Paul

Hard Law, Hot Gospel 5 | The Law of Love

by Ben Zornes · Mar 17, 2025

Introduction

We are not saved by the Law, or the works of the Law. But if the Gospel makes us alive, we really must ask the question, what are we made alive to do? What do those who receive this new life occupy their time with? Paul answers that question here in our text.

The Text

1 Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage. 2 Behold, I Paul say unto you, that if ye be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing. 3 For I testify again to every man that is circumcised, that he is a debtor to do the whole law. 4 Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace. 5 For we through the Spirit wait for the hope of righteousness by faith. 6 For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love. […]
Galatians 5:1ff

Summary of the Text

Contrary to the view of some expositors of the great St. Paul, he is not anti-Law. This chapter begins with the imperative: stand fast! The Judaizers were moving the goalposts of how Gentiles were to be ushered into the people of God; so Paul commands them to stand steadfast in the liberty that faith in Christ brings. Remember, Christ’s faith in God’s promise secured for all people from all nations the possibility of inclusion in the inheritance promised to Abraham, by faith in Christ. This is the liberty Paul insists the Galatians have received (v1). In contrast, if they submit to be circumcised, they are binding themselves to go through all the other hoops of an order which was passing away (vv2-3). Such a course of action makes Christ ineffectual, and guts grace of its potency (v4). The immaturity of looking at circumcision status is contrasted with trusting in what the Spirit does, namely, waiting in hope for the righteousness by faith (v5). Circumcision’s purpose in redemptive history had fulfilled its purpose; in its place was faith alone, full of love to God and neighbor (v6).

The Galatians had gone from running well to face-planting terribly (v7). Someone had persuaded them to disobey the truth, and this was worse than finding leaven in their Passover loaves (vv7-9). Paul denounces this troubler, and expresses his confidence that the Galatians will right the ship (v10). Nevertheless, it should be plain that the persecutions which Paul had and continued to endure were not the result of preaching circumcision; it came because of the skandalon of the cross (v11). In one of Paul’s sharpest remarks, he expresses the desire that the troubler would be totally emasculated (v12, Deu. 23:1).

Paul now elaborates on how the passing away of the “age of the Law” does not lead to lawless chaos. Through Christ we have been brought into the maturity of liberty, which means we must not treat liberty as if we were a child left alone in a candy shop (v13). Rather, love should be the prevailing motivation of those set free by Christ; Paul sums up the Law: love thy neighbor as thyself (v14). The flesh devours, but walking in the Spirit puts a stronger chain on our lusts than the Law ever could (vv15-16).

There is a great chasm between the sons of Hagar and the sons of Sarah. These sons are at war with each other, and cannot be reconciled. Sons of unbelief and sons of faith cannot have peace with each other (v17). The Spirit brings new creation, which the Law safeguarded until the time of Christ’s coming (v18). The flesh is an orchard full of rotten fruit, and those who bear such fruit are not citizens of Christ’s Kingdom (vv19-21). The Spirit bears the fruit of Eden’s tree of Life within us (vv22-23). The husk guards the seed, but once it sprouts it can no longer contain the tree (v23b). Once more, our union to this life is found by being crucified with Christ (2:20) and thus are dead to the deathly old way of being human (v24). The Spirit has begotten us by faith (justification) so now we ought to walk by the Spirit (sanctification); which rules out the vanity of the triangles which envy traps us in (vv25-26).

The Great War

Paul’s polemic is not a narrow attack on legalism and those silly enough to think they could impress God by shaving their beards a certain way, wearing skirts a certain length, or by avoiding the addicting power of syncopated beats. But neither is it an invitation to reject all rules. Sinners walk by unbelief in their elaborate false doctrines, and sinners walk by unbelief in grotesque debauchery.The Christian isn’t supposed to balance themselves in between the legalist and the libertine. Rather we should set both sorts of fools on one side and believers on the other.

Paul identified in the last chapter that this great war was between Hagar’s sons and Sarah’s sons. In this chapter the same strife is identified: Flesh or Spirit. Unbelief or Faith. Sinai or Calvary. Your righteousness or Christ’s. Man in Adam or man in the Last Adam. The great war divides mankind between those who walk by faith in Christ, or those who refuse to acknowledge Him as King of Heaven and Earth. Paul demonstrates how great the chasm is between those who are walking by the flesh and those walking by the Spirit. Walking by externals, or walking by the new life of Christ which has invaded the world.

The Covenant Sign

This is why, for Paul, the Judaizers’ insistence on the Gentiles being circumcised becomes a hill to die on. Rushdoony, in his typically insightful way, points out that circumcision was symbolic castration. It was given by God to be a sign of trust; not in human generation, but in heavenly regeneration. In Adam all die, but in Christ shall all be made alive (1 Cor. 15:22).

Man needed to be born again, and in Christ, by faith in Christ, this new birth is held out to you. Circumcision pointed Israel to hope for the new birth. This new birth would be accompanied by the washing of the Spirit (Cf. Jn. 3:5 – Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.). This washing had come and was signified by baptism. So then, the promise of the Spirit was to be received by faith as signified by baptism, not by the work of the circumcising knife.

This is why we must insist––even as we labor to reform society, even as we labor to worship the Lord decently and in order––on the absolute necessity of the new birth. We must never draw near the Lord with only our lips, while our hearts are far from Him. We have potent signs: baptism and bread and wine. But are you harboring secret sin? Are you indulging worldly lusts? Are stage four with the cancer of envy?

Fruit for Citizens

The Serpent was enticing the Galatians to grasp the fruit through fleshly willfulness instead of walking by trust in God’s clear Word. The Judaizers were enticing the Galatians to grasp after externals, instead of walking by certain faith that God’s promise had been fulfilled by Christ’s faithfulness. Paul’s Gospel invited them to taste the fruit of the tree of life, and enjoy the liberty of that life.

