Homily on Galatians 3:23–29
St. John's Lutheran Church
New Year’s Eve Service
Sermon on Galatians 3:23–29
Galatians 3:23–29: “23Now before faith came, we were held captive under the law, imprisoned until the coming faith would be revealed. 24So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith. 25But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian, 26for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. 27For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. 28There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise.”
In the Name of the Father and of the ☩ Son and of the Holy Spirit.
New Year’s is a time to look back, to reflect on our past year, to recall the highs and lows, accomplishments, and defeats of this prior year. It is also a time to remember friends, family, and loved ones that have passed away and celebrate their life. New Year’s is also a time of looking forward to the comping year. A time of hope and of change, for the better. We see this in the “New Year’s Resolutions” that people make, which a majority of us will not keep, or be unable to keep. All in all, New Year’s is a time of remembrance of the past and hope for the future.
Many of us are held captive by our past, the mistakes we have made. The Apostle Paul says this is how it is regarding us and the law. We are held captive by our sin, by our mistakes. It is like a man who drinks to forget the mistake he made, only to be reminded of his mistake. This causes the man to keep drinking in attempt to forget. The man is trapped, imprisoned in his mistake by the misuse of alcohol. This is how the law imprisons us, how sin imprisons us by reminding us that we have broken God law and that we are helpless in freeing ourselves, that is until Christ came to free us.
Paul said the purpose of the law is to guide us to Christ. Just like how we should learn from our past to info and guide us to our future. The law is to inform us and guide us to Christ. Greek and Roman had special type of guardian to guide young boys in morals and virtue, the morals and virtues that reflected the family the boy was from. Likewise, the law is a reflection of God morals and virtues, and the law guide us to be more like God. We are unable to reflection the image of God. Because of our sin we are unable to keep the law and as a result we are separate from God, the very definition of hell. God does not want us to be separated from him so out of His love for us, He sent His Only Son to fulfill the law on our behalf.
What does it mean that Jesus fulfilled the law on our behalf. First you need to understand that whenever a law is broken there is a price to be paid to make you right with the legal and/or governmental authorities. When a person drives too fast and is given a speeding ticket, there is a monetary value associated with the offence, that you must pay to make you right with the authorities. In the distant past, when you broke the law, you paid with either your possessions or your labor. When God law is broken, we too need to pay to make us right with God.
Now what do you expect God law requires for payment for breaking His law? God is a perfect being, and His laws are perfect. Would God not want a perfect payment to pay for the breaking of His perfect law? Yes, God requires a perfect payment, a payment you and I are not able to pay. God, out of His love for us, sent us His only Son to pay the payment we are not able to make. That payment was Christ death on the cross, and His resurrection from the dead. A perfect payment.
When we come to understand and believe in Christ Jesus, and baptized in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Sprite, we are adopted into the family of Christ. In the ancient world, adoption was not limited to age, adults were often adopted into families. It was not uncommon for a wealthy man who had no heirs, to adopt a man into his family, to be his heir. Now great care was taken when this was done. The man could have been a slave or even a foreigner. The man who was to be adopted as heir, need to reflect the family. The man was no longer what he was, he was a member of the family.
This is what Paul was refereeing to when he said” For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise.” When we are adopted into the family of Christ, we no longer what we were, we a new creation.
Being a new creation in Christ mean that we now have a new purpose, a new focus. The law is no longer our guide. Christ Himself is our guide, our example. Yes, we will keep making mistakes. Some of us may still have issues with overcoming our past mistakes. As new creations in Christ, our past mistake, our past sins are forgiven. Remember your baptism, remember the assurance of Gods grace and the forgiveness of our sins in Christ Jesus.
May you remember the love of Christ has for you in this New Year. May Christ guide you and keep you safe now and into the New Year.
Amen.
