Christians don't go back to the law, we go back to the promise. Dr. Tony Evans says God's promise depends on His faithfulness, not our performance. God says, I'm going to do this promise. It's not dependent upon what you do or do not do.
This is the alternative broadcast, featuring the timeless biblical teachings from the archives of Dr. Tony Evans. Contracts can be broken. But a promise from God is unfailing. Today, Dr.
Evans unpacks why the covenant God made through Christ can't be nullified by human effort and why performance-based religion will always fall short. Let's join him as he begins. Paul wants to protect the gospel, not only for our salvation, but for our transformation or sanctification. There were people who were undermining him called Judaizers. These were Jewish people who were trying to bring Christians back under the law.
And Paul wants them to know that that is not how the Christian life works. Christ verse 13 has redeemed us from the curse of the law. Having become a curse for us, for it is written. Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree in order that in Christ Jesus, the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles so that we would receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.
So he brings up the spirit again, which is the means of maturity. By means of faith.
So The spirit works by means of our Living the Christian life by faith.
So he's going to go a little deeper into this now. Beginning in verse 15. Brethren?
So he's talking to Christians. I speak in terms of human relations. even though it is only a man's covenant. Yet when it has been ratified, no one sets it aside. Or adds conditions to it.
In other words, when you finalize an agreement, that's the agreement. You signed off on it. Why are you telling me this?
Now, the promises were spoken to Abraham. And to his seed. to those who his offspring. He does not say and to seeds. That's very important, and I'll tell you why.
Plural. He doesn't say the seeds. All he done is then in an S on the word seed. God promised, made a promise to Abraham and his singular seed. not to his plural seeds.
We believe in Plenary verbal inspiration, which simply means every word of scripture is inspired by God, every word. That the individual words matter. This is so important. That not only the individual words matter, but whether we're talking about a singular or a plural matters.
So He says, okay, this promise that was given to Abraham. was also given to his Singular seed. He does not say and the seeds as referring to many. That's plural, but to one.
Okay singular. And to your seed, that is Christ.
So let's picture, let's Let's take a A plan of some kind. Let's take corn. You plant a seed and get a stalk. On the stock. It's not just one ear of corn.
There are numbers of ears of corn on one stalk. of corn that's come from one seed.
So, even though it's one seed, it's multiplied in its effect. In the amount of ears of corn that you get on that one stalk. from that one seed. Jesus is the one seed.
Okay. He says, Jesus is the one seed. There aren't many seeds. Abraham has one seed. And that's Jesus Christ.
But he says, This one seed of Abraham, who is Jesus Christ, is also. Your seed. He says at the end of verse 16.
So, the seed of Abraham, which is Christ, is the seed of the Christian. We're all offspring from this one seed. Which ties back to the middle of the middle to this one promise to this one man.
So Abraham has a seed. And this seed is responsible for all us. It's like Adam and Eve is responsible for the whole human race. you know, through the through the generational repopulation.
So he's making this point connecting Christ to us to the promise back to Abraham.
Now, Paul knew that they were as confused as y'all are right now.
Okay, I can see it on your face. And Abraham saw that, ah, they're not catching this.
So let me help him out. Verse 17. What I am saying is this.
So he knew it. We needed some help. The law which came four hundred and thirty years later. The law, Moses, the Ten Commandments, all that, came 430 years after the promise was made to Abraham.
So you got this long gap. The law does not invalidate a covenant. previously ratified by God.
so as to nullify the promise. Paul says You're going back to the law. The Judaizers. who are trying to confuse the Galatians. You're trying to take them back to the law.
You haven't gone back far enough. The law came 430 years after. the promise.
So if you're gonna go back. way back Let's go all the way back to the promise. which was given to Abraham, not to Moses.
So you're going to the wrong place. He says But the law that came 430 years of age doesn't nullify or cancel out the promise. that he was made to Abraham. For if the inheritance is based on law, It is no longer based on a promise. For God has granted it to Abraham by means of a Promise.
So what did he say? Christians don't go back to the law, we go back to the promise. Why? Because God ratified the promise. with Abraham.
Now, why is that important? When God made a agreement, a covenant with Abraham. He did it in a very special way. He told Abraham to cut Animals in two. And the way it was done.
When you wanted to cut a covenant, you cut the animals in two, separate them out. and the people making the covenantal agreement. would walk between the two sides of the animal that had been cut open. To say that we both agree and we agree by blood. because you slew the animal shedding of blood so it was a blood agreement to make a covenant.
