Galatians: A New Identity

The Book of Galatians 

Welcome:

Good morning, welcome to Eastern Shore Baptist Church! I’m Stuart Davidson, and I am the Senior Pastor here at ESBC. I’m really glad that you’re with us this morning! I also want to welcome everyone joining us online. We are super grateful that you’ve chosen to worship with us!

Today, we are continuing our series through the book of Galatians. This is our fourth message in the series. Before we jump into the message this morning let me share something with you. 

If you would like to follow along with today’s message, you can download the YouVersion Bible App. Simply search for Eastern Shore Baptist Church. The entire sermon outline is available there, and we’ve already filled in all the blanks for you!

I also want to remind you about our church’s prayer line. If you have any prayer requests, simply call or text 251-222-8977. We would love the opportunity to pray for you!

Introduction To Today’s Message:

Over the last twenty to thirty years, our culture has become increasingly fascinated with the subject of identity. Everywhere we turn, people are talking about protecting their identity, changing their identity, or discovering their identity.

Think about identity theft. For decades, criminals have stolen Social Security numbers, credit card information, and other personal details in hopes of assuming someone else’s identity for financial gain. They want to use someone else’s identity for their own benefit.

Then there is our digital identity. Social media has made it possible for people to create an entirely different version of themselves. We carefully select our photographs, edit our videos, and share only what we want others to see. We can make our marriages look healthier, we can make our families look happier, and our lives look more successful than they actually are. We’ve become experts at presenting the identity we want people to see rather than revealing who we really are.

One of the most controversial conversations in our culture today involves gender identity. Some believe that their biological sex does not reflect who they really are. They pursue hormones, medications, and surgical procedures in an effort to change their physical appearance to match their perceived identity. They hope that changing something on the outside will resolve the struggle they experience on the inside.

Friends, the idea of transforming our identity is nothing new! In fact, it goes all the way back to the earliest pages of Scripture. Abram became Abraham. Jacob became Israel. Simon became Peter. Each of these changes reflected something God was doing in their lives.

Look at what Paul the Apostle says in 2 Corinthians 5:17…he tells us that anyone who is in Christ is a new creation. In Ephesians 4:24, he encourages believers to put on the new self, created according to God’s likeness. In Romans 6:4, he reminds us that through Christ we can walk in newness of life!

You see, when a person places their faith in Jesus Christ, God doesn’t simply improve who they used to be. He makes them new! 

Their past no longer defines them. 

Their failures no longer determine their future. 

Their relationship with God is forever changed!

You see church, the world tells us to discover who we are but the Gospel tells us to discover who we are in Jesus Christ!

That’s what I want to talk to you about this morning. In fact that’s today’s message, “A New Identity!”

Today’s Message:

“A New Identity”

Introduction To Today’s Thought:

Friends, there on your outline, you’ll notice our thought for today. I want to encourage you to fill in the blanks with me as we consider this important truth:

Today’s Thought:

“In Christ, We Have Intimacy With God, A New Identity In Christ, And An Eternal Inheritance!”

Think about what that means. Through Jesus Christ, we have been given something that we could never earn and don’t deserve. We have the privilege of knowing God personally. We don’t have to approach Him as strangers or outsiders. We can come to Him as His children.

Not only do we have a personal relationship with God, but we also have an entirely new identity. We are no longer defined by our sins. We belong to Jesus Christ! We have the promise of an eternal inheritance. This world is’nt our final home, the difficulties we face today can’t take away what God has promised us for eternity.

When you know who you are in Christ, it changes how you see yourself, how you live your life, and how you face your future!

Introduction To Today’s Quote:

One of my favorite books of all time is Knowing God by J.I. Packer. It reminds us of the incredible privilege we have of knowing God and being known by Him. Dr. Packer beautifully describes what happens when a sinner comes to faith in Jesus Christ. It’s more than forgiveness. It’s being welcomed into a family!

I want you to notice today’s quote there on your outline. You can read along with me.

