God’s Promises are Settled and Sure

Transcript

GR 1153
05-23-1999
God’s Promises are Settled and Sure
Galatians 3:15-18
Gil Rugh

Paul’s letter to the Galatians chapter 3. You know I can’t help but think as I move through a Book like Galatians of the expectations and requirements placed on churches like those in Galatia. These were churches in a Gentile part of the world that had come to salvation through the preaching of the Apostle Paul. Now they were being influenced by Jewish teachers who were telling them they were required to keep the Law for salvation and the blessing of God. And Paul writes to them to explain to them that salvation is by faith in Christ alone, not by works of the Law. And I couldn’t help but think. As I worked through Galatians, there is great expectation of these Galatians to think carefully and clearly through the issues involved.

Keep in mind they didn’t have a Bible to tuck under their arm or bring with them as you and I do. So they had to sit and listen as this letter from Paul is read. And he walks them through the detailed arguments of the issues of Law and grace. And they were expected to grab on to these and see the error of the Judaizing teachers and stand firm for the faith. And we can appreciate the blessing that we have to have our own copies of the Scriptures, and be able to have them before us and reflect upon them and think through them. But it is a reminder that the standard is high and God expects us to wrestle seriously and thoughtfully with the truths of His word so we have a clear understanding.

We come to a section today that is founded on one of the simple truths of the Word which is one of the greatest blessings to us as God’s people. And that is the confident assurance that we have that God is an unchanging God and that His purposes are settled and sure. He’s a God who can be trusted. He’s a God who always keeps His word. He’s a God who doesn’t have second thoughts, if you will.

Turn back with me to the Book of Isaiah. Leave a marker in Galatians and go back to the Book of Isaiah. Isaiah is one of about a dozen books we say is in the middle of your Bible. It’s just a little bit after the Psalms. But if you open your Bible several times to about the middle you’ll hit Isaiah, one of those. And in chapter 26 of Isaiah I just want to read you a few verses, and I’ve limited them to Isaiah. And I went through the Book of Isaiah this week and just made a list of these kind of verses, and then went back and limited them to just a few, that emphasize His unchanging character both in His person and what He says and what an assurance that is to us as God’s people.

Look at verse 3 of Isaiah 26. “The steadfast of mind You will keep in perfect peace.” Perfect peace, “Because he trusts in You. Trust in the Lord forever. For in God, the Lord, we have an everlasting Rock.” He is an everlasting Rock to us, sure and settled and firm and unchanging, the One in whom we can trust. The world may be in turmoil and confusion and disarray. There may be uncertainty in our own lives, but what we do have is an everlasting Rock and in Him there is perfect peace.

Turn over to Isaiah chapter 40. You know, I was reading a couple of articles on the coming year 2000 and the computer concerns, you know, Y2K or 2YK or KY2 or that whole thing. One Christian writer noted, “One thing we can be sure that God will be on the throne in the year 2000, that His word will still be true.” Listen to Isaiah chapter 41, look at verse 10. “Do not fear, for I am with you; do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.” Verse 13, “For I am the Lord your God, who upholds your right hand, Who says to you, ‘Do not fear, I will help you.’” That confidence we have that our God is a God who cares.

Back up to Isaiah chapter 40 verse 6. In the middle of the verse, “All flesh is grass, and all its loveliness is like the flower of the field. The grass withers, the flower fades, when the breath of the Lord blows upon it; surely the people are grass. The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God stands forever.” You see our God, in His very character, is a Rock, an everlasting Rock. And His word is like He is Himself. It is unchanging. It endures forever.

The Psalmist wrote in Psalm 119 and verse 89, “Forever, O Lord, Your word is settled in heaven.” God in His character is unchanging. God in His word and His promises is unchanging. And that great encouraging truth is the foundation for what Paul has to say to the Galatians in chapter 3 beginning with verse 15.

