Sermon: Sons of Abraham

And let's pray before we open God's word together this morning.

Our Father, even as we have confessed and as we've sung this morning, we are thankful that you're a God of providence, that you are active in this world.

And so we know that He, even as we sit in this place this morning, that none of us are here by chance. None of us are here by accident. You have appointed this hour for us and that you have led us into this place. We're thankful that you have led us into this place so that we can hear your word red and that we can hear it preach. We pray this morning that it would not fall on deaf ears,

that you would use your gospel as bal to our souls,

and we would find that the voice of sin and the voice of our adversary and the voice of our flesh and the voice of this world is quieted in our midst this morning. That is your loud thundering, resounding voice by your word as the spirit applies. It searches out every corner of our souls and our minds and our hearts and stirs our affections this morning for your glory, for your praise. And we pray this in the strong name of Christ Jesus. Amen.

This morning, Galatians chapter three, verses one through nine. This is the holy and err sufficient word of God. Oh, foolish Galatians, who's bewitched you? It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified. Let me ask you only this. Did you receive the spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith? Are you so foolish having begun by the Spirit? Are you now being perfected by the flesh?

Did you suffer so many things in vain? If indeed it was in vain, the he who supplies the spirit to you and works miracles among you do so by works of the law or by hearing with faith, just as Abraham believed God and it was counted to him as righteousness, know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham and the scripture for seen that God would justify the Gentiles by faith. Preach the gospel beforehand.

Abraham saying in you shall all the nations be blessed? So then those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith. So the grass withers and the flower fades. The word of God is forever think, speak to God. Amen.

One of the greatest struggles in this life is feeling like an outsider.

You aren't accepted, you don't belong. Maybe you are not even welcomed. You may have experienced that in school. Some of you, some of you may be experiencing it in school. Now you may have experienced it in your neighborhood, you may have experienced it in a friend group, may have experienced it in your family. And I was in sixth grade, my mom remarried and a man that became my stepdad, uh, had five daughters. So all of a sudden my biological sister

and I had five new stepsisters and we were supposedly a, a family. It became very clear to me, just even in my developing mind at the time that we weren't included in different conversations. We weren't included in different activities. We were not party to different jokes that our five stepsisters had among themselves. We were different subconsciously. I just knew we weren't considered family.

My sister and I were outsiders. And we've all experienced that to some degree. Unfortunately sometimes it occurs within the church where even within the confines of the church, it feels like where we're, we're an outsider, where we're not part of, of the church. And that's what Paul is addressing here. These galatian Christians, they are being treated like outsiders, like they are not part of the church, that they're not part

of the family of God. They are gentile Christians. And so the question that pose wrestling with, and he is been wrestling with for at least a chapter and a half, and now he is hitting on a whole new level. He, he's an answering the question, are these gentile Christians? Are they full? Are they free? Are they complete members of the family of God or are they outsiders?

This morning, I want to look at it under three points, the family's heart. First, second the family way and third, the family example, the family's heart, the family's way, and the family's example. As we begin, begin Galatians three, here we see that Paul asks a series of questions, but before he even gets to the questions, he, he wraps in a kind of exclamation. Here he is absolutely astonished. And so he yells at them through writing.

Oh, foolish Galatians,

Because they've lost the heart of the faith by their actions. He asks, who has bewitched you? That is, who is cast a spell over you? Galatians, they know the power of Christ crucified. They know the centrality of the cross. This is, this is the heart of the family of Christ is the cross, the centrality of a crucified savior. And they know it and yet they're bewitched. He says they, they've allowed a, a spell to be cast over them.

They've fallen into a trap thinking that they need to be circumcised to finally have acceptance with God to be fully counted in the family of God. And Paul was saying, that's that's nonsense. We don't do that in the church. Fraternities do that.

You aren't part of us until you go through some kind of hazing. During pledge week, I remember when I was in college and got up one night and on my dorm floor, I went to the bathroom and there was one of my floor mates, he was passed out on the bathroom floor

de clothed and he was laying in his own filthiness and I was absolutely petrified for me. He was so drunk. I called the police and I called an ambulance and they came and they had to take him out. And I remember later that week he was very angry at me that I called an ambulance, but I was so concerned because he was so drunk. He had lost control of his organs. And I, I asked him, I said, why?

Why did you get that drunk? He said, well, it, it's what they required for me to become part of the fraternity.

Fraternities do this, gangs do this. You aren't part of us. So you've been jumped in. They take a man and they beat him to a bloody pulp in a center. And then once he's been jumped in, then he is part of the gang. The mafia does this. You're not a made man until you get your bones and you get your bones by killing someone, but the church doesn't do this.