So that was like you and I signing a contract and putting both of our names on it.
Okay, so we agree with the agreement of the covenant. But when God made his agreement with Abraham. Instead of God walking through. The midst of the animals. With Abraham.
He put Abraham asleep. And he went through by himself. The reason he went through by himself was. This promise is dependent upon me alone. It's not dependent upon.
what you do or do not do.
So it was a promise ratified by God. Period.
So it didn't depend on Abraham. God says, I'm going to do this promise. So, even though Abraham is going through all these ups and downs in his life, and he's, you know, he's fathered a child out of wedlock. He's done a whole bunch of out of the legitimate person that should have been fathered by Sarah, and he's lied, and he's going through stuff. God is still twisting things so that he still performs this miracle with Sarah and she gets pregnant at 90 years old.
And he does because his promise was dependent upon him. Even though Abraham messed up, he was going to keep his promise. which is, by the way, why you can't lose your salvation. Because it's titled on God's Promise, Not Your Performance.
Okay. So he's keeping the promise. And he ratifies it by himself. Not so with the law. Yeah.
In order for the law to work for the people. They had to do things. And if they didn't do it. There was going to be penalties to pay. You're going to lose your land.
He made a conditional covenant with Moses. But he made an unconditional covenant with Abraham.
So to go back to the law, this is very important. You go back to a conditional relationship with God. When you go back to the promise. You go back to an unconditional relationship with God because it's ratified by God by Himself. God says I'm going to keep it when you don't.
So, the reason that the law could pass away is that it was never ratified to be permanent. But the promise was.
So our connection. as Christians, is he saying, is not Moses and the law It's Abraham. and the promise. That he made To Abraham.
So he knows that this is a struggle because we operate by law. The law has its place, but it's not the foundation of our faith. doctor Evans will explain why when he returns in just a moment. As we've been discovering through Tony's study of Galatians, The Christian life was never meant to be lived through performance and pressure. God's promises come by grace through faith.
not by checking religious boxes. Before we get back into the second part of today's message, I want to let you know about a unique package we've put together as a way of saying thank you when you make a donation to the alternative broadcast. It includes all 11 full-length messages from the Galatians Teaching series, along with Dr. Evans' powerful book, Kingdom Prayer. touching heaven to change earth.
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Right now, let's return to our study with Dr. Evans in Galatians chapter 3. Verse 18, for if the inheritance is based on law, it is no longer based on a promise. for God had granted it to Abraham by means of a promise. Why then the law?
Okay, why do we need the law? And that's a fair question. The law was an addition. It was something. That was put in later.
to keep sin from getting out of control. Sin created the need for the law. It was something 430 years later because now God had a nation to manage. The nation of Israel. And he would give them.
Negative restrictions. Thou shalt not, thou shalt not, thou shalt not, thou shalt not. To manage their sin, so to manage them because of their sinfulness. What does the law do? Number one.
The law gives you a standard. By which your sinfulness is exposed. The law also Because it exposes our sin. Shows us Our need for a Savior. What the law exposes, it is not equipped to fix.
When you go to the doctor. and you go before an x-ray machine. They expose what's happening inside beneath the skin. and the bones they They x-ray you, they see inside. But the X-ray C, the X-ray machine that exposes you.
Doesn't fix you. No, now you need a surgeon. Or in this case, the great physician. Because The law can't fix what it exposes. We can manage the flesh.
But that doesn't mean you've changed.
So the law was added. Later, 430 years. And it was added. Until So it had a stopping point. The stopping point was the coming of the seed.
Jesus Christ. would come to whom the promise had been made. Because remember, the promise was made to one person. To the seed.
Okay. Who is our seed? Jesus Christ is God's answer. To what the Lord did to us. Yeah.
What is it about this one seed of Abraham? that those who believe can now get this life. Through faith in him. The substitutionary death of Christ. addressed our sin The substitutionary life of Christ.
addresses our victory. The substitutionary death of Christ. takes you to heaven. The substitutionary life of Christ brings heaven to you. The seed, Jesus Christ.
Over and over in scripture, we are told, was without. Fin. Everything God wants from you. Christ has And Christ is in you.
So, your victory, whatever that means, is tied to your seed because he says Christ is your seed.
