First couple of chapters, what the Apostle Paul does, he defends his apostleship. And then when you get to chapter 3, what we find, he is defending salvation is by grace through faith alone. Now, you know what, when we hear those words, those words undoubtedly you have heard time and time again, but for the child of God, When he hears that salvation is by grace through faith alone, it is like music to our ears. Because there is nothing that you can do to seek after God. There is nothing that you can do as far as earning your way to God. Before you came to Jesus Christ, Jesus Christ came to you. And because He came to you, He came down seeking for you. And if you think you sought Him, it's because He sought you and He put the burden upon your heart that you should seek after Him. We love Him because He first loved us. You know what? That is heaven's message. and it enraptures our heart. It lifts us up to heaven even this morning as we think of salvation is by grace through faith. That is what the Apostle Paul is defending. And what he appeals to first in chapter 3 in the first five verses we've looked at, he talks about their experience. Then in verse 6, what he does, he refers back to the Old Testament using Abraham as the example. You remember how we looked at Abraham's life and how God called Abraham out of the Ur of the Chaldees. And when He called him out of the Ur of the Chaldees, Abraham was worshipping false gods. He was in a pagan land. It was God who came to Abraham. Abraham was saved by grace through faith. When God came to him, he told him to go to a country which I will show you. Abraham packed up and left. You know what? Abraham was not seeking God. God came to him, he believed God, and God imputed it to his account as righteousness. That righteousness that was put to the account of Abraham was the righteousness of our Lord Jesus Christ. Even in Old Testament saints like Abraham, there is no work in salvation. Salvation produces good works, but there is no work that you can input into salvation. Jesus paid it all, all to Him we owe. All the glory belongs unto Jesus Christ. It is not of works, lest any man should boast. Here we see in Scripture, grace came. Belief followed. Same principle in your life is Abraham's life. Grace came down to you and you believed in the promise of our Lord Jesus Christ. What Paul does in the next portion of Scripture and what we want to look at this morning is that Paul anticipates what the Judaizers, these legalists who want to mix law and grace together, he anticipates what they're going to say, that the law came and did away with the covenant of Abraham. In other words, the promises that God made, they were made, and then 430 years later, the law came, and when the law came, it did away with the promises of God. So therefore, we've got to live by works. You've got to be circumcised. You've got to observe the Sabbath. You've got to do this. You've got to do that. You know what? The covenant that God made with Abraham was unconditional. You remember the covenant that God made with Abraham? You remember in chapter 15 of the book of Genesis how there was a deep sleep that came upon Abraham? And in that deep sleep, there appeared to him these sacrifices that were split in two, and there was a burning oven. And what he saw in his dream is God Himself passing through those sacrifices. Back in Oriental ancient times, what they did when they had a covenant between two parties, they would split the sacrifices and the two parties would walk between those sacrifices. But here in Abraham's dream, only God passed through. Abraham didn't pass through. Why is that? Because God was cut in the covenant and it was based upon God and His promises. It wasn't based upon Abraham or what he could do. Abraham simply believed God and it was accredited to him for righteousness. One covenant, the covenant with Abraham, simply says believe. The other covenant, the covenant of the law, it says, do. The law does not change the promise of God. So that's where the apostle Paul is picking up with this morning in verse 15. Notice what Paul does. He uses a very common example, like everyday example back in that day and time. And verse 15 says, Brethren, I speak after the manner of men. Though it be but a man's covenant, yet if it be confirmed, no man disannuls, or adds thereto." Now, what Paul is saying, when there is a covenant and it is ratified, the word ratified very simply means confirmed, nothing changes, that covenant. In other words, once it's signed, sealed, and witnessed, that's it. You've got to abide by that covenant. One party's not going to go change that covenant if two entered into it. You can't change the covenant once it has been confirmed. God confirmed the covenant with Abraham. No man can change that covenant. What God promised, you know what? It was confirmed, and no man can change that. Now, I want you to notice verse 16. The Word of God goes on to say, "...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." In other words, the promise that God made to Abraham, He made it to Christ. Not to everybody who believes, in a sense. Notice it's particular what he's saying. Not seeds, not to the many people, but to Christ. Now, all the promises that God made, you remember what it says over in 2 Corinthians 2 and verse 20? All the promises that God made are in Him, yes. For all the promises of God in him are yes and in him amen unto the glory of God by us." So all the promises God has made, they are to Christ. Now, where does that leave us with the promises of God? You know what? Those two songs that we sang, concerning about being in Christ, the only way you can have those promises of God are if you are in Christ. Now, we are blessed with the promises of God only if your life is hid in Christ in God. We are heirs of God. Joint heirs with Christ is what the Word of God tells us. Romans 8 verse 1, "...there is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus." That's an important little phrase there, in Christ. So the question we must ask this morning, are you in Christ? Are you in Christ Jesus? What we look at, Abraham was in Christ. The Old Testament saints, all the way back from Adam, they looked forward to the coming of Jesus Christ, and they by faith trusted in Him, and the righteousness of Christ was imputed to them. All the New Testament saints, all of us in our day and time, we look back to the cross, and we by faith put our trust in Christ, and the righteousness of Christ is imputed unto us. As the Old Testament saints, you know what? They could have sang the same song, What can wash away my sin? Nothing but the blood of Jesus. Let me tell you, the law, the sacrifices, none of that took away sin in the Old Testament. It's only the blood of Christ that can take away sin. Moses could sing, What could wash away my sin? Nothing but the blood of Jesus. Boy, I pray that you can sing that this morning. that you can sing, what can wash away my sin, my guilt, my shame? It's the blood of Christ. You see, what the Scripture is saying here in verse 16, we are blessed in Christ Jesus. Now, how does one get in Christ? How does one get in Christ? You know, we're speaking Christian language, and if a person you're witnessing to them, and you ask them, are they in Christ? They don't have a clue what you're talking about. How does one get in Christ? You know what? This whole passage of Scripture is dealing with that. It's by faith. Simply by faith. It's not by works. It's not by turning over a new leaf. It's not by joining a church. It's not by baptism. It's not by your perfection. It's not by any good works which you do. It's by faith in what Christ has done for you. Jesus Christ died upon the cross for our sins, that whosoever believes in Him will not perish but have everlasting life. Your life is hid in Christ when you put your faith and trust in Jesus Christ. That's how one gets in Christ. Now, notice verse 17. The Word of God goes on to say, and this I say, that the covenant that was confirmed or ratified before of God in Christ, the law, which was 430 years after, cannot disannul. that it should make the promise of none effect." In other words, the law of Moses cannot disannul or put away the promise that was given to Abraham. Now, you know what? If you're a very observant student of the Word, I want you to notice here. Now, I know you've got this computed out and calculated up. When the promise was made to Abraham, and Abraham left the Ur of the Chaldees, to the time of the giving of the law, you know how many years was in between there? Well, sure you do. I don't think you do. There was actually 645 years. Now, you know what? That gives us a little mathematical complication, doesn't it? How does 430 years fit in there? Now, how many of y'all have ever thought of that? Nobody? Well, I'm glad I'm giving you something to provoke your thinking this morning. How do we get from the promise to Abraham was 430 years to the giving of the law, when if you calculate it up, it's actually 645? If you were to look in the book of Genesis, what you find is God repeated the covenant that he gave to Abraham, he repeated it to Isaac, and he repeated it to Jacob. And from the time of Jacob when he was in Egypt to the time of the giving of the law when Jacob first went into Egypt, you know how many years it was? 430. Now, that's what Paul's referring to. You know what? Some people would look at this and say, well, there's an error in the Word of God. Nope. Let me tell you, if there's any error, it's up in the brain when you're thinking. Here, the Word of God is telling us that the law came 430 years after the promise was given to Abraham and confirmed to Isaac, and then repeated and confirmed to Jacob. So here is that time frame. The promise has been restated. And what we find is that salvation and the inheritance came by promise. Adam was saved by faith, by the promise of God. The law was not in the same. All the way to Abraham, he was saved by faith. All the way to Moses, they were saved by faith. All the way to you and I, we're saved by faith. You see, it's from faith to faith. Notice what the Word of God says in verse 18. For if the inheritance be of the law, it's no more of promise." In other words, either it's of law or it's of grace. Now, I don't know about you, but I'm thankful for grace and I wanted to say it that way. I am thankful for the grace of God because, you know what, I cannot keep the law. I told you all the story, I think it was this Wednesday night, I was telling a couple of bank tellers and they asked me what my New Year's resolution was. I said, well, it's not going to be faithful because I can't do it. I cannot do it in the flesh. And I know no man that can do it in the flesh. Jesus Christ fulfilled the law, and I'm thankful for that, and I'm under grace. And it is the grace of God, and by that grace I walk, and it's by His grace I stand. And you know what? If you're a child of God and you know the Lord, that's the only way you stand too, is by the grace of God. It's not by the law, because the Word of God says, for if the inheritance be of the law, it's no more of promise. But, notice what God's Word says, God gave it to Abraham by promise. Now here, I want you to notice what God is saying in His Word. When it says that God gave it to Abraham by promise, the word gave is the word charis, oh my. Now the word charis in Greek is grace. God gifted it to Abraham. God, by His grace, gave it to Abraham. Boy, isn't that beautiful? God gave it to Abraham by simply a promise. And this word gave or gifted, it's in a perfect tense. Now, what does that mean in the Greek? Very simply, it means that there was a point in time God did it, but it still got resounding effects. Thank God for those effects, because you know what? We are saved by grace because of the promise that was given to Abraham. That promise is still legit today. Believe God and it will be credited to you for righteousness." That's simply the gospel. Here, it goes on to say, "...wherefore then serves the law." In other words, Paul anticipates a question from these Judaizers. These people who want to keep the law, well, what about the law? What's the purpose of the law? Why do you got the law? Is it useless? Is the law just for no reason at all? Notice he goes on to say, it was added the cause of transgressions. The covenant of promise and the covenant of the law are two different covenants. Both of them have functions. They have two different functions. They don't function the same. It's kind of like, I was reading Charles Spurgeon, he said, is iron of no purpose if you can't eat it? You know, you can't eat iron, so there ain't no good use. And then he goes on to say, well, if gold is not food, we might as well just chunk it and pitch it. It's no good. No, that's not the function of gold, and that's not the function of iron. Even so, the law has its particular function. And the law does not save, is what the Apostle Paul is saying. He says in verse 19, "...wherefore, then, serves the law. It was added because of transgressions." Now, the word transgressions means crossing the line to transgress. It's kind of like God put a circle around. Go back to the Garden of Eden. Remember, God says you can eat of every fruit of the tree of this garden, but of this tree you cannot eat. In other words, there's a line drawn. And what did Eve do? She was deceived and she partook. What did she do? She crossed the line. She transgressed. So the law was given because of transgressions. It shows that we are lawbreakers. I believe before the law, They had a knowledge of sin. They knew they sinned. They knew they did wrong. But the law came, and what the law does, it shows that you've actually broken God's holy law and you deserve the wrath of God. The law is used for its own purpose. It's like the illustration of fire. You know, fire is good. Back in that day and time, you cooked with it. You could warm yourself with fire. That's good. Law's good as long as it's serving you. But once the law, if it becomes your master, you've got a problem. Even so, if fire becomes your master, you've got a problem because it can burn you up and burn your house down. You see, the law's got its own function, even so as the promise does. The law was given because of transgressions, the Word of God says. in verse 19, "...till the seed should come to whom the promise was made." Now, that seed we just read back in verse 17, that seed is Christ. And that seed, or in verse 16, is Christ. It says, until that seed comes. The law is given until the seed comes. The law is given that we might look to Christ, that we might look for Christ. You see, the law is given because we transgress. Brother Wayne was using speed limits and signs and stuff in the Sunday school lesson this morning about how there are speeding laws. Well, I remember one time, and I've shared this with you all one time before, I went to pick up Brother Parks to go to the mission conference, or actually go to his house, and I left my car there one time. And as I was going, it was about 5.30 in the morning. Now, me at 5.30 in the morning, I just assumed to have a blindfold on while I'm driving. And while I'm going down Nicholasville Road, it's dark outside, and I'm just a bee-bopping along. And next thing I know, I run a red light right there at Lexington Green. I just remembered this is recorded. They did have those camera things on there, but I never got a ticket. Hopefully, won't get one. But as I sped through that stoplight, I didn't realize I had run the stoplight till I got through. You know the sense of feeling that I got when I run through that stoplight? Anybody ever run a stoplight? Just a few of you are honest. A few more fess up. You know, you get a guilt feeling. Why do you get that guilt feeling when you break the law? It's because the law is there to tell you that you have transgressed. You crossed the line. You're guilty. That's why the law was given to show you that you are a lawbreaker and the law of God, when you break His law, you're offending a holy and righteous God and you deserve His wrath. The law must be preached. The law must be proclaimed because nobody's going to be saved if they think they haven't broke the law. You know what, if you ask somebody if they want to be saved, they say, sure, from what? You know what, you've got to talk about sin. And you've got to talk about how they have offended an almighty, righteous, holy God. And you know what, anybody who thinks they have not sinned, boy, have I got a gospel for you. I've got a law to give you. You know what, we've got to bring the Law, which brings bad news, before we bring the Gospel, which brings good news. And the more you understand the Law, and the more you understand your offensiveness to a holy God, you know what, the more sweeter that Gospel is. To him who is forgiven much, he loves much, is what the Word of God tells us, doesn't it? You know what, when you realize the sinfulness of your sins, and you trust in Christ, you love Him all the more. God's law is not just black and white, like, thou shalt not commit murder. I've never done that. No, if Jesus said, if you've got hatred in your heart, you've committed murder already. You know what? Jesus amplifies it. We don't see the exceeding sinfulness of sin. And that's what the purpose of the law is, to show us how great our sins are in the sight of God Himself. Sin becomes exceedingly