Paul's flabbergasted. You've been bewitched.

Where does this bewitching come from as we saw Sunday evening. So Paul does the exact same thing here. He puts it in a larger perspective. Notice he asked, who has bewitched you? Who not what? Who. And he has the devil in view that they're engaged in spiritual warfare. Though they seem oblivious to it, the devil is in some measure behind the foolishness they've wandered into. And Paul knows this because the devil is opposed to our faith in Christ.

He's opposed to our flourishing Christ. He's opposed to our giving glory to Christ. The family of Christ has an accuser, has an adversary that is doing everything he can to destroy our focus upon Christ crucified. The heart of our family's a constant threat to the Christian. Martin Luther commented that the devil has quote, a uncanny ability to make us believe a lie until we swear thousand times it were truth like Grma, worm, tongue

and Lord of the Rings who whispers in into king Odin's ear. The devil just keeps whispering. He keeps sowing lies often through others. He does through the world, he does through sin.

Martin Luther reflecting upon the devil's lies confessed this a great reformer. He said, although I am a doctor of divinity and have preached Christ and fought his battles for a long time, I know from personal experience how difficult it is to hold fast to the truth. I cannot always shake off Satan. I cannot always apprehend Christ as the scriptures portray him. Sometimes the devil distorts Christ to my vision. Even Luther, this man who had such faith

and was so courageous and so strong in Christ he could stand against the world is at times I didn't.

At times I believe the devil's lies. We've all been there at Lutherans. The quote by saying this, but thanks be to God who keeps us in His word in faith and in prayer the devil prs around. He's looking to devour you. He wants to fill your head with lies. He wants your heart gripped with lies,

but we have hope. That's exactly where Paul leads these Galatians. He he, he points him to faith according to God's word that they are under a spell. And yet Paul, he speaks, he speaks to them. He, he doesn't seek to undo the spell by his own incantation. He simply asks verse two, did you receive the spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith? What's he doing? He's recalling their conversion. They have the spirit. Why do they have the spirit?

Because they are saved. In Romans eight, Paul points out that the spirit of God dwells in those who belong to God. He he's the seal of our salvation. He testifies with our spirits. Paul says in Romans eight, his spirit testifies with our spirits that indeed we are children of God. Paul's saying, look, you're already part of the family of God.

How do they know? Because they have the spirit of God. Why do they have the spirit of God? Well, verse two, because

they were hearing in faith hearing what? Hearing the word of God, they embraced Christ crucified. They simply heard the gospel. They heard that Christ, the Son of God lived for them and they heard that Christ, the Son of God died for them. That word was preached to them. They heard that word and they received that word. They received Christ crucified the heart of the family of God,

which leads to our second point. The first is the family's heart is Christ crucified. Second is and the family way is faith in this Christ crucified. The family way is faith in this Christ crucified. How did they receive Christ crucified by faith?

Paul Romans 10 17, he says this, so faith comes from hearing and hearing through the word of Christ who has bewitched you.

You're believing a lie. Paul's saying you weren't saved by hearing the law and doing because the law never saves. It never produces heart transformation. The law can't. It's an impossibility. The law demands and demands but we can never fulfill its demands. The law obliges us and obliges us, but we can never feel fulfill those obligations.

The law constantly meets us with requirements, but we can never meet those requirements. The law never produces conversion. It never grants salvation. Only the gospel does that

the gospel is simply received. So he is asking them, how did you receive it? Galatians, how did you receive the gospel? You received it by faith. Faith is the only way to receive Christ.

Let's stop for a moment and just to find faith.

What is saving faith? Someone ask you that question. How in the world do you answer that? What is saving faith?

I think the easiest way to remember it is to spell cat. Are you kids? It have you write down dog, DOG and remember saving faith, you can write down cat next to it. KAT. Oh Pastor Jason. That's not how you spell cat. Well it is when you're talking about saving faith, cat, KAT three things. It's knowledge dissent and it's trust. It's knowledge first. Why? Because our saving faith that has content, we need knowledge of who God is

and we need knowledge of Christ. The son of God who died was crucified. This crucified Christ for sinners. We need knowledge but that knowledge is not enough. The second element of saving faith is a sin. We not only need to know who God is, not only know of this Christ crucified, but we need to ascend to it and say we believe that that God is and we believe that Christ was crucified for sinners, but even that is not enough knowledge and ascent

because as James says, the demons believe they have knowledge. They even ascent to that knowledge. They believe that God is, they also believe that Christ died for sinners.

Now it's that third that then is necessary and that is knowledge, ascent and trust. But where we as sinners yield ourselves to him but we trust and trust ourselves to him completely for our salvation.

