The Law and The Believer

Introduction

There is a fascinating little passage in Peter’s second epistle which rarely gets covered in much depth.

What makes it so fascinating is it gives us a window into what one apostle thinks about another apostle’s teaching.

2 Peter 3:14–18 (ESV)

Therefore, beloved, since you are waiting for these, be diligent to be found by him without spot or blemish, and at peace. And count the patience of our Lord as salvation, just as our beloved brother Paul also wrote to you according to the wisdom given him, as he does in all his letters when he speaks in them of these matters. There are some things in them that are hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do the other Scriptures. You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, take care that you are not carried away with the error of lawless people and lose your own stability. But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.

Notice a couple of things:

Peter admits that Paul sometimes wrote things that were hard to understand. I can’t help but wonder if Peter had today’s passage in Galatians in mind when he said that.

He also suggests that ignorant and unstable people twist Paul’s words. Peter is likely pointing to a group that would arise as a response to the Judaizers. We call them antinomians.

Anti = against

Nomos = law

Antinomians believed (and still believe today) that by virtue of divine grace, Christians are freed not only from the Mosaic Law for salvation, but from all moral law. In essence, it doesn’t matter what we do in the flesh because Christ Jesus truly did “pay it all.”

While there are not too many today who will claim antinomianism, there are a great many believers who live like antinomians.

So, what is the purpose of the law then? Does it really have an purpose for the believer? Can’t we just throw it all out?

We will answer these questions this morning.

Body: Galatians 3:15-22

Verses 15-16

Covenants, Promises, Abraham’s Offspring, and Christ

For the Judaizers, the law had priority over grace because it came after Abraham.

Paul says that is completely incorrect. In fact, a permanently binding covenant cannot be changed, unless it isn’t permanently binding (at which case being Abraham’s descendants had little to no meaning).

Thus, God’s promise of salvation by faith to Abraham was permanently binding, and not even the law could change that.

Then Paul helps them to understand that when the Scripture speaks of Abraham’s seed, it’s not speaking of all Abraham’s descendants, but the Messiah who would bring the blessings to the nations of salvation by faith.

Verses 17-18

Again, God’s covenant with Abraham was ratified before the law came. Thus, the coming of the law doesn’t make the promises made to Abraham void.

The inheritance of salvation by grace through faith has priority and permanence over law-keeping.

Again, by way of reminder, Paul is speaking against this group we call the Judaizers who taught that in order to become a Christian one must first become a Jew...

Much of their arguments were based on the idea of becoming full children of Abraham before one could become a follower of Christ.

Paul, being highly trained in Pharisaic Judaism, is defeating their arguments using their own terminology…thus why it can be somewhat challenging for modern readers because we don’t think like ancient Pharisees.

Verses 19-20

Is the law null and void then?

No, the law serves a vital purpose: to reveal sin.

The law cannot stop sin. Nor can the law make one stop sinning. It simply reveals sin.

Think about it this way: Why do traffic laws exist? To attempt to create safer roads for everyone. How? By attempting to regulate traffic, but more specifically to reveal those who are violating the law.

However, many people don’t follow the traffic laws, so the traffic laws are powerless to stop violators. (Police can stop violators, but the law cannot. The law is simply a tool.)

Additionally, no one perfectly follows all the traffic laws all the time...

Thus, the laws cannot stop people from breaking the law. They simply reveal violators of the laws.

If we all could follow the laws perfectly, then there would be no need for the laws. Everyone would always be doing their part to keep others safe and traffic dangers would greatly diminish. But, this will not happen.

So, the laws reveal violations and, hopefully, give the enforcers of the laws, the police, and opportunity to punish violators.

This is similar to the OT law…though probably a fairly crude analogy.

Enter Christ Jesus. Christ Jesus perfectly fulfills the law, without any violation whatsoever. So, He was able to be the perfect sacrifice for sins.

Romans 8:1–4 (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. For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

The law was temporary until the coming of Abraham’s Seed; Christ Jesus, the Promised Messiah.

What about the law being put in place through angels by an intermediary?

The idea of verse 20 is that the law required mediation (angels and Moses on Mt. Sinai). It also required that each party would hold up their end of the covenant. God did, man did not and will not.

