Understanding Grace Pt 3

Wait a minute. There we go. Good morning again. Calvary Chapel this morning. And those of you online with us, we welcome you.

This opportunity to worship you in song, to study your word, Lord. By your Holy Spirit, move upon us, Lord. May we yield ourselves to you this morning. May we, in other ways, we can worship you. When we work, when we give, when we praise whatever. Put it in perspective. Sinners saved by grace. Each of us look into our hearts and we know deep down what's in them.

Good morning.

If you could begin to locate your seats. Grab a bulletin. We'll get ready to go over some announcements. Welcome to Calvary Chapel. Glad that you're here this morning. Well, praise God. A few things to take note of over on the left-hand side of your bulletin are the things that are going on throughout the week. So find something. Find some spots to get plugged into.

And in the middle section of your bulletin, a few things to take note of. First of all, coming up on April the 30th is our potluck and kickball game right after church on Sunday. So come join us for that. And then also, this is the last week to sign up for the mowing ministry. So if you want to get plugged into that, please get signed up. He's going to be making the schedule this week.

Also, a handful of things that are not in your bulletin. First of all, I was asked to remind all of you ladies that signed up to receive the studies for First Timothy to remember to pick those up. Those are getting put on the table right across from the offices there. So make sure you pick those up. Fellas, kind of last minute got a notice from Calvary of Wichita.

There is a men's conference coming up in May, May 19th through the 21st out at Camp Horizon. There's two different options. You can either sign up for just Friday and Saturday, the 19th and 20th, that's $100. Or if you sign up for all three days, Friday through Sunday, it's $150. I will do my darndest to send out the link this afternoon to sign up for that.

So should be a good time, fellas. So take note of that. And then one last thing is that we are making some strides to try to improve our internet. The live stream that goes out has been experiencing some issues. So we've made some changes to our network. So if you want to try to study online, with us, with your phone, Bible online, whatever, we have a guest network that you can go to.

So you can click on to Calvary Chapel guest, and that will get you on the Wi-Fi. So those are the things that are going on. If you'd make sure that your mobile device is silenced. And then for our responsive reading this morning, we are going to be in Psalm 46. Psalm 46. We'll be looking at the new American standard for this part, just so that we all sound the same.

If you need a copy, should be one around you somewhere. And as you are turning to Psalm 46, if you would stand in the honor of the reading of God's word, I will read the odd verses. If you will follow along with Pastor Allen and the even verses. Psalm 46 for the choir director, a Psalm of the sons of Korah set to Alamoth, a song. God is our refuge and strength,

a very present help in trouble. Therefore, we will not fear. Though the earth should change and though the mountains slip into the heart of the sea. Though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains quake at its swelling pride, say law. There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy dwelling places of the most high. God is in the midst of her.

She will not be moved. God will help her when morning dawns. The nations made an uproar. The kingdoms tottered. He raised his voice. The earth melted. The Lord of hosts is with us. The God of Jacob is our stronghold. Say law. Come behold the works of the Lord who has wrought desolations in the earth. He makes wars to cease to the end of the earth. He breaks the bow and cuts the spear in two.

He burns the chariots with fire. Cease striving and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations. I will be exalted in the earth. And read verse 11 with me. The Lord of hosts is with us. The God of Jacob is our stronghold. Say law. And father, we do praise you for being that place of refuge in time of trouble, that stronghold that we need. And so,

Lord, we come to you now seeking that refuge, seeking that safety and Lord seeking to hear from you this morning. And so father, I pray that you would move through our time by the power of your Holy Spirit. I pray that you would move through our time by the power of your Holy Spirit. I pray that you would move through our time by the power of your Holy Spirit.

I just ask that you'd fall in this place of fresh and give us each a fresh anointing from you. I just ask that you'd fall in this place of fresh and give us each a fresh anointing from you. Lord, we pray in Jesus name. Lord, we pray in Jesus name. Amen. You may be seated. And as you do, if you'd open up in your Bibles. To the book of Galatians. Chapter three.

Galatians. Chapter three. This morning. The title of our message is understanding grace part three. The title of our message is understanding grace part three. And it's been a couple of weeks since we've been in the book of Galatians. And it's been a couple of weeks since we've been in the book of Galatians. So I thought I'd bring us up to speed just a little bit on where we are on this aspect of understanding grace.

So I thought I'd bring us up to speed just a little bit on where we are on this aspect of understanding grace. So I thought I'd bring us up to speed just a little bit on where we are on this aspect of understanding grace. Of course, Paul had confronted the Galatian people with the issue that they were having. Of course, Paul had confronted the Galatian people with the issue that they were having.