But that liberty was not aimless, or do as you will. Each of the nine-fold attributes of the fruit of the Spirit are easily connected to imperatives found elsewhere in Scripture. Love one another (Jn.13:34). Rejoice always (Phi. 4:4). Seek peace and pursue it (Heb. 12:14). Endure afflictions (2Ti 4:5). Let your gentleness be evident to all (Phi. 4:5). Maintain good works (Gal. 6:10). Shewing all good fidelity (1 Cor. 4:2). Shewing all meekness unto all men (Col. 3:12). Be sober-minded (1 Pt. 5:8). This liberty of new life brings us as citizens to imitate our King. All this was promised of old (Cf. Is. 32:15, Is. 57).

The Belgic Confession is worth quoting at length on this point:

We believe that this true faith, produced in us by the hearing of God’s Word and by the work of the Holy Spirit, regenerates us and makes us new creatures, causing us to live a new life and freeing us from the slavery of sin. Therefore, far from making people cold toward living in a pious and holy way, this justifying faith, quite to the contrary, so works within them that apart from it they will never do a thing out of love for God but only out of love for themselves and fear of being condemned. So then, it is impossible for this holy faith to be unfruitful in a human being, seeing that we do not speak of an empty faith but of what Scripture calls “faith working through love,” which moves people to do by themselves the works that God has commanded in the Word.

These works, proceeding from the good root of faith, are good and acceptable to God, since they are all sanctified by God’s grace. Yet they do not count toward our justification—for by faith in Christ we are justified, even before we do good works. Otherwise they could not be good, any more than the fruit of a tree could be good if the tree is not good in the first place. So then, we do good works, but not for merit—for what would we merit? Rather, we are indebted to God for the good works we do, and not God to us, since God “is at work in [us], enabling [us] both to will and to work for his good pleasure.”

Sin––at its root––is living as if Christ has not come. Sin is living in the old world. Sinful man prowls around looking for anything at all to give him meaning. It might look like sexual indulgence, or strict adherence to cultic rites. It may take the form of murder in blind rage, or the surgical deception of multitudes. All of it is the fruit of the flesh; it’s willful unbelief in the new creation work which Christ began.

But you are not of the flesh, but of the Spirit. If you have been born of the Spirit you are a citizen of this kingdom. Here is fruit to nourish you. From start to finish Your new life is marked by faith. Faith in the complete work of Christ, and faith in every act of love’s duties. The seed of the Law has burst forth into an oak tree of love.

Charge & Benediction

By faith you are brought into the new creation. You are thus empowered to truly walk according to the precepts of God’s Law. Justified through no works of your own, but sanctified unto good works. The Spirit brings you alive. And living people, full of the Spirit of the God who is Love, will act according to the law of love.

Now our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God, even our Father, which hath loved us, and hath given us everlasting consolation and good hope through grace, Comfort your hearts, and stablish you in every good word and work. Amen.
2 Thessalonians 2:16-17

Other Sermons in this series

Hard Law, Hot Gospel 4 | No Longer Toddlers

by Ben Zornes · Mar 10, 2025

Introduction

Let me set before you a ridiculous image. Think of the most dignified and respected person you know personally. Now, picture them behaving with all the maturity of a Mountain Dew fueled 12 year old boy at a game night with his buddies. This incongruity is how we should see Law-keeping in relation to Christ coming and receiving His promised inheritance.

The Text

Now I say, That the heir, as long as he is a child, differeth nothing from a servant, though he be lord of all; But is under tutors and governors until the time appointed of the father. Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world: But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father. Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ. […]
Galatians 4:1ff

Summary of the Text

Paul’s rebuke has been severe. But it shouldn’t be mistaken as uncontrolled wrath. His “tone” is imminently deliberate. Bear that in mind in studying this section. The metaphor of an heir in infancy continues (v1). In the Greek world, a servant would be tasked with keeping the young heir from danger, and was responsible for tutoring the heir in the family business (v2). Mankind’s situation prior to Christ’s coming, was like a child with strict boundaries (v3). This immaturity was also a bondage to the elements of the world, more on that momentarily. The Law’s tutelage was always temporary until the fulness of time was complete, when God sent forth the Seed of the Woman to redeem mankind out from under the Law, in order to receive adoption through faith in Christ (vv4-5). This is all very similar to what Paul taught in the previous section, but with one more addition to drive his whole argument home. The works of the flesh could never justify you, which is why now, by faith in Christ, you receive the Spirit. This Spirit cries out within you that you are born anew with God as Your Father; you’re not a servant but a son and heir of all that Your Father possesses (vv6-7).

So then, the Galatians’ attempt to relive history by going back to where the Jews started is to go back into bondage. As Gentiles, they once served demons, and for them to desert this Gospel which Paul had proclaimed to them is to go back into prison. This is why Paul is so concerned for them, they are squandering the gift of the Gospel which Paul had bestowed upon them (vv8-11). Paul is not offended because of a personal slight (v12); after all, he recalls to them how he first ministered unto them in “infirmity of flesh” (Cf. Acts 14:19-20), and they had received him as an angel, as Jesus Himself (vv13-14). They were so blessed by Paul, that they would have even given him their eyes (v15). So why, he asks, have they begun to treat him as an enemy for telling them the truth (v16)? The Judaizers are happy to convince the Galatians that they are “out” until they meet all the requirements necessary to become Jews; this is the epitome of a spiritual power trip (v17).

Instead of trying to please these Judaizers, Paul wishes that the Galatians would be zealous for the truth, regardless whether he’s present or not (v18). But now, he must labor like a woman in childbirth for them again, because, by all appearances, they had not yet been born anew (v19). In all this, Paul is aware of his tone, though he wishes it were unnecessary, he doesn’t apologize for it (v20). Not only that, but he derides their comprehension of the Law itself (v21). To understand the law, you must understand the story of two women, their sons, and two mountains (vv22-25). Hagar is Sinai which is actually earthly Jerusalem, while Sarah is the prophesied heavenly Jerusalem. As Isaiah foretold (Is. 54:1), heavenly Jerusalem would be our mother (vv26-27). Christians are like Isaac, heirs of the promise, while these Judaizers are persecuting Ishmaels. This underscores that the old order is over and Gentiles and Jews, by faith in Christ are free-born sons (vv28-31).

