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Welcome to the Daily Blade. The word of God is described as the sword of the Spirit, the primary spiritual weapon in the Christian's armor against the forces of evil. Your hosts are Joby Martin and Kyle Thompson, and they stand ready to equip men for the fight. Let's sharpen up.

Galatians 3:19 And Paul’s Big Question

Why Then The Law

Law As Guardian And Babysitter

Map And Mirror: Purpose Of The Law

Conviction, Speed Limits, And Sin

From Slaves To A Holy Nation

Sons, Inheritance, And Imputed Righteousness

Gospel Of The Kingdom And Friendship With God

One In Christ: Inclusive Invitation

Saved By Faith Alone And Closing

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All right, welcome back to our final day in our study of Galatians chapter three. We're going to pick it up in verse 19. And so Paul asks a question that he knows that people are going to ask when we hear that we are saved, not by obedience to the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. And here's the question: why then the law? And he's going to answer his own question. It was added because of transgressions, until the offspring should come to whom the promise has been made. And it was put in place through angels by an intermediary. Now, an intermediary implies more than one, but God is one. Is the law then contrary to the promises of God? Certainly not. For if a law had been given that could give life, then righteousness would indeed be by the law. But the scripture imprisoned everything under sin, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe. Now before faith came, we were held captive under the law, imprisoned until the coming faith would be revealed. So then the law was our guardian. Literally in Greek, that means babysitter. So the law was our babysitter until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian or babysitter. For in Christ Jesus, you are all sons of God through faith. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you are Christ, then you are Abraham's offspring, heir according to promise. So, why the law? Well, the law, and by the law, what Paul means here, he basically means the Old Testament, the law, the prophets, the writings. So why? Well, the law of God is both a map and a mirror. This is not negative whatsoever. You see, first of all, it is a map that the Bible was given us, the law was given to us to show us how to live rightly before a righteous king. And in fact, the law is not to be seen as a ball and chain. The law is a gift to be cherished. The Bible says that the law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul. If you read in the Psalms about David's view of the law, that he would cherish it, he would basically cuddle with it, he would dwell upon it day and night. The law was given to us by God to show us how to rightly live in God's world. But the law is also a mirror. This is to make sure that we know that we cannot live up to God's holy and righteous law. The conviction of sin is God's grace in our life. You see, how would you know if you were speeding if there was no speed limit? If there was just a sign on the side of the road that said, drive safely, some of you fools will drive a hundred miles an hour and you would think, I feel safe. Others of you would drive 25 miles an hour while you're eating a sandwich or something. Okay? So the way that we know that we have gone over the speed limit is because there is a law that says this is what it is. And the moment we realize, because we look at the law of the Lord and we realize, uh-oh, I haven't just broken one of the commandments, I have broken all of them. Then we realize that we are not just bad people that need to do better. We are sinners in need of a savior. This is why Jesus starts out his teaching ministry in the book of Matthew with this: Blessed are the poor in spirit. Blessed are you, and you realize I am completely spiritually bankrupt and I need a savior. This was a part of what the law did. Also, very practically, is that when the nation of Israel receives the law, they had just gotten out of slavery in Egypt. And so God has given this people who is going from a group of slaves to a nation so that they know how to rightly live with him and rightly live with each other. They are going from a slave nation in Egypt to a nation in Israel where they're going to be a city on a hill, a nation to point the entire world to the one true God. And so when Paul says the law is like a babysitter, well, first of all, it's because we're babies and we need somebody to watch over us to survive, to know how to treat each other, to know that we can't lie, we can't cheat, we can't steal, we shouldn't do these things. Secondly, the other thing a babysitter does, other than keep you alive until mom and dad get home, is they tell on you when you have been out of line to your parents so your parents could deal with you. That's what the law does. That's what a babysitter does. So now he goes on to say, if you have faith, then you are a son of God. That means that you get the inheritance that was promised to Abraham. Secondly, like Abraham, you are imputed with righteousness. You see, most Christians only believe in half the gospel. Most Christians believe that I get to go to heaven because Jesus died for my sins and I'm forgiven. That is very true, but that's only half the gospel. The total gospel of salvation is not only did God save you, but God credits you with the righteous life of Jesus Christ, so you do not stand before God condemned, but you stand before Him as a righteous son. Now, Jesus, particularly in the gospel of Matthew, he teaches the gospel of the kingdom. Not just the gospel of our own individual salvation, but the moment you get rescued, you become a part of the rescue team, and you were about the king's business. And like Abraham, the Bible says that Abraham believed in God and he was a friend of God. When we put our faith in Jesus Christ, Jesus says to his disciples, You call me master and Lord, and rightly so, for that's what I am, but I call you friends. And then the way he wraps it up is this He says, Hey, listen, in Christ, there's neither Greek nor Jew, male nor female, slave nor free. In other words, regardless of how you were born, regardless of where you were born, regardless of who you were born to, we are all invited to be born again in Jesus Christ. We all get in the same way through Jesus. The price has already been paid, and we've all been invited. And some people say that's too exclusive. Is it? It's exclusively inclusive or inclusively exclusive. I don't know the difference. But everyone's invited. We all get in the same way, and Jesus has paid the price. So we are saved by faith in Jesus Christ. Not by our works, not by our birth certificate, not by our inheritance, but by what Christ has done for us. Amen.

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