As we continue in Paul’s letter to the Galatians we see him
fighting against those false teachers who were trying to tie everything back to
the Law. Two weeks ago we looked at some of God’s promises. When God makes a promise
you can take it to the bank. His character, His Holiness, ensures that He will
keep His promises.
God has promised to take care of your needs. He has promised
that His grace is more than you will ever need. He has promised to provide you
a way to escape temptation. Through Jesus He has promised victory over death,
salvation, and eternal life. He has promised that everything, no matter how
tough it is, will work for the good of those who love Him.
God’s promises are unbreakable, but we do have to do our
part. We need to have faith and follow Jesus. We need to believe everything the
Bible teaches us and do it. Apply it to our lives and watch the amazing things
God will do in us and through us.
Paul touched briefly on how everything God gives us is
through the promise He made Abraham and then he gets back into his discussion
on the law.
Galatians 3:19
“Why then was the law given? It was added because of
transgressions until the Seed to whom the promise was made would come. The law
was put into effect through angels by means of a mediator.”
Paul has been telling the Galatians that the Law does not
bring salvation, and has been hitting that theme pretty hard so far. This
statement was probably in response to one of these false teachers objecting to
the arguments Paul has been making. They would have taken an issue with Paul
saying that the Law does not bring the Holy Spirit, that the Law does not
justify those who follow it, that it does not replace simply having faith, and
that in reality it brings a curse on all who follow it.
So Paul decides it is time to explain why God gave the Law.
Why did God feel the need to add the Law in Sinai instead of letting people
continue to live by faith. Why was the Law necessary?
As Paul says in this verse, the Law was added because of
transgressions. It was added because people were sinning. It was added so that
the Hebrew people would know the difference between what they were doing and
what God expected from them. It was added so that you and I would see how tough
it would be for us to live a perfectly holy life and not need a savior.
The Law was given to man so that the bar could be set for
all humankind to understand what actions would bring about God’s wrath.
1 Timothy 1:8-11
“8 But we know that the law is
good, provided one uses it legitimately. 9 We
know that the law is not meant for a righteous person, but for the lawless and
rebellious, for the ungodly and sinful, for the unholy and irreverent, for
those who kill their fathers and mothers, for murderers, 10 for
the sexually immoral and homosexuals, for
kidnappers, liars, perjurers, and for whatever else is contrary to
the sound teaching 11 based on the glorious
gospel of the blessed God, which was entrusted to me.”
As Paul stated to Timothy the Law is good ‘IF’ it is used
correctly. It was given to show people how sinful they are. It helps us to
understand that we cannot do it on our own and show us that we need a Savior.
Once a person has accepted Jesus as their Savior, they no
longer need the Law. They are no longer judged by the Law. With Jesus all of
your transgressions are forgiven. All the failures that the Law points out, are
wiped away. Faith in Jesus turns God’s
wrath to God’s Grace.
Let’s look at verse 19 again to see what else Paul is telling
us.
Galatians 3:19
“Why then was the law given? It was added because of
transgressions until the Seed to whom the promise was made would come. The law
was put into effect through angels by means of a mediator.”
‘until the Seed to whom the promise was made would come.’
The Law was meant to be temporary. It was never God’s
intention for Jesus to pay the ultimate sacrifice and for all of us to still
live under the Law.
The Law is like that temporary tire you put on when you have
a flat. The temporary tire serves a need. It fulfills its purpose for a period
of time. It will help you get to work, home, or wherever you need to go; but it
is limited. A nice new tire can get you as many as 90,000 miles on the high
end. A temporary spare tire will probably last you several hundred miles and that
may be pushing it. It is thinner, has less tread on it, and is weaker. It
cannot replace the need for a real tire.
The Law was meant as a temporary stop gap. It was meant to
fulfill a need for a time, but it pales in comparison to the real solution to
our sin problem. When the Seed, Jesus Christ, came the Law was no longer
needed. It had served its purpose, it had run its course, it had paved the way.
Once Jesus came, died, and rose again it was time to set aside the temporary
and embrace the permanent solution.
The Law was given to the Israelites through a mediator. It
was given to the people through an angel and Moses. When it comes to the
promises of God, The Bible shows us that the promises were given directly from
God to Abraham. There was no mediator involved, no go between, no gopher… the
message was directly given.
What do you think has more authority? A message given by a
go between or a promise given by God Almighty Himself? I think the answer is
obvious. A direct Promise from God takes precedence over the Law given through
mediators.
The Law had its purpose, but it’s time has passed and it
pales in comparison to the Promises of God and our Lord and Savior.
Galatians 3:20
“20 Now a mediator is not for just
one person, but God is one.”
The first part of this verse reminds us that a mediator
implies a covenant or agreement between two people or groups. Think of it like
buying a car. There is a contract saying you agree to pay the agreed upon
price, and the other party or the car dealer agrees to give you the car. Now
many times there is a third party involved who is loaning you the money and you
are agreeing to pay them back with interest. With a contract or a covenant,
each person or party involved has a responsibility to do something. Every
person has to take action to fulfill their part.