He had confronted them on the fact that they decided that they needed to add law to Jesus. He had confronted them on the fact that they decided that they needed to add law to Jesus. decided that they needed to add law to Jesus. That it's wonderful that you have found faith in Jesus Christ, but to really be who God wants you to be, you need to also obey the law. And of

course, Paul has dealt with that issue with them. And so he has defended his message. He's defended himself as the messenger, really defended grace to them. And now as he moved into chapter three, he began to explain a little bit more what he means by grace. And his explanation began with a series of questions. And the series of questions that it began with, I've actually encapsulated

and put it just into one question that I think sort of captures the feeling of all the questions that he asked. If you've begun in the spirit, can you now be made perfect by the flesh? Because that's exactly what they were trying to do. They were trying to do in their flesh, what God could only do through the power of the Holy Spirit, what God could only do as they put their faith in him. And so he began to explain some things to them.

to explain that Abraham, the one who they claimed as their father, was actually justified by faith when God declared him righteous. It says Abraham believed God and God accounted it to him as righteous. He said that the law actually brought a curse because cursed is everyone who doesn't keep the entire law, but that Christ became a curse for us as it's written, cursed is everyone who has been hung on a tree. And that brought about a question. So then what's the point of

the law? What's the purpose of the law? If it can't make me holy, if it can't justify me, if it actually brings a curse, then why do we need the law in our lives? And he says, the law plays a really important role. First of all, the law put all of us on a level playing field as all being under sin. It shuts the mouths of everyone because as it shuts the mouths of everyone, it causes all of us to say, I'm guilty. I'm guilty before

God because the law says that I'm guilty before God. But not only that, the law was like a tutor, like a schoolmaster that led us to Christ. But now that it's led us to Christ, the law no longer has its place in our lives because now that we've been led to Christ, we are now, as we're going to talk about this morning, sons of God through faith. And that's the theme really of what we cover in this next portion of Understanding Grace is that we are sons of God through faith. As a matter of fact, there's two sections we'll

look at in the next portion of Understanding Grace. We're going to look at the first portion I've simply entitled sons of God. The second section I have entitled no longer slaves. And so as we jump into verse 26, I want you to think of that theme, sons of God. Chapter three, verse 26 says this, for you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For all of you were baptized

into Christ. You have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew, nor Greek. There is neither slave, nor free. There is neither male, nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's descendants, heirs according to the promise. I hope you took note in those first three verses that we read, verses 26, 27,

and 28, that there was a phrase that was repeated two or three times. And that phrase that was repeated two or three times is, in Christ. Because I took note of the fact that as he repeated that phrase, he told us several things about who we are as sons of God in Christ. And so I want to point out those four things to you that he tells us in those verses as we begin our study this morning. The first thing that he

tells us about as to who we are in Christ is that number one, we are sons of God in Christ Jesus. Now, as he tells us that we are sons of God, I want you to take note of the fact that he says, and you all are sons of God. By faith in Christ Jesus. Now, you should ask yourself questions every time you study God's word, and you should ask yourself, who is the you all? When a great statement is made like that,

that you're sons of God in Christ, you should ask, who are the you all? And am I a part of the you all? Well, the you all, as it says here in the amplified translation, are those who are born again, spiritually transformed, and sanctified. In other words, the you all is everyone, who has put their faith in Jesus Christ. Everyone who has come to Jesus Christ for salvation.

And so before I begin explaining to us who we are in Christ, I want to ask you a question. Are you in Christ this morning? Are you one of the you all? Are you someone whose life has been changed by Jesus Christ? Are you someone who has come to the Lord and said, I am distinctly aware of my sin, and I am distinctly aware of the fact that I need a savior. Lord, please come into my

heart and make me your son. I want you to ask yourself, who is the you all? When a great statement comes to mind, who is the you all? And I want you to ask yourself, who is the you all? Because if not, then everything that I'm about to tell you does not apply to you. You are still a slave. You are still in your sin, and you are not a son of God. The good news is, is that you can change that

today. You can change it right now by simply putting your faith in Jesus Christ, and by becoming one who is born again. And the moment that that happens, the things that I'm about to share with you are 100% true of you. You will become a part of the you all. With that being said, I want you to ask yourself, who is the you all? And I want you to ask yourself, who is the you all?

With that being said, you all are sons of God. That phrase, again, as translated in the Amplified, I really appreciated the Amplified translation as I was reading through this section. That phrase literally translated is, set apart with full rights and privileges, adult sons. Now, we're going to find, especially as we get into the next section in chapter four, this section about no longer being slaves, we're going to find that there's two different Greek words that are used here. There's a word used for child, and there's a word used for son, because there's a

real distinction between those. The word child speaks of one who is in their minority. We've called them underaged. But the word that's used here when he says you are sons of God is not that word. The word that's used here is used of an adult son. In other words, one who has come to full age and has received all of the rights of being a son of God. Again, I'll explain a little

bit more clearly what that means momentarily. But understand that in Christ, you are a child of God, a son of God with full rights and privileges set apart unto him. The second thing that we see that we are in Christ is that we have been baptized into Christ. We've been baptized into Christ. That word baptized in the Weiss translation is translated, introduced into union with. Now, I would assume that the moment that you

are baptized, you think of what a lot of us think of with baptism. You think of a water baptism of someone going out into that body of water, whether it's a baptismal at a church, a lake, a pool, whatever it is, you go out into that body of water and the pastor dunks you under the water and you come out and everybody gets really excited. Water baptism. But that's not what's being spoken of here. That phrase being baptized into Christ actually speaks of that moment of salvation.

Because what Paul tells us in the book of Romans is that when you became born again, when you became the you all, you were united with him in his death and you've also been united with him in his resurrection. You see, water baptism is a picture of what has already taken place on the inside of you the day that you became born again. Because the day that you became born again, you were baptized into Christ and now you are one with him. That's one of the things that we celebrate when we take communion together. When we take communion, we celebrate the fact that not only are we all one

with Jesus Christ, but we are all one with Christ because of what he did for us on the cross. In Christ, not only am I a son of God, but I'm also baptized into him. I'm at union. I'm at one with him. The third thing that we see that we are in Christ is that we are clothed with Christ. He says, you have clothed yourself with Christ. That word clothed literally means

on. Now, again, because we don't understand very much about the Roman culture, we don't understand how important this was. I'm getting ahead of myself just a little bit here, but I'll bring it up again when we get to the next section. There was a ceremony that took place in a young Roman man's life. When his father decided you are no longer a child of minority, you instead are an

adult son with full rights and privileges. There was a change that took place. First of all, he would bring his toys and he would present them to his father. That's called away childish things, right? We've heard about that in the book of first Corinthians. He would put away his childish things, but then his father would give him a new change of clothing. Now

there's a Latin word for this, but I can't pronounce the Latin word for this because I don't speak Latin, nor do I plan on starting anytime soon. But everybody put it within their commentary. So I thought it must be pretty important. The Latin word has to do with a child's toga. Basically there was a, there was a toga that the child would wear. And so what he

would do is he would bring that child's toga and present it to his father and his father would give him the clothes of an adult. He would give him an adult toga. Therefore he would be clothed like a son because he put away his childish things and has now been clothed in the clothes of an adult, the clothes of a man. The same thing happens when you and I came to Jesus Christ in his mind, we put on Christ. We have clothed ourself with Christ. Why is that important? Well,

because every time God looks at you now, he no longer sees you as in your sins because that's before you came to Christ. He now sees you clothed in Christ so that every time God looks at you, he sees Jesus Christ shining on the outside of you because you have been clothed with Christ. It's what makes you acceptable to God. Again, the amplified Bible translates it this way. You have taken on his characteristics and values. Not only are you unified with Christ,

but you are clothed with Christ. Christ. You see, you're no longer you. You're you in Christ. And then there's a fourth thing that he says. And the fourth thing that he says is that we are now one in Christ. I want to point this out to you. I want to read the verse to you because it says in verse 28, there is neither Jew nor Greek. There is neither slave nor free man. There is neither male nor female for you are all

in Christ. Interesting words that Paul uses there. And they're used for a really specific reason. A good Jewish male at the time that Paul was writing, this would wake up every morning and they would thank God for three things. They would thank God that God had not made them a Gentile. They would thank God that God had not made them a woman. And they would thank God that God had not

made them a slave. Lord, I thank you today that I am not a Gentile, that I am not a woman, that I am not a slave. Therefore, Paul said, Christ, there is neither Jew nor Greek Gentile. There is neither slave nor free. There is neither male nor female. You are all one in Christ. You see, he took that boastful pride of a Jewish man who said, look at me. I'm not any of those things. Thank you, God, that I'm none of those things.

And he said, it doesn't matter what you are. You're in Christ. Your identification has nothing to do with anything that the world says any longer. You're in Christ. You are not superior to anyone in the body of Christ. You are not inferior to anyone in the body of Christ. We are one. It has nothing to do with our sins from before. It has nothing to do with who we were. It has everything to do with who I am in Christ. There is neither Baptist nor

Methodist. There is neither Calvary Chapel nor Lutheran. There's none of those things. We are all one in Christ. And brothers and sisters, one of the enemy's greatest tools that he uses in churches, one of the enemy's greatest tools that he uses in our world is the tool of division. And he loves to divide us on lines. He loves to divide us based on what our style is. He loves

to divide us based on what our interests are. He loves to divide us based on what the color of our skin is. He loves to divide us based upon what some of our eschatological ideas, that's end by the way. He loves to divide us based upon what some of our ideas about the gifts of the Holy Spirit are. He loves to divide us on lines constantly. Those that have, those that have not.

And what I have noticed is that there are many people in the world who are, and I'm going to use this word carefully, deceived by the enemy that are trying to promote the same type of division in our world right now. I say they're deceived by the enemy because I brought this up Wednesday night as well. The enemy is a deceiver. It's what he's always done. And it's what he will

continue to do. And we need to understand something about the people that we don't like in places like politics, entertainment, you name it. They are not our enemy. I'm going to say it one more time. They are not our enemy. Our enemy is Satan and they have been deceived. They have been deceived by the enemy. Now, are they continued continuing to promote the deception? Yes, but they've been deceived

in the only way that they will be changed is through the gospel of Jesus Christ. The only way that we can achieve this unity is through the gospel of Jesus Christ, because you know what the gospel does? The gospel tears down walls. The gospel tears down the walls between denominations because we realize, you know what? As long as Jesus is at the center and we take

God's word seriously, we can fellowship with each other, even though I'm okay with certain aspects of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. I'm okay with certain aspects of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. And you're not, even though I'm a pre-trib rapturalist and you're a post-trib rapturalist, I am okay. And we can fellowship, even though you think you should wear a suit and tie to church.

