Galatians 3:23-29 - What Faith In The Gospel Does To You

Title: What Faith In The Gospel Does To You
Speaker: Nate Holdridge
Text: Galatians 3:23-29

Galatians Theme: Galatians describes a life that is free. It is a life in flight. If we cling to the true gospel, if we accept it for what it is, we can fly. But Paul wrote Galatians because the Galatian believers—and all future believers—were in danger. If we adulterate the gospel, if we add to it in any way, we will not fly. Like a bird chained in a birdcage, we will (at best) hinder ourselves from flying into God's ideal for our lives or (at worst) hinder ourselves and others from true salvation.

Overview: All the truths we've talked about today should fill us with meaning and significance. We are no longer imprisoned and guarded by the law. We are now sons of God because of the Son of God. We are now one in Christ because Christ broke down every wall of hostility between us (Eph. 2:14-16). We are now Abraham's offspring because we believed the promise just like he did (Gal. 3:11-14).

Notice the direction of all these changes. Our relationship with the heights of heaven has changed—we are sons of God. Our relationship with the breadth of humanity has changed—we are one in Christ with all others who've believed. And our relationship with the length of human history has changed—we are now part of God's long program of introducing his kingdom. This should infuse every one of us with a feeling of great significance, and I encourage you to meditate on each truth until that feeling arises. Up to heaven, around the globe, and deep into history, our lives have been changed by Jesus.

But how should we respond to all these truths? Here are a handful of suggestions:

First, if life under the law was one in captivity and under a guardian—if it couldn't produce true transformation—then we believers must turn to the right source for personal growth today. God has given us a new nature, and our flesh or old body of sin competes with that new nature, so we should feed the Spirit because he is the one who will transform us into all God has intended.

Second, if we are now sons of God, we should expect a lifetime of learning to experience God as our Father. We will jump into this more in our next study of Galatians, but this aspect of knowing God is of vital importance and is not gained overnight. Learning of God as our Good Father is clunky and awkward at times. We will often revert to a law code or angry dad way of relating to him. But we must keep pressing until we feel him for who he is: our loving and good Father in heaven.

Third, if we are one in Christ, we should resist the voices of division that seek to inflame us against other cultures, other classes, or the other gender. Instead, we should appreciate our differences and rejoice that, despite them, we are one in Jesus! Then, we should treat one another with the utmost respect.

And last, if we are Abraham's offspring, we should let it sink in that our lives are not accidents. We are part of God's long and beautiful redemptive plan, a massive family tree connected to Abraham, the father of faith. Many have come before us, and we are part of them. And many will come after us—hopefully from us—and we are part of them as well.

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