Turn back to Galatians 3:15. What Paul’s argument will be in the verses we’re going to look at, verses 15 to 18, is very simple: God made promises to Abraham. God is an unchanging God who keeps His promises. Nothing can change or alter His promises to Abraham. And I am greatly encouraged, not only because of what he says about Abraham, but to be reminded: this is the God that I serve, that His promises are settled and sure and unchanging.

Look at verse 15 of Galatians 3. It starts out by saying, “Brethren.” And maybe I ought to say a word about this. Paul has written some hard and harsh things in this letter already. These opening chapters have been scathing in many ways. He did not even give his normal words of greeting and friendly introduction to the letter. He’s not used this word “brethren” since chapter 1 and verse 11. But in the first verse of chapter 3 he called them fools. He said they were bewitched or under a spell of false teachers. He asked them why they were so foolish, mindless, in verse 3. But now there is a softening, at least in the way he expresses himself, brethren. Not that he didn’t love them before, a little bit like your children. What Paul does, he uses this word brethren only twice, I believe, in the first three chapters. But he’ll use it seven times in the last three chapters, 4, 5, and 6. In a way it’s like we sometimes have to deal with our children, where you sit them down and you sternly rebuke them for what has happened. And then you show love and care so that they realize you are serious and the issues are of utmost importance but you say it in love and compassion and concern for them.

So here Paul reminds us, he considers these Galatians fellow believers. They are brethren. He has some serious concerns for their spiritual condition. Even some concerns whether some of them perhaps have not really been born again. But in his heart he really believes that they have trusted Christ and simply need to clear their thinking and be biblical in the handling of the doctrine they are confronting.

“Brethren, I speak in terms of human relations.” In other words, I want to give an illustration from everyday human life. “I speak in terms of human relations.” What’s going to follow is an example from our everyday life as human beings.

“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 human relations, a properly ratified, validated, legal document is binding on all the parties involved. Now this is true of wills as well as other documents.

This word translated “covenant” is a Greek word that is consistently used in translating the Old Testament from Hebrew to Greek to translate the Hebrew word “covenant”. In New Testament times it’s the word that was consistently used for wills and last testaments. The point that he is making is that human documents, legally ratified, are binding on the involved parties. You just cannot change them. When you enter into any line of, uh, contract, you’re bound by the document. We have warnings. Read the fine print. Don’t sign this document if there are any blank spaces. Things like that. Why? Because once this is formally ratified you will be bound by it. And the obligations will rest upon you as well as perhaps the privileges.

The point he is making with this simple human analogy is at the heart of the issue between the Judaizers and Paul. The Abrahamic covenant was established by God. It was ratified by God. Thus, it cannot be altered or changed by subsequent events or happenings. For example, the Mosaic Law comes over 400 years after the ratification of the Abrahamic covenant. Whatever else the Mosaic Law does it cannot in any way alter or change the provisions of the Abrahamic covenant. And that will be set in God’s character.

But we ought to understand that from human relations. I sign an agreement to buy a house, then I decide, hum, I’d rather go on a vacation. So I go back and say, “You know, we thought when we signed that agreement we wanted the house. But after being in the house six months we decided we’d rather go on vacation. So we’re canceling the agreement.” Uh, uh. Why? It’s binding! Can’t be changed.

Now it’s just a simple truth and I don’t want to belabor the obvious but this truth should answer many questions. Once you determine what is included in the Abrahamic covenant as Abraham is given it by God, Paul referring to it, to Abraham repeated to Isaac, repeated to Jacob, you know what’s in that covenant, you know what is included in that covenant today. Nothing has changed with the passing of time.

