“From Slaves to Sons”
(Galatians 3:15-29)
Series: Set Free To Be Free (Galatians)
Rev. Todd A. Linn, PhD
Henderson’s First Baptist Church, Henderson
Take your Bibles and join me in Galatians, chapter 3 (page 784; YV).
Paul continues writing about the truth of the Gospel, addressing the Judaizers, false teachers, who believed—erroneously—that man is saved not by believing in Jesus alone, but by believing in Jesus and performing certain works, doing certain deeds, adding to the gospel, works of the law. It was a faith-plus-works salvation, whereas Paul is preaching the truth of the gospel, a faith-plus-nothing salvation. The Bible teaches that we are saved by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone.
We tend to think of the gospel as having come only 2,000 years ago when Christ was born. Paul, however, in this section of the letter, teaches that the gospel is as old as Abraham. It goes back at least 2,000 years before Christ. 2,000 years before Christ God made a gospel promise that through Abraham all the nations of the earth would be blessed. We sang of this blessing a moment ago:
“For all creation, every nation, God’s salvation, through the Son.”
Through Abraham would come his descendants, but among those descendants, a special Descendant, singular, capital D, someone bringing life to all who would be united with Him, and all who were united in this Person—Jesus Christ—would be regarded sons of Abraham and heirs of the gospel promise of eternal life. This promise could never be annulled or canceled out by the teaching of the law that came over 400 years later through Moses. God’s promise remains in effect.
I want you to see that in this passage. The preaching text this morning begins in verse 15 and goes to the end of the chapter. For time’s sake, we’ll read just the first four verses of the passage and then pray for God’s blessing upon our study.
Please stand in honor of the reading of the Word.
15 Brethren, I speak in the manner of men: Though it is only a man’s covenant, yet if it is confirmed, no one annuls or adds to it.
16 Now to Abraham and his Seed were the promises made [Here, Paul refers to the Book of Genesis]. He does not say, “And to seeds,” as of many, but as of one, “And to your Seed,” who is Christ.
17 And this I say, that the law, which was four hundred and thirty years later, cannot annul the covenant that was confirmed before by God [in Christ], that it should make the promise of no effect.
18 For if the inheritance is of the law, it is no longer of promise; but God gave it to Abraham by promise.
Pray.
The title of our message is, “From Slaves to Sons,” a title that captures the essence of the text this morning as well as the essence of the entire Book of Galatians. Because of the gospel, believers are rescued and set free, rescued from slavery to sin, and brought into a position of being sons of God. Paul says to Christians: “You are all sons of God through faith in Christ (26),” sons of God and, “heirs according to the promise,” those who inherit the promise of life (29).” Heirs, sons of God.
Given our culture’s frequent insistence on using gender-inclusive terms, some may bristle at the word “sons” or “sons of God” preferring “children” or “children of God.” The newer NIV translation does that. The old NIV has “sons of God.”
Does it even matter? I think it does. The irony is that the phrase, “sons of God,” better reflects the gospel’s blessing to Christian women than does the phrase “children of God.” In Paul’s day, women did not enjoy the same legal status as men. Women were forbidden to be heirs of property or estate, or inheritance. It was illegal for a daughter the be an heir. Only a son was a legal heir. So Paul shows that one of the glorious truths of the gospel is that it brings equal blessing to all who believe, all are “sons of God,” all may inherit the blessing of life, regardless of race, class, or gender. Changing the language would blunt the force of the metaphor so we are wise to leave it, just as it would be wrong to change Paul’s metaphor of the church as the “bride of Christ” just because men are among those comprising the bride.
There are three sections to the text and therefore three points for us to consider. We’ll take them in the order they occur in the passage. First, let’s all consider this:
I. Consider the Promise of Life (15-18)
In verses 15 and following, Paul writes about the promise that God made to Abraham, and then through Abraham to his offspring, that all who believe would receive blessing, namely the blessing of life in every sense of the word, both abundant and eternal.
We read this earlier so we need not read it all again, but in verse 15 where Paul begins: “Brethren, I speak in the manner of men,” that’s a way of saying, “Let me give you an illustration,” an illustration of what I mean about God’s promise of life to us.
Then Paul illustrates the changeless nature of God’s promise of life by drawing upon our understanding of covenants or wills. Once you make out a will, no one else can come along and add to it or cancel it out. It remains in force, in effect, just as you intended. So God makes a covenant with Abraham, a promise, and His promise of life cannot be annulled or cancelled out by something added later—namely, the law that came 430 years later through Moses.
