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Sermon Outline

The Gospel in Galatians
The Priority of the Promise
Lesson #6 for August 5, 2017
Scriptures:Galatians 3:15-20; Genesis 9:11-17; 15:1-6; Matthew 5:17-20; Exodus 16:22-26.
    1.         Someone once asked a politician, “Have you kept all the promises that you made during the campaign?” He responded, “Yes . . . well, at least all the promises that I intended to keep.”
Who hasn’t, at one time or another, been at one end or the other of a broken promise? Who hasn’t been the one to break a promise or the one to have a promise made to him or her broken?
    Sometimes people make a promise, fully intending to keep it, but, later, don’t; others make a promise, knowing—as the sounds leave their mouths or the letters their fingers—it’s all a lie.
    Fortunately for us, God’s promises are of an entirely different order. God’s Word is sure and unchanging. “ ‘I have spoken, and I will bring it to pass; I have purposed, and I will do it,’ ” says the Lord (Isa. 46:11, ESV)—Adult Sabbath School Bible Study Guide for Sabbath, July 29.
    2.    This lesson will focus on the relationship among faith, God’s promises, and obedience to the law as described inGalatians 3:15-20. What is suggested by the idea that the law was “added”? Was there ever a time when the law did not exist? (See MB 109.2.) This passage, of course, focuses on the story of Abraham and God’s promise to him. Isn’t the law a transcript of God’s character? What is implied byMark 2:27-28? (Compare and contrastExodus 19:8; 24:3,7) Haven’t the principles of the law been there for all eternity?
    We have only glimmering light in regard to the exceeding breadth of the law of God. The law spoken from Sinai is a transcript of God's character. Many who claim to be teachers of the truth have no conception of what they are handling when they are presenting the law to the people, because they have not studied it; they have not put their mental powers to the task of understanding its significance.—Ellen G. White, Review and Herald,* February 4, 1890, par. 1.
    The law of love is the foundation of God's government, and the service of love the only service acceptable to heaven. God has granted freedom of will to all, endowed men with capacity to appreciate his character, and therefore with ability to love him and to choose his service. So long as created beings worshiped God they were in harmony throughout the universe. While love to God was supreme, love to others abounded. As there was no transgression of the law, which is the transcript of God's character, no note of discord jarred the celestial harmonies.—Ellen G. White, Signs of the Times,* February 13, 1893, par. 1. [Bold type is added.]
    3.    In what form did Abraham have a law? Did he know anything about the Ten Commandments? What is implied by the statement Abraham “kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws”? (Genesis 26:5, NRSV) That was before Sinai.
    4.    ReadGenesis 12:1-3; 15:18; 17:1-8. Who was doing all the promising in these verses? Was Abraham making any promises to God? The fulfillments sometimes took a long time! Or, was God making all the promises to Abraham? CompareJeremiah 31:31-34. This passage in Jeremiah is sometimes referred to as the new covenant. How does it compare with the promises made to Abraham earlier in Genesis?
    5.    What is the difference between a covenant and a will? A covenant is an agreement between two or more people and is sometimes referred to as a contract or a treaty. By contrast, a will is a declaration by a single person of what s/he would like to have done with her/his property after her/his death. As you read these verses in Genesis, would you describe it more like a will? Or, more like a covenant? One Person was doing all of the promising. In what sense was Abraham a part of that covenant? Did God ask him to do anything? How do you understandGenesis 17:9-16?
    6.    Abraham had been asked to follow God’s covenant. He had left Ur of the Chaldees and had traveled to Haran and later proceeded from Haran to Canaan. He had no official property of his own. Wouldn’t you say that there must have been a significant relationship?
    7.    There are several very important points that Paul wanted to make about this agreement and about the later commandments given from Mount Sinai. First of all, he wanted to make it clear that the promises God made to Abraham were in no way modified or nullified by anything that happened later, including the giving of the Ten Commandments at Sinai. SeeGenesis 13:15; 17:8; Romans 4:13; Galatians 3:29; Isaiah 46:11; andHebrews 6:18.
    Here [inGenesis 3:15] was the first promise of a Saviour who would stand on the field of battle to contest the power of Satan and prevail against him. Christ came to our world to represent the character of God as it is represented in His holy law; for His law is a transcript of His character. Christ was both the law and the gospel. The angel that proclaims the everlasting gospel [Revelation 14:6] proclaims the law of God; for the gospel of salvation brings men to obedience of the law, whereby their characters are formed after the divine similitude.—Ellen G. White, Ms 32, 1896*; 17MR* 7.4; Christ Triumphant* 339.2. [Bold type and content in brackets are added.]
    8.    If the law is a transcript of God’s character and if the angels in heaven found it surprising that there ever was such a thing as a law, (Mount of Blessing 109) doesn’t that imply that the law is everlasting? Why wasn’t the law spelled out at least in the days of Noah? Or, at least early in the experience of Abraham? We keep failing and God keeps adding laws and commands. Did Adam and Eve have any laws before they sinned?