Two Women

A prominent framework in evangelicalism is to draw a dividing line through Scripture, separating the Law and Grace. Certainly, we can identify, especially here in Galatians, that there is some sort of division taking place. There is a war. We’ll see in the next chapter that the flesh and the Spirit are in a war. But the division is not internal to the Scriptures, or within God’s purposes. It isn’t as if God concluded that this Law thing really wasn’t working out and it was time to try something new. Rather, the division has always been between believers and unbelievers. Those of faith and those of the flesh.

This is why Paul uses the allegory of Hagar and Sarah and their sons. There is a story that God is telling, and you must understand the characters if you are to understand where you are in the story. Fastidious exegetes might squirm at Paul’s use of Genesis and Isaiah here, but we shouldn’t. Can’t you see? Two women. One barren yet beloved. One a slave-woman, with an ill-begotten child of the flesh. It’s clear, right? Sinai against Heavenly Jerusalem. Works of the flesh or simple faith in Christ the Seed promised in Eden and to Abraham and to David.

The question of who is your mother is quite important. The slave’s sons are marked by unbelief. The children of Sarah believe in Christ. Heavenly Jerusalem was once barren, but by God’s steadfast love she is now bearing children in all the ends of the earth. So, Paul confronts the Galatians with their immaturity. They are letting Ishmael bully them into being ashamed of being heirs in Christ/Isaac. Again, the Galatians were misreading the story of history, and thus were missing their own place in the story. They wanted to live by sight and not by faith.

Spiritual Warfare

This passage also gives us an important understanding of what true spiritual warfare is. Before Christ, the nations worshipped idols, and behind these idols were demon beings. For the Galatians to return to the observance of days, months, times, and years is to go back to the idols, and thus back to serving demons. This means that all efforts to live outside of the framework of Christ’s ascension to the Father’s right hand are at their root a return to bondage to the elements of this world (i.e. the demons).

So then, true spiritual warfare is the mocking of idols. The demons are real, don’t misunderstand, but their power is restrained. Furthermore, they are restrained, we are taught elsewhere (Rev. 21), by this Gospel that Christ has received the promise of inheriting the world. This requires you to look at this world with faith, and then act with the sort of courage which that faith begets. As Peter admonished: add to your faith virtue. Global conspiracies shouldn’t be a source of paranoia for you, but a laughing matter. The globalists think they can rewind history. If all the most tin-foil conspiracies are factual, such wicked men still are operating in the world that Christ rules over. The bride of Christ’s laughs at the days to come, because she walks by faith, not in fear.

Growing Up

In Christ, mankind is coming into maturity. We are inheriting the world. This requires us to walk by faith in Christ every step of the way. The whole Bible is ours. The Law is the Law of Love; love for God our Father, and love to our neighbor. The Proverbs are given to us to understand the workings of this world. The Psalms are given to govern all our emotions, so we may exhort and admonish one another with sanctified affections. The Prophets are given to us to prick our conscience, and to teach us to look at our own time with eagle-eye discernment. The Gospels are ours, for they display all the perfection of Christ our redeemer. The Epistles are ours for we are taught all things necessary for life and godliness in this New Creation of Christ our Head. And John’s Apocalypse is given to us to assure us that the dragons and demons are bound, and the King is ruling upon this earth which He inherited, through us His body.

Would you grow into that maturity? The only way is by His Word and His Spirit. The Word which begets you, and the Spirit which gives you Christ’s life. Receive it by faith.

Charge & Benediction

So grow up. Not by fleshly striving, but by faith. Read the story rightly. Christ is ascended, so trust Him, and imitate Him. Both sinful indulgence and fleshly striving are just plain immature. You’re in Christ, and being like Jesus is the endgame for humanity.

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen.
2 Corinthians 13:14

Other Sermons in this series

Hard Law, Hot Gospel 3b | The Term is Over

by Ben Zornes · Mar 6, 2025

Introduction

I hope you’ve never had the misfortune to have one of those dreams where you feel completely paralyzed. It may not even be that the dream is particularly horrifying. But enduring a dream where your feet won’t move, where your voice can’t shout, where you can’t wake up even though you want to is rather miserable. Waking up from such an oppressive dream is nothing if not relieving. The coming of Christ, according to Paul, was the transition from a dream to waking, from the school year to the summer holiday, from prison to freedom.

NOTE: This recording had audio problems. We’re very, very sorry. Those responsible were sent off to Siberia.

The Text

Brethren, I speak after the manner of men; Though it be but a man’s covenant, yet if it be confirmed, no man disannulleth, or addeth thereto. Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ. And this I say, that the covenant, that was confirmed before of God in Christ, the law, which was four hundred and thirty years after, cannot disannul, that it should make the promise of none effect. For if the inheritance be of the law, it is no more of promise: but God gave it to Abraham by promise. […]
Gal 3:15ff

Summary of the Text

Having scolded the Galatians for trying to accomplish by the flesh what the Spirit had begun by the hearing of faith, Paul turns to more thoroughly explain Abraham’s example of faith. Making use of the illustration of a human will or testament, Paul points out the impropriety of annulling or amending such a covenant once it is established (v15). So, God’s heavenly covenant was promised to Abraham and his seed––singular not plural (v16, Cf. Gen.17:7). This covenant with Abraham and with Christ (the Seed) preceded the Law by 430 years, and therefore the latter cannot void or amend the earlier covenant (v17). Rather, the inheritance promised to Abraham was contingent on faith and not the Law (v18). And it is important to note Paul’s emphasis on the imagery of an heir receiving an inheritance.

