In this sermon, the speaker reflects on the humanity and suffering of Jesus Christ as portrayed in the movie "The Passion". He emphasizes the powerful impact of Jesus becoming a man and undergoing physical and emotional suffering. The speaker also highlights the incomprehensible spiritual suffering that Jesus endured, taking upon himself the sins of the world. The sermon addresses the misconception that the speaker is dismissing the law, clarifying that the law is holy, just, and good, but it becomes a challenge for individuals who are sold under sin. The speaker concludes by emphasizing the importance of trusting in Jesus and His grace, as He has redeemed believers from the curse of the law.

All right, Galatians chapter three, we're gonna pick up tonight in verse 10, but just to refresh your memory, as we've pointed out previously, the Galatians, this group of churches, these people that were greatly impacted by the Apostle Paul he came and he brought the gospel to them. They were powerfully converted and just a great work of God's spirit was going on in their midst. But then these false teachers came in known as the Judaizers. They came in emphasizing the law. And as we pointed out, the Galatians were duped by them. And they just really blindly went into this sort of a love affair with the law. What happened really, as you analyze the situation is that pride got the better of them. Pride set into their hearts and they felt now that they had some superior revelation. And the men and women that were actually brought to faith in Christ by Paul now had come to a place where they actually thought that they knew more than him. They thought that they knew better than he did. And so they began to reject his message of blessing through grace. And they are now putting all of their energy as well as their hope into the law, believing that adherence to the law is what really brings the blessing. So that's where they're at. They're really thinking that, man, Paul, he didn't tell us the truth. He doesn't know this. We've now got this insight that Paul doesn't have that real blessing comes through the law and through connecting with that ancient tradition of the Jews and becoming part of this historical thing. That's where the real blessing is. That was the place that they had come to. Coming to a place of thinking that they actually knew more than Paul, amazing. You know, I mentioned in the previous study, I mentioned some that I know personally that have come under the spell of false doctrine. And I was thinking about it as I was reading over this text today, how similar kinds of experiences accompany deception. And I was thinking in particular about these guys, these young guys who have come under the spell of reformed theology. And I'll never forget being with them and observing them in their early to middle 20s, got converted, saved here at Calvary Chapel under the ministry of Pastor Chuck, and then having to sit and listen to them criticize Pastor Chuck and basically say, you know, Chuck doesn't really understand theology. You know, Chuck's been in the ministry twice as long as these guys have been alive. And now they know, they know better. You know, Pastor Chuck, he just doesn't understand. We have really tapped into this deeper knowledge. And I was thinking of the absurdity of that. But it's a similar thing that was happening there in Galatians. They were actually at a place where they were thinking they knew more than the Apostle Paul. Paul doesn't really know. He doesn't understand. We've got it now. And so Paul, of course, he's defending himself and his doctrine against the misconception that they have. But as we pick up in verse 10, Paul is just, you know, he's really gonna burst their bubble right here because he is going to begin to give them a true explanation of what the law is all about. They're thinking, oh, the law, wonderful. Now we're really in that place of blessing. We're really gonna be experiencing God in a powerful way now that we've understood this thing, the law. But Paul says, oh no, no, no, you've got it quite wrong, actually. He said in verse 10, for as many as are under the works of the law are under the curse. For it is written, cursed is everyone who does not continue in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them. So Paul says, no, you guys, you've got it completely wrong. You've got it totally backwards. You think blessing is coming from the law? Let me tell you what's actually coming from the law. There's a curse that comes from the law. And then of course, as Paul always does, he goes back to support his argument from scripture. And so the first thing he says is, for it is written, cursed is everyone who does not continue in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them. Paul is here quoting from Deuteronomy. The law brings a curse and the law brings a curse because all the law can do for you is condemn you. It puts you under the judgment of God because you are incapable, I am incapable, the Galatians were incapable of keeping the law. And so that's what the law itself had said. Cursed is everyone who does not continue in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them. You see, the only way to have a right relationship with God through the law was to keep it in its entirety continually. There's no grace in the law. The law is the law. And if you break the law, then judgment comes. You're condemned for one