All right. Come back to Genesis 15. Just a reminder of the initial institution or ratifying of the Abrahamic covenant, and they’ll be another occasion referred to by Paul in the context of Galatians 3, but I want you to look at the initial establishing of this covenant with Abraham. And it is in the context that Abraham is talking about, Genesis chapter 15 verse 6. “Then he (Abraham) believed in the Lord; and the Lord reckoned it to him as righteousness.” That’s the foundational issue we’re talking about. The Abrahamic covenant is based on a promise. God promised something to Abraham, Abraham believed what God promised and God declared Abraham righteous. It’s just that simple. It wasn’t Abraham did anything, worked. No. God promised something, Abraham believed it, God declared him righteous

Then in verse 9 God tells Abraham to bring certain animals and birds. And to split the animals and what they do is split the animals down the backbone, cut it in half, and you lay each half across from another and allow a path down the middle. And to ratify the covenant, the parties to the covenant then, walk down between these two divided animals, split animals, a series of them. And that established the covenant that was the legal procedure. In fact the Hebrew word for covenant literally means to cut a covenant.

All right, so Abraham does what God tells him and then verse 12, here you’ve got the animals now, all laid out. We’re ready for the covenant to be established and ratified. Verse 12, “A deep sleep fell upon Abram.” And when, during this sleep, God speaks to Abram and tells him of the coming Egyptian bondage and promises him that He’ll deliver them in the fourth generation. And He tells him verse 13, the end of verse 13, they’ll be oppressed for four hundred years and then they’ll come out in the fourth generation. In Abraham’s lifetime a generation was about a hundred years.

Then, verse 17, “It came about when the sun had set, it was very dark, behold, there appeared a smoking oven and a flaming torch which passed between these pieces. On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abraham saying, ‘To your descendants I have given this land, from the river of Egypt as far as the great river, Euphrates,’” and so on. You note something here. When it comes time to ratify the covenant Abraham’s asleep. You know who passes through the animals? God does manifesting His presence in the smoking oven and flaming torch. That’s why we call the Abrahamic covenant an unconditional covenant. It’s not conditioned upon anything that Abraham or his descendants will do. It is conditioned solely upon the character of God and His veracity. He went through the sacrifices to declare that He would guarantee the carrying out of this covenant in all of its details. That means if there is any failure for any of the promises or provisions of this covenant to be realized it is a reflection on the unfaithfulness of God in failing to do what He promised. You say, “That’s almost blasphemy!” Yes, it would be. We understand how set and settled this covenant is.

All right, come back to Galatians. We have a covenant in force. Now verse 16, “Now the promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. He does not say, ‘And to seeds,’ referring to many, but rather to one. ‘And to your seed (singular),’ that is to Christ.”

There are several passages in referring to the covenant where God uses the singular for seed but Genesis chapter 22 verse 18 says, “In your seed (singular) all the nations of the earth shall be blessed,” Genesis 22:18. I would take that one as the foundational passage here.

Now, you see something of the accuracy and how careful we have to be in handling the Scriptures. Some people are satisfied to have a general awareness of Scripture. But that gets us in trouble. We must understand the specifics and the details. Here, Paul’s argument hangs on whether this word is singular or plural. God had a specific purpose when He used the singular.

Now it’s true the singular word seed can be collective, referring to all the descendants. Paul, in fact, uses it this way down in verse 29 of Galatians 3. “If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s descendants.” The word translated descendants there is the Greek word seed in the singular. And that encompasses all those who believe the promises of God, even as Abraham believed, that we are all Abraham’s seed. That’s the collective use. But it also is used numerous times to refer to a single, specific individual. It was used that way in the Old Testament, the coming of Isaac, a specific individual in whom the promises of God would be realized and so on.

Here, God was anticipating the coming of Christ, that all the promises of God to Abraham are focused in Jesus Christ. All the blessings that were promised to Abraham are focused in Jesus Christ. The blessing of justification by faith could be accomplished only through the seed, Christ. That’s true for Jews and Gentiles alike. So all the promised blessings of the Abrahamic covenant will find their realization through the provision that the seed of Abraham, Christ, will make.
Back up to the Book of Romans, chapter 3. In Romans chapter 3 Paul is dealing with the same basic issue he’s dealing with in Galatians chapter 3 in a much fuller way. He’s already established in verse 9 of Romans 3, the middle of the verse, “We have already charged that both and Jews and Greeks are all under sin.” So Jews and non-Jews alike are guilty sinners before God. Verse 20, “by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight.” There is no salvation by the Law. And now, verse 21, “apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets.” We’ve already seen this argument in Galatians. Even the Old Testament declares that the righteousness of God is secured apart from the Law not by the Law.

