The Superiority Of Faith
Galatians 3:19-29
Superiority means the quality of being more advanced or higher. To be greater or more excellent.
The world we live in today ranks fortune and fame above the superiority of understanding the truth of God!
The world is wrong and God tells us to come out from among the world.
2Co 6:17 Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you,
2Co 6:18 And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.
Until we come out from the world and live separately from the world we will never be received of God!
The purpose of laws are to expose sin.
The purpose of the law is to show us our need for a Savior.
Conviction, Repentance, and most of all Faith in Jesus Christ is what will bring us to Salvation!
The proof of laws is that they lack the power to change lives!
Laws may look to have power, laws may seem to be intimidating, but keeping and obeying laws cannot justify anyone in the eyes of God!
If the promise made to Abraham was not affected by laws, what then was the purpose of the Laws of Moses?
Let's pick up where we left off last week.
*****Gal 3:19 Wherefore then serveth the law? It was added because of transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator.
**What was the purpose of the Law? The purpose of the Law was to reveal to us, that we are all sinners.
How many of you when you are driving and come up to a stop sign really want to stop? I'll tell you that not many of us really want to stop. We stop, not because the stop sign says stop, but because we know if we proceed without stopping we place ourselves in danger of injury or death.
This is what the law does! If we do not obey the Law and proceed then we place ourselves in danger of death.
The Law was not given to justify or make anyone acceptable in the eyes of God because the Law was given to make people aware of their sin!
Laws do not make us righteous, laws just make us aware of our unrighteousness!
1) Laws make us aware of our sin and the results of sin.
2) Laws make us aware of how short we come to reaching God's glory.
3) Laws cause us to pay attention to the fact that we are sinners.
4) Laws show us how foolish we are to claim to be righteous.
5) Laws show us our need for a Savior!
6) Laws point us to a Righteous Lawgiver!
7) Laws bring us to point of conviction.
Rom 3:20 Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.
**The Law was temporary!
The Law was added to the promise God made to Abraham for a specific purpose but only temporarily!
"Till the "Promised Seed" should come!
Law extended from Moses until The Lord Jesus appeared to fulfill the Law and the Promise!
God never intended any Law to be a way to Salvation!
Before Jesus came, the Law was our standard of measurement to show us how far we fall short of the glory of God!
Since Jesus has now come, Jesus is now our standard of measurement.
Jesus fulfilled all the Law!
Mat 5:17 Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.
Jesus came not just to fulfill the Laws of Moses but to fulfill all the Word of God!
Mat 5:18 For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.
Jesus Christ is the "Perfect" Picture, the "Living" Example, and the Pattern for all mankind, that God has set before us.
Joh 1:14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.
Why? Because Jesus Christ is and was the visible representation of the invisible God!
Col 1:15 Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:
Col 1:16 For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:
Col 1:17 And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.
Why are the Laws not totally abandoned now since Jesus has come?
Laws are abandoned for all those that place their trust in Jesus Christ!
Rom 7:4 Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ; that ye should be married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God.
But to all those that reject the Lord Jesus Christ and trust in their own righteousness the Law is still in full effect!
Rom 10:3 For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God.
Rom 10:4 For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth.
Jesus Christ is the end of the Law, but only for "believers"!
**How do we know that the Law cannot justify?
The Law was not given directly by God!
The Law came from God but it was given by angels to Moses.
Act 7:52 Which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted? and they have slain them which shewed before of the coming of the Just One; of whom ye have been now the betrayers and murderers:
Act 7:53 "Who have received the law by the disposition of angels, and have not kept it".
The Bible says that God had brought many angels with Him when He came to Mount Sinai:
Deu 33:2 And he said, The LORD came from Sinai, and rose up from Seir unto them; he shined forth from mount Paran, and he came with ten thousands of saints: from his right hand went a fiery law for them.
Any Law that does not come directly from God is then inferior when God speaks Himself!
God spoke directly to Abraham!
Moses was indeed the mediator between God and Israel but now we have the true Mediator between God and all Mankind, His name is Christ Jesus!
*****Gal 3:20 Now a mediator is not a mediator of one, but God is one.
To have a relationship with God it must be truly personal!
Even Job clearly understood this!
Job 9:33 Neither is there any daysman betwixt us, that might lay his hand upon us both.
And the Apostle Paul clearly understood this!