So that He says, verse 23, but before faith came. We were kept in custody under the law.
Now, you know what custody is. You were arrested. You were put in custody. Under the law. Because the law condemns.
Being shut up to the faith which was later to be revealed.
So the law. Put you in a holding tank. Until it was time. For Jesus Christ to be revealed, the object of our faith to be revealed. In other words, when God gave the law, it was to hold Israel.
hostage to A standard. Because the law revealed God's standard. Even though it was negatively revealed. It was designed to reveal God's standard and hold them until faith could come. Till the coming of Christ.
Therefore, The law has become our Tudor. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Okay. To lead us to Christ.
So that we may be justified. By faith.
Now, I don't know how we can get any cleared in verse 25. But now that faith has come, we no longer are under a tutor. Yeah. The law was a tutor, a tutor, somebody to come and bring you along. Until you can go out on your own.
So they're a trainer. The point is, the law Was to hold you hostage to your sin. See. God wants you to see how bad you are. He wants you to see how defeated you are.
He wants you to see how weak your flesh is. Yeah. hostage to that. That's what the law does. But once you come to Christ He says.
You don't need a two day any longer. You've grown up now. Why? Because you now have the fulfillment of the law inside you. Because Jesus has already fulfilled it.
And Jesus is the seed that you have.
So the law is designed to bring you to Christ. It's designed to tell a center. You're a sinner.
So, you need Christ to be your Savior. You can't save yourself. But to tell saints You a sinner? And you need Christ to be victorious. For you are sons of God through faith in Jesus Christ.
For all of you who were baptized into Christ. Have clothed yourself with Christ.
So if you're saved, baptized on the Christ, it means you got saved. You've been identified with Christ. You have clothes on now. And the clothing you are wearing is Christ.
So inside of you, you are dressed up. You have been clothed with Christ. This principle applies to everybody. There is neither Jew nor Greek, neither slave nor free, male nor female. You are all one in Christ.
So you are not an exception. I don't care about your race. Anka gender. I don't care about your class. I don't care about your culture.
This one principle applies to everybody equally. You are clothed in Christ.
So the fulfillment of the law and the meeting of God's standard. But you already have.
So, why don't we do a better job of meeting it? Either we don't know we don't have it. or we don't utilize what we have. If you belong to Christ. Then you are Abraham's descendants.
Because we come out of the seed. You are heirs according. To the promise The promise that God would bring blessing. to the Gentiles. As well as to his people.
Who responded? God by faith. The reason people utilize the law is to manage sin. God wants to take us beyond managing sin. He wants to take us.
from a have-to to a want to. He wants to create such a living reality and love relationship. Yeah. It's your delight. It's your pleasure.
It's your privilege. It's your joy. Because of what growing inside you. What's expanding inside you? The life of a baby becoming an adult, the life of a Christian growing, so that Christ.
Second gradient is four. Verse 11. For we who live are constantly being delivered over to death for Jesus' sake. We go through a lot of trials for the church. Why?
So that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in your mortal flesh. Since we're going through all of this hard work in ministry. But we ain't trying to go through all this so you could keep the law better. We're going through all this so that Christ will be formed in you. When a woman gets pregnant, she has the seed.
of a new life. In her Over a nine-month period of time, a formation is a carry. When she first gets pregnant and conceives, you don't see eyes and ears and nose and Feet and No hands? You'll see an ear there. Because it hasn't formed yet.
It's there, it's alive, but it's not forming. But because of the nutrition giving it. That's been given to it through the umbilical cord of the mother. A formation takes place. And the life within Expands.
He says, I want Christ to be formed in you because The more you grow in Christ. the more you will change. The more you will change. And there's nothing that will bring you greater joy. Then to look at things.
you couldn't get over doing. or had to make yourself stop doing for a period of time. to naturally fall off. Because Christ is formed. In you.
Dr. Tony Evans on the power of allowing the presence of Christ to grow within us. You know, there's a big difference between trusting God's promises and trying to earn His favor. And Tony's Galatians series is helping to unpack that truth. All eleven messages are yours for deeper study.
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at 1-800-800-3222, and let one of our team members assist with your request. Once again, that's 1-800-800-3222 or online at tonyevans.org. You know, some Christians live as though they're still in chains. forgetting that God has already set them free.
Well, tomorrow, Dr. Evans explains what it means to be adopted by grace and fully embraced as a child of God. Be sure to join us.