“Even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe; for there is no distinction.” There are no distinctions on this issue among humanity. It doesn’t matter whether you’re a Jew or you’re a Gentile, there’s no distinction. “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” In this context it means there is only one way to righteousness before God: being justified, declared righteous, as a gift by His grace. Just remember that concept. It will come up later in our consideration of Galatians, the passage we’re in.

“Being justified (declared righteous) as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus; whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation (satisfaction) in His blood.”

Look at the end of verse 26, “So that He would be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.” So you note then, Jesus Christ is the one provided so that all, Jew and Gentile alike might have the blessing promised to Abraham: justification by faith. And the end of verse 26 is very important. So that God would be both just, righteous, and the justifier of the one who has faith in Christ.

Some people think God is just going to wait till we get to glory and we stand before Him and He’s going to put our good deeds on one side of the scale and our bad deeds and hopefully our good deeds will tilt the scale. And God will say, “Come on in.” But that has one major flaw if God does that. He will not be just. He will not be righteous because all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. There is no distinction. And God cannot sacrifice His justice, His righteousness in order to declare me righteous.

So what He has done is provided His Son to pay in full the demands of justice so that He could declare righteous all who believe in His Son and also be righteous. So that in Christ, the seed of Abraham, the promises to Abraham are realized. What? In your seed, in you all nations of the earth will be blessed. What is the blessing? Justification by faith. It’s the heart of everything else. That’s true for the Jews as well.

Paul covered this back in Galatians chapter 3 verses 10 to 14 when he talks about in verse 13, “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, by becoming a curse.” Then verse 14, “in order that the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles.” So Jew and Gentile alike receive the blessing of Abraham, justification by faith, as a result of the work of Christ.

Now, keep in mind even the later work of Christ, which is anticipated and promised in the Abrahamic Covenant, in your seed, singular; all the nations would be blessed. That does not nullify or cancel out the other blessings of the Abrahamic Covenant. But all the blessings of the Abrahamic covenant are based upon the spiritual blessing of justification by faith. That does not mean the other blessings will not be there, a crucial one, which will be a land for Israel.

What solves a lot of theological problems if you keep in mind the Abrahamic Covenant cannot be tampered with, cannot be altered or it cannot be changed. The provisions stand firm because they are rooted in the very character of God. And that included an anticipated promise of Jesus Christ being the One in whom the blessings would center and be founded.

All right back in Galatians chapter 3 verse 17. A verse like verse 16 explains to you why we walk through the Scripture in a detailed way like we do. Because God has been very precise and concise in what He has said. Verse 17, “What I am saying is this:” (Now understand the point being made here.) “The Law, which came four hundred and thirty years later, does not invalidate a covenant previously ratified by God, so as to nullify the promise.”

The point is the Mosaic Law was given hundreds of years after the Abrahamic Covenant. It cannot nullify or cancel or change the provisions of the Abrahamic Covenant. No matter what you understand the purpose of the Law to be, it cannot in any way or in any point make any changes or alterations in the Abrahamic Covenant. It seems like the logic he’s following is really simple, isn’t it? And it is. Just sometimes when people come to us using Scripture but really miss-using Scripture we find ourselves confused, and that’s the condition of the Galatians.

“The Law, (the Mosaic Law) which came four hundred and thirty years later.” Now we do have an issue we have to address regarding the four hundred and thirty years here. But before I do that I want you to be clear that there, the point he’s making is fixed. The Law comes hundreds of years after the Mosaic, after the Abrahamic Covenant. That’s a non-point as far as the Judaizers are concerned. Everybody has to agree to that.

