Who here is redeemed by Jesus Christ? Being redeemed has inspired so much worship over the centuries. Do you recognize these words:
There is a redeemer / Jesus, God’s own son
Precious lamb of God, Messiah / Holy one
Jesus my redeemer / Name above all names
Precious lamb of God, Messiah / Oh, for sinners slain.
Our sermon title today is “Redeemed By Jesus Christ.” The focus of Paul in Galatians 3:10-14 is the glorious truth that Jesus Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law (v13). Then in verse 14 he says, “Christ redeemed us…”
Charles Wesley is one of the greatest Christian poets and hymn writers – I thank God for him. Easily one of my favorites is number 203 in our hymnal, “And Can It Be.” The whole hymn is glorious, but the 3rd verse glories in the the truth of our Redemption:
Long my imprisoned spirit lay
Fast bound in sin and nature’s night;
Thine eye diffused a quick’ning ray,
I woke, the dungeon flamed with light;
My chains fell off, my heart was free;
I rose, went forth and followed Thee.
I know what you’re thinking: “Keep going to the next verse Pastor.” Not one to disappoint:
No condemnation now I dread;
Jesus, and all in Him is mine!
Alive in Him, my living Head,
And clothed in righteousness divine,
Bold I approach th’eternal throne,
And claim the crown, through Christ my own
What does Redemption mean? The word here means to buy someone out of slavery by paying a price. The idea is simple: we were slaves to sin and condemned by the Law, but Christ paid the price we owed for our sin and set us free then not only from sin, but also from the law. Isn’t that glorious?! Can you think of a better Mother’s Day message than to say “You, O Mother, are redeemed by the blood of Jesus Christ!”
You may remember that the title of our series through Galatians is “Set Free.” The overarching point of the book of Galatians is that as Christians we are set free from the Law of Moses and instead of following the Law we are to live in the grace of Jesus Christ, and walk in His Spirit who now lives inside of us. This is redemption.
Today I want to bring out four points from the text: 1) The Law Cannot Redeem, 2) Christ Became Our Curse, 3) Entering Into The Abrahamic Promises
THE LAW CANNOT REDEEM (10-13)
The only thing the Law can do is condemn. The only thing the Law can do is curse. Paul makes this point from the very Law itself. He quotes Deuteronomy and Leviticus and other OT passages.
First, the Law requires perfect obedience (10). There is NO SUCH THING as trying your best with the law and your imperfect best being acceptable. The Law demands perfect obedience. In verse 10, Paul quotes Deuteronomy 27:26 and Jeremiah 11:3 where God clearly states, “Cursed is everyone who does not do everything written in the book of the Law.” Not some things. Not most things. Not nearly everything – but every thing. Fulfilling every jot and tittle. The divine requirement is perfect obedience of all of the law. James 2:10 is devastating when it says, “For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just ONE point is guilty of breaking ALL of it.” Wow! All the obedience in all the other parts of the law become null and void if in just one area I break the law. In other words, the Law does not “let me off the hook,” or overlook my one point of failure just because I’ve done what it says in all the other areas. It condemns me as a lawbreaker if I fail in just one point.
APPLICATION: The standard is so high because it is based on the holiness of God. A person may be struck by the severe strictness of the Law, but it is only because we are so used to living such morally compromised and
Second, no one can follow the Law perfectly (10). Verse 10 says, “For all who rely on the law are under a curse.” Well, WHY is anyone who relies on the law a curse? The rest of verse 10 answers it for us, because “as it is written, “Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do what is written in the book of the law.’” Translation: because no one can continue to do perfectly everything written in the law therefore all are under the curse the law brings.”
Does this mean that the law is somehow defective? Yes and No.
- It is not defective because it is the perfect standard of righteousness. It is not defective in its perfect judgment of mankind for his failure to live up to that perfect standard of righteousness.
- BUT, it IS defective in this one sense: the law cannot give life. The law cannot justify anyone. Its only divine purpose is to set forth the standard of divine righteousness and expose how woefully defective mankind is when compared to real and true righteousness. The law cannot make anyone righteous, it can only condemn us for our unrighteousness. Romans 8 says the law was weakened by the sinful nature within us.