violation. And so God pronounced a curse upon the people if they did not continue in all things that were written in the book of the law, but that no one is justified by the law in the sight of God. Well, that's evident for the scriptures also say, the just shall live by faith. So you see again, Paul is going back to the scripture. He's showing them that you're cursed under the law because you have to keep the whole thing. But then he says, but it's evident that salvation or justification doesn't come by the law because the scriptures say that justification comes by faith. And so here he quotes from the prophet Habakkuk, the second chapter, the fourth verse, he quotes the just shall live by faith. Then he says, yet the law is not of faith, but the man who does them shall live by them. Now you see, here's where Paul makes a sharp and a hard distinction between works and faith. They are not the same thing. They're not even in the same category. You can't even consider them to be alike one another. And we need to understand that because there are people today who will insist that if we say that we're saved by faith, they will insist that we're somehow suggesting that we're performing some sort of a work. And that's what's brought us to a place of justification. And so they say, oh no, if you say believing is what saved you, then that's equivalent to works, but that's not true. Works and faith are always contrasted in scripture. They're not put together. Paul says that so clearly right here. Yet the law is not of faith, but the man who does them shall live by them. He makes a contrast between the two things. The works of the law and faith are two separate things. So don't let anybody ever tell you that if you say that you're saved by faith, that you're somehow claiming that you're saved by works. Faith and works exclude one another when it comes to the issue of justification. Now, when it comes to the issue of sanctification, faith manifests itself in works, but not so in justification. And remember, justification is to be declared righteous before God. Again, how am I declared righteous before God? One way and one way only, by believing God. It's as simple as that. I don't do anything. There's not one single thing I can do, except God, I believe you. I believe that Jesus is your son. I believe that you sent him to die for the sin of the world. I believe that he died for my sin. I believe that he rose again from the dead. That's what saves me, believing that, nothing else. I don't believe that and then do something else as well. I believe that solely, and that's what brings me into the position of being justified. Now, you see, there are many other manifestations of Christianity, I guess is the best way to put it, that insist that faith alone is not enough. You've got to have something else. Roman Catholicism, of course, is probably the best example of that. They actually teach that faith is not sufficient to save you, faith alone. They teach that you actually must add some sort of work to it, the sacraments or baptism or some connection to the church or whatever the case might be, but not so. That's a contradiction of what the scriptures say. The law is not of faith. The law was all about doing. That's when you go back and you look at the law, it's just about doing these things. But the just shall live by faith, believing what God said. And then, of course, when I believe and I'm justified, as we pointed out previously, the instant I'm justified, I'm also regenerated and I have a new life now. I have the spirit of God dwelling in me. And what happens at that point is the life of God begins to manifest itself out of my life. And then there are works that show my faith. But that's not what got me saved in the first place. It was simply believing, trusting in what Jesus did. And so Paul, he goes on with this and he says, remember, he's talking about the whole thing of the curse. He says, Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us. So he says, look, don't you guys understand? You wanna be under the law? If you're under the law, you're under a curse. Everybody who's under the law is under a curse. Everyone tonight, everyone on this planet who's trying to relate to God through a legal system is under a curse. Because again, you have to keep it in order to have favor with God. And if you don't keep it, then you're under a curse. But Christ came to redeem us from the curse of the law. Now we have to make a distinction here between the curses that are mentioned in the Bible. Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law. There's another curse, we might call it the curse of sin, that although Christ will ultimately redeem us from that, he has not yet redeemed us from the curse of sin. And what I mean by the curse of sin are the consequences of sin that came upon the earth and upon creation and upon the human family as a result of man's rebellion against God. And that manifests itself in two things in particular, sickness and death. See, Christ has not yet redeemed us from that. He will. And of course that will happen when he comes back and establishes his kingdom. But he hasn't yet redeemed us from that. What he has redeemed us from is the curse of the law. The curse of the law is condemnation. The curse of the law is damnation. That's what Christ has redeemed us from. You see, the curse of the law was that the law said, keep it or die. We can't keep it, so