We are freed from custody in Christ.

 

Sermon for New Year’s Eve, December 31, 2020

Grace, mercy, peace, and love be multiplied to you in Christ Jesus our Lord.  Amen.

Galatians 3:22-29  Scripture imprisoned all things under sin, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ would be given to those who believe.  ²³But before this faith came, we were held in custody under the law, imprisoned until the coming faith was revealed.  ²⁴So the law was our chaperone until Christ, so that we might be justified by faith.  ²⁵But now that this faith has come, we are no longer under a chaperone.  ²⁶In fact, you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.  ²⁷Indeed, as many of you as were baptized into Christ have been clothed with Christ.  ²⁸There is not Jew or Greek, slave or free, male or female, for you are all one and the same in Christ Jesus.  ²⁹And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s descendants and heirs according to the promise. (EHV)

We are freed from custody in Christ.

Dear brothers and sisters of the living Savior,

            For much of this past year, many of us have felt like we are locked in a form of prison, kept under control by the state for our protection, and to protect others, from a virus that can kill.  In many ways, 2020 could serve as a picture of what Paul is writing about in our sermon text, for just like the government edicts of 2020, God’s law was given to keep us under guardianship until such a time as we could be freed from the curse of the law.  It is my great privilege, tonight, to announce to you that We are freed from custody in Christ.

The people of Galatia were being tormented by some who taught that the Old Testament law, especially the law of circumcision, had to be obeyed for a person to receive salvation.  This entire letter serves to refute that false teaching.  Thus, Paul explained, “Scripture imprisoned all things under sin, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ would be given to those who believe.”  Paul compares the law to a prison.  As you might understand, a prison doesn’t make the prisoner want to be good.  Normally, the prisoner just desires to get out so he can continue doing whatever things he wants to do.  Likewise, the law doesn’t change anyone’s heart but shows the evil therein.  In fact, to the Romans, Paul wrote, “I would not have recognized sin except through the law.  For example, I would not have known about coveting if the law had not said, ‘You shall not covet.’” (Romans 7:7)

Now, certainly, there is a positive side to prison: a prison protects those outside from the evil intent of those inside, to some extent fear of prison inhibits sin, and being under its control can serve to protect the criminal from his own wicked schemes.  Yet, no one would confuse being locked in a prison with freedom and likewise, the prison of the law cannot give salvation, because no human except Jesus can perfectly obey the law to satisfy its demands.  Therefore, the curse of the law stands: “The soul who sins is the one who will die.” (Ezekiel 18:20)  Even one sin condemns.  Just like all the government edicts this year haven’t stopped the virus from wreaking havoc, so the law won’t save in the end.

Paul likewise compared the law to a guardian or chaperone.  Consider a chaperone assigned to accompany a child continually until the child reaches maturity.  The guardian would have strict orders to teach the child, apply discipline as needed, guard the child so that he didn’t do anything foolish, and otherwise keep that child on the straight and narrow way until he had grown into adulthood.  This was a familiar concept to Paul’s audience.  It was the way many Roman citizens had been educated.

At the same time, at adulthood in Roman culture, the now mature child would be released from the guardian’s care, set free from his teacher’s control, free to live as an adult in society with all the privileges of a Roman citizen.

For the human race, God’s law, first written on the heart and later codified on Mt. Sinai, was intended to be our teacher until faith in the Savior could be given to us.  That purpose continues today.  Yet, the law will never save anyone.  Conversely, it imprisons and chafes at our sinful nature.

The Good News that the apostles were assigned to proclaim is that We are freed from custody in Christ.  “So the law was our chaperone until Christ, so that we might be justified by faith.”  This is the point of the whole Scripture.  Everything written in the Bible is telling us about how God planned our forgiveness and salvation and carried it out through His Son.  Once Christ has won our salvation, the law’s former purpose is ended.  Of course, for the unbelieving world, the law continues to serve that original purpose, but at best, it leads the prisoner to desire freedom from its curse.

As believers in Christ, however, we are set free from the law.  In catechism class, we teach our youth that there are three uses of the law: a curb, mirror, and guide.  The first two are designed for the unsaved while the third use helps believers live in line with our loving Father’s will.  Therefore, the law has no hold over us, but at the same time, we children of God value its guidance.

Notice, though, that by faith in Jesus, we are children of God, children “born, not of blood, or of the desire of the flesh, or of a husband’s will, but born of God.” (John 1:13)  As Jesus would tell Nicodemus, we are born from above. (John 3:7)  And, Paul explained this to the Galatians, saying, “In fact, you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.”  Jesus said, “If you remain in my word, you are really my disciples.  You will also know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:31-32)  Thus, we are given faith through the Word of our God.  We are born from above through the hearing of the Gospel and the washing of Baptism, which Paul confirmed writing, “Indeed, as many of you as were baptized into Christ have been clothed with Christ.”

Something incredible happens to sinners in baptism.  There, through the simple water and the promises of God, we are reborn.  As the Holy Spirit works through the Gospel in the baptism, we are changed in God’s eyes.  From that moment, God sees us differently.  No longer does He see the rebellious, irreverent, lifeless wretch we had previously been.  Instead, He sees Christ Jesus on us.  In that, God sees the image of His own holiness put on us.  The writer to the Hebrews tells us that “The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact imprint of the divine nature.” (Hebrews 1:3)  Therefore, through the God-given faith bestowed on us in baptism, the image of God that was lost to us all at mankind’s fall into sin is restored to us once more, and God says, “I will forgive their guilt, and I will remember their sins no more,” (Jeremiah 31:34) for the Father sees His holy Son on us.

And what happens to our sins in Baptism, they are washed away from us and found at the cross on Jesus.  There God sees all the sins of the world in His Son.  In fact, “God made him, who did not know sin, to become sin for us, so that we might become the righteousness of God in him.” (2 Corinthians 5:21)  Of course, if that was the end of the story, I am not sure what I could tell you, but our future is found not at the cross but at the tomb, for there Jesus shows us the victory He has achieved.  He paid the debt for our sins.  Jesus died so that Satan cannot have us anymore.  With Christ’s resurrection from the grave, the power of death was destroyed and Jesus has opened the gates of Paradise to us forevermore.

Through faith, the Holy Spirit unites us with Christ Jesus, unites us with both His death and His resurrection to life again.  Therefore, we are now one with Christ Jesus who is One with the Father and the Holy Spirit.  We are connected to the divine through faith in Jesus.  This is important to know, because as believers we all share the same status in heaven.  Paul wrote, “There is not Jew or Greek, slave or free, male or female, for you are all one and the same in Christ Jesus.”  Status differences and political, racial, and gender divisions are part of this broken world.  In the kingdom of heaven, there is no place for any of that. 

As we end the old year and enter the new, many people contemplate changes they hope will help than have a better life.  You may have come here, tonight, expecting that I would tell you how to become the best person you can be, but the best you can be is not found in what you do, how much weight you might gain or lose, or what habits you might develop or break.  The best you is found in Christ Jesus.  It is found in you through faith in Him.

So, as we end this year, treasure your faith in Christ Jesus, believe that your sins are forgiven for Jesus’ sake, and that God has worked all things exactly according to His plan to give you life in heaven with Him.  He doesn’t share with us all the details of how He is working all things to fit His plan.  He simply invites us to believe.  The most important thing to believe is that Jesus lived, died, and rose again to win your freedom from sin, death, and the devil, and to bring you an inheritance of glory that will never end.  The psalmist wrote, “You turned my mourning into dancing.  You removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy, so that my whole being may make music to you and not be silent.” (Psalm 30:11-12)

If, through faith, “you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s descendants and heirs according to the promise.”  Those who believe in Christ Jesus have something far greater than anything this world can offer.  Whether we have money or poverty, health or sickness, peace or persecution, through faith in Christ Jesus, we are victorious in the kingdom of God, and in His kingdom, we not only have the victory, but we also have ownership in eternal glory.  The kingdom of heaven is ours.

Therefore, dear friends, if you want to make resolutions as we transition from one year to the next, feel free to do so.  If you want to put the old year away and never think about it again, that is fine too.  But there is one thing you must never forget—We are freed from custody in Christ.  Through faith in Jesus, we are freed from the law and its curse.  We are freed from Satan’s accusations.  We are freed to live boldly and happily following and trusting our Savior who lived without sin so that we are counted holy in heaven where obedience to God’s will truly does count.  Through true and humble faith in the Savior who lives, We are freed from custody in Christ.  Amen.

Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you faultless in the presence of His glory with great joy, to the only God, our Savior, be glory, majesty, power, and authority through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all time, now, and to all eternity.  Amen.