    If man had kept the law of God, as given to Adam after his fall, preserved by Noah, and observed by Abraham, there would have been no necessity for the ordinance of circumcision. And if the descendants of Abraham had kept the covenant, of which circumcision was a sign, they would never have been seduced into idolatry, nor would it have been necessary for them to suffer a life of bondage in Egypt; they would have kept God’s law in mind, and there would have been no necessity for it to be proclaimed from Sinai or engraved upon the tables of stone. And had the people practiced the principles of the Ten Commandments, there would have been no need of the additional directions given to Moses.—Ellen G. White, Patriarchs and Prophets* 364.2. Compare Spiritual Gifts, vol. 3, 299.2-3 (1864); Spirit of Prophecy, vol.1, 264.2 (1870).
    9.    If God’s plan of salvation is based on justification alone and has nothing to do with observance of law, why was the giving of a law necessary? Does the law have only a temporary application or jurisdiction? (Galatians 3:24) Many of our Christian friends believe that the law given at Sinai–otherwise known as the Ten Commandments–was only applicable from the time of Sinai until the death of Christ. Which of the ten do they think is/are not in force anymore? How does that fit with our understanding that the law is everlasting and eternal in its application?
    10.    Review your understanding of what happened at Sinai. There was a great ball of fire that came down on the mountain, and there was black smoke and probably thunder and lightning, and a powerful voice speaking out of the dark cloud along with an earthquake that shook everyone. The children of Israel were terrified and stood at a distance. (Exodus 20:18-20) What was God trying to do? Is that the way God teaches people to love?
    11.    What was God trying to teach the children of Israel by that experience? Would you be comfortable having an intimate relationship with a God who would do such a thing? Why did God do that? When Jesus came down to this earth about 1500 years later:
    The poorest and humblest were not afraid to approach Him; even little children were attracted to Him. They loved to climb upon His lap and to kiss that pensive face, benignant with love.—Ellen G. White, Testimonies for the Church,* vol 3, 422.1; GW92* 261.3.
    12.    Why was there such a wide discrepancy in behavior by the same God?
    13.    Abraham had several very open and relatively friendly and intimate conversations with God. (2 Chronicles 20:7; Isaiah 41:8; James 2:23) What do we know about them? SeeGenesis 17:1-22; 18:1-33. Were those encounters common? Did those conversations prepare Abraham for what took place later that is recorded inGenesis 22:1-2?
    14.    Let us return to the major question: What is the purpose of the law? If you had been in God’s place trying to establish a new government for the children of Israel, would you have left out any of the Ten Commandments? Which one of them do you think we could do without today? It is interesting to notice that our Christian friends want to keep nine of the Ten Commandments; but, they are not comfortable with what we call the fourth commandment or the Sabbath commandment. Why do you think that is? Is that command arbitrary? There are death decrees mentioned in the Bible for disobeying each of the Ten Commandments except the tenth; one cannot read the mind of another to determine whether or not s/he covets!
    15.    There are two kinds of laws that we know about. Laws such as the laws of physics, chemistry, and biology are called descriptive laws. For example, the law of gravity was formulated mathematically simply to describe how gravity affects everything we know about. The other kind of laws are proscriptive laws. They include things like the speed limit on roads and on which side of the road one is supposed to drive; these laws are, more or less, arbitrary and decided by some governing authority. Which of these types of laws–descriptive or proscriptive–best describes God’s Ten Commandments? Are they descriptive? Does that change your attitude toward God?
    16.    Does understanding the true nature of the law help us develop a better relationship with God Himself? Is it true that God only asks us to do things which are for our own good?
    17.    Does keeping the Ten Commandments change us? Does it make us happier? Healthier? Holier? Does it change our hearts? Does justification change us? In what way are we supposed to be changed by the plan of salvation which means healing? Are we saved by accepting the righteousness and redemption that Christ has prepared for us? Or, must some change take place in us? Does God intend for us to be changed? Or, just forgiven? Will heaven be populated with pardoned crooks? Or, transformed saints?
    18.    Are we saved by justification alone? Or, do we need some sanctification as well? Is it possible to receive justification alone? Or, is receiving justification the first step in receiving sanctification? Remember that justification is by faith, and sanctification is by faith, and salvation/healing is by faith. Is faith the only true requirement for salvation? (SeeActs 16:31.) If so, what does that imply? What does the law have to do with faith? Or, does faith do away with the law? (Romans 3:31) God forbid!