Today’s Quote:

Through Jesus Christ, the guilty sinner is not merely forgiven and released from judgment. He is welcomed into the very family of the One he has offended. The rebel becomes a son, the outcast receives a place at the Father’s table, and the one who once stood condemned is given the family name. God does not simply erase our past. He gives us a new identity, a permanent place in His family, and an eternal inheritance that can never be taken away.

-J.I. Packer’s “Knowing God”

Introduction To Today’s Scripture:

This morning, we’re continuing our study through the book of Galatians. Before we jump into today’s passage, let me remind you what we’ve learned over the last few weeks.

The book of Galatians was written by the Paul, most likely around A.D. 48 or 49 This makes it one of the earliest letters in the New Testament. Paul likely wrote from Antioch in Syria to a group of churches in Galatia, located in modern-day Turkey.

Remember, Paul wrote this letter because false teachers, known as Judaizers, had infected and infiltrated the churches. They were teaching that faith in Jesus Christ wasn’t enough for salvation. They insisted that Gentile believers also needed to obey the Law of Moses. Paul’s response was clear: We are saved by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone!

Now, in chapter three, Paul explains the relationship between God’s law and God’s promises. In verses 1 through 9, he reminds believers that Abraham was declared righteous through faith, not obedience to the law. In verses 10 through 14, Paul explains that Jesus redeemed us from the curse of the law. Then, in verses 15 through 22, he reminds us that the law was never intended to save us. Its purpose was to reveal our sin and demonstrate our need for a Savior.

That brings us to our passage this morning. Paul is about to explain what happens when a person places their faith in Jesus Christ. The Gospel doesn’t simply change our standing before God. It changes our relationship with God, our identity, and our eternal future!

With that in mind, I want to invite you to turn in your Bibles to Galatians 3:23-26. We’re going to be reading from the Christian Standard Bible this morning.

Friends, I want to remind you that…

Statement of Belief:

“We are opening the living and powerful Word of God…truth without error, breathed out by Him, and fully sufficient for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness. It is our authority, our guide, and our hope. In honor of the God who gave us His perfect Word, I invite you to stand with me as we read it together.”

Today’s Scripture:

Galatians 3:23-29 CSB

Before this faith came, we were confined under the law, imprisoned until the coming faith was revealed. [24] The law, then, was our guardian until Christ, so that we could be justified by faith. [25] But since that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian, [26] for through faith you are all sons of God in Christ Jesus. [27] For those of you who were baptized into Christ have been clothed with Christ. [28] There is no Jew or Greek, slave or free, male and female; since you are all one in Christ Jesus. [29] And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed, heirs according to the promise.

Pastor: “This is the Word of the Lord.”

Congregation: “Praise His name. Praise His holy name.”

Our New Identity In Christ Guarantees… 

I. Our FREEDOM From Condemnation! vs. 23-25

Friends, we are now to the heart of today’s message. You’ll notice there on your outline that Our New Identity In Christ Guarantees…

I. Our FREEDOM From Condemnation! (vs. 23-25)

Fill in those blanks for me this morning….

Our FREEDOM From Condemnation!

Go back with me to verses 23 through 25 of this morning’s passage. Listen to what Paul writes:

“Before this faith came, we were confined under the law, imprisoned until the coming faith was revealed. The law, then, was our guardian until Christ, so that we could be justified by faith. But since that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian.”

Now, notice the short explanation there on your outline. 

“We are no longer held captive by the law’s condemnation because Jesus has accomplished what the law could never do.”

I bet not many of you have heard the name Anthony Ray Hinton. In 1985, Hinton was arrested in Birmingham, Alabama, and charged with two murders. He maintained his innocence, but he was convicted and sentenced to death.

For nearly thirty years, Anthony Ray Hinton sat on Alabama’s death row. Think about thirty years of waking up every morning knowing that you were condemned to die. Thirty years of living behind prison walls, 30 years of waiting for a punishment you don’t deserve.

Eventually, new forensic evidence undermined the case against him. On April 3, 2015, Anthony Ray Hinton walked out of the Jefferson County Jail a free man. After nearly thirty years, the condemnation that had held him captive was finally lifted.