1Ti 2:5 For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;
1Ti 2:6 Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.
The Law was between two parties, sinful man and God.
Both man and God had responsibilities.
Man had to keep the Law and if he did God would reward him with righteousness.
We see then that righteousness was conditional under the Law!
In the "Promise" of righteousness by the "Grace of God" only God had to meet certain conditions!
God fulfills His "Promise" by Jesus Christ!
1Co 8:6 But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him.
If you can get personal with God then you can see the truth in what He says!
**The truth is that no Law has the power to give life!
*****Gal 3:21 Is the law then against the promises of God? God forbid: for if there had been a law given which could have given life, verily righteousness should have been by the law.
How do we know that the Law cannot "justify" anyone in the eyes of God? Because the Law has no power to give eternal life!
Laws are just rules!
Laws can only help us decide how we are going to behave!
Laws bring only demands!
Laws are cold and lifeless!
Laws demand obedience but leave us alone to struggle with how we will comply with those laws!
Laws bring a curse for failure and have no power to give life!
In order for the Law to bring life then it would have had to contain the means to pardon!
Since Jesus Christ was the only One who could have kept all the Laws, then He is the only One who had the power to instill behaviour into the mind of each believer.
It is the life of Christ Jesus that brings with it eternal life to the believer!
The Law only shows our weakness to obey it!
Faith shows our strength through Christ Jesus!
Rom 8:3 For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:
Rom 8:4 That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
There is no Law that can be written that can open the gates of Heaven.
*****Gal 3:22 But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe.
Verse 19 taught us that the Law was only added to the promise because of transgression.
The laws given to the Children of Israel made it clear to them what God considered to be sin!
A transgression is anything that goes against the will of God!
Laws only open the doors to Satan's prison because sin holds all people in Death's grip!
Laws conclude that we are all sinners and need rules to live by, and they bring serious consequences!
"Under sin" means to be shut up as a prisoner in the hopeless depths of solitary confinement!
Rom 3:9 What then? are we better than they? No, in no wise: for we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that "they are all under sin";
Rom 3:10 As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:
Rom 3:11 There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God.
And the results of all those that remain under sin is eternal death;
Luk 16:23 And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.
Luk 16:24 And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.
The entire purpose of the Law is to drive all mankind to seek the "Promises of God" through Jesus Christ!
Rom 5:1 Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:
Rom 5:2 By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
It is the Promises of God that bring life and not some Law!
2Pe 1:4 Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.
So why is "Faith" so much superior to any Law?
*****Gal 3:23 But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed.
Gal 3:24 Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.
Gal 3:25 But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.
Every person on this Earth was caught up in "Sin's Prison" before "Faith came!
Until Jesus Christ died an actual death on Calvary's Cross there was no escape from this bondage!
The Law itself is temptation!
We are tempted to touch that fresh painted bench just to see if it is still wet.
We are tempted to break the speed limit just to see if we will get caught.
We are tempted to run that red light just to see if anyone really cares.
Temptation brings only failure!
But Faith brings results!
1Pe 5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:
1Pe 5:9 "Whom resist stedfast in the faith", knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world.
The Law shows us our failures.
The Law accuses and condemns us.
The Law has no life because the Law has no power to give life.
So the only hope of mankind was for "someone" to have the power to set us free from this bondage!
That "someone" was Jesus Christ!
To be released from sin's bondage we must accept His deliverance!
The most important choice we make in our life time is, "what are we going to do with Jesus Christ"!
We can believe in the saving work of Jesus Christ or we can reject Him!
The entire purpose of the Law was to bring us all to this point during our lifetime!
The Law is only our schoolmaster!
The Law teaches us the need for salvation.
God's Grace is "the gift" of salvation.
It is "Faith" in the work of the Lord Jesus Christ that brings God's Gift!
In the days of Jesus, a "schoolmaster" was a person in charge of the moral development of a child.
It was this schoolmaster who would prepare the child and deliver him to the teacher and then return later that day to bring that child back home to safety.
The purpose of the Law is to lead every person to Christ Jesus who is the true Teacher!
Once the teaching of Christ, which is "Faith" has come, there is no longer a need for the "schoolmaster"!
Faith is superior to all Law!
*****Gal 3:26 For ye are all the children of God "by faith in Christ Jesus".
How can this verse be so misinterpreted?
It is only Jesus Christ who can bring us face to face with God!
