Heirs According to the Promise
A Sermon on Galatians 3:15-29
Some years back, my wife and I finally got around to meeting with a lawyer to draw up a last will and testament. It’s a bit unnerving to write your own will. Here is a stark reminder of your mortality. You have to think about leaving an inheritance behind after you are gone. You have to select an executor of your estate.
Perhaps you have been on the other side of this process. Perhaps you have received an inheritance because you were mentioned in someone’s will. An inheritance can be valuable and useful in many ways. Sometimes, it is an unexpected gift. We are surprised by someone remembering us in their will.
Today, our reading from Galatians speaks about the surprising inheritance that God gives. It is a free gift of grace. We do not deserve it. It is not something we have earned. It is pure grace. And this is far greater than any inheritance we might receive in this earthly life. Because of Christ, we become heirs according to the promise, heirs having the hope of eternal life. Our inheritance is heaven, God’s new creation. We receive this gift by faith.
Paul says, “Before this faith came, we were held prisoners by the law, locked up until faith should be revealed.” That is a very vivid picture. Paul says we were in jail. We were locked up and the key was thrown away. We were held prisoners because of God’s law (especially as summarized by the 10 Commandments).
The law of God is not able to save anyone. Instead, the law locks people up. The law says, “You are a sinner and you can’t save yourself.” The whole world has been locked up as prisoners. There is no escape from it. Everyone born into this world is a sinner. David says in Psalm 51, “Surely I was sinful from birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.” That’s how it is.
Adam and Eve rebelled against their Creator in the Garden of Eden. After that first rebellion, they passed on their sinful nature to everyone after them. This is the inheritance we have now. This is what our first parents handed down to us. And we are stuck with it. Scripture reminds us that we are not born into this world as neutral, but we are sinners from the moment of our conception. We are prisoners of sin. Why is Paul emphasizing this? In the next verse, Paul says, “The law was put in charge to lead us to Christ that we might be justified by faith.”
Consider this: Once a person is put into jail, they have lots of time to think. They can see the error of their ways. That is the purpose of God’s law. The law reminds us of our guilt. It leads us to see that we have rebelled against our Creator. We have disobeyed his Word.
We now realize that we cannot save ourselves. That is the function of the law, pure and simple. That is what Paul wants us to understand. The law ultimately leads us to Jesus. We are now ready to hear the good news of the gospel. Paul now says, “You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourself with Christ.”
Paul says, “You have been clothed with Christ.” When we were born, we were clothed with the guilt of Adam and Eve. But now by God’s grace, we are clothed with Christ. We are covered with his righteousness, holiness, and perfection. Our sins are forgiven!
God no longer sees our guilt, but he only sees the righteousness of Christ that covers our entire life. This is what baptism gives. Consider what God has done in your life through Holy Baptism. Once, you were lost and dead in your sins. However, all of that has been washed away forever. The waters of baptism have given you something totally new. The Holy Spirit has given you rebirth and renewal.
Paul says in Titus, “At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. However, when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.”
God saved us through that washing of Holy Baptism. The Father has made us heirs. He has brought us into his family and we now share in the inheritance that God promises to give to all of his people. We are heirs according to the promise! As Paul makes clear, that was not our choice or decision. God did the choosing.
Paul says, “He saved us not because of the righteous things we have done, but because of his mercy.” This is grace - a total gift. This wondrous grace is poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ, our Savior. In baptism, we have now been clothed with Christ. Our shame and guilt are fully covered by his perfect righteousness. Through his suffering and death on the cross, we have forgiveness.
Now, a flood of the precious blood of Christ continually washes us clean. Baptism connects us to the cross and the empty tomb. We have been justified by his grace. We have become heirs having the hope of eternal life. Therefore, Paul says at the end of our reading, “If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed and heirs according to the promise.”
Abraham is synonymous with faith in the Bible. He is the prime example of someone who believed in God’s Word. Notice how Paul is putting us into Abraham’s family. We who are Gentiles by birth are now a part of the Israel of God. We are Abraham’s descendants because we belong to Christ. We also live by the same faith.
For the longest time, we Gentiles were outside of God’s kingdom. But now, by God’s grace, the Father brings us into his kingdom and makes us his children. We are no longer prisoners to sin and the law. We are now God’s children, adopted by grace. We are sons and daughters of the King. God is our heavenly Father and Christ is our Brother. "How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God. And that is what we are!” We have been adopted into the family of Israel’s Messiah.
Jesus now includes us in his last will and testament. In fact, the Messiah gives us a new remembrance of our adoption. He gives us the last will and testament of the Lord’s Supper. He says, “This is my body given for you. This is my blood of the new testament, given and shed for you.” This, too, is a part of our inheritance.
Baptism, the Lord’s Supper and the Word of God, all remind us that we belong to Christ. We are Abraham’s seed and heirs according to the promise. Our Executor has done everything necessary so that we can receive this wondrous inheritance of eternal life. And he says, “As you eat and drink my Supper, do this in remembrance of me.”
It is interesting that God also promised Abraham an inheritance. He told Abraham that his descendants would one day possess the land of Canaan. However, Abraham never received that inheritance during his earthly life. He lived in the Promised Land as an alien and sojourner. He lived by faith that one day God would fulfill his promises. And it would not be until almost 600 years later that Joshua would lead the Israelites into the Promised Land.
Abraham had to live by faith. He trusted that God’s Word was true and his promises are sure. Even though Abraham experienced great trials and testing, his faith never quit. While he had his doubts and difficulties, he always worked his way through them. Our job today is to follow the example of Abraham. We need to live by the same faith. We should remind ourselves each day that we have been baptized into Christ. We have been clothed with his perfect righteousness. And we should trust all the promises God made to us in our baptism.
God has promised that he will never leave or forsake us. He has promised that one day we will live with him forever in the Promised Land. One day we will experience the perfect life we all yearn for, a life where there is no more sin or suffering, no more pain or heartache, no more family problems or money worries, no more death and sadness and tears.
Our job today is to live by faith in God’s promises. That takes lots of work and effort. It is not easy living by faith. We suffer through tough times and we have our doubts about God. We wonder if God still loves us. We go through sickness and pain, and we doubt that God still cares about us. We experience the loss of a loved one or friend, and we wonder why God allows such things to happen. Like Abraham, we struggle with our doubts and difficulties. Nevertheless, just like Abraham, we rise above our doubts. We continue to trust God’s promises. We know we are still God’s children. He has called us out of darkness into his marvelous light.
There is a great joy in knowing that Christ always loves us and that he has suffered all things for our salvation. Our Lord sets us free from our prison. We are saved by grace. We are baptized into Christ, and the heavenly Father promises a glorious inheritance. The Promised Land still awaits us! Moreover, this promise is not just a small piece of real estate in the Middle East. It is this entire planet Earth. It is God’s new heavens and earth, God’s new creation. Jesus says, “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.”
Therefore, we live each day in God’s love. We know there is joy in the midst of sadness, and there is hope even during adversity. We know there is rejoicing even in the midst of our suffering. God remains in control of all things.
We are children of the heavenly Father and he promises to watch over us each day. God will keep us safe in his providence and care. We have received the Holy Spirit. We belong to Christ forever. We are Abraham’s seed and heirs according to the promise. Amen!