God’s promise to Abraham and his offspring cannot be changed just because the law came along at Mount Sinai 430 years later. This is the teaching of verses 15-18. Remember that for the Old Testament believers, they were saved the same way people are saved today, through faith in God’s promise, a promise culminating in the coming of the Messiah, Jesus Christ. This is who Paul means when he writes in verse 16 of Abraham’s “Seed,” singular. This is a reference to one very special offspring of Abraham, Jesus Christ.
And he goes on to say that all who are united to that one special offspring, all who are united to Christ, are also considered Abraham’s sons.
So People in Abraham’s day were saved the same way people are saved today—through this very special offspring, this special descendant, or Seed, Jesus Christ. People of the Old Testament were saved by looking forward in faith, faith in the promise of His coming come, a promise ultimately fulfilled in Christ. People are saved today by looking back in faith to the promise who has come—but we are both saved by faith in God’s promise of life that comes through Jesus Christ.
So no one is saved through the law. This is Paul’s point. No on is approved by God or accepted by God on the basis of his or her performance. Blessing comes through promise, not performance.
If I say I am going to give you this pen and I promise to do so. It is a gift. It comes to you freely, not on the basis of your performance. Salvation is like that. We believe the promise of life that comes by receiving Christ as Lord and Savior. We’re accepted by God not based on our performance of the law, but based on the promise of life through Jesus Christ.
The law is, “You will do this,” or, “You will not do that.” But Promise is, God’s saying, “I will. I will do what you can’t do yourself. You can’t keep the law perfectly. You can’t keep the law consistently. You try to keep the 10 Commandments and you fail within a matter of minutes.”
Thankfully salvation comes by promise and not by law. Well, this raises a question, then. And the question is, “Well, what purpose then does the law serve? That’s a good question. It’s the same question raised by the Apostle Paul here in verse 19. See it there? 19, “What purpose then does the law serve?” So let’s move on to our second consideration. We have considered the promise of life, let’s now:
II. Consider the Purpose of the Law (19-25)
If the law doesn’t grant life, if my keeping of the law doesn’t put me in favor with God, then why have the law anyway? There are a number of benefits of God’s giving the Old Testament Law, but let’s look at the primary reason, the one Paul stresses here in verse 19. Look at what Paul says:
19 What purpose then does the law serve? It was added because of transgressions, till the Seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was appointed through angels by the hand of a mediator.
What does all that mean? Well, let’s deal with the most important part first, the phrase: “It was added because of transgressions, till the Seed should come to whom the promise was made;”
The law was added because of transgressions. Put another way, “The law was given alongside the promise to show people their transgressions, their sins.” JB Phillips has, “[the law] was an addition made to underline the existence and extent of sin.”
So God gave the law to show us our sinfulness, to underscore our sin nature, to highlight our condemnation. Paul says elsewhere, remember this in Romans 3:20, “through the law comes the knowledge of sin.”
The law points out our sinfulness. It shows us our problem. The law doesn’t teach us about salvation, it teaches us about our sin.
John Stott, “It is only against the inky blackness of the night sky that the stars begin to appear.”
Martin Luther, “The principal point…of the law…is to make men not better but worse; that is to say, it shows them their sin, that by the knowledge of it they may be humbled, terrified, bruised and broken, and by this means may be driven to seek grace, and so to come to the blessed Seed (Christ).”
Or, as another (Walter Chantry) puts it in more puritan-like terms: “It is the sharp needle of the law that makes way for the scarlet thread of the Gospel.” ([Today’s Gospel, Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth, 1970], p. 43).
So you have to wound men before you can mend them. You have to pierce them with the sharp needle of the law before they can be sewn-up with the gospel.
The law blows the lid off of our sin. It uncovers us. Like the way Adam’s sin uncovered his nakedness, requiring his being covered. I think it was John Stott who said, “The law blows the lid off our respectability.” It shows us for who we are. We need covering. The gospel covers our sin. Christ’s righteousness is our permanent covering.
Now Paul goes on to say that while God gave His law through angels to Moses, the unnamed “mediator” there in verse 19, Moses then gave the law to the people. But the giving of the gospel promise was different. It came directly by God to Abraham. That seems to be the point of verse 20 where Paul says “God is one.” No mediator is required when God gives the gospel promise. So Paul asks in verse 21:
21 Is the law then against the promises of God? Certainly not! For if there had been a law given which could have given life, truly righteousness would have been by the law.
This is just another way of saying, “The law isn’t bad, it just can’t grant life and salvation. It never was intended by God to do that.”
The law has a number of helpful qualities, it restrains sin in a society, it shows how the people of God are to live; the law is good. It was just never meant to be used the way the Judaizers were using it—as a means of gaining acceptance with God, a works-based way of earning God’s approval.