With the Mosaic Covenant that included the Law, both God and
the people of Israel had things they were supposed to do.
Exodus 19:5-8
“5 Now if you will listen to Me and
carefully keep My covenant, you will be My own possession out of all the
peoples, although all the earth is Mine, 6 and you
will be My kingdom of priests and My holy nation.’ These are the words
that you are to say to the Israelites.” 7 After Moses
came back, he summoned the elders of the people and set before them all these
words that the Lord had commanded him. 8 Then all
the people responded together, “We will do all that the Lord has
spoken.” So Moses brought the people’s words back to the Lord.
The Israelites were to keep the Mosaic Covenant and God
would make them His people. An agreement was made and both sides had
responsibilities. The people had to follow the Law, practice the rituals,
follow the purification guidelines, circumcise the young, and do their best to
adhere to every piece of it. In turn God would take care of them.
Galatians 3:20 ended with ‘but God is one’. Meaning that the
promise of salvation through faith was unilaterally given to all humankind. It is
God’s direct commitment to man. No mediator was used or needed. It is a
commitment directly from God that only He can deliver on. It is a promise that
we cannot earn. It is up to God and God alone to fulfill His promise. It is His
promise and His responsibility.
To put it another way, your salvation is in God’s hands. You
don’t deserve it, you cannot earn it, and there is nothing you can do about it.
All you can do is have simple faith like Abraham did. It is the Father’s action
in sending Jesus to earth and Jesus actions that drove Him to the cross that
paves the way for your salvation. Without Their actions, your faith means
nothing. With Their actions, your faith brings salvation.
Now for the next question about the Law and God’s Promise.
Galatians 3:21-22
“21 Is the law therefore contrary to
God’s promises? Absolutely not! For if a law had been given that was able to
give life, then righteousness would certainly be by the law. 22 But
the Scripture has imprisoned everything under sin’s power, so that the
promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe.”
So based on everything we have heard so far, everything we
have read in Galatians to this point, it might lead us to question if the Promise of God
and the Law are in conflict with each other.
Paul is telling us absolutely not. God gave both the Law and
the promises, so they are both valid. The problem is some people were trying to
say they were given to accomplish the same thing, and Paul is saying that they were given
for different purposes.
As we have seen in previous weeks the Law was given for a
reason; but that was not to give life or righteousness. In theory it could bring salvation if someone
was capable of keeping it 100% perfectly. Which has yet to be done.
Romans 8:3-4
“3 What the law could not
do since it was limited by the flesh, God did. He condemned sin
in the flesh by sending His own Son in flesh like ours under sin’s
domain, and as a sin offering, 4 in order that
the law’s requirement would be accomplished in us who do not walk
according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.”
No one could keep the Law, so it cannot bring eternal life.
The Law is not in conflict with the Promises. The was was not given to save you, justify you, or give you life. What the Law did, was to prepare the way for the Gospel. The Law showed the world that it is a prisoner to sin.
The Law is not in conflict with the Promises. The was was not given to save you, justify you, or give you life. What the Law did, was to prepare the way for the Gospel. The Law showed the world that it is a prisoner to sin.
None are perfect. All have sinned. Each one of us falls
short of God’s requirements. It is only when we give up our attempt to please
God with good works and realize that we do not measure up to His requirements
that we accept that we need a Savior. It is only then that we that we are
prepared to accept the true promise of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ.
The Law serves its purpose; it shows us how far we have fallen.
We would not know how far from God we are without the Law.
It is only through the realization that we are truly lost on our own, that we
see how much we need Jesus.
Galatians 3:23-25
“23 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,”
Before Jesus Christ revealed Himself, the Law is what guided
the people of Israel. It was the tool that God used to shield His people from
the harmful influences in the world. It was what showed them that the pagan
rituals, Baal worship, human sacrifices, and all that other junk was to be
avoided. The Law served its purpose. It did what it was supposed to do. Once
Jesus died on that cross for our sins, and rose again the Law was no longer
needed. It was then that we could be fully justified by our faith in Jesus. No
more rituals. No more sacrifices. No more rules. Simple faith.
When we believe, we are no longer under the law. When we
believe, we are under grace.
Romans 8:1-2
“8 Therefore, no condemnation now exists
for those in Christ Jesus, 2 because the
Spirit’s law of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of
sin and of death.”
The Law made sin and death a reality, but faith in Jesus
sets you free.
Jesus has come to set us free. He set us free from the Law.
He has set us free from the hell we deserve. He has set us free!
He has set you free so that you can be the witnesses He commanded
you to be. He wants you to reach out to your community and to the world,
spreading His love everywhere you go. He set you free so that You will be His messenger. So that you
will be His hands and feet. So that you will reach the lost, feed the hungry,
and provide for those in need.
Jesus has set you free so that you can Follow Him, Love God,
Love Others, and Be a Witness. Yesterday’s outreach was just the start. What
can you do this week to show His love to others? What are you going to do this
week to spread His message of Grace?
Thanks for Reading!
Blessings,
Robert
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