Paul is not “anti-law”. This is evidenced in him volunteering a crucial question that was likely nagging the Galatians: what was the law for? It was put in place for much the same reason that a farmer puts up chicken wire, to keep the flock from wandering off. God did this by means of angels (Cf. 1:8) which committed the Law into the hands of a mediator; presumably this refers to Moses (v19). Verse 20 poses a challenge to expositors; I take it to mean that while the Law was established by God with His people through Moses, the promise to Abraham was directly from God to Abraham and His seed without the need for a mediator.

So then, the Law was not meant to keep us away from the promise, but to dam up the floodwaters of sin. It was intended to keep Israel from wandering off from the promise. For, God could have made a law that, if kept, would have resulted in righteousness (v21). Yet, even if such a law had been given, we still would have found out a way to screw it up; thus, God arranged this order of events in order that we might receive by faith all the blessings of the promise which Christ received by His perfect faith (v22). Paul then speaks of faith in what we might call eschatological terms. Before faith came, the Law was in place like a baby gate for keeping a naughty toddler out of trouble (v23a). But this was temporary until the faith should be revealed (v23b).

The Law was the tutorial, faith in Christ was the diploma (v24). Faith has now come in Christ, and therefore, school is over (v25). Trusting Christ, including all He did on our behalf, brings us into the family of God; your baptism is a sign which signifies that new birth (vv26-27). This means that the old distinctions between Jew (clean) and Gentile (unclean), male (able to receive the sign of circumcision) and female (unable to receive that sign) have past their expiration date, for there is now a new distinction: in Christ and not in Christ (v28). It must be remarked in our gender confused day and age that this isn’t a prooftext for queerness. It is simply an insistence that the covenant sign is no longer received merely by males, but is open to male and female from every nation, tribe, and tongue. Those in Christ are all included in that which was promised to Abraham’s seed, namely inheriting as lawful heirs the new heaven and new earth (v29).

What was the Law For?

When looking at Christian history, it can appear that the Church reels like someone afflicted with vertigo between the poles of legalism and licentiousness. Self-righteous scrupulousness is a real temptation that has ensnared many individual Christians and entire institutions. As I mentioned before, we love to have a righteousness we can point at. But the church has also suffered at times from an impoverished understanding of all that Paul is insisting upon when he is underscoring that we are not under the Law but under grace. Too often this is taken as an Apostolic hall pass to act like a drunken baboon let loose in a grocery store. Both misunderstandings are dangers to the spiritual health of individuals and institutions.

Paul teaches here something which the Reformers later articulated as the three uses of the Law. What we find here in our text is the Scriptural foundation for understanding the first use of the Law. It’s first function is divine border patrol. This is, in part, what Paul has in view here. The Law was intended to keep mankind in general, but Israel in particular from the self-destruction of unbridled sin. Think of this threefold purpose of the Law as a nut; the hard outer shell restrains evil, the bitter inner pith brings the realization of our sinfulness, and the savory fruit in the center is Christ’s righteous fulfillment of the Law.

On this last point it is worth stating that Christ’s fulfillment of the Law enables us, by trust in Him, to norm society to the general equity contained in the Law, but not as a means of justifying us before God. This is important to emphasize because Paul is certainly not inviting us to throw off rules, authority, or the rule of law as such. Rather, he wants us to grow up. He wants us to be like Christ, by receiving from Christ all that His resurrection ushered in; namely, the new life of His Spirit. The Law has been subsumed in the glory of Christ’s New Life which has invaded the world.

Heirs According to the Promise

Abraham had faith, trusting in God’s promise to bless all nations through the seed promised to him. Paul says that though Abraham believed this promise, and was justified by his faith, faith had not yet been revealed. There was faith all throughout the OT, but not the faith. Paul says we, the Jews, were “locked up” by the law until…until what? Until the faith would be revealed. The faith was revealed by Christ’s perfect faith.

This means the Galatians weren’t living in the confinement of the Law, but in the liberty of Christ’s New Creation. Everything had changed. This, of course, should make legalistic striving to earn God’s favor a laughable folly. It also makes licentiousness, as the kids says, cringe. But more than anything, it is the ground of your assurance of welcome. This good news certifies that if you’ve come to Christ by faith, if you have been baptized, the abundant, everlasting, and unbroken love He has for His Son is yours. The pleasure He has in Christ, the Father has for you who are in Christ. The inheritance He promised the Seed of Abraham is your inheritance as well:

And he said, It is a light thing that thou shouldest be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of Israel: I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of the earth. [Isa 49:6 KJV]

Even unto them [Gentiles] will I give in mine house and within my walls a place and a name better than of sons and of daughters: I will give them an everlasting name, that shall not be cut off. [Isa 56:5 KJV]

I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels. For as the earth bringeth forth her bud, and as the garden causeth the things that are sown in it to spring forth; so the Lord GOD will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations. [Isa 61:10-11 KJV]

Follow Paul’s argument closely, “We, the Jews, were locked up, for a time, that you, the Gentiles, might become true children of God by faith in Jesus Christ.” This is why the sign of circumcision (which governed who were the heirs of Abraham) is no longer needed. This glory is run-on sentence worthy. The promised Seed had come and by His faith He received the promise, and because He received the promise, He can share His inherited promise with all who come to Him by faith.

And what does this mean? It means that you, you Gentiles, regardless of your circumcision status, are, in fact, Abraham’s seed. Again, singular not plural. Why singular? Because you are baptized into Jesus, and thus we all are one in Him. He alone is the Savior. He alone brought salvation to the whole world. He alone is how you might stand before God. He alone is how salvation is brought to you, personally. By Him alone is this truth made certain to you, that if you believe in Christ then God is your Father.

Charge & Benediction

We could simplify Paul’s entire message to the Galatians as this, “Don’t act as if Christ hasn’t come.” So, put it positively: act like Christ has come. This is what we put our faith in, Christ’s complete work on our behalf, and thus His promise to us of His Spirit. Act like Christ has come when your marriage hits a rough patch. Act like Christ has come when your striving to honor your parents. Act like Christ has come when temptations besets you. For you live in the dawn of the reign of Jesus Christ, who is making all things new.

Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, And to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy, to God our Savior, Who alone is wise, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and forever. Amen.
Jude 1:24-25

Other Sermons in this series

Hard Law, Hot Gospel 3a | Foolish Galatians

by Ben Zornes · Mar 2, 2025

Introduction

Perhaps you’ve had the frustrating experience of being in a crowded reception, making small talk with someone you barely know. The music and crowd noise is deafening. The lips of your interlocutor are moving, but you only catch every other word. Trying to piece together what they are saying takes all your focus. Even then you nod politely, offering the obligatory “oh yeahs” and “for sures”. This is the opposite of the Gospel proclamation. When the Gospel is proclaimed faithfully, it is not only crystal clear, but it is forcibly potent to display Christ before formerly blind eyes.

The Text

O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you? This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh? Have ye suffered so many things in vain? if it be yet in vain. […]
Galatians 3:1-14

Summary of the Text

The Apostle Paul is still at a fever pitch. The Galatians are called fools for being bewitched, and this bewitching resulted in their disobedience from looking in faith to Christ crucified (v1). They are confronted with a series of rather embarrassing rhetorical questions: did they receive the Spirit by works of the law, or by the hearing of faith (v2)? Are they really so foolish as to try to perfect what the Spirit began by means of the flesh (v3)? Why have they endured sufferings for the Gospel, only to vainly toss it aside (v4)? Lastly, Paul confronts them with a piercing question about whether the Spirit which was poured out upon them, and the wondrous signs done in their midst were accomplished by the arm of fleshly might or by the hearing of faith (v5).

To prove that justification is not by works of the flesh but by the power of the Spirit working faith in us, Paul points to Abraham’s example of faith (v6, Gen. 15:6). Then he makes a bold statement: those who believe are the true children of Abraham, full stop (v7). Paul proves that this doctrine is not newly minted, but is more ancient than the Law itself. He does this with a sequence of six proof-texts. The heathen being included in the blessings of faith in Christ was foretold when the gospel was preached to Abraham (v8, Gen. 12:3 & 18:18). By faith you share with Abraham the blessing promised to him (v9). That the blessing came by faith and not law is obvious because a curse was upon those who failed to keep everything contained in the law, a certainly impossible task (v10, Deu. 27:26). Paul says this is plain as day, Habakkuk said so, don’t you know (v11, Hab. 2:4)?!

This is set in contrast to the doing which the law demands for those who would obtain life (v12, Lev. 18:5) But since none is righteous in their doing of the Law and therefore under the curse, Christ came to take the curse for us upon Himself (v13, Deu. 21:23). Christ did this for us (the Jews) in order that the Gentiles might be showered with all the blessings promised to Abraham. The central promise is that of the Spirit and which we receive by faith alone (v14).

The Hearing of Faith

Visual media is predominant in our age. But up until the printing press was invented, most people who lived never read a book. Rather, the tales were told and retold. The herald would come to the town square with the king’s decree. This was how most people in ancient times received news and instruction. It is interesting that Paul here rebukes the Galatians for not seeing what he had set before their eyes: Christ crucified. How did Paul set Christ crucified before their eyes? By heraldry. By preaching.

The blindness and deafness of unbelieving Jews during Jesus earthly ministry, which Isaiah had foretold (Is. 6:9), was contagious. The Galatians had succumbed to this infectious moral disease. So Paul grills them with his series of questions. Notice what he contrasts the works of the Law with: the hearing of faith. This is a bit of a curious phrase, that I think we can take two ways. You might simply say: believe what you’ve heard. This would be quite true. Nevertheless, Paul’s phrase “the hearing of faith” seems to have more meat on the bones than just “believe what I told you.” Tying it back to the “faith of Christ” we saw in the last chapter, we can see that for Paul, hearing the story of Christ is more than just relating historical facts. Proclaiming the message of Christ’s faithfulness is potent. You want to see Christ? Then listen to the Gospel of His perfect faithfulness, His perfect faith, as displayed by all that is contained in Christ crucified. Hearing of Christ, hearing of the Word made manifest, is hearing that the New Creation, promised in ancient times has now burst onto the scene.

Of course, God’s people, even under the Law, were summoned to hear and believe God’s covenant promises: “Hear, O Israel…”. Paul is insisting that it isn’t the works of the Law, but the hearing of faith by which the Galatians received the Spirit. The Judaizers wanted the Galatians to go backwards in time, to start the board game where the Jews started it. As we’ll see later, the Gentile nations don’t have to go through the same course which the Jews did. Luther’s remarks on this is glorious: “The human heart does not understand or believe that such a great treasure-namely, the Holy Spirit—is given only by believing what we hear.” And so this begs the question, what had the Galatians heard? For that it is worth looking at what Paul proclaimed to the Galatians when he first established churches there (Acts 13:14-14:23). Paul had heralded that Christ had obtained for all nations what Isaiah had foretold: the sure mercies of David (Is. 55:3-5). This preaching was marked by both the believing Galatian Jews and Gentiles being filled with Joy and the Holy Ghost (Acts 13:52).

Doing or Believing

It is a perennial temptation to find a righteousness we can point to and take credit for. Here’s my good behavior, my tithe record, my church attendance, my voting record, my degrees and certifications. But you are not justified by reciting the catechism properly. You are not justified by knowing the doctrine of justification by faith alone. You are blessed with faithful Abraham by trusting in God as he did. Paul says that the Gospel was preached to Abraham. What was that Gospel? It was that God’s blessing––the blessing of the Spirit––would be poured out upon all the nations. And how was this accomplished? Through Christ crucified. Nothing else. Not your filthy rags or mine. You want to see your salvation? Look to Christ, and only to Christ, not to your attainments, no matter how impressive.