There is an issue about the four hundred and thirty years. And I went round and round on this for the longest time, how to explain this because it’s very difficult to follow an explanation when you’re talking about numbers or dates and so on, when you just have to hear it. So take out your bulletin and write down a few things as we go along. Could be any piece of paper. There’s nothing sacred about the bulletin, I just thought it was handy. The exodus from Egypt occurs in 1445 BC, 1445 BC, that’s the exodus from Egypt under Moses in the Book of Exodus. That’s also the date for the giving of the Law at Mt. Sinai because the Law at Sinai is given two or three months after they leave Egypt. So we know that the Mosaic Law was given in 1445 BC. Abraham lived 2000 BC, six hundred and forty-five years, approximately, before the Mosaic Law was given. We say, well, if the Abrahamic Covenant was given 645 years before the Mosaic Law was given, why does Paul say it came four hundred and thirty years after? Good question! And I only ask questions that I have tried to find an answer for.

There are several issues involved with several passages. The four hundred and thirty years I believe, and there are several explanations that would fit the biblical data, but I think this is the best. I’m only going to give you the right one. The four hundred and thirty years, backing up from 1445 when the Law was given, four hundred and thirty years added on to 1445 takes us back to 1875 BC. That’s where Paul takes us in verse 17. From the time the Law was given, 1445, on Mt. Sinai, four hundred and thirty years earlier he says the covenant was ratified, the Abrahamic Covenant. That’s 1875.

Go back to Genesis chapter 35. The covenant was originally given to Abraham. We looked at that in Genesis chapter 15. But it was later, then, confirmed or ratified with his son, Isaac. And then later confirmed or ratified with Isaac’s son, Jacob. And the last, full ratification of the covenant occurs in Genesis 35 with Jacob. And I think this is probably the point that Paul has in view in Galatians 3:17, that we are at 1875 BC in Genesis 35. In verse 9, “God appeared,” Genesis 35:9, “God appeared to Jacob again. He blessed him. God said to him, ‘Your name is Jacob, you shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel shall be your name.”

So here’s an important event. The covenant is being confirmed once again with Jacob and here we have the identification now moving from just a family name to a national name. Not only will you be known as Jacob but you have the name Israel which becomes the name of the nation.

Then, “Thus He called him Israel. God said to him, ‘I am God Almighty; be fruitful and multiply, a nation and a company of nations (we have both Israel and other nations coming from Abraham) shall come from you, kings shall come from you, the land which I gave to Abraham and Isaac, I will give it to you, I will give the land to your descendants after you.’ Then God went up from where He had spoken to Jacob.”

So you see here, we have a firm, further confirmation, ratification of the covenant, no changes made in the covenant, because subsequent; subsequently He cannot change the covenant. He just further confirms it to Jacob. And on this occasion changes his name to Israel which will become the name of the nation that is a major part of the fulfillment of the Abrahamic Covenant, the establishing of the nation Israel.

Then we’re told that Jacob set up a pillar and named the place and they journeyed from them. And Abraham Jacob journeys now for about thirty years. And then he will go down to Egypt in 1845 BC and that begins the four hundred year Egyptian captivity. You might want to jot down a couple of verses. Genesis chapter 15 verse 13 and verse 16, we already read those, where God told Abraham that his descendants would be in bondage in Egypt for four hundred years, or four generations. In Acts chapter 7 verse 6, we are told that Israel was in bondage in Egypt four hundred years. So I take it we have the four hundred year Egyptian bondage plus thirty years of sojourning in the land making the four hundred and thirty years going back to the last formal ratification of the covenant that God made.

So there’s no problem. If you want to take it all the way back to Abraham, you could. You just say, “The Law, which came six hundred and forty-five years after the covenant.” But Paul takes it back to this last ratification which is a significant event. It’s when Jacob’s name is changed to Israel and it is in anticipation of the one who will go down into Egypt.