Now, friends, I think that’s a powerful illustration of what it means to be set free from condemnation. However, there’s one place where this illustration misses the mark. Anthony Ray Hinton was an innocent man and he suffered a punishment he didn’t deserve. He was condemned for crimes he didn’t commit. 

You and I, on the other hand, are guilty sinners who deserve condemnation. 

That’s something our culture doesn’t like to hear. We live in a world that constantly tries to minimize sin. We’re told that our sins really aren’t that bad. We make excuses for our behavior, justifying our decisions, comparing ourselves to people we believe are worse than ourselves. We’re convinced that as long as we’re relatively good people, God must be pleased with us.

There in lies the problem. We tend to judge our sin by comparing ourselves to other sinners. God judges our sin according to His perfect holiness! What we consider a small mistake, a little boo-boo, God sees as a violation of His righteousness. 

Sin isn’t harmless. 

It isn’t something God simply overlooks. Sin is ugly. It’s dark. It’s rebellion against a holy God. It separates us from Him and leaves us deserving of His judgment.

Think about this for a moment. The sin we so casually excuse is the very sin that cost Jesus Christ His life! Our sin was so serious that forgiveness required the sacrifice of God’s only Son. Jesus didn’t die because our sin was insignificant. He died because our sin was so great that we could never pay its penalty ourselves!

That’s what makes the words of the Apostle Paul in Romans 8 so extraordinary. Listen to what he says:

Romans 8:1-2 (ESV)

“There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.”

Did you catch that? NO CONDEMNATION! Not less condemnation. Not temporary condemnation. No condemnation!

How is that possible? Not because God decided our sin wasn’t serious. Not because we somehow became good enough to deserve His forgiveness. It’s because Jesus Christ took upon Himself the condemnation that rightfully belonged to us!

Friends, that’s the beauty of the Gospel. God didn’t ignore our sin. He dealt with it at the cross. Jesus paid the penalty we could never pay, and through faith in Him, we receive a freedom we could never earn.

We deserved condemnation, but through Jesus Christ, we have received freedom!

Our New Identity In Christ Guarantees… 

I. Our FREEDOM From Condemnation! vs. 23-25

II. Our FAMILY Through Adoption! vs. 26-28

Friends, let’s move to Roman numeral two on our outline this morning. Our new identity in Christ guarantees our freedom from condemnation. It also guarantees…

II. Our FAMILY Through Adoption! (vs. 26-28)

We see this in verses 26 through 28. Listen to what Paul writes:

Galatians 3:26-28 (CSB)

“For through faith you are all sons of God in Christ Jesus. For those of you who were baptized into Christ have been clothed with Christ. There is no Jew or Greek, slave or free, male and female; since you are all one in Christ Jesus.”

“We have been welcomed into God’s family, united with believers from every background.”

There is something incredibly beautiful about adoption. There are families in our church who have experienced the blessing of adoption. My own family has experienced it. When you adopt a child, you’re doing more than providing a place to live. You’re giving that child a father and a mother. You’re giving them brothers and sisters. You’re giving them a home, a name, an inheritance. You’re taking a child who needs a family and making that child your own.

Adoption really is beautiful. An innocent child who has done nothing to deserve the difficulties of life is welcomed into a family that promises to love them, provide for them, and care for them. It’s probably the ultimate picture of love!

Here is where adoption falls short of what God has done for us. When it comes to humanity God isn’t adopting an innocent child. He’s adopting a guilty, rebellious, rotten sinner!

God knows everything about us. He knows every sinful thought we’ve entertained, every wicked desire we’ve pursued, every lie we’ve told, every act of rebellion we’ve committed. He knows the things we’ve done in secret that we would be ashamed for anyone else to discover. Yet through Jesus Christ, He welcomes us into His family!

Now, if you want to understand just how remarkable that kind of love really is, I want you to think about a story from the Old Testament. It’s the story of a prophet named Hosea and a woman named Gomer.

God commanded Hosea to marry Gomer, a woman whose unfaithfulness would become a living illustration of Israel’s rebellion against Him. 

Hosea took her into his home. 

He gave her his name. He made her his wife. 

He committed himself to loving her, providing for her, and remaining faithful to her.