we're under a death sentence. But that's what Jesus redeemed us from. He redeemed us from that death sentence that we were under. Now, you might be wondering, why am I telling you all of this? This is the reason. There are people, and this is quite popular outside of our Christian community here. There are people who embrace what's known as the Word-Faith Movement. And the Word-Faith Movement basically teaches that every Christian should be prosperous, financially, materially. Every Christian should be in perfect health, never experience sickness or suffering or anything like that. And they say that that is the case because Christ has redeemed us from the curse, and all of those things are related to the curse. But you see, they're missing the point that it's the curse of the law, not the curse of sin that Christ redeemed us from presently. They're failing to make a distinction between the two curses. And so there are a lot of people who are being led to believe that if I'm really a good Christian, if I really love God, if God's blessing is really upon my life, it's gonna be evidenced in the fact that I'm gonna get rich. And not only am I gonna get rich, but I am just gonna be blessed with prosperity. I am never gonna be sick again. I'll never have any sickness at all. If you take that to its logical end, you have to conclude you're never gonna die either. But again, it's a failure to distinguish between the curses, and it's a failure really, among other things, to correctly interpret the Bible. There is a right and a wrong way to understand the scriptures. And these people have a misunderstanding. And many are led astray because of this. And it kind of leads to two things. It either leads to somebody who's just, you know, so taken up with this whole prosperity thing, and their whole life is all about getting rich in the name of Jesus. Or the other extreme is the person who's sick, and suffering, and broke, and feeling like God hates them. They must be in some deep, dark pit. Because after all, look at their lives. And quite often, the very preachers themselves will indicate that in their messages. If you're sick, if you're suffering, it's because there's sin in your life, they'll say. And they put people under this tremendous guilt, and this tremendous burden, this tremendous condemnation. But their whole premise is wrong. Because Christ did not yet redeem us from the curse of sin. Read in the book of Revelation, as we get to the place where the Lord comes back and sets up his kingdom. And you know what it says there? It says there the curse will be removed. And there shall be no more curse. You see? It's the curse will finally, ultimately be removed in the new heaven and the new earth. When Jesus comes back and sets up his reign upon the earth, that millennial reign, that thousand year period in which he will reign, the curse will be greatly lifted, but it won't be completely removed. Because during that time, people still will die. But it will be the exception rather than the rule. They will die because of their rebellion against God. But in the new heaven and the new earth, the curse will be completely removed. There will be no curse there. But the curse of sin still remains. That's why, even though we're saved, that's why our bodies are still subject to corruption. That's why we still get sick, and that's why we still eventually will die. Because it's the curse of the law, not the curse of sin that Christ has redeemed us from. So he has delivered us from the damnation. He's delivered us from the judgment. Basically, to put it in real simple terms, he has delivered us from hell. The curse of the law is hell. That's what the law rewards people with, with hell. Because the law is just basically there accusing, pointing out our sins. So Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law. Listen to this, having become a curse for us. Now, this would have been absolutely mind-boggling to a Jewish audience. What is Paul talking about? They might be saying, this guy has lost his mind. He's saying the Messiah became a curse? You see, in the Jewish way of thinking, those two things could never be associated with each other. The Messiah was the blessed one. He was God's anointed. He was the one who was gonna come and bring prosperity and blessing and healing and victory and all those things. And now here's Paul, he has the audacity to say that Christ became a curse? What is he talking about? And they might easily want to write Paul off as some sort of a heretic, but they can't do it because Paul is backing up everything he says with scripture. And so once again, he goes back and he quotes from Deuteronomy and listen to what he says. For it is written in Deuteronomy 21, 23, cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree. There are so many amazing things in scripture that are there sometimes just under the surface that we don't actually see at first glance. That's why it's important to study the scriptures. That's why it's important to meditate on them. But Paul, this man who has this incredible spiritual mind and a mind that is saturated in scripture, he puts all of this stuff together amazingly. Of course, the spirit of God no doubt led him to do it, but there was no one up until this point. I doubt that even Moses himself had any understanding that these things were all tied together in what the Messiah would do. But he goes back to Deuteronomy and he quotes they're cursed as everyone who hangs on a tree. Why was Jesus crucified? He was hung on a tree. It's interesting too, that not only Paul, but Peter uses that same picture when he talks about the death of Christ. He doesn't simply say the cross, he says a tree. Because way back in the law, God said cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree. Jesus was hung on a tree. He bore the curse of sin. You see, he paid the penalty. He was cursed for us so that we would not have to be cursed. That's what happened. Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree. Christ became a curse for us. You know, it is utterly amazing what Jesus did for us. I remember watching the Passion and I think I saw it five times. But as I was watching it, the thing that really hit me at that particular time was the humanity of Christ and the human suffering that was involved in that. And the fact that Jesus would become a man and actually undergo that physical, emotional suffering, that really impacted me at the time. And that is powerful, that is impacting. But the spiritual suffering that Jesus went through, we can't even imagine it. We can't even conceive of it. The holy one, the righteous one, the perfect one, the pure one, the just one, he becomes a curse for us. He takes our sins upon himself. He takes the sins of the world upon himself. Every vile, perverse, wicked, cruel, vicious thing that anybody's ever done, all of that was laid upon Jesus. It's impossible to conceive of that. We can't even, we cannot comprehend it. It's incomprehensible. But there are those times when maybe just a little flash from the spirit of God comes and just for maybe just a millisecond, we get some sort of a grasp on it. And we're astounded, we're dumbfounded, we're just speechless what Jesus went through. Think of the atrocities that are going on in the world right now and that horrific thing that took place this past week in Iraq. This young man being beheaded, what a horrific thing. But that brutal, wicked murder, Jesus suffered for that already. He became a curse because all of those things were laid upon him and he was hung on a tree, he was crucified. Why didn't Jesus die some other way? Why wasn't there some other means of death? I mean, after all, he needed to die, his blood needed to be shed, but why a cross? Because cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree. God wanted to show the world what he was doing, that he was making his own son a curse for us so we would not have to be cursed. That is unimaginable. You know, this is where when you really begin to understand the Christian gospel, it so far supersedes any other philosophy, religion, there's nothing that even remotely can compare with it. You can't even make a comparison. When you understand this stuff and the glory of it, you see this has to be from God. Nobody could have thought this up. That God himself, the judge of the universe, that he would come, God the son, that he would actually come and stand in the place of a guilty world and say, punish me, make me a curse. I will bear the curse of sin. I will bear the curse of the law. I will bear it all myself. And in doing so, I will redeem these people. That is just beyond comprehension. But all that was done, that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles, Paul said, in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the spirit through faith. You see, again, remember, they're wanting to go into this legal thing. They're really enamored with Moses now and what they've learned from these false teachers. Paul's taken them back to Abraham where it all began. He says, no, there's no blessing in the law, my friends, there's only a curse. But Christ redeemed us from the curse in order that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles. That we might receive the promise of the spirit through faith. You see, what the Jews completely forgot is that God loved everybody. They in their minds had made the sharp distinction between themselves and the rest of the world, the Gentile world. They in reality forgot that the Gentile world was also the world that God made. They forgot that these other people were actually God's creatures as well. They forgot that God had a plan to save the whole world. Not just them, they completely forgot that. But the promise to Abraham was, I will bless you, I will make you a blessing and in your seed, all the nations of the earth shall be blessed. You see, it was all the nations that were to be blessed through Abraham and that's what Paul is saying here. That just like Abraham, God through Jesus Christ, he has now given us that promise of the spirit through faith. Brethren, I speak in the manner of men. He says, let's just look at this thing from the human point of view. That's what he's saying right now when he says, I speak in the manner of men. Let's look at it from the human point of view. Though it is only a man's covenant, yet if it is confirmed, no one annuls or adds to it. See, Paul says, now look, we understand on a human level that if a covenant is made, a contract is signed or whatever the case might be, the deal is done. We understand that on a human level. He said, now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. You see, the whole problem is these Judaizers and now these Galatians, they have forgotten that God made a covenant with Abraham, that the covenant with Moses came later. They didn't