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The purpose of the Law… (3 things)
We receive freely the Promise of eternal life – saved by the Gospel of Grace!
1st – Grace came before the Law… vs. 15-18
If you sign a contract – you are bound by the agreement… vs. 15
If you take out a loan to purchase a motor – you have to pay every month…
You cannot change your mind – decide to only pay half the agreed upon rate…
In the same way God made a binding contract – one that cannot be broken…
God gave a promise to Abraham and his Child… vs. 16
Genesis 22:18 – “In your Child shall all the nations of the earth be blessed…”
Notice the promise was not to Abraham’s children – but to his Child…
The Child God was referring to was none other than Jesus Christ…
The Promise of God was to bless the whole world through Jesus…
Jesus would take away the sin of the world – the Promise was the Gospel of Grace!
The Gospel of Grace was given 430 years before the Law…
If you signed a contact – a promise – to work for a company for 10 years…
But after 2 years decided to change jobs – you wanted to sign a new contract…
In doing so you would have to break your promise to the first company…
God cannot break His promise – He cannot lie – Titus 1:2
So the Law that was given through Moses – that came 430 years later…
Could not cancel out the Promise of Grace God given to Abraham…
The Law did have a purpose – but it was never meant to give us life…
Our inheritance could not come through the Law…
God had a plan to give us an eternal inheritance – eternal life…
But His plan always was to use the Gospel of Grace – not the Law of Moses…
Abraham did not ‘earn’ the Promise of God – God freely gave it to him…
We do not deserve to go to heaven – we do not earn our salvation…
God gave Jesus to save sinners – not because they deserve it – but as a free gift!
No one will ever get to heaven because they worked hard to get there – it is a gift!
2nd – The purpose of the Law… vs. 19-25 (4 thigns)
If the Law was not given to bring life – why did God give Moses the Law…
The Law is one of the most misunderstood portions of the Bible…
People hang the 10 commandments on their wall as ‘rules to live by’…
Pulpits are constantly teaching the Law – as a means to live a holy life…
Yet the Law was never meant to be help us live – it was meant to kill us…
1st – The Law was given to make people guilty…
Paul was a good man – a VERY good man – before he came to believe in Jesus…
Paul tells us in Philippians 3:6 – that according to the Law he was perfect…
Meaning Paul was VERY careful to observe all the rules and commands of God…
If there was one man who you would have said was a ‘righteous man’ it was Paul…
Paul even thought he was a ‘righteous’ man – until he read in God’s Law…
You shall not covet (speaking of the desires of the heart for something you don’t have)
Paul could control what he did / his actions – but he could not stop his desires…
The Law was the mirror that finally showed Paul who he really was on the inside…
Not a VERY good man – but a VERY bad man – the Law revealed Paul’s sin…
I know a lot of people who think they are good Christians because they follow rules
They show up to church every Sunday – but what is in their heart….
We might be able to keep ourselves from killing a person when we are upset…
But how many of us have ever had hatred in our hearts towards someone else…
Matthew 5:28 – “Whoever is angry with his brother… shall be in danger of hell fire.”
If we did not know God’s Law – we would not know it was wrong to be angry…
It is God’s Law that is the mirror that shows us the sinners we truly are…
2nd – The Law had to be given – through a mediator… vs. 20
You only need a mediator when two people disagree…
When Israel came to the base of Mt. Sinai – covered in lightening and fire…
They asked not to hear the voice of God – or see the blazing fire – Exodus 20:19
Faced with the power and holiness of God – they were terrified!
If you walked into a courtroom – ready to be sentenced by a judge…
You would want a mediator – someone who could stand in the gap for you…
So God sent someone to speak for Him – give the people His Word…
Moses was that mediator – he stood between God and the nation of Israel…
The Law is a terrifying message – it reveals our sin – condemns us to death!
Romans 7:10 – “The good law, which was supposed to show me the way of life, instead gave me the death penalty.”
In contrast the Promise of Grace through Jesus gives hope…
When God gave the Promise to Abraham – there was no need for a man to mediate…
I Timothy 2:5 – “There is one God and one Mediator between God and men… Jesus”
Picture the courtroom – you are on trial for you sins – God is the judge…
Satan is accusing you – Revelation 12:10 – wants to see you condemned to hell…
He has all the ‘evidence’ he needs – all your sins / your immoral thoughts…
But Jesus – our defender – comes to our rescue – He points out one simple fact…
All our sins were paid for in full on the cross – we are found not guilty!