It is only Jesus Christ who answers the terms of adoption into the family of God!
The truth is, that "Faith" will cause us to concentrate on the Son of God, Jesus Christ!
Anyone who tries to focus on laws or rituals or works cannot stay focused on God's Son!
And we see this happening in our world today!
It's important to realize that God accepts each believer as a child!
And what else is important?
Luk 18:17 Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child shall in no wise enter therein.
**We cannot enter into the kingdom of God by working out some deep spiritual problem.
**We cannot enter into the kingdom of God by works at all!
Children are incapable of some mighty works to accomplish great goals.
Children cannot stay focused on one thing for very long.
Children rely on the gifts of good parents to survive in this evil world.
And as children we must rely on the gift of God to be part of God's family.
Rom 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
To reject God's gift is to reject God's family!
To become a part of God's family we must put on Jesus Christ!
*****Gal 3:27 For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have "put on" Christ.
The Apostle Paul is not saying we are saved by "Baptism"!
There are many millions who have been baptized that will never see God's New Heaven!
There are also many millions who have some sort of faith that will never live in God's house!
Paul is saying that if Jesus Christ is not our example and the object of our Faith, then we can never be a part of God's Kingdom!
It is "Faith" that clothes us with the righteousness and the Son-ship of Jesus Christ!
Jesus Christ is the pattern that we should all strive to be like!
2Co 5:21 For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
To be clothed with Jesus Christ means are also looked upon as God's Son!
When God looks upon each believer, God sees His Son!
Faith must say the truth and truth says that Jesus Christ is truly the Son of God!
Joh 1:12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:
Joh 1:13 Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
If Jesus Christ is not our example of how to live in this life, then we have not put on Christ!
And what else is the truth of the Gospel of Faith?
*****Gal 3:28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.
Faith makes us all stand on level ground!
How do we solve all the divisions of mankind? We become "One" in Jesus Christ!
There is no other answer to race and ethnic problems in this world we live in!
Every believer stands on equal footing before the Lord Jesus Christ.
In Jesus Christ there is a "new bond" that overcomes, color, culture, and customs!
In Jesus Christ there is a "new bond" that overcomes all social distinctions!
**What is the truth?
If all the world could look upon each other as brothers in Christ there would be no barriers between any of them!
The Jews hated the thought of becoming someone's slave!
They hated slaves as much as they hated Gentiles.
It was wrong for these Jews to insist that all believers first become Jews.
**What is the truth?
When masters treat their slaves as brothers in Christ, then there is no barrier between them.
The sad fact is, that Christianity has the power to remove all obstacles and for all people if we would all take our stand on the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ!
**What is the truth?
When all males and all females can look upon each other as brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ, there would be no barriers between them!
We can all be "One" in Jesus Christ in "One" family of God!
The Church is to be the Body of Christ and the Lord Jesus Christ must be the Head of the Church!
Rom 10:12 For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him.
Col 2:19 And not holding the Head, from which all the body by joints and bands "having nourishment ministered", and knit together, increaseth with the increase of God.
It is only Jesus Christ who can nourish the Church!
**What is the truth?
When we put on Jesus Christ we become "heirs" to the same promises made to Abraham!
*****Gal 3:29 And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.
Only because Abraham was faithful did he receive the promises of God!
It is by our own "Faith" that we are also blessed in the line of Abraham, but by Jesus Christ.
Gal 3:9 So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham.
The greatest gift to Abraham was the fulfillment of the promises of God.
The greatest gift to the believer is to be an heir to those same promises!
Let's revue:
1) Abraham was promised God's blessing, not God's wrath.
2) Abraham was promised that he would live in the presence of God and enjoy God's leadership!
3) Abraham was promised that he would be given the privilege of living in the "Promised Land" forever and ever!
Since Jesus Christ is the legal heir to Abraham, Jesus Christ inherits all the promises given to Abraham.
Since we have been adopted into the family of God, by our own "Faith" then we will also receive the promises given to Abraham!
Rom 8:15 For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.
Rom 8:16 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:
Rom 8:17 And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.
It cannot get any better than this!
There is "no law" that can cause these things to happen.
There is "no ritual" that can be kept to get you into the family of God.
There is "no work" that can be done to pay for such a promise.
These promises of God can only be fulfilled according to our "Faith"!
Faith is so much the more superior to all the laws of man!
Questions?
