Please turn with me to Galatians 3 - starting at verse 15.  We are looking at Paul’s letter to believers who lived in the Roman province of Galatia.  What is now a most of central Turkey.

The theme of Paul’s letter is found where?  in 5:1.  Let’s read this together to get it fresh in our minds.  “For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to the yoke of slavery.”

Christ has set us free.  Stand firm and live free.  Set Free.  Live Free.  Let’s repeat that together.  “Set free.  Live free.”

Last Sunday we talked about “fence plowing.”  Remember that?  A pretty simple idea actually.  The idea is to run full speed at a fence and plow yourself through it.  Which in a weird sort of way has a certain attraction to it.  Bursting through a fence - feeling it break under your weight - coming out on the other side.  Not something most of us would sign up for.  But we might be able to see why someone would… might.

Paul’s been writing to the Galatians about what binds us a believers - what enslaves us.  There are boundaries - fences - that we struggle with - issues and things of the heart - that bind us - that keep us back from the kind of life we desire to live - the abundant life that Jesus spoke about - that God offers us in Jesus. 

God has created us to live beyond the fence.  We ended, last Sunday, with this challenge:  Live beyond the fence.  Remember that?  Lets’ say that together, “Live beyond the fence.”  That takes a choice of faith - to live trusting God - only.

Which is where Paul is going here in chapter 3 starting in verse 15.  What’s it like to live life on the other side of the fence?  When we live without a fence?

Would you say that there is a difference between a deal and a promise?  Sure. 

Parents make deals with their children all the time.  Deals that have two parties - parent and child.  Deals that involve agreed upon responsibilities and consequences - positive or negative.

“If you clean up your room I’ll feed and clothe you.”  A positive deal.  A negative deal could be something like, “If you don’t clean up your room you’ll be sleeping in the garage.”  Not that any of us would ever do that to our children.  Right?

A deal is an agreement between two parties - made ahead of time - that includes responsibilities and consequences.

A promise is different.  A promise is based on the responsibility assumed by one person.  As a parent I may choose to promise my children something really cool.  “Saturday I’m taking you to Boomers.”  Unconditional promise coming out of the love I have in my heart for my children.

Children know the difference between a deal and a promise.  Right?  Changing “I’m taking you to Boomers on Saturday” into “If you clean up your room then I’ll take you to Boomers on Saturday.”  Ever try to change a promise into a deal?  Children suddenly become very astute in contract law.  “No, you promised you were taking us to Boomers.  Cleaning my room has to do with meals and living in the garage.”

Coming to Galatians 3 - starting at verse 15 - were going to be looking at promises and deals.  The promises that God has made to His people - promises coming out of the loving heart of God - God loving on His people.  And God’s deal - the law - responsibilities and consequences.

Verses 15 to 18 focus on The Promise.  Let’s say that together.  “The promise.”

Verse 15:  To give a human example, brothers - meaning this is coming out of the every day stuff we all deal with - to give a human example, brothers:  even with a man-made covenant, no one annuls it or adds to it once it has been ratified.

Covenant translates a Greek word - diatheke - which here means a last will and testament.  Someone anticipating that they’re going to die - which most of us probably will get around to a some point - sets up a will indicating what they want to happen with their stuff after they die.  A promise - one sided - which can’t be annulled.  It may be argued post mortem.  Benefactors may try to ignore the promise.  But the document - the promise - still exists as made by the promiser.

Verse 16:  Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring.  It does not say, “And to offsprings,” referring to many, but referring to one, “And to your offspring,” who is Christ.  This is what I mean:  the law, which came 430 years afterward, does not annul a covenant previously ratified by God, so as to make the promise void.  For if the inheritance comes by the law, it no longer comes by promise; but God gave it to Abraham by a promise.

Let’s pause and unpack all that.

In Genesis 15 God goes through a ceremony with Abraham.  The kind of ceremony that people did back then when they swore and oath to each other.  Animals were cut in two along the backbone - blood was shed.  Then the animal pieces were placed in two rows - the rows facing each other across a space that was marked off between them.  Then the two parties that were making these promises to each other - the two parties walked together into the space between the two rows of cut apart animals and spoke their oaths to each other.