And I'm completely content to wear jeans and a t-shirt. We can still communicate. We can still fellowship with each other. I can fellowship with somebody that to King James only, I just have to break out the these and the vows. I can train, I can fellowship with somebody, listen, that reads the message Bible. I just have to stop taking things seriously, right? We can all fellowship

with each other. Because we are one in Christ. And all those middle walls of separation get broken down. But what do we keep doing as believers in Jesus Christ? Putting them up. You're not part of our group. Jesus, we saw that there was somebody else who wasn't a part of our group that was spreading the gospel. We told them to stop. So here's the thing. If they're not against us, they're for us.

So let's not tell those people to stop. Okay. Let's just let them do what they're doing because we are all one. In Christ. All those middle walls of separation are broken down. There's now no longer black and white, Jew and Arab. There's no longer Asian or European. There's no longer America being better than everybody else. There's just Christians. You're either in Christ or you're not in Christ.

You're either saved or you're not saved. And if you're saved, I'm going to do everything I can to build you up in your faith. And if you're not saved, I'm going to try to drag you. With me, because I want you to know Jesus. I want you to know the salvation that I know we are all one in Christ. And then he goes on to say this because he tells us who we are in Christ.

But then the second thing that he tells us under this heading of sons of God is that we are heirs according to the promise that says verse 29. And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's descendants. Heirs according to the promise. And if you belong to Christ, let me put this more literally, since you belong to Christ, you are children of Abraham, right? Okay, everybody stand up. We're

going to do father Abraham. I can't do father Abraham anymore. I can't spin in circles. When I spin in circles, by the time I'm done, you know, the last one, right arm, left arm, right foot, left foot, head up, turn around. Listen, I can, if I turn around five times, I don't know whose kid I am anymore because I can't see straight. I'm like, I just know that I need to throw up. That's all that I need to know. But that song is so amazing

because there's such deep theological truth in that song because father Abraham does have many sons. And you know what? If you're born again, I am one of them. And so are you. So we really should praise the Lord. Why? Because if we belong to Christ, then we're children of Abraham. And what does that mean? That means that we're heirs according to the promise. Oh, the promise. We've

talked about that, right? What was the promise? Jesus. Remember we said that the, the promise, is Jesus. The promise is righteousness through faith in Jesus Christ. We're heirs according to the promise. That's the greatest promise that could ever be made to us is that Jesus would be our ultimate and he would be our all. Well, now we move into the second section, no longer slaves.

We pick up in chapter four, verse one, and it says this. Now I say, as long as the heir is a child, he does not differ at all from a slave, although he is owner of everything, but he is under guardians and managers until the date set by the father. So also we, while we were children were held in bondage under the elemental things of the world. But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth his son born of a woman born under the law so that he might redeem those who have sinned.

Who are under the law that we might receive the adoption as sons, because you are sons. God has sent forth the spirit of his son into our hearts, crying, Abba father. Therefore you are no longer a slave, but a son. And if a son, then an heir through God, he says now a child, excuse me. Now, as long as the heir is a child, he doesn't differ from a slave. This is that second Greek word that's used for child. The

first one we saw used in the, in the first section that we covered, that's an adult son. This word child means something completely different. Again, I believe it's the amplified and maybe even the least that translates this the same way. They call it a child and their minority. In other words, a child who's under age, you and I think of an underaged individual as somebody

being under the age of 18, but Roman culture viewed it very much differently. They didn't have a specific age that would be under 18. They didn't have a specific age that would be under 18. They didn't have a specific age that would be under 18. They didn't have a specific age that would be set when you became a man in the Roman culture. The father determined that the father determined

when he felt like his son had truly become a man and that process would take place. But until that point in time, the child was no different than a slave. Though his father may have been the wealthiest person in the world, as far as the law was concerned. And as far as his father was concerned, he had no higher position than a slave. He had no rights. He had no privileges. He had no

credit. He had no rights. He had no rights. He had no rights. He had no rights. He had no credit card. He had no key to the house. He had no rights. Nothing. He was no different than the average slave that was living there. All of that would change when he was adopted. He said, even though he is owner of everything, let me give you a real world scenario from what we might experience

today. We might call them a trust fund baby. A child is born into a wealthy family and his parents want to make sure that he's well taken care of. So they put a lot of money into a trust. A trust that cannot be accessed until a certain age. Though they have all this money, they have no rights to it until they hit a certain age. Making sense? He says, but he is under

guardians and managers until the date set by the father. So also we, and now he brings this application to our hearts. So also we, while we were children, were held in bondage under the elemental things of the world. He says, we were the same way. When we were children, we were held in bondage under the elemental things of the world. Now, what does he mean by that? Well, I think the

first thing that we have to understand is what does he mean by the word elemental? The word elemental literally means rudimentary or basic. Some have even translated it the ABCs, the basic things of the world. He says, we were the same way. We were the same way. We were the same way. We were held in bondage under the basic things of the world, the basic principles of the world.

Well, the second question should come up. Okay, if that's what elemental means, what are the basic things of the world? I'm really glad you asked. Otherwise, there'd be no need for me to be here. The basic things of the world are these. For the Jewish person, it was Judaism. It was the law. The law was the basic things that they were held in bondage under. Because remember what Paul said

the purpose of the law was to be a tutor that would lead us to Christ. They were in bondage under the elemental things of the world. For you and I, especially those of us that grew up in the church, because that's the way I think of it, because that's how I was. The elemental things for me are the rules that my mom and dad set and all of the principles that I learned in Sunday school. I was held in bondage to those things because I didn't fully understand what it was

to be a child of God. I didn't fully understand what it meant to be a son of God. And so I was held in bondage to those things because I didn't fully understand what it meant to be a son of God. I was held in bondage under those elemental things until the right time. But you see for the average pagan, it looks really different. For the average pagan, they were held in bondage to their

paganism. They were held in bondage to their sin. They were held in bondage to the things of this world that hold everybody in bondage. But then I thought of one other elemental thing that everybody's held in bondage under, whether they know God or not, everybody's held in bondage under their conscience, right? Because the conscience is a really, really powerful,

powerful thing. You see, the Bible tells us that the law of God has been written into our hearts. Everybody has an understanding of right and wrong. Now, some people's conscience, some people's understanding of right and wrong is a little bit weaker than others because what they think is wrong is really pretty bad. And what they think is right is still pretty bad, but there's still a standard that everybody holds for themselves.

And everybody understands the difference between right and wrong. Have you noticed how loud sin has gotten here lately? I don't care which sin it is. I don't care which thing it is that you know is sinful. And all of a sudden it's like, it's gotten loud. Everybody's crying out that their sin is okay. I don't care if it's transgenderism, homosexuality, alcohol, drugs,

you name the thing. Sin has gotten really loud. Have you ever wondered why sin's getting so loud? It's because sin is getting worse and sin is getting worse and people have to justify their sin. Sin is going further than it used to. And since it's going, it's going to get worse. And if you so far, people have to justify it. Have you ever noticed that sin loves company?

People are never content to sin all by themselves. They want to make sure everybody else joins in with them. And so they try to justify not only for themselves, but for everybody else that what they're doing is right. It's fascinating to talk to somebody who has been saved out of an incredibly sinful lifestyle to hear what they have to say. You know what they almost always across the board

say? I knew what I was doing was wrong, but I justified it. I knew what I was doing was wrong. And I had to continue to justify it until I finally admitted that what I was doing was wrong. You know why? Because of their conscience. I'm still convinced today that most of the depression that we see in the world, not all of the depression, most of the depression that we

see that takes place in the world today is because people are continuing to suppress unrighteousness or suppress righteousness with their conscience. Their conscience is telling them that what they're doing is wrong and they have to keep pushing that down. And because they keep pushing that conviction down, they too get pushed down and they're held in bondage to their conscience. Well, he says in verse three, so also we, while we were children were held in bondage under the elemental things of the law. But when the fullness of the time came,

God sent forth his son. Born of a woman born under the law. Oh man, what a beautiful statement. What a beautiful verse. We were all held in bondage under the elemental things of the law. But when the fullness of the time came, here come Jesus, right? He sent forth his son. Do you know Ryan's translation of when the fullness of the time came at just the right time, right? Jesus showed up at just the right

time. And I'll tell you what, the more you study about when Jesus showed up and did what he did, the more you understand that he came literally at exactly the right time. It was literally the perfect time for him to come. So I want you to think about a handful of things historically as to why Jesus came when he did and why it was at exactly the right time. The first reason is because Daniel prophesied to the day when Jesus would come cruising into

Jerusalem on a donkey. When he said from the time that the decree is given to rebuild the temple until the coming of Messiah will be this many days. Do you know that's how many days it was? Isn't that great? It was that exact amount of days. And so, he came in the fullness of time because it was in fulfillment of everything that Daniel had to say. But do you know what else is kind of fascinating? Nobody else crucified. As a matter of fact,

crucifixion was somewhat new to the Romans. They took something that the Persians had done, which was basically impaling someone on a pole, and they perfected it. They perfected it by turning it into what we know of as crucifixion. Nobody else did that. It was only the Romans. You know what it starts talking about in the Psalms? That you have pierced my hands,

and my feet. All of those things were predicted. All of the things were prophesied in the Psalms. And so, Jesus came at the exact right time. He couldn't have come before the Roman Empire. He couldn't have come after the Roman Empire. He had to come right then because they did exactly what scripture said. Nobody used the cat of nine tails like the Roman Empire did. That was a them

thing. And what does it tell us in the book of Isaiah? That by his stripes, we are healed. My flesh lays open before me. All of those things, we're perfect. But you know what else? By the time that Jesus came along, by the time it was time for him to be crucified, the Jews had already had the right of capital punishment taken away from them. Because if it would have been strictly a Jewish thing, they would have stoned him to death

because that's how the Jews performed capital punishment on people. But instead, he was condemned by the Jews. He was crucified by the Romans, making him the savior for the Jews and the savior for the Gentiles. I came at exactly the right time. You know what else shows that it was the exact right time? When Jesus was around, there was a common language throughout the entire world. It was called the