This is what your baptism is a promise of. The deep and inner washing which only the Spirit of God can bring about. This washing gets in every corner. It cleanses every crevice. It purges the filth of the most beastly sins as well as the most respectable sins. All nations are welcome to the Spirit’s washing. Christ’s death and resurrection really did hush the Law’s loud thunder, so that you can unmistakably hear what He declares: you are clean. So, having heard of Christ, having heard of His faithfulness, believe that He gives you the washing which comes by His Spirit of holiness dwelling in you.

CHARGE & BENEDICTION

It is utterly important that we understand the order of salvation rightly. It really is believe first, do second. Legalism says do first, believe second. Believe that Christ really has washed you by His Spirit, and you didn’t contribute anything but the filth that needed washing.

Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen. Ephesians 3:20-21

Other Sermons in this series

Mental Race Cars

by Ben Zornes · Sep 26, 2024

Let me draw your attention to closing line of the well-known words of the Apostle Paul in Philippians 4:8-9: Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you.

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After listing all variety of wholesome things, Paul warmly exhorts the saints to think on these things. If your mind is a race-car, Paul would say to do regular laps around these things. But these things most certainly run counter to sinful desires. Our minds often chase after the tempting horrors of murder, adultery, and theft. Or they flee into a corner of anxious fears, unreasonable worries, or conspiracy theories. These evil things attract our attention and take up mental bandwidth because our hearts desire to think about those things, instead of these things. Which means your mind must be pried away from simply following carnal desires, instincts, and hormonal responses. This can only be done by the regenerating power of the Spirit and the faith in Christ which that power imparts.

But notice the closing promise: the God of peace shall be with you. Is your mind plagued by a swarm of frets & follies? Do you want the God of peace reigning in your heart, home, and nation? Then turn your mind to these things. Bend your mind to meditate on the Word. Beat down paths of mental righteousness. Paul sets before you a simple yet marvelous if/then statement: if you set your mind on these things then the God of peace is with you.

Shadows of Bethlehem 03 | The Last Laugh

by Ben Zornes · Dec 20, 2023

Introduction

The coming of the Christ-child was God’s brilliant wit on full display. How would God overthrow Satan’s kingdom? With a baby. How would God defeat the mighty, fallen cherubim, Lucifer? By planting a human seed. How would God destroy death? By laughing in its face.

The Text

And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord, And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour. For he hath regarded the low estate of his handmaiden: for, behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed. For he that is mighty hath done to me great things; and holy is his name. And his mercy is on them that fear him from generation to generation. He hath shewed strength with his arm; he hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. He hath put down the mighty from their seats, and exalted them of low degree. He hath filled the hungry with good things; and the rich he hath sent empty away. He hath holpen his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy; As he spake to our fathers, to Abraham, and to his seed for ever.
Luke 1:46-55

Summary of the Text

At Mary’s coming, her cousin Elisabeth––pregnant with John the Baptist––breaks forth in a blessing upon Mary (Lk. 1:41-45). Elisabeth’s blessing echoes what was said of Father Abraham: He believed and it was credited to him for righteousness. Mary, like Abram & Sarai, was promised a miraculous conception, given a name for the promised son, and she believed.

In response to Elisabeth’s blessing, Mary breaks forth in what we commonly refer to as the Magnificat. Her song is almost verbatim of Hannah’s prayer (1 Sam. 2:1-10). The Lord granted Hannah’s prayer for a child, and conceived the son who would become the great prophet Samuel. Hannah’s prayer is full of exultation that God had caused her to triumph over her rival. This rival (Peninnah, Elkanah’s other wife) had a unique talent for getting under the skin; she frequently threw Hannah’s barrenness in her face.

That same key signature of exultation is present in Mary’s song. The proud are scattered (v51). The vanity of the mighty is thwarted by God’s mighty arm (v51-52). The rich find themselves penniless (v53). Meanwhile, the humble are exalted (v52), the hungry filled (v53), the lowly handmaid is regarded (v48), the servant/son Israel is helped (v54). And all of this flows from God’s remembrance of mercy (v54). But brought into keen focus is the promise which God made to Abraham and to his seed (v55). This song of exultation is grounded in a covenantal promise, which Mary keenly discerns. God would overthrow Israel’s enemies because of an ancient promise.

Rise the Woman’s Conquering Seed

Mary’s closing line takes us back to the ancient stories found in Genesis. While she explicitly mentions Abraham and his seed, God’s promise of a seed was first given in Eden. The promise to Abraham was an expanded revelation of what God said to the serpent at the fall of Adam: “And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel (Gen 3:15).” In the face of man’s rebellion and subjugation to the dragon, God reveals that a seed of the woman would arise to crush the dragon’s head. The rival would be overthrown. The tyranny would end. The accuser of the brethren would be cast down. The Lord echoes this promise to Noah (Gen. 9:9); God hangs His war-bow in the sky as an assurance that He would surely bring this promised seed to pass.

God called Abram out of the idolatrous people of Ur, and promised him Canaan, assuring him that his seed would possess it forever (Gen. 12:7, 13:15-16). Abraham believed this promise, and God reckoned it to him as righteousness (Gen. 15:6). But then Sarah’s barrenness persisted. This led to a lapse of faith on their part, and the conception of Ishmael by Sarah’s handmaid Hagar. Hagar becomes a rival for Sarah, and a thorn in her side. Eventually, Abraham pleads with God: “O that Ishmael might live before thee! And God said, Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son indeed; and thou shalt call his name Isaac: and I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his seed after him (Gen. 17:18-19).” Abraham requests that the son begotten by fleshly wisdom be accepted by God; this would not do, for God was intending to bring about a child of promise.

