Essentials Of The Faith / Sunday Morning Sermon Series / Galatians: A Grace-full Life
Grace...Promise or Deal Pt1
Sermon Series: Galatians: A Grace-full Life
Title: : Grace...Promise or Deal Text: Galatians 3:15-29
Introduction: Anyone who has been a parent knows that when raising children, there are two ways to communicate your intentions to your little ones....promises and deals.
A promise is made by one person:
· A parent expressing love for their child says something like this: ‘Someday, we will all go on vacation to Walt Disney World in Florida. I promise.’ There are no conditions to be met by your children, they don’t have to do or not do anything to receive the promise of Disneyworld. It is based solely on your love for them and your desire for them to experience Disneyworld.
A promised is made by one person. Another way we communicate our intentions to our children, is by making a deal.
Question: Give me an example of a deal between a parent and child.
A deal is made by two or more people. And there are two parts: responsibility and consequence.
· Responsibility: Is what each party will do or not do. These are the requirements that must be met in order to get what was agreed upon.
· Consequence: Is what each party will get as a result of doing or not doing what they agreed upon. Consequences can be both positive or negative.
One of the problems we have, is we sometimes change a promise into a deal. And children can tell the difference and they often react strongly.
Question: Why would they do that?
Because now what was promised, they have to work for...which makes it a deal. For example:
· I have changed my mind, Becky and Stephanie, you can’t go to Walt Disneyworld unless you get better grades in school and keep your rooms clean.
What would Becky and Stephanie say to this? But...you promised! Ah...you’ve heard those words before.
The difference between a Promise and a Deal is what we’ll examine in our text this morning. The legalistic Jewish Christians were changing what God had promised to a deal and Paul was saying ...But God Promised!
Transition: Open your Bibles to Galatians 3:15 (pg. 891 in the Bibles under the chair in front of you.) For it’s there we’ll examine Paul’s argument
Grace...Is it a Promise or a Deal?
I. Galatians 3:15-18 Let’s NOT make a deal
Read: Galatians 3:15-18
Paul begins his argument by using common sense...something even a child would understand ...you don’t change a promise into a deal. This is especially true of promises made by God who loves us and wants the absolute best for us. Paul reminds the Galatians that God made promises to Abraham. One sided promises that he didn’t have any responsibility to fulfill in order for God to do what He promised.
What makes this relevant to us is that the very same promises God made to Abraham are made to Abraham’s seed...who is Jesus Christ. And, as Paul will say in verses 26-29, they were made to us if we are IN CHRIST, by faith. But I get ahead of myself.
God made promises to Abraham concerning who would become his children...and by association, God’s children. God promised Abraham that his descendants would come from every nation.
Then, 430 years later, God made an additional arrangement...a Deal called the Mosaic Covenant.
· The Deal had certain responsibilities for the parties involved.
· The Deal has certain consequences that would result if either of the parties (that really means us) doesn’t live up to our responsibilities.
Paul’s point is this....God’s Promise to Abraham and to us by faith in Jesus, precedes the Deal (the Mosaic Law). Therefore, the Deal has no effect on the Promise.
God’s Promise to Abraham that he would be the Father of many nations and that his descendants would be as abundant as the stars in the sky, was speaking of those who would later inherit eternal life...not earn eternal life.
· To Inherit is a Promise
· To Earn is a Deal.
Jesus, Abraham’s Seed...makes is possible for us to be a descendant of Abraham and heir to the Promises of God.
· By Grace....because of a Promise
· Not by Works because of a Deal.
Eternal life, starting now and continuing forever, is a Promise of God’s grace. And is made by one party only...God. And we trust, have faith, in God’s ability to keep His promises.
Sidebar: The word Paul uses for Promise here is the Greek word ‘kecharistai’ which has as its root meaning ‘grace.’
Paul is saying you cannot change a Promise into a Deal. Even if God made them both, because they have separate purposes. But... we still do, because we just can’t accept doing nothing to get something.