Turn over to Exodus chapter 12. There’s a verse here that I want you to be aware of. Exodus chapter 12 verse 40 says, “Now the time that the sons of Israel lived in Egypt was four hundred and thirty years.” Well, I thought we just said that they lived in Egypt four hundred years. Now you’re saying they lived thirty of those years wandering in Palestine and then four hundred years. Well, part of it is that the, uh, Hebrew text of verse 40 could be translated a little differently than we have it in our New American Standard Bible. It could be literally, “Now the sojourning of the children of Israel, who dwelt in Egypt, was four hundred and thirty years.” So we’re really saying the sojourning of the Israelites was four hundred and thirty years. They are the ones who also dwelt in Egypt. So the time in Egypt is included in the four hundred and thirty years. But he’s not saying that all four hundred and thirty years were spent in Egypt. The time of the sojourning of the sons of Israel, who dwelt in Egypt, was four hundred and thirty years.
And interestingly the Septuagint, which was the Greek translation of the Old Testament made hundreds of years before Christ, says on, uh, their translation of verse 40 is this. “Now the sojourning of the children of Israel who dwelt in the land of Canaan and in the land of Egypt was four hundred and thirty years.” So that Greek text translated by Jews hundreds of years before Christ said the sojourning of four hundred and thirty years was in Canaan and in Egypt. Now the Septuagint is not very reliable when it comes to dates and numbers. But there was evidently some tradition or reason that those Jews who translated the Septuagint included the Canaan wanderings in this four hundred and thirty-year period.

So that seems to me to be the best explanation. There is one other passage. Go to Acts chapter 13. This is of interest for a couple of reasons and one is Paul is speaking in Acts 13 to the churches of Galatia when he was visiting there and established the churches. And he gives a little bit of history. And note what he says. Acts 13 verse 16 and following, “Men of Israel, and you who fear God, listen: The God of this people Israel chose our fathers, made the people great during their stay in the land of Egypt.” So he includes here their stay in the land of Egypt. “Then he led them out. And for a period of forty years they were in the wilderness.” So we have the four hundred years in Egypt, we have forty years in the wilderness. “When He had destroyed seven nations in the land of Canaan, He distributed their land as inheritance.” You have about seven years, maybe a little more, conquering Canaan. Paul said, “This is about four hundred and fifty years.” Which would be right four hundred plus forty plus seven plus years. So, that would be, take the low, uh, figure of seven years, why that would be four hundred and forty-seven years. Well, he says, “about four hundred and fifty years.” Now if the time in Egypt was four hundred and thirty years, and then you added forty to that, that would be four hundred and seventy and then you added seven more to that, that would be four hundred and seventy-seven years. It seems that Paul would, uh, be less that as precise with his “about” here if it was four hundred and seventy-seven years if the Egyptian time in Egypt was four hundred and thirty years instead of four hundred.

All of this is just to show you that there is clear answers. People sometimes say, “Well, uh, you know, the Bible doesn’t agree with itself. One place it says four hundred. Another place it says four thirty. Another place it says four fifty. They were pretty loose with their numbers.” No they weren’t. Perhaps we just have to do a little more work to appreciate how specific they were being. They were being very precise. That’s why I don’t think he was rounding off the numbers except here in verse 19 when he says he was. “It was about four hundred and fifty years.”
So he’s really taking us back in Galatians chapter 3 verse 17 to that final ratification of the Abrahamic Covenant with Jacob.

