One In Christ
Galatians
3:21-29
June 24, 2007
21-29
Is the law then opposed to the
promises of God? Certainly not! For if a law
had been given that could make alive, then righteousness would indeed come
through the law. But the scripture has imprisoned all things under the
power of sin, so that what was promised through faith in
Jesus Christ
might be given to those who believe.
Now before faith came, we were imprisoned
and guarded under the law until faith would be revealed. Therefore the law
was our disciplinarian until Christ came, so
that we might be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are
no longer subject to a disciplinarian, for in Christ
Jesus you are all children of
God through faith. As many of you as were
baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves
with Christ. There is no longer Jew or Greek,
there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for
all of you are one in Christ
Jesus. And if you belong to
Christ, then you are Abraham’s offspring,
heirs according to the promise.
Almost thirteen years ago, I told a story on myself where I did not obey
the law of the land. That Law was my Mom. My Dad had stored paint under
the house. We had been told many times “do not touch the paint.” Some of
you will remember the story and some has never heard it. So here we go one
more time! It was a hot summer day and I was looking for something to do.
A light went of in my head that turned into a flashing sign. The flashing
sign stated: “that paint is under the house. Do something with it.” Well,
I did something with it. I got it out and I proceeded to paint our home
multi colors. Evidently, Mom realized that I was mighty quiet outside and
she came out of the house to see what I was doing. The law reacted quickly
to my actions and I’ll leave it at that.
The Law was designed to keep the faithful on the right pathway. It was
given by God to Moses so that the children of Israel would know what they
were supposed to do in order for them to remain faithful to God. It was
simple! It was not compounded at all! It was basic instructions on how to
be a child of God. Somehow that was hard for the children to follow just
like it was hard for me to follow the law about the paint.
It is human nature to challenge that which seems to restrict us. The law
is not bad. It truly is good but we see it and hear it and almost
automatically challenge it. The speed limit signs on the highway are
pretty basic. The Speed is 70 or 55 or 35. We automatically think, well
they will give us at least 5 to 7 miles per hour over the limit before
they give us a ticket. Our basic instinct challenges that which was
created to keep us safe as we travel on the streets and highways.
Paul wanted the people in the early church to understand that the Law was
not bad. The Law did not bring about separation from God or one’s
spiritual death. The Law was given by God to keep the children on the
right pathway. Sin kept one from following the law. It invited one to look
the other way or to do something that one was not supposed to do on his or
her spiritual journey. We do need to make one thing clear today; sin
cannot make us do anything. It can invite us to stray from the ways of
God. Unfortunately, we give into those temptations that come our way and
we separate ourselves from God. The scriptures teach us that we are to
live a faithful and obedient life. The scriptures teach us that we should
surrender everything to God. Our nature says, “Do not do it.”
There is an ongoing struggle. It is a tug of war! Have you ever
participated in a game of tug of war? Two teams line up on different ends
of a rope. The object of the games is for one team to pull the other team
across the line and that team will be the winner. The starter signals to
the teams when to start their struggle. The players on both sides of that
rope pull with all of their strength. You can see them digging their feet
into the earth and using their legs to push backward as they try to pull
the other team across the line. You even see the strain on their faces, as
they call upon every bit of energy that they have in their physical body.
Eventually, one or more members of a team tire out. That becomes the weak
link and the other team is able to pull them across the line.
As one walks through life and strives to be a faithful
child of God, the struggles become hard and the person tires out and gives
in to the struggle against sin.
God saw that His created children could not walk the
walk alone. God loved and loves His children so much that He knew and
knows that He had to be proactive in our salvation. At that point in human
history, the greatest gift was given to the world. God sent His Son into
the world to save all who would call upon His name. Jesus entered into
human history and proclaimed the good news. Yet, there were those who did
not want to hear it. There were those who saw Him as a threat to their way
of life. There were those who desired to follow their own desires instead
of the way of God. They rejected Jesus. They dealt with him in a way that
they could only understand, so they cried out for His death. They thought
that would end it. It did not! God through his beloved Son conquered death
and sin through the resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth.
