Session 3: Why Can't We Fix It?
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32 You shall be careful therefore to do as the Lord your God has commanded you. You shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left. 33 You shall walk in all the way that the Lord your God has commanded you, that you may live, and that it may go well with you, and that you may live long in the land that you shall possess.
Background
Background
40 Years after he exodus from Egypt, as the Israelites prepare to enter the promised land, Moses gathered them together to reemphasize the covenant God made with them—including the law that was the standard for living in relationship with them. Some 1500 years later, however, the apostle Paul wrote to the Galatian Christians who believed following the law was necessary for salvation. Paul noted the law was only intended to be a temporary provision until Christ came.
Look at Deuteronomy 5:32-33
32 You shall be careful therefore to do as the Lord your God has commanded you. You shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left. 33 You shall walk in all the way that the Lord your God has commanded you, that you may live, and that it may go well with you, and that you may live long in the land that you shall possess.
Commanded was used twice here. Why do you think Moses stressed this?
The following flashback to the Sinai revelation emphasizes Moses’ role as covenant mediator to fearful Israel (5:22–33). Moses challenged the new generation “to do what the Lord your God has commanded you” (5:32–33) as a condition for prosperous life in the land of promise.
5:32–33 not turn aside to the right hand or to the left. God’s way is likened to a straight path. See also 2:27; 17:11, 20; 28:14. walk in all the way. See also 8:6; 9:16; 10:12; 11:22; 19:9; 26:17; 28:9; 30:16; 31:29.
5:31 This episode provides part of the basis for Moses’ being considered a prophet. See 18:15–22.
God honored Israel’s response (5:28–33). Everything they said was good and God yearned for their heartfelt obedience. Deuteronomy is an exposition of God’s way of life (5:33) which is rewarded with prosperity and longevity.
The subject matter at the end of chap. 5 dovetails with the beginning of chap. 6 as shown in the chiasm to follow. All pivot on the injunction in v. 32, you shall not turn aside to the right or to the left, summarizing the nation’s need for strict obedience to God’s commandments.
Think back to Abraham. How did God attribute righteousness to Abraham?
To live long in the land (5:31, 33) the nation was to listen to (hear, 5:27; 6:3) God’s commandments (5:29; 6:1) by fearing (reverencing; 5:29; 6:2) Him and not deviating (5:32) in their obedience.
Structure of
A hear (Hb. shema) … speaks (Hb. dabar) to you (5:27)
6 And he believed the Lord, and he counted it to him as righteousness.
B fear … keep all My commandments … sons (5:29)
C commandments and the statutes and the judgments … teach (5:31)
D land which I give them to possess (5:31)
E you shall observe to do just as the Lord your God has commanded you (5:32)
Is this a double standard?
F you shall not turn aside to the right or to the left (5:32)
E’ You shall walk in the way which the Lord your God has commanded you (5:33)
D’ land which you will possess (5:33)
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As a review before approaching Paul’s letter, what is justification? What is our role?
To justify is to declare righteous, to make one right with God. Justification is God’s declaring those who receive Christ to be righteous, based on Christ’s righteousness being imputed to the accounts of those who receive Christ (). Though justification as a principle is found throughout Scripture, the main passage describing justification in relation to believers is
21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
21 But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— 22 the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. 26 It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.
Now, let’s go to
10 For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them.” 11 Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, for “The righteous shall live by faith.” 12 But the law is not of faith, rather “The one who does them shall live by them.”
Paul is quoting here. Tie to what Paul is saying here
26 “ ‘Cursed be anyone who does not confirm the words of this law by doing them.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’
23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
What is the definition of works?
We are all law-breakers! The Jew has failed to keep the whole of the duties imposed in the Book of the Law, the Gentile to keep the great moral principles of that law which are written on his or her heart (). We are all under the curse! And that is why the insistence that we observe the law for justification is so utterly preposterous. It is to try to attain righteousness by the very law that condemns us, by a law that has justly placed us under a curse for our transgressions.
In order to bring home to his readers how grave a matter it was to be now observing the law for their justification, and how vital it was that they return to their former trust in the Saviour, the apostle solemnly announces in verse 10 that ‘All who rely on observing the law’—that is, for justification—‘are under a curse’. The curse in question is the penalty imposed by God for breaking his law, and Scripture is emphatic that no law-breaker is exempt from that curse: ‘… it is written [], “Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law” ’ (v. 10, emphasis added).
