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Call to worship: Genesis 12:1-3

Text: Galatians 3:7-14

Summary:

Having scoured his personal meeting with Jesus for Gospel affirmation, Paul now turns to the testimony of Scripture for proving that faith in Christ is all that's necessary for salvation. For Paul, affirming the sufficiency of Jesus is finally about the sufficiency of Scripture. What does God's Word say? That Abraham was justified by faith. That those of faith are likewise blessed. And that the Law serves and forwards that blessing by cursing us. As prior to the Law with Abraham, so also after the Law in Habakkuk, the insufficiency of the Law is evident in that the righteous shall live by faith. And that having uniquely kept the Law, Christ redeemed us from the curse of it, by becoming a curse for us, hanged, as He was, on the tree. Thus, in Jesus, the blessing of God's Spirit, to convert, sanctify, preserve, empower, has come to us, through faith.

Sermon Outline:

1. The Bible teaches: true faith suffices to bless the sinner. (3:7-9)
2. The Bible teaches: the Law labors to generate that faith. (3:10-12)
3. The Bible teaches: Christ crucified is the object of that faith. (3:13-14)

Prepare

Discussion Questions:

1. Read Galatians 3:7-14. Compare with the texts given for our call to worship and intermediate reading above.
2. What does Paul want these churches to 'know' (3:7)? From where has he gotten that (see 3:6, then 3:8)? What does it mean to 'be blessed'? How can Scripture 'foresee'? Was Abraham reading Scripture in Genesis 12:3? How does Paul say that Scripture preached the Gospel beforehand, if it was God Who spoke to Abraham? What's the significance of 'all the nations' in 3:8?
3. What is the opposite of justifying faith? Or, what else might one rely on for obtaining the blessing of Abraham? Why can the Law not deliver the blessing to sinners? What does it deliver? Was the Law ever able to justify (when was Habakkuk written)? According to the quote from Habakkuk, what has a righteous person learned about the Law, and where has that led them?
4. What does it mean that the Law is 'not of faith'? Is there someone, anyone who has merited eschatological life by doing all the Law? What happened to Him?
5. What hope is there for sinners? How might we obtain the blessing of Abraham (the Spirit, justification, adoption, etc.)? How did Christ redeem us from the curse of the Law? What does it mean that He 'became a curse' for us? What verse of the Bible prepares us for the redemptive nature of the cross of Jesus Christ? Where is the blessing 'located'? How is it that we get 'in Christ'? How would you summarize the Bible's testimony to the Gospel truth from these verses?