Galatians 3:26-29
Can Anyone Help Me?
“Help,” the man cried as he dangled helplessly from the edge of the
cliff. “Can anyone up there help me?”
“Yes,” answered a heavenly voice. “I’ll help you, but first you must
let go.”
“Let go!” gasped the man. “But then I’d fall!”
“I’ll catch you,” replied the voice.
After a long pause, the man called out, “Can anyone else up there
help me?”
Sadly this story represents man’s refusal of God’s offer of salvation.
That is exactly what the Judaizers have been trying to convince the
Galatian Christians they need to do. Grace is good, but you need the law
and circumcision.
None of these things are the way to salvation.
Paul had taught them that they are saved by grace alone through faith
alone.
Salvation comes through the completed work of Christ on the cross and
God raising Him from the dead three days later.
Today we are going to finish Galatians 3.
We will be looking at verses 26-29.
Let’s pray and ask God to speak to us through His word and for Him to
remove any and all distractions that could keep us from hearing what He
wants us to hear this morning.
Before I read our text this morning I’m going to ask you to do something
while I read.
Every time you hear the phrase “in Christ” or “into Christ” I want you to
raise your hand.
Galatians 3:26-29
One thing that I love about the Christian faith is that we can have
certainty that we are saved. The Bible teaches us that we are saved by
God’s grace through faith in His Son who died on a cross taking on our
place and forgiving us of every past, present and future sin.
We can know that our name is written in the Lamb’s book of life.
However, every other religion casts doubt on the issue of salvation,
if they even define it.
But one thing is certain, they are all based on works.
You have to earn your way into heaven.
How sad to go through life unsure of what will happen when you die.
In our text, Paul repeats the phrase in Christ several times to show us our:
New Identity In Christ Jesus
Paul writes,
“for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith.” v.26
Paul is writing this because the Judaizers had been teaching that to be
saved you have to be sons of Abraham. They were teaching that the
Gentiles could become sons of Abraham if they would just get
circumcised.
Sons of God
But Paul’s point is that faith in Christ makes you sons of God.
Our identity is not found in what we do, but in whom we trust.
Next, Paul mentions being
Baptized into Christ
Our new identity In Christ is obedient follower.
Obedient Follower
Baptism is an act of obedience.
The word baptize comes from the Greek Baptidzo and it means to dip or
fully immerse. Baptism isn’t what saves you, neither does the water.
Salvation is by grace through faith.
The baptism is an outward display of what has taken place internally.
When Philip shared the gospel with the Ethiopian eunuch he
repented and then asked what prevented him from being baptized.
He wanted to outwardly show his obedience to God out of love for
Him and gratitude for his salvation.
Sometimes when I ask someone about their relationship with Christ
looking for a short testimony of their salvation, they tell me when they
were baptized.
I know that baptism comes after salvation, but I want to know about
their meeting with Christ when they surrendered to His way and died to
their own way. I want them to tell me why they were baptized.
I want to hear how they repented of their sin and asked Jesus to forgive
them.
Let me encourage you to consider your salvation story.
Can you put it in words?
Have you ever written it down?
You should be able to tell what your life was like before Christ.
You should be able to articulate how you came to the decision to follow
Christ.
You should be able to tell how your life has been since you met Christ.
Then you can tell us about your baptism.
Paul continues that those who were baptized into Christ have now:
Put on Christ – He is our new adornment.
Adorned with Christ
When a Roman child came of age, he traded his childhood clothes for an
adult toga. He took off the old and put on the new.
This new adornment is to put on Christ rather than striving for the
desires of the flesh.
To put on Christ is to assume our new identity.
We are sons of God.
Romans 13:14 “But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no
provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.”
Others can tell you are a believer when we put on Christ and deny our
carnal desires.
In verse 28 Paul writes, “you are all one in Christ Jesus”
When it comes to our salvation, no one has any advantage.
This would be difficult for the Jews to swallow because they felt
superior to the Gentiles. Pharisees would pray every morning “I thank
Thee, God, that I am a Jew, not a Gentile; a man, not a woman; and a
freeman, and not a slave.”
Dependent on Christ
But in God’s perfect grace and mercy, there is no advantage. We are all
sinners in need of His grace. We can’t do anything to earn or deserve His
forgiveness.
We all depend on Christ to forgive us.
Our differences don’t disappear, but they no longer provide advantages
or hindrances.
Because no matter our gender or skin color or social status, we all need
Jesus.
And none of us are righteous. We all fall short of His glory.
But because of His grace, when we have faith, He unites us with Him
and gives us a new identity. Child of God.
God’s mercy and grace is for all who would believe.
God has declared that we are all one in Christ, but the church as a whole
still has some work to do in regards to distinction and separation.
I have heard it said that 11AM on Sunday morning is the most
segregated hour of the week. It should not be that way. We should be
trying to reach anyone who doesn’t know the love and forgiveness of
Jesus Christ.
Paul closes this chapter by mentioning that those who belong to Christ
are:
Heirs According to Promise
God made a promise to Abraham and those who are In Christ become
the offspring of Abraham, heirs according to the promise.
When we surrender our old life for the new life we have the confidence
to know that we are joint heirs with Christ. Jesus is preparing a place for
us in heaven.
All of God’s love and His mercy and grace are available to us. And we
don’t have to wait for heaven to receive it. He gives it to us now.
APPLICATION
Our application this morning is to remember our new identity in Christ.
Warren Wiersbe writes “When a sinner trusts Christ and is saved, as far
as his condition is concerned, he is a “spiritual babe” who needs to grow
(1 Peter 2:2–3); but as far as his position is concerned, he is an adult son
who can draw on the Father’s wealth and who can exercise all the
wonderful privileges of sonship.”
Remember your position in Christ.
You are a child of God.
You were made in His image.
He loves you and wants you to trust and obey Him.