    19.    Would it be fair to say that the Ten Commandments have virtually nothing to do with our salvation? Does having faith abolish the need for the law? (Romans 3:31; 7:7,12; 8:3; Matthew 5:17-20)
    20.    There are many circumstances under which following God’s commandments literally preserves us from destruction.
    Moreover, genuine faith implies in itself an unreserved willingness to fulfill the will of God in a life of obedience to His law.... Real faith, based on wholehearted love for the Saviour, can lead only to obedience.—The SDA Bible Commentary,* vol. 6, 510.2.
    Let us relate ourselves to God in self-denying, self-sacrificing obedience. Faith in Christ always leads to willing, cheerful obedience. He died to redeem us from all iniquity, and to purify unto Himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works. There is to be perfect conformity, in thought, word, and deed, to the will of God. Heaven is only for those who have purified their souls through obedience to the truth.—Ellen G. White, Letter 301,* November 2, 1904, to Elder and Mrs. S. N. Haskell; Bible Training School, February 1, 1905, par. 3; The Gospel Herald, March 1, 1905, par. 3; This Day with God 315.5; Our Father Cares 247.5. [Bold type is added.]
    21.    If, in fact, justification by faith means that we no longer need the law, would it then be all right to commit adultery, murder, steal, tell lies, etc.? Wasn’t the law given to protect us from just such things happening until we became mature enough to realize it is best to do right because it is right? Does this help us to understand why James called it the “law of liberty”? (James 1:25; 2:12)
    The man who attempts to keep the commandments of God from a sense of obligation merely–because he is required to do so–will never enter into the joy of obedience. He does not obey. When the requirements of God are accounted a burden because they cut across human inclination, we may know that the life is not a Christian life. True obedience is the outworking of a principle within. It springs from the love of righteousness, the love of the law of God. The essence of all righteousness [98] is loyalty to our Redeemer. This will lead us to do right because it is right–because right doing is pleasing to God.—Ellen G. White, Christ’s Object Lessons* 97.3-98.0.
    22.    When the Jews in Jesus’s day referred to the Law, what were they talking about? The traditional Jewish understanding of the word Law referred to the Torah or the five books of Moses. But, sometimes, they would use the word Law to refer to the entire portion of the Bible that we call the Old Testament. (John 10:34; Psalms 82:6)
    23.    Modern-day Christians often use the word law to refer strictly to the Ten Commandments. This is sometimes called the law of God or sometimes the law of Moses. By contrast, the ceremonial law refers to the large collection of requirements given to the children of Israel after the giving of the Ten Commandments at Sinai to guide them in all of their daily activities as well as in their worship activities.
    24.    Did Paul tell us specifically what law he was speaking about? (CompareGalatians 3:19 andRomans 5:13,20) Ellen White wrote quite clearly on this subject. (See 1SM 233-235; 3SG 299.2-3; ST, June 17, 1880, par. 2-3; 1SP 264.2-265.1; PP 364.2; SR 148.3-149.1.)
    25.    Surely, Paul was not trying to suggest that the law was added to the Abrahamic covenant in such a way as to modify it in some way. The law had been in existence long before Sinai. But, the relationship that God had with Abraham when He gave His covenant was very different from the relationship He had with the ex-slaves just coming out of Egypt. The ex-slaves needed clear, detailed, and specific directions. The law was never intended to be a recipe for salvation. However, it does clearly point out sin.
    26.    So, is it the moral law or the ceremonial law that more specifically points out sins? Clearly, it is the moral law. (Romans 3:20; 5:13,20; 7:7,8,13) The ceremonial law simply adds many detailed instructions about how different portions of the moral law are to be carried out.
    The law acts as a magnifying glass. That device does not actually increase the number of dirty spots that defile a garment, but makes them stand out more clearly and reveals many more of them than one is able to see with the naked eye.—William Hendriksen, New Testament Commentary, Exposition on Galatians (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Book House, 1968), p. 141. (As quoted in Adult Sabbath School Bible Study Guide* for Tuesday, August 1.)
    27.    It seems that the Galatians–and especially the Judaizing Christians who had gone to Galatia–needed to reorient their thinking. What about us? Do we need a paradigm shift?
    28.    So, coming back to the question of which law was being specifically referred to as being added, what should be our answer? We need to understand that since the days of Alexander the Great, the Greeks had been telling the world that to be civilized they needed to adopt Greek culture, speak the Greek language, make cities that looked like Greek cities, etc. In general, that split people into two large categories. Some believed that everyone should cooperate with the Greeks and just get along and get on with their lives.
    29.    Others believed that they should do everything possible to resist that Hellenization–which is the technical term for that Greek civilization orientation. Among the Jews there were numerous groups all of whom took different approaches. The Essenes were so strict in their attempts to follow what they believed were the correct Jewish codes that they even moved out of Jerusalem to establish a center near the Dead Sea. They did not want to be contaminated even by the teachings of the Pharisees.