You know, I ought to give you one more verse. You’d appreciate me more if you knew all the verses I eliminated with all the positions this week. Why don’t you turn to Psalms 105? I meant to do this earlier when you were in the Old Testament. Psalm 105 verse 8, here the psalmist, who would be writing about 1000 BC, so he’s hundreds of years after the Mosaic Law and the giving of the Abrahamic covenant. But look at verse 8, “He has remembered His covenant forever, the word which He commanded to a thousand generations, the covenant which He made with Abraham.” So here we’re talking about the Abrahamic Covenant. “His oath to Isaac” refers to the reconfirmation of that covenant with Isaac. “Then he confirmed it to Jacob for a statute, to Israel for an everlasting covenant.” And I take it he is referring here to that event in Genesis 35 because he says it was “to Jacob, to Israel, and to you I will give the land of Canaan, as the portion of your inheritance. They were only a very few men in number then. They wandered about from nation to nation,” verse 13. That’s what Jacob did following chapter 35. He just wandered through Palestine. There were other nations there and so on. But he just wandered. Then down into Egypt. The famine broke out verse 16 and so on. So it seems that the Old Testament itself recognized that event in Genesis 35 is of significant importance and in the ratifying of the Abrahamic Covenant he take it from Abraham to Isaac to Jacob and that event. And then the wanderings of Jacob until he goes to Egypt and that would fit why it is a significant event. And Paul as a Jew recognized that so refers to the four hundred and thirty years, that time from the ratification of the covenant with Jacob.

All right come back to Galatians. That was a side explanation that Paul did not feel the Galatians needed because he just uses the four hundred and thirty. Then he says, the, “What I am saying is this,” verse 17, “the Law, which came four hundred and thirty years later, does not invalidate a covenant previously ratified by God.” That is the point. The covenant had been ratified by God over four hundred years before the Law was given. And you ought to underline “ratified by God”. He doesn’t say ratified by God and Abraham. And you see that when you read the account of Jacob in Genesis 35. God again is the one who is declaring the covenant and His promises and their surety.

“So as to nullify the promise,” this applies the illustration of verse 15. Even a human agreement, once it is been properly ratified, is binding. God has bound Himself. God Himself cannot change the Abrahamic Covenant. You say, “I thought God could do whatever He wants.” No, He can’t. God must always act consistently with His character. God can never sin. God can never lie. God can never be unfaithful. And He has obligated Himself to the fulfillment of the Abrahamic covenant.

You know we tend to want to remake God in our own image. You know, we sign an agreement, we make you know an offer on a house we’re going to buy. What do we do? We put stipulations in it. I will buy this house conditioned upon what? Well, that the furnace works, have to have it checked. Conditioned upon being able to get financing. Conditioned upon changing my mind. I don’t know, whatever we put in. We think that God, boy, here He is stuck with the Abrahamic Covenant. What if He wants to change His mind? Did He leave a loophole that He could get out of this if He wants? You see we want we tend to think of God with our own frailties. God does not need an exit strategy. He does not need a way out. There were no possible conditions that could come up that would make God want to change His mind. So He eternally bound Himself to certain promises. They cannot be altered.

You want to know what is in force, what promises will be carried out in the Abrahamic Covenant as we sit here today? Read what He said to Abraham in Genesis. Nothing has changed, not one thing! Now I keep emphasizing this because much of Christianity today is adrift thinking, “Well, something has changed in the Abrahamic Covenant and Israel has no more future in it because with the coming of Christ and their crucifixion of Him, now the promises aren’t to physical Israel. There…” There can be no changes, folks. You go back and read that covenant. If there are promises to physical Israel and a physical land, they can never be changed. So here the adding of the Mosaic Law can not add anything to the requirements of the Abrahamic Covenant, cannot alter any of its provisions. That would nullify the promise. “For if the inheritance is based on law, it is no longer based on a promise.” The Judaizers were trying to say, “Yes, you have the Abrahamic Covenant. But being part of that is conditioned on keeping the Law. You must be circumcised and you must keep the Law if you’re really going to benefit from the Abrahamic Covenant.” What? The Abrahamic Covenant has been changed. It has been added to. There are additional requirements now.

