PART 2: IN THE LAW IT FULFILLS (GAL. 3:10-14)

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1 Tony Reinke Fri., Sept. 17th, 2004 UNO PART 2: IN THE LAW IT FULFILLS (GAL. 3:10-14) We are looking at the Glories of the Cross this semester. Last week we saw the pain, the blood, the death of Christ on the Cross. We relived the pain and agony of Christ s physical torture and tried to behold a fraction of the torturous separation He endured as He was separated from the Eternal Father for a moment. NAU Galatians 3: 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. OUTLINE As I promised last time, we have looked and the pain and torture of the Cross narrative, now we are moving into some simply awesome themes in the NT. From here on we will be looking at how the Cross work of Christ overcame evil; saved sinners, etc. FRIENDS we talk a lot about relationships with others. We all have friends, family and those we love. But the most important relationship we have to consider is the one between us and the One who made us God. Tonight we will see the glorious truth of God s saving love in the act of JUSTIFICATION. Justification is the opposite of CONDEMNATION. Its all about our relationship to Him

2 Purpose: Tonight we will see that our sinful separation from God is bridged by the loving substitution of Christ in our place - an achievement available only by faith in Christ. 1. HOW WE ARE SEPARATED FROM GOD (V. 10) a. Standard of obedience Law of God (10 Commands) i. TRANSLATION: In seeking to be as literal as possible, the NASU is sometimes as unreadable as possible 1. ESV Galatians 3:10 For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, "Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them." ii. What is the Law? A short list a. NAU Exodus 20:1 Then God spoke all these words, saying, 2 "I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. 3 "You shall have no other gods before Me. 4 "You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth. 5 "You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me, 6 but showing lovingkindness to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments. 7 "You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not leave him unpunished who takes His name in vain. 8 "Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9 "Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a sabbath of the LORD your God; in it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter, your male or your female servant or your cattle or your sojourner who stays with you. 11 "For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day; therefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day and made it holy. 12 "Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be prolonged in the land which the LORD your God gives you. 13 "You shall not murder. 14 "You shall not commit adultery. 15 "You shall not steal. 16 "You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. 17 "You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife or his male servant or his female servant or his ox or his donkey or anything that belongs to your neighbor." 2. Honor your parents? - 2 -

3 3. Never look in lust upon another person? 4. Stealing? 5. Speaking in vain towards God himself? 6. Loving others as yourself? 7. Loving God with your entire being all the time. Giving Him the devotion He deserves 24/7? 8. Every careless word: b. Scope of standard perfection a. NAU Matthew 12:36 "But I tell you that every careless word that people speak, they shall give an accounting for it in the day of judgment. 37 "For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned." b. Every careless word is catalogued and on file for all eternity. i. Is anyone here innocent before God? After all, we re not flying planes into the towers right? We re not that bad. I d be willing to guess that most of you in this room have never been inside a prison cell. We re not that bad!! i. Before we get carried away, lets look at the verse again 1. ESV Galatians 3:10 For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, "Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them." a. abide habitual b. all things exhaustive c. and do them not merely avoiding sin, be righteousness in everything ii. NAU James 2:10 For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all. 1. stumble trip up. 2. one point one little area a. In God s book there is nothing short of perfection that is good enough. c. Consequence of failure cursed i i. ESV Galatians 3:10 For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, "Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them." - 3 -