ILL: I have read that when Betty Crocker first produced cake mixes in a box, they weren’t selling. They should have because all you had to do was add water...all the ingredients were in the box. But women weren’t buying it...until Betty Crocker changed the recipe. The new and improved cake mix required that you add eggs, oil and water. Now that women had something to do to make the cake, the boxed cake mix took off.
Transition: Paul had his work cut out for him because we have always been masters at making Deals out of Promises. Paul adds to his argument by stating in verses 19-25 why God made a Deal with us in the Mosaic Law.
II. Galatians 3:19-25 What’s up with the Law?
Read: Galatians 3:19-25
I see two questions that flow from Paul’s argument...legitimate questions:
1. If the Deal that came after the Promise doesn’t offer eternal life, then what purpose did it have?
2. Does the Deal (the Mosaic Law) contradict the Promise (Grace)?
First question: Why the Law? Paul says it’s because of transgressions. OK...why the Promise? Paul says in verse 22 because of sin. Hey, aren’t they the same thing: transgressions and sin? No.
· Transgressions: Is plural. It is when we step over the line that ought not be stepped over. The idea is that the Law (the Deal) was made to help us recognize those activities and decisions that we face every day where we step over a line that God has placed before us.
And transgressions is plural because we often step over those lines. But, the Law helps us see the line and make better, more godly choices. It is works oriented, it helps us to do better.
· Sin: Is singular here. It represents the disease of sin that infects all of us and which no one can do anything about...we can’t work this one out or make it better. The promise is grace oriented because we get what we do not deserve, healing from the disease of sin.
Paul is saying you can’t change the Promise into a deal because they have different functions. So, the answer to the second question of the Promise and the Deal contradicting each other, is an emphatic NO!
Paul also said the Law was put together by angels, who were mediators between two parties...but the Promise had no mediator, because it is God alone who acts.
Sidebar: For more info on the role of angels in giving the Law see Hebrews 2:2
The Law had another purpose.
ILL: For those who served in the army there are monsters, horrible creatures that go by the name: ‘Drill Sergeant.’ It is the Drill Sergeant’s purpose to get new recruits in shape...physically and mentally. They do that by a promoting a strict adherence to the rules...to Army rules. They remind us that we belong to the Army now. And in a real sense, we were prisoners to the Army’s wishes...at least until our term of duty was up.
Paul is implying that the Deal (Law) acted in the same way. It helped us see our sin and make better choices. It’s purpose was to keep us in line, until it’s term of duty was up...and when was that? When faith in Jesus stepped into the picture. We will see that in Galatians 4:4-5.
Read: Galatians 4:4-5
In other words, the Law prepared us for Jesus. So it’s purpose was good. But when Jesus came, and God’s grace was extended to us, the Deal was off. Let me give you a practical example.
ILL: How many of you have a donut in the trunk of you car? No not a Dunkin Donut, but a tire donut? What is it’s purpose? Was it made to be part of your permanent tire rotation? No. It is temporary, a stopgap until the problem with your regular tire was fixed. So it is with the Law. It was temporary until your sin problem was taken care of by God’s grace: the promise of forgiveness and eternal life thru faith in Jesus.
Conclusion
Well, we will end here for this morning and continue to verses 26-29 next Sunday, which speaks to a topic close to my heart...unity in the body of Christ and how it is a part of God’s promise. Let me close with this:
· The Promise (Grace) established a relationship with God that was dependant upon Him.
· The Deal (Law) established a relationship with God that was dependant upon us.
· The Promise centers on God’s plan.
· The Deal centers on our duty.
· The Promise focuses on God’s grace, sovereignty and blessing.
· The Deal focuses on our work, responsibility and behavior.
Here’s the bottom line. In all of life there are only two choices: Will we live by God’s promises or by our performance.
May God give us the grace to choose
the Promise over the Deal.