Grace: The Great Escape Series

As I was praying through this text in Israel I asked several of the trip participants to read these verses and tell me what they thought. They said this passage confused them. It left them with more questions than answers. I said, “What questions?” They replied, “Well, why do we even need the Old Testament Law anymore? Did Jesus come to replace the law? How can I be good enough for God?” I figured if they had those questions, that you might have them, too, so in this message I’ll answer three questions comparing God’s grace with the law of Moses.

I. Q: WHY DO WE EVEN HAVE THE OLD TESTAMENT LAW?

A: TO LEAD US TO JESUS

All of the Old Testament was pointing to the coming of the promised Messiah. God made a promise to Abraham that He would make a mighty nation from his descendants, that he would give him so many children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren that they would outnumber the sands of the sea. By faith, Abraham believed God’s promise. It was hard, because God waited until Abraham was 100 years old (and Sarah was 90) before Isaac was born. Paul points out that God’s promise to Abraham was fulfilled in Jesus.

The Ten Commandments didn’t come for 430 years after God’s graceful promise to Abraham. But the purpose of the law was the same—to point people to Jesus. But there were hundreds of other laws about what they could eat or not eat; what they could touch and not touch; how to conduct all the temple sacrifices; special holidays to observe. God actually laid so many laws on them to let them see that no person could keep all the laws.

All of the laws of the Old Testament were given to show that no person could be as holy as God. Without laws to break, they wouldn’t have realized they were sinners who needed forgiveness.

Let me illustrate that by talking about a highway. Imagine that when they open the rest of Loop 49 in a few months that they don’t post speed limit signs, they just decide to let people drive any speed they like. Now, how many of you are going to drive 40 mph? How many of you are going to drive 70? How many of you are going to drive 85 or faster? Go ahead, there’s no law on that road. That’s how people lived before God gave the law. Some were careful, but most were careless in regards to others, but nobody felt guilty.

Then one day you drive on Loop 49 and they have posted 70 mph speed limit signs—that’s like God giving the law through Moses. The day before when you were driving 85 you weren’t guilty, because there wasn’t a law, but suddenly there’s a law and if you drive 71 mph, you’re guilty. It was the law that actually defined what sin was.

God gave the Old Testament Law so people would realize they are sinners who need a Savior. Here’s how Eugene Petersen translates Galatians 3:23: “Until the time when we were mature enough to respond freely in faith to the living God, we were carefully surrounded and protected by the Mosaic law. The law was like those Greek tutors, with which you are familiar, who escort children to school and protect them from danger or distraction, making sure the children will really get to the place they set out for. But now you have arrived at your destination.” (Galatians 3:23-25, The Message)