It is perfectly true that this curse would hold no terrors for us if our obedience to God’s law was perfect. When verse 12 quotes from , ‘The man who does these things will live by them’, it is being admitted as a general principle that obedience to the law of God will issue in eternal life. The righteous God will certainly justify righteous people and treat them accordingly!
12 For all who have sinned without the law will also perish without the law, and all who have sinned under the law will be judged by the law. 13 For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified. 14 For when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law. 15 They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them
There is a universal problem, however. In , Paul declares that ‘Jews and Gentiles alike are all under sin’ (), and that ‘all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God’ (v. 23, emphasis added). We are all law-breakers! The Jew has failed to keep the whole of the duties imposed in the Book of the Law, the Gentile to keep the great moral principles of that law which are written on his or her heart (). We are all under the curse! And that is why the insistence that we observe the law for justification is so utterly preposterous. It is to try to attain righteousness by the very law that condemns us, by a law that has justly placed us under a curse for our transgressions.
C. Law, Works, Curse, and Christ (3:10–14)
This section helps explain why blessing is not by works. Paul cited key verses of the OT that he treated as basic principles of operation. The point is that, in contrast to the blessing that came to believing Abraham, the law does not yield blessing but a curse (cf. ; ). The logic of vv. 10–14 runs this way:
Trying to do good, or obey the law, is a form of works.
1. The blessing of the Law is promised to those who obey it (v. 12, quoting ).
2. What Paul left unstated is that the blessing is never actually received. Instead, those who rely on works are not able to do all that is written in the law (cf. ; ; ; ).
3. Thus, all who rely on law are cursed (v. 10, quoting ).
4. The truth of statement 3 above is confirmed. Since says that blessing comes by faith (cf. ), it cannot come by obedience to law.
4 “Behold, his soul is puffed up; it is not upright within him,
but the righteous shall live by his faith.
16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. 17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.”
5. Through his crucifixion, Christ redeemed (exagorazo refers to buying someone or something out of a dangerous position; cf. 4:5) believers from the penalty of the Law (the curse; v. 13 quoting ).
6. Thus the blessing that was promised to Abraham—including the Holy Spirit (cf. 3:2)—comes to all those who have faith, even Gentiles (v. 14).
They have failed to obey the law, and so they stand under the curse on unfaithful Israel.
They stand in contrast to Abraham and all believers, who are blessed (). The history of Israel and human experience demonstrates that all fall short of what God demands and that all are therefore under the “curse,” because no one is able to keep everything commanded in “the law.”
8 And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “In you shall all the nations be blessed.” 9 So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.
So what is Paul trying to show in these verses?
In contrary to what the Judaizers claimed, the law cannot justify and save. It can only condemn. The breaking of any aspect of the law brought a curse on the person who broke the law. Since no one can keep the law perfectly, we are all cursed. Paul, with this argument, destroys the Judaizers’ belief that a person is saved through the law.
A standard formula used to introduce a quotation from Scripture.
Paul quotes to inform the Galatians that they must obey the entire law, not just portions of it. Failure to do so results in curse, not blessing. is part of the law. Paul’s argument against living by, or relying on, the law comes from the law itself.
3:10. Paul quotes to prove that, contrary to what the Judaizers claimed, the law cannot justify and save. It can only condemn. The breaking of any aspect of the law brought a curse on the person who broke the law. Since no one can keep the law perfectly, we are all cursed. Paul, with this argument, destroys the Judaizers’ belief that a person is saved through the law.
Verse 11
Verse 11
3:11 The OT itself points out that righteousness cannot be achieved through the law, as illustrates.
Paul’s quotation from provides evidence that justification by faith was always part of God’s plan of salvation. People were not saved by the law in the OT only to be saved by faith in the NT—salvation has always come by faith.
3:11 See and note.
Paul’s quotation from provides evidence that justification by faith was always part of God’s plan of salvation. People were not saved by the law in the OT only to be saved by faith in the NT—salvation has always come by faith.