Sadly, church Gomer was anything but faithful!

She betrayed the man who loved her. She pursued other men. She gave herself sexually to men who had made no commitment to her. She violated the sacred covenant of marriage and exchanged the love of a faithful husband for the temporary pleasure of other lovers.

Imagine the humiliation that Hosea must’ve suffered. 

While he was faithfully providing for his family, his wife was pursuing other men. 

While he was honoring his marriage vows, she was breaking hers. 

The woman who carried his name was publicly dishonoring it!

Her behavior wasn’t simply a momentary lapse in judgment. It reflected a pattern of unfaithfulness. She turned away from the man who loved her and pursued relationships that brought shame upon their marriage.

Gomer took the love of a faithful husband and treated it as though it were worthless!

By the time we reach Hosea chapter three, God commands Hosea to go and love an adulterous woman again. Hosea tells us that he purchased her for fifteen shekels of silver and a quantity of barley.

If I left that statement, simmer in your mind for just a moment, you might come to the thought of why did Hosea have to purchase his wife back? The answer to that question is sobering. You see friends no one trafficked Gomer. She volunteered. She sold herself. She willingly allowed herself to be trafficked.

Think about the humiliation of that moment. Hosea had already given this woman his love, his home, and his name. She had betrayed him. She had pursued other men. Yet now he was paying a price to bring her back!

The woman who had given herself away to other men was being pursued by the very husband she had betrayed!

Friends, I want you to understand something. The most disturbing part of this story isn’t simply what Gomer did to Hosea. It’s that Gomer’s unfaithfulness is a picture of what sinful people do to God!

Before we become too disgusted with Gomer, we need to take a good look in the mirror.

God has been faithful to us. He has loved us, provided for us, protected us, and blessed us in ways we could never deserve. Yet how often have we turned our backs on Him? How often have we pursued the pleasures of this world instead of the presence of God? How often have we knowingly chosen sin over obedience?

We condemn Gomer for giving herself to other lovers, yet every time we allow something to take God’s rightful place in our hearts, we are guilty of spiritual unfaithfulness!

We are not nearly as different from Gomer as we would like to believe!

That’s what makes the grace of God so extraordinary. That’s what makes his Grace so scandalous and so amazing. He doesn’t welcome us into His family because we’re innocent. He doesn’t adopt us because we’re deserving. He knows exactly how sinful we are, yet He loves us enough to send His Son to redeem us!

Listen to what the Apostle John writes:

John 1:12 (NKJV)

“But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name.”

Did you catch that? CHILDREN OF GOD! Not strangers. Not outsiders. Not unwanted guests. Through faith in Jesus Christ, we have been welcomed into the family of God!

God doesn’t adopt us because of who we are. He adopts us because of what Jesus Christ has done!

He knows our past. He knows our failures. He knows every shameful detail of our lives. Yet through the blood of Jesus Christ, He forgives our sins, gives us a new identity, and welcomes us into His family.

We came to God as guilty sinners, but through Jesus Christ, we have become His beloved children!

Our New Identity In Christ Guarantees… 

I. Our FREEDOM From Condemnation! vs. 23-25

II. Our FAMILY Through Adoption! vs. 26-28

III. Our FUTURE Through Salvation! vs. 29

Friends, we’ve finally made it to our last point this morning! Our new identity in Christ guarantees our freedom from condemnation, our family through adoption, and lastly, Roman numeral three…

III. Our FUTURE Through Salvation! (v. 29)

Look with me at verse 29. Listen to what Paul writes:

Galatians 3:29 (CSB)

“And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, heirs according to the promise.”

Again, there on your outline, you’ll notice a short explanation of this point. I want you to fill in the blanks with me:

“We have become heirs of God’s promises and possess the assurance of an eternal inheritance.”

I want you to think for a moment about one of the greatest family fortunes in American history. How many of you have ever heard the name Sam Walton? Of course, you have! Sam Walton was the founder of Walmart.

In 1962, Walton opened his first Walmart store in Rogers, Arkansas. Over the next thirty years, he built one of the largest retail companies in the world. By the time he died in 1992, the Walton family’s fortune was estimated at more than $23 billion!