God - in Genesis 15 - when God goes through this ceremony with Abraham God alone passes through the pieces of slain animals.  God demonstrating that He alone is responsible for the promise being made.  (Genesis 15:17-21)

Paul is telling us that God - who never breaks His promise - God makes promises to Abraham that are based solely on God Himself.  “This is what I - God - will do for you.”

Notice - in verse 16 who else those promises are made to.  Abraham’s offspring - not offsprings.  Paul makes a specific point - offspring is singular.  Meaning that there is one offspring - one descendant child - to whom these promises are also made.  Paul clarifies that for us - that child is Who?  Christ - the Messiah - Jesus - who is indeed a descendant - an offspring of Abraham. 

Putting a whole lot of Old Testament Bible history and Bible teaching together - Paul’s point is something like this.  Abraham receives the promise and One of Abraham’s descendants also receives the promise.  God - making promises to Abraham is also looking past Abraham - looking down through history - looking to the One offspring - Jesus - intending that Jesus would also be the recipient of what God had promised.

Abraham had a son - Ishmael - by Sarah’s maid Hagar - and another son by his wife Sarah - named?  Isaac.  When Sarah died Abraham married again and had six other sons.  While Abraham’s offspring - plural - went on to found whole nations of people only Isaac was in the stream through which the promise was passed on.

Isaac had two sons - Esau and who?  Jacob.  Only one of them - Jacob was chosen by God - through whom the promise would be passed on.  Jacob had twelve sons - but only Judah was the forefather of the Messiah.  Jesse had eight sons - but only David was chosen to be king - only through David was the promise passed on.

Generation after generation - God working through the blood line.  Prophet after prophet - Scripture after Scripture - all pointing to the One that Paul clarifies for us - the One who is the long awaited offspring - Jesus - God’s fulfillment of His promise.

Jumping down to verse 29  Paul clarifies this truth even further.  A truth that we need to grab onto for ourselves.  In verse 29 Paul writes:  “If you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise.”

In other words - very practically in human terms of where we live our lives - where Paul is going with his human example - if we belong to Jesus - if we’re trusting Jesus as our Savior - then what God promised Abraham - through Jesus - applies to us as well.  Jesus becomes the means by which we also are recipients of the promises God made to Abraham.

That’s huge.  We need to grab the immensity of that - the scope of what that means for us today.  Those promises are what it means for us to live beyond the fence - the life that God has promised us in Jesus - that God has created us to live.

Abraham was living in Ur of the Chaldees - a pagan city in what is now southern Iraq.  At a particular moment chosen by God - God speaks to Abraham and beings a process that went on through out Abraham’s life.  God speaking to Abraham and making promises to Abraham.  Promises that came directly from the loving heart of God - our Heavenly Father.

The first of these promises is found in Genesis 12.  “I will make of you a great nation and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.  I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”  (Genesis 12:2,3)

God promised Abraham to make Abraham’s name great.  A name is who you are - our identity - our self-worth - our value - the security of knowing who we are.

We long to know who we are.  We long for a sense of self-worth.  Its way too easy to struggle with this - to suffer when we don’t know who we are.  People will do all kinds of weird things to gain a sense of self-worth - piercings - tattoos -  the clothes they wear - the groups they join - weight loss - weight gain - who they hang with - plastic surgery - what they drive - where they live - on and on.

“I will make your name great” is something that all of us long for.  Deep down to know who we are before God.

God knows what we’re searching for and how to bless us with it.  Only in Jesus is the answer to what we crave - restoration - self-worth - the possibility of being the men and women that we’ve been created to be.

In Genesis 13 - God takes Abraham to the land of Canaan and says to him, “Arise, walk through the length and the breadth of the land, for I will give it to you.”  (Genesis 13:17)

If you’ve ever listened to country music - anyone willing to admit that?  Those truck drivers are the loneliest people on earth.  White line fever and the good woman and the dog waiting at home. 

Land is a place to call home.  To put down roots.  To belong.  To cease wandering and restlessness.  To watch generations grow.

We long for a place that’s ours - where we feel secure - welcomed - a place of peace.  In many ways God has designed the church for that.  When we trust God with our lives He puts us into the Church - His body - this community - the fellowship of believers. 

Even deeper.  When God’s people - trusting God - dwelt in the land - God dwelt with them.  What God is promising here - on a spiritual level - is about living daily in a deeply satisfying - intimate - relationship with God - and God’s people - where we know that we are His - that we belong to Him.

In Genesis 15 God makes Abraham another promise.  God says, “Fear not.  I am your shield; your reward shall be very great.”  (Genesis 15:1b)

We live in an increasingly dangerous world.  Any question about that?  America is an increasingly violent society.  Schools are dangerous places.  Gang violence is growing.  Violence over drugs.  We’re concerned for the safety of our children.  Tons of people have home security systems.  There are reasons for that.  We’re concerned about identity theft - car theft - theft period.  It wasn’t like this just a few years ago.

There are other things that cause fear - sickness - death - the insecurity of lost relationships - the economy or lack of.

Evil is more evident.  Our Adversary is more openly at work.

But God’s promise made to Abraham is, “I am your shield.  You don’t need to be afraid any more.”  “Abraham, don’t sweat it.  Live by faith not fear.  I’ve got you covered.”     

Later in Genesis 15 God takes Abraham outside - under this star filled night sky - the stars like dust overhead.  God says to Abraham - I’m paraphrasing a bit here - “If you could count the stars in the sky you’d have some idea of how many descendants I’m going to give you - you’ll have some idea of what your eternal influence will be.”  (Genesis 15:5)

There are more than 13 million Jews living today.  Many more that have some Jewish blood in them.  In the four thousand years since Abraham - maybe there’s been a billion Jews.  We don’t know.  But there’s been a lot.

I read that 12% of all Nobel prize winners have been Jews.  Every book of the Bible has been written by a Jew or under the influence of a Jew.  Jesus the Messiah is a Jew.  Think about the impact that this small people group has made on the world - on world history - even today.  Huge.

Would you agree that greatness is not just because of numbers?  Steve Jobs had a huge impact on our world - effected the lives of billions of people.  But ultimately that impact is limited.  What God is promising Abraham was an influence on eternity that would be - humanly speaking - immeasurable - never ending.

God is offering to do something incredible here in the life of Abraham - to do something through Abraham that transcends Abraham.  God is calling Abraham to become part of a larger story.  God’s work of buying back mankind from our sins - His work of restoration - of salvation.  God’s redemptive work in history that flows from Adam - through Abraham - through Jesus Christ descendant of Abraham - crucified on the cross.

Jesus said - John 12:26:  “If anyone serves Me, the Father will honor him.”  Life - greatness - influence - isn’t about being honored by men.  Its about pleasing God - about God’s approval of our lives.  Its about the work of the Almighty Holy God - in us and through us - according to His will - restoring us and blessing us - using us to make a difference in the lives of others - and to bring glory to Himself.

Do you ever wonder about your purpose here - or your legacy - or just that your life could count for something - some kind of real meaning and significance?  Worth and value?

When we put our trust in God - trusting in Jesus as our Savior - God pours out His blessing on us - and we become part of that larger movement of God through history - part of God’s blessing to others.  Our lives have God given eternal significance and purpose.

One more promise.  In Genesis 17 God says to Abraham, “I will establish my covenant between me and you and your offspring after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you.  And I will give to you and to your offspring after you the land of your sojourning, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession, and I will be their God.”  (Genesis 17:7,8)

God promised Abraham and the offsprings of Abraham - that’s us in Christ - that He - God - would be their God - our God - personally - intimately - knowing each of us and God being intimately known by us - a right relationship with God Himself.  That’s astounding.  Isn’t it?  To know God and be known by Him on that intimate a level?

Throughout Abraham’s life God appears to him and makes specific promises to Abraham - promises to Abraham and to the offspring of Abraham - to us.  To bless us - to give us a name - self worth - identity.  To shield us - freedom from fear.  To give our lives purpose - a legacy - eternal influence.  To use us in the lives of others according to His will and for His glory.  To bring us into a restored relationship with Him - to live daily with us in intimacy - now and forever.  Ultimately a fulfilling of the deepest needs of our hearts. 

That’s what’s beyond the fence - the life that God has created us for - where He desires to take us.

Verses 19 to 24 focus on The Deal.  Let’s repeat that together, “The deal.”

Verse 19:  Why then the law?  It was added because of transgressions, until the offspring should come to whom the promise had been made, and it was put in place through angels by an intermediary.  Now an intermediary implies more than one, but God is one.

Verse 21:  Is the law then contrary to the promises of God?  Certainly not!  For if a law had been given that could give life, then righteousness would indeed be by the law.  But the Scripture imprisoned everything under sin, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe.

Verse 23:  Now before faith came, we were held captive under the law, imprisoned until the coming faith would be revealed.  So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith. 

430 plus years after God made His promises to Abraham God made a deal with the people of Israel.  That deal is the law.  The deal demanded certain responsibilities of each party to the deal.  God would do certain things.  God’s people would do certain things.  There were consequences involved - what would happen if God’s people failed to live up to their side of the deal.  How God would respond to their failure to keep up their side of the deal.

God agreed to the deal.  God’s people agreed to the deal.

In verse 21 Paul writes that the law isn’t contrary to the promises.  God isn’t backing out on what He said He would do.  The law doesn’t annul the covenant - the promise God lovingly made to His people.  The promise doesn’t get changed into a deal.  So why the deal?  

In verse 19 Paul asks the question:  What’s the purpose of the law?  If we’ve got the promise why the deal?

Paul writes, that the law was added because of transgressions - sin.  The law is like a line that should never be stepped across.  It’s a boundary given to help us see what our choices are - what things we might involve ourselves with - what actions and attitudes - temptations and choices we might make that would be sin.  And, the law shows us what the consequences will be if we sin.

In verse 24 Paul writes, “So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came.”

“Guardian” translates the Greek word “paidagogos.”  The “paidagogue” or “guardian” was a slave employed by wealthy Greek or Roman families to have responsibility for a child in the family.  The guardian had charge over the behavior of the child wherever that child went - to and from school - wherever - whatever that child was involved with.

The guardian didn’t teach so much as the guardian watched over the behavior of that child from the ages of six to sixteen.  It was like having a drill sergeant attached to your hip 24/7/365 - constantly keeping you on the straight and narrow.

The law is like a guardian.  Here are the boundaries.  Don’t cross the line.

That role of “guardian” ended when the child entered into the full position of being a son.  There was a formal ceremony when the son was adopted by his father - acknowledged as an adult.  Or as Paul writes, “Until Christ came.”

Its like Bear Creek over here.  Not too many years ago that creek would  flood the areas around it.  Any of you remember that?  Downtown Merced and a whole lot of houses would be under water.  There was all kinds of damage and injury - ruined property and destruction - suffering.  It was not a good thing.

Dams and canals have been built to put a boundary on where that creek can go - to regulate it.  Which is something that men can do.  Make can make boundaries - build dams - dig ditches.  But the one thing we cannot do - which the law cannot do - is stop the water from coming.  That’s a God thing.

Men can make laws to try and control sinful behavior.  But they can’t eradicate sin.

The law deals with the symptoms of the disease - with what we can way too easily get ourselves into.  The law is intended to guard us from the self-destructive behavior of sin.  “That’s sin.  Don’t go there.  If you go there its going to really mess you up.”

The promise cures the disease.  God - with His promise - extended to us through Jesus - God works to cure the disease of sin - to restore our broken relationship with Him.  To bring us to the life He’s created us to live beyond the fence - now and forever.  Are we together?

The law was never intended to give us the life that God lovingly promises to us in Jesus.  The law is given to restrict our behavior - to keep us back from sinning - until Jesus - the fulfillment of God’s promise had arrived.