Let's Pray!
Galatians 3:19-29
Superiority means the quality of being more advanced or higher. To be greater or more excellent.
The world we live in today ranks fortune and fame above the superiority of understanding the truth of God!
The world is wrong and God tells us to come out from among the world.
2Co 6:17 Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you,
2Co 6:18 And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.
Until we come out from the world and live separately from the world we will never be received of God!
The purpose of laws are to expose sin.
The purpose of the law is to show us our need for a Savior.
Conviction, Repentance, and most of all Faith in Jesus Christ is what will bring us to Salvation!
The proof of laws is that they lack the power to change lives!
Laws may look to have power, laws may seem to be intimidating, but keeping and obeying laws cannot justify anyone in the eyes of God!
If the promise made to Abraham was not affected by laws, what then was the purpose of the Laws of Moses?
Let's pick up where we left off last week.
*****Gal 3:19 Wherefore then serveth the law? It was added because of transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator.
**What was the purpose of the Law? The purpose of the Law was to reveal to us, that we are all sinners.
How many of you when you are driving and come up to a stop sign really want to stop? I'll tell you that not many of us really want to stop. We stop, not because the stop sign says stop, but because we know if we proceed without stopping we place ourselves in danger of injury or death.
This is what the law does! If we do not obey the Law and proceed then we place ourselves in danger of death.
The Law was not given to justify or make anyone acceptable in the eyes of God because the Law was given to make people aware of their sin!
Laws do not make us righteous, laws just make us aware of our unrighteousness!
1) Laws make us aware of our sin and the results of sin.
2) Laws make us aware of how short we come to reaching God's glory.
3) Laws cause us to pay attention to the fact that we are sinners.
4) Laws show us how foolish we are to claim to be righteous.
5) Laws show us our need for a Savior!
6) Laws point us to a Righteous Lawgiver!
7) Laws bring us to point of conviction.
Rom 3:20 Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.
**The Law was temporary!
The Law was added to the promise God made to Abraham for a specific purpose but only temporarily!
"Till the "Promised Seed" should come!
Law extended from Moses until The Lord Jesus appeared to fulfill the Law and the Promise!
God never intended any Law to be a way to Salvation!
Before Jesus came, the Law was our standard of measurement to show us how far we fall short of the glory of God!
Since Jesus has now come, Jesus is now our standard of measurement.
Jesus fulfilled all the Law!
Mat 5:17 Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.
Jesus came not just to fulfill the Laws of Moses but to fulfill all the Word of God!
Mat 5:18 For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.
Jesus Christ is the "Perfect" Picture, the "Living" Example, and the Pattern for all mankind, that God has set before us.
Joh 1:14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.
Why? Because Jesus Christ is and was the visible representation of the invisible God!
Col 1:15 Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:
Col 1:16 For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:
Col 1:17 And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.
Why are the Laws not totally abandoned now since Jesus has come?
Laws are abandoned for all those that place their trust in Jesus Christ!
Rom 7:4 Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ; that ye should be married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God.
But to all those that reject the Lord Jesus Christ and trust in their own righteousness the Law is still in full effect!
Rom 10:3 For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God.
Rom 10:4 For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth.
Jesus Christ is the end of the Law, but only for "believers"!
**How do we know that the Law cannot justify?
The Law was not given directly by God!
The Law came from God but it was given by angels to Moses.
Act 7:52 Which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted? and they have slain them which shewed before of the coming of the Just One; of whom ye have been now the betrayers and murderers:
Act 7:53 "Who have received the law by the disposition of angels, and have not kept it".
The Bible says that God had brought many angels with Him when He came to Mount Sinai:
Deu 33:2 And he said, The LORD came from Sinai, and rose up from Seir unto them; he shined forth from mount Paran, and he came with ten thousands of saints: from his right hand went a fiery law for them.
Any Law that does not come directly from God is then inferior when God speaks Himself!
God spoke directly to Abraham!
Moses was indeed the mediator between God and Israel but now we have the true Mediator between God and all Mankind, His name is Christ Jesus!
*****Gal 3:20 Now a mediator is not a mediator of one, but God is one.
To have a relationship with God it must be truly personal!
Even Job clearly understood this!
Job 9:33 Neither is there any daysman betwixt us, that might lay his hand upon us both.
And the Apostle Paul clearly understood this!
1Ti 2:5 For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;
1Ti 2:6 Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.