4 ii. What does it mean to be cursed? Separated from God by sin without any hope. 1. Thomas Boston: the guilt and defilement of (personal sin) is never taken away The party offended is the eternal God, whose being never comes to an end; The sinner never being able to expiate and put away his offence therefore the sinner must be forever excluded and punished. (Works 2:392) a. Okay, so I hope its been made clear that we all are under the CURSE of God. b. What s the solution? 2. THE OPTIONS OF OUR RESTORATION TO GOD (VV ) a. 11 Now that no one is justified (declared righteous) by the Law (human, religious merit) before God is evident (obvious); 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." i. The distinction comes between human religious merit and faith. ii. Exclusiveness of each - Faith/works cannot be mixed. 1. You can either merit your own value before God 2. or you must trust in Christ by FAITH! a. If you said that you were achieving the regulations of God, continue in them b. But if we are all honest with ourselves we see that we have all sinned and fallen far short of the perfection of God! i. This is why we must believe in Christ! Faith alone!! ii. But what do we believe about Christ? 3. RESTORED TO GOD THROUGH CHRIST (VV ) i. 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. b. Christ became a curse for us (v. 13) i. The curse we earned by disobedience to the Law, Christ substituted Himself for. c. Salvation via faith in Christ (v. 14) - 4 -

5 i. Salvation comes via faith in Him. d. This is a beautiful picture of LOVE. i. Yesterday I was not feeling very well. Not enough sleep, early morning meeting and forgot breakfast drank too much coffee and by mid morning I was feeling lousy. I thought that sunflower seeds would provide enough food for the day so I didn t bring much for lunch. By about 3:00 I was about to fall over. When I came home I could smell a turkey that had been in the crock pot all day. The smell filled the empty house. I rested for a time and woke up to find that diner was ready! When I came to the table I realized that not only had my wonderful wife made turkey but mashed potatoes (with mushroom gravy) and corn to boot. It is really one of my favorite meals! My wife, in her sympathy with my tough day made me this great meal. And I can say with honesty that she showed me her love in that! By devoting her day to planning and getting the meal together I could see her love in it. It was extremely loving! My wife s illustration of her love for me comes in the actions she is willing to sacrifice for me and my benefit. This is how we know Christ loves us, even more, because He gave up His very own life for us. He became a curse for us! There is no greater act of love then to lay down your life for your friends (John 15:13), Christ laid His life down for those who were enemies of God, enemies of the Cross! ii. The Cross is the greatest act of love! 4. CONCLUSIONS a. Notice the simplicity of the Gospel s saving message. i. You may be here tonight and this is all new to you. That s fine! 1. But as we looked at the ways in which we have all shaken our fist at God, was your heart troubled? Now, are you broken over that disobedience towards the God who created you to worship Him? 2. Know that God loves you, He created you. But apart from Christ, every careless word is stored in an eternal database. God is offended and God is eternal. 3. Trust in Christ. This is the message of Christianity SUBSTITUTION. There is no hidden DaVinci code to find, no hidden knowledge you can get in the future to get you to heaven. This is it! b. Notice the complexity of the Gospel s sanctifying effect

6 i. John Flavel: there is no doctrine more excellent in itself, or more necessary to be preached and studied, than the doctrine of Jesus Christ, and him crucified It is of many sorts and forms, of many folds and plates: it is indeed simple, pure and unmixed with any thing but itself, yet it is manifold in degrees, kinds and administrations; though something of Christ be unfolded in one age, and something in another, yet eternity itself cannot fully unfold him. I see something, said Luther, which blessed Augustine saw not; and those that come after me, will see that which I see not. It is in the studying of Christ, as in the planting of a newly discovered country; at first men sit down by the sea-side, upon the skirts and borders of the land; and there they dwell, but by degrees they search farther and farther into the heart of the country. Ah, the best of us are yet but upon the borders of this vast continent. (Works 1:34,36) ii. The Gospel is a land discovered in saving faith but unfolding throughout life. 1. How is a man to love his wife? As Christ gave himself for the church! 2. Why can I live free from condemnation and the guilt of my continued struggle with sin? Because of the Cross. 3. Why do I worship God? The Cross 4. What can I expect in heaven? Its found around the Cross! a. Where do I find fulfillment for my greatest affections? b. Where do I find comfort and fulfillment? In the Cross! UNUSED MATERIAL What is this reference to the Law? 10 commandments are a good place to start (start from the bottom and go up Spurgeon (No. 174): Hear thou these words of the law Thou shalt have no other gods before me. What! hast thou never loved anything better than God? Hast thou never made a god of thy belly, or of thy business, or of thy family, or of thine own person? Oh! surely thou durst not say thou art guiltless here. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. What! hast thou never in thy life set up anything in the place of God? If thou hast not, I have, full many a time. And I wot, if conscience would speak truly it would say, Man thou hast been a mammon worshipper, thou hast been a belly worshipper, thou hast bowed down before gold and silver; thou hast cast thyself down before honor, thou hast bowed before pleasure, thou hast made a god of thy drunkenness, a god of thy lust, a god of thy uncleanness, a god of thy pleasures! Wilt thou dare to say thou hast never taken the name of the Lord thy God in vain? If thou hast never sworn profanely, yet surely in common conversation thou hast sometimes made use of God s name when thou oughtest not to have done so. Say hast thou always hallowed that most holy name? Hast thou never called upon God without necessity? Hast thou never read his book with a trifling spirit? Hast thou never - 6 -