Again, the law was not given by God to save, but given primarily to show our need for a Savior. That truth is taught through a couple of illustrations Paul provides in the next couple verses.
22 But the Scripture has confined all under sin, that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe.
Paul is saying that the law is like a prison. It binds us. It locks us up. It punishes us for wrongdoing. So it’s like a prison, confining us under sin. Verse 23:
23 But before faith came, we were kept under guard by the law, kept for the faith which would afterward be revealed.
So apart from faith in Christ we are held captive and “under guard by the law.” The only way to be rescued from slavery to sin is through “faith,” the faith that comes through Christ—a faith Old Testament believers had that “would afterward be revealed” to be found in the Messiah, the One we believers today know by name, Jesus Christ.
24 Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith.
The word “tutor” is a word describing a person the family used to guide a young boy to school, superintending his way there, acting as his guardian and disciplinarian. The tutor would ensure that the child knew where the boundaries were and would discipline the child when he got out of line. Ancient drawings picture the tutor with a rod in his hand. It was a temporary thing for a family to use a tutor in the raising of their son. When the child grew, he would no longer need the strict discipline and punishment of the tutor.
So Paul says that the law is like that. The law is our guardian and disciplinarian. The law ensures that we don’t “step out of line.” And when we do break the law, we feel its discipline, like a rod to our soul. So the law helps us in that it points out our sinfulness and prepares us for our Savior, helping us feel the sting of shame and guilt that we might feel the healing balm of the gospel. So Paul writes in verse 25:
25 But after faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor.
When we come to Christ, the law has done it’s work. It condemned us and showed us our need for faith in Jesus. So after faith has come, we not longer need this tutor, this harsh disciplinarian know as the law.
But does this mean, then, that the law is gone and we are now to ignore it completely? Well no, it’s not quite like that.
It’s like raising a child and we tell our child “No, don’t do that. Do this.” And that child learns a certain way to live and then, when he or she is grown, they no longer need our constant walking alongside them and telling them, “Do this, don’t do that.” They have grown and internalized those values and commands such that they live them out naturally.
So when we place our faith in Jesus Christ, God gives us new natures and that means new desires. And so we live out the spirit of the law, we live out the moral commands—like the 10 Commandments—we live them out as children obeying their father out of love, and no longer needing the harsh discipline of the rod of the tutor. We obey not out of coercion and fear, but out of love.
Think of the law as training wheels when you were learning to ride a bike. You know those small wheels that were hooked up to your bike to provide support. They kept you from turning too far to the left or right and completely falling over. They taught you how to stay upright. And once you learned how to ride the bike, you no longer needed the training wheels.
So the law is like training wheels. The law teaches you, basically, how to stay upright. The law keeps you from falling to the left or right. The law points up your need for some way to ride without them. And Jesus Christ comes along. And he runs along side you and he takes off those training wheels and he keeps your bike going, and keeps you from finally falling over. And you are now riding in freedom.
This is what we mean when we sing that verse:
Now, Lord, I would be Yours alone
And live so all might see
The strength to follow Your commands
Could never come from me
The strength to follow God’s commands comes not from the law, but from the promise, the gospel promise of life, promised to Abraham, illumined through Moses, fulfilled in Christ.
We’ve considered the promise of life, the purpose of the law, finally, let’s:
III. Consider the People of the Lord (26-29)
Who are they who are united to Christ? How are believers described? Here it is again in verse 26:
26 For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.
Sons of God. Again, that’s a good metaphor. Let’s not change it to “children of God” or we’ll lose the force of it’s teaching—that all may be heirs. A daughter could not be a legal heir in the Ancient Near Eastern world. Only sons could be heirs. But in Christ, all are “sons of God,” all are legal heirs.
27 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.
Baptism provides this beautiful picture of our union with Christ. As the previous verse indicates, it is faith in Christ Jesus that makes us sons of God. And it is baptism, that pictures this union with Jesus Christ. This is one reason why baptism is the first step of obedience for the new believer. It vividly sets forth this new union with Christ, showing that the believer is one with Christ believing the One who has died, was buried, and rose again. So the believer has himself died to the old way of life and is raised in newness of life.
Paul also describes this new union in verse 27 by saying believers, “have put on Christ.” Like the rite of passage when a Greek boy became a man, the so-called toga virilis, the time when a a boy put on a toga and began wearing it regularly, the sign he had grown up and entered manhood.
So Christians were once under the strict discipline of their tutor, the law, but the time came when they no longer needed the harsh rebuke of the law, having been saved by grace through faith, they have “put on Christ,” wearing His righteousness as a garment, living a life of freedom in Christ, and obeying their Heavenly Father out of love, no longer needing the harsh discipline of the tutor.