4 “Behold, his soul is puffed up; it is not upright within him,
but the righteous shall live by his faith.
What else can you draw out of ?
Also important to Paul’s argument is that does not distinguish between Gentiles and Jews in reference to righteousness. Faith is what matters to God—not a person’s ethnicity.
Also important to Paul’s argument is that does not distinguish between Gentiles and Jews in reference to righteousness. Faith is what matters to God—not a person’s ethnicity.
Is relevant to this conversation? How?
17 So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.
Verse 12
Verse 12
3:11. Paul quotes : The righteous will live by faith. This verse reveals that even during the time of the law people were justified by faith and not obedience to the law. The Judaizers would have been wrong in their fundamental message even if they had lived during the time of Moses, because they misunderstood the purpose and power of the law.
Look at . what is your understanding from this verse on what the purpose of the law was for?
5 You shall therefore keep my statutes and my rules; if a person does them, he shall live by them: I am the Lord.
5 For Moses writes about the righteousness that is based on the law, that the person who does the commandments shall live by them.
5 You shall therefore keep my statutes and my rules; if a person does them, he shall live by them: I am the Lord.
9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith—
6 But the righteousness based on faith says, “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’ ” (that is, to bring Christ down)
3:12 Paul uses to show that the law is not of faith. It is likely that Paul means the same thing here that he meant in , where is equated with “the righteousness that is based on the law” (cf. ) in contrast to the “righteousness based on faith” (). Some interpreters argue that the one who does them shall live by them (cf. ) in its original context had to do with the temporal blessing and fullness of life that would come to the one who “does” the law. But it also seems to be a conditional promise within the law indicating that obedience would lead to righteousness (cf. ); this promise, however, remains unfulfilled because it relies on the fulfilling of a condition that could never happen: i.e., it relies on a human “doing of the law” in a complete and sufficient way. Others argue the original context of (see note) mainly concerns the means of enjoying life under God’s pleasure by keeping God’s statutes and rules. Because some think the meaning of in the original context is incompatible with the negative way in which Paul is using the verse here, they believe Paul is citing it as a misused slogan of the Judaizers. It seems better, however, to understand Paul as reading typologically—that is, as seeing life in the land of Israel as a typological reference to eternal life. In the Mosaic covenant, salvation was through faith in God’s promise and his atonement, culminating in the Messiah. But now that the new covenant has come, those who insist on the entrance requirements of the old covenant do not have the benefit of sacrifices, so they must “do” all that the Mosaic law requires in order to “live” eternally (cf. ).
Some interpreters argue that the one who does them shall live by them (cf. ) in its original context had to do with the temporal blessing and fullness of life that would come to the one who “does” the law. But it also seems to be a conditional promise within the law indicating that obedience would lead to righteousness (cf. ); this promise, however, remains unfulfilled because it relies on the fulfilling of a condition that could never happen: i.e., it relies on a human “doing of the law” in a complete and sufficient way. Others argue the original context of (see note) mainly concerns the means of enjoying life under God’s pleasure by keeping God’s statutes and rules. Because some think the meaning of in the original context is incompatible with the negative way in which Paul is using the verse here, they believe Paul is citing it as a misused slogan of the Judaizers. It seems better, however, to understand Paul as reading typologically—that is, as seeing life in the land of Israel as a typological reference to eternal life. In the Mosaic covenant, salvation was through faith in God’s promise and his atonement, culminating in the Messiah. But now that the new covenant has come, those who insist on the entrance requirements of the old covenant do not have the benefit of sacrifices, so they must “do” all that the Mosaic law requires in order to “live” eternally (cf. ).
This phrase means that the law is based on doing, not trusting. Paul’s point here is not that the law fails to justify those who do its works, but that God did not intend for the law to make people righteous. Paul cites in this verse to show that Scripture itself teaches that the law’s function is to provide a way to live obediently under God’s rule.
5 You shall therefore keep my statutes and my rules; if a person does them, he shall live by them: I am the Lord.
5 For Moses writes about the righteousness that is based on the law, that the person who does the commandments shall live by them.
27 And he answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” 28 And he said to him, “You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live.”
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Let’s move to
19 Why then the law? It was added because of transgressions, until the offspring should come to whom the promise had been made, and it was put in place through angels by an intermediary.