Sam Walton had four children, and long before his death, he had arranged for each of them to own 20 percent of the family business. By the time their father died, each child’s share was worth approximately $4.6 billion!

Four children, each with a fortune worth billions of dollars!

Today, the Walton family fortune is worth hundreds of billions of dollars. It is one of the greatest examples of generational wealth in modern history.

As incredible as that earthly inheritance is, it pales in comparison to the inheritance that belongs to every person who knows Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord!

The Walton children inherited something that most of us cannot even begin to imagine. Yet every dollar they possess is temporary. 

Every investment can lose value. 

Every possession will eventually wear out. 

One day, every one of those heirs will leave this world, and not a single dollar will follow them into eternity.

You can inherit billions of dollars and still leave this world with absolutely nothing of eternal value!

Paul tells us that if we belong to Christ, we are Abraham’s descendants and heirs according to God’s promise. Through faith in Jesus Christ, we share in the blessings God promised to Abraham, including the blessing of salvation.

Listen to what the Apostle Peter writes:

1 Peter 1:3-4 (NIV)

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you.”

Peter says our inheritance can never perish, spoil, or fade!

It will never lose its value. It will never be taken away. It will never run out, it will never come to an end!

Friends, think about what awaits those who belong to Jesus Christ. We have the promise of eternal life! Jesus said in John 14:2-3 that He was going to prepare a place for His followers and that He would return to receive them to Himself.

Isn’t that amazing? Jesus Christ Himself is preparing a place for us! Heaven isn’t simply a destination we hope to reach someday. It is the eternal home God has promised to His children.

In Revelation 21:4, the Bible tells us that God will wipe away every tear from our eyes. There will be no more death, no more grief, no more crying, and no more pain!

Can you imagine a world without suffering? No more hospital rooms. No more cancer diagnoses. No more funeral homes. No more broken hearts. No more standing beside the grave of someone you love. No more sin. No more death!

Everything that makes life difficult in this fallen world will be gone forever!

Yet as wonderful as those promises are, the greatest blessing of heaven. isn’t WHAT will be there. It’s WHO will be there!

In Revelation 22:4, the Bible tells us that God’s servants will see His face. The God who created the heavens and the earth, the God who loved us enough to send His Son to die for our sins, will welcome us into His presence forever!

We will see Jesus face to face! The One who bore our sins on the cross. The One who conquered death through His resurrection. We will be with Him forever!

Friends, the greatest inheritance we could ever receive isn’t silver, gold, property, or possessions. It’s eternal life in the presence of Jesus Christ!

It’s really remarkable when you start to think about it. 

We didn’t earn it. 

We didn’t purchase it. 

We didn’t deserve it. It became ours through faith in Jesus Christ!

Now, as we bring today’s message to a close, I want you to remember what Paul has taught us about our new identity in Christ.

I. Our FREEDOM From Condemnation! We were guilty sinners who deserved God’s judgment, but Jesus Christ took our punishment upon Himself.

II. Our FAMILY Through Adoption! God didn’t simply forgive our sins and send us on our way. He welcomed us into His family!

III. Our FUTURE Through Salvation! We have an eternal inheritance that cannot perish, spoil, or fade. Heaven is our eternal home, and Jesus Christ has promised that we will be with Him forever!

We are no longer condemned criminals. We are forgiven children! We are no longer strangers and outsiders. We are sons and daughters of the King! We are no longer spiritually bankrupt. We are heirs of an eternal inheritance!

You have been redeemed by His blood, welcomed into His family, and promised an eternity in His presence.

You Are No Longer Slaves! 

Closing Prayer:

Heavenly Father, thank You for the incredible gift of salvation through Jesus Christ. We know that we are sinners who deserve condemnation, yet through Your grace, we have been forgiven, redeemed, and welcomed into Your family.

Lord, help us never to forget who we are in Christ. Remind us that our past has been forgiven, our identity has been changed, and our future is secure in You. May we live each day with gratitude for the freedom You’ve given us and the eternal inheritance You’ve promised us.

We love You, Lord, and we thank You for loving us. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.