With Abraham it was just a promise. Here’s what I will do. And you believe that promise. Now, of course we want you to believe, but you must also keep the Law. You say, “Well, it makes sense. God did give the Law later.” Well, Paul’s going to answer in the next section what the purpose of the Law was. But the purpose of the Law could never be to alter or change the Abrahamic Covenant. That could not happen. That cannot be one of the purposes of the Law, whatever else it was. So the argument of the Judaizers is to no point. It’s foolishness.

“If the inheritance is based on law, it is no longer based on a promise.” This is the point Paul has been making in Galatians. The Law and grace are opposed to each other. The Law and faith are opposed to each other. You cannot mix it. You cannot have the Abrahamic Covenant being a promise and also being law.

“But God has granted it to Abraham by means of a promise.” I want you to note this word “promise”. It comes from the Greek word “charis”, a form of that Greek word which means grace. God has granted it, freely given it, graciously given it, given it by grace to Abraham by means of a promise. Now you see, same argument that Paul uses in other places, the Book of Romans particularly. If it is by works it is no longer by grace, otherwise grace is no longer grace. This is the issue. God has granted it, graciously given it, given it by grace to Abraham by means of a promise. It’s God’s grace. Here’s what I promise. I believe it. You see it’s not what you do. It’s simply your response of faith to what God promises. It’s by grace.

Furthermore, that verb, by, “He granted it” is in the perfect tense, something that happened in the past and the results continue to the present. It denotes permanence, something that’s unchanging. He has granted it by grace, with the present reality being, it is still granted by grace. Denotes the permanence of that. It is granted by grace by means of a promise. That is permanent. That is unchanging. That is true right to today. And so we offer justification by faith, the blessing of Abraham to all who will believe but all the other provisions of the Abrahamic Covenant, none of them can be changed in any way. At the heart of the Abrahamic Covenant is God’s provision of salvation by faith.

Let me review with you quickly. Number one: God’s promises are sure and settled. That’s the point of the illustration of verse 15. God’s promises are sure and settled. When the covenant was given, it cannot be altered. Romans 11:29 says, “The gifts and calling of God are irrevocable,” unchangeable.

Number two: God’s promises of spiritual blessing focus in His Son. That’s verse 16. God’s promises of spiritual blessing focus in His Son, Jesus Christ. There is no righteousness for anyone anywhere in the world apart from faith in Jesus Christ. All the promises of spiritual blessing are focused in Christ.

Number three: The Law cannot nullify the promise of justification by faith. That’s verse 17. The Law cannot nullify the promise of justification by faith. I mean those who think they are going to get saved by keeping the Ten Commandments are trying to keep the Law. Do you understand what the argument of Galatians is?

Number four: God granted it to Abraham by promise so it is not by law. It’s just that simple. Justification is by faith. God graciously gave it to Abraham as a promise. All Abraham could do was believe what God promised. God promises to justify you, declare you righteous if you will believe the gospel of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ has died on the cross, has been buried, has been raised from the dead. He is the Son of God. If you will believe in Him you will be cleansed and made righteous. If you do not you will be condemned to an eternal hell.

It is by promise. You cannot work for it. You cannot earn it. You cannot gain it in any other way, not by church membership, not by the sacraments, but by faith in Christ. There is no other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved. Praise God that’s an unchanging truth of Scripture, going all the way back. Nothing since then changes or alters any of that. The church was not in existence, was not a requirement for Abraham. He never joined a church. Church membership is not required for salvation. You say, “What am I doing here?” What you’re here for is to hear the gospel, that salvation is by faith, so that you might believe in Him.

Let’s pray together. Thank You, Lord, for your grace. Thank You for the grace that was demonstrated to Abraham when You gave him the promise and by Your grace he believed and was declared righteous. Thank You, Lord, for the spiritual blessings that have been promised in Christ, the seed of Abraham. Thank You, Lord, for the unchanging character of Your word. And Lord our hope for time and eternity is based upon the truthfulness of Your word, that you will forgive, that You will cleanse, that You will declare righteous all who believe in Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world. And we pray in His name. Amen
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