Paul asks, Why have the law if it cannot bring salvation? Look at
20 For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.
To reveal people’s sinfulness and need for a savior”
To reveal people’s sinfulness and need for a savior” (cf. : “through the law comes knowledge of sin”). All four senses are theologically true, but the last is probably uppermost in Paul’s mind. put in place through angels by an intermediary. talks about God coming from Sinai, where he gave the law, “from the ten thousands of holy ones,” so the angels were present with God on that occasion (cf. ; ). Moses was God’s “intermediary” in the gift of the law to Israel (; ). The Mosaic law was part of a temporary covenant never intended to last forever. Now that Jesus has come as the true offspring of Abraham, the Mosaic law is no longer in force. Therefore, circumcision is no longer required, since it is part of the Mosaic covenant.
Agree or disagree with this statement: “The very fact that the law forbids things prompts people to go ahead and do them.”
talks about God coming from Sinai, where he gave the law, “from the ten thousands of holy ones,” so the angels were present with God on that occasion (cf. ; ).
2 He said,
“The Lord came from Sinai
and dawned from Seir upon us;
he shone forth from Mount Paran;
he came from the ten thousands of holy ones,
with flaming fire at his right hand.
53 you who received the law as delivered by angels and did not keep it.”
2 For since the message declared by angels proved to be reliable, and every transgression or disobedience received a just retribution,
Christ is the descendant ().
The tradition of angels’ participation in the giving of the law is based on (compare , ; ; ). The mediator Paul envisions here most likely is Moses.
SUPPORTING IDEA: The law’s purpose was never to save. Its purpose has always been to be a standard that would show us the magnitude of our sin, our need for grace, and, thus, lead us to Christ. The law was a temporary measure only until faith in Christ was inaugurated. Therefore, grace is superior to the law.
The Galatian Struggle: Are we any different?
The Galatian Struggle: Are we any different?
The law and sin (3:19)
Paul’s opponents inappropriately prioritized the Mosaic covenant (the law). This misled the Galatians on the gravity and purpose of the Abrahamic covenant.
The Abrahamic Covenant is an unconditional covenant. God made promises to Abraham that required nothing of Abraham. describes a part of the Abrahamic Covenant, specifically dealing with the dimensions of the land God promised to Abraham and his descendants.
18 On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, “To your offspring I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates, 19 the land of the Kenites, the Kenizzites, the Kadmonites, 20 the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim, 21 the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites and the Jebusites.”
The actual Abrahamic Covenant is found in .
1 Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. 2 And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”
The actual Abrahamic Covenant is found in .
To correct this, Paul compared these two covenants to a legal will—no small matter because in Paul’s world, one’s “last will and testament” was binding. The Abrahamic covenant came first (v. 17) and should have the greater weight regarding the means of salvation. But if Paul’s opponents were right, then the law virtually cancelled out the Abrahamic covenant.
To correct this, Paul compared these two covenants to a legal will—no small matter because in Paul’s world, one’s “last will and testament” was binding. The Abrahamic covenant came first (v. 17) and should have the greater weight regarding the means of salvation. But if Paul’s opponents were right, then the law virtually cancelled out the Abrahamic covenant.
Paul’s words in may very well explain his language here in . There he says that ‘The law was added’, not so that sin might be restrained (as we might expect), but ‘so that the trespass might increase’. By multiplying the regulations that were to govern the people of God, the law, for one thing, vastly increased the scope for transgression. It also, on account of the perversity of the human heart, actually stimulated transgression.
Paul showed that the Abrahamic covenant was not set aside with the coming of the law (). God’s purpose in giving the law was never that it should save. It was to enable Israel to know how to avoid sin and thus God’s temporal judgment as a corporate people, so that she could begin to fulfill her role in representing Him in the world.
Alternatively, in Paul might be thinking about the revelatory power of the law. The law is like a mirror that shows us the extent of our sin. Either way, his explanation points up the Galatians’ folly. We sometimes say of people that they couldn’t have chosen a worse way to go about something. That is exactly what can be said of both the Galatians and their modern-day counterparts. What folly to seek justification by a law that, because of our depravity, occasions sin, stimulates sin, and brings sin to light!
E. The Purpose of the Law (3:19–22)
Let’s go to
The Mosaic law may have unintentionally appeared in such a bad light in 3:15–18 that Paul came to discuss its function in the following passage. He gave two questions about law (vv. 19–20, vv. 21–22) and then a statement about its temporary nature (vv. 23–25).
24 So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith. 25 But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian,
Before getting to the details, Paul’s presentation can be summarized in this way. Paul’s opponents inappropriately prioritized the Mosaic covenant (the law). This misled the Galatians on the gravity and purpose of the Abrahamic covenant. To correct this, Paul compared these two covenants to a legal will—no small matter because in Paul’s world, one’s “last will and testament” was binding. The Abrahamic covenant came first (v. 17) and should have the greater weight regarding the means of salvation. But if Paul’s opponents were right, then the law virtually cancelled out the Abrahamic covenant. Paul showed that the Abrahamic covenant was not set aside with the coming of the law (3:15–18). God’s purpose in giving the law was never that it should save; it was to serve as a “chapterone” (traditionally translated as “pedagogue” or “tutor”; NIV 1984, “put in charge to lead us,” 3:24), a male slave who accompanied the sons in affluent families, and who protected them by restricting their behavior until they matured (“held prisoners … locked up,” 3:23, NIV 1984). The purpose of the law was never to save. It was to enable Israel to know how to avoid sin and thus God’s temporal judgment as a corporate people, so that she could begin to fulfill her role in representing Him in the world. Salvation for the Jewish people was always through having a faith similar to Abraham’s, not through keeping the law. That faith, following the cross, is explicitly in the atoning death of Jesus Christ. Now that this grace has come, believers are no longer under the chaperone, the law (3:23–4:7).
3:19–20. The law came as a mere addendum (added) to the promise in order to bring consciousness of sin (transgressions, cf. ; ). Law’s role was temporary—until the seed, that is Christ, arrived (cf. 3:23). Although the OT makes no explicit reference to angels having ordained the law, it is the NT view (cf. ; ). The OT speaks of the law being written by “the finger of God” (; ). It is possible that this is a figurative way of speaking of a mediator. In , the magicians marveled at the plague of gnats God caused through Moses, who functioned as “God’s finger.” In addition, in Jesus cast out demons by the “finger of God,” which in is said to be the Holy Spirit. The “finger of God” may be an expression for God acting through a mediator. If this is the case, then it is possible that “the finger of God”—the mediator(s)—involved in the giving of the law represents angels, as the NT writers profess. But Moses is explicitly called the law’s mediator in v. 19c (see also ; ). A mediator communicated the intentions of each party: God and Israel. Thus the law was a bilateral agreement. The words God is only one imply that the promise made to Abraham, unlike the giving of the law, was unilateral. In addition, if the law was written down by angels and mediated by Moses, then it is doubly removed from being the direct action of God toward His people, unlike the promises of the Abrahamic covenant.
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The Greek word used here, paidagōgos—which may be rendered “guardian” or “tutor”—refers to someone who was responsible for protecting a child from harm, administering discipline, and instilling virtue.
3:24 The law, as guardian, had the positive functions of highlighting and restraining transgressions and also of foretelling the coming of Christ.
3:24 The law had a temporary and protective role. It kept people mindful of their condition and guided them toward maturity in God’s ways.
So what was Paul saying about the law here?
The Greek word used here, paidagōgos—which may be rendered “guardian” or “tutor”—refers to someone who was responsible for protecting a child from harm, administering discipline, and instilling virtue.
By correlating the law with this nanny image, we learn that the law was given to point out sin and to threaten a great punishment if God’s people didn’t straighten up. Man’s very inability to obey this law perfectly, and thus earn God’s approval, caused men and women to long for a better way to salvation and a relationship with God—by grace.