    30.    The Sadducees were on the opposite extreme. While they purported to be religious leaders, in general, they favored cooperation with the Greeks and, later, the Romans. They accepted only the five Books of Moses as their guiding light. By contrast, the Pharisees believed that the only solution was to resist every influence that might take them away from their Jewish heritage. It was the Pharisees who most often resisted Jesus. They had spelled out in hundreds of detailed laws such things as how to keep the Sabbath.
    31.    Who was the most famous Pharisee of all? While you may not have thought of him in that way, it was Paul the Apostle! Other Pharisees that are known by name from the Bible include Nicodemus, Joseph of Arimathea, Simon the former leper, and probably Mary, Martha, and Lazarus. The Pharisees clearly taught that a detailed observation of all the rules was what was needed.
    32.    In this context, the most famous ex-Pharisee, Paul, surely was in an excellent position to point out the problems with that approach.
    33.    Does the fact that Paul suggested that the law was added mean that it did not exist prior to Sinai? That certainly cannot be true in light ofGenesis 9:5-6; 18:19; 26:5; 39:7-10; andExodus 16:22-30. Ellen White suggested that even the angels were surprised to find that there was a law. (Mount of Blessing 109.1,2)
    34.    God who regarded Abraham as His friend did not believe it was necessary to approach him with a black cloud, thunder, lightning, and fire. But, the children of Israel who were almost completely ignorant about God and His requirements needed all of that.
    35.    Many of our Christian friends reading those verses interpret them to mean that the law came into effect at Mount Sinai and ended when Christ died on the cross. That certainly conflicts with much of what Paul said in the book of Romans and also conflicts withMatthew 5:17-19.
    36.    Are they suggesting that after the death of Christ it is okay to commit adultery? Kill? Steal? Or, lie? Of course not! They only want to do away with the Sabbath commandment. So, what did Christ actually do to deal with sin? (Romans 8:3-4) Did Christ provide a true remedy for sin? Was it that He paid the price for our sins? Did He provide for our justification? Did His death make it possible for God to forgive us? Or, did His life and death teach us the truth about God and about sin so that our choices are clear?
    37.    No one can doubt the impressive display that God put on at Mount Sinai. Did it convince the children of Israel to carefully observe all of His requirements for years to come? Of course not! Six weeks later they were dancing drunk and naked around the golden calf. (Exodus 32)
    38.    There are a number of places in the Scriptures, both in the Old Testament and the New Testament, suggesting that love is the fulfillment of all the law. SeeLeviticus 19:18; Galatians 5:14; Romans 13:8,10, etc. If we truly love God and love our fellow men and women, would we intentionally break any of the Ten Commandments? If the law of God were established in our hearts as a guiding principle for our lives, how would that impact our Christianity? Does the law have anything to do with the fruit of the Spirit mentioned inGalatians 5:22-23?
    39.    Many Christians make a great deal out of the fact that Jesus is our Mediator. Where did that idea come from? Who was it that first pleaded for a mediator in the Old Testament? (Exodus 20:18-20) While angels are not specifically mentioned in Exodus, it is very interesting to notice that inDeuteronomy 33:2; Acts 7:38,53; andHebrews 2:2, the Bible writers suggested that angels were involved along with Moses in mediating between God and the children of Israel.
    40.    How did Abraham manage to develop such a good relationship with God at a time when there were no churches, no pastors, the Bible had not yet been written, and apparently, he was surrounded by pagans?
    41.    What is our relationship to the law? When we think of its provisions and directions, do we immediately feel condemned? Are we thankful that God grades on the curve? Or, does He? Do we think that the Ten Commandments are a wonderful goal toward which we strive but which no one can ever reach? Do we need to rethink our understanding of God’s law? If we receive the Spirit of God and manifest the fruit of the Spirit, would that mean that we are obeying the principles of the law? Why did God make so much use of law?
    42.    Finally, we must agree with Paul that the giving of the law of the Ten Commandments and the ceremonial laws about 430 years after the original agreement with Abraham did not invalidate that agreement or modify it in any way. We should also agree with Paul that the law still serves as an excellent guide for human behavior. When held up like a mirror alongside our behavior, it quickly points to areas where we need help.
    43.    For those of us who believe and accept the larger-view, great-controversy, trust, healing model of the plan of salvation, the life and death of Jesus Christ have given us a clear picture of the kind of Person God is and the devastating results of sin. God’s law spells out the nature of sin in more detail. It is only by studying and meditating on the life of Christ and by allowing the Holy Spirit to work in our lives to transform us into His nature that we have any chance of becoming more like Him so that we can enter the kingdom of heaven.
© 2017, Kenneth Hart, MD, MA, MPH. Permission is hereby granted for any noncommercial use of these materials. Free distribution of all or of a portion of this material such as to a Bible study class is encouraged. *Electronic version.                               Info@theox.org
Last Modified: June 12, 2017
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