A gift of life was given on that first Easter Sunday
morning to all who would follow Jesus. The truth was raised from the tomb
and set free in the world.
The followers celebrated that truth. Over the centuries
since that truth was given to the world, the faithful have taken that
truth and added to it their own legal words. Today, we have followers of
Jesus stating: “you can be only a Christian if you live the way that we
say you must live.” We have followers stating: “our baptism is the only
authentic baptism and if you want to belong to our community then you must
do it our way.” We have followers stating: “our form of theology is the
correct form.”
The fact all of that stuff was and is created by human
beings. It is our interpretation of the scriptures or the lack of
scriptures. The only important thing for one who would strive to follow
Christ is to always know in his or her heart that he or she was or is
saved by the actions of Jesus of Nazareth. That is the only key to our
faith. It is the center of our faith.
Once we accept Jesus as our savior then our eyes are
focused upon Him and we surrender our all to the Son of God who entered
into human history to save God’s children.
David Livingstone once wisely remarked:
“He is the greatest master I have ever known. If
there is anyone greater, I do not know him. Jesus Christ is the only
master supremely worth serving. He is the only ideal that never loses its
inspiration. He is the only friend whose friendship meets every demand. He
is the only Savior who can save the uttermost. We go forth in His name, in
His power, and in His Spirit to serve Him.”
Jesus came into the world to unite God’s faithful. He
entered into our history to set us free from sin by faith in Him. He came
to set us free from man made laws and bring us into the ways of God. That
happens when we learn in our heart of hearts that we are to set everything
aside and serve Him and Him alone. That means we set aside our personal
opinions, that means we set aside our different theological beliefs, that
means we accept Jesus of Nazareth as the only way to salvation by faith.
We cast out all of that other stuff that would divide the children of God.
Listen one more time to the evangelist words: “Now
before faith came, we were imprisoned and guarded under the law until
faith would be revealed. Therefore the law was our disciplinarian until
Christ came, so that we might be justified by faith. But now that faith
has come, we are no longer subject to a disciplinarian, for in Christ
Jesus you are all children of God through faith. As many of you as were
baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is no
longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer
male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus. And if you belong
to Christ, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to the
promise.”
We are heirs to the Kingdom of God. We are united by one important fact.
Jesus Christ was born into the world, He went to the cross for our sins
and He was resurrected from the dead to lead the way to eternal salvation.
One gains that salvation through Faith in Jesus the Son of God. That
saving grace sets us free from all of the laws that would separate us as
children of God. That salvation does not mean that we will act anyway that
we want to act. It means that we set aside our own desires and follow the
way of Jesus.
We through Jesus become one. We are God’s family united by Jesus of
Nazareth. All of the human stuff is tossed out of the window. We discard
it because God through Jesus has set us free. We have been set free to
glorify God. We have not been set free to do anything that “we” want to
do. A follower of Jesus of Nazareth has been set free to be a follower. He
or she becomes a servant for Christ and strives to serve Christ with
others as one.
When we lived in Roxboro, Tommy raised
Percheron horses. He did it as a part of his business and as a hobby. The
Percheron is a draft horse. The draft horse works as a team to move a
heavy object from one place to the other. Chip worked everyday for many
hours training those beautiful animals to work together. If one decided to
pull one way and the other the other way then there was no progress made.
The wagon did not move in the proper direction.
The servants of Jesus Christ
are united by the one central fact and that is Jesus the Son of God. Our
eyes, our hearts, our souls and our minds are to remain focused upon Him
all the time. Through His Spirit and our faithful focus we become one in
His Ministry.
As long as we are one in His
ministry then we will glorify our creating, redeeming and sustaining God
everyday. We truly will then be One in Christ and His Church will move
forward into the future in a powerful and life changing way.
He has called us to serve Him.
He has appointed us to be His witnesses in the world. He has brought us
into His family where we are now One in Christ!
In the name of the Father, Son
and Holy Spirit.
Amen