28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
Literally, “You are all one person in Christ Jesus.” This does not mean that there are no distinctions between genders or races, and so on. Men are men and women are women and each has a differing role. Jews and Greeks are different ethnicities and cultures. These distinctions are part of God’s good creation. We celebrate that!
Paul’s point is no one is superior to the other. No one is more in need of grace than the other. All are saved the same way. All are either in Christ or not in Christ.
29 And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.
So we’re back to the children’s song, “Father Abraham had many sons, many sons had Father Abraham. I am one of his and so are you. So let’s just praise the Lord!”
This is what Paul is saying here in verse 29. “If you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed,” then you are one of the many sons Father Abraham had. And you are his heirs, heirs of the promise.
I am one of the many sons father Abraham had. If you are a Christian, you too, are one of the many sons of Abraham.
So, to go back to chapter 2, eat together! Peter, as a Jew don’t separate yourself from the Gentiles for fear of what others will say. You are with them both sons of Abraham and equal heirs of the promise.
And you have a place in history. You have significance with God, with other believers, and with believers throughout time. You are part of God’s greater story, going all the way back to Abraham. You are an integral part of history.
You have meaning and purpose and worth. It’s not like that song Kansas sang back in the day, “All we are is dust in the wind.” That’s not true! If you are a Christian, you are an integral part of God’s great story of redemption. You are a son of Abraham. You are in Christ. You have an identity in Him. You have “put on Christ!”
Our clothing, what we put on, often is an indicator of our identity. Certain clothing reflects certain cultures. And often what we wear says something about what is important to us. It tells people who we are. Brands. Styles. We want folks to know we identify with this brand or that style. We want people to think of us along with that brand. 80s it was the Members Only jacket. You had one of those you were “somebody!”
You put on Christ, you are somebody. Your identity is not found in the clothing of jackets and jeans and cool shirts. Your identity is found in Him. Your life is found in Him.
The gospel promise of life, promised to Abraham, illumined through Moses, fulfilled in Christ.
RESPONSE:
Are you held captive by the law? Or have you been set free by the gospel? Are you “under the law” or are you “in Christ?” Every one of us is either a slave to sin or we are sons of God. Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to the promise of life.
Are you still trying to ride the bike of religion, leaning upon those training wheels, laboriously pedaling your way through life by trying to earn acceptance with God through the law, doing this and doing that? You are being beaten by the laws demands like a tutor uses a rod of discipline upon you.
Or have you been set free—set free through the promise of life in the power of the gospel, set free in Christ—the training wheels removed and you are riding your life with liberty, even letting go of the handle bars at time, enjoying spiritual freedom?
The only way any of us can be set free is to receive Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. We must believe in Him, trust Him for our righteousness. We must believe He died for our sins. Some of you need to trust Jesus this morning. Do that. Believe. Confess. Repent. Say to Him:
“Lord Jesus Christ, I admit that I am weaker and more sinful than I ever before believed, but, through you, I am more loved and accepted than I ever dared hope. I thank you for paying my debt, bearing my punishment and offering forgiveness. I turn from my sin and receive you as Savior.”
If you are already sons of God, does your life reflect that? How did it go last week? We are so grateful for the gospel, so grateful for Amazing Grace. But we don’t always show the same grace to others that we ourselves have received.
We sing, “Amazing Grace” and treat others with amazing scorn. Judgment. Maybe you need to repent this morning of the way you treated someone.
We’re going to sing our hymn of invitation and response. God is inviting us—every single one of us in the room—God is inviting us to respond to His Word.
Some of you want to join the church, or be baptized, you come during this time and I’ll meet you up front here. Others of you want to come for prayer or you want to follow Jesus and you have questions. Right after we pray, I’m inviting you to come.
Let’s pray.
Now stand and as we sing, you respond however the Lord is leading you.
“All I Have is Christ”
1
I once was lost in darkest night
Yet thought I knew the way
The sin that promised joy and life
Had led me to the grave
I had no hope that You would own
A rebel to Your will
And if You had not loved me first
I would refuse You still
2
But as I ran my hell-bound race
Indifferent to the cost
You looked upon my helpless state
And led me to the cross
And I beheld God’s love displayed
You suffered in my place
You bore the wrath reserved for me
Now all I know is grace
Chorus:
Hallelujah! All I have is Christ
Hallelujah! Jesus is my life
3
Now, Lord, I would be Yours alone
And live so all might see
The strength to follow Your commands
Could never come from me
Oh Father, use my ransomed life
In any way You choose
And let my song forever be
My only boast is You
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