I am concluding today this
expositional series on The
Covenants of Scripture. You
all that have been with me
these last five weeks now, I
know that you've got this now;
the relationship between the
Abrahamic, Mosaic and New
Covenants. We're gonna head
right today into the home
stretch of the series. We're
going to the Book of Galatians
because in the Book of
Galatians, chapter number 3,
Paul synchronizes for us how
the Abrahamic, Mosaic and New
Covenants relate together and
how we relate to each one of
those covenants as believers
today. So let's turn our
attention to the Word of God.
If you've got your Bible out,
let's go there together. I'm
beginning today, Galatians,
chapter 3. I'm gonna pick up
where I left off last week,
verse number 5, of Galatians,
3. Hear the Word of God. Paul
says this: So then, does He
who provides you with the
Spirit and works miracles
among you, do it by the works
of the Law, or by hearing with
faith? So what are the works
of the Law? The works of the
Law, listen to me, are the
Mosaic Covenant. The Mosaic
Covenant is where the law
comes from. So what Paul is
saying to these believers
in Galatia is they did not
receive the Spirit. They did
not experience miracles
through the law. It wasn't
through doing the works of the
law that they saw these
things, but rather it was by
the Spirit, listen now, that
they received through faith.
They didn't receive the Spirit
by performing the works of the
law, did they? They receive
the Spirit when they very
simply put their faith in
Jesus. So Paul now is coming
against this doctrine that was
circulating in the church of
Galatia that believing in
Jesus was good, but we needed
to add to it, they were
teaching, the works of the
law. Paul is saying no, you
don't add the works of the law
to your faith in Jesus. It's
Jesus only, and it's Jesus
alone. The law has its place.
The law is holy, spiritual,
righteous and good. And Paul
said, it's good when used
rightly, when it's used
profitably. The law can
enlighten us against of
spiritual realities, not
against the law enlightens us
about spiritual realities. And
when we relate to it in the
Spirit, looking for prophetic
application, the law helps us
as believers. But to relate to
the law in terms of trying to
obey it to earn favor with God
is a total wrong approach and
it will end up bringing a
curse upon us. So let's
continue. Verse number 6:
Even so, so now Paul is, is
comparing Abraham with the
Mosaic Law. Again, Abraham
entered into a covenant with
the Lord apart from the Mosaic
Law because the Mosaic Law
hadn't been given yet. The
Mosaic Law came after Abraham
died. So listen what Paul says
going back to Abraham: Even
so Abraham believed God, and
it was reckoned to him as
righteous. So here Paul is
quoting from the Book of
Genesis, chapter 15. Abraham
entered into this relationship
with God apart from the works
of the law. The law hadn't
been given. He entered into it
by faith. Now I've been making
the point that real faith
translates into action. James
said this: faith without works
is dead. But the action is not
the works of the law. It's
just obeying the Spirit. It's
obeying the Word. It's obeying
what God is saying. Let's
continue on. God wants us to
hear and obey. That's what the
Hebrew word Shema is. Many of
you have heard the Hebrew word
Shema.Shema Israel, Adonai
Eloheinu, Adonai echad
Hear, oh Israel, it's
translated, the Lord is God.
The Lord is one. Notice that
here Shema, in, in, in the
Jewish mind that word Shema,
that Hebrew word Shema implies
a hearing that translates into
doing. So we're not talking
about faith apart from action,
we're talking about a living
faith that moves us to obey
and to follow him. Let's
continue in verse number 7:
Therefore, be sure it is by
those who are of faith who are
the sons of Abraham. Remember,
not the ones that are keeping
the law. I remember
ministering in a Messianic
congregation years ago and
they had a Gentile pastor, you
know, this guy that had become
so romanced by Judaism that,
you know, he completely lost
his way in the faith. And
what he was teaching this
congregation was that when
Jesus said learn of me,
remember Jesus said this in
the gospels. Jesus said, learn
of me for my yoke is easy,
Jesus said, and my burden is
light. Take of me and you'll
find rest for your souls. And
what this Gentile pastor that
was in love with Judaism was
teaching these Christians, he
was teaching them that the
yoke that Jesus was referring
to was the yoke of the Mosaic
Law, which was absolutely
heretical theology. And yet it
exists in the church today.