Sarah, memorably, laughs at the news that the Lord would grant her conception (Gen. 18:12-15). But then, as the Lord had promised, she conceives and bears a son, “And Sarah said, God hath made me to laugh, so that all that hear will laugh with me (Gen. 21:6).” Time and again throughout the OT narrative, we find that God brings about and preserves His promise, often by the most improbable circumstances. In the thick of the moment, it seems as if God’s purpose to bring about a conquering seed has been compromised, and yet over and over He gets the last laugh. Not barrenness (Sarah, Rebekah, Naomi), foreign women (Tamar, Rahab, Ruth), or sin (Saul, Bathsheba, Jehoash, the Exile) could thwart the purpose of God to deliver His people through the promised Seed.

The Singular Seed

The seed promised to Abraham was a big deal, and the Apostles spend a great deal of time commenting on it. Paul in Galatians makes the clearest assertion regarding the inner pith of this promise to Abraham regarding his seed: “And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed. So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham. … Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ. … And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise (Gal 3:8-9, 16, 29).”

So then Isaac was only a partial fulfillment of God’s promise to Abraham. The true fulfillment was found in Jesus Christ, born of Mary. Isaac was the type, while Christ was the antetype. God’s mercy was not to be found in simply having Abraham as an ancestor. His mercy would be found in a Seed; singular not plural. This is an instance of Paul exercising a fine-toothed exegesis. This promised seed was not a collective of human effort or lineage. The Seed would engage in mortal combat with the dragon and emerge wounded though victorious. In order to be righteous in God’s sight, you must trust in this Seed. Faith & not your paternity test determines who is Abraham’s heirs. This is how Gentiles might be reckoned as partakers of the blessing God promised to Abraham.

A Jolly Belief

Mary’s prayer of exultation is the prayer of all believers, exulting over the triumph of the seed of the woman over the serpent’s seed. God made good on His promised mercy to mankind, and He did so by bringing to pass His word of promise to Abraham: a seed.

God’s promise of mercy which Mary recalls is to Abraham and to his seed. That Seed of mercy was now gestating in her womb. God’s covenant of mercy is found in Christ alone. There is no mercy outside of Him. The Apostle Peter makes this explicit when he says, “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved (Act 4:12).”

There is divine humor in this promise. It was by design that Isaac’s name means laughter. God was going to do something which no eye had seen, or ear heard, or mind had conceived. The serpent sought to engulf all of mankind, and Christ submits Himself to being bait as it were, tempting the dragon to devour Him. Yet by His resurrection, Christ broke the jaws of death. Christ, the promised Seed, was the true and better Isaac. Satan sought to kill God, but God the Son overthrew death by His death. Christ became the curse, that you might not be accursed. The Word became a speechless baby, in order that His blood might eternally plead for you. And your response to this is to lay hold of this better Isaac by the same faith which Abraham, Hannah, and Mary all demonstrate. Exult, for God has overthrown your rival. For He has crucified your old man, and begotten you, not by perishable seed, but by the imperishable seed of the living and abiding word of God.

All this has profound implications for our modern society. Mary understood that the Christ child which was conceived in her, by the overshadowing power of the Holy Ghost, was a recreation of mankind. Morning stars & angels attended the Trinity in creation, and all the angelic flutter in the Christmas story make it plain that a new creation was happening. That means Christ was the ultimate iconoclast. As the carol says:

Come, Desire of nations, come!
Fix in us Thy humble home:
Rise, the woman’s conqu’ring seed,
Bruise in us the serpent’s head
Adam’s likeness now efface
Stamp Thine image in its place:
Final Adam from above,
Reinstate us in Thy love.

So, not only the tacky shrines to Satan in state capitols, but all monuments to and institutions of mankind’s avarice, lust, envy and pride are soon to be forever and finally overthrown, because Christ was born of Mary. This is also a comfort to you in your own temptations, for Christ came to give all who believe in Him new life.

Mary’s namesake, Miriam, danced as the Egyptian warriors drowned in the Red Sea. This is the jolly faith which God reckons as righteous, because it is faith in His Son: the Word made flesh. The Word that bled. The Word that was put to death. The Word that crowns you with the cleansing waters of your baptism. The Word that is a feast of covenantal bread & wine. The Word that says to all who believe in Him, “Yahweh is Salvation.”

Charge & Benediction

Remember that Your Christmas celebration is an exulting over the overthrow of the kingdom of Man; but faith sees that the way He brings this about is in the unlikeliest of ways, He gave old Abraham and barren Sarah a baby boy which was a type of how He would overshadow Mary to bring about the Incarnation of God the Son, to be the true and final deliverer. Your faith reaches back thousands of years and sees that not one promise of your God has failed.

Titus 1 | God Can’t Lie

by Ben Zornes · May 15, 2023

Introduction

We’re in the time of year where you’re likely to have attended a graduation. As parents and grandparents look on their children, the emotions in the arena likely range wildly. Pride, fear, hope, disappointment, maybe a touch of doubt. “He chose to major in Klingon?” The older generations are prone to be skeptical of the generation who is about to take their place. But in the Christian Church, we aren’t to simply wish that the next generation “makes it.” Paul lays out a plan for creating a culture of faith & good works that will last for eternal ages, because God said we should and promised it would work.

The Text

Paul, a servant of God, and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God’s elect, and the acknowledging of the truth which is after godliness; In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began; But hath in due times manifested his word through preaching, which is committed unto me according to the commandment of God our Saviour; To Titus, mine own son after the common faith: Grace, mercy, and peace, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ our Saviour. […]
Titus 1:1-16

Summary of the Text

Paul’s opening establishes the basis for all authentic Christian ministry. Notice the clauses: according to faith, acknowledgement of the truth, in hope of eternal life, which is declared through preaching, and Paul is doing so by God’s commandment (vv1-3). This is a personal letter to Titus, a fellow-partaker of the triune blessing of grace, mercy, and peace authorizing him to act with Paul’s apostolic authority (v4); we learn that Paul has a particular assignment for Titus to “set in order” the church in Crete, and to do so by a counter-cultural project of raising up godly elders throughout the island (v5). These men must be identified not only by their own character, conduct, and doctrinal fidelity, but also by the condition of their marriage & children (vv6-9).

