“One Size Fits All”
Galatians “The Heart of the Gospel” Series
A Sermon By Jim Hammond from Galatians 3:19-29
Focus: Christ fills us with satisfaction,
covers us with his protection, and frees us to live for him from the
heart.
How many of you can say you know this to be true from
experience? How many of you want to experience this more? I hope you are
motivated to actively listen this morning then.
In the focus, circle the words “fills”, “covers” and
“frees” and you will be able to fill in the main blanks right up front
this morning.
I.
Be Filled—“Fill ‘er Up”, the conclusion from last week
II.
Be Covered—“One Size Fits All”
III.
Be Free—“I’m not a child anymore, but an heir”
I.
Be Filled—“Fill ‘er Up”
[Point one is the conclusion of last week]
Comparison of Human Effort
Vs. Life in The Spirit[1]
The temptation is to go about attaining Christian
maturity the wrong way.
|
|
Religion by Human
Effort |
Life in the Spirit |
|
Goal |
Please God by our own
good works |
Trust in Christ and
then live to please God |
|
Means |
Practice, diligent
service, discipline, and obedience in hope of reward |
Confess, submit, and
commit yourself to Christ’s control |
|
Power |
Good, honest effort
through self-determination |
The Holy Spirit in us
helps us do good work for Christ’s Kingdom |
|
Control |
Self-motivation;
self-control |
Christ in me; I in
Christ |
|
Results |
Chronic guilt, apathy,
depression, failure, constant desire for approval |
Joy, thankfulness,
love, guidance, service, forgiveness |
Sin is what you do
when your heart is not satisfied with God.
-
John
Piper, Future Grace
-
“What the law tried
to do by a restraining power from without, the gospel does by an inspiring
power from within.”[2]
-
Catherine Boothe
B. The Law is Shown to be severely limited:
1. In extent: It was temporary
(3:19-20).
Galatians 3:19-20 What, then,
was the purpose of the law? It was added because of transgressions
until the Seed to whom the promise referred had come. The law was
put into effect through angels by a mediator.
20A mediator, however, does not represent just one party; but God
is one.
2. In ability: It cannot make alive
(3:21-22).
Galatians 3:21-22 Is the law,
therefore, opposed to the promises of God? Absolutely not! For if a
law had been given that could impart life, then righteousness would
certainly have come by the law.
22But the Scripture declares that the whole world is a prisoner of
sin, so that what was promised, being given through faith in Jesus Christ,
might be given to those who believe.
3. In function:
It served only as a guardian guage that leads you to the
pump (3:23-24).
Galatians 3:23-24 Before this
faith came, we were held prisoners by the law, locked up until faith
should be revealed.
24So the law was put in charge to lead us to Christ that we might
be justified by faith.
The
Law as “guardian” was put in charge as a “pedagogue”, a “schoolmaster”,
“guardian tutor”, like a heartless rough nanny guard and trainer,
She
didn’t lift a finger to help us, she simply told us everything we were
doing wrong, showing us repeatedly how we desperately needed a savior.
The
Law is like the Gas Guage WARNING Sentry in my car—LOW FUEL need a fill
up! It does nothing but warn me. It helps lead me to the pump. Only
Christ can Fill you up.
[last week’s conclusion] Only Christ Can Fill You Up
Galatians 3:14 (NIV) He redeemed
us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles
through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise
of the Spirit.
Galatians 3:22 (NIV) But the
Scripture declares that the whole world is a prisoner of sin, so
that what was promised, being given through faith in Jesus Christ, might
be given to those who believe.
Galatians 3:24 (NIV) So the law
was put in charge to lead us to Christ that we might be justified by
faith.
Take Action: Connect
relationally So Christ to Fill you up. Make a connection today, everyday
this week.
II. Be Covered—“One
Size Fits All”
Clothed With Christ
Galatians 3:26-27
You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus,
27for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed
yourselves with Christ.
Visual
Illustration: I borrowed one of the Cement Plants’ protective suits.
Have an adult volunteer put it on. Explain where the
suit came from.
Robin Blackford Quote:
Portland Cement is
made from natural minerals that have been blended in a specific ratio.
These minerals (actually oxides) are ground to a fine powder, then slowly
rolled through a rotating kiln that is fired by coal to a constant
temperature around 2200 degrees F. There are occasions when personnel are
required to inspect or sample from the kiln area, and are exposed to these
high temperatures. This suit protects them from these high temperatures.
Lesson One:
(While the adult is putting on the suit and wearing
it). Talk about the suit as a protection against the heat., or bio
chemical weapons. Describe the K19 Widow Maker Movie about the protective
suits that were the wrong suits for radio active protection. We need real
protection not a placebo. Christ is the only real protection. 1) Only
his righteousness is acceptable. 2) Judgment will pass over us only if
we have been clothed with Christ. Why? 3) When we stand in Christ where
judgment has already fallen, the judgment passes right over us. Do you
see how the right suit is critically important?