That's saving faith and that's a gift of the spirit. Paul's point here is that even as you began in faith, Galatians by the spirit, so you continue in faith by the spirit. That's the family way. That's verse three. The Galatians were bewitched into thinking that the Christian life began by the spirit but now continues to be perfected by their work apart from faith and that's a whisper that comes right outta the mouth of the devil.

It is so untrue

and the devil is using these judaizers, these false teachers spread that lie, just whisper it

and the Gentiles had to become Jews to be saved or at least to be counted among the family of God. This is how you join us. You aren't family until you've been circumcised.

And Paul on the other hand has pointed out, you're already in the family of God. You're already there. How do I know? Because you have the spirit of God

and that was a work of grace that you received by faith.

So he is asking do, do you think that now everything changes that that was just the truth at the beginning but now as you continue in the Christian life and as you seek to be perfected in the Christian life that now it is different that you began one way and you progress in another way. That was the spirit's work. Now it's my work, it's my strength. And he's saying that's not the family way,

but it's a constant temptation that Christians yield to

we proclaim Salvation is all of grace, it's all of Christ, it's all a faith. It's all by the spirit.

And then when we start to work out our salvation, we act as though it's all of us.

No, ours is a heart religion and heart work is spirit work. So we depend upon him by faith.

I said to this to you just a few weeks ago, the greatest distance has been said to be that between the head and the heart is so very true.

We don't abandon grace or Christ or the spirit once we are in Christ. No, we find we need just as much grace. We need more of Christ. We need the abounding in influence of the spirit. We continue to turn again and again and again to Christ in faith because our entire salvation is tied up with Christ in faith.

That's the family way.

Speak to our staff about this all the time.

We can be so busy about Christ, about Christ's work that we're not busy about Christ,

so busy, about Christ's work that we're not busy about Christ. We can be like little Marthas that are running around all over the place in our own strength instead of understanding that Mary chose the better portion by just looking up to Christ.

Looking to Christ by the spirit of Christ is not just the beginning of life in Christ, it is the life faith is needed from start to finish. Grace is required from our conversion toward deathbed. Reliance upon the spirit is essential for our justification or sanctification or glorification in this life. We never graduate beyond faith. We never cease to require grace. We never are to operate in our own strength but that of the spirit

having begun by the spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh? Listen, if you think you are being perfected by the flesh, do you understand that now you have lost sight and the great devastation that comes as a result of that?

No, Paul says can't be perfected by your own strength. It's impossible

have to understand that because you and I are constantly tempted to live otherwise and it is so very destructive.

So would you do regular self-assessments?

Where am I at with Christ today?

Am I keeping in step with the spirit of Christ today? Am I living in faith depending on grace or am I striving by my strength alone today? Am I walking in the family way by faith today?

Spoken to a number of you about this during the week.

This has been one of the foremost thoughts in many of your minds. How? How do I know?

How do I know if I'm, I'm living in step with the spirit? How do I know if I'm depending upon grace, how do I know if I'm walking in faith, walking in the spirit or walking in my own strength? How do I know

answer is wear your eyes.

Have you taken them off of Christ

and you're walking in your own strength? Notice verse one, he recalls what they have seen. Christ crucified. When our eyes drift off of Christ, they fixate upon self. Sin looks to self instead of Christ. Now that happens to all of us in moments it happens to every single one of us. But the moment that the moment we are pricked by in our conscience, but oh my eyes moved off of Christ the moment then we run back to Christ crucified

and we ask for forgiveness and then we seek to live in repentance and faith in Christ.

The moment your prick,

we want Christ to dominate our view of life. Keep him ever before us. This is how we began and this is how we continue looking to Christ in faith and he grants his spirit to dwell in us. We we don't continue alone. The family of Christ has a spirit of Christ. Notice he says the Lord supplies the spirit to us in verse five. He's at work in and among us. Verse five, even during times of when it doesn't feel like it's a possibility.

Verse four, these, these Galatians, they've suffered for Christ and Paul says, but he's saying that for this suffering to actually be beneficial, they have to continue in Christ by the spirit of Christ. They have to finish the race set before them. It's not enough that they began well in Christ by the Spirit. They have to continue to run well to the finish in Christ by the spirit.

Run, finish but not by your strength,

by his, that's the family way

depending upon the spirit of Christ by faith.

Finally, he he provides the family example. This is the linchpin argument to close the passage. Who's the great example? The the great father of the faith for every Jew. Who is that? Well Abraham, he, he's the recognized father of the family. Israel began with Abraham, so who are actually children of Abraham who are children of the family of God? It's not what people often say. The Bible never says it all. Mankind or children of God, never.