The Law was between two parties, sinful man and God.
Both man and God had responsibilities.
Man had to keep the Law and if he did God would reward him with righteousness.
We see then that righteousness was conditional under the Law!
In the "Promise" of righteousness by the "Grace of God" only God had to meet certain conditions!
God fulfills His "Promise" by Jesus Christ!
1Co 8:6 But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him.
If you can get personal with God then you can see the truth in what He says!
**The truth is that no Law has the power to give life!
*****Gal 3:21 Is the law then against the promises of God? God forbid: for if there had been a law given which could have given life, verily righteousness should have been by the law.
How do we know that the Law cannot "justify" anyone in the eyes of God? Because the Law has no power to give eternal life!
Laws are just rules!
Laws can only help us decide how we are going to behave!
Laws bring only demands!
Laws are cold and lifeless!
Laws demand obedience but leave us alone to struggle with how we will comply with those laws!
Laws bring a curse for failure and have no power to give life!
In order for the Law to bring life then it would have had to contain the means to pardon!
Since Jesus Christ was the only One who could have kept all the Laws, then He is the only One who had the power to instill behaviour into the mind of each believer.
It is the life of Christ Jesus that brings with it eternal life to the believer!
The Law only shows our weakness to obey it!
Faith shows our strength through Christ Jesus!
Rom 8:3 For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:
Rom 8:4 That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
There is no Law that can be written that can open the gates of Heaven.
*****Gal 3:22 But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe.
Verse 19 taught us that the Law was only added to the promise because of transgression.
The laws given to the Children of Israel made it clear to them what God considered to be sin!
A transgression is anything that goes against the will of God!
Laws only open the doors to Satan's prison because sin holds all people in Death's grip!
Laws conclude that we are all sinners and need rules to live by, and they bring serious consequences!
"Under sin" means to be shut up as a prisoner in the hopeless depths of solitary confinement!
Rom 3:9 What then? are we better than they? No, in no wise: for we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that "they are all under sin";
Rom 3:10 As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:
Rom 3:11 There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God.
And the results of all those that remain under sin is eternal death;
Luk 16:23 And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.
Luk 16:24 And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.
The entire purpose of the Law is to drive all mankind to seek the "Promises of God" through Jesus Christ!
Rom 5:1 Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:
Rom 5:2 By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
It is the Promises of God that bring life and not some Law!
2Pe 1:4 Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.
So why is "Faith" so much superior to any Law?
*****Gal 3:23 But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed.
Gal 3:24 Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.
Gal 3:25 But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.
Every person on this Earth was caught up in "Sin's Prison" before "Faith came!
Until Jesus Christ died an actual death on Calvary's Cross there was no escape from this bondage!
The Law itself is temptation!
We are tempted to touch that fresh painted bench just to see if it is still wet.
We are tempted to break the speed limit just to see if we will get caught.
We are tempted to run that red light just to see if anyone really cares.
Temptation brings only failure!
But Faith brings results!
1Pe 5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:
1Pe 5:9 "Whom resist stedfast in the faith", knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world.
The Law shows us our failures.
The Law accuses and condemns us.
The Law has no life because the Law has no power to give life.
So the only hope of mankind was for "someone" to have the power to set us free from this bondage!
That "someone" was Jesus Christ!
To be released from sin's bondage we must accept His deliverance!
The most important choice we make in our life time is, "what are we going to do with Jesus Christ"!
We can believe in the saving work of Jesus Christ or we can reject Him!
The entire purpose of the Law was to bring us all to this point during our lifetime!
The Law is only our schoolmaster!
The Law teaches us the need for salvation.
God's Grace is "the gift" of salvation.
It is "Faith" in the work of the Lord Jesus Christ that brings God's Gift!
In the days of Jesus, a "schoolmaster" was a person in charge of the moral development of a child.
It was this schoolmaster who would prepare the child and deliver him to the teacher and then return later that day to bring that child back home to safety.
The purpose of the Law is to lead every person to Christ Jesus who is the true Teacher!
Once the teaching of Christ, which is "Faith" has come, there is no longer a need for the "schoolmaster"!
Faith is superior to all Law!
*****Gal 3:26 For ye are all the children of God "by faith in Christ Jesus".
How can this verse be so misinterpreted?
It is only Jesus Christ who can bring us face to face with God!