7 heard his gospel without paying reverence to it? Surely thou art guilty here. And as for that fourth commandment, which relates to the keeping of the Sabbath Remember the Sabbath-day to keep it holy, hast thou never broken it? Oh, shut thy mouth and plead guilty, for these four commandments were enough to condemn thee! Honour thy father and thy mother. What! wilt thou say thou hast kept that? Hast thou never been disobedient in thy youth? Hast thou never kicked against a mother s love, and striven against a father s rebuke? Turn over a page of your history till you come to your childhood: see if you cannot find it written there; ay, and your manhood too may confess that you have not always spoken to your parents as you should, or always treated them with that honor they deserved, and which God commanded you to give unto them. Thou shalt not kill, you may never have killed any, but have you never been angry? He that is angry with his brother is a murderer; thou art guilty here. Thou shalt not commit adultery. Mayhap thou hast committed unclean things and art here this very day stained with lust; but if thou hast been never so chaste, I am sure thou hast not been quite guiltless, when the Master says, He that looketh on a woman to lust after her, hath committed adultery already with her in his heart. Has no lascivious thought crossed thy mind? Has no impurity ever stirred thy imagination? Surely if thou shouldest dare to say so, thou wouldest be brazen-faced with impudence. And hast thou never stolen? Thou shalt not steal you are here in the crowd to-night with the product of your theft mayhap, you have done the deed, you have committed robbery; but if you have been never so honest. yet surely there have been times in which you have felt an inclination to defraud your neighbor, and there may have been some petty, or mayhap some gross frauds which you have secretly and silently committed, on which the law of the land could not lay its hand, but which, nevertheless, was a breach of this law. And who dare say he has not borne false witness against his neighbor? Have we never repeated a story to our neighbour s disadvantage, which was untrue? Have we never misconstrued his motives? Have we never misinterpreted his designs? And who among us can dare to say that he is guiltless of the last Thou shalt not covet? for we have all desired to have more than God has given us; and at times our wandering heart has lusted after things which God has not bestowed upon us. Why, to plead not guilty, is to plead your own folly; for verily, my brethren, the very reading of the law is enough, when blessed by the Spirit, to make us cry, Guilty O Lord, guilty. John Flavel: Eudoxus was so affected with the glory of the sun, that he thought he was born only to behold it; much more should a Christian judge himself born only to behold and delight in the glory of the Lord Jesus. (1:34) John Flavel: It is the most sweet and comfortable knowledge; to be studying Jesus Christ, what is it but to be digging among all the veins and springs of comfort? And the deeper you dig, the more do these springs flow upon you. How are our hearts ravished with the discoveries of Christ in the gospel, what ecstasies, meltings, transports, do gracious souls meet there. (works 1:37) i See Boston, Thomas. Of the Desert of Sin in Works 2: In An Illustration of the Doctrines of the Christian Religion. Works 1:9-2: