Introduction to the Patriarchs

Order of Service

• Announcements
• Hymn — We Come, O Christ, to Thee
• Call to Worship — Acts 2:32-36
• Hymn — We Come, O Christ, to Thee
• Prayer of Invocation
• Confession of Sin — Isaiah 53:6
• Assurance of Pardon — Galatians 3:13-14
• Apostles' Creed
• Pastoral Prayer
• Offering
• Hymn — My Faith Has Found a Resting Place
• Sermon
• Lord's Supper — Hymn: Shepherd of Souls, Refresh and Bless (stanzas 1–2)
• Lord's Supper — Institution and Distribution
• Prayer of Thanksgiving
• Hymn — Shepherd of Souls, Refresh and Bless (stanzas 3–5)
• Benediction — Numbers 6:24-26
• Gloria Patri

Sermon Title: Introduction to the Patriarchs

Scripture: Galatians 3:15-29

I. The Promise to the Patriarchs Reveals the Character of God

• A. Paul contrasts the Abrahamic promise with the Mosaic law, insisting in Galatians 3:15 that a ratified covenant cannot be annulled or added to.

  1. The Judaizers treated God like a shady salesman — sweetening the promise to Abraham but then burying it under 616 legal qualifications.
  2. This Marcionite error (two gods: a harsh law-God vs. a loving Christ-God) persists in every age, including our own post-Christian culture.

• B. God neither annuls nor adds to the covenant promise given to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; He is a trustworthy, promise-keeping God.

  1. The promise is not conditioned on the recipient's readiness or lawkeeping.
  2. Throughout the patriarchal narratives (Genesis 12–36) we will see the promise appear in jeopardy from a human perspective, yet God remains faithful.

• C. Faith, defined in Hebrews 11:1 as "the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen," is the dominant theme of the patriarchal history.

II. The Promise to the Patriarchs Reveals the Commandments of God

• A. Galatians 3:21 asks: "Is the law contrary to the promises of God?" — Paul answers with an emphatic "Certainly not!"

  1. The law is not an opponent of the promise; it is a scaffolding erected to hold the promise high.
  2. The promise does not serve the law; the law serves the promise.

• B. Israel's redemption from Egypt was grounded in the Abrahamic promise, not the other way around.

  1. Exodus 2:24 — "God remembered his covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob."
  2. The law at Sinai follows from redemption: "I am the LORD your God who brought you out of Egypt; therefore you shall have no other gods before me."

• C. The giving of the law at Sinai reveals the high moral character of the God of promise.

  1. The Ten Commandments are the character of God inscribed in stone; they do not contradict but enhance the promise.
  2. A God who commands "You shall not bear false witness" (Exodus 20:16) is himself a God who does not lie — therefore His promises are sure.

• D. The dangerous inversion (making the promise serve the law) produces pharisaism — the idea that one must climb the ladder of lawkeeping before receiving grace.

III. The Promise to the Patriarchs Reveals the Christ of God

• A. There is a deliberate contrast between "annul/add" in Galatians 3:15 and "added" in Galatians 3:19.

  1. The law was not added to the covenant promise; it was added to sinful human hearts to expose them.
  2. Romans 7:7 — "I would not have known sin except through the law."

• B. The law functions as a guardian (paidagogos) driving sinners to Christ, the offspring of Abraham (Galatians 3:24).

  1. The law was not added to distance us from the promise but to draw us to the one to whom the promise pointed — Jesus Christ, son of Abraham, son of David, Son of God.
  2. Christ fulfills the law on our behalf and pays the penalty we could never pay.

• C. God does not become a debtor to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, or to us — He becomes a debtor to His own word.

  1. God cannot deny Himself (2 Timothy 2:13); therefore the 616 laws must be fulfilled by Him in a self-sacrificing way.
  2. The incarnate Son — the offspring promised in Galatians 3:16 — signs the contract, takes on every qualification of the law, and fulfills it for His people.

• D. The result: all who are in Christ are Abraham's offspring and heirs according to promise (Galatians 3:29), whether Jew or Greek, slave or free, male or female (Galatians 3:28).

  1. Galatians 2:20 — "It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me."
  2. This truth forms the theological foundation for the entire sermon series on the patriarchs in Genesis 12–36.