The Gospel of Grace is GREAT news – it says even though we are guilty…
We have been pardoned – set free – it gives us new life!
3rd – Does the Law contradict the Promise… vs. 21-22
The negative picture of the Law painted leaves us to wonder – is the Law bad…
Since the only thing the Law can do is reveal our guilt – is God’s Law itself bad…
Romans 7:7 – “Is the law sin? Certainly not! On the contrary, I would not have known sin except through the law. “
The Law is holy – the commandments just and good…
So does what God meant for good – causes me to sin – no!
The Law did not make Paul covet – it showed Paul he was already coveting…
The Law does not make me sin – it just shows me I am sinning…
The Law is perfect – the problem is – it has no power to make me perfect…
Like a speedometer that shows we are speeding – but cannot slow us down…
The Law points out to us all our failures – showed us all our flaws…
The problem is it does nothing / can do nothing – to help us change…
There is only the ability to show us what we do is wrong – not to make it right…
If we could have obeyed the Law it could haven given us new life…
The problem with the Law is me – I am not able to obey the law…
If we are looking to the Law – trusting in the law to keep us from sin…
It means we are depending on ourselves to be able to live up to the Law…
I knew a Christian brother who liked to smoke cigarettes…
Meaning well I told him he should not smoke – it was a bad witness…
He got rid of all his cigarettes – but he still wanted to smoke…
I could give a law – but I was unable to change his heart to not want to smoke…
Being told what to do and not to do still depends on me to make the right choice…
If we want to sin – the Law is powerless to stop us – it just tells us we sinned…
The only thing the Law can do is make sin – really obvious (exceedingly sinful)…
The point is the Law cannot help us to live for Jesus…
Knowing the ‘rules’ just shows us how far we are from following Jesus…
There needs to be a different answer – there is a need for a better option…
4th – The Law was our teacher… vs. 23-25
When we were young we needed to have a teacher to instruct us…
Teach us about math / science / spelling – so we knew how to survive in life…
But once we had the knowledge – there was no longer the need for the teacher…
Once we understand we are sinners – we see our need for Jesus as a savior…
See salvation only comes through faith in the finished work of Jesus – Romans 10:9-10
It is a free gift – meaning there is nothing we can do to earn it – Ephesians 2:8-9
Then we no longer have a need for the Law – we learned the Law’s lesson…
3rd – We no longer need the Law… vs. 25-29 (4 things)
1st – By Grace – we are the Sons of God through faith in Jesus…
Everyone is ‘born once’ – referring to physical birth – the day you were born…
But those who are only born once – are children of satan – Matthew 12:30
Those who are only ‘born of the flesh’ – die twice – physical death and spiritual death…
When we received salvation by faith in Jesus – we were ‘born again’ – born of the Spirit
John 3:3 – “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again… born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.”
Where we had been children of satan – we became the sons of God!
Because we were born twice – the flesh then the Spirit – we only die once (physical)…
We are the Sons of God – and get to go to heaven and live forever with the Lord!
By Grace – we have all been baptized into Christ / put on Christ…
The Law points out to us all our failures – showed us all our flaws…
The problem is it does nothing / can do nothing – to help us change…
There is only the ability to show us what we do is wrong – not to make it right…
But Jesus changes our desires so we do not want to do the things that are wrong…
If you plug a light into bamboo – nothing happens – only a socket has power…
In the same way we often try and plug our lives into the our own works…
Then we wonder why we have no power – why we are always in the dark…
It is only when we plug into Jesus – that the light comes on!
By Grace – we are one in Christ…
In Jesus there are no longer any categories – Jew or Gentile / male or female…
We have all been put on level ground through Grace in Christ…
Salvation is not based on who are – it is all about whom we know!
God does not care if we are Jew or gentile – Filipino or Mexican…
No matter who we are the only way we can be saved – is by faith in Jesus Christ!
Ultimately we are all equal under God – all sinners saved by the same grace!
It also does not matter if we are rich or poor…
We often tend to think of Christians in ranks – bad / good / best…
As if someone God looks down and sees some of us as better than others…
But there are only two classes of people when it comes to God…
Those who have beloved the Gospel of Grace – destined to spend eternity in heaven…
And those who have rejected Jesus – destined to spend eternity separated from God
By Grace – we are Abraham’s children – heirs to the Promise…
It is a gift – we did nothing to deserve it – but if we believe God gives it to us…
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