Koine or the common Greek. That Koine Greek was spoken everywhere throughout the Roman Empire. You know what that made it really easy to do? Made it really easy for guys like Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John to write gospel messages that could be sent out in Koine Greek to all the people to understand. Made it easy for Paul to write letters to churches, in a common language that everybody understood. It made it easy for an evangelist to go out and

preach a message that everybody could understand because there was one common language for everybody. You know what else made it the right time? Is that the Roman Empire was super big on building roads. You've heard the statement, all roads lead to Rome. Well, it's because it was true. They wanted to connect the entire kingdom and they did so by building an extensive highway system.

You know what that made it really easy to do? Made it really easy for messengers. The gospel, we'll call them evangelists, to travel those roads to give out that message in that very common language. Yes, brothers and sisters, at just the right time, Jesus came. I find this, if you'll allow me this, a quick point of application. I find it incredible that Jesus

came the first time at the exact right time. You know what that tells me? When Jesus comes the second time, it's going to be at the exact right time. It's going to be exactly when God intends for it to be. And so on a big scale of the understanding of Jesus coming again, we don't have to worry about it because he's going to come at the exact right time. But you know what else

that tells me about your life particularly, in my life particularly? That thing that you're praying about, God's going to take care of it at just the right time. That thing that you're worried about, God's going to deal with it at just the right time because his timing is always perfect and he knows, listen, he knows how long you need to keep praying. He knows how long you need to keep praying. He knows the exact right time to do what it is that needs to take place in your life. And

listen, all you young people in here that haven't quite found that special little somebody just yet, I want you to know that in the will of God, you've got nothing but time and you don't need to strive and strain and struggle because God knows the exact right time and he won't bring you that sweet little someone until you're ready and until he's ready for you to have them and until they're ready. I'll tell this quick story along these same lines. I remember when I was in Bible college, me and one of my best friends were talking about when we would end up finding the person that we would spend the rest of our lives with. And he said, wouldn't it be wild if the person that we

spend the rest of our life with, the person we're going to marry isn't even saved yet? And we kind of laughed about it a little bit and rolled on with life. Well, you know what was true for me? She wasn't. The month that I moved back from California was the month that my wife and got saved. And it was not too long after that, that God brought us together because he knew the

exact right timing. Kids, don't worry about it. God's got somebody and he's going to bring them along at the exact right time because his timing is always perfect. When the fullness of the time came, God sent forth his son, born of a woman and born under law. Three distinct statements that are really, really important. First of all, God sent forth his son. Speaking of the deity of Jesus Christ, one of the coolest things in scripture, I think,

is the triune Godhead. You know why it's so cool? Because I cannot explain it. I just have to believe it. The triune Godhead is a fascinating thing that he is God, and yet he is made up in three persons. As a matter of fact, there's a wonderful spot in the book of Deuteronomy that says, hear O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. You know that word one, it means a plurality

of unity. Like you, you guys are one congregation, but it takes many people to make up this congregation. Well, that's the type of word that he uses there for one. It's a unity in plurality, three and one. I think the most beautiful picture of the Trinity is given to us at the baptism of Jesus. You remember that scene when Jesus was baptized and he came up out of the water and there you

see God, the son standing right in front of us, the third person of the triune Godhead. And then all of a sudden you see the spirit descending like a dove. And what do you hear from heaven? You hear the voice of the father saying, behold, my beloved son in whom I am well pleased. Tells us in the book of John, since in the beginning was the word, the word is another name for Jesus. And the word was with God, meaning distinct from God.

And the word was God, meaning deity himself. You say, Ryan, I don't understand it. I don't either, but isn't it cool? I just have to believe it. I don't have to understand it. Listen, I don't understand how my lungs work either, but I still believe in them, right? I don't fully grasp that just yet, but Hey, God's good. And so he says he sent forth his son that speaks of his

deity, but he was born of a woman that speaks of his humanity because though he was fully God, he was also fully man. And he was born under the law that speaks of his perfection because he was born under a legal system that he, that he, uh, that he fulfilled perfectly. Jesus, when looking at his disciples and teaching in the sermon on the Mount, he said, I didn't come to abolish the law. I came to fulfill the law. Not even the smallest portion

of the law will fail until I have fulfilled it all. He says, but in the fullness of time, he sent forth his son born of a woman born under the law. Why we're told in verse five, so that he might redeem those who were under the law. That word redeem means to buy off of the slave market, to buy off of the slave market. It's an interesting word he uses here because what did he say that we were in bondage to the elemental

things of the world? What are the elemental things of the world? The law, the sin, and the conscience that hold us down because we have failed in all of those. It says he came and redeemed us. He purchased us back to himself. And how did he purchase us? Well, Peter told us how he purchased us. Not with silver and gold after our vain traditions, after our empty tradition,

but with the precious blood of Jesus Christ. He purchased us with his own precious blood as he stretched out his arms on that cross and declared love to us with three nails and a spear. He redeemed us unto himself. But not only did he redeem us, I want you to take note of the second thing that it says, he redeemed us who were under the law. Why? That we might be redeemed.