It is only Jesus Christ who answers the terms of adoption into the family of God!
The truth is, that "Faith" will cause us to concentrate on the Son of God, Jesus Christ!
Anyone who tries to focus on laws or rituals or works cannot stay focused on God's Son!
And we see this happening in our world today!
It's important to realize that God accepts each believer as a child!
And what else is important?
Luk 18:17 Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child shall in no wise enter therein.
**We cannot enter into the kingdom of God by working out some deep spiritual problem.
**We cannot enter into the kingdom of God by works at all!
Children are incapable of some mighty works to accomplish great goals.
Children cannot stay focused on one thing for very long.
Children rely on the gifts of good parents to survive in this evil world.
And as children we must rely on the gift of God to be part of God's family.
Rom 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
To reject God's gift is to reject God's family!
To become a part of God's family we must put on Jesus Christ!
*****Gal 3:27 For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have "put on" Christ.
The Apostle Paul is not saying we are saved by "Baptism"!
There are many millions who have been baptized that will never see God's New Heaven!
There are also many millions who have some sort of faith that will never live in God's house!
Paul is saying that if Jesus Christ is not our example and the object of our Faith, then we can never be a part of God's Kingdom!
It is "Faith" that clothes us with the righteousness and the Son-ship of Jesus Christ!
Jesus Christ is the pattern that we should all strive to be like!
2Co 5:21 For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
To be clothed with Jesus Christ means are also looked upon as God's Son!
When God looks upon each believer, God sees His Son!
Faith must say the truth and truth says that Jesus Christ is truly the Son of God!
Joh 1:12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:
Joh 1:13 Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
If Jesus Christ is not our example of how to live in this life, then we have not put on Christ!
And what else is the truth of the Gospel of Faith?
*****Gal 3:28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.
Faith makes us all stand on level ground!
How do we solve all the divisions of mankind? We become "One" in Jesus Christ!
There is no other answer to race and ethnic problems in this world we live in!
Every believer stands on equal footing before the Lord Jesus Christ.
In Jesus Christ there is a "new bond" that overcomes, color, culture, and customs!
In Jesus Christ there is a "new bond" that overcomes all social distinctions!
**What is the truth?
If all the world could look upon each other as brothers in Christ there would be no barriers between any of them!
The Jews hated the thought of becoming someone's slave!
They hated slaves as much as they hated Gentiles.
It was wrong for these Jews to insist that all believers first become Jews.
**What is the truth?
When masters treat their slaves as brothers in Christ, then there is no barrier between them.
The sad fact is, that Christianity has the power to remove all obstacles and for all people if we would all take our stand on the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ!
**What is the truth?
When all males and all females can look upon each other as brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ, there would be no barriers between them!
We can all be "One" in Jesus Christ in "One" family of God!
The Church is to be the Body of Christ and the Lord Jesus Christ must be the Head of the Church!
Rom 10:12 For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him.
Col 2:19 And not holding the Head, from which all the body by joints and bands "having nourishment ministered", and knit together, increaseth with the increase of God.
It is only Jesus Christ who can nourish the Church!
**What is the truth?
When we put on Jesus Christ we become "heirs" to the same promises made to Abraham!
*****Gal 3:29 And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.
Only because Abraham was faithful did he receive the promises of God!
It is by our own "Faith" that we are also blessed in the line of Abraham, but by Jesus Christ.
Gal 3:9 So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham.
The greatest gift to Abraham was the fulfillment of the promises of God.
The greatest gift to the believer is to be an heir to those same promises!
Let's revue:
1) Abraham was promised God's blessing, not God's wrath.
2) Abraham was promised that he would live in the presence of God and enjoy God's leadership!
3) Abraham was promised that he would be given the privilege of living in the "Promised Land" forever and ever!
Since Jesus Christ is the legal heir to Abraham, Jesus Christ inherits all the promises given to Abraham.
Since we have been adopted into the family of God, by our own "Faith" then we will also receive the promises given to Abraham!
Rom 8:15 For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.
Rom 8:16 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:
Rom 8:17 And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.
It cannot get any better than this!
There is "no law" that can cause these things to happen.
There is "no ritual" that can be kept to get you into the family of God.
There is "no work" that can be done to pay for such a promise.
These promises of God can only be fulfilled according to our "Faith"!
Faith is so much the more superior to all the laws of man!
Questions?
Let's Pray!
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