GALATIANS

Galatians 3:6-26Page 991 in Pew Bibles

6. Just as Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him for righteousness,

7. so understand that those who have faith are Abraham’s sons.

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8. Now the Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith and foretold the good news to Abraham, saying, All the nations will be blessed in you.

9. So those who have faith are blessed with Abraham, who had faith.

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10. For all who rely on the works of the law are under a curse, because it is written: Cursed is everyone who does not continue doing everything written in the book of the law.

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11. Now it is clear that no one is justified before God by the law, because the righteous will live by faith.

12. But the law is not based on faith; instead, the one who does these things will live by them.

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13. Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, because it is written: Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.

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14. The purpose was that the blessing of Abraham would come to the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, so that we could receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.

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15. Brothers, I’m using a human illustration. No one sets aside even a human covenant that has been ratified, or makes additions to it.

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16. Now the promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. He does not say “and to seeds,” as though referring to many, but and to your seed, referring to one, who is Christ.

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17. And I say this: the law, which came 430 years later, does not revoke a covenant that was previously ratified by God, so as to cancel the promise.

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18. For if the inheritance is from the law, it is no longer from the promise; but God granted it to Abraham through the promise.

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19. Why the law then? It was added because of transgressions until the Seed to whom the promise was made would come. The law was ordered through angels by means of a mediator.

20. Now a mediator is not for just one person, but God is one.

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21. Is the law therefore contrary to God’s promises? Absolutely not! For if a law had been given that was able to give life, then righteousness would certainly be by the law.

22. But the Scripture has imprisoned everything under sin’s power, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe.

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23. Before this faith came, we were confined under the law, imprisoned until the coming faith was revealed.

24. The law, then, was our guardian until Christ, so that we could be justified by faith.

25. But since that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian,

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26. for you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.

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Is the Gospel Consistent with the Old Testament?How would you explain the Gospel

using only the Old Testament?

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How Would You Explainfrom the Old Testament…

• The substitutionary death of Jesus?• That keeping Old Testament commandments

will not make you right with God?• That being made right before God could

happen on the basis of faith?

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Old Testament Principle #1:The Law Brings a Blessing or a Curse

What do you have to score to get the blessing?

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Choose: Blessing or Curse

Deuteronomy 11:26-29 “Look, today I set before you a blessing and a curse: there will be a blessing, if you obey the commands of the LORD your God I am giving you today, and a curse, if you do not obey the commands of the LORD your God…”

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Dramatic Review of the Choices

Deuteronomy 11:29 “When the LORD your God brings you into the land you are entering to possess, you are to proclaim the blessing at Mount Gerizim and the curse at Mount Ebal.”

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Dramatic Review of the Choices

Deuteronomy 27:12-13 “When you have crossed the Jordan, these tribes will stand on Mount Gerizim to bless the people: Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Joseph, and Benjamin. And these tribes will stand on Mount Ebal to deliver the curse: Reuben, Gad, Asher, Zebulun, Dan, and Naphtali.”

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Dramatic Review of the Choices

• Deuteronomy 27:15-25: There are 11 Curses then this twelth and final curse…

• Deuteronomy 27:26 “‘Cursed is anyone who does not put the words of this law into practice.’ And all the people will say, ‘Amen!’”

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Blessings will Run You DownAnd Tackle You to Bless You

Deuteronomy 28:1-2 “Now if you faithfully obey the LORD your God and are careful to follow all His commands I am giving you today, the LORD your God will put you far above all the nations of the earth. All these blessings will come and overtake you, because you obey the LORD your God” >

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Curses Will Run You Down

Deuteronomy 28:15 “But if you do not obey the LORD your God by carefully following all His commands and statutes I am giving you today, all these curses will come and overtake you”

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100 or You’re Cursed

3:10 “For all who rely on the works of the law are under a curse, because it is written: Cursed is everyone who does not continue doing everything written in the book of the law.”

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Old Testament Principle #2:There is a Curse on Those

Executed and Hung on a TreeIs it a coincidence Jesus died on a cross,

as opposed to some other means of execution?

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Hung On a Tree: Under God’s Curse

Deuteronomy 21:22-23 “If anyone is found guilty of an offense deserving the death penalty and is executed, and you hang his body on a tree, you are not to leave his corpse on the tree overnight but are to bury him that day, for anyone hung on a tree is under God’s curse. You must not defile the land the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance.” >

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The Cross: Christ, Our Curse

• 3:13 “Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, because it is written: Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.”