Lesson Two:
(While child puts on the suit and is wearing it)
The second lesson about this suit is that it is one size fits all. It
is true about the Cement plant suit. It is also true about Christ. He is
the one size fits all savior. This brings us to another important
lesson. When you first put on Christ, it is a bit awkward. It is fully
protective, yet we have not fully grown up into Christ. So we fit his
suit about like _____________ here fits this one. It will protect us in
the judgment but we still walk awkwardly in this suit. It is our job to
grow up into the suit so that the suit actually fits us and we function
well in this suit.
The Life Application Commentary on Galatians puts
it this way:
“In
order to grasp the long-term effects of “putting on Christ,” we might be
helped by seeing the robe he gives us as a full-size, adult set of
clothing. It is a seamless robe of characteristics, attitudes, and
intentions modeled by Jesus himself. At first, because we are no more
than spiritual children, the clothing doesn’t fit. The more we grow, the
better we fit into what Christ has already given us.
However, we carry out the disciplines of the spiritual life or train in
holiness, not under the threat of failure or judgment, but under the
loving guidance of God’s Spirit. We do not seek merit with God; rather, we
desire to experience fully all that God has given to us in Christ. In
what areas of spiritual life do you find your “clothing” still not
fitting? What parts of God’s Word have you found that give you directions
for growth in those areas?
Matthew 22:11-12 (NIV)
"But when the king came in to see the guests, he
noticed a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes.
12'Friend,' he asked, 'how did you get in
here without wedding clothes?' The man was speechless.
It was customary for wedding guests to be given
wedding clothes to wear to the banquet. It was unthinkable to refuse to
wear these clothes.
Even today, you get the idea if you can imagine my
wedding 20 years ago. We had a budget wedding. Nevertheless, if I am
remembering correctly, my parents paid for the tuxedoes for the groomsmen
to wear at my wedding. Imagine the scandal and dishonor if during the
processional one of the groomsmen decided not to change out of his old
greasy work clothes with holes, stains, and rips, and accompanied one of
the beautiful bridesmaids. All the attention and honor would be removed
from the family and the bride and groom by such a wicked act. It would
insult the host of the wedding and the bride and groom. That’s the
picture similar to the story Jesus told.
Notice that the concept of clothes as righteous
coverings was not a new metaphor Paul invented, or for that matter Jesus.
For more on the imagery of clothes of righteousness and salvation, see the
following scriptures:
Psalm 132:16
I will clothe her priests with salvation,
and her saints will ever sing for joy. [NIV]
Isaiah 61:10
I delight greatly in the Lord;
my soul rejoices in my God. For he has clothed me with garments of
salvation and arrayed me in a robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom
adorns his head like a priest,
and as a bride adorns herself with her
jewels. [NIV]
Zech. 3:3-5
Now Joshua was dressed in filthy clothes
as he stood before the angel.
4The angel said to those who were
standing before him, "Take off his filthy clothes."
Then he said to Joshua, "See, I have taken
away your sin, and I will put rich garments on you."
5Then I said, "Put a clean turban
on his head." So they put a clean turban on his head and clothed him,
while the angel of the Lord
stood by. [NIV]
Rev. 3:4-5
Yet you have a
few people in
Sardis who have not soiled their clothes. They will walk with me, dressed
in white, for they are worthy.
5He who overcomes will,
like them, be dressed in white. I will never blot out his name from the
book of life, but will acknowledge his name before my Father and his
angels. [NIV]
Rev. 19:7-8
Let us rejoice and be glad and give him
glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made
herself ready.
8Fine linen, bright and clean,
was given her to wear."
(Fine linen stands for the righteous acts
of the saints.)
[NIV]
Take Action: Lay aside the robes of self effort and present
yourself in the robe of Christ’s righteousness. If you haven’t been
baptized, do so. Then grow into the outfit, so that you begin to take on
the characteristics, virtues, and intentions of Christ. Walk in his
clothes.
How is your heart toward God?
Do you lean on Jesus Christ for the power to please
him? That’s how you grow up to fit into his clothes?
Do you want to please Christ? If you are struggling
with wrong actions and wrong desires, you need to go back to the basics of
repentance, that means taking off the old clothes (it might feel a little
like stripping yourself), and putting on the righteous robes of Christ.
Clean, presentable to God, and protective.
[1]
Galatians, Life Application Bible Commentary, Tyndale pub. p.
86
[2]
Catherine Booth. "William and Catherine Booth," Christian History, no.
26.
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