3:23–25. Before faith in Christ came, people were held prisoners by the law. In a final image, Paul conveys the purpose of the law. In the kjv the second half of this verse states that the law was given as our tutor (nasb more literal than niv, “was put in charge”). A better translation is “custodian” or “strict nanny.” In the Jewish culture a slave was assigned to each child to escort them to school and to assist in their supervision. This nanny was not a thirteen-year-old, sweet, little baby-sitter. This supervising nanny was more like a stern sergeant who had the bark of a German shepherd and the bite of a Doberman pincher. Every time the child took liberties without permission on the path to school (children like to play) or did something wrong, this authoritarian nanny pointed her finger at the child and in no uncertain terms told the child what it had done wrong and delivered the punishment. By correlating the law with this nanny image, we learn that the law was given to point out sin and to threaten a great punishment if God’s people didn’t straighten up. Man’s very inability to obey this law perfectly, and thus earn God’s approval, caused men and women to long for a better way to salvation and a relationship with God—by grace. God brought hope to mankind’s hopelessness in the most amazing way by sending Jesus Christ into the world. The law led us to Christ for forgiveness and righteousness.
God brought hope to mankind’s hopelessness in the most amazing way by sending Jesus Christ into the world. The law led us to Christ for forgiveness and righteousness.
The Galatians needed to look exclusively to him for their justification and regulate their Christian lives in accordance with his new-covenant instructions. We need to do the same.
As we move into the fourth room, vivid glimpses are given to us of life under the law. What was it like for Jews to have to live in conformity to the whole Mosaic law?
Certainly it was not a wholly negative experience. From the Psalms, for example, it is clear that spiritual life could flourish under the law. Furthermore, the law’s design was to protect the people by separating them in religion and practice from the corruptions of the surrounding nations. And finally, when there was obedience to the law, God poured out his blessing.
However, there was another side to it. In verse 23, for example, Paul speaks about the law locking people up and holding them prisoner. Then in verses 24–25 he speaks of the law being ‘put in charge’ and of the people being ‘under the supervision of the law’. The underlying word in both of these phrases is pedagogue, the guardian appointed to serve as both a child’s protector and disciplinarian until he or she came of age. It wasn’t easy to be under the law, and it wasn’t meant to be. With its multiplicity of regulations that served to multiply transgressions and increase the sense of sin, with its complex system of sacrifices that could never effectively deal with sin, life under the law was meant to be something from which God’s people looked forward to being delivered. It was temporary and preparatory, paving the way for the coming of something better.
The law and faith (3:23–25)
What are we saying about Christ if we try to add our works to get into heaven?
What that something better is we see in our fifth and final room. It contains the most splendid furniture, the centrepiece being the faith that ‘has come’ (v. 25). We must be careful not to misinterpret this. When Paul speaks in verse 23 about a time ‘Before this faith came’ and of being ‘locked up until faith should be revealed’, we are not to suppose that before the coming of Christ faith as the way of salvation was unknown. The reference in verse 6 to Abraham’s faith, for example, disproves that at a stroke. Faith has always been the way by which sinners have come to be right with God.
What is different in New Testament times is that faith has come to be explicitly fixed on the Jesus who came from heaven to live and die for us. It is he who is now faith’s particular object. And with his coming, ‘we are no longer under the supervision of the law’ (v. 25). Certainly there is a carry-over of commandments into the new-covenant era—those elements of the Mosaic law that belong to the divine order of things for man as man (such as the Decalogue). But as a way of regulating the lives of God’s chosen people, the Mosaic era is over. With Christ’s coming, a new age has dawned.
How foolish the notion, then, that the Galatians needed to place themselves under the law! Not only had it never been the way to justification (that had always and only been by faith), it was not even any longer God’s rule of life for his people. Everything had changed with Christ’s appearing. The Galatians needed to look exclusively to him for their justification and regulate their Christian lives in accordance with his new-covenant instructions. We need to do the same.
Takeaways
Takeaways
The tutor (better “guardian” ESV, or even “chaperone”; paidagogos is only here and in ) supervised minors. A child’s coming of age ended the guardian’s role (v. 25; 4:1–2). Thus, just as a guardian’s role was temporary, so was the law’s. The middle of v. 24 does not give a purpose statement (NASB: “to lead us” is not found in the original text) but a temporal expression and is better translated by the ESV: “our guardian until Christ came.”
No one is able to live by the entirety of the law and failure to do so puts us subject to God’s wrath
Justification by the law (works) is not possible: Justification comes only from faith.
Justification comes only from faith
The law merely reveals our sinfulness and need for a savior
We are justified by faith in Christ and by Christ alone.