realize that the covenant with Moses was a temporal thing that could not affect the previous covenant that God made with Abraham. Paul says, look, on a human level, if somebody makes a covenant, you can't annul it. You can't add to it. The contract is signed. The deal is the deal. We understand that on a human level. He says, but now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. You see, God made promises. If men's promises are binding, Paul says, how much more God's? So God made a promise to Abraham and to his seed. Now listen to this. He does not say, and to seeds as of many, but as of one, and to your seed, who is Christ. So what Paul is saying here is, look, the promises that God made to Abraham, he actually made to Christ. The promise was, the covenant was with Abraham, but of course, Abraham was only gonna live a short while and then he was gonna pass away, but it was to Abraham's seed, not all of his descendants, plural, but his seed, singular, Christ. That's who the covenant is with. It's a covenant between God and Christ. It's a irrevocable covenant. It's a covenant that can never be altered or changed. It's a covenant that cannot be annulled, and that's what he goes on to say. He said, and this I say, that the law, which was 430 years later, cannot annul the covenant that was confirmed before by God in Christ, that it should make the promise of no effect. You see, Paul says, look, for 430 years, this promise was in effect. Then the law came along. The law didn't annul the promise. When the law was given, God didn't say, okay, now I'm changing the contract. I made this unconditional contract with Abraham, but I'm changing my mind now, and I'm gonna make a conditional contract with you, Abraham's descendants. He didn't do that. He did bring in this other covenant, but as Paul's gonna show, it was a temporal situation. So he says it can't annul the covenant that was confirmed before by God in Christ, that it should make the promise of no effect. For if the inheritance is of the law, it is no longer of promise, but God gave it to Abraham by promise. So you see, Paul says, if the law is the way that we're justified now, if the law is the means by which God's gonna save the world, then the covenant with Abraham is void. But the fact of the matter is the covenant with Abraham is not void. Now, there's one thing I want to just mention before we move into verse 19 and follow the argument, but it's this whole thing about the covenant being with Abraham and his seed singular. You perhaps remember a few weeks back, maybe a couple of months ago now, I mentioned something about Israel, and I said something concerning present day Israel that I think was, well, controversial to say the least. But I want to clarify a little bit the point that I made because it's based on what Paul says here. You see, when we look at the current situation in the Middle East, because we're Christians, because we're Bible believers, we have an interpretation of things that are going on over there, and we look at Israel and we see them as God's ancient people, the one that he made a covenant with, and part of the covenant that was made with Abraham had to do with the land. So the land belongs to Abraham's seed by covenant. And now based upon that, we would then say, well, the Jews have a right to the land, not the Muslims, and God gave that land to them, it's theirs, and we need to help support them and everything to get that land and to control it and to live there in peace. And we often hear people say, and we sometimes say, we got to pray for the peace of Jerusalem and they've got to live there in peace and they've got a right to be there peacefully and all of that sort of thing. Now, let me say this. I believe that they are in the land by divine appointment. I believe that God has placed them there. But I also believe that at the present moment, they do not have a divine right to it, but I believe that they're there providentially by God. God has placed them there to work out his greater plan. But to say at this moment that they have a right to the land, I think is a misinterpretation of scripture. Because notice the promise, the covenant that included the land was made to Abraham and to his seed, who is Christ. And I've said this before, and I'll say it again. The land of Israel belongs to Jesus Christ. It's his land. He's the Messiah. And because it's his land, no one will live in it peacefully until he reigns over it. That's what the Bible teaches. I'm sorry to say it's a hopeless situation for the Jews presently. They cannot live in peace in that land. As much as they want, as much as they've been endeavoring, I was noticing, what's today? Today's the 15th, isn't it? Of May. This is the anniversary of the birthday, really, of the state of Israel, the modern state of Israel. May 15th, 1948. I think it's May 15th. So here we are. It might've been yesterday, but. I can't remember the exact date. It's one of these two dates, 14th or 15th. But so here we are in 1948. It's 2004. And if you just look back at the history, they have been in the land for all of these years now, and they have yet to obtain peace. Why, why? I mean, what's the problem? Why can't they just live in peace? I mean, after all, that's all they want to do. They just leave us alone. Just give us this little piece of land and just let us go about our business. But it can't happen because they cannot live in peace