Verses 25 to 29 focus on The Choice.  Let’s say that together.  “The choice.”  The choice that we have because of God’s promise fulfilled in Jesus.

Verse 25:  But now that faith has come - now that we have the fulfillment of the promise in Jesus - we are no longer under a guardian, for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith.  For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.  There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.  And if you are Christ’s then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise.

Obviously if someone has faith in Jesus as their Savior they’re still male or female.  Still Jew or Greek.  In Paul’s day - slave or free.  Ethnicity - social status - sexuality doesn’t change when we come to Christ.  Paul’s point is that all that is secondary.

It doesn’t matter if we’re red, black, white, yellow, blue, or have pink polka dots.  Our ethnicity - or social status - homeless or living in a mansion - six figures or something way less than that - it doesn’t matter how badly we’ve messed up - or how messed up we are - it doesn’t matter if we’re not all there - and some of us aren’t - if we’re in Christ we are Abraham’s offspring - we’re all one in Christ Jesus - heirs of the promise Abraham received - that God fulfilled in Jesus - that God extends to us.

Which we know.  We’re no longer under a guardian.  We know that.  And yet how often do we choose to play “Let’s Make A Deal” - this irrational belief that I must at all times perform outstandingly well and win the approval of significant others - including God.  That if I fail in these important and sacred things that I think are important for me to do that somehow - if I fail in all that - then I’m a bad, incompetent, unworthy person who probably will always fail and deserves to suffer.

Which for most people means living with inner turmoil leading to stress, low self-worth, frustration, conflict, anger, avoidance, procrastination, diminished productivity, difficulty relating to others, and whole lot of other not-so-good things. (1)

Grab Paul’s statement in verse 25:  “But now faith has come.”

Stay with me:  God exists outside of time - before time - after time - and during time - simultaneously.  Time is God’s.  He created it.  Time does not bind God.  God binds time.  God uses time according to His purposes.

Coming from our perspective of birth - life - death.  Beginnings and endings - linear time - that’s a mind blower isn’t it?  God exists.  Period.

A while back we talked about how human history is like the edge of this music stand going from here to here.  The time of our life is like a little molecule along the edge here.  God exists from forever that way to forever that way.

God’s promise - and then all those descendents of Abraham - Isaac, Jacob, Judah, David - God’s manipulating the genealogy - leading to Jesus the fulfillment of His promise.  All that is God at work in history.  A plan and a purpose that God willed before creation was even creation - from somewhere way over there.  God’s making of the deal with His people was a part of that plan before creation was creation.  All of which God works out from here to here.

God used Old Testament history to show us the promise in Jesus.  He used the law to protect His people - the genealogies of those who were carrying His promise - while they were waiting for His fulfillment. 

Put another way - Because every event of history exists for God as simultaneously occurring now - including God’s work in history - before creation was creation - before God - looking down the genealogical lines of history - before God makes His promise to Abraham - God’s fulfillment of His promise in Jesus was already an accomplished certainty.

“But now faith has come” is a certainty.  Verse 29 - “Heirs according to promise” is a certainty.  God doesn’t break His promises because - in a very real sense - He’s already fulfilled them.

We need to grab the practical reality of that.  When we look at how the events within the time of our lives - how those events unfold - they may seem random - senseless - lurching along into an uncertain future.  But we need to be reminded that time - and the events within time - they progress according to God’s will. 

When we come up against the crud of this life - when we start stressing out over what we’re up against - when we’re tempted to play Let’s Make A Deal and think that all of this depends on what we do next - remember that you are - present tense and forever - an heir according to God’s promise given to Abraham and fulfilled in Jesus.

What God promises is reality.  Life beyond the fence is a reality.  The choice God offers to each of us is to trust the reality of what He’s promised us.

_________________________
1. Adapted from David Slagle, Three Irrational Beliefs… that I constantly have to fight, Leadership Journal, Summer 2011, citing Albert Ellis

Reference:  “Precious And Magnificent Promises,” Galatians 3:15-22, Steve Zeisler, June 10, 1984

Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®  (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.  Used by permission.  All rights reserved.