Third, the Law only condemns and curses imperfection. Verse 10 says, “….READ….” Verse 13 asserts that we were under the law “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law…” It states categorically that we were under the law’s curse. Follow me to several verses:
- Romans 7:9-13
- 2 Corinthians 3:6-7
The Law only condemns!
Fourth, following the Law is NOT done by faith (12). The Christian life is lived by faith, 2 Corinthians 5:7 says, “We walk by faith…” Hebrews 11 says over and over and over and over, “BY FAITH…” so and so did such and such. Our lives are lived by faith. Yet here Pual says that living by the law is in opposition to living by faith. He says “The law is NOT based on faith.”
APPLICATION: Getting saved is not by the law, but also living the Christian life after you get saved is NOT done by following the law. The CHristian life is lived by faith, and following the law is in another category than faith.
What category is that? Flesh. Human effort. Merit from human works. Not faith. The law is only ever attempted in the flesh, human effort alone. It is never followed as an outworking of our faith. When Christians confuse that you get Torah keeping people who do not understand that by faith in Christ we are in a New Covenant – not the Old Covenant. We are in a New Covenant established in Jesus’ blood, not an Old Covenant established in the blood of animals at Mount Sinai.
You are either in the New or you are in the Old, but you are not in both. The Old Covenant condemns, the New forgives. The Old brings death, the New brings life. If you are in Christ, you are in the New Covenant and you are in no way obligated to the Old Covenant of Moses. To try and mix the two is to try and put new wine into an old wineskin, or to put a new patch of cloth on an old garment. Bursting and tearing are the only results of that. Leave the Old behind and step fully into the New.
CHRIST OUR REDEEMER (13-14)
The last half of our sermon focuses now on Christ as our Redeemer. Look at verses 13-14 with me…READ
First, Christ redeemed us by becoming our Substitute. Did you see it in verse 13? “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse FOR us.” The curse that was on US, was put on Him instead. This verse is shouting Isaiah 53:5-6, turn there with me. See how he became our substitute? Now Galatians 3 is telling us the same thing, that God provided His own Son to come and be our substitute and take our place in death. The curse was ours but He endured it. The cross was ours but He endured it. The pain was ours but He endured it. The Punishment was ours but He endured it.
Now because He paid the price for us that we owed, we are set free from the penalty of the law. That is redemption. We are now free from condemnation, free from guilt, free from punishment, free from the curse of the Law. All because Christ our redeemer paid our price to set us free.
Second, Christ redeemed us to bless us. Look at verse 14, “….READ….” Watch the progression here in the passage: we go from being cursed to being blessed. We go from being condemned as guilty to being justified. We go from on our way to receiving punishment to now receiving the promises God gave Abraham.
God promised blessings to Abraham. God also promised to bless all the nations through Abraham’s seed. The blessings God promised Abraham would also come to all nations. How would the nations receive those promised blessings? Through Abraham’s seed – Jesus Christ. As the name of Jesus goes out into all the world and the call to all the nations is to believe on the Name of Jesus, it is when people from all nations respond in faith to that name – that seed of Abraham – that they then become recipients of those very same blessings. God promised them to Abraham and Abraham believed God when He said it. All who believe God now by believing in His Son Jesus are like Abraham – they are like him in that they have faith like him, they are like him in that they are heirs of the blessings God promised to Abraham, and they are all this because they have put their trust in Jesus Christ, the Seed of Abraham, the Son of God, the Savior of mankind.
CONCLUSION: Follow the Law
After stressing all these months NOT to follow the Law, I NOW want to beg you with all my soul to follow the Law. What I mean is follow the Law to the place where it is pointing you: to the cross of Jesus Christ. There are two ways to follow the Law. One way is to follow the Law away from Jesus Christ. This is when someone says they don’t need Jesus and instead they are going to follow the law without Him. Following the law this way will lead to cursing and condemnation. They will die. The other way, however, is to follow the Law as it points you away from self and to Jesus Christ.
So the only thing the Law can do is condemn us. But that is not the only thing it does. It points us beyond itself to the Only One who can redeem us. The other purpose of the Law is to lead us to Christ, who is the only Redeemer! The Law points you away from itself, away from following it and relying on it, and instead points you to believe in Jesus Christ. Hear the call today, step toward Jesus Christ and put your faith in Him.
SILENT REFLECTION