Galatians 3:19-26 The Law: Our Custodian

Galatians 3:19–26 KJV (WS)

19 Wherefore then serveth the law? It was added because of transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator. 20 Now a mediator is not a mediator of one, but God is one. 21 Is the law then against the promises of God? God forbid: for if there had been a law given which could have given life, verily righteousness should have been by the law. 22 But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe. 23 But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed. 24 Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. 25 But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster. 26 For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.

Introduction

What good is the law, then?

Paul has to help his audience grow in their understanding of the law.

With everything that he has said about the law, it would be understandable for a gentile reader to have this question.

What good is the law?

It’s actually good for a lot.

It was designed and instituted by God.

It has to have had a purpose.

To start with...

The law was intended to call forth the transgression of the people and make them manifest.

To make wrongdoing a legal offence.

The law was not to keep transgressions in check, but rather to make them identifiable as what they were.

The rules of right and wrong are based in the character of God.

People were sinning before the law was given.

The giving of the law helped humanity to understand and identify their sins.

The law was also intended to be temporary.

“till” indicates the temporary nature of the law’s primary purpose.

The law would fulfill it’s primary mission until the promised seed would come.

That was, of course, Jesus.

When Jesus came, he would fulfill the requirements of the law for us.

Everyone that opted in to his offer of immunity would then be free from the curse of the law.

They would be treated as though they had kept the whole law.

Jews believed that the law was given to Moses through the mediation of angels.

The law was obviously of God.

Paul pentateuch gives us little information about the means in which Moses received it.

Acts 7:53 “53 Who have received the law by the disposition of angels, and have not kept it.”

Paul had been there to hear Stephen give testimony to this truth in his testimony.

Hebrews 2:2 “2 For if the word spoken by angels was stedfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompence of reward;”

There are two kinds of mediators in the Bible.

Jesus is the first kind of mediator.

He brings together two parties that were at odds with each other.

Moses is not a mediator that brings together two estranged parties.

Instead, he is simply a transmitting agent.

God, who is one, utilized a mediator (Moses) to transmit his law to the multitude of the people of Israel.

It is said that there are over 250 documented interpretations of this tiny verse.

It generally is telling us that Moses acted on behalf of all the people.

The law came from a singular source which was God.

The law could not, nor was it ever intended to give life.

If it was possible for humans to adhere to a law that would have granted us life, God would have given us that law.

There is no law that can make us righteous.

The scriptures then, conclude that we are all sinners.

The law goes back to Moses.

The scripture goes back to Adam.

The scripture is what makes us sinners, the law just makes it clear.

Paul draws a comparison between the law and a Roman pedagogue.

Roman sons were considered children from the age of 6 to 16.

Before that, they were babies and under the purview of their mother.

At age 6, they became the responsibility of their father.

At this point several different things could happen.

Lower-class tradesmen would take their sons to work with them to learn a trade, or they would indenture them with another craftsman.

Middle-class families might be able to afford some level of outside education for their son.

Upper-class families would certainly pay for formal education and would also assign one of their educated slaves to serve as their son’s pedagogue.

A pedagogue had several responsibilities.

He had to be somewhat educated himself.

He had to be able to read.

He had to be able to speak greek.

The pedagogue was not quite a teacher, nor was he a tutor.

He was an overseer for the child.

He would leave the house with the boy in the morning and monitor his activities throughout the day.

The pedagogue would protect the boy from foolish activities and friends.

Kind of like an embodied conscience.

Think of Jiminy Cricket and Pinnochio.

He would insure the boy paid attention and worked hard at his studies.

The pedagogue was empowered by the father to discipline the boy should he step out of line.

This was often done in a strict and painful fashion,

Many boys hated their pedagogue.

If you have boys or you were a boy at one time, you know how impossible it is to be good at school all day long.

The pedagogue, though, was not the father of the boy.

He could give him no inheritance.

He was, himself, a slave and could give the boy no position in the world.

He was only a manager,

The pedagogue’s management of the boy was limited by time.

At the age of 16, the Roman boy made the transition from youth to adulthood.

At 16, the boy took on all the rights and responsibilities of an adult son and was no longer under the care of the pedagogue.

A good pedagogue would have assisted the boy in making the journey from child to adult.

Paul is trying to help the Galatians understand that the law is the pedagogue.

It is not the Father.

It is not their permanent overseer.

See verse 25.

In verse 26, Paul says to the believer, they are all the children of God.

When we get saved, we are fully vested in our salvation.

We aren’t probationary Christians.

We are co-equal sons and daughters of God.

Whether you’ve been saved for 40 days or 40 years.

Whether you are a gentile or the most devout Jew.

We all enjoy equal access and standing with our Father.

The law is also not the end that they are trying to reach.

No upper class child would aim to be a pedagogue when he grew up.

Remember, the pedagogue was a slave.

The law was also unable to make the child a responsible adult.

He could assist him.

He could point out his immaturity.

But he could not make the child grow up.

All of these things are true of the law.

It had it’s purpose.

It also had it’s limitations.

There are two things I would like for you to consider from this passage.

What does this passage mean for your freedom in Christ?

We are free from the curse of the law.

The law was meant to point out our sins.

The enduring legacy of the mosaic law is still felt today.

Our own legal system relied heavily on the mosaic law.

It was meant to convince us of our need for a Savior.

It could never be our savior.

The standards of the law could not give life.

They could not make us righteous.

Once we get saved we are no longer under that curse!

Christ makes us righteous.

Christ fulfilled the expectations of the law for us.

What does this passage teach us about parenting?

Humanity is God’s special creation.

Like children, we bear His image.

All of us, though, have also gone astray.

God gifted us the law to reveal our transgression.

So that when the promised savior would come, we would receive him.

In doing this, God is setting the perfect example of a parent.

If you have children in your home, there is a principle here that we need to see and apply.

It is not uncommon for a parent to say something along the lines of “these children that God has entrusted to us.”

This is a true and accurate perspective.

God has entrusted your kids to you to be a steward of their life.

We say that we are trying to raise disciples of Jesus.

Not just athletes

Not just musicians

Not just students

Not just citizens

Not just business people

Disciples of Jesus.

If our kids are going to be Jesus’ disciples, then they will need to believe in Him.

Salvation is the first step in discipleship.

Before someone can believe and be saved, they must realize their need for a Savior.

This means they must have an understanding of their sin.

Guess who’s job it is to be the law in your child’s life?

Yours.

God modeled effective parenting when he gave his children the law before the promise came.

How early do you start enforcing rules for your kids?

Probably as soon as they are mobile.

Correction at that age could just be picking them up and setting them back in a safe location.

You may even say “no, no, come back over here.”

From an early age we have to make the dangers of transgression apparent to our kids.

Refraining from correction is spiritually dangerous to your children.

They may not be ready to place their faith in Jesus, but they need a parent who will establish and enforce the law of the home.

But, we must be careful not to make the same mistake as the Judaizers...

Well-disciplined children still need to be saved.

Discipline is not the means of salvation.

You may be a mediator passing on God’s expectations to your children, but you are not God.

Your kids need to pointed to their savior.

Like the pedagogue, your time with your kids is limited.