while they reject their king. They cannot live in peace while they refuse to embrace the Messiah. It's an impossibility. But see, the reality is there is a peace treaty coming, but it's a false peace. And the peace that Israel will have in the future is not the peace that comes from the Messiah's rule First, it will be the peace that comes from a covenant with the Antichrist. That's a scary thought. That's what's gonna happen first. But then of course, the end will be that they will have peace, but they won't have it until they say, "'Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.'" Remember, Jesus said that to them. He said, "'I leave your house to you desolate.'" Desolate, wasted, empty, barren. "'I leave your house desolate until you say, "'You will not see me again,' he said, "'until you say, "'Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.'" So you see, there is no peace for Israel until they receive their Messiah. Now again, I wanna reiterate, I believe that they're in the land by divine appointment. I believe that God has sovereignly placed them there. And from a merely human standpoint, I believe they have a right to be in the land. They fought for it, they won it, it's theirs. But that's a human perspective. That's not a divine perspective. But you see, to insist that they have a right to this land because God gave it to them through Abraham, God gave it to Abraham and his seed, singular. He gave it to Abraham and the Messiah. And so that's when it'll be theirs, when they embrace the Messiah. But going back to Paul's point here, he's going to now answer the big question that would be in the mind of these people, the question about the law. Okay, Paul, you're talking about the law. You're saying that those that are under the works of the law are under a curse. And now, come on, Paul, what do you mean? The law, it's this wonderful thing and Moses and the traditions and all of this. And this has been the essence of Jewish life for 1,500 years. And now, Paul, you're just saying that, it sounds like you're just dismissing the law. It sounds like you're saying the law is something bad maybe. Romans chapter seven, Paul deals with some of the same kinds of things. And at one point he anticipates because of some of the things he's saying, he anticipates their response. And he anticipates them saying that he is teaching that the law is evil. And Paul says, no, I'm not saying that. He said, the law is holy, just and good. The problem is I am sold under sin. That's why the law is bad for me because I can't keep it. So here now he says, what purpose then does the law serve? Okay, Paul, you're saying we can't be saved by the law. Why did God give the law then? He says, it was added because of transgressions. You see, the law was actually given not to save people, but to do two things, to keep them from going headlong into sin and destroying themselves. But as he'll point out in a moment, it was also given to point them to Christ. But it was added because of transgression. It was added because of man's tendencies towards sin to keep man from going headlong into sin and into self-destruction. You see, when there's no law, man destroys himself through sin. We see it happening around us today where lawlessness abounds, sin abounds, and where sin abounds, life is being destroyed. So it was added because of transgression until the seed should come to whom the promise was made. And it was appointed through angels by the hand of a mediator. Now, a mediator does not mediate for one only, but God is one. So you see, he's saying the law was temporary. It was just here until the seed should come. And it was given through angels. And there was a mediator. He's talking about Moses. Moses had to mediate between God and the people. They couldn't have a direct relationship with each other. But then he goes on to say, he says, now, a mediator does not mediate for one only, but God is one. You see, the covenant, the Abrahamic covenant is with God himself. It's God the Father and God the Son. They're the ones that have the covenant together. The seed that he's talking about is God the Son. So you see, this is the glorious thing about the new covenant. The old covenant was a covenant that was based upon what I was able to do. The new covenant is based upon what God does. It's a covenant between God the Father and God the Son. They do all the work, we believe it, and we're saved. That's a great covenant. That's a much better one than the first one, or the mosaic one. Now, he says, is the law then against the promises of God? Certainly not. For if there had been a law given, which could have given life, truly, righteousness would have been by the law. See, if there was a law that could save us, that's how God would have saved us. But as we pointed out before, and as Paul said, if righteousness comes through the law, Christ died in vain. The fact that Jesus Christ died on a cross is God's message to the whole world that there is no law that can save you. If there was a law that could save us, God would have just said, okay, here, this is what you do. You do this and everything will be okay. But there's no law that could save us. God's law couldn't save us. And every other law is inferior to God's law. If God's law couldn't save us, there's no human law that can save us. But if there had been a law, that's the way God would have done it. But it's impossible. Why? Because the