THE PROMISE OF GOD TO A PROMISE-BREAKING PEOPLE

Rev. Canon George Sinclair

by Rev. Canon George Sinclair                           

 Pastor of the Church of the Messiah, Ottawa, ON.
 www.messiahchurch.ca 

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Podcast of CFRA broadcast on Sunday,   

December17th, 2017:

http://cloud.autopod.ca/podcasts/chum/6/59444/good_news_291_dec17.mp3 

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This broadcast talk is a shortened version of a sermon I first gave at Church of the Messiah. It was part of a sermon series though the whole book of Galatians.
 
Broadcast Notes:

  "The Promise Of God To A Promise-Breaking People"

A Talk on Galatians 3:15-25  (ESV)

The Law and the Promise

¹⁵ To give a human example, brothers:^[a] even with a man-made covenant, no one annuls it or adds to it once it has been ratified. ¹⁶ Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring. It does not say, “And to offsprings,” referring to many, but referring to one, “And to your offspring,” who is Christ. ¹⁷ This is what I mean: the law, which came 430 years afterward, does not annul a covenant previously ratified by God, so as to make the promise void. ¹⁸ For if the inheritance comes by the law, it no longer comes by promise; but God gave it to Abraham by a promise.

¹⁹ Why then the law? It was added because of transgressions, until the offspring should come to whom the promise had been made, and it was put in place through angels by an intermediary. ²⁰ Now an intermediary implies more than one, but God is one.

²¹ 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. ²² But the Scripture imprisoned everything under sin, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe.

²³ Now before faith came, we were held captive under the law, imprisoned until the coming faith would be revealed. ²⁴ So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith. ²⁵ But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian,

Footnotes:

1.       Galatians 3:15 Or brothers and sisters

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NOTES:

1. The trustworthy, promise-keeping God promised to bless.
2. The trustworthy God “doubles down” to show that He will keep His Promise.
3. The birth, life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ is God keeping His Promise to bless.
4. “Needing-to-perform” is a very different way to live, than living by “believing-God’s-Promise”.
5. God gave the Law to sell the problem.
6. The Law was a guardian/teacher/taskmaster until the Promise came; it was not the Promise itself.
7. Believe His Promise to become His child - believe the promises of the Promise to live as His child

PRAYER:

Father, Thank you for Jesus. Thank you that you have kept your promise.
Thank you, Father, that Him, living his life and dying upon the cross and rising from the dead, is you keeping your promise to us.

Make us disciples of Jesus, gripped by the Gospel and living by believing your promise and living for your glory, in Jesus’ name, AMEN.

Rev. Canon George Sinclair

Church of the Messiah

www.messiahchurch.ca
613-235-0596
messiahchurch.office@gmail.com

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To listen to the above broadcast, click on the following link: 

http://cloud.autopod.ca/podcasts/chum/6/59444/good_news_291_dec17.mp3