That we might receive the adoption as sons. Okay, again, we're back to our understanding of Roman custom. Roman custom was this. You were a child of your father by birth. And if your father had a position for you because he was a wealthy man, all of that was going to be yours someday, but it wasn't yet because though you were a child by birth, you still had no rights. You were just like a slave. You're a child of your

father by birth, but you're not yet a son. So what would happen is when the father said, he's old enough now, he's a son. I'm going to give him all of the rights. I'm going to give him all of the privileges. I'm going to give him, if you will, the keys to the kingdom. It's adoption day. And though a man was a child by birth to his Roman father on the day that he

became his son, he was adopted as his son. That's actually what is referred to as his adoption. The Roman father would adopt him as his son, and he was given full legal rights and privileges as a son. And he was given full legal rights and privileges as a son. And he was given full legal rights and privileges as a son. through adoption. What does that mean? You're born again as a child of God. You're adopted into

the family as a son of God. You have all of the love that comes with being a child and all of the rights that go with being a son. It's a beautiful thing that Jesus did for us on the cross. I bet when you got saved, you didn't realize all that took place. You didn't realize all that happened. You just knew that you needed a savior. God did it all anyway. It says you

receive the adoption as sons. And then I want you to notice what it says last, because last we cover this spirit of adoption. It says in verse six, and because you are sons, God sent, God has sent forth the spirit of his son into our hearts, crying, Abba, father. Therefore, you are no longer a slave, but a son. And if a son, then an heir. Through God, because you are sons, because you are sons, this is what's true of you. Now God has

sent forth his spirit into your hearts. The day that you became born again, the Holy Spirit came and indwelt you. And when the Holy Spirit came and indwelt you, he began to do something on the inside of you. He began, I want you to notice that it's him doing the crying out. He began to cry within your heart, Abba, father. That word cry, that aspect of crying speaks of an earnestness,

or an earnest public proclamation. There's an earnestness of the Holy Spirit crying out in your heart, Abba, father. Now there's a great word that's used there. That word is Abba. It's not just a terrible band from the seventies. That word means something. That word Abba is a Jewish word that speaks of father, literally my father. But there's something interesting about that word. That word

is the most tender, the words that is used for father in all of the Hebrew language. As a matter really took this word out to its end, this word could also be translated dad or daddy. Those of you that are fathers in here, I want you to think about that moment. I want you to think about that moment that your kid finally started talking, right? No, it was a good thing. I know they haven't stopped since, but they started talking

and they probably said mom first or dog or something like that. But eventually they got to where they said, daddy. Do you remember that moment? And there was nothing better than coming home from work. And when you get home from work, you just hear that little, that little voice crying, daddy, as they're running up to give you the biggest hug ever. It's just an amazing tender moment, right? That's the kind of tenderness

that we're supposed to be able to have with our father. Because that spirit of adoption actually creates an incredible tenderness between us and God, an incredible tenderness between us and the father. I even had some teachers in Bible college that said, quite frankly, when you pray, you don't have to be formal. You don't have to say father. You could say dad. And I had guys that I went to Bible college with. That's how they'd pray.

They'd start off by saying dad. Listen, if that's you, great. I could never bring myself to do it. I just feel a little weird. But that's the tender relationship that you have. And I want you to think about this. I've always said that when I'm really deep into studying, I don't let very many people interrupt me. I even ignore text messages and phone calls to the best of my ability.

There's two people that can always get in to talk to me and their names are Violet and Nora, because it doesn't matter what I'm doing. I'll stop what I'm doing to hear what they have to say. Now, if it's inconsequential, I tell them to go back to do their thing. But anyway, you get what I'm saying. They're always allowed in my office. They're always allowed in

my space. They're always allowed where I am because they're my kids. I have a different relationship with them than I do with anybody else. That same kind of relationship, that's what you can have with your father. That's what you can have with God. You've been adopted as a child of God. And the spirit now cries out within you, Abba, Father. And as that spirit cries out within you, Abba, Father, you realize something. Verse seven,

therefore, you are no longer a slave, but a son. Therefore, now every time you see that word therefore, you should always ask yourself the question, what's it there for? What brought us a culminating statement? Therefore, in light of everything that we've learned. So let's think about what we've learned. Therefore, in light of the fact that in the fullness of the time,