scripture has confined all under sin. You see, the problem is we're all lawbreakers. That's why the law can't save us, because we're all lawbreakers. The scriptures confined us, locked us up in the prison house of sin. That's what the scripture does. The scripture says all have sinned, that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe. But before faith came, we were kept under guard by the law, kept for the faith, which would afterward be revealed. So you see, God always planned to save people through this means of faith, but there was a period of time to work out his plan. So what he does in the meantime is he brings in the law to keep man from, as I've already said, going into sin and destroying himself. But it was all preparatory for faith that was to come. Therefore, the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ that we might be justified by faith, but after faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor. The law was our schoolmaster is another translation. The law was there to teach us that Christ was the way to salvation. That's what the law does. And that's why when you go back into the law, Christ is in the law. The whole sacrificial system, all of that is about Christ. The sacrificial system points to Christ. The moral standard shows us our inability to live up to what God requires of us. And the whole thing is there just to point us to Jesus so we can be saved. That's the purpose of the law. And after faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor. Would you graduate from a university with a PhD and then decide to go back to kindergarten and start all over again? I highly doubt it, but spiritually speaking, that's the same kind of thing that Paul's talking about. He says, but you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For as many as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ, and now he sums it up. There is neither Jew nor Greek. You see, they're wanting to become Jews. Paul says, you don't need to become a Jew. You're a son of God. You can't improve on that. You can't get any better than that. That's the ultimate thing. There is now neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free. There is neither male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed and heirs according to the promise. You see, Paul is just saying to them, look, you guys, you don't understand. You have got all you can possibly get. You've got it all. You're sons of God. You're heirs of the promise. You're just like Abraham. And what was Abraham? Abraham was the friend of God. Paul's saying, no, don't go under the law. You go under the law, you're not gonna be God's friend anymore because you're cursed under the law. Because you can't keep it. But as you just believe like Abraham did, you're the friend of God. And so Paul just so masterfully here, and lovingly he reasons with them to show them that they need to hold on to what they had and not drift into this other thing because there is no blessing there. There's only a curse. But the blessing is there as they just continue to believe in Jesus. And for us too, as we close, you know, it's just as simple as that. You just keep believing in Jesus. You just keep loving Jesus. Oh, people will come and they'll say, oh, you need to do this and you ought to do that. And man, what are you guys doing over there? And you know, they'll try to lay all kinds of different trips on you. Sometimes personally, individually, sometimes collectively, people will come into a church, try to lay something on you. Some hyper spiritual thing. You know, if you really loved God, you would do this and that. But don't buy it. Just keep simply trusting Jesus, loving Him. You're children of God. We're all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. And we've got all that you can ever get. There's nothing else. We've got it by the grace of God. Let's pray. Lord, we thank you for your grace. Lord, that you redeemed us from the curse of the law. Lord, that we're not under wrath, but here we are just basking in your grace. And Lord, that you're gonna redeem us from the curse of sin too, that you will, Lord, adopt us, redeem our bodies, take us to heaven and free us forever from sin. We thank you that all of that is what you accomplished when you died on the cross. And Jesus, tonight, we thank you for dying in our place, for becoming a curse for us, that the blessing of Abraham might come upon us. And that tonight, Lord, we are like Abraham was. And that he was your friend. Hallelujah. We bless you, Lord, that we're your friends tonight. And Lord, I pray for each person here that they might know that friendship with you, that they might know that love, that they might be delivered from condemnation, from guilt, from fear. Lord, just knowing that you love them, being able to rest. Lord, for anyone who's trying to relate to you through works tonight, and they find themselves under a curse, find themselves miserable, find themselves feeling condemned, Lord, lift that from them, I pray. May they know that they're your friend tonight. And Lord, for anyone that maybe has not yet opened their heart to receive you, may they do that this evening. May they just ask you to come in and to cleanse their sin and to be Lord of their life, Jesus. So work, we pray now. Bless as we go, as we fellowship, as we... Lord, just spend the rest of the evening. May we spend it in the spirit. In Jesus' name, amen.