Who are, who are the children of God who gets to be in this family? Well Paul, he looks back to Genesis 15 and he quotes from there that Abraham quote believed God and it was counted to him as righteousness. It was not Genesis 12 that that Paul goes back to when Abraham set out from the earth the kaldi's and went to the promised land and showed obedience. That's that's not the reason. It was not Genesis 17 in which circumcision was given.

It was not by doing the law that Abraham became the father of Israel. Neither was it. Genesis 22, when he offers his son Isaac as a sacrifice, it wasn't by sacrifice that he became the father of Israel. Paul points out it was Genesis 17 or 15. How was Abraham justified?

What led, as he says to God, counting him as righteous. Genesis 15, Abraham believed God. Faith, faith.

He's the father of the family. So who are children of Abraham? Father Abraham had many sons and many sons had Father Abraham. I'm one of them. So are you. How do you know if you are? But you walk in his steps. You have, you have faith.

The family way, not just justified

saved, not justified, we're not saved by outward obedience nor circumcision, nor even sacrifice, but inwardly by faith, by faith. Verse seven, know. Then he says count it. He says, mark it down. Paul says, no then it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham. It is true whether you are Jew or Gentile, no outsiders here.

The scripture made this promise from the beginning. Paul was arguing in verses eight through nine, he made this a clear promise he gave to Abraham in you shall all the nations of the earth be blessed? There would one who would come forth from the line of Abraham that would come into the world and he would be a light to the nations.

He isn't just a blessing to Israel, but this Christ crucified is for sinners. He is for gentiles and barbarians and Scythians and Chinese and Mongolian and American and Malawian

and he has always received the same way by faith.

And that faith, it's a gift of God.

Be clear. It's not our faith per se that saves us.

It's the object of our faith that saves us Christ, Christ crucified. That's so that you and I can never boast in our faith. Now we we must boast in the Christ who is crucified. He's our salvation. We simply find ourselves in Christ by faith. Faith is the the means by which we receive him. Faith is the instrument by which we are united. To him, faith is the path with which we are hidden him. Our salvation is found to be all of him.

Sinclair Ferguson was the first to point this out to me and once you see it you can't unsee it.

And he said when you, when you read through the New Testament, do you do you realize that that term Christian, it's only used three times and Paul never refers to himself as a Christian. It's only used three times twice. It's used in a derogatory manner and acts almost like an insult. You Christians and that's used once in one Peter

and Paul refers to himself throughout the letters. More often than not. What he does is he uses a preposition.

He sees himself as one who is in Christ.

This is his identity. I'm one who is in Christ because that's the family identity. I'm first and foremost one who is in Christ

to that opening illustration. It's impossible. Once we have Christ to be an outsider, that's not even a possibility

because you are in Christ and all those who are saved and have the spirit are in Christ.

That's our identity. Galatians two 20, I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live but Christ who lives in me and the life I now live in the flesh. I live by faith in the son of God who loved me and gave himself for me. He is in the son of God And how is he in the son of God By faith,

this is why the way is always one of faith and by the spirit all is in Christ.

John Calvin said it as well as anyone has. It is one of my favorite writings in all the history of the world outside of the scriptures is as he's thinking upon what it means that our salvation is in Christ. I'm just gonna close with reading this.

He said, when we see salvation whole, it's every single part is found in Christ. We must be lest we derive the smallest drop from somewhere else if we seek salvation. The very name, Jesus meaning Savior teaches us that he possesses it. If other spirit giving gifts are sought in his anointing, they are found strength in his reign, purity in his conception, tenderness expressed in his nativity in which he was made like us in all respects

that he might feel our pain redemption. It is in his passion, found acquittal in his condemnation. It lies freedom from the curse in his cross. It is known if satisfaction of our sins we seek, we'll find it in his sacrifice. There's cleansing in his blood. If it is reconciliation, we need He entered Hades if mortification of our flesh than in his tomb. It's laid newness of life. His resurrection brings it an immortality

as well comes also with that gift. If we long find that heaven's kingdom is our inheritance, his entry there secures it now for our protection, our safety and the blessings that abound all flowing from his kingly reign, the sum of all for those who seek such treasure trove of blessings, these blessings of all kinds, is this from nowhere else than him can they be drawn for they are ours in in Christ alone, everything. Everything in Christ.

And if you have faith this morning and this Christ crucified, you are in him and you have all that and more.

Pray for us,

Father do pray for every soul in this room, every soul that is live streaming this morning,

but there would not be one of us as found outside of Christ.

We would know what it means to be in Christ. The Spirit of Christ would dwell in us and testify with us our spirit, that we are indeed children of yours, that we would be people of faith. Continue to walk by the Spirit to the very end of our race that you might receive all the glory and all the praise. Keep us we pray in Christ name. Amen.