The Abrahamic covenant, however, is dependent only on God, it doesn’t need a mediator. There is One God and the covenant of salvation by grace through faith is dependent on Him and Him alone.

Verses 21-22

Is the law then at odds with the promise of justification by faith?

No. The law wasn’t given to save people from their sins. It was given to reveal that we are all prisoners to sin who desperately need to be freed from the righteous penalty that sin brings.

There is but one way to be freed: the promise by faith in Jesus Christ given to those who believe!

By faith, we are heirs of the promise given to Abraham. Grace through faith!

So What?

What does the law mean for believers today?

The law is a constant reminder of our need for Christ.

In verses 15-18 we see that the promise is greater than the law, so why the law? Look again at verse 19...

The law reveals our sinfulness!

I hope thus far in our study through the book of Galatians you are seeing something crystal clear: we cannot save ourselves through good works.

Some this morning hear that and it conflicts with your belief that you are a good person.

I’m sure you are a perfectly wonderful person. But, when we talk about “good” we are talking about righteous. Not nice. Not friendly. Not honest. Not ethical. Not respectable. We are talking about innocent and blameless before the Holy, Holy, Holy God.

Psalm 14:1–3 (ESV)

The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.”

They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds;

there is none who does good.

The Lord looks down from heaven on the children of man,

to see if there are any who understand,

who seek after God.

They have all turned aside; together they have become corrupt;

there is none who does good,

not even one.

So, who’s right about your “goodness”, God or you?

Others hear this and want to point to all the good things you do; all the money you give; all the time you spend.

Again, those are just great! But, they cannot save you.

This is exactly what the Judaizers taught. If this is you, Paul’s words are clear:

Galatians 3:1 (ESV)

O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you?

On the other hand, there are some that hear this and think, “Right on! The law means nothing for me! I can do what I want to do because I’m free in Christ. Woo hoo!”

Obviously I’m being hyperbolic here, but this attitude is far more common in the modern church today than is those who are like the Judaizers.

The Christian church is filled with people who self-justify sin and/or excuse it, particularly when it is our sin of choice.

For those, I would point to Romans 6…I’ll share just a few of the highlights:

Romans 6:1–2 ESV

What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it?

Romans 6:6–7 ESV

We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. For one who has died has been set free from sin.

Romans 6:11 ESV

So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.

Romans 6:12–14 ESV

Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.

He goes on, but I think I’ve made my point.

The law should constantly remind us that it is completely impossible for us to be righteous before God apart of Christ Jesus.

Therefore, I need to constantly abide in Christ because without him I am nothing but a hell-bound sinner with no hope in life or death.

The law is a constant reminder of the wonderful gift of grace that is ours through Christ.

When I look at the law of God and consider my sinfulness; my propensity to sin, my desire for the sin I hate, my disgust at my inability to master my sin and how my sin can easily become my master if I’m not on guard; I’m amazed that a wonderful gift like grace has been given to an unworthy man such as myself.

Maybe I’m alone in that?

No, the law should constantly remind us that God’s grace is truly amazing and we should celebrate it.

Think about a few of the verses we sang this morning:

“Here is love, vast as the ocean, loving kindness as the flood, when the Prince of Life, our Ransom, shed for us His precious blood.”

“Grace and love, like mighty rivers, poured incessant from above; Heaven’s peace and perfect justice kissed a guilty world in love.”

“He took my sins and my sorrow, He made them His very own, He bore the burden to Calvary, and suffered and died alone.”

“We’ll join in singing with all the redeemed. Cause Satan is vanquished and Jesus is King.”

Unfortunately, too often we sing these words without thinking about them. Or worse, we refuse to sing them because we don’t feel like it, or because we are distracted, or because we think we don’t have a good singing voice, or because we don’t like a particular song, or or or...

It is so easy for us to take grace for granted. It doesn’t cost us anything, especially in America today.

((Story of the Romanian man I spent time with…))

Lord, forgive us for taking your grace for granted! For not constantly celebrating the wonderful gift of grace given to unworthy sinners! Help us to never again take the wonderful gift of grace for granted! Amen.