And those of you that are
learning about the Jewish
roots of your faith, I just
wanted to warn you about this
so that if you go on-line and
start researching the Jewish
roots of your faith and
Messianic ministries, when
you come into contact with
teaching like this, you'll
know how to reject it because
it doesn't line up with the
Word of God. This same truth
is illustrated in Romans,
chapter 7. Paul illustrates
the relationship to the law.
He's speaking to Israel. He
says it's like a woman that is
married to a man, and as long
as she's married to that man,
she's bound to that man. But
if that man dies, if her
husband dies, she's free to
marry another. Paul said
that's what it was like to
you. You were married to the
law until Jesus came. But now
that Jesus came and set us
free from the law, we're not
married to the law anymore,
we're married to Jesus. Let's
continue on. Verse number 8:
The Scripture, foreseeing that
God would justify the Gentiles
by faith, preached the Gospel
beforehand to Abraham...
Notice that I said the New
Covenant is built upon the
Abrahamic Covenant. You see it
here again. The Scripture,
foreseeing that God would
justify the Gentiles by faith,
preached the Gospel beforehand
to Abraham saying, All the
nations will be blessed in
you. So then those who are of
faith are blessed with
Abraham, the believer. Amen.
Notice that it's all about
faith here, real faith not
passive faith, real living
faith. You believe in God. You
love God. You believe that he
is and that he's a rewarder
of those that seek him.
And so you're pursuing him
passionately. This is a real
relationship with God; not the
Mosaic Law, this passionate
pursuit of God. And then when
we read the whole Word of God
including the Mosaic Law,
we're able to understand what
place all the principles and
teachings of God have in our
life. But none of them become
the conditions by which we
gain God's favor by. Let's
continue on. Verse 10: For as
many as are of the works of
the Law are under a curse; as
it is written, Cursed is
everyone who does not abide by
all things written in the Book
of the Law to perform them.
Once again, because the only
way you could be blessed by
the law, the Mosaic Law, is
you, if you kept all the
commandments and all the
statutes. So Paul says, if you
try to approach God on the
basis of the law or if you're
trying to mix the Mosaic Law
with your faith in Christ,
you're gonna be cursed because
you can't keep the Mosaic Law.
You're gonna get what the
Mosaic Law says will come upon
you if you don't keep it, and
that's a curse. Continuing on,
verse number 11: Now that no
one is justified by the Law
before God is evident; he says
on the other hand listen now,
The righteous man shall live
by faith. He's saying no,
your, the Mosaic Law's not
gonna work. Keep your eye on
Jesus. Keep your eye on faith.
Christ, in verse 13, redeemed
us from the curse of the Law,
having become a curse for us.
In verse number 14: in order
that in Christ Jesus the
blessing of Abraham might come
to the Gentiles, so that we
would receive the promise of
the Spirit through faith.
Once again, many of you are
watching my show because you
love the Jewish roots of your
faith. Be careful of teaching
that tries to lure you back
into keeping the law. You can
learn from the law. It can
become a prophetic teacher so
that you're looking to the law
and saying how does this help
me today as I'm being led
by the Spirit? Very quick
example, one of the principles
in the law was God told the
children of Israel to build a
precipice or a fence around
the roof of their home. So
someone that wanted to live by
all the statutes and all the
commandments of the Mosaic Law
today, they would have to
build a fence or a precipice
around the roof of their home.
But that is absolutely not the
intent. The intent was that in
the days that the Old
Testament was written, roofs
were, homes rather were built
with flat roofs. And people
would literally be up playing
on the roof of the home.
The kids would be playing
up there. There would be
entertainment going on up
there. The families would be
getting together up there. And
because God is such a personal
God and cares so deeply about
us and is so involved in our
families, he instructed them
to build a fence around the
roof of their home so that
someone wouldn't fall off the
roof and get hurt. That's the
point. Today, the way to view
that principle is wow, God
really wants me to safeguard
my property. So if you live
in a climate where, you know,
it's icy outside in the winter
and you've got people that are
walking up your driveway or
your front steps, you would
apply the principle of the
law, not the letter of it, but
the principle of it by putting
salt down on your driveway or
your steps. So we look for the
prophetic principles of the
law. We look for the spiritual
application, but we don't live
by the letter of it and we
don't use it as a way to try
to stand before God
righteously. (Music) I hope
everyone's getting my point.
RABBI SCHNEIDER>>Let's
continue on in verse number
15: Brethren, I speak in terms
of human relations: even
though it is only a man's
covenant, yet when it has been
ratified, no one sets it aside
or adds conditions to it. Now,
verse 16, the promises were
spoken to Abraham and to his
seed. He does not say, And to
seeds, as referring to many,
but rather to one, And to your
seed, that is, Christ. What
Paul's referring to here is
that the Lord said to Abraham
in Genesis, chapter number 22,
Abraham, in your seed all the
nations of the earth shall be
blessed. The point, beloved
one, that Paul's making here
is that God didn't say to
Abraham, in your seeds all the
nations of the earth shall be
blessed. But he said, in your
seed, singular, and the seed
Paul was speaking of here is
Jesus. Let's continue on.
Verse number 17: What I am
saying is this: the Law, which
came four hundred and thirty
years later, after Abraham,
does not invalidate a covenant
previously ratified by God, so
as to nullify the promise. The
promise is that God said, I'm
gonna bless all the nations of
the earth through Abraham's
seed, through Jesus. Paul was
making the distinction here
that the Mosaic Law never was
supposed to superseded the
Abrahamic Covenant. The Mosaic
Covenant never was supposed
to supersede the Abrahamic
Covenant. The Abrahamic
Covenant is the primary
covenant. Now Paul goes on to
tell us then if the Mosaic
Covenant wasn't given to
supersede the Abrahamic
Covenant, Paul answers the
question, then why was the
Mosaic Covenant given. Let's
continue on. Verse number 19:
Why the Law then? It was
added, Paul said, because of
transgressions, having been
ordained through angels by the
agency of a mediator, listen
now, until the seed would come
to whom the promise had been
made. So once again, Paul said
the law was given because of
sin. The law was given to hold
Israel in place until the
fulfillment of the Mosaic
Covenant... Let me say that
again. The law was given to
hold the Abrahamic Covenant in
place until the fulfillment of
the Abrahamic Covenant, who is
Jesus, came. So the law, Paul
is saying, was a temporary,
administrative covenant to
hold the Abrahamic Covenant in
place until Jesus could come.
Let me read that one more
time. I know I'm going fast.
That's why you can get the
whole series and really study
it out. Listen again: Why
the Law then? Verse 19,
It was added because of
transgressions. And then he
says, continues on here, until
the seed would come to whom
the promise had been made. Now
let's skip down to verse
number 21: Is the Law then
contrary to the promises of
God? What was the promise of
God to Abraham? Abraham, in
your seed, it's a promise, all
the nations of the earth are
gonna be blessed. So once
again, Paul was trying to help
believers understand the
relationship between the
Mosaic Law and the Abrahamic
Covenant. So Paul was saying
is the Mosaic Law then
contrary because it's a little
confusing what you're saying
because it sounds like you're
putting down the law. So is it
contrary? Let's hear what Paul
says: Is the Law then contrary
to the promises of God? Then
he says: May it never be! For
if the law had been given
which was able to impart life,
then righteousness would
indeed have been based on the
law. But the Scripture, here
it is, but the Scripture has
shut up everyone under sin, so
that the promise by faith in
Jesus Christ might be given to
those that believe. In other
words, Paul's saying, no, but
the law shut up everybody
under sin. It convicted
mankind of their inability to
fully live the law out so
that when the promise of the
Abrahamic Covenant, who is
Jesus, came people would be
prepared to receive him. Did
you get that? Let's continue
on: Before faith came, we were
kept in custody under the law,
being shut up to the faith
which was later to be
revealed. Why, because they
were focused on the law. But
the faith was coming. Jesus
was coming. The law was
preparing them for Jesus.
Let's continue on: Therefore
the Law has become our tutor
to lead us to Christ, so that
we might be justified by
faith. But now that faith has
come we are no longer under a
tutor. But we have become the
sons of God through faith in
Christ. And so I hope you're
seeing here the relationship,
how God used each specific
covenant, the Abrahamic
Covenant, the Mosaic Covenant,
and the New Covenant, and he
put them into different times
in history to bring us to the
fulfillment of it all, which
is Christ Jesus. The Bible
says in the New Testament, but
when the fullness of time had
come, God sent forth his Son,
born of a virgin into the
world to die for our sins and
save us by faith through the
empowerment of the Holy
Spirit. Paul tells us in the
Book of Titus, it's not by
deeds of righteousness which
we have done, referring back
to the Mosaic Law, but
according to his mercy through
the regenerating work of the
Holy Spirit in our life. Well,
you that have been tuned in
with me over these last five
weeks, you know enough about
this, you could hold a class
on this yourself, couldn't
you? Maybe you should go to
your office this week and ask
for a little conference room
that you can use to hold a
little Bible study. Gather
all the people into the office
and teach them about the
Abrahamic, Mosaic and the New
Covenants. Let's review,
beloved ones, as we get ready
to close here today. We began
this series, again five weeks
ago, talking about the
Abrahamic Covenant. We said
that the Abrahamic Covenant
was a permanent covenant,
still in place. Paul was still
speaking about it here. In
fact, he ends this chapter in
Galatians by, by telling us
that if you belong to Christ,
in verse number 29, I love it,
Galatians, 3:29, he said: And
if you belong to Christ, then
you are Abraham's descendants,
heirs according to the
promise, because Abraham is
the father of all believers,
and through his seed Jesus
came. Isn't that awesome, that
you and I are like this with
Abraham today, and that the
blessing that God spoke to
Abraham has come upon us, his
church, through Jesus. So the
Abrahamic Covenant was
permanent. It was the
foundation through which Jesus
came into the world from.
Number two, we said that the
Abrahamic Covenant was based
on faith. Genesis, 15:26,
Abraham believed God and it
was counted to him as
righteous. We also talked
about the fact that when
Abraham went to sacrifice his
son, God made a promise,
Genesis, 22. God said,
Abraham, by myself I have
sworn, declares the Lord, that
in you and in your seed all
the nations of the earth
shall be blessed. God made a
promise. It is unconditional
and irrevocable, so that the
Abrahamic Covenant was based
on an unconditional promise of
God. Let's continue on with
the Mosaic Covenant. Paul
tells us once again in the
Book of Galatians the Mosaic
Covenant was given because
of transgression. Listen,
verse 19: Why the Law then?
It was added because of
transgression... The Mosaic
Covenant, beloved ones, was
designed to hold Israel as a
nation in place so that they
totally didn't disband from
everything that God had been
training them in so they could
be in place when Jesus would
arise from their midst. But
once Jesus came, Paul tells us
that the Mosaic Covenant no
longer should hold the same
place in our lives. It was a
tutor, Paul said, to prepare
us to receive Jesus. I think
the thing that I want you to
be encouraged about and to
take home today is how
important it is to simply walk
with God by trusting him, by
surrendering to him like
Abraham did. When God showed
up in Abraham's life, when
Abraham perceived that God was
speaking to him, Abraham
surrendered. Abraham trusted.
Abraham believed. And look
what became of him. God
blessed him. God said to him,
Abraham, your reward is gonna
be exceedingly great. And it's
interesting, God said to him,
and I love this, he said to
him, I am your exceedingly
great reward. The same is true
of you, beloved one. Your
reward is God himself. God
himself is your reward. What
more could we desire? The
fountain of living water, the
Prince of Peace, Jesus himself
is our reward; unspeakable
joy, unspeakable peace,
eternal life, power, the joy
that comes from knowing God.
Beloved, all these things are
entered into, listen to me
now, by faith. I want to ask
you right now, if you're
looking to relate to God by
your own righteousness, if
there are certain things that
you've been doing that you
think are giving you favor
before God, I want to ask you,
instead, beloved one, simply
trust him. Believe that he
loves you. When you sense him
speaking to you, listen and
obey. You'll be blessed. This
is the way of the Abrahamic
and the New Covenant. This is
Rabbi Schneider saying I love
you and Shalom.