Jesus came and he redeemed us from the law, that he gave us the adoption as sons and now has given us his spirit to cry out into our hearts, Abba, Father, bearing witness with our hearts that he is our father. Therefore, you are no longer a slave. And you know what? Believer in Jesus Christ. You should stop thinking like a slave. I fear all too often we as believers in Jesus Christ

continue to think like slaves. We continue to think in a fearful way. Oh no, God's going to be mad at me. Oh, I have to do it perfect. Otherwise God's going to be mad at me. These are the things God expects of me. And I've got to make sure that I do this so that God's not mad at me. And I continue to live as a slave. I continue to think like a slave because I still think that I have to

earn God's love. I still think I have to earn God's favor in my life. I still think that I have to earn God's blessings in my life. God's goodness in my life. And brothers and sisters, you don't. You have all of it simply because you're his child. You are not a slave and you should stop thinking like a slave. Chuck Swindoll, when teaching about a similar thing to this, told a story and he told

a story about somebody who owned a parrot. They put a parrot on a string and the parrot only had so far that it could go. And for years, the parrot only had so far that it could go. And for years, that parrot stayed on that string and had to stay within that certain radius. He said, one day, the owner untied the string. And do you know what he found? The parrot still never left that radius.

You know why? Because it had lived so long in bondage that it did not know what it was like to be free. And I fear for us as believers in Jesus Christ that sometimes we have lived our lives so long thinking like we're a slave that we'll never understand that we're free. But not only do we need to stop thinking like a slave, we need to stop living like a slave.

Too many of us have just surrendered to the fact that I'm always going to have that sin in my life. Too many of us have surrendered to the fact that that habit's always going to be there. After all, I've been a slave to it for 25 years now, why would I be free now? Forgetting that Jesus has set us free and you're living like a slave. You're living like you're not in freedom because you're continuing to live in that law. You're

continuing to live in that sin. You're continuing to live in that fear. You're continuing to live according to those standards that God didn't set for you, but that you set for yourself. And God wants you to be free. And brothers and sisters, you need to remind yourself of something. I'm not a slave. You ever wonder why Paul spent so much time in all of his letters talking about this exact same thing?

It's because it is so hard for us to get set free from those mentalities. It is so hard for us to get set free from that slavery. It is so hard for us to live as Jesus has truly called us to live. Therefore, he repeats it over and over and over and over again. You're not a slave. And every morning you need to wake up and remind yourself of something. Today, I'm not a slave.

Today, I am a child of God and nothing is ever going to change that. Just like the fact that nothing will ever change the fact that my daughters are my daughters. It doesn't matter what they do. It doesn't matter what they say. It doesn't matter how much they make fun of me. They're still my daughters and I'll always love them and that will never change. That position that they have in my heart will never be different

because there's a confidence. in that. I shared this with first service too. My daughters are pretty well grown up in this church building at some point in time or another. And so when they show up here, they're not as bad as they used to be. Nora still is. Anyway, when they show up here, the first thing that they do is they take their shoes off, right? Now, Monday through Friday, that's not too big of a deal. If

they show up here and take their shoes off and go raid the Sunday school snacks, sorry, Sunday school teachers, they go raid the Sunday school snacks. They don't make too big of a deal about it because they have to be down here anyway. It's like a second home to them. But when they show up on Sunday morning, I'm like, dude, keep your shoes on at least till after church, right? I

guess the right thing to do. This isn't your bedroom, even though it has been like that in the past. That type of confidence that they have is because they have such familiarity with coming down to this building. But that type of confidence, that type of familiarity, that's what we're supposed to have with the father because you're not a slave. You're a son. And with the father,

you can kick your shoes off. You can go grab a snack and you can have a conversation because you're one of his. And there's nothing you can do to make him stop loving you. There's nothing you can make him do to reject you. There's nothing that you can do to shock him because you're one of his kids. You're no longer a slave. You are a son of God. And listen,

if you're a son, then you're an heir through, God. You are an heir through God. And what are we an heir to? All of the righteousness of Jesus Christ and all of the benefits that go along with that. I want to challenge you to do something this week. Okay. If you want to know exactly what you are an heir to, if you want to know exactly what the riches of Christ that he has for you are, you should go and read the first chapter of the book

of Ephesians. You know why? Because the first chapter of the book of Ephesians is the bank statement for the believer. It tells you exactly what the book of Ephesians is. It tells you exactly what is in your spiritual bank account. It tells you all of the riches that you have in Christ Jesus. So go and read that this week and say, Lord, show me exactly the riches that I have in you

because brothers and sisters, you're not a slave, you're a son. And if you're a son, you're an heir. And if you're an heir, it means all of the riches of Christ belong to you. Amen. Let's all stand.

And if you'd bow your heads with me, Father, we come to you. And Lord, I thank you so much for what your word has to say. And Lord, I want to pray for each individual that's here this morning. Lord, that they would truly begin to understand who they are in Christ. Lord, that they would understand their unity with you. They're clothed with you. And Lord, they are not slaves, but that

they are sons of God. And Lord, from that position, from that understanding, may they live in the freedom that you've called for us to. Father, continue to do the work that only your Holy Spirit can do through our hearts and through our lives and continue to strengthen us in you. We pray in Jesus name. Amen. Be blessed.