The questions of Grace part II
What then was the purpose of the Law?
I sometimes think in comic-book frames. I imagine (though this is not the case) Paul drumming out this passage before a set of judaizers and of their new converts back to the law. This question was not asked in the passage, but I can see these people asking Paul this question: Why did God make the law if it was not to be followed? What is the purpose of the Law?
Paul, in his best attorney’s hat, gives them a teaching on contract or covenant law:
Galatians 3:15-29 (NIV)
15 Brothers, let me take an example from everyday life. Just as no one can set aside or add to a human covenant that has been duly established, so it is in this case.
16 The promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. The Scripture does not say “and to seeds,” meaning many people, but “and to your seed,” meaning one person, who is Christ. 17 What I mean is this: The law, introduced 430 years later, does not set aside the covenant previously established by God and thus do away with the promise.
18 For if the inheritance depends on the law, then it no longer depends on a promise; but God in his grace gave it to Abraham through a promise.
Paul was saying in the clearest language imaginable- you cannot break a contract, or even add to it, unless both parties agree! The promise found in Genesis 12:3 3-“ I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” refers directly to Christ. The promise Abrahamic covenant of blessing-righteousness received by faith in Christ and eternal life in His name-is a unilateral promise- it was made by God directly to Abraham. All of the patriarchs were blessed and kept by God on the basis of their faith. The law did not even appear until some 430 years later. So, Paul says, what about all those patriarchs without the law? Were they not justified because they did not have the law? Their inheritance was not based on the law, with all of its instructions and regulations; it was based on the promise of God.
This to a Jewish believer must have stopped the argument. To suggest that the great patriarchs were somehow not justified because they didn’t even have the law would cause great pause and reflection. The question still remained with them what was the purpose of the Law. To the gentile, the law was never even meant for them! God did not give the law to the gentiles, but he made his moral law clear through the conscience.
Romans 2:15 (NIV)
15 since they show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts now accusing, now even defending them.)
To Paul, he would have to say again “you foolish Galatians- why add misery to your perfect salvation found in faith in Christ alone?” The purpose of the law was not to bring righteousness, Paul reasoned, but an awareness of Man’s need of a savior!
19 What, then, was the purpose of the law? It was added because of transgressions until the Seed to whom the promise referred had come. The law was put into effect through angels by a mediator. 20 A mediator, however, does not represent just one party; but God is one..
What then, is the purpose of the Law? It was added, Paul says, because of transgressions. It is in mans nature to sin, to transgress God’s law. Since Adam, we have a fallen nature. Jeremiah reminds us that the heart is desperately wicked above all things! The breaking of God’s law comes naturally to those men who know it by conscience as well as by study. This law, delivered by the very hand of God to Moses, was given to the people for the purpose of making them aware of sin. It was not put in place to provide righteousness or a way of salvation, for that was already in place- the righteousness that was by faith.
21 Is the law, therefore, opposed to the promises of God? Absolutely not! For if a law had been given that could impart life, then righteousness would certainly have come by the law. 22 But the Scripture declares that the whole world is a prisoner of sin, so that what was promised, being given through faith in Jesus Christ, might be given to those who believe.
Is the law opposed to the promises of God? No, God gave them both, but for different purposes. It was never the purpose of the law was not to impart life (Though, Paul reasons, if it were, God would have made it so men could obey the law perfectly) No, Paul reasons, the law cannot bring about righteousness:
Romans 8:3-4 (NIV)
3 For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in sinful man, 4 in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit.
However, the law has worked in harmony with the promises in that it has made man recognize he, along with the whole world, is a prisoner of sin:
Psalm 143:1-2 (NIV)
1 A psalm of David. O Lord, hear my prayer, listen to my cry for mercy; in your faithfulness and righteousness come to my relief.
2 Do not bring your servant into judgment, for no one living is righteous before you
Deuteronomy 27:26 (NIV)
26 “Cursed is the man who does not uphold the words of this law by carrying them out.” Then all the people shall say, “Amen!”
Romans 3:10-19 (NIV)
10 As it is written: “There is no one righteous, not even one; 11 there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. 12 All have turned away; they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one.” 13 “Their throats are open graves; their tongues practice deceit.” “The poison of vipers is on their lips.” 14 “Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.”15 “Their feet are swift to shed blood;
16 ruin and misery mark their ways,17 and the way of peace they do not know.”
18 “There is no fear of God before their eyes.” 19 Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God.
In other words, the law is proof that God is righteous in declaring the entire world guilty. Allow me to show you what I mean. The most basic law, as given to Moses, was the 10 Commandments. They are found in Exodus 20:1-17
1 And God spoke all these words:
2 “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.
3 “You shall have no other gods before me. Let me start here. Have you ever placed anything above God as foremost in your life? Have you always loved God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength? If you say no, you are not alone. Psalm 14:2-3 says that no one has kept this command perfectly.
4 “You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. 5 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me,
6 but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments. Have you placed any thing in your life in priority of importance, or trusted anything in your life more than you have trusted God? If you have, that is idolatry. This means money, spouse, girlfriend, boyfriend, friend, career, vacation, how you spend your time- if you place any of these things above God, you are placing your trust in an idol. Check how you spend your time, and you will see the guilt that many of us can claim.
7 “You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name. Have you ever said something like ‘oh my G-D- even by accident? How about using the precious name of Jesus as a swear word?
8 “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates.
11 for in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy. Do you keep one day in seven as a day of rest? Even bible schooled Pastors often fail at this one. Our motives are good, but our theology is bad. God did not make the body to work 7 days a week. We are even commanded to allow our employees and our children to keep a Sabbath! We are guilty if we demand work from people that we are responsible for, not allowing them to have a Sabbath!
12 “Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you. How many of us have dishonored our Mother or our Father by saying unkind things to them, or disobeying them? How many of us have disregarded them in their old age? We are guilty before God if we have.
13 “You shall not murder. Not many of us have ever killed anybody, but that does not get us off the hook. Jesus said that if we hate our brother, we have already committed murder in our heart. I think we are all guilty!
14 “You shall not commit adultery. Here is a biggie- you don’t even have to do the physical act- if you look at another person with lust; Jesus says you have already committed adultery in your heart.
15 “You shall not steal. Even a paper clip or a pen from work; the amount matters not in the eyes of a just God.
16 “You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor. This is all about being a liar- telling an untruth about your neighbor.
17 “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.” Have you ever sought to ‘keep up with the Joneses? Have you ever looked at someone else’s’ lifestyle or possessions and wanted them? Then you are guilty.
This exercise proves one thing- that the guy preaching this message is just as guilty as every person in attendance here today of breaking God’s law. The law proves that each person who ever lived is guilty before God and a prisoner of sin. The only way to obtain righteousness is still by faith-nothing has changed since the time of Abraham in that regard. Our faith in the finished work of Christ is the only thing that can save us.
23 Before this faith came, we were held prisoners by the law, locked up until faith should be revealed. 24 So the law was put in charge to lead us to Christ that we might be justified by faith.
So again the question is asked of these Galatians- What is the purpose of the law? Paul gives two illustrations here. The law is a prison guard- as we are all captives of the law, prisoners of sin. The prison guard and the warden have the purpose of keeping the inmates in line with the rules of the prison, according to the will of the Warden. Time in prison causes a person to understand (hopefully) that they had broken the law, and have a need to be rehabilitated, so they can return to society. The lousy thing is that they still carry around the fact that they are a lawbreaker, a felon.
The second idea, found in verse 24, is tough to draw a parallel to in our society. The pedagogue was a slave who watched over a free-born son to make sure he stayed away from the evils of society. When I was a case manager for youth that were on probation, it was my job to enforce the rules, and train them to go back to society. This was effective not when I trained them to obey the law (though this was a part) but when they realized their need for a savior. This is the purpose of the law- the law is a prison guard, a tutor/pedagogue placed for the purpose of leading us to Christ.
25 Now that faith has come, we are no longer under the supervision of the law26 You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus,
27 for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.
28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.
And this is the beauty, found in the closing verses of this chapter. We were slaves, we were prisoners, but when we find faith in Christ, we become sons. We are released from the supervision of the law. The law has changed its function from prison guard to friendly guide, giving us direction about how to show our obedient love to the father. And the real beauty is that, as Paul says, that there is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise. There is no difference; we are one and the same, no matter our past or our station in life.
Here, therefore, is the choice. We can choose to continue to walk about in our own vain attempts to keep the law, or continue to be a god unto ourselves, believing that no loving god would cast us into hell as a punishment for our failure to keep the law perfectly. Or, we can realize our need for the grace of God, revealed in Christ Jesus, and take him as our savior. It is our choice. God has no grandchildren, being in the church for years makes no difference; we all must make this decision for ourselves. If you want to follow Christ, pray a prayer like this one:
Dear God, I realize that I have transgressed (broken) your law, I have sinned. I confess (agree) that I am a sinner, and I need your grace. I repent (turn from) my sin, and I turn to the Lord Jesus Christ. I receive for myself his payment on the cross for my sins. Now by your Holy Spirit, help me to follow Him.
Realize as you pray this prayer, it is not a formula. God looks on your heart. He knows your need, and he knows your sincerity. If you have prayed this prayer in sincerity, you are now a son or daughter of God! Praise His name! Go, and live by the grace of God!
