Title: The Gospel According To Abraham
Speaker: Nate Holdridge
Text: Galatians 3:6-9
Galatians Theme: Galatians describes a life that is free. It is a life in flight. If we cling to the true gospel, if we accept it for what it is, we can fly. But Paul wrote Galatians because the Galatian believers—and all future believers—were in danger. If we adulterate the gospel, if we add to it in any way, we will not fly. Like a bird chained in a birdcage, we will (at best) hinder ourselves from flying into God's ideal for our lives or (at worst) hinder ourselves and others from true salvation.
Overview: In Matthew 22, Jesus told a parable about a wedding feast a king gave for his prince son. When he sent out his servants to invite the guests, it did not go as it does in Disney movies, where villagers are ecstatic that there is going to be a ball. Instead, his invitation was rejected, and some of his servants were shamefully treated. So the king commissioned the rest of his servants to go to the streets—to the highways and byways—to invite as many as they could find. The invitation must have included clothing provided by the king because when he saw one of his recently invited guests there without a garment, he told his attendants to cast him into outer darkness, where there was weeping and gnashing of teeth.
The entire parable is outrageous. Who would reject the honor of being invited to the prince's wedding? What king would clothe an entire population just so they could be his guests? And why would the lack of proper attire get someone a one-way ticket to outer darkness?
But the strong elements of the parable are what make it memorable. And the lesson seems simple: accept and wear the garments the king provides. Don't bring your own garments; wear the ones he offers.
And this passage tells us the same. The way for us to be found acceptable for God's wedding feast—for his forever kingdom, first on earth and then in the new heavens and earth—is to accept the clothing he has provided. By simple faith in Christ, we will be draped with the appropriate attire for our God. Just as Abraham believed God's promise and God deposited righteousness to his account, so when we believe in Christ, we are clothed with the righteousness of God.
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