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So What is the Purposeof the Old Testament Law?

An Obvious & Reasonable Question

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What is the Purpose of the Law?

3:19 “Why the law then? It was added because of transgressions until the Seed to whom the promise was made would come.”

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The Law Reveals Our Inabilityto Escape Sin’s Hold Over Us

3:22-23 “But the Scripture has imprisoned everything under sin’s power, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe. Before this faith came, we were confined under the law, imprisoned until the coming faith was revealed.”

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The Law Reveals Our Inabilityto Escape Sin’s Hold Over Us

• It’s not that we are ignorant of right and wrong• It’s not that we don’t have rules to guide us• It’s that sin has us so thoroughly in its grip that

we cannot escape – no more than a prisoner in a dungeon could escape

• Our only hope is to be rescued>

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The Law Brings Us to Christ

3:24-25 “The law, then, was our guardian until Christ, so that we could be justified by faith. But since that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian”

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Guardian

• Literally, “Child Conductor”• Warren Wiersbe: “In many Roman and Greek

households, well-educated slaves took the children to and from school and watched over them during the day. Sometimes they would teach the children, sometimes they would protect and prohibit, and sometimes they would even discipline.”

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Old Testament Principle #3:Source of Spiritual Life

Imparted How?

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Source of Spiritual Life:The Law or Faith?

• Leviticus 18:5 “Keep My statutes and ordinances; a person will live if he does them. I am the LORD.”

• 3:12 “But the law is not based on faith; instead, the one who does these things will live by them.”

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Life by Faith

Habakkuk 2:4 “…But the righteous one will live by his faith.”

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Live by Faith

• Lifestyle• Life

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The Law Cannot Give Life;It Can Only Reveal Our Helpless Condition

3:21 “Is the law therefore contrary to God’s promises? Absolutely not! For if a law had been given that was able to give life, then righteousness would certainly be by the law.”

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Old Testament Principle #4:Abraham Was Declared Right by Faith

The Father of All Jewish People

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Abraham Believed God’sPromise of an Impossible Son

Genesis 15:5-6 “He took him outside and said, ‘Look at the sky and count the stars, if you are able to count them.’ Then He said to him, ‘Your offspring will be that numerous.’ Abram believed the LORD, and He credited it to him as righteousness.”

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Believing God = Right With God

• 3:6-7 “Just as Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him for righteousness, so understand that those who have faith are Abraham’s sons.”

• Bookkeeping Term• Push it in or have it towed, we will give you 100%

of the purchase price toward being right with God!>

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Two Possible Approaches:The Law or Faith

• 3:18 “For if the inheritance is from the law, it is no longer from the promise; but God granted it to Abraham through the promise.”

• But didn’t the law come later and add new conditions to the promise?...

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You Can’t Change the Rules:The Promise Came First

• 3:15 “Brothers, I’m using a human illustration. No one sets aside even a human covenant that has been ratified, or makes additions to it.”

• 3:17 “And I say this: the law, which came 430 years later, does not revoke a covenant that was previously ratified by God, so as to cancel the promise.” . >

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Old Testament Principle #5:Abraham Was Promised a Son Who

Would Make the Difference

The Awaited Messiah

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Not Abraham Only

3:8-9 “Now the Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith and foretold the good news to Abraham, saying, All the nations will be blessed in you. So those who have faith are blessed with Abraham, who had faith.”

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Gentile Nations Blessed Through Abraham’s Descendants

• Genesis 12:3 “I will bless those who bless you, I will curse those who treat you with contempt, and all the peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”

• Genesis 18:18 “Abraham is to become a great and powerful nation, and all the nations of the earth will be blessed through him.”

• Genesis 22:18 “And all the nations of the earth will be blessed by your offspring...” >

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Awaited the Promised One:A Descendant of Abraham

• Genesis 3:15 “I will put hostility between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed. He will strike your head, and you will strike his heel.”

• 3:16 “Now the promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. He does not say “and to seeds,” as though referring to many, but and to your seed, referring to one, who is Christ.” >

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Yes, It’s All in the Hebrew Scriptures

• Yes, being made right with God on the basis of faith is in the Bible; Abraham was!

• No, you can’t be right with God on the basis of keeping the Law; unless you keep it perfectly

• If you don’t keep all the rules perfectly, then you are under a curse

• But Jesus became a curse for us on the cross . .

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