These exemplary men will stand in stark contrast to the disorderliness of the Jewish deceivers who were causing the subversion of entire households, and going along with the infamous unruliness of Cretan culture (vv10-12). Titus is tasked with going toe-to-toe with these unruly men, in order that they might be reformed or silenced, while not giving an inch to either Jewish fables or tedious, man-made morality (vv13-14). This massive undertaking can be done only by purity of life & conduct. These compromised leaders are worse than useless in this reformation project (vv15-16).

Generational Faithfulness

As the world swirls the drain, the temptation is to shake your head in disgust, shrug your shoulders, and assume there is nothing you can do about it. The temptation which many Christians of our day are succumbing to is to presume that the church’s best days are behind her. They don’t say, as Elisha said, “Where is the Lord God of Elijah?” They assume that faithfulness from one generation to another isn’t possible. They have many biblical instances to point to. Eli’s scoundrel sons, Samuel’s wayward sons. Rehoboam failing to maintain the glory which David & Solomon had procured. Joshua’s warnings at the end of his life seem to be forgotten by Israel shortly after his death. Even back to Eden, Adam was God’s son, who had left his father’s house to be united to his wife; the test in Eden was how would this son do out on his own. The answer to that question was a disaster.

Paul, nearing the end of his life & ministry, writes to his two closest assistants (Timothy & Titus) and gives them a pointed commission to not fumble at the goal-line. As the Old world was passing away with all its shadows, Paul is like a New Testament Moses, commissioning NT Joshua’s to be faithful in life & doctrine. The church was fanning out in conquest of the world, and this conquest would be successful if faithful men faithfully preached & lived out the Gospel, and taught others to do so. Paul expected that even in the most unruly culture, this strategy would be effective. Believe the Gospel, live out the Gospel, and preach the Gospel

Titus was a Gentile convert who had been quite the utility player for Paul’s missionary efforts (2 Tim. 4:10). Paul points to him (Gal. 2:3) as an example of a faithful Gentile convert despite not having received the OT covenant sign of circumcision. The Cretan Jews who were bringing in a whole cornucopia of false doctrines/traditions of men, might make a claim to the promises of God, but they only have the husk and not the pith. Titus is the true inheritor of God’s eternal promise, by faithfulness to God’s promise. Titus was no stranger to dealing with difficult pastoral problems (2 Cor. 8:32); but this assignment of reforming Cretan culture was not a weekend project. It was multigenerational (Cf. 2:1-8, 2 Tim. 2:2 Ex. 18).

Authority in Action

Authority is not a whip to get people to do what you want, it is a tool which must be used to build something. Authority is so often misused because those in office see it as something with which to get what they desire. We see this in the description of the unruly leaders currently infecting the believers of Crete. Their greed, indulgence, and infatuation with fables was causing the demolition of entire households. By contrast, Christian homes, with the elder’s setting the pace, should demonstrate that godly authority builds up something which their subordinates are glad to contribute to & be around. The contrast here is between authority which exists to be indulged, and authority which exists to bring life (Tit. 1:2, 3:5).

Titus is to silence the false teachers. This is done by holding fast to the faithful Word. True authority submits to God’s authority. This refutation is not to be done passively: as if just mowing your lawn regularly is enough to spread “Gospel presence”. It is done as godly elders create a contrast between the fruitfulness of their own life & household with the fruitlessness of the unruly. It also means a godly elder will need to actually pick fights. He should, by sound doctrine, exhort & convince gainsayers, and shut up the unruly and vain-talkers. We’ll see another instance in the next chapter that this godly exercise of authority is to be passed on to the next generation. This counter-cultural project, however, isn’t anarchy, it is submission, holding fast to the Word of the God who can’t lie.

Before the World Began

There is a line in the opening that might sneak by us, but which needs to be central to our minds as we work through this epistle: “In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began.” The divine covenant of God’s redeeming purpose forms the basis for your certainty that you can walk in godliness. This is nothing other than Paul restating Christ’s prayer for us: “Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world (Jn. 17:24).”

Cretan culture came with a gravitational pull toward a specific set of sins. Paul affirms this pagan prophet’s insight, and the authority of it. But the underlying redemptive message reveals that the Cretan concrete isn’t fully set. The ship can be turned. Titus, along with faithful elders and the saints they shepherd can be a rudder of generational reformation. This is possible because of God’s eternal promise, but it will show up as the Gospel is preached (1:3).

God our Savior

Central to the success of this project is the good news. Cretans may have been an unruly bunch. Lies may have been their currency. Entire households may be enchanted by the fanciful tales of carnal leaders. But Paul, multiple times in this epistle, gives Titus the secret ingredient to setting all this in order: God is our Savior (Cf. 1:3, 4; 2:10, 13; 3:4,6). It’s worth pointing out that God our Savior & Christ our Savior are used interchangeably.

Have you made a mess of things? Are things in your home, or life, or culture unruly, disordered, and tangled? Has your sin become so notorious as to become proverbial? Are you like the person described in verse 16, professing knowledge of God, but contradicting it by your lifestyle? Paul’s message to Titus is to set in order the Cretan believers by bringing this sound doctrine to bear upon their lives. God is our Savior. Cretans are liars, but God does not lie. False teachers feign knowledge of God, but deny Him by their sinful works (Is. 29:13, Jer. 5:2); but God can’t lie. His promise, covenanted in eternity, was to be your Savior. This is the Gospel, God takes dead men, and makes them live. God takes unruly cultures and sets them in order. God takes things that are formless and void, and fills them with light and life, and this life is in His Son, Christ our Savior. And He cannot fail in this task.

Charge & Benediction

American culture is a mess. Maybe your life or family are in tatters too. Paul’s vision here for pulling this cultural reformation off requires one thing: you need to be alive. This life only comes individuals, families, and churches who say “Amen” to this reality, that Christ is our Savior.

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen.