Neil Cullan McKinlay's Blog

From Mason to Minister - Through the Lattice, formerly out of print, is now availablle from Amazon for A$29.99. From Mason to Minister: Through the Lattice - McKinlay, Neil Cullan | 9798272207562 | Amazon.com.au | Books
It is my autobiography about how the Lord converted me while going through the degrees of Freemasonry.

"An adventurous, captivating and poetic memoir of the author's courageous and spiritual journey—from Scotland to Canada to Australia—in his quest to “find the Truth and know the living God.”

Neither an apologetic nor a polemic, he corrects much misinterpretation and misunderstanding of Freemasonry. We learn how inspiration from Masonic teachings about Solomon's Temple, the arch, and keystone led him to a deep study of the revelation from the Bible of the “stone the builders rejected” which is Christ.

Readers will be uplifted, inspired, and delighted as they follow along with him in the discovery of his calling to become a minister."

Watch a short video of my Christian Testimony.

As I migrant to Australia, I always enjoylearning about our wonderful country. Tony Abbott has done a great job ofhelping to add to our knowledge. As one might expect from a former Prime Ministerof Australia, his book, Australia – A History – How an ancient land became ademocracy, focusses much on the historical development of Australianpolitics.

In the Author’s Note, Tony Abbottwrites, “I am not a professional historian and this is a personal account basedon existing sources. My hope is that a history by someone who has tried toshape it, however briefly and imperfectly, could have an appeal that a moreacademic exercise might lack.” p. 5. The sources are well referenced with aplethora of endnotes for each chapter, the bibliography is well-stocked, and anA-Z index is included to help find where to look in the book for anything from Abbottgovernment to Zeewijk (ship).

Ex-Prime Minister Abbott, thank you for doingthe hard yards of research and for giving us a very readable presentation ofwhat has gone into our nation’s becoming a great democracy!

                                                                EXPOSEDFLESH

“Fornot even those who are circumcised keep the law, but they desire to have youcircumcised that they may glory in your flesh” Galatians 6:13.

Introduction

Image from Web    Doyou know the story of George and the dragon? Well, George, apparently, was bornin Cappadocia, which is just east of Galatia. He died around the year AD303. Anyway,the story goes that there was a dragon terrorizing a town in Libya. The localshad tried to appease the dragon by feeding it sheep. However, the dragon,apparently, wanted to get its teeth into some human flesh. So, the villagersdrew lots, and the lot fell upon the king’s daughter. So, she was taken out inthe open to await the dragon. But lo and behold! George showed up, slew thedragon, saved the king’s daughter, and converted the whole town toChristianity! – or so the story goes.

Nowthen, the Apostle Paul is encountering a dragon of sorts at Galatia. The maindifference is that he’s already converted the town to Christianity, which is tosay that God has used Paul in His conversion of the town. However, there’s adragon at Galatia, and like George’s dragon, he too is after a piece of thevillagers’ flesh!

Asyou know, this dragon, or these dragons, wants to see the Galatian mencircumcised. However, Paul the Apostle is having none of it. The whole of thisEpistle to the Galatians is a record of Paul fighting this dragon. And, as youread through this letter, you see him deftly run-it-through many times. Clearly,he’s lanced this erupting boil to death!

Nowthen, in Galatians 6:13 he’s doing what David did to the dead Goliath. He’sdoing what I did to a dead snake I found on my garden path. He’s severing thedragon’s head. He’s making sure the thing is dead! And now, in this verse, he’sholding up its severed head to show the Galatians, once more, the true natureof the beast!

Andwhat is the true nature of this beast? Well, the true nature of this beast isthat it is clearly anti-Christian. The false teachers at Galatia under theguise of true religion were introducing false religion. Paul, in the versewe’re looking at, is blowing their cover! He’s exposing their false religionfor what it is – anti-Christian. And by anti-Christian we mean that which iseither against or in place of Christ. False religion is anything that replacesthe cross of Christ as the means of salvation.

Paulthen, in this verse, is lopping the head off the anti-Christian, false religionof the Judaizers. The false teachers are not about the business of saving theGalatians. Instead, they are feeding them to the dragon through the mincer ofcircumcision. Hence, Paul wants to show these Galatians who these falseteachers really are. He even wants the Galatians to, as it were, examine theirlegalistic entrails!

ThePerception

Image from WebTheperception the Galatians had of these false teachers was that they loved God’sLaw. On the surface they looked like model Christians, i.e., perfect lawkeepers. However, false teachers may seem so sincere while being so sincerelywrong. Now, this creates a bit of a difficulty, because one of the signs aperson is a Christian is that he loves God and the things of God – includingHis Law.

Paulthe Apostle tells us of his love for God’s Law where he says, “I delight in thelaw of God” (Rom. 8:22). And the Apostle John says, “By this we know that welove the children of God, when we love God and keep His commandments. For thisis the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are notburdensome” (1 John 5:2-3).

So,you would agree with me, that one indication a person is a Christian is hisdesire to keep God’s commandments, i.e., his love for the law? What Christiando you know says that it’s right to worship false images? What Christian saysit’s good to murder, commit adultery, steal, lie and covet? ALL Christians lovethe law of God. However, the Judaizers, who were pestering the Galatians,seemed zealous about keeping the Law, even the part of the Law that had beenabrogated, i.e., the ceremonial law.

Nowthen, don’t miss the frank boldness of what the Apostle is saying in thisverse. At the moment I’m referring in particular to the first half of theverse. “For not even those who are circumcised keep the law...” (Gal. 6:13a). Thinkabout those words. Since Abraham’s day circumcision had been the sign and sealof God’s covenant with His people. It was the sign and seal of God’s Covenantof Grace, i.e., God’s conditional promise of eternal life.  Everlasting life was promised to “whosoeverbelieves” in the One to which circumcision pointed. Circumcision then, was asignpost directing all Old Testament traffic to Christ, the Promised Messiah,for salvation from the penalty of their sins.

EveryHebrew male, child or adult, was to have that signpost applied upon him. Circumcisionitself couldn’t save. It was merely the sign and seal of God’s Promiseof salvation. Circumcision, if you will, was the mark of Christ. And amongGod’s Covenant People circumcision remained the mark of Christ from the time ofAbraham until the time of Christ. Then, after the removal of our sin atCalvary’s cross (which circumcision graphically depicted), the sign and sealwas changed. Bloody circumcision gave way to bloodless baptism as the mark ofChrist.

Nowthen, if you keep in mind that neither Old Testament, i.e., Old Covenant,circumcision, nor New Testament, i.e., New Covenant, baptism, were designed tosave, you won’t go too far wrong.

OldTestament circumcision and New Testament baptism are the outward applying ofthe mark of Christ to a member of God’s Covenant People, i.e., believers and totheir children (Acts 2:39). Therefore, to withhold the mark of Christ from anyindividual was to deny that that individual belonged to Christ. It was to saythat that person or persons is a covenant breaker, i.e., one who does not keepthe Law. Again, the Apostle is saying here: “...not even those who arecircumcised keep the law.” And here’s the rub: in Genesis the LORD said toAbraham, “And the uncircumcised male child, who is not circumcised in the fleshof his foreskin, that person shall be cut off from his people; HE HAS BROKEN MYCOVENANT” (Gen. 17:14). With a verse like that, can you see why the Galatiansmight be considering circumcision? The male person who had not been circumcisedwas considered a covenant breaker. He was considered as one who does not keepthe law, i.e., an enemy of God.

YoungDavid asked about the giant Goliath, “For who is this uncircumcised Philistine,that he should defy the armies of the living God?” (1 Sam. 17:26b). So, whenPaul says, “For not even those who are circumcised keep the law”, he is sayingthat the Judaizing zealots might as well be uncircumcised. Why? Because theyare not keeping the law. Yet it is the perception of the Galatians that theseJudaizers are keeping the law. But ironically, circumcision is the very placewhere they are breaking the law! And this is the place where Paul removes thehead from the dragon. It’s the place where he uncovers the buttocks of thefalse teachers. It’s the place where he shames them.

Image from WebWhenwe lived in Winnipeg, Canada, in mid-winter sometimes this warning would comeacross your TV screen: Exposed skin will freeze in one minute! The ideawas that it was so cold outside that you’d better not expose any of your skin!The Apostle here is exposing the flesh of these false teachers to the elements,i.e., the Galatians. These false teachers are the epitome of what some call the“frozen chosen”! At least Adam and Eve covered the nakedness of their sin withfig leaves. These false teachers were using the ordinance of circumcision astheir covering. But the Apostle Paul is about to yank the towel off them toexpose their false circumcision!

TheDeception

Thefalse teachers were not keeping the law, in actual fact, they were abusing thelaw. As Paul puts it, “Not even those who are circumcised keep the law, butthey desire to have you circumcised that they may glory in your flesh” (Gal.6:13b). In other words, it’s not because they love the law that they want youcircumcised. It’s because they love the flesh.

Thisis where he holds up the severed head of the serpent. It’s under the pretext ofthe law that the false teachers want the Galatians circumcised. But even withtheir own circumcision the false teachers are not keeping the law. And here’swhere the deception lay: They thought that circumcision itself saves you ratherthan points you to the Saviour – just as many people today think baptism istheir saviour rather than the signpost to the Saviour. Therefore, they wereglorying in their own flesh. They gloried in circumcision rather than theSavior. They saw circumcision as their Savior – not Christ, who is the meaningof Old Testament circumcision. They failed to see that Christ’s crucifixion wasour circumcision. As Paul said elsewhere to the Philippians, “Beware of dogs,beware of evil workers, beware of mutilation! For we are the circumcision whoworship God in the Spirit, rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence inthe flesh” (Phil. 3:2-3).

Image from WebThefalse teachers were putting their confidence in the flesh, not only their ownflesh, but also the flesh of the Galatians. As in the legend of George and the Dragon,the king’s offspring was to be sacrificed. The false teachers dreadedpersecution. Therefore, they had to appease the ones who persecute. Thus, theysought to offer up the flesh of the Galatians. As Calvin put it, speaking ofthe Galatians, “They wish to triumph over you, and to gratify their own desireof applause, by offering up your mutilated flesh to the false zealots of thelaw, as a token of peace and harmony.” (Calvin on Gal. 6:13).

Thefalse teachers, then, gloried in the flesh of the Galatians. Why? Because thecircumcision of the Galatians meant peace from persecution. It meant that thedragon, i.e., the false religion of Judaism, would be fed. And it meant thatthese false teachers would have peace and harmony with the Judaistic zealotswho were persecuting the Apostle Paul. But the trouble with false religion isthat it has an insatiable appetite. That’s the nature of the beast, but theApostle’s having none of it. So, he cuts of its head by exposing their flesh. Hereveals the fact that their circumcision is phoney. He invites the Galatians toinspect the circumcision of these false teachers.

Theircircumcision is not according to the law because they do not keep the law. Theircircumcision is simply a mutilation of the flesh. It’s like when a person isbaptized and he goes out and lives a life of sin and debauchery. What does hisbaptism count for with God? Nothing! But what does it count for with man? That’sthe question, isn’t it? The common perception is that it does some good. That’sthe perception of the world; but that’s also the deception.

Justthink, if we lived in Old Testament times, they’d be asking to have theirinfants circumcised. Why? Well, for the same reason people who don’t even attendchurch would phone and ask me to baptize their infants. They believe insalvation through baptism just as these false teachers believed in salvationthrough circumcision. But that’s what false religion is all about. It’s aboutsubstituting Christ and His cross. It’s about glorying in the flesh. But lookwhat Paul says in the next verse, “But God forbid that I should glory except inthe cross of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Gal. 6:14). If you’re going to glory inanything, glory in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. In other words, glory inthe thing which Old Testament circumcision pointed to – Christ removing our sin.

Theperception the Galatians had was that the false teachers were striving to beobedient to God. But that perception was part of their deception. So, Paulexposed their rort. He does this by telling the Galatians that the falseteacher do not keep the law. The very point where the false teachers claim theyare keeping the law is the very point where they are breaking it.

Firstoff, the Law given to Moses and the People of God at Mount Sinai was not givenas a means of salvation. It’s true that many Pharisees, i.e., the falseteachers in Jesus’ day, viewed the law that way. Truth be told, there are manyin the churches today who view the Old Testament Law that way. But fallen mancannot save himself through keeping the Law of Moses. Neither can he assist inthe saving of himself by keeping the Law. This is the Apostle Paul’s wholeargument throughout this Epistle. So, when Paul says, “Not even those who arecircumcised keep the law,” he is lifting the head off the false teachers’argument. How is this? It’s because Circumcision was never given with the lawin the first place.

Circumcisionwas given as a sign and seal of the Covenant some four hundred odd years beforeMount Sinai. It was the mark of Christ, which is to say that it was the Promiseof Salvation made by God to those who would believe in the One to come. In otherwords, Old Testament Circumcision was the Gospel of Christ in the Old Testament.However, these false teachers are mixing Gospel with Law. They did this bymaking circumcision part of the Law – and a major part at that.

They’resaying that salvation depends on Old Testament circumcision every bit as much asthe Papacy today says that salvation depends on Romish baptism! However, theLord’s Apostle (in the verse before us) has carved up this beast! No longerneed the people of God fear the terrible dragon! For not even those who claimyou are saved by keeping the law keep the law themselves. They are breaking theLaw by claiming that you need to keep the Law to be saved! For to claim thatyou need to be circumcised or baptized to keep the Law is to break the Law, becauseneither Old Testament Circumcision nor New Testament Baptism were given withthe Law. Therefore, the false teachers at Galatia were not keeping the Law, because,among other things, they were adding circumcision to the Law.

Theywere guilty therefore of adding to the Law which is the very thing which theLaw forbids. The LORD in Deuteronomy says, “You shall not add to the word whichI command you, nor take anything from it, that you may keep the commandments ofthe LORD your God which I command you” (Deut. 4:2). In Proverbs, “Do not add toHis words, lest He reprove you, and you be found a liar” (Prov. 30:6).

TheApostle Paul has clearly shown the true nature of the Judaizing Zealots. Theyare liars! Jesus called the legalistic Pharisees “A brood of vipers” i.e.,“offspring of the serpent”. In John 8:44 Jesus told them that they were oftheir father the devil who was a murderer from the beginning and the father oflies. They were around in Jesus’ day and they are still around today, so watchout!

Conclusion

Image from Web      OldTestament Circumcision pointed to Christ – the Christ who alone kept the Lawperfectly. Old Testament Circumcision pointed to Christ’s cross – the Christwho crushed the dragon’s head. It was Jesus Christ who killed the dragon out inthe open at Calvary’s cross! He crushed its head, but the Serpent only bruisedHis heel. Glory in the cross of Christ. Don’t glory in your own baptism. Don’tglory in the amount of people you’ve converted, i.e., those you’ve influencedto be baptized. Therefore, don’t glory in the flesh, your own flesh, or theflesh of others. Glory only in Christ and His cross, for He is our circumcisionand our baptism and our Law Keeper. For He is our Great Dragonslayer! He is theOne who sets His people free from bondage and tyranny of Satan and his lies,i.e., false teaching.

Christis our everything. He is our all in all!

 ENLARGING OUR HEARTS: A Discussion for Highland Christians about Palestine and Israel (and my written comments on some of the issues raised in the video).

                                            DEPRESSING DISPENSATIONALISM

After watching the Enlargingour hearts: a podcast discussion amongst Highland Christians about Israel &Palestine video I was inspired to write the following:

See Amazon

Forwhat it’s worth, Rudi Schwartz and I address some of the issues discussed inthe video mostly in our The Kingdom: Every Square Inch book and also in TheUnfaithful Bride & The Faithful Groom book.

Bottomline is that Dispensationalism, with its erroneous views of modern Israel (post1948) and therefore also the Lord’s Church, has caused untold damage toChristianity and Christian politics (USA in particular) regarding the MiddleEast in general and (contemporary) Israel in particular. The popularity of thelate John MacArthur (who has planted churches even in Brisbane!) was the mainpurveyor of this damaging doctrine in our own day. John MacArthur, on accountof his Calvinistic views on certain things, was the crossover point fromDispensationalism into Reformed Christianity. The late and well-respected RCSproul lent MacArthur credibility in Reformed circles by giving him a platform.

See AmazonPremillennialDispensationalism has a great deal to do with the Ben Shapiro/Tucker Carlsondispute. Ben Shapiro has been annoying me for a couple of years now, as hasMark Levin. I like Mark Levin when it comes to help in understanding the intentof the American Constitution but have been left wondering why he andShapiro don’t just pull up stakes and leave the USA and move to Israelwhich, by their weird fixation, they prove beyond any shadow of doubt, theyobviously love more than America! Why? Well, it’s the same way why someChristians love Israel more than they love Christ's Church on earth! Error!Yes, Zionism for the first (i.e., the Jews) and Dispensationalism for thesecond (i.e., misguided Christians). Both are the same thing when it comes topolitics. Both are bad theology. Of course, as soon as you say anything likethis you are likened to Adolf Hitler and the Nazi regime. That’s the bit Idon't understand. I care for the present nation of Israel as I care for anyWestern democratic people. I worry about Israel being surrounded by Islamicnations that hate them. However, I don’t view present-day Israel as the land ofGod’s chosen people (or the present-day land as the chosen land).

Yeolde Genesis 12:3 “I will bless those who bless you. And I will curse him whocurses you; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed” applies,of course, to Abraham and ultimately to Christ, “For all the promises of God inHim are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God” (2 Cor. 1:20), and,importantly, those who are the true sons of Abraham, i.e., those who are inChrist, Christians. “And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, andheirs according to promise” (Gal. 3:29) and “Therefore know that only thosewho are of faith are sons of Abraham" (Gal. 3:9). Therefore, if thepresent-day faithless Israel is indeed a Jewish State, and if Ben Shapiro andMark Levin are practicing Jews, then they are Christless. They areoutside of Christ. Therefore, they do not bless Abraham. They certainly do notbless Abraham’s promised Son, Christ the Messiah. And they do not bless thosewho are in Christ. Thus, Dispensationalism stunts the advancement of the Gospelby its worship of Israel instead of Israel’s Son, Jesus Christ. Its Rapture Theologyhands this world over to Satan, instead of winning it for Christ.

Insteadof Christ and His New Testament Church on earth being seen as the continuationof His Old Testament faithful people, through Gentiles, i.e., nations other thanOld Testament Israel, being grafted into the same olive tree,Dispensationalism accuses Reformed Theology of being Replacement Theology,as in the Church replacing Israel. “And if some of the branches werebroken off, and you, being a wild olive tree, were grafted in among them,and with them became a partaker of the root and fatness of the olive tree, donot boast against the branches. But if you do boast, remember that youdo not support the root, but the root supports you. You willsay then, “Branches were broken off that I might be grafted in” (Rom.11:17-19). One olive tree, not Israel and the Church. The middle wall ofpartition has been removed. “At that time you were without Christ, being aliensfrom the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise,having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you whoonce were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For He Himselfis our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall ofseparation, having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, thelaw of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to createin Himself one new man from the two, thus makingpeace, and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body throughthe cross, thereby putting to death the enmity” (Eph. 2:12-16).

Howlong is a piece of string? If Old Testament Israel is a long piece of string, Dispensationalismremoves a chunk out of the middle and reattaches the string with present dayIsrael in the Middle East. The bit that Dispensationalism removes it calls theChurch. The dissection it calls The Rapture. Instead of keeping its eyeson the Lord, Dispensationalism is fixated on present-day Israel. That is whereit looks for signs for its supposed immanent return of the Lord. The Church is thenremoved from earth and the string gets rejoined so that the Lord can get onwith more important things!

Dispensationalismwas popularized in the early 1800s by John Nelson Darby and was even morepopularized in the early 1900s by Cyrus Ingerson Scofield in his (in)famous ScofieldReference Bible. John MacArthur (1939-2025) furthered its debilitating influenceon the Lord’s Church in our own age. Instead of Christians rolling up theirsleeves and getting on with the work of Christ’s Kingdom, we are now hopingthat Christ will return to save us from this evil generation! News aboutpresent-day Israel helps us determine when we will be “Saigoned”, (see,Americans at the end of Vietnam War). This, of course, impacts ourunderstanding of the Great Commission, which in the Dispensational system,is doomed to depressing failure and not to success. Thus Satan, not Christ, wins theworld!

Thefollowing is from The Westminster Directory for Publick (sic) Worship(Of Public Prayer before the Sermon). Note that we are to pray for “theconversion of the Jews" and deliverance from the cruel Turk (i.e., Islam),yes, and we are even to pray for Australia!, and for the removal of heresy, (such asDispensationalism):

“Topray for the propagation of the gospel and kingdom of Christ to all nations;for the conversion of the Jews, the fulness of the Gentiles, thefall of Antichrist, and the hastening of the second coming of our Lord; for thedeliverance of the distressed churches abroad from the tyranny of theantichristian faction, and from the cruel oppressions and blasphemiesof the Turk; for the blessing of God upon the reformed churches, especiallyupon the churches and kingdoms of Scotland, England, and Ireland, now morestrictly and religiously united in the Solemn National League and Covenant;and for our plantations in the remote parts of the world: moreparticularly for that church and kingdom whereof we are members, that thereinGod would establish peace and truth, the purity of all his ordinances, and thepower of godliness; prevent and remove heresy, schism, profaneness,superstition, security, and unfruitfulness under the means of grace; heal allour rents and divisions, and preserve us from breach of our Solemn Covenant.”

                                                                         HEIRCARE

Image from Web“Foryou are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For as many ofyou as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jewnor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male norfemale; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ’s,then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.”(Gal. 3:26-29).

Introduction

God’sLaw was given to drive us to faith in Christ, just as it drove those who livedfrom the time of Moses to faith in Christ. The threefold use of the Law, i.e.,the Ten Commandments, is a) To restrain sin by promoting righteousness insociety as well as in the individual, and b) To bring a man under conviction ofsin and therefore point the man to Christ, and c) the Law is to be used as arule of life for all believers.

Inthe following we’re looking at some of the benefits we have by being in Christ,i.e., by being Christians. Before Jesus was lifted up and transported intoheaven, He told His disciples “that repentance and remission of sins should bepreached in His name to all nations beginning at Jerusalem. And you are Mywitnesses” (Luke 24:47-48). Then the LORD said to His disciples, “Behold, Isend the Promise of My Father upon you; buttarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power on high” (Luke24:49).

Andthe story continues in Acts 1:4-5, “And being assembled together with them, He commandedthem not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father,‘which,’ He said, ‘you have heard from Me; for John truly baptized with water, butyou shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now’” (Acts1:4-5).

Thereason I mention these passages should be obvious from our text which isGalatians 3:26-29). The baptism in verse 27 is the baptism of the Holy Spiritof which only Covenant Baptism is the picture. “For as many of you as werebaptized into Christ have put on Christ.” (Gal. 3:27). To have “put on” orto have been endued with Christ is to have the Holy Spirit come upon you. Tohave the Holy Spirit come upon you is to receive the Promise of the Father. Andto receive the Promise of the Father is to be an heir according to the promise.

TheHeir

The Return of the Prodigal Son
after wasting his inheritance.Theheir we’re talking about is not the ‘air on your ‘ead! No! We’re talking abouta legal heir as in one who inherits an inheritance. And according to our text,WE are heirs according to The Promise.

Paulhas been going to great lengths to remind the Galatians that they are heirsaccording to the Promise. Back in Galatians 3:2 he asks the Galatians, “Did youreceive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?” And,of course, they received the gift of the Spirit by faith alone and notbecause of their own works.

Uptill now Paul has been proving to the Galatians that it was the same forAbraham. Abraham was saved by grace alone through faith alone. Abraham waspromised an Heir who would come from his own loins. “In you [Abraham] all thenations shall be blessed.” Abraham (in Genesis 15) was concerned about an heir.He told the LORD that since he was childless one of his servants was his heir. Hisservant was his slave and this servant was to inherit all that Abraham had. Sothe LORD said to Abraham, “This one shall not be your heir, but one who will comefrom your own body will be your heir” (Gen. 15:4). Genesis 15:6 says, “And hebelieved in the LORD, and He accounted it to him for righteousness” (Gen. 15:6).

Now,don’t think for a moment think that all Abraham believed was that he wassomehow going to produce a son from his own loins. Of course, he didn’tunderstand the full implications of this all at once. But there are too manyScriptures that tell us Abraham had his eye on the Promised Seed, i.e., Christ.Eg, Jesus says, “Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad” (John8:56).

Abrahamthen saw the Christ to come even when God blessed him with a son, Isaac. Abrahamknew that the Saviour was on His way to crush the serpent’s head. Indeed,Abraham believed in the Promise of God, and he is called the father of allbelievers! “Only those who are of faith are sons of Abraham” (Gal. 3:7). And inGalatians 3:26 of our text we read, “For you are all SONS of God through faithin Christ Jesus” (Gal. 3:26).

Idon’t have to tell you that we live in an age when some women read that andimmediately label the Apostle Paul as sexist. To jump to that conclusion thefeminist misses, along with the immersionist, the beauty of God’s Covenant ofGrace. The Galatians were having problems with circumcision. It was only male believersand their children who put on or were clothed or endued with the sign andseal of the Covenant of Grace in the Old Testament. Only the sonreceived the promise of the father, i.e., the promise of his inheritance. Readthe parable of the Prodigal Son who squandered his inheritance. But it was onlythe male child who was promised the inheritance.

Malecircumcision was the sign and seal of the inheritance Godpromised to Abram and to the sons of Abraham. “He who is born in your [i.e.,Abraham’s] house and he who is bought with your money must be circumcised, andMy covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant. And theuncircumcised male child, who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin,that person shall be cut off from his people; he has broken My covenant”(Gen. 17:13-14). “And he [i.e., Abraham] received the sign ofcircumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he hadwhile still uncircumcised, that he might be the father of allthose who believe… For the promise that he would be the heir of theworld was not to Abraham or to his seed through the law, butthrough the righteousness of faith” (Rom. 4:11a, 13).

Inthis we see then that male circumcision is the sign and seal of God’scovenant. It is God’s promise to who qualify to receive and therefore receivethe sign and seal of the covenant that they are adopted sons ofGod, and as such, are heirs along with father Abraham. What was Abraham’s promisedin heritance? That he would be the father of all who believe AND that he washeir to the world!

Image from WebAsall the Presbyterian and Reformed know, Old Testament circumcision has beenreplaced by New Testament baptism. E.g., “In Him you were also circumcisedwith the circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of thesins of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, buried with Him in baptism, inwhich you also were raised with Him through faith in theworking of God, who raised Him from the dead” (Col. 2:11-12).

Circumcisionof course symbolized the removal of the sinful flesh. But it was also areminder of the Promised Seed who was in the loins of Abraham, then Isaac thenJacob all the way down to... all the way down to whom? Who is the Father ofJesus Christ? Jesus Christ is the Son of God, isn’t He? God is His Father butMary is His mother. And isn’t Jesus the Seed of the woman even in the Gospelpromise of Genesis 3:15?

Nowthen, we know that in the Old Testament the son was promised the inheritance andnot the daughter. And we know that circumcision was a picture of the promisedinheritance. If baptism replaces circumcision, then why are women receiving thesign and seal of the Covenant? There’s no command in the New Testament tobaptize women. Then why are we baptizing females? Well, I’ll tell you! It’sbecause all of us are heirs according to the promise – not just the blokes! That’swhat Paul is on about where he says, “There is neither Jew norGreek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female;for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Gal. 3:28). All who are in Christ theonly begotten Son of God are heirs with Him.

So,what is the Promise of God the Father? It is the Holy Spirit, isn’t it? Andupon whom is the Holy Spirit poured? All flesh, which includes females. “For asmany of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ” (Gal. 3:27). Asmany of you upon whom Christ has poured out His Spirit (as pictured in CovenantBaptism) are clothed in Christ. If you are in Christ, then you are an heir ofthe Covenant Promise. And according to 2 Corinthians 1:20 all the promises ofGod begin and end with Jesus Christ. “For all the promises of God in Him areYes, and in Him Amen” (2 Cor. 1:20).

Sothen, is Paul sexist when he says, “You are all sons of God through faith inChrist Jesus” (Gal. 3:26)? Of course not! He is calling both males and females“sons” because we have had Jesus Christ put on us.

WhenGod looks at you and me He sees His Heir, i.e., His only begotten Son. Hedoesn’t see a Scotsman or an Aussie, or a man or a woman! Again, “There isneither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neithermale nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Gal. 3:28). WhenGod looks upon you who are baptized by His Spirit (as illustrated by Covenant Baptism) He sees His Son.

InCovenant Baptism, the sprinkled or poured out water on the recipient’s head is thesign and seal of the covenant. The picture is that the poured out Spirit hastaken the poured out blood of Christ and has affixed and applied the promise ofits benefits and blessings to the recipient. In the Old Testament God treatedas sons those who had the sign and seal of the Covenant on them. And in the NewTestament He treats as sons those who have the sign and seal of the Covenant onthem. The blood-sprinkled doorposts and lintels of the households at the firstPassover pictures the same thing, which is the protection of the firstborn, i.e.,the heirs. Thus, baptism, like circumcision before it, is a sign and seal ofGod’s covenant promise.

Asit was in the Old Testament, so it is in the New, the outward sign of theCovenant, is simply an outward sign of what needs to take place inwardly. Inthe Old Testament, the LORD told them to “Circumcise yourselves to the LORD, andtake away the foreskins of your hearts” (Jer. 4:4a). And Moses told the peopleof God, “Therefore circumcise the foreskin of your heart, and be stiff-neckedno longer” (Deut. 10:16). Therefore, if you fail to see the continuity fromcircumcision to baptism, you will, with the feminist and with the immersionistmiss the beauty of the Covenant.

Weare Abraham’s seed only because Christ came through the loins of Abraham. Christis the Seed (Gal. 3:16), and it was Christ who received the Promise of theFather. The Father poured the Spirit upon Christ from heaven after John theBaptizer anointed Christ’s head by water baptism. And every time you see aCovenant Baptism performed, you are seeing a picture of someone, male or femalebecoming an heir!

Indeedthat’s what the name Christ means  “anointed,” i.e., Messiah. John anointed Jesuswith water while the Father anointed Him with the Spirit. In Luke’s gospel Jesussays, “The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preachthe gospel to the poor” (Luke in 4:18a). And come the Day of Pentecost Christbaptized or anointed His Apostles with the Spirit and fire. They were anointedto preach the gospel to all the ends of the earth. They were to go into all theworld making disciples of all nations. The Spirit was doing invisibly what theApostles were to do visibly. They were to baptize the nations because thepromise was for all.

Acts2:38-39 records these words, “Then Peter said to them, ‘Repent and let everyone of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; andyou shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is to you and toyour children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord will call”(Acts 2:38-39). Yes, the promise is to you AND to your children! For throughwater baptism people are received as members of the visible church. But onlythrough Spirit baptism are they received as members of the invisible church. Therefore,all we’re doing in water baptism is showing the promise of the Spirit inphysical terms. We’re just illustrating what Christ does invisibly, i.e., evenbaptizing whole nations into His Church according to promise. Therefore, we whohave been baptized by Christ who poured His Spirit upon us, are sons and heirsaccording to the promise.

TheCare

TheLORD looks after His Seed. We’re told in Galatians 3:29 that we are Abraham’sseed. God made the promise to Abraham and his seed. The Promise was made toAbraham and to Christ and to those who by faith are in Christ.

Image from WebInGenesis we read, “After these things the word of the LORD came to Abram in avision, saying, ‘Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedinglygreat reward” (Gen. 15:1). A whole sermon could by preached just on the meaningof the “shield” in this verse. What is the meaning of this word shield? Itspeaks of an actual shield that is used in battle. Which speaks of aprotection, a covering. “I am the one who “covers” you Abraham!” One theologianhas argued convincingly that the word has in its meaning “Suzerain.” Suzerainof course means “sovereign lord.” Perhaps like the Angel who revealed Himselfto Joshua as Commander of the LORD’s army Joshua 6:14. But, in my mind atleast, it all amounts to the same thing. The One who is the “Shield” is theLORD Himself. And He is Abraham’s exceedingly great reward. The LORD Himselfhas Promised Himself to Abraham.

TheLORD has made the promise to care for him and his children. In short, the LORDhas covenanted with Abraham and his descendants, yes, even you me. For we’retold in Galatians 3:29 that, if we are in Christ, then we are Abraham’s seed. Therefore,we need to have “put on” Christ in order to be identified with Him. And this ofcourse is referring to Spirit baptism. And since the Father has Promised theSpirit to believers and their children (Acts 2:39), we of the Reformed Faithbaptize with water believers AND their children. In other words, it is throughbaptism that ALL who are in the church on earth are to identify themselves withChrist.

Waterbaptism as was circumcision is the sign and seal of the Covenant of Grace. Allwho are truly in this covenant are heirs of the Promise of this Covenant. ThePromise in brief is everlasting life through merits of Jesus Christ alone. Thesemerits, or, if you will, this righteousness, are accredited to us by theFather. The Holy Spirit is the One sent by the Father and the Son to apply, i.e.,SEAL the blessings of the Covenant to the believers and their children. Just asthe Israelites were Passed Over by the destroying angel in Egypt because theyhad the blood on their doorposts, so are we shielded by the blood of the Lamb.

Christ,our High Priest, sprinkles His blood upon us just as Moses sprinkled the bloodof the Covenant upon the people of Israel. “Then he [Moses] took the Book ofthe Covenant and read in the hearing of the   people.And they said, ‘All that the Lord has said, we will do, and be obedient.’ And Mosestook the blood, sprinkled it on the people, and said, ‘Behold, the blood of thecovenant which the LORD has made with you according to all these words’” (Exo.24:7-8).

Itshouldn’t take an Einstein to figure out that what Moses performed here isvirtually the same as that which takes place in Covenant Baptism. God has madePromises to us. His promises are in the Bible, i.e., the Book of the Covenant. TheWord of the LORD has come to us, not in a vision as with Abraham, but by HisSpirit speaking in the Scriptures. He promises to look after us. He is ourSHIELD. And we in turn, promise to love and to obey Him. Sounds just like amarriage, doesn’t it? Christ is the husband and His Church is the bride.

Sothen, Christ takes care of His bride. His bride is most precious to Him. Hepurchased His bride with His own blood. It is with this blood, His blood, theblood of His marriage, His covenant with us, that cleanses us of all our sins. Asin a marriage, the two become one, we in Christ and Christ in us. To be inChrist is to be justified. To have Christ in you is to be sanctified. Therefore,to have Christ at work in us and in our midst means He is looking after us.

Nowthen, since we are in Christ, this means that whatever belongs to Christbelongs also to us. Jesus was baptized by John, and then He was baptized by theFather. And please, get this dunking business out of your head or you’ll missthe beauty of the Covenant!

So,the picture then, is one of John anointing the Anointed. Or, if you will, Johnchristed the Christ. And of course, Jesus had John baptize Him to fulfill allrighteousness (Matt. 3:15). In other words, it was done out of obedience to thecovenant. But just after John had anointed Jesus with water, the Fatheranointed Him with the Spirit. Then, as I mentioned earlier, Jesus began Hisministry saying, “The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, Because He has anointed Meto preach the gospel to the poor” (Luke 4:18).

Jesus’sanointing took place at His baptism. John baptized with water but He willbaptize with the Spirit (Matt. 3:11; John 1:33).

Nowthen, it was the Father who gave the Son the gift of the Spirit at His baptism,and since we His Church are in Christ, then we have received the gift of theSpirit also. At His baptism with water and the Spirit the Father spoke fromheaven saying, “This is My beloved Son, in who I am well pleased” (Matt. 3:18).The Father identified with the Son and the Son with the Father through baptism andthe Holy Spirit witnessed this Covenant.

Whenwe “put on” Christ, as is pictured in Covenant Baptism, we are putting on HisCovenant every bit as much as Abraham “put on” His Covenant throughcircumcision. In baptism the LORD identifies Himself with us and we with Him. Andbecause we are in Christ the Father sees us as His Son. Therefore, when we arebeing baptized the Father is saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am wellpleased.” “For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus” (Gal.3:26).

Weare “sons” because God doesn’t see us as male or female, Jew or gentile etc. ButHe sees us as His Son. And does the Father care about His Son?

Image from Web        Ihope you can see how the feminists who see the Bible as sexist miss the beautyof the Covenant. But on a sadder note, it breaks my heart when I talk to thoseChristians of a Baptistic mindset. They trot out all their little proof textsto defend the indefensible. E.g., Romans 6:3-4; Colossians 2:12, “Look!” theysay, “Buried with Him in baptism...” Matthew 3:19, “Then Jesus when He had beenbaptized, came up immediately out of the water,” “See!” they say, “It saysJesus came up out of the water!” And as the trot out their well-worn prooftexts all the while they are missing the beauty of the Covenant!

Andthe thing that is even sadder is that fewer and fewer in the Reformed Faith areshowing an interest in the LORD’s Covenant. All the confessions of theReformers that came out of the Reformation were all written in light of God’sCovenant of Grace. The Westminster Standards, i.e., the Westminster Confessionof Faith, the Westminster Larger and Shorter Catechisms etc., The Canons ofDordt, The Belgic Confession, The Heidelberg Catechism, The Second HelveticConfession, The Thirty-Nine-Articles etc. But all of these Confessions havebeen put on the backburner it seems to me. Instead we read books on secularpsychology, stress in management.“How to Love the Job you Hate”, “DevelopingYour Prophetic Gifting”, “Breaking Intimidation”, “Developing the Leader withinYou”, “The Winning Attitude” – these are just a sample of what Christians arereading! Wouldn’t it be nice to see a renewed interest in the LORD?

Atthe moment the Church is consumed with its own self. But as Jesus said,“Without Me you can do nothing!” He cares for the heirs but do the heirs careenough about Him? I’d like to see the Christian book shops inundated with booksshowing the beauty of God’s Covenant. For God has cared enough about us to haveperfectly preserved the Book of the Covenant. We need help to understand thebeauty of the Covenant. It’s my belief that if you catch even so much as aglimpse of the beauty of the Covenant of Grace, then you’ll begin to hunger andthirst after the righteousness that is revealed therein.

Conclusion

Let’sfinish with a couple of verses from Psalm 25, “Who is the man that fears theLORD? Him shall He teach in the way He chooses. He himself shall dwell inprosperity, and his descendants shall inherit the earth. The secret of the LORDis with those who fear Him, and He will show them His covenant” (Psa.25:12-14).

Buried heredoes not mean being lowered into a six-foot hole in the ground as we do in theWest. This is alien to the text! Rather it is speaking of being entombed withChrist. “When Josephhad taken the body, he wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, and laid it inhis new tomb which he had hewn out of the rock; and he rolled a large stoneagainst the door of the tomb, and departed” (Matt. 27:59-60).

The Deviland Karl Marx by Paul Kengor, though an overall beneficial read, was a bit of astruggle for me in some places. This is because it is written from a RomanCatholic perspective, all Popes and RC-isms and jargon. It should thereforeappeal mostly to those who, unlike me, are of the RC persuasion.

Kengor, inhis chapter of Acknowledgements, writes,

I thank the saints for a heavenly place to turnto each night for peace of soul. And to them and the entire cloud of witnesses inthe Church, I ask for intercession and prayer for me, for my family, and forthe souls of every person mentioned in this book. And yes, that certainlyincludes Karl Marx as well. p. 405, paperback edition.

As far aswe know, Karl Marx never repented and believed in the Gospel as commanded byJesus (Mark 1:15). Therefore, don’t waste your time praying to those alreadydead or for a man (Marx) presently burning in Hell. Pray for your own soul!

That beingsaid, Kengor does supply much useful information from careful research into thedarkness of Marx and Marxism, including how this twisted worldview has evolved,morphing into today’s Cutural Marxism via Saul Alinski, Barak Obama et al.

                                                            Meet at the Town Clock

Image from Web    It is said that a stoppedclock gives the correct time twice a day. But how do we know the correct timeunless there is another clock to measure time by? If fallen man is the stoppedclock, then God is the other clock. For God is the measure of all things. Tryas hard as I could to remove and replace the battery on my own, in the end Ihad to take my stopped watch to a specialist. We need to come to God to removeand replace our stoney hearts.

Jesus said to His disciples, “WhenHe, the Spirit truth has come, He will guide you into all truth…” (John 16:13a).And Jesus said to His Father, “Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth”(John 17:17). Thus, as seen in this brief example, the Sanctifier, i.e., theHoly Spirit, works with God’s Word in the believer’s heart. God’s Spirit is thepower and God’s Word is our measuring device, i.e., the truth that sets usfree. “And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:32).

God speaking in His Word isthe “Greenwich Mean Time” by which all truth is measured and calibrated. Youheart is giving a wrong reading if it has not been renewed by God. “And donot be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of yourmind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptableand perfect will of God (Rom. 12:2).

Icouldn’t even remove the back from of my watch never mind change its battery! Awatch smith has special tools. God’s special tool in heart-renewal is HisSpirit. The Spirit also has a specialist tool. He works with His Word. However,one of His special instruments is His Church, as in Christians. Indeed, theSpirit of God delights in using means such as Christians on buses and boats,trains and planes, in cafés and cocktail bars, yes, everywhere Christians findthemselves. The idea is for Christians to spread the Word of God at home, atplay, in school, at college, at university, at the domino club, etc., wherevera conversation can be struck up. This is how the Spirit works with the Word.

Iwas one of those who the Spirit converted while reading His Word. The Word isthe instrument. However, God may use specialist tools to remove the back offthe watch to access the batter as it were. The Christian Apologist does this bydefending the Faith. The Christian Preachers and Teachers are also specialisttools in the hand of the Holy Spirit. These are used by the Spirit of Christ toset the new watch to its original factory setting. The truth, i.e., God’s Word,has set you free, including your so called “free will” which was dead to God bybeing in bondage to fallen self, i.e., sin and Satan. The Spirit working withHis Word sets your will free and resets it. Christians “synchronize watches”each Lord’s Day where and when the Preacher expounds and applies God’s Word tothem. Therefore, church attendance is imperative.

Underinspiration of the Holy Spirit, Solomon says, “To everything there is a season,a time for every purpose under the sun” (Eccl. 3:1). Peter, under inspiration of the sameHoly Spirit, says, “Repent therefore and be converted,that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come fromthe presence of the Lord” (Acts 3:19). Christian “Revival comes when and wherethe Spirit works with the Word. We have seen the Spirit delights in using humaninstruments, from those who are gifted at prising the backs off broken watches (people) to those who are gifted at resetting it to the correct time and to keep Christiansaccurately synchronised.

        I’mglad to be alive during one of those fruitful seasons in the sun, one of those “timesof refreshing.” It can be somewhat depressing watching Western nations gongunder on account of removing God from their homes, schools, lawcourts, sports,music, literature etc. However, what Christian does not glory in God when we seeHis Spirit at work with His Word in individual hearts, families, towns,and even whole nations, yes, including even backslidden Western nations?

Praythat God will pry the back off your broken watch, remove the old dead battery,and replace it with a new one fully charged by the Holy Spirit. Ask Him tosynchronise you with the truth of His Word by helping you find a Bible-believingchurch to attend every Lord’s Day to recalibrate. Pray that your family will becomea Christian family. Pray that your town will become a Christian town. And praythat your nation will become a Christian nation.

Letus all meet at the town clock. You already know where the town clock is. It ischurch on a Sunday morning. Let us synchronise our watches at Sunday worship.And who knows, maybe God, in His perfect timing, will be pleased to use even usas instruments for His glory!

                                                     THECURSE OF THE LAW

        “Foras many as are of the works of the law are under the curse; for it iswritten, “Cursed is everyone who does not continue in allthings which are written in the book of the law, to do them.” But that no oneis justified by the law in the sight of God is evident,for “the just shall live by faith.” Yet the law is not of faith,but “the man who does them shall live by them.” Christ has redeemed usfrom the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it iswritten, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”), thatthe blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, thatwe might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith” (Gal. 3:10-14).

Introduction

 Previously, we saw that people today areblessed by hearing and obeying the same gospel Abraham heard and obeyed.“Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness” (Gal.3:6). As it was for Abraham, so it is for us. I wrote that Abraham wasjustified on account of the gift of faith God gave him. I’vesince come to realize that it’s possible to take this the wrong way. Why?Because many today have a wrong understanding of what faith is. So, I need tospend a moment, if I may, elaborating on this.

Inthe old cowboy movies, it was common to see a cowboy “rope a steer.” Faithis a lasso. God, as it were, is at one end of the rope and you are at the other.He has got hold of you, but after a fashion, you’ve also got hold of Him. This“rope” is your lifeline. It is the means by which you received therighteousness of Christ. This “rope” is called “Faith.” Faith is what connectsus with God.

Howare we joined to God? We are connected by a Mediator. Your faith, then, isreally Christ with one hand on you and the other on God.

Image from Web        Tohave faith is to have Christ, which is to have HIS righteousness. Therefore,speaking chronologically, Abraham received the gift of faith before Godjustified him. Or to put it another way: God do not justify Abraham while hewas unbeliever. He declares righteous only those who have faith in Christ andHis righteousness. Faith, then, is like the telephone wirethrough which the transaction was made. The message down the wire is: “Abraham,now that you can hear Me, I declare you righteous!”

Faithis not something Abraham worked up within himself. If that were the case faithwould be his own work. And Abraham would have been saved by his own works. Faith,then, is the umbilical cord by which we are attached to God. Christ is the lifelineand His righteousness flows through Him to us.

Whenwe receive His righteousness through faith, then, God declares us justified inHis eyes. But for the record, let’s make it clear that no one is saved simplybecause of they have faith. We are saved because what Christ did has beenaccredited to us and received by us through faith.

Abrahamwas justified by faith in the righteousness of Christ as revealed in the gospel.And the nations are to be saved in the same manner. They are to be justified byfaith like Abraham. Abraham believed in the same gospel we todaybelieve. That is the blessing with promise. This blessing of the gospel is nowintended to be a blessing for all the nations. The blessing is that we aredeclared righteous through God’s gift of faith and not through our own works. Thisis the blessing of the Covenant God made with Abraham the father of thefaithful.

Andwe who belong to the Gentiles (i.e., the nations) are today receiving this sameblessing. This blessing is good news. It is the gospel of salvation by gracethrough faith not works.

Now,what we’re looking at in the following is the flipside of this. Tokeep on believing in Christ and His righteousness is to be blessed. Itis to be under the Covenant of Grace. But not having faith is thesame as not having Christ. And those without Christ are under the curse untilsuch times as they are rescued, or, if you will, lassoed by Him.

We’llfocus our attention on a couple of things: First, the demand foryour continual perfect obedience is part of the curse of the Law. And secondly,another related part of the curse is its demand that full payment be made foryour imperfect obedience to the Law.

Perfection

Thecurse of the Law demands perfection. The trouble with this demandis that we live in an imperfect world. How can anything be done perfectly in afallen and therefore imperfect world? Therefore, it’s not hard to see that weare cursed before we even begin. So, we need to ask the question: When did theworld become an imperfect place? And all Bible scholars know thatthis happened when Adam sinned against God.

Theworld became imperfect when Adam broke the Law of God. The Law was written onmankind’s heart. It was Adam’s guide for keeping perfect obedience to God.The Law was his helper, his compass, his map, his Indian Scout. The Lawwas like Tonto, his good, faithful and reliable friend.

Youhave to admit that it would have been easier to keep the Law in a perfectworld. Adam was perfect, and the world was perfect because Godhad made all things very good (Gen. 1:31). God had made a covenant with Adam. Wecall this covenant: The Covenant of Works.

Now,I want you to keep in mind that God always relates to His creation in terms ofcovenant. You’ll remember that we borrowed a useful definition of covenant fromCharles Hodge, “A covenant is a promise suspended upon acondition.” If you keep this in mind it will help you to understand therelationship between Adam had with God in the Garden. It was covenantal. Thedeal was that if Adam lived perfectly by the Law, then he would receive thegift of everlasting life. In other words, the period of his probation would beover, i.e., complete. God would then have placed Adam into a new relationshipwith Himself. Let me once again emphasize the grace of God involved here.

Godwasn’t obligated to promise Adam a thing. But, again, the relationship betweenGod and Adam was covenantal: “If you do this, Adam, you’ll die – you’ll becursed. But if you do this, Adam, you’ll live – you’ll be blessed!”

Godis the One who sets forth the terms of the His Covenant. A covenant, then, is apromise suspended upon a condition. The condition of receiving the promise is aperfect continual upholding of the conditions of the Covenant. And thecondition of the Covenant is the Law of the Covenant. Keep the Law perfectly andyou will receive the promised blessing. Fail to keep the Law perfectly &you will be cursed. However, we know that Adam did not keep theLaw perfectly. When he ate the forbidden fruit he broke all Ten Commandments. Buthe also, as it were, broke God’s heart. But even though it was smashed by Adam,The Covenant of Works still stands. But it no longer stands as our friend, butour accuser.

Image from Web        Ifthe Lone Ranger represents Adam and Tonto represents the Law, then the LoneRanger has turned against his faithful friend. The Law, then, became Adam’senemy when he turned against it. And the Law became a curse to Adam because itkept on reminding him of his sin and of the judgment to come. Therefore, allhis descendants, like Adam himself, want to silence the Law once and for all.

Butcould you imagine the Lone Ranger tying Tonto up and torturing him? It wouldreally demonstrate that the Lone Ranger had turned evil if he were to cut Tontoin pieces strip by strip until he was dead. Yet this is what people do as theytry to appease an accusing conscience. This is the warped way in which fallenman tries to prove that he is still righteous. He tortures his once faithfulfriend, (God’s Decalogue), in order to silence him. But the law will not besilenced even though you put it to death.

“Whathave you done? The voice of your brother’s blood cries out to Me from theground” (Gen. 4:10). Even from the grave the Law points itsaccusing finger at your sin. The Law is spiritual. It cannot be killed. Even ifyou were to bury it, it would still rise to judge you. Only perfect continualobedience will silence its accusations. For “Cursed is everyone who does notcontinue in all things which are written in the book of the Law, to do them.”

Whathad once been able to be kept in a perfect world, had now become impossible tokeep. Why? Because God placed a curse on the earth from which Adam and all hisdescendants come. The world has become an imperfect place and each human beingadds to that imperfection. Yet the demands of the Law are still the same:Perfect continual obedience. Therefore, the conditions of the Covenant of Worksremain.

TheLaw demands continual perfect works of obedience. But, as we have noted, noneof our works are perfect because we too are part of the curse. For those underthe Covenant of Works, their works are as filthy rags to God. The curse of theLaw then, for mankind is that it still demands perfection, a perfect life livedin obedience to God. It still demands our most perfect and continual service toGod.

Butfallen men continue on trying to deny and defy the spiritual Law of God. Butjust as is the quest for perpetual motion, they are doomed to failure. They aredoomed to failure unless God removes His curse from the ground out of which wecome. And the curse remains upon all who remain under the Covenant of Works. Foras Paul says, “The man who does them shall live by them” (Gal. 3:12b).

Whothen can keep can perfectly continue to keep the conditions of God’s Covenantin order that he may live by them? God is still demanding thesame perfect obedience he required of Adam before the fall. But now it’s evenworse because we have the Curse of the Covenant to contend with too. Who thenis perfect enough to keep the conditions of the covenant in order that He mayreceive the promise of the covenant? Well, this Person would first need tofulfill the conditions God required of Adam. And He would also need to makepayment for the sins of Adam and his offspring.

Doyou know of anyone who would be up to this task? The Person we’relooking for would, first off need to be a man like us. But He would need to beuntainted by Adam’s sin. And in order for Him to live a life of obedience, He’dneed to place Himself under the Law. And if He wanted to lift the curse from usand all of creation, He would need to become the curse. Paul says, “Christ hasredeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it iswritten, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”) (Gal.3:13).

Payment

Thecurse of the Law demands payment. Death is the payment for breaking thecondition of the Covenant! “Adam, the day you disobey Me by eating theforbidden fruit you shall surely die!” (Gen. 2:17). The wages of sin, then, isdeath! (Rom. 6:23).

ButGod still demands to be recompensed. He needs to be reimbursed for the sinfuland criminal acts committed against Him. God needs to be paid in full, and Hedemands that payment from every human being. Failure to meet His demandsresults in everlasting death – for this is how God exacts His payment. But doesthis mean that those who hate God will be annihilated? Not at all. But it doesmean that they will spend eternity in a state of perpetual motion.

Image from Web        TheLaw of God will eternally point the burning finger of accusation at those inhell. And God will continue forever to extract His payment of death from thosewho hate Him and His Law (as summarised in the Ten Commandments). The curse ofthe Law will remain upon them always. They will remain condemned under theCovenant of Works forever. “There is no rest”, says the LORD, “for the wicked”(Isa. 48:22). But they will never be able to meet with the demands of the Law. Thisis the curse of the Law.

Theonly way to be free from the curse of the Law is to pay God what you owe Him. Buteven if you worked forever you could never make this payment. Because all yourworks would remain cursed works, warped. And the Law demands perfect perpetualobedience.

Allof mankind is to live by the sweat of his face. He has to toil all of his daysuntil he dies. Yet he will never be able to pay back to God the debt ofobedience he owes. He has become a slave to the Law. The Law which once workedfor him now works against him. Man is a slave to sin, but he is not an innocentslave.

Justas sure as sinful Cain turned round and killed his righteous brother Abel, soall of us are guilty of turning round smashing all the Commandments of God. Andwe all know in our consciences, somehow amends need to be made for this. And itgets worse and worse the more we are reminded of the Ten Commandments. Like thePharisees, we think we’re doing a good job of keeping the Law, until Jesusreminds us of the spiritual nature of the Law. Even by hating someone in yourheart you are as good as killing that person. And the penalty for wilfullykilling someone is death.

Jamessays, “For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble on one point, heis guilty of all” (James 2:10). The Ten Commandments are not like tenwindowpanes. The Law is more like a windscreen on a car. Break any portion andthe whole needs to be replaced.

Image from Web        Mosesclimbed Mount Sinai and received the Law of God. While he was away, Israel wasbusy breaking the Second Commandment by making the golden calf. Deuteronomy9:17 records what happened next: “Then I [i.e., Moses] took the two tablets [i.e.,of the covenant] and threw them out of my hands and broke them before your veryeyes” (Deut. 9:17). God displayed His anger through the anger of His prophetMoses The people had broken His covenant in their hearts just as Moses hadsmashed the tablets before their very eyes. These Tablets were the covenant ofGod with His people. The Lord through His prophet Hosea says, “But like Adamthey transgressed the covenant, they dealt treacherously with Me” (Hos. 6:7).

Tobreak the Law is to break God’s covenant. God’s Covenant is the righteousnessof God on display. God’s Covenant is the revelation of Himself and His will.They reveal God’s character. The Ten Commandments, if you will, are written onGod’s heart. The Law is the outward expression of what’s on God heart.

WhenAdam transgressed God’s covenant all humanity transgressed it in him. And eachone of us has personally transgressed and continue to transgress that covenant.When Adam smashed that covenant our whole relationship to it changed. Therefore,a new covenant was needed because the relationship to old one has been broken. God,by His grace, began to display His righteousness in another way. By way of whatwe call the Covenant of Grace – which the gospel has revealed.

Therevelation to man of this Covenant of Grace began right after the Fall (Gen.3:15). The Ten Commandments given to Moses was revelation of the Covenant ofGrace. However in the Covenant of Grace there is also the strong reminder ofthe broken Covenant of Works – as heard in Christ’s command for us to “Repentand believe in the gospel” (Mark 1:15). We are to repent of our law-breakingand trust in the law-keeping of Christ revealed in the gospel.

TheLord had His people watch Moses break the Tablets of the Covenant of Grace inanger. This showed the people that God was angry with them for breaking theconditions of the covenant. They were far from loving God in their heart andloving their neighbour as themselves.

Nowthen, if the Commandments are the revelation of God’s righteousness, and theGospel is also the revelation of God’s righteousness (eg, Rom. 1:17), then we’dhave to conclude that both the Law and the Gospel reveal the exact same thing. Butwhat the Gospel does is show us how to attain this righteousness, which isthrough faith in this righteousness as it is revealed in Christ. However, youneed to understand that God in His wisdom left a door open. But no sinner canever enter through this door because Adam closed it on us. The door I speak ofis the perfect keeping of the Law as a Covenant of Works.

Speakingof the Works of the Law Paul says, “The man who does them [i.e., the works ofthe Law] shall live by them” (Gal. 3:12b). The Pharisees are proof that Godhadn’t put the lock on the door. They knew it was possible for a man couldreceive everlasting life through the keeping of the Law. But before you form alynch-mob and hang me from the nearest tree, listen! Where the Pharisees wentwrong was in their understanding of their own righteousness. If the Law were agreat oak tree, they had shaved it so much that it resembled a matchstick. Thenthey held up this match stick as it were the light of the world. However, onlyAdam, before the Fall, could have kept the Law of God perfectly and havereceived everlasting life. But he didn’t! No son of Adam since the fall iscapable of doing this because he is a born sinner. But God made another Adam,didn’t He? Jesus Christ the Second or Last Adam.

AndPaul says, “Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become acurse for us (for it is written, “Cursed is everyone whohangs on a tree” (Gal. 3:13). So, Christ redeemed us from the curse. LiterallyHe bought us out of the hands of the curse. And who did He make the paymenttoo? You’d be surprised how many people think Christ purchased us back from thedevil. But to be under the curse is simply to be sinners in the hands of anangry God; the same God who expressed His anger before the eyes of His peoplewhen Moses smashed the Ten Commandments.

Andhow did Christ make payment for our sins? Well, He became the curse for us,didn’t He? There’s that little verse of Scripture that has come to mean so much.Paul quotes that verse as it was written in the Septuagint which was the HebrewOld Testament written in Koine Greek. “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree” (Gal.3:13b). It’s curious to note the lead up to this verse in Deuteronomy 21:23speaks of dealing with disobedient sons. They were to be stoned by all the menof the city. And anyone who had committed a sin worthy of death was to behanged on a tree. He was to be hanged on a tree as a thing accursed by Godafter he was dead. It would remind us that Adam sinned the sin worthy of deathwhen he ate of the tree.

Thesin worthy of death, the unpardonable sin, is to turn your back on Christ andHis righteousness. The Galatians were on the verge of doing just that. Therefore,Paul wants to remind them once again of the righteousness revealed in theGospel. For in the Gospel God expresses His righteous anger by breaking Hisonly Son on a cross (Isa. 53:5). In the Gospel He smashes the curse of the Lawbefore our very eyes. Just as surely as Moses smashed the Covenant before theeyes of the rebellious people of God, and as did Paul when he proclaimed theGospel to the now becoming rebellious Galatians, “Before whose eyes JesusChrist was clearly portrayed among you as crucified” (Gal. 3:1).

However,when Christ became the curse, He didn’t become a sinner. A sinner is someonewho breaks the commandments of God. No! Christ on the cross kept the Covenantof Works perfectly. That’s what He was doing. And because He, as well as beinga Man, is the eternal God, His work stands forever. The work of Christ atCalvary was a perpetual motion. It was a perfect work done by a perfect man.

Image from Web        ByHis work He transferred us out of the arms of the curse of the Law and into Hiseverlasting arms. And if you’re thinking, “Aren’t these the same arms then?”,then you’d be correct. For the blessings and the curses of the covenant arepronounced in Jesus Christ. God pronounces them upon the wheat and the tares,the sheep and the goats, through Jesus Christ. As Jesus in Matthew says, “Thenthe King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father,inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world... ThenHe will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, intothe everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels” (Matt. 25:34, 41).

Paulsays to the Corinthians, “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us,that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Cor. 5:21). Christbecame, not a sinner, but sin for us. And God took that SIN and, in His anger,He SMASHED it before our very eyes. Why? That we might become the “righteousnessof God in Him.” Christ, then, is our righteousness, and His righteousness isrevealed in the Gospel, and His righteousness is received through faith.

Christwas hung on a tree. Why? To remove the curse of the Law. The curse of the Lawhas been removed in Jesus Christ. Isn’t that good news? Jesus Christ removedthe curse of the Law, “That the blessing of Abraham might come upon theGentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spiritthrough faith” (Gal. 3:14).

TheCurse of the Law, as we have seen, was in its demand for continual perfectobedience. The Pharisees were the New Testament expression of the Law workingas a curse. The Law constantly worked against them and they constantly workedagainst the Law. But in Jesus Christ we see the Law as it really is, i.e., ourguide, our faithful friend.

Image from Web    TheTen Commandments are simply the expression of the righteous character of God. Therefore,to have the curse of the Law removed from you as to have God back as a friend. Nolonger is He your enemy whom you constantly fight against. Scripture callsAbraham God’s friend forever (2 Chron. 20:7b). And I don’t have to tell you howGod treats His friends, do I? He blesses them and blesses them and blesses them.

Theblessing of Abraham is to continue until the last day. All the nations are tohear the Gospel. And in the Gospel the righteousness of God is revealed inChrist. Therefore, the Gospel is the new Covenant, the Covenant of Grace, fullyrevealed.

Wenow have a new covenantal relationship with God. Instead of keeping the Law foreverlasting life as it was for Adam before the Fall, now it is through faith inChrist and His righteousness. Christ has removed the CURSE OF THE LAW from us. Butas we look around we see Christians acting as if Christ had removed His LAWfrom us. Yet the Promise throughout Scripture is that He would put His LAW inour hearts. That’s what it means to have received the promise of the Spirit. Youknow you have been blessed when God’s Law is your delight and not your enemy. Justas you delight in a close friend – like the Lone Ranger and Tonto. For instance,the Lord says, “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; Iwill take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. Iwill put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and youwill keep My judgments and do them” (Ezek. 36:26-27). But we see littleevidence of this, and yet it remains as the promise of God. Therefore, we havea glorious and wonderful task ahead of us, don’t we?

Conclusion

It’sour great privilege to take the blessing of the Gospel to this presentgeneration. And we have God’s own promise that He will bless all the nations. Hewill bless the nations by revealing to them His Law, but not as a Covenant ofWorks which condemns us. In the Gospel He will reveal to the nations His Law asour faithful friend – the One who guides us into the Promised Land. For the Lawof God points us to Jesus Christ who kept the Law as a Covenant of Works forall who have faith in Him, and that Christ has made full payment for all ourtransgressions – even those of Adam.

TheCondition for receiving the righteousness of Christ as revealed in the Gospelis faith. By faith and by faith alone are we justified before the eyes of God. Thusthe Curse of the Law has been removed from you and me as believers.

                                                                     Reject or Accept

 One of the most favourite verses among Christians is alsoone of the most disputed by them. “For God so loved the world that He gave Hisonly begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but haveeverlasting life” (John 3:16). Does the word ‘world’ mean the heavens and theearth or is it speaking of the earth’s population or just a portion thereof? However,though directly related with the word ‘world’, the dispute has more to do withthe word ‘whoever’.

To narrow it down, it has to do with who will acceptand who will reject God’s free offer of salvation. Is it saying that the ‘whoever’are only those chosen by the Father, and that only these will accept andreceive God’s salvation in Jesus? E.g., “No one can come to Me unless theFather who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day”(John 6:44). Or is it saying that people can believe in Jesus even without the Fatherdrawing them to His Son? That is the dispute in a nutshell. It’s the old ‘freewill’ versus the ‘sovereignty of God’ issue.

Image from WebDo you reject or accept the bondage of the will? This doesn’tmean that you’re not free to choose the salad instead of the vegetables toaccompany your pub lunch. Nor does it mean the red instead of the white wine toaccompany your chicken, even though the etiquette is white with white meat andred with red meat. The bondage of the will is your ability or lack thereof toaccept the salvation God offers in His Gospel. The bondage of the will meansthat, because of your fallen nature, your will is in bondage to sin, to self,and to Satan. If little Johnny is offered chopped liver and onions or hisfavourite ice-cream, which will he take? But Johnny, liver is good foryou. It is a good source of protein, rich in essential nutrients, Vitamin A isgood for vision, B12 for brain health, iron for… What does little Johnny hear?Bla, bla, bla… He will only have the ice-cream, thank you! Yum!

We can tell non-Christians till we’re blue in the faceall the benefits of salvation; escaping God’s final judgment, renewed body inthe resurrection, escape from the fires of Hell and everlasting torment, anabundant life in the here and now as we await the restoration of all thingsetc. But what does the non-Christian hear? Bla, bla, bla – Rejection! ‘Unless’,as Jesus says, ‘the Father who sent Me draws him.’ Therefore, the will isin bondage and will therefore reject Jesus unless God sets you free. Jesussays, ‘whoever commits sin is a slave of sin… Therefore if the Son makes youfree, you shall be free indeed’ (John 8:34b, 36). Do you believe this?

So, when it comes to the free offer of the Gospel, theoffer is genuine and is genuinely offered to anyone and everyone who will believe.However, we don’t know what’s good for us, and we will continue to love our sininstead of God’s salvation unless He sets our will free from its bondage to ourbad choices which result in our evil deeds. ‘For everyone practicing evilhates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should beexposed’ (John 3:20). Therefore, be one of the ‘whoever believes.’ Do notreject but accept God’s free offers of salvation to you. It is freebecause it has been paid in full by the life, death, and resurrection of JesusChrist. And give God the glory for your salvation. And always remember that ‘TheFather loves the Son, and has given all things into His hand. He who believesin the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall notsee life, but the wrath of God abides on him’ (John 3:35-36).     

 

THEPROGENITOR

“Thereforeknow that only those who are of faith are sons of Abraham”(Gal. 3:7).

Introduction

Image from WebPeopletoday are blessed by hearing and obeying the same Gospel Abraham heard! Or toput that another way, as it was for Abraham, so it is for us.

Asyou know, progenitor means forefather, parent, patriarch, etc. for we see inGalatians 3:7 that “only those who are of faith are sons of Abraham.” Paulbacks this up in Romans 4:16 where he says that Abraham is the father of allbelievers.

Sothen we need to ask the question: In what way is Abraham our father? None of usto my knowledge can trace a direct physical descendancy. Well, quite simplyAbraham is our spiritual father of a sort. God covenanted with Abraham in theexact same way He covenants with us, his children.

Theoutward signs and seals of the covenant are different of course. But the inwardor spiritual administration of the covenant is the same both for Abraham and us.Indeed, it could be said, like father like son. If you want an idea of whatyour life as a Christian will be like, then look at the life of Abraham. Notthat Abraham was a perfect human being. But that’s part of the likeness, isn’tit? The circumstances of our lives may be vastly different from Abraham’s. Butwhatever the Lord promised to Abraham, He has promised us too.

LikeFather

Inverse 6 we see that Abraham was considered righteous before God. He wasdeclared righteous on account of his believing God. Now straightaway we can getinto trouble here. So, we need to explain.

Upuntil God called Abraham, he was an unbeliever. He didn’t know God. We’re toldin Joshua 24:2 that Abraham came from a family who served other gods. Genesis12:1ff. records, “Now the Lord said to Abraham: ‘Get out of your country, fromyour kindred and from your father’s house, to a land I will show you.”

It’sworthwhile mentioning the one of Abraham’s forefathers was called Eber. Andit’s most probable that the Hebrews got their name from him. There were peopleof God, at the time of Abraham’s calling, scattered among the nations. Apparentlythe Book of Job was from about this time. After the Tower of Babel, the Lordscattered all people “abroad over the face of the whole earth” (Gen. 11:9). Therefore,there would have been people of God in and among the different nations. Forexample, Job was from the land of Uz (Job 1:1). His three friends, so calledwere Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite. (Job2:11).

Nowwhatever else you might think of Job’s counsellors, they did at least have someknowledge of the true God. Then there was “Elihu, the son of Barachel theBuzite, of the family of Ram” (Job 32:2). Also, Abraham met with the mysteriousMelchizedek King of Salem (Jerusalem). No one would argue that Melchizedekdidn’t know the Lord – read the Book of Hebrews. The point I make is that theLord has His people in all nations. And if you know anything about the BiblicalDoctrine of Election, you will conclude that there are even today people of Godscattered among the nations. How many? Well, only God knows the exact figure. Andremember, we’re talking about God’s people in other nations who haven’t yetheard the Gospel. Some haven’t yet been born and others are living as Pagans,or secular humanists or whatever live.

TheLord called Abraham out from Ur of the nation of the Chaldeans. He called Himout in order to make a new nation of Abraham comprising of all nations. Alltrue Christians today are part of this new nation. We call this new nation thechurch, which is the kingdom of heaven/kingdom of God (same thing).

TheLord as you know has in place a program for uniting all His people as one. John11:52 says that “He would gather together in one the children of God who werescattered abroad.” This unity is in Christ, and His work of atonement atJerusalem accomplished this unity. And the call to unite as one under the bannerand headship of Christ is the everlasting Gospel Let me illustrate this byquoting Revelation 14:6 -7, “Then I [i.e., the Apostle John] saw another angelflying in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach to thosewho dwell on the earth – to every nation, tribe, tongue, and people – sayingwith a loud voice, ‘Fear God and give glory to Him, for the hour of Hisjudgment has come; and worship Him who made heaven and earth, sea and springsof water.’”

Image from WebAbrahamwas called out from among a tribe who worshipped the sun, moon and stars. That’swhat the Chaldeans were into. But the Lord called Abraham and revealed bit bybit something of His plan of redemption to him. Abraham quickly discovered hewas dealing with the One who made heaven and earth. He was reminded byMelchisedek who blessed Abraham saying, “Blessed be Abraham of God Most High,Possessor [or Maker] of heaven and earth” (Gen. 14:19). In Genesis 14:22 weread, “But Abraham said to the king of Sodom, ‘I have lifted my hand to theLORD, God Most High, the Possessor of heaven and earth.’” So, we see clearlythat Abraham feared God. He made an oath before God. He lifted his hand undersolemn oath as would you or I in a court of law. The Lord was in covenant withAbraham and Abraham was in covenant with the Lord.

Abrahamthen demonstrated that he had heard the everlasting gospel. The sameeverlasting gospel the angel was proclaiming whom the Apostle John saw. Abrahamfeared God and as he stood before the king of Sodom he gave the glory to God. Abrahamknew the covenant name of God which is Jehovah or Yaweh. He upheld the name –the name of the Lord even before kings. And he personally knew the Most HighGod (Elyon, if you’re into Hebrew).

Idon’t have to tell you that Jehovah and Jesus are one and the same Person. Abrahamdid what Jehovah/Jesus said the Apostle Paul would do. Jesus said as recordedin Acts 9:15, “he [Paul] is a chosen vessel of mine to bear My name beforeGentiles, kings, and the children of Israel.”

Ifyou were to follow the life of Abraham, warts and all, you’d see that he isclearly a believer. He was trusting in the same Lord in whom Christians todayare trusting. He was hoping on the same promises we’re on which Christianstoday hope. This is the whole substance of Paul’s argument to the Galatians. Asit was for Abraham so it is for us. Like father like son.

Abrahamhad received from God everything the Galatians had received some fourteen yearsbefore he was circumcised. He had been declared righteous by God on account ofhis faith (demonstrated by his obedience). Paul elaborated on this when hewrote to the Romans, “And he [Abraham] received the sign of circumcision, aseal of the righteousness of the faith which he had while still uncircumcised,that he might be the father of all those who believe, though they areuncircumcised, that righteousness might be imputed to them also” (Rom. 4:11). Therefore,Abraham didn’t make himself right with God by circumcision or any other outwardsign. His righteousness, or his being RIGHT with God, was an imputed thing. Inother words, it was the righteousness of Christ as revealed in the Gospel thatwas accounted or accredited to Abraham.

BeforeGod called Abraham his bank account had no righteousness whatsoever in it. Abrahamwas a morally bankrupt human being. But through the gospel God revealed to Himthe righteousness he needed to escape the everlasting judgment of God. Thisrighteousness is a free gift from God along with the faith that is needed toembrace it. So then, Paul is quoting Genesis 15:6 when he writes, “Abrahambelieved God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” Therefore, allthe Galatians had to do was search the Scriptures to make sure these thingswere so. And they would see the foolishness of their plan to be circumcised inorder to be saved. Therefore, those who have a salvation by works mentality areacting as if they have no faith – as those who are not the true sons of Abraham.

Let’ssummarize a little. Father Abraham then, was a believer. He believed thepromises of the Lord. And we discover that these promises are the heart andsoul of the gospel. Abraham knew that God looked on him as one who wasrighteous. And he acted on that belief. We see that his faith had arms and legsbecause he was doing what the Lord told him. But most importantly, he wasdeclared righteous long before God sealed the covenant by Abraham’scircumcision.

Beforewe move on we need to ask: What were some of the promises Abraham believed? Ifyou were to study, e.g., Romans chapters 3 and 4, and Galatians 3 in connectionwith Genesis, you’d see some of the promises. In accordance with God’s Covenantof Grace, Abraham had been granted the righteousness revealed in the Gospel. Hehad been justified in the sight of God on account of God’s gift of faith. Hehad the forgiveness of sins. He was adopted as a child of God. He had the giftsof the Spirit for sanctification and eternal glory. And he believed in theresurrection of the body too.

Image from Web    “Byfaith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who received thepromises offered up his only begotten son, of whom it was said, ‘In Isaac yourseed shall be called,’ accounting that God was able to raise him up, even fromthe dead, from which he also received him in a figurative sense” (Heb. 11:17-19).

Ina nutshell, Abraham was believing in the eternal life promised in Christ Jesus.But here is the subtlety: Abraham only possessed the substance of these things.O all these things were his. There’s no disputing that. But the point I make isthis: Abraham only had God’s word on it. He only had it on God’s good word thatHe was good for it. In other words, Abraham had faith in the promise of God. Hehad faith that God was good for everything He promised!

Hebrews11:1 gives us this definition of faith, “Now faith is the substance of thingshoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” The NIV puts it like this, “Nowfaith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” Abrahamhad faith that God could deliver all He promised. Ask yourself: How couldAbraham be saved if he didn’t hear the Gospel? How could he believe if hewasn’t born again? How could he discern spiritual things if he was devoid ofthe Spirit of Christ? How can he be called the father of all believers if itwas somehow different for Abraham? But keep in mind that all Abraham receivedfrom God was promises.

TheLord said to Abraham, “I will make you a great nation; I will bless and makeyour name great; and you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you,and I will curse him who curses you; and in you all the families of the earthshall be blessed” (Gen. 12;2-3). Paul says, “So then those who are of faith areblessed with believing Abraham” (Gal. 3:9). We know that this faith comes fromGod and not ourselves. “For by grace you have been saved through faith, andthat not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone shouldboast” (Eph. 2:8-9).

Godgranted Abraham the free gift of faith. The object of his faith was the Christto come as revealed in the Gospel. Therefore, Abraham was blessed with all theblessings that are included in the Gospel. For he was seeking first andforemost the kingdom of God and His righteousness. And these are found only inJesus Christ.

LikeSon

EverythingAbraham had we have, and everything we have Abraham had. And keep in mind we’retalking about the promises of God. As it was for Abraham, so it is for us. Butvery little of this will make sense to you unless you realize that.

Christianstoday are under the same Covenant as Abraham. This is the whole basis of Paul’sargument for justification by faith with the Galatians. He is telling theGalatians that they are under the same covenant as Abraham. And that theconditions of that covenant are faith in Christ and His righteousness.

Image from WebWesee how right Christ was with God at the cross, and particularly Hisresurrection. It’s not faith in Christ and His righteousness plus some of yourown, e.g., circumcision. We have no righteousness of our own. Adam killedwhatever righteousness we had. He was our representative under the pre-FallCovenant of Works. So, we are all in need of a new covenant with God, theGospel reveals that new covenant – the Covenant of Grace, i.e., the Gospel covenant.Therefore, Paul is saying that those Jews who think they are right with Godbecause they are physically descended from Abraham are wrong.

Theythink they are right with God because of circumcision. Well, they’re wrong. Andof course this is where the Galatians were becoming confused. And I don’t haveto tell you about the confusion in Christendom today. So, Paul explains it allto the Galatians the way everything in Scripture ought to be understood andexplained, which is in terms of God’s Everlasting Covenant.

CharlesHodge provides us with a handy definition of covenant where he says, “Acovenant is a promise suspended upon a condition.” The condition of thecovenant God made with Abraham is the same today. The condition is faith inGod’s only begotten Son Jesus Christ and His righteousness. Therefore, onlythose who fulfill this condition are considered children of Abraham. That’swhat Paul means when he says, “Therefore know that only those who are of faithare sons of Abraham” (Gal. 3:7). We call this the Doctrine of Justification –justification by faith alone. This is the way God planned it. This is the heartof the good news – the gospel. This is the way of salvation that the Lordrevealed to father Abraham.

“And theScripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preachedthe gospel to Abraham beforehand, saying, “In you all thenations shall be blessed.’” (Gal. 3:8). There it is! God is going to justifythe nations by faith – the same way He justified father Abraham. This was God’splan of redemption from the beginning. And God revealed that plan to Abraham. Wecall this plan as it is revealed to fallen man The Covenant of Grace.

Abrahamwhen he heard the Gospel was receiving revelation of this Covenant of Grace. Therevelation of the Covenant of Grace is the Good News or the Gospel. Therefore,Abraham believed in the Gospel and it was accounted to him for righteousness.“For in it [ie, the gospel] the righteousness of God is revealed from faith tofaith” (Rom. 1:17). Father Abraham needed this righteousness. Like father likeson!

Sothen, where does: “In you all the nations shall be blessed” fit in? Well, thisis the promise the Lord made to Abraham that all the nations will be blessed – inChrist. The Gospel is to be scattered abroad over the whole face of the earth, tillev).ery tribe, tongue and nation has heard of Christ and His righteousness. Why?So that all the nations shall be blessed along with believing Abraham.

“Gointo all the world and preach the gospel to every creature” (Mark 16:15). Whenthe Lord covenanted with Abraham He promised Abraham, “As for Me, behold, Mycovenant is with you, and you shall be a father of many nations” (Gen.17:4). Ifonly those who are of faith are Abraham’s children, then what about hisphysical descendants? Didn’t they have the promises of God too? Of course theyhad the promises of God. But the question is: Did they meet the one and onlycondition of the covenant, i.e., Faith? Remember, Abraham was justified byfaith not works. And faith is a gift from God. It is a covenant blessing.

Thereare both blessings and curses attached to the covenant. John 3:36 shouldsuffice to illustrate this, “He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; andhe who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideson him.” Therefore, in order for a person to fulfill the condition required bythe covenant he must do what Abraham did. “Abraham believed God, and it wasaccounted to him for righteousness.”

So,what are we to say about all those unbelieving physical descendants of Abraham?The Lord also promised that there would be a place for them to live. It waslooking pretty good during the days of King David. It was looking even betterduring the reign of Solomon his son. But all of that was short lived. It wasjust a picture of something else.

So,what are we to make of the covenant promises God made to Abraham? What aboutthe descendants as numerous as grains of sand? And what about the piece of landin which they were to live? If you listen to some Christians, they’ll tell thatAbraham has hardly any descendants. They keep talking about a remnant all thetime. But it’s hard to see where they’re coming from when you look at God’spromises to Abraham. Was God talking about spiritual descendants or physicaldescendants are both? Well, what did the Lord say to Abraham? “Take now yourson, your only son Isaac, whom you love...” (Gen. 22:2). Isaac wasn’t Abraham’sonly son, was he? Abraham had another son called Ishmael, didn’t he? Interms of the covenant God did not recognize Ishmael as a son of Abraham. Andanyway, Paul is telling us that only those who are faith are sons ofAbraham. Therefore, we have to conclude that there are going to be as manybelievers as there are grains of sand.

Image from WebAndwhat about the land the Lord promised Abraham and all his trillions ofdescendants? Well, Paul tells us in Romans 4:12 that God promised Abraham world.And doesn’t Jesus say in Matthew 5:5, “Blessed are the meek, for they shallinherit the earth”? This blessing is to fall upon all families of the earth –all nations.

Nowthen, as we tie things together, we know that Abraham is to be the father ofmany nations. And we know that “In [Abraham] all the nations shall be blessed.”And we know that this blessing comes with all the promises attached to theCovenant of Grace. We know that the blessing comes upon those who believe inthe gospel. Or as Paul puts it, “So then those who are of faith are blessedwith believing Abraham” (Gal. 3:9). With all of this in mind, it would seem tome, there’s still the possibility, perhaps probability, of whole nationsturning to God en masse! Yet as we look around the four corners of theglobe (to use a mixed metaphor!), we would think the Lord said instead toAbraham “In you all the nations shall be cursed.” For if the blessing comes bybelieving the gospel, then which nations are believing? And we know that thewrath of God abides on those who don’t believe.

I’msure you’ll agree with me on this: The nations need to hear the gospel if theyare to believe and be blessed with believing Abraham. So then, how many peopledo you know who have a covenantal understanding of the gospel? Therefore, areyou sure the nations are actually rejecting the gospel? Can you honestly saythat it’s not some distorted gospel they are rejecting? – a non-gospel? Anon-gospel such as that proclaimed by those Paul was countering among theGalatians?

Isthe Gospel of Christ really being proclaimed among the nations today? Thegospel today has been covered in the dust of theological liberalism. It’s beencoated and encrusted with the chocolate and sugar of the Church Growth movement.It’s been smudged beyond recognition by the grubby hands of Arminianism! Theworld needs to hear the pure unadulterated Gospel of the Covenant.

CovenantTheologyis Reformed Theology which is the theology of the Bible. And. Like it ornot, Calvinism is the expression of this Theology. As the Calvinist Preacher CHSpurgeon once said, “Reformed theology is nothing other than BiblicalChristianity.” And as BB Warfield once said, “It may be contended that thefuture, as the past, of Christianity itself is bound up with the fortune ofCalvinism.”

Thinkof all the nations that were blessed along with father Abraham from the time ofthe Reformation onwards. Scotland, Wales, Holland, Switzerland, PuritanEngland, Puritan North America etc. The British Empire spread the covenantalGospel abroad over the whole face of the earth almost. And God blessed withspiritual and material wealth all those places the true gospel went. The Westtoday is still cruising on that blessing. But I don’t have to tell you that theWest has been grinding to a halt. Why? Bad economic policies? Bad tax systems?Corrupt governments? Secularism? Communism? Socialism? Humanism? All of thesethings, and all the rest, are just symptoms of the one major problem, the trueGospel is not being proclaimed.

Conclusion

Howshall all the nations be blessed if no one proclaims the true gospel? The samegospel father Abraham heard all those years ago, the same gospel the Galatiansheard, the same gospel the ministers of the Reformed Faith swear to proclaim anddefend. Whatever the Lord has promised to Abraham He has promised to us. He haspromised us all the nations in Christ.

Abrahambelieved God and it was accounted to him for righteousness. That’s what Paulwent to great lengths to explain to the foolish Galatians. Scripture says,“Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people” (Prov.14:34). Righteousness cannot be generated by sinful men. But the righteousnessthat the nations need if they are to be blessed with Abraham is revealed onlyin the pure unadulterated gospel of Jesus Christ. This was the gospel revealedto Abraham – believed by Abraham – obeyed by Abraham.

Howdoes all of this sit with you? Like father like son?

Charles Hodge, Systematic Theology, (Eerdmans, Grand Rapids,Michigan, (1871-73), Reprinted 1981, Vol. 3), 549.