sinful. And when we get to the point and we see our sinfulness, it drives us to Christ, the only One who can save us from our sins. The Word of God continues in verse 19. It says, it was ordained, the law was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator. Now what is God saying here? He's saying very simply, The law was given by God to angels. The angels gave it to Moses, and Moses gave it to the people. Now, did you get that? You know what? In reading the Old Testament, you don't see that too clearly. But what we find here, the Word of God explains that. It says that the law was given by God to angels, and then to Moses, and then to the third party, the people. You see how it's trans... transformed down one to another to another. But you know what? The promise was directly from God, wasn't it? There's a big difference there. The promise, it came from God. The law came from God, but it was handed down to angels, handed down to Moses, handed over to the people. The law was given by angels. The promise directly to Abraham. Now, verse 20 is a little complicated. Notice what the Word of God says. It says, now a mediator is not a mediator of one, but God is one. Now, what does that mean? Your guess is probably as good as mine. What is it saying when it says, now a mediator is not a mediator of one? I understand what that means. I'm not going to be at odds with myself, so I don't need a mediator to mediate between me and me. You understand what I'm saying? I'm here, and I'm here, and I don't need somebody standing between me. You can't do it. I'm at one with myself. Even so, God is one. You need two parties for a mediator. Now, a mediator is not a mediator of one, but God is one. Now, what's that saying? God, I believe, is saying this. God gave the promise. So God needed not a mediator with that promise. It was given, and simply what man has to do is believe. Believe what God's promised. If you want eternal life, believe in the Son, and He gives you life. There's no mediating there. Now, the Word of God does say there is one mediator between God and man, doesn't it? The man Christ Jesus. Where does that come into play? You know what, I believe that comes into play when we're praying. He's our mediator between God and man. He is our great high priest. He's making intercession for us. There's no other mediator. You can't go to your priest. You can't go to Father Steve, Pope John, Pope whatever Pope it is. You know, there's no mediator between God and man but the man Christ Jesus. But when it comes to the promise, the promise is given And you must simply believe. And then in verse 21 it says, Is the law then against the promises of God? Is there a conflict with the law of God and the promises of God? Paul responds in very harsh language. He says, No, no, no. God forbid. Don't think that way. For if there had been a law given which could have given life, verily righteousness should have been by the law. Now listen to what Paul's saying. If you could have eternal life by the law and you could have eternal life by the promise, there would be a conflict there, wouldn't it, with the law and the promises. But the law cannot give life. The law cannot give life. Verily, righteousness should have been by the law if it could. But the Scripture has concluded all under sin. Everybody in this whole world is under sin. That the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe. That is the gospel. That is the message that we preach. That is the song that we sing. That is the Word we proclaim. And let me tell you, when we go talk to people, that is the good news people need to hear. It is the Gospel of Jesus Christ. That which the Word of God says, it's faith of Jesus Christ that it might be given to them that believe. It's not of law. It's not of works. It's all of grace. It's all of the grace of God. Have you believed in the Lord Jesus Christ? Paul is putting a silence to all these people who want to mix law and grace. Now, let me just kind of wrap this up by simply saying, there are people in our day and time that believe law and grace still mix. There are people in our day and time, like Brother Wayne said, they believe you can lose your salvation. You know what? You can talk to plenty of them. Well, you know what? If you believe you can lose your salvation, you've got to work to keep it. That means you're mixing law and grace. It's not of works. It's simply by faith. Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him for righteousness. Kenny Baker believes God, and it's imputed to him for righteousness. You see how relevant that is? It is a promise that's still good for you and I today. Have you trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ? We're going to give Him an invitation. If you have not, put all your trust in Him. I pray you would make things right with the Lord. Confess your sin. Agree with Him that you have sinned and offended Him. You turn by faith in trusting Jesus Christ who died on the cross for your sins. Let's stand and go to the Lord in prayer. Our Father in Heaven, we thank You for Your Word and for the truth of the grace of the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. Lord, we pray that Your Word would find lodging in our hearts that it would burn within us, even to the point of those of us who are believers, that we can't keep it in, but we've just got to tell someone of Your marvelous grace. And Lord, that it would burn in the hearts of unbelievers to the point of converting them from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of Your dear Son. Lord, we pray that Your Word would be magnified, that You might be glorified, that we might sing forth praises to your holy name. We thank you for what you've done, and Lord, we praise you for what you're going to do. For Christ's sake, with your heads