who adopted an older child from an unspeakably horrific orphanage in another country. When they brought her home one of the things they told her was that she was expected to clean her room every day. When she heard about that responsibility, she fixated on it and saw it as a way she would earn her family’s love. In other words, she isolated the responsibility and applied it to her existing frame of thinking that was shaped by life in the orphanage. Thus, every morning when her parents came in her room, it was immaculate and she would sit on the bed and would say, “My room is clean. Can I stay? Do you still love me?” Her words broke her new parents’ hearts.

Eventually, the girl learned to hear her parents’ words as their unconditionally beloved child who would never be forsaken, not as a visitor trying to earn her place in the family. After she knew that she was an inseparable part of the family story, even correction and discipline did not cause her to question her family’s love for her; she understood correction and discipline to be part of what it meant to be in the family.[1]

We are continuing our series on Galatians. Galatians continues to show that we are saved by grace and not by the law.

My theme today is:

Human Law Shows the Promise to Abraham Stands and Is Fulfilled in Jesus

Let’s read from the text:

Galatians 3:15-18:

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. ¹⁶ Now the promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. He does not say, “And to seeds,” as referring to many, but rather to one, “And to your seed,” that is, Christ. ¹⁷ What I am saying is this: the Law, which came four hundred and thirty years later, does not invalidate a covenant previously ratified by God, so as to nullify the promise. ¹⁸ For if the inheritance is based on law, it is no longer based on a promise; but God has granted it to Abraham by means of a promise.

1. The covenant doesn’t change.

We see this in verse 15.

Notice that Paul begins the verse with “brethren.”

He has not used a loving term of endearment since chapter 1:11.

One writes: We are struck by the fact that Paul addressed the Galatians here as “brothers,” a term of endearment he had not used since 1:11, although it would occur again seven other times in the letter (4:12, 28, 31; 5:11, 13; 6:1, 18). Although the Galatians were confused, foolish, and bewitched, and although Paul felt betrayed, perplexed, and forlorn about them, still they were adelphoi, “brothers.” This term of relationship is especially appropriate at the beginning of a passage that will seek to answer the questions: “What makes a family a family? Who are the true children of Abraham, the heirs of the promise, and thus entitled to call one another brothers and sisters?”^[2]

God set a covenant with Abraham and Paul is about to show that that covenant does not change.

2. The covenant was to Abraham’s seed, Christ.

1. In verse 16, Paul shares that this covenant was spoken to Abraham’s seed.
2. Paul shares that this was Abraham’s seed in the singular and that would be Christ. The verse says: Now the promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. He does not say, “And to seeds,” as referringto many, but rather to one, “And to your seed,” that is, Christ.
3. The ESV Study Bible shares: God spoke promises to Abraham on several occasions, but probably Gen. 13:15 and 17:8 are particularly in view. And to your offspring. Paul knows that the singular (Hb. zera‘) can be used as a collective singular that has a plural sense (he interprets it in a plural sense in Rom. 4:18). But it also can have a singular meaning, and here Paul, knowing that only in Christ would the promised blessings come to the Gentiles, sees that the most true and ultimate fulfillment of these OT promises comes to one “offspring,” namely, Christ.
4. God is faithful to the promise which is fulfilled in Christ.

• Now, the law came later, but does not change the promise.
  1. Verse 17 expands on this. What I am saying is this: the Law, which camefour hundred and thirty years later, does not invalidate a covenant previously ratified by God, so as to nullify the promise.
  1. There are a few explanations of how Paul got 430 years. The ESV Study Bible shares: Paul is apparently referring to the Septuagint translation of Ex. 12:40, “The dwelling of the children of Israel . . . in Egypt and in Canaan was 430 years,” which would mean 430 years from Abraham to the exodus (the Hb. text does not include “and in Canaan”). Another explanation is that Paul is not counting the time from the first statement of the promise to Abraham but from the last affirmation of that promise to Jacob before he went to Egypt in Gen. 46:3–4. This method would then count the entire time in Egypt as the time from the “promise” to the “law.” If this is so, then Paul is relying on the Hebrew text of Ex. 12:40 to affirm a 430-year stay in Egypt.
  1. Exodus 12:40 shares: Now the time that the sons of Israel lived in Egypt was four hundred and thirty years.
  1. The point is clear. Even though the law came later, it does not change the promise made to Abraham.
  1. Remember in context Paul has been talking about salvation by grace through faith.
  1. Look at verse 14: in order that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we would receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.
  1. Look at verse 6, quoting Genesis 15:6: Even so Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness.
  1. God is faithful to His promise that we are saved by grace through faith as it was with Abraham.
  1. In Luther’s commentary on this text he drew the individual believer into the sequence of salvation history Paul had outlined and encouraged those who felt condemned by the accusation of the law to reply: “ ‘Lady Law, you are not coming on time; you are coming too late. Look back 430 years; if these were rolled back, you could come. But you are coming too late and tardily; for you have been preceded for 430 years by the promise, to which I agree and in which I gently rest. Therefore you have nothing to do with me; I do not hear you. Now I am living after Abraham a believer; or rather, I am living after the revelation of Christ, who has abrogated and abolished you.’ Thus let Christ always be set forth to the heart as a kind of summary of all the arguments in support of faith and against the righteousness of the flesh, the law, works, and merits.”^89[3]

1. The covenant is based on a promise.
   18. Notice this in verse 18.
   18. Forif the inheritance is based on law, it is no longer based on a promise; but God has granted it to Abraham by means of a promise.
   18. Now Paul brings up an inheritance.
   18. Think about inheritance. The promise of a future inheritance is one of the many promises God makes to us in the Bible. But the concept itself is difficult for us to comprehend. One way to think about it would be to turn to some familiar names across the pond. When Princess Diana died in 1997, she left a sizeable inheritance for her two sons, William and Harry, in the amount of $20.4 million. With investments and interest, that amount grew during their teens and twenties to $31.4 million. But the provision was such that William and Harry were only able to inherit this considerable estate after their 30th birthdays. In June 2012, William turned 30 and inherited his portion. Harry will inherit his portion on his 30th birthday as well. The estate is theirs. It is has been promised to them. It is in theirnames, and it has been set aside for them. In the same way, as followers of Christ, we have an inheritance. Based on Jesus’ promise, it is ours. It’s in your name, and it’s set aside for you. At the right time, you too will receive your inheritance in full.[4]

Let’s apply this passage:

1. We are saved by Jesus plus nothing, We must worship Jesus and not the law.
2. We must recognize that God keeps His promises. His promise to Abraham was kept in Christ.
3. We must recognize that our inheritance is in Christ and not the law. If it is by the law Christ died for nothing (verse 18 and Gal. 2:21)
4. Our thinking must be on Christ and not the law.
5. Our view of salvation must be focused on Christ and not the law.
6. We must not neglect the importance of the law either but see it as a second step to the promise. Like what was written: In other words, for Paul the law was not merely a late addition in the history of salvation; rather it was a completely different kind of covenant than the one God had concluded with Abraham centuries before. G. E. Mendenhall has described the contrast that was at the heart of Paul’s distinction between the two covenants:^[5]

It is not often enough seen that no obligations are imposed upon Abraham. Circumcision is not originally an obligation, but a sign of the covenant, like the rainbow in Genesis 9. It serves to identify the recipient(s) of the covenant, as well as to give a concrete indication that a covenant exists. It is for the protection of the promise, perhaps, like the mark of Cain in Genesis 4. The covenant of Moses, on the other hand, is almost the exact opposite. It imposes specific obligations on the tribes or clans without binding Yahweh to specific obligations.^86[6]

7. We must trust in Jesus who keeps His promises.

Prayer

[1]David E. Prince, “How Biblical Application Really Works,” PreachingToday Skills Article (January 2018)

^[2]Timothy George, Galatians, vol. 30, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1994), 244–245.

⁸⁹LW26.302.

^[3]Timothy George, Galatians, vol. 30, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1994), 249–250.

²²Submitted by Jared E. Alcántara, Princeton, New Jersey; source: Frank Lovelace, “Prince William turns 30, inherits share of Diana estate,” Newsday (6-20-12)

^[5]Timothy George, Galatians, vol. 30, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1994), 249.

⁸⁶G. E. Mendenhall, “Covenant Forms in Israelite Tradition,” BA17 (1954): 62. See also the discussion in Bligh, Galatians, 274–81.

^[6]Timothy George, Galatians, vol. 30, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1994), 249.

The problem of the law, but the solution of Jesus

(Galatians 3:10-14)

Prepared and preached by Pastor Steve Rhodes for and at Bethel Friends Church in Poland, OH on Sunday, February 3, 2019

Bryan Loritts writes:

Recently I was sitting in a doctor’s office with one of my young sons, and the nurse wanted to draw blood from him for a test. As you can imagine, he did not want to have blood taken from him. Who does? So he told me, “Dad, I can’t do it. I just can’t do it.”

The nurse said, “Here’s the deal, buddy. We’ve got this numbing spray. We’ll spray the numbing spray on you, and then we’ll stick the needle in you, and you won’t even feel it.”

But my son kept saying, “I can’t do it. I can’t do it.”

Finally I said to the nurse, “Ma’am, I know what I’m about to ask you may be out of bounds, but can you stick me first? Can you do it without the numbing spray? I just need to show my son.”

She said, “Yes, I’ll do it. We’ll keep this between us.” 

So I put my son on my lap, and I said, “Watch Daddy.” I rolled up my sleeve and stuck my arm out. Then the nurse stuck me and drew blood. A smile came over my son’s face. Yes, he was still a little nervous, but when he saw that Daddy already went through what he was about to go through, with no numbing spray, he stuck his arm out. It gave him courage.

In the same way, when you find yourself in the midst of hard times, look to the place where they drew Jesus’ blood. Look to the cross, and there you will find rest for your souls.[1]

Today, we are continuing our series on Galatians and we are continuing with the emphasis on Jesus taking our place on the cross and we are saved by faith in Him. No one could keep the law.

The Old Testament law can be explained the following way. I had a professor in a class share: I am going to give you a test and none of you can pass it, but if you fail the test then you fail the course. That is how he explained the books of the Law. In fact, the Bible shares just that. The law just gives us knowledge of our sin (Romans 3:20; 7:7-9).  We cannot keep the law.

Romans 3:20 says:

because by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight; for through the Law comes the knowledge of sin.

My theme:

The problem of the law, but the solution of Jesus

Or, to say it another way:

The law curses but Jesus saves.

Let’s read Galatians 3:10-14:

 For as many as are of the works of the Law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who does not abide by all things written in the book of the law, to perform them.” ¹¹ Now that no one is justified by the Law before God is evident; for, “The righteous man shall live by faith.” ¹² However, the Law is not of faith; on the contrary, “He who practices them shall live by them.” ¹³ Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”— ¹⁴ in order that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we would receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.

The Moody Bible Commentary explains the logic of this passage:

The logic of vv. 10-14 runs this way:

1. The blessing of the Law is promised to those who obey it (v. 12, quoting Lv 18:5).
2. What Paul left unstated is that the blessing is never actually received. Instead, those who rely on works are not able to do ALL that is WRITTEN IN the law (cf. Rm 3:20; 4:15; 5:20; 6:14).
3. Thus, all who rely on law are CURSED (v. 10, quoting Dt 27:26).
4. The truth of statement 3 above is confirmed. Since Hab 2:4 says that blessing comes by faith (cf. Rm 1:16-17), it cannot come by obedience to law.
5. Through his crucifixion, Christ redeemed (exagorazo refers to buying someone or something out of a dangerous position; cf. 4:5) believers from the penalty of the Law (the curse; v. 13 quoting Dt 21:23).
6. Thus the blessing that was promised to Abraham—including the Holy Spirit (cf. 3:2)—comes to all those who have faith, even Gentiles (v. 14).[2]

1. Let’s talk about the curse of the law (verses 10-12)
   26. The verse is saying we are cursed for following the works of the law because we cannot keep them. There is a quote from Deut. 27:26.
   27. This is a larger section about being justified by faith.
   28. The point is clear, if we are living under the law we are cursed if we do not keep the whole law.
   29. Verse 11: the just shall live by faith (Hab 2:4) so no one is justified by the works of the law (this is evident) because no one can keep the whole law.
       1. David Jeremiah’s study Bible, (page 1626) shares: the law is like a chain that moors ships to a dock. Just as one broken link causes the entire chain to fail, so one transgression breaks the entire law. Since this is an all-or-nothing proposition, no amount of work can save us— only God can declare us just (James 2:10). Paul cites the words of Hab. 2:4 as proof of this truth.
       2. Gal. 2:16 shares: no one is justified by the works of the law.
   30. Verse 12: the law is not of faith, the man who does them, lives by them (Lev 18:5)
   31. David Jeremiah points out (Page 1626 of his study Bible) that Lev 18:5 reminds us we have to keep the whole law and no one could do that but Christ.
   32. If you practice the law you have to live by the law, rather than living by faith.
   33. Verses 10-12 are negative about living under the law.
   34. Verses 13-14 switch to Christ.
   35. One source points out: if someone really were to fulfill the entire corpus of Pentateuchal law, with its 242 positive commands and 365 prohibitions (according to one rabbinic reckoning), then indeed such a person could stand before God at the bar of judgment and demand admittance to heaven on the basis of his or her performance. Yet where on earth can such a flawless person be found?^[3]
   36. The same source shares: That no one can obey the law perfectly and so receive life on this basis (Lev 18:5) is demonstrated on a national scale by Israelites who, no less than the Canaanites, had polluted the holy land and had been expelled therefrom because of their sin. Thus both of these texts point to Israel’s historical plight and God’s eschatological solution as the context for Paul’s presentation of the work of Jesus Christ.^[4]
   37. Keeping the law is compared to the character of Sisyphus in Greek mythology, they are forever consigned to rolling a huge boulder up a mountain only to have it come crashing down upon their heads again and again.^[5]
2. Jesus’ solution, Jesus saves (verses 13-14)
   1. Verse 13: Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us (there is a quote from Deut 21:23)
   2. Again the idea switches to redemption in Christ.
   3. Verse 14: the blessing of Abraham has come upon the gentiles in Christ… through faith
   4. I like the David Jeremiah Study Bible point (on page 1627): “The Judaizers boasted of being sons of Abraham— direct descendants of the father of their faith and thus members of God’s chosen people. But now that Christ has come, all who put their faith in Jesus receive the promise of the Spirit and become spiritual sons and daughters of Abraham.”
   5. This verse begins with “In order that” and this is a purpose. Christ redeemed us (verse 13) with the purpose that, verse 14: the blessing of Abraham might come to the gentiles, so that, we would receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.
   6. Christ redeemed us and this means we have the promises of Abraham and this is great!!! This is awesome!!! We have the blessing of Abraham!!!
   7. I like what one writers shares: Paul was working here with the idea of an “exchange curse” by which the sin, guilt, and hell of lost men and women are placed upon Christ while his righteousness, blessing, and merit are imputed to those in whose place he stands. Luther spoke of this atoning transaction as “a happy exchange.” ^[6]
   8. One writes: Yet Christ emerged victorious over sin, death, and the eternal curse. This he did “for us.” For this reason the doctrine of atonement can never be merely a matter of cool theologizing or dispassionate discourse. For us the Son of God became a curse. For us he shed his precious blood. For us he who from all eternity knew only the intimacy of the Father’s bosom came “to stand in that relation with God which normally is the result of sin, estranged from God and the object of his wrath.”All this—for us! What response can we offer except that of wonder, devotion, and trust!^[7]
   9. In verse 14 Paul summarizes his train of thought in chapter 3 up to this point. There are 2 conclusions: 1) the blessing of Abraham is available to all the gentiles in Christ and 2) that the promise of the Holy Spirit might be bestowed by faith.

• Applications
  1. This is an encouraging passage about our righteous status before God.
  2. Oftentimes we are drained thinking we cannot meet someone’s expectations. In this case we could not keep the law and so God took care of us.
  3. Isn’t that awesome, God took care of us. Does that encourage you?
  4. Are you encouraged that though God’s standard is too high for you to reach, he took care of you?
  5. Jesus’ death paid the penalty for our sins. Here, let me tell you a story. A teenage boy took his new car out for a spin. As he was driving along the highway, he saw flashing lights behind him and quickly pulled over. The cop told him that he had been going 40 miles over the speed limit and he had to take him to court. The boy trudged into the courtroom and saw his father sitting in the judge’s seat. Now the father has a problem. His son is obviously guilty, but he loves his son and doesn’t want to hurt him. The father gives his son a $100 dollar fine for speeding; he has to be just so he can’t do anything else. Then, the father hits the gavel and ends the case. The son is of course very upset, but can you even imagine how the father felt? Then, the father steps down from the bench, takes off his robes, and pays the fine for his son. Just as the father had to sentence his son, God must sentence us. But even as the father paid the fine so also Jesus paid the penalty for our sins by dying on the cross (Romans 4:25). Even though the father paid the fine, the son is still guilty of speeding. Though, Jesus paid the price for our sins, are we still guilty?
  6. No because Jesus did not only forgive us but gave us His righteousness. Isn’t that amazing? Jesus did more than forgive us. I have another illustration:
  7. A father and daughter open a joint checking account and as soon as possible the daughter started to spend the money. After the money in the account ran out, she kept writing checks. Of course, these checks bounced, and the bank placed heavy fines on her. Finally, she had a major negative balance and realized that she owed more money than she could pay for. Her father found out and paid back all the money. The bank had put a hold on the account because of the negative balance so the daughter was left without an account to draw from. Then, the father transferred the account into his name only and opened up a new account for her with $1000 in it. Like that story, Jesus transferred our sin to His account and then transferred His innocence to our account (2 Cor. 5:21). Now when God looks at us, He sees us as innocent and worthy of heaven.
  8. Jesus forgives us and gives us right standing before God.
  9. We have the blessing of Abraham, we have righteousness before God, we have the Holy Spirit too.
  10. Isaiah 44:3 shares: ‘For I will pour out water on the thirsty land
      And streams on the dry ground;
      I will pour out My Spirit on your offspring
      And My blessing on your descendants…
  11. Don’t forget the HOLY SPIRIT.
  12. We receive the promise of the Holy Spirit.
  13. In Galatians 5 and 6 Paul will expand on what it means to have the Holy Spirit.
  14. We do only receive this promise through faith, we must have faith in Jesus.
  15. There was a famous acrobat and wire walker whose greatest trick was to walk a wire over Niagara Falls pushing a wheelbarrow with 200 pounds of flour in it. He walked to one end and walked back, and the crowd cheered SO loudly for him.  He asked the crowd to raise their hand if they thought that he could push an actual man in the wheelbarrow over the falls, and everyone there raised their hand. Then he asked the crowd to raise their hand if they were willing to get in the wheelbarrow, and no one raised their hand. That is faith.[8]

Close:

Scot McKnight shares:

I often compare the role of the law in history to the role typewriters have played in the development of word processing. The technology and idea of a typewriter was eventually developed into an electronic, faster, and far more complex computer that does word processing. But when typing on a computer, we realize that we are still using the old manual typewriter’s technology. Further, we realize that the computer far transcends the typewriter. Everything that a typewriter wanted to be when it was a little boy (and more!) is now found in the computer. This compares to the law. Everything the law wanted to be when it was young (as revealed to Moses) is found now in Christ and in the life of the Spirit. Thus, when a Christian lives in the Spirit and under Christ, that Christian is not living contrary to the law, but is living in transcendence of the law. It is for this very reason that life lived primarily under the law is wrong.

When the computer age arrived, we put away our manual typewriters because they belonged to the former era. Paul’s critique of the Judaizers is that they are typing on manual typewriters after computers are on the desk! He calls them to put the manual typewriters away. But in putting them away, we do not destroy them. We fulfill them by typing on the computers. Every maneuver on a computer is the final hope of the manual typewriter. “Now that faith/Christ has come, we are no longer under the supervision of the law” but not because the law is contrary to the promises; rather, it is because the law is fulfilled in Christ and the Spirit in a manner similar to the way a typewriter is fulfilled in the technology of a computer. And I am profoundly thankful for both![9]

[1]Bryan Loritts, from the sermon “The Great Exchange,” preached at Fellowship Memphis, in Memphis, Tennessee

[2]The Moody Bible Commentary (Kindle Locations 75784-75791). Moody Publishers. Kindle Edition.

^[3]Timothy George, Galatians, vol. 30, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1994), 235.

^[4]Timothy George, Galatians, vol. 30, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1994).

^[5]Timothy George, Galatians, vol. 30, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1994), 237.

^[6]Timothy George, Galatians, vol. 30, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1994), 242.

^[7]Timothy George, Galatians, vol. 30, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1994), 242.

[8]https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-daredevil-of-niagara-falls-110492884/

[9]Scot McKnight, The NIV Application Commentary: Galatians (Zondervan 1995), p. 184

The Gospel in the Old Testament, Abraham (Galatians 3:6-9)

Prepared and preached by Pastor Steve Rhodes for and at Bethel Friends Church in Poland, OH on Sunday, January 27, 2019

Slavery… think with me about slavery:

Frederick Douglass grew up as a slave in Maryland in the early nineteenth century and experienced slavery’s every brutality. He was taken from his mother when he was only an infant. For years as a child, all he had to eat was runny corn meal dumped in a trough that kids fought to scoop out with oyster shells. He worked in the hot fields from before sunup until after sundown. He was whipped many times with a cowhide whip until blood ran down his back, kicked and beaten by his master until he almost died, and attacked with a spike by a gang of whites.

But even so, when Frederick considered trying to escape to freedom, he struggled with the decision. He writes in Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave that he had two great fears.

The first was leaving behind his friends:

I had a number of warm-hearted friends in Baltimore, friends that I loved almost as I did my life and the thought of being separated from them forever was painful beyond expression. It is my opinion that thousands would escape from slavery, who now remain, but for the strong cords of affection that bind them to their friends.

His second fear was this: “If I failed in this attempt, my case would be a hopeless one it would seal my fate as a slave forever.”

Today, people who find themselves in slavery to sin, and who think about escaping to freedom in Christ, may have similar fears. They may fear leaving behind friends. They may fear they’ll fail in their attempt to break from sin and live free for God.

They should take heart from Douglass’s experience. On September 3, 1838, he remembers:

I left my chains, and succeeded in reaching New York without the slightest interruption of any kind I have been frequently asked how I felt when I found myself in a free State It was a moment of the highest excitement I ever experienced I felt like one who had escaped a den of hungry lions.[1]

So, I wonder, are you a slave? Thank God we can be set free, but not through the law, only by Jesus’ blood.

Today, my theme is:

Abraham was justified by faith and so are we.

Let’s read Galatians 3:6-9:

⁶ Even so Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness.⁷ Therefore, be sure that it is those who are of faith who are sons of Abraham.⁸ 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.”⁹ So then those who are of faith are blessed with Abraham, the believer.

Last week we began a new section of Galatians. Paul started writing about how they, and we, are made right with God through faith. In these next four verses Paul uses Abraham as an example.

1. Abraham was made right with God by believing.
2. This is verse 6, quoting Genesis 15:6.
3. Paul writes about this using the exact same term in Romans 4:3.
4. In Romans 4, Paul writes about justification. Here, Paul is writing about justification.
5. To be justified means that God declares us righteous. In this case Abraham was justified before God and so he was declared righteous.
6. Let’s talk about justification for a minute:
7. So, what is justification? Is it “just-as-if-I-never-sinned”?
8. Not really. Unfortunately, I have used that but there is so much more to justification then that.
9. Justification is a legal term.
10. Justification has two parts:
11. Forgiveness of sins
12. Imputed Christ’s righteousness
13. Without forgiveness of sins we are guilty, so this removes the guilt.
14. Imputing Christ’s righteousness takes the wrath of God away from us and makes it so that we can stand before God. Imputing Christ’s righteousness restores our relationship with God.
15. Suppose we Stand before the JUDGE— He examines the defendant against the evidence (using omniscience). The judge is God and He is examining us.
16. He pronounces judgment. Later will follow the pronouncing of sentence.
17. HIS JUDGMENT = NOT GUILTY by reason of the Atonement of Christ.
18. Rom 4.5 “Justifies the ungodly”
19. The definition of justification is To Declare Righteous
20. NOT, To Make Righteous as that would be (Sanctification, and finally glorification)
21. Therefore, your right standing is a declaration of the judge, not the result of your actually being good.
22. Forgiveness of Sins

Romans 4:8

“Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will never count against him.”

1. Justification implies a freedom from guilt.
2. Not that we are not guilty, but that we have been freed from its condemnation. Rom 8:1 is about this.
3. The Implication is God receives us as he would his own son (Heb 4.16).
4. So, that is justification
5. Isn’t that awesome! We are not just forgiven!
6. We are declared righteous. We are declared right with God.
7. This is all about grace:

Hounded by the Pharisees, betrayed by a friend, forsaken by His disciples, brutalized by police, beaten by His inquisitors, led in disgrace to a rigged trial.

Arrogant men sitting in judgment over Him, crowning Him with thorns, mocking and disdaining. Beating Him without mercy, nailing Him to the cross, the worst of tortures, stretched out between thieves.

Miserably thirsty, utterly forsaken by His Father for the first time, the picture of complete aloneness.

Hell on earth! Not just one man’s hell, but the hell of billions. At any moment—in a millisecond—He could have called legions of angels to deliver Him and destroy His enemies. Instead, He bears forever the scars of sin, rebellion, mockery, and hatred… the scars of God’s grace.

The cost of redemption cannot be overstated. The wonders of grace cannot be overemphasized. Christ took the hell He didn’t deserve so we could have the heaven we don’t deserve.

If you’re not stunned by the thought of grace, then you aren’t grasping what grace offers you, or what it cost Jesus.[2]

1. In verse 7, Paul says that we can be assured those who are of faith are sons of Abraham. This is how we are all sons of Abraham, we are grafted in.

3. Abraham was told all of the nations would be blessed through him, quoting Genesis 12:3.
4. 8. This is verse 8.
5. 8. In verse 9, Paul wraps this up saying that we are blessed with Abraham who was the believer.
6. 8. Once again, we cannot be saved by works.

WHITE OUTS by Pastor Rick Sams

  White outs come in the form of blizzards where you cannot see a thing. No wants to think about these after the brutal winter we’ve had.

  Then there’s the kind we used before computers. Wite-Out dates to 1966 when an insurance-company clerk named George Kloosterhouse and a guy who waterproofed basements developed a correction fluid for typing mistakes. It was originally called “Wite-Out WO-1 Erasing Liquid.”*

  Have you ever sent a text message that you regretted? Now you can electronically “white it out” by using Apple’s app called “Wiper Messenger.”**

  Don’t you wish we had a “white out” for all your words and actions?

  We try to use white out when we say we’ve “stretched the truth,” but we’ve flat out lied.

  We call it “spin” when it’s actually false reporting.

  “Re-inventing” products is really the same old stuff in a bigger package and bigger price.

  “Revisionist history” is just bad research and recall.

  “Pardon my French” is a cover up for swearing. I’ve heard French and what follows this phrase is not French.

  “Bless their heart,” is often used right after we’ve smeared  someone, as if this makes it right.

  “Communication breakdown” is often a cover for laziness or somebody not doing their job.

  “Mistakes” are too often sins.

  “Affairs” are adultery.

  “Issues” are really problems–usually big and bad.

  But the Bible says there really are do-overs and white outs: “Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be white as snow” (Isaiah 1:18b).

  Jesus’ death on Good Friday didn’t just white out our sin. He took our pain and penalty on Himself, which was separation from God.

  But you must RECEIVE this gift for it to “work.” You must receive HIM: “To those who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God…whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” (John 1:12; 11:25).

  What a Savior. What a white out.

* “Forgiveness Is God’s Gift to ‘Wite-Out’ Mistakes,” John Ortberg, PreachingToday.com 8/5/14 **“Delete Your Conversations from Other People’s Phones,” Kim Komando blog (9-9-14)

God created us to be with him. (Genesis 1-2)

Our sin separated us from God. (Genesis 3)

Sins cannot be removed by good deeds (Gen 4-Mal 4)

Paying the price for sin, Jesus died and rose again. (Matthew – Luke)

Everyone who trusts in Him alone has eternal life. (John – Jude)

Life that’s eternal means we will be with Jesus forever. (Revelation 22:5)

Pray

[1] Kevin Miller, vice president, Christianity Today International, Wheaton, Illinois

[2] https://www.epm.org/blog/2013/Dec/11/cost-grace

A small town police chief spoke at a public forum about preventing hate violence. Hours later, he discovered that his son is a suspect in a hate crime.

The area had been rocked by a recent spate of attacks on Sikhs, including the beating of a 71-year-old man named Singh Natt by two teen assailants in nearby Manteca. Union City Police Chief Darryl McAllister had been speaking to members of the local Sikh community, trying to engage them in strategies in violence avoidance.

The next day, chief McAllister left the following words as part of a note on the department’s official Facebook page: “It is not that often that I find myself sharing with the general public issues that pertain to my personal family life. I feel it is a MUST that this be one of those rare occasions.”

After recapping the details of the attack, he continued: “I am completely disgusted in sharing with you that, later yesterday evening, I received a call from the Manteca PD that the suspect in this horrific crime turns out to (be) my 18-year-old son.”

Tyrone McAllister, who was reportedly estranged from his police chief father, was taken into custody and charged with attempted robbery, elder abuse, and assault with a deadly weapon, in connection with the attack. Manteca police were able to locate him after his father provided relevant information.

In the statement, Chief McAllister also wrote that he and his family were “shaken to the core.”[1]

Sometimes we are shocked to the core about something. Sometimes we expect better of certain people, or groups and we are greatly disappointed when someone we respect, and love does something contrary to our expectations.

I think that is going on in this passage. Paul reveals his emotions. I believe he is disappointed in them. Let’s look at the passage.

My theme is:

We are saved by faith in the Gospel, we grow in our faith by the Holy Spirit’s work.

Let’s read Galatians 3:1-5:

You foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified? ² This is 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?³ Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh? ⁴ Did you suffer so many things in vain—if indeed it was in vain? ⁵ So then, does He who provides you with the Spirit and works miracles among you, do it by the works of the Law, or by hearing with faith?

1. Let’s put this passage in context.
2. 1. This is a new section in Galatians and a major section:
3. 1. For the broader section: The main points are that Paul talks about how Abraham had received righteousness, which means, right standing with God, not from the law because this was way before the law. Abraham had this righteousness by faith alone.
4. 1. Paul develops this by going back to Gen 15 and then adding on how God had said that Abraham’s seed (Christ) would bless the nations.
5. 1. Paul then goes into his next evidence which is that Jesus has become a curse for us.
6. 1. Paul talks about how the law requires obedience and we are cursed for not being absolutely obedient.
7. 1. Paul then talks of how Christ was the curse for us. Paul then moves into how we are free and not as slaves. We were slaves at one time when we were young and immature. However, with Christ came adoption and therefore, we are not slaves. Paul then moves to the allegorical story of Hagar. This was his close which showed that we are descendants of the free woman. This was Paul’s appeal to our lineage. This takes us through Galatians chapter 4.
8. 1. Each of these main points is significant as Paul had built in transitions from one to the other. He transitioned smoothly from Abraham to the law, to the curse to the fact that Christ is the curse. Paul went back to the law again and then back to Christ. Then Paul moved into slave versus free which transitioned to adoption and then lineage. They flow nicely. Paul assumes the reader had understanding of the Old Testament.
9. Let’s look at these verses.
10. 1. Paul says that they have been foolish.
11. 1. Paul says they have been bewitched.
12. 1. John MacArthur points out when Paul talks about them being “bewitched” it has the idea of “Charmed or misled by flattery and false promises. The term suggests an appeal to the emotions by the Judaizers.”[2]
13. 1. One source shares: this Greek word means: To bewitch as with the eye, to cast an evil eye. A Greek commentator on the work of the poet Theocritus observes that the noun báskanos means one who with his eyes kills or destroys. Superstitious people believed that great harm might result from the “evil eye” or from being looked upon with envious and malicious stares. In the NT, it means to utter foolish babble, i.e., to mislead by pretenses as if by magic arts, to bewitch (Gal. 3:1).^[3]
14. 1. When Paul calls them “foolish” he is not insulting their intelligence. They were not lacking IQ, but in spiritual discernment.
15. 1. Paul says that “Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified…” About this Ben Witherington writes: Scholars have long puzzled over the meaning of Gal 3.1b, which reads literally “before whose eyes Jesus Christ having been crucified was put on public display.” Did Paul put on some sort of early version of a passion play? These questions however tend to reflect how little some scholars know about Paul’s use of rhetoric, and in this case the rhetorical device known as ekphrasis… it is the use of vivid language that conjures up stark visual images in the listener’s mind. So, we need not imagine Paul putting on a passion play to impress the Galatians, we need only imagine that he gave a very vivid, with lots of visual imagery, description of the crucifixion of Jesus.[4]
16. 1. The rest of these verses are about how they were saved and how they grew in their faith.
17. 1. Paul uses rhetorical questions and uses 5 of them in these 5 verses..
18. 1. In verse 2, Paul says he only wants to know one thing, “did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith?” This is summing up the next few verses.
19. 1. The obvious answer is “hearing with faith.” They received the Spirit, they were saved by hearing the Gospel and accepting the Gospel.
20. 1. Paul continues with questions in verses 3 and 4 and sums it up in verse 5.
21. 1. In verse 3, Paul goes to another level. He started verse 2 asking questions about how they were saved and now he asks questions referring to how they grow in the faith. He asks if they are perfected by the flesh. The flesh usually means the law. So, the idea is do they grow in Christ by the law or by the Spirit. The obvious answer is the Holy Spirit.
22. 1. In verse 4, Paul seems to refer to suffering which means that they have suffered persecution and if they suffered for the law it was in vain, it was worthless.
23. 1. Then, verse 5, this comes to the original idea: So then, does He who provides you with the Spirit and works miracles among you, do it by the works of the Law, or by hearing with faith?
24. 1. The obvious answer is by hearing with faith.
25. 1. In the next few verses, which we will get into next week, Paul substantiates this with two Old Testament passages.

• Let’s apply:
• 1. We need to not be arrogant, we must know that we are saved by faith and faith alone.
• 1. Looking at verse 1, we must not allow anyone to divert our focus from Jesus and proper doctrine. We must not allow the devil to do this through false teachers.
• 1. 1. We must stay clear of the major heresies such as: Mormonism, Jehovah’s Witnesses, etc.
• 1. 1. However, we must stay clear of smaller heresies as well. We must make sure we do not let anyone steer us the wrong way.
• 1. We must recognize that we are not saved by our own works.
• 1. Looking at verse 2, we must recognize we did not receive the Spirit by works of the law, but by hearing and faith.
• 1. Looking at verse 3, we must recognize that we did not begin by grace and then be perfected by the law. We are still sanctified by the Spirit, not our works or by the law.

I recently read the following:

Some time ago, I attended a conference in which a well-known speaker related the cultural and value differences between his current home in the Pacific Northwest of the United States and his childhood home in a small town in the Southwest United States. These cultural and value differences found their expression in a set of rules. As a young man, his church culture enforced a particularly prescribed set of rules: no dancing, no drinking, no card playing, no long hair. These were rules that could not be violated. To do so would not only invite censure from the community, but he was also warned that it would put his eternal standing with Almighty God in jeopardy.

As it sometimes happens with this kind of upbringing, the conference speaker moved as far away from his hometown rigidity as he could. He escaped to the Pacific Northwest—a part of the United States known for its laidback attitude and freethinking ways. The speaker believed that he had finally found a community that would be free from the constricting rules and legalisms of his childhood. He was in for quite a surprise. While he had indeed moved far away from the many rules of his childhood town, he discovered that the rules of his new neighborhood involved minute intricacies relating to garbage, the banning of plastic bags at the grocery store, and skateboarders or musicians in the common areas of his upscale townhome complex. The wrath of God may not have been invoked in the threats of punishment, but the speaker suffered the self-righteous censure of this community just as bound by legalism as the one in which he grew up. In both communities, oddly, he found that the rules seemed more beloved than the people they were meant to shape.

The writer continues to say, Regardless of the community rules involved, human beings seem to be lovers of legalities. She then continues to write, maybe we love rules because it is easier than loving people.[5]

Remember, we cannot keep the law. We are saved by Jesus’ blood on the cross and we grow in our faith by Jesus’ blood on the cross.

Do you know Christ?

Luke 9:23

God created us to be with Him. (Genesis 1-2)

Our sin separated us from God. (Genesis 3)

Sins cannot be removed by good deeds (Gen 4-Mal 4)

Paying the price for sin, Jesus died and rose again. (Matthew – Luke)

Everyone who trusts in Him alone has eternal life. (John – Jude)

Life that’s eternal means being with Jesus Forever (Rev 22:5)

[1] Jelani Greenidge, Editor, PreachingToday.com : source: Dakin Adone, “After brutal attack on a Sikh man, police chief is ‘disgusted’ to learn is son is one of the suspects,” CNN (8-10-18

[2] Excerpt From: Crossway. “The MacArthur Study Bible, ESV.” Apple Books. https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/the-macarthur-study-bible-esv/id419199195?mt=11

NT (New Testament)

^[3] Spiros Zodhiates, The Complete Word Study Dictionary: New Testament (Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers, 2000).

[4] https://www.patheos.com/blogs/bibleandculture/2018/12/11/paul-and-ekphrasis-the-meaning-of-galatians-3-1b/

[5] https://www.rzim.org/read/a-slice-of-infinity/a-new-legalism

Today, we celebrate the 2018 year and look forward to the 2019 year. God used Bethel for a lot of ministry last year. But, we must also believe that God is going to use us for a lot of ministry this year as well. This year, 2019, our vision is to fulfill the Great Commission by being contagious Christians. How can we do this? We can do this because we no longer live and Christ lives in us.

I want to look at Galatians 2:19-20 and talk about living for Jesus. We must make Jesus number 1 and we can do so much for God’s glory when we partner with Jesus and let Him live through us. He must be number 1.

I read the following:

Toward the beginning of the second century, the Roman emperor decided that Christians had become so numerous that there was no use trying to stamp them out anymore, so he made peace. He even decided to put a statue of Jesus in the Pantheon, among the statues of the Greek gods. A symbol at the top of the Pantheon said, “Caesar, king of kings,” indicating his position as “first.”

The Christians could have been honored at how far they had come. Not long before, they were just a rag-tag group of fisherman in the backwoods of Israel, and now they’re in the Pantheon! But instead of being grateful, they sent a letter to the emperor telling him that if he didn’t take down the statue of Jesus, they certainly would. Jesus will never be among your gods, they said, because he is above all of them.[1]

The founder of the Salvation Army said to his fellow “soldiers”: “Faith and works should travel side by side, step answering to step, like the legs of men walking. First faith, and then works; and then faith again, and then works again—until they can scarcely distinguish which is the one and which is the other.”

Please read with me Galatians 2:19-20:

For through the Law I died to the Law, so that I might live to God. ²⁰ I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.

1. All believers have been crucified with Christ.
   1. To be a Christian means that I believe that Jesus died and rose again for me. I trust in Him for salvation, I confess my sins to Him and I commit to Him.
   2. If you are a Christian you have been crucified, wow! That is a strong picture. I believe that Paul used this word picture for dramatic effect. Don’t get me wrong, I think it is entirely true, but there is a reason that Paul used a dramatic picture here. In a metaphorical way we have been crucified with Christ. We no longer live, but Jesus lives within us.
   3. Let’s review Galatians. Paul writes to the churches of Galatia to counter these false apostles who have bewitched them (Gal. 3:1). The churches in Galatia have come to an error of works salvation. They have started believing that they had to live by the law. Paul is extremely assertive in this short New Testament letter.
   4. So, Paul is writing about law versus grace and, you know what? I think we need the same message. We have similar issues. No, we don’t have issues with the Jewish Law. But as Christians we go two different ways.
      1. We believe we have to earn our salvation.
         1. We know this is not true. Grace is unmerited favor. If you look at Gal. 2:21 Paul writes that if righteousness could come by the law, then Jesus died in vain. He died needlessly.
         2. But, when we add legalistic standards for Christians, we become a cult, and we make Jesus’ death on the cross in vain.
         3. We do this if we practice Christianity religiously. Most in our churches are not guilty of this at all.
      2. Or, we throw away any moral law. In this case the Christian’s life does not match his faith. This is a problem.
         1. We do this when we do not preach what Jesus preached and what this verse is saying. Jesus said in Luke 9:23: “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me.”
         2. If Jesus taught that why don’t we preach this?
         3. How can we preach this message without teaching/or showing that we work out our salvation? We were created for good works (Eph. 2:10).
         4. As a Christian, the Holy Spirit changes us. Think about the following:

About six years ago I read a book which someone at my church recommended.  The book tells the life of Louis Zamperini. Zamperini was in the 1936 Olympics held in Germany. He was famous for setting records for how fast he could run the mile.

Later he was planning to enter the next Olympic competition, but it was canceled because of WWII. Zamperini entered the war and served on a B 24. He was shot down and spent 47 days at sea and then around three years as a Japanese prisoner of war. He was badly mistreated in the POW camps. 

Following the war, he dealt with post-traumatic stress disorder. This caused him to plunge into alcoholism which brought on a host of other problems. He was married and had one child, but his marriage was being threatened with divorce. Every time he closed his eyes at night he was plagued with memories of his time as a POW. He was filled with hate and wanted to kill one particular guard

(Mutsuhiro Watanabe (nicknamed “The Bird”), who was later included in General Douglas MacArthur’s list of the 40 most wanted war criminals in Japan. Finally, in 1949 as the 31-year-old Billy Graham was preaching an evangelical crusade in Los Angeles, Louis’ wife gave her life to Christ at the crusade. She eventually convinced Louis to also attend. Louis attended once and was convicted but left in anger during Graham’s invitation. Louis’ wife Cynthia convinced him to attend again. He did and started to leave again during the invitation. But he was convicted and went forward giving his life to Christ.

Following the conversion his life changed dramatically. He went home that night, and at the time when he would usually drink alcohol to excess, he dumped his alcohol down the drain. His hate was changed to forgiveness. His marriage lasted until his wife’s death. He never had nightmares of his time as a POW again. He later went back to Japan and spoke to the guards who were accused and convicted of war crimes. He forgave them. But the one guard who was the worst to Louis, Mutsuhiro Watanabe (nicknamed “The Bird”), was thought dead and Louis never was able to talk to him. Later they found out he was alive and Louis was scheduled to meet with him. But he was not able to meet with him as Watanabe declined the invitation.

I believe, when we really know Jesus, we really know Him, when we are saved we commit to Him, and in time, our life will show it. This is because we are dead to the old self and Christ lives in us.

1. Paul says in this verse that he has died to the law. How? He died with Christ to the law.
2. He has been crucified with Christ. I have to believe that people would have cringed when they heard him use the verb “crucified.” They would have known what crucifixion meant. Historians cannot tell us apart from the Bible much about crucifixion. People were afraid to write about it. Many times, we can find extra Biblical evidence for many things, but not crucifixion. Scholars get much of what we know about crucifixion from the Bible. We are told a few things though. The Romans would crucify people publicly and they would crucify people at set times of the year in order to make a statement. They wanted their enemies to see crucifixion and think, “Don’t mess with us.” The Romans did not invent crucifixion. They copied it from the Greeks and maybe even another country.
3. People would have this image of crucifixion in their mind when Paul used that term.
4. But the point is that we died with Christ when we became a Christian. We died to our old self. We died to sin.

What does it mean to be crucified with Christ? It means that when we became a Christian we died to our old self. We died to our sin nature. So, how do we live?

1. All believers are to live by the faith in the indwelling Christ (2:20b–21).
   1. Paul says that he no longer lives, but Christ lives within him.
   2. Does Christ live in you?
   3. If you are a Christian the answer is yes. Yes, Yes, Amen.
   4. The Holy Spirit indwells us.
   5. How did Jesus do His miracles on earth? He laid aside His glory to become man. He had the Holy Spirit with Him. He was fully human and He is fully human, but the Holy Spirit was with Him. You know the Holy Spirit is with you as well. The Holy Spirit is in you. In 1 Corinthians 3:16 Paul wrote that we are the Temple of God. He used the same word which would describe the part of the Temple where God resides. God resides in us. We have the Holy of Holies in Us. Amen!!!
   6. So, as believers we do good works because Jesus dwells in us and He does those good works.
   7. How did Louis Zamperini change his life? He didn’t. Jesus changed him. When he became a Christian Jesus said, “I am not having any of that.” Jesus said, “I am taking over this house and I have some cleaning up to do.”

Now, I believe that as Christians we can sometimes push Jesus aside. He lives within us, but… We don’t want Him here. We do not make Him welcome. We just let our old self reign in us. So, my challenge for you today is that you let Jesus live within you. Make Him feel at home. Let your worldly self die and by faith let Jesus live. Jesus lives within you. The Holy of Holies is in you!

If I came to my wife and said, “Sweetheart, you’re first on my list of women,” my wife wouldn’t have it. She would tell me—in no uncertain terms—that she’s either going to be the only one on the list or she’s not going to be there at all.

If that’s true in my relationship with my wife, then how much more so with Jesus! He is why we exist. We were created by him and for him. That means he can never be merely an important commitment in our lives.[2]

Now, as we look at our 2019 vision, to fulfill the Great Commission by being contagious Christians, how can we fulfill it? We can fulfill it by being in Christ.

Our 2019 vision has specific goals:

There are 9 listed but some are more general, only 3 are specific to church ministry and resources (numbers 4, 5 and 6) and number 4 is already started.

This is how we will be contagious Christians.

1. Asking God in prayer for 15 new believers to be added to our fellowship in 2019;
2. Contagiously touching 1000 people in the next year with the love of Jesus;
3. Through intentionally communicating the gospel with 150 people through acts of service, loving relationships and words;
4. We will continue the dance ministry;
5. We will research the effectiveness of certain sports ministries beginning a sports ministry by the end of the year OR deciding against it for specific reasons. Reasons could be: not the right time, not enough money, no volunteers, theological differences, etc; UPWARD SPORTS SHOULD BE LOOKED INTO.
6. We will research Celebrate Recovery with a plan to begin this in 2020 or to decide against this or postpone this.
7. We will pray about this vision in the worship service;
8. We will train the congregation to respond to this vision by sharing it in worship every few weeks. Pastor shares: “We will be what?” and the congregation shares, “Contagious Christians.”

Let’s practice the last one:

“We will be what?” and the congregation shares, “Contagious Christians.”

Lastly, The church has 5 major purposes: evangelism, discipleship, worship, ministry and fellowship. These are all important and they all fall under “disciples” in our mission. However, in 2019 Bethel needs to focus on outreach. We must focus on “’making disciples.” This is why the 2019 vision is focused on being contagious. People could comment that worship is left out and the Holy Spirit is left out and discipleship is left out and fellowship is left out. However, those are all implied by the noun “Christians” and they are all in the Mission. They are all in the core values.

“We will be what?” and the congregation shares, “Contagious Christians.”

Do you know Jesus?

Luke 9:23

God created us to be with Him. (Genesis 1-2)

Our sin separated us from God. (Genesis 3)

Sins cannot be removed by good deeds (Gen 4-Mal 4)

Paying the price for sin, Jesus died and rose again. (Matthew – Luke)

Everyone who trusts in Him alone has eternal life. (John – Jude)

Life that’s eternal means being with Jesus Forever (Rev 22:5)

[1] https://jdgreear.com/blog/jesus-not-just-important-must-first/?utm_source=JD+Greear+Newsletter&utm_campaign=5d612a0d75-BLOG_DIGEST_DAILY&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_009733a9e6-5d612a0d75-8711878

[2] https://jdgreear.com/blog/jesus-not-just-important-must-first/?utm_source=JD+Greear+Newsletter&utm_campaign=5d612a0d75-BLOG_DIGEST_DAILY&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_009733a9e6-5d612a0d75-87118783

Paul and Peter (Galatians 2:11-19)

Prepared and preached by Pastor Steve Rhodes for and at Bethel Friends Church on Sunday, January 6, 2019

The difference between righteousness by works and righteousness by grace is illustrated by a ride on a commuter train.

A train rumbles into the station with warning bell clanging. The doors open, the uniformed conductor steps out, and you climb on board and find your way to a seat. When you look around the car, you see tickets clipped on the top of occupied seats, paid for with hard-earned money. Those tickets displayed at each seat are the special concern of the conductor, who walks through the car to punch tickets and confirm that you paid for the right to take this ride. If the conductor finds you without a ticket, you will either pay on the spot or be escorted off the train at the next stop. To ride this train, what matters is the paid ticket. This is righteousness by works.

Righteousness by grace, on the other hand, works in a very different way. God’s train pulls into the station, warning bell clanging. The doors open and the conductor steps out. Masses of people crowd on board and find their seats, for most everyone wants to ride this train to the city where people never die. Eventually the conductor walks through the train to see if everyone belongs on board. But on this train the conductor is not looking for tickets clipped to the top of seats. In fact, anyone who tries to pay for the right to be on the train will be escorted promptly from the train at the very next stop. That’s right; no one can earn the right to be on this train. What the conductor looks for as he walks seat by seat through the car is the penniless people he knows by name, the people who are his friends and who completely lack the means to pay. These poverty stricken people climb on board with only one hope: they believe in the generosity of their conductor friend.

This is righteousness by grace. A ride on God’s train is a gift. By our standards, it’s unfair. It’s scandalous. But like it or not, it’s heaven’s way.[1]

That is a key point in Galatians. Paul is correcting them to a remembrance of righteousness from Jesus.

My theme today is:

Paul confronts Peter about hypocrisy to re-affirm salvation by grace

Let’s read Galatians 2:11-19:

But when Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned. ¹² For prior to the coming of certain men from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles; but when they came, he began to withdraw and hold himself aloof, fearing the party of the circumcision. ¹³ The rest of the Jews joined him in hypocrisy, with the result that even Barnabas was carried away by their hypocrisy. ¹⁴ But when I saw that they were not straightforward about the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas in the presence of all, “If you, being a Jew, live like the Gentiles and not like the Jews, how is it that you compel the Gentiles to live like Jews?

¹⁵ “We are Jews by nature and not sinners from among the Gentiles;¹⁶ nevertheless knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the Law but through faith in Christ Jesus, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the Law; since by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified. ¹⁷ But if, while seeking to be justified in Christ, we ourselves have also been found sinners, is Christ then a minister of sin? May it never be! ¹⁸ For if I rebuild what I have once destroyed, I prove myself to be a transgressor. ¹⁹ For through the Law I died to the Law, so that I might live to God.

1. Paul confronts Peter, what happened?
   1. Consider this passage. In the previous section Paul had been affirmed by the pillars of the Jerusalem church. In the previous section the pillars of the Jerusalem church affirmed salvation by grace.
   2. Now, Peter, who had been one of the pillars is being a hypocrite.
   3. Peter is called Cephas in Galatians.
   4. Right here in this passage he is acting different with different people.
   5. To be a hypocrite means to act and he is acting contrary to his beliefs.
   6. We may see part of this event in Acts 11:1-3. In that passage the Jewish believers took issue with Peter for eating with gentiles.
   7. The situation, or conflict, in Antioch with the circumcision party is parallel to the situation, or conflict, in Galatians with the teachers.
   8. Antioch was a major sending church during that time. Actually, in Acts 11 we find out that when the church in Jerusalem was persecuted the people went to Antioch and someone started that church.
   9. It seems that Antioch was Paul’s home base.
   10. This account is a very important account in the history of Christianity
   11. The Ebionites were a Jewish Christian heretical sect which Islam very likely impart grew out of. They were Jewish Christians that wanted to maintain adherence to the law. They used this very passage as an attack upon Paul.
   12. In verse 11 Paul says that Peter was already condemned by his actions.
   13. In the early church they regularly ate together (common meals). They were celebrations of joyous fellowship. This was not only in the church but in the world. It involved joy, fellowship, and intimacy. It involved experiencing and expressing joy, intimacy, and fellowship through table fellowship. These meals included the Lord’s Supper. They culminated with the Eucharist. This means that when Peter separated from Gentiles, he was saying that he wouldn’t eat the Lord’s supper with them.
   14. In the Jerusalem church, Jewish food laws were observed. In Antioch, food laws weren’t maintained. They didn’t force Jews to become Gentile. That practice implied that food laws weren’t significant.
   15. The problem that Jews had with eating with gentiles is the assumption that Gentiles ate unclean food. Where in the law does it say “not to eat with gentiles.” It is not in the law; however, it was assumed. The Gentiles ate unclean food: for example, ham sandwiches, food sacrificed to idols, etc.
   16. Verse 12: men sent from James: this implies a special delegation, they were sent for a reason. They were concerned with a Theological concern. The relationship between the covenants.
   17. There may have been a practical concern: what would it mean if this got out? What would it mean that Christians and Jews are eating together?
   18. The circumcision party didn’t only maintain circumcision but were called this party because they intensely wanted to maintain the law. They started with the issue of circumcision. Here it is not a circumcision issue but eating with gentiles. But, in this case Paul says that they are trying to ask for circumcision through the back door. Paul goes on to say that circumcision, dietary regulation, etc went hand in hand.
   19. Three things that make you a Jew
       1. Food laws
       2. Dietary laws
       3. Circumcision
   20. Peter drew back because he feared the circumcision party
   21. Special emphasis, why did Paul confront him publicly?
       1. If we look into the way to confront sin we can see in Matthew 18:15-17 that it starts publicly.
       2. Paul may have confronted Peter publicly, though it is not recorded.
       3. However, in 1 Tim. 5:20 we see that public sins must be confronted publicly and that is why at this point it is a public confrontation.
   22. As we look through this passage we see verse 16.

nevertheless knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the Law but through faith in Christ Jesus, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the Law; since by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified. 

1. Verse 16 is they key verse in Galatians.
2. A man is not justified by works of the law.
3. This is a verse of repetition: I also see a chaism in this verse. A Chaism is a literary device in which there is repetition. Notice this:
   1. A) A man is not justified by works of the law
   2. B) But through faith in Christ Jesus

• B’) We believed in Christ Jesus and are justified by faith in Him.

1. A’) Not by works of the law because no one is justified by the works of the law

1. The chaism is drawing emphasis on the middle section which is” “we believed in Christ Jesus and are justified by faith in Him.”
2. I talked about the train and the Gospel, watch this from Polar Express.
3. Show the video clip of them taking tickets on polar express.

• Fortunately, we do not earn our way to Heaven:

Theologian Alister McGrath outlines the following three stages of receiving what Christ did for us on the cross:

[First], I may believe that God is promising me forgiveness of sins; [second], I may trust that promise; but [third] unless I respond to that promise, I shall not obtain forgiveness. The first two stages of faith prepare the way for the third, without it they are incomplete.

Then he illustrates these three stages with the following true story:

Consider a bottle of penicillin, the famous antibiotic identified by Alexander Fleming, and first produced for clinical use in [Great Britain]. The drug was responsible for saving the lives of countless individuals who would otherwise have died from various forms of blood poisoning. Think of the three stages of faith like this. I may accept that the bottle exists. I may trust in its ability to cure blood poisoning. But nothing will change unless I receive the drug which it contains. I must allow it to destroy the bacteria which are slowly killing me. Otherwise, I have not benefited from my faith in it.

It is the third element of faith which is of vital importance in making sense of the cross. Just as faith links a bottle of penicillin to the cure of blood poisoning, so faith forges a link between the cross and resurrection of Jesus Christ and ourselves. Faith unites us with the risen Christ, and makes available to us everything he gained through his obedience and resurrection.[2]

1. Verses 17-19 continue this theme of justification.

• Justification means counted righteous or declared righteous.

1. One writes: “Justification should not be confused with forgiveness, which is the fruit of justification, nor with atonement, which is the basis of justification. Rather it is the favorable verdict of God, the righteous Judge, that one who formerly stood condemned has now been granted a new status at the bar of divine justice.”^[3]
2. Further: “To be justified means to be declared righteous before God, that is, to enjoy a status or standing of being in a right relationship with God, of being accepted by him.”^[4]

• Now let’s apply:

1. Application: no compromise
   1. We must not be hypocrites.
   2. We must never compromise on absolute truth and the Gospel.
   3. We must not compromise because of fear (verse 12).
      1. This means that even if people threaten us with our job, we must not compromise the gospel.
      2. This means that even if we face removal from a club we must not compromise the Gospel.
      3. This means that even if we lose friends, we must not compromise the Gospel.
      4. We must be prepared to be unpopular for the Gospel.
      5. Remember, doctrine matters and compromise comes in small ways.
         1. There are many liberal churches that were once strong.
         2. Remember that most of the ivy league colleges started out as strong Christian schools. Harvard, Yale, Princeton were strong Christian schools.
      6. This passage deals with compromise with what the Gospel is. However, we compromise on sin as well and that must never be.
         1. We treat gossip like it is not a sin.
         2. We treat disrespect like it is not a sin.
         3. We treat cliques like they are not sinful, though they are unloving.
         4. We don’t deal with our lustful ways.
         5. We neglect our envy and our affluence as sin, even though we are not prioritizing God above all things.
         6. Compromise is dangerous.
      7. We must not act different around different groups.
      8. We must apply this passage based on Gal 3:28 and Rev 7:9-11
      9. Based on verse 16, we must recognize, preach and teach the proper doctrine of soteriology that we are justified by faith in Christ Jesus.
      10. We must recognize the law just gives us knowledge of our sin (Romans 3:20; 7:7-9).

Close:

I get many different articles sent to me. Last week, I read one about de-conversion stories. These are stories of people who left Christianity. There are common denominators, but one is that they compromise the Gospel first. Before leaving Christianity altogether, they compromise. They compromise their beliefs. They take out the belief that Jesus is the only way to Heaven. They compromise the miracles in the Bible. They compromise the idea of sin.[5]

Don’t compromise, it is slippery slope.

Do you know Christ?

Luke 9:23

God created us to be with Him. (Genesis 1-2)

Our sin separated us from God. (Genesis 3)

Sins cannot be removed by good deeds (Gen 4-Mal 4)

Paying the price for sin, Jesus died and rose again. (Matthew – Luke)

Everyone who trusts in Him alone has eternal life. (John – Jude)

Life that’s eternal means being with Jesus Forever (Rev 22:5)

[1] Craig Brian Larson, editor of PreachingToday.com

[2] Alister E. McGrath, What Was God Doing on the Cross (Zondervan, 1992), pp. 99-100

^[3] Tom Constable, Tom Constable’s Expository Notes on the Bible (Galaxie Software, 2003), Ga 2:15.

^[4] Tom Constable, Tom Constable’s Expository Notes on the Bible (Galaxie Software, 2003), Ga 2:15.

[5] https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/3-beliefs-progressive-christians-atheists-share/

Mary did you know that your baby boy would one day walk on water?
Mary did you know that your baby boy would save our sons and daughters?
Did you know that your baby boy has come to make you new?
This child that you’ve delivered, will soon deliver you

Mary did you know that your baby boy will give sight to a blind man?
Mary did you know that your baby boy will calm a storm with his hand?
Did you know that your baby boy has walked where angels trod?
When you kiss your little baby, you kiss the face of God

Mary did you know? Mary did you know? Mary did you know?

Mary did you know? Mary did you know? Mary did you know?

The blind will see, the deaf will hear, the dead will live again
The lame will leap, the dumb will speak, the praises of the lamb

Mary did you know that your baby boy is Lord of all creation?
Mary did you know that your baby boy would one day rule the nations?
Did you know that your baby boy is heaven’s perfect lamb?
That sleeping child you’re holding is the great I am

Mary did you know? Mary did you know? Mary did you know?

Mary did you know? Mary did you know? Mary did you know? Oh

Mary did you know?

Listen as I read Luke 2:1-7 and verse 19:

Now in those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus, that a census be taken of all the inhabited earth. ² This was the first census taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. ³ And everyone was on his way to register for the census, each to his own city. ⁴ Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David, ⁵ in order to register along with Mary, who was engaged to him, and was with child. ⁶ While they were there, the days were completed for her to give birth. ⁷ And she gave birth to her firstborn son; and she wrapped Him in cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

Verse 19:

But Mary treasured all these things, pondering them in her heart. 

Now, in this sermon I want to focus on verse 19, which says:  

But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.^[1]

1. When we look at verse 19 and we notice that Mary is pondering these things in her heart we must notice that Mary’s life has changed a lot. Have you ever gone through a dramatic life change?
   1. Mary’s life was dramatically changed in order to be the mother of Jesus.
   2. I believe the changes from the previous year are exactly what Mary was pondering; now Notice how all of these events are part of the true meaning of Christmas. All of these life changes were in order to bring Jesus into the world. She must have been pondering who Jesus is and what is the significance of this Jesus? As I speak about these life changes, I ask you to ponder who Jesus is to you.
2. Though it is not actually recorded in the Bible, we know that at some point Mary was engaged to Joseph and this happened before anything else in our Christmas story. A Jewish engagement would last about a year and was legally binding. It would take a written divorce to break off an engagement and if a woman was found pregnant during an engagement, by a man who was not her fiancé, this was considered adultery.

• While engaged to be married to Joseph, Mary is visited by the angel Gabriel and told that she will give birth to God’s son.
  1. Mary was told she will be the mother of the son of God. She is to be the parent of the future and eternal king of Israel.
  2. Now as Jesus is born, Mary must be pondering those words.
  3. Just like Mary pondered those words, I ask you to do the same, who is Jesus to you? Is this baby born king of your life? We’ll come back to that.

1. In the events leading up to Jesus’ birth, Mary’s cousin gives birth in her old age.
   1. This is recorded in the first two chapters in Luke and we will not read the whole story now. But here is a man and woman with no children and passed childbearing years, yet God communicates to them they will have a son, and this is fulfilled prior to Jesus’ birth.
   2. Mary must have been pondering the events surrounding her nephew’s birth.
   3. As Mary pondered these miracles, I ask you to ponder, what does the Christmas story mean to you? What do you think of these miracles leading up to the birth of Jesus?
2. After Mary was found to be pregnant, she had to tell her fiancé, Joseph, what was going on. So, she tells him that she is pregnant, and the father is God, for she is pregnant by the Holy Spirit.
   1. We don’t know the exact verbiage she used to tell Joseph, but we do know that Matthew’s Gospel (1:19) records that Joseph was going to divorce her.
   2. We really can’t blame Joseph for this, I mean; being pregnant by the Holy Spirit is not an everyday occurrence. Actually, this is the only time it has ever happened. Still, an angel appears to Joseph and this verifies Mary’s words.
      1. As Mary looked at her new baby, she must have pondered the events keeping her engagement intact.
      2. So, we see more events which happened in Mary’s life leading up to the birth of Christ; I ask again, ponder these events, what do they mean to you? What is the significance of Christ that all of these events came together for His birth?
   3. In the weeks or days before Jesus was born Mary and Joseph traveled to Bethlehem because of a census. We can see this recorded in the first few verses of today’s Scripture passage. Perhaps Mary knew the prophesy that Jesus was to be born in Bethlehem and pondered how God made sure this would happen.[2] How significant is Jesus that even the place He was to be born was prophesied about and fulfilled?

• Now, Mary is about to give birth to the Son of God, yet they are in Bethlehem looking for a place to stay. But with the census going on there are surely plenty of people traveling and there is no place to stay.
  1. Verse 7 of Luke 2 says there was no room for them in the Inn. The inn was probably a place for travelers to stay, maybe a house with extra rooms or something like that.
  2. So, Mary gives birth in a barn. Luke doesn’t mention any animals, though they could’ve been present since she gives birth in a place that housed animals. Mary lays baby Jesus in a manger or feeding trough.
  3. Mary must have pondered the location she was at, given Who she gave birth to. If you were to ponder this same thing, what do you think, isn’t it amazing that Jesus came identifying with those in poverty?
• But there was still more to ponder. There is more if you read Luke 2:8-20.

We have a lot to ponder too, don’t we? Ponder this: All of these events came together and this is what Christmas is all about.

God became man to save us!

One raw winter night a man heard an irregular thumping sound against the kitchen storm door. He went to a window and watched as tiny, shivering sparrows, attracted to the evident warmth inside, beat in vain against the glass.

Touched, the farmer bundled up and trudged through fresh snow to open the barn for the struggling birds. He turned on the lights, tossed some hay in a corner, and sprinkled a trail of saltine crackers to direct them to the barn. But the sparrows, which had scattered in all directions when he emerged from the house, still hid in the darkness, afraid of him.

He tried various tactics: circling behind the birds to drive them toward the barn, tossing cracker crumbs in the air toward them, retreating to his house to see if they’d flutter into the barn on their own. Nothing worked. He, a huge alien creature, had terrified them; the birds could not understand that he actually desired to help.

He withdrew to his house and watched the doomed sparrows through a window. As he stared, a thought hit him like lightning from a clear blue sky: If only I could become a bird—one of them—just for a moment. Then I wouldn’t frighten them so. I could show them the way to warmth and safety. At the same moment, another thought dawned on him. He had grasped the whole principle of the Incarnation.

A man’s becoming a bird is nothing compared to God’s becoming a man. The concept of a sovereign being as big as the universe He created, confining Himself to a human body was—and is—too much for some people to believe.

—Paul Harvey^[3]

The Bible says that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). The Bible says that the penalty for sin is death (Romans 6:23). The Bible says that Jesus is the way the truth and the life and no one comes to the Father except by Him (John 14:6). The Bible teaches that sin separates us from God (Isaiah 59:2). The Bible says that God will not let the guilty go unpunished (2 Thess 1:8-9). Yet, the Bible teaches that God loves the people of the world (John 3:16). That is a dilemma. God can’t tell a lie or He wouldn’t be God (Numbers 23:19). God doesn’t change His mind (1 Sam 15:29). That is why God sent Jesus. The guilty must go punished. Jesus took our punishment on the cross. The penalty of sin is death but the free gift of God is eternal life through Jesus, who is the way, the truth and the life.

One of the most exciting things that you can do while celebrating Jesus’ birthday is to make it your spiritual birthday as well. You can accept Jesus’ free gift of salvation right now.

Watch this:

Video from youtube or maybe the end of The Nativity Story: (Below connects with the death and resurrection)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7blH2wZ69bE

^[1] The New International Version. 2011 (Lk 2:19). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

[2] Micah 5:2

^[3] Charles R. Swindoll, The Tale of the Tardy Oxcart and 1501 Other Stories (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2016), 294–295.

First Anthem:

Glory to God (Luke 2:14):

Glory to God in the highest,
and peace on earth,
goodwill towards men.

Pastor’s words:

That particular choir anthem comes from Luke 2:14.

Luke 2:14 comes from Luke 2:8-14 which reads:

 In the same region there were some shepherds staying out in the fields and keeping watch over their flock by night. ⁹ And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened. ¹⁰ But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people; ¹¹ for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. ¹² This will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” ¹³ And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,

¹⁴ “Glory to God in the highest,
And on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased.”

1. Jesus has been born.
   1. This passage follows the birth of Jesus according to Luke.
   2. Jesus has been born and lain in a feeding trough. Mary and Joseph are the new parents. They are young and most likely scared.
   3. They must be very nervous.
   4. Now, we come to verses 8-14.
2. Verses 8-14: in verses 8-14 we read about the angels visiting the shepherds.
   1. Shepherds, you know that shepherds were the lowest class? They were disrespected. They were looked down upon. They did the dirty work. They missed out on certain religious events. Yet, the angel comes to shepherds.
   2. Verse 9 says that an angel of the Lord appeared to them. Now, the text actually reads “suddenly” an angel of the Lord came upon them.
      1. Imagine yourself in the middle of a vast opened field and all of a sudden an angel is in front of you.
      2. By the way, this angel was not one of those girly angels you see in paintings or in stores. Angels are not like that. Angels are warriors. Verse 9 says they were terrified.

• The angel says do not be afraid. I bring you good news of a great joy that will be for all people.

1. Jesus entering the world was good news and great joy. This was good news for all people. This was and is good news for all people. This is news for the shepherds and the Caesars. This was news for the poor and the rich, the privileged and those who are not privileged.

1. The angels finish their message and then there was a company of angels and they were worshipping God.
2. Notice that? Notice their response to what is happening. They worship God. They said, “Glory to God in the highest.” You know, I bet they said more than that. I think these shepherds were so overwhelmed that that is all they could understand. These angels worshipped the birth of Christ.
3. Now, the shepherds, they don’t waste time, they head to Bethlehem.
4. As these shepherds came to Bethlehem to worship Jesus, I bet that encouraged Joseph and Mary.

Let me pray and then we will hear from the choir again.

Anthem:

And the Glory of the Lord from the Messiah (Isaiah 40:5)

And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it
Together: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.

Pastor’s words:

There is a term at the end of 1 Corinthians, in 1 Corinthians 16:22 and that is Maranatha! Maranatha means: “Our Lord Come.”

I was listening to a cancer survivor and she said “Darn, or, curse, the fall, come Lord Jesus.” 

The previous choir anthem comes from Isaiah 40:5, allow me to place that in context. Let’s read Isaiah 40:1-5:

“Comfort, O comfort My people,” says your God.
² “Speak kindly to Jerusalem;
And call out to her, that her warfare has ended,
That her iniquity has been removed,
That she has received of the Lord’s hand
Double for all her sins.”

³ A voice is calling,
“Clear the way for the Lord in the wilderness;
Make smooth in the desert a highway for our God.
⁴ “Let every valley be lifted up,
And every mountain and hill be made low;
And let the rough ground become a plain,
And the rugged terrain a broad valley;
⁵ Then the glory of the Lord will be revealed,
And all flesh will see it together;
For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”

Isaiah chapter 40 is a chapter of transition. In the previous chapter Isaiah had given prophesies against Israel. Isaiah had said that Babylon was going to take the sons of King Hezekiah as captive. Starting in Isaiah 40 God is encouraging the people.

In verse 3 God talks about A voice is calling,
“Clear the way for the Lord in the wilderness;
Make smooth in the desert a highway for our God.

In Mark chapter 1 he applies this passage to John the baptizer.  John the baptizer was a voice of one crying in the wilderness preparing the way for the Messiah. John prepared the way for Jesus.

In verse 5 Isaiah is likely talking about the millennial reign. Isaiah was thinking of the millennial kingdom when the Lord will be revealed in His glory, that is, when His unique splendor will be evident everywhere. ^[1]

How awesome this will be when the glory of the Lord will be revealed! How magnificent! How wondrous!

This will be a joyous occasion.

Actually, Joy to the World was written about a time when Christ was born but also when Christ returns and reigns over the whole earth.

Let’s apply before we move on:

1. What is most important about this season?
2. Do we look forward to the coming of Jesus?
   1. Jesus came as a baby, lived, was crucified, rose again, He ascended and He will come again.
   2. Can we say with Paul in 1 Cor. 16:22, Maranatha?
3. May we have joy because of Jesus.
4. May we look forward to the glory of the Lord being revealed.

Let’s pray

Anthem:

O Thou That Tellest Good Tidings to Zion

Isaiah 40:9

O Zion, that bringest good tidings, get thee up into the high mountain;

O Jerusalem, that bringest good tidings, lift up thy voice with strength;

Lift it up, be not afraid;

Say unto the cities of Judah, Behold your God!^[2]

Pastor’s words:

The verse in the previous choir anthem seems to be looking forward to the return of the Jewish exiles and the millennial reign.

Do we have reasons to rejoice? The world appears to be falling apart, but as Christians we have reasons to rejoice. We can also say, “Behold your God”!

I want to reference another hymn, it is called “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day.” Do you know the background to that hymn? Listen as I read it:

In 1864, one of America’s great poets, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, wrote the poem which became the well-known carol, I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day. When I first heard this song, I wondered, “Why does he suddenly shift from joy at hearing the Christmas bells into such deep despair?” It starts with:
I heard the bells on Christmas day
Their old familiar carols play,
And wild and sweet
the words repeat
Of peace on earth, good will to men!
Then he says:
And in despair I bowed my head:
“There is no peace on earth,” I said,
“For hate is strong,
And mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good will to men!”
The question is clearly answered when we see two verses of the original that are not included in our hymn. In these verses Longfellow speaks of the horrors of the American Civil War that was tearing the country apart. In fact, his son had been seriously wounded in that conflict not long before he wrote the song. (The death of Longfellow’s wife two years earlier may have contributed to his mood too.) Listen to what they say:
Then from each black, accursed mouth
The cannon thundered in the South,
And with the sound
The carols drowned
Of peace on earth, good will to men!
It was as if an earthquake rent
The hearthstones of a continent
And made forlorn
The households born
Of peace on earth, good will to men!
Little wonder he is tempted to despair. And yet he concludes with the resounding affirmation, “God is not dead, nor does he sleep!” Through the Savior whose birth the angels celebrated, God will accomplish what he has promised.

Do we believe that? God has and He WILL accomplish what He promised.

Let’s pray

Choir anthem:

Hallelujah

Benedictions

^[1] John A. Martin, “Isaiah,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, ed. J. F. Walvoord and R. B. Zuck, vol. 1 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985), 1092.

^[2] The Holy Bible: King James Version, Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version. (Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 2009), Is 40:9.

I have attached our 2018 Christmas letter. Just click on the link to open the pdf below:

Merry Christmas!

2018 finalRhodes family Christmas letter

Sunday, December 16, 2018: The Story of Christmas (Matt 1:18-25)

I am looking forward to the children’s Christmas play in a few moments. After all, Jesus did come as a baby. God became one of us, not as an adult, but as a baby. But there are lessons here for adults as well. I want to talk for a few minutes about the Christmas story.

Christmas is coming and is almost here. How are you doing? Are you ready?

A lady had a circle of friends for whom she really wanted to buy Christmas presents. Time slipped away and it was so busy at work for her she just wasn’t able to get to the store to purchase those gifts. Time was running out. So not too many days before Christmas she decided to give up on the gift idea and just buy everybody the same beautiful Christmas card. She went to the local gift store and hurriedly went through the now picked over stack of cards and found a box of fifty, just exactly what she wanted. She didn’t take time to read the message, she just noticed a beautiful cover on it and there was gold around it and a floral appearance on the front of the card and she thought, That’s perfect. So she signed all of them, “With all my love.”

As New Year’s came and she had time to go back to two or three cards she didn’t send from that stack, she was shocked to read the message inside. It said, in a little rhyme, “This Christmas card is just to say, a little gift is on its way.”^[1]

I hope you have not faced that type of experience. Regardless of how ready you are in purchasing gifts and sending out cards, I assure you that you can be ready by knowing Jesus, the true meaning of Christmas.

Let’s read Matthew 1:18-25:

Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: when His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child by the Holy Spirit. ¹⁹ And Joseph her husband, being a righteous man and not wanting to disgrace her, planned to send her away secretly. ²⁰ But when he had considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for the Child who has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. ²¹ She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” ²² Now all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet:²³ “Behold, the virgin shall be with child and shall bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which translated means, “God with us.” ²⁴ And Joseph awoke from his sleep and did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, and took Mary as his wife, ²⁵ but kept her a virgin until she gave birth to a Son; and he called His name Jesus.

Watch this clip

Nativity Story: Angel coming to Joseph

My theme today is: Jesus our hope will be born, He saves us and He is with us.

1. Jesus will be born.
   1. They were waiting for a Savior and He was to be born.
   2. This is an amazing prophesy to Joseph. Here he has just received the news that his fiancé is pregnant and not by him, but now he finds out this baby is the Messiah. Wow!
   3. Joseph went from gloom to hope.
      1. What Does Hope Do For Mankind?
         1. Hope shines brightest when the hour is darkest.
         2. Hope motivates when discouragement comes.
         3. Hope energizes when the body is tired.
         4. Hope sweetens while bitterness bites.
         5. Hope sings when all melodies are gone.
         6. Hope believes when evidence is eliminated.
         7. Hope listens for answers when no one is talking.
         8. Hope climbs over obstacles when no one is helping.
         9. Hope endures hardship when no one is caring.
         10. Hope smiles confidently when no one is laughing.
         11. Hope reaches for answers when no one is asking.
         12. Hope presses toward victory when no one is encouraging.
         13. Hope dares to give when no one is sharing.
         14. Hope brings the victory when no one is winning. (John Maxwell from Think on These Things)

1. Joseph had hope and so do we. Jesus is our hope.
2. Jesus will save us from our sins.
   1. What brings salvation?
   2. What are you trusting in?
   3. Sometimes we think we don’t even need a Savior. Realize that when we mess with salvation we are trifling with the holiness of God. We need salvation because we sinned against a holy, righteous God.
   4. We need a Savior because of God’s holiness and when we say things such as “Everyone goes to Heaven with or without Jesus, or we say, “there is no hell.” This means that we are messing with the cross, yes, but we are also messing with the holiness of God. We are changing all of Scripture, we are changing the whole Old Testament. The Bible says that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). The Bible says that the penalty for sin is death (Romans 6:23). The Bible says that Jesus is the way the truth and the life and no one comes to the Father except by Him (John 14:6). The Bible teaches that sin separates us from God (Isaiah 59:2). The Bible says that God will not let the guilty go unpunished (2 Thess 1:8-9). Yet, the Bible teaches that God loves the people of the world (John 3:16). That is a dilemma. God can’t tell a lie or He wouldn’t be God (Numbers 23:19). God doesn’t change His mind (1 Sam 15:29). That is why God sent Jesus. The guilty must go punished. Jesus took our punishment on the cross. The penalty of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Jesus, who is the way, the truth and the life.
   5. Jesus saves.

• Jesus will be Immanuel, which means God with us.
  1. Do you ever feel alone? I remember being in 6^th grade I played football. I was dropped off at a game and my parents drove away and then I thought I needed something and it was too late, my parents were gone. I felt all alone. I can go back a few years earlier. I must have watched children cry when my mom dropped my older brother off at preschool. I thought I wouldn’t do that. I always saw the children get dropped off at preschool and they cried and cried and cried. I remember that fear when my mom dropped me off and I cried as well. Fast forward some 15 years. My parents dropped me off at college in Georgia and drove away and I think we all cried. What is it like being alone? We are not alone. We have God with us.
  2. Think of how amazing it is that God is with us as Christians.
  3. You and I, we are not alone.

Do you know Jesus as your Lord and Savior? Are you committed to Him?

What do you do with the Christmas message?

I’m sure that some of you are visitors and this is your first time here. I am sure that some of you used to attend regularly and you have lost the habit.

Whether you are part of the church or not, my question for you is: Do you Know Jesus as Lord and Savior and are you committed to him?

The Bible uses four verbs to describe the Christian life, they are: Believe, confess, commit and trust. Let me explain:

1. The Bible teaches that we must believe in Jesus. We must believe that He is who the Bible says He is. The Bible teaches that He was born of a virgin; He lived a sinless life and died on the cross for our sins and He rose triumphantly over the grave (John 3:16; 14:6; 1 Cor. 15; 2 Cor. 5:17 and 21).
2. The Bible teaches that we must confess that we are in need of forgiveness. This means that we must confess that we are a sinner in need of a Savior. In other words, we have done wrong things and we need forgiven (Romans 3:23; 6:23 10:9-10). We tell God this.
3. The Bible teaches that we must commit to Jesus as Lord and Savior. This means we are not simply fans of Jesus, but instead we are followers of Jesus. Fans stay on the sidelines, but Jesus calls us to be on the field with Him. Jesus told them to count the cost before committing to Him (Luke 14:27-33).
4. The Bible teaches that we must trust The belief in Jesus as Lord and Savior is not a casual belief, but a firm trust (1 Timothy 1:15; John 3:16).

Prayer

Invite the children up

^[1] Charles R. Swindoll, The Tale of the Tardy Oxcart and 1501 Other Stories (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2016), 81.