Gospelology (Part 9-10)
Law and Grace
Galatians 3:15-29 ESV
To give a human example, brothers: even with a man-made covenant, no one annuls it or adds to it once it has been ratified. Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring. It does not say, "And to offsprings," referring to many, but referring to one, "And to your offspring," who is Christ. This is what I mean: the law, which came 430 years afterward, does not annul a covenant previously ratified by God, so as to make the promise void. For if the inheritance comes by the law, it no longer comes by promise; but God gave it to Abraham by a promise. 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. Now an intermediary implies more than one, but God is one. Is the law then contrary to the promises of God? Certainly not! For if a law had been given that could give life, then righteousness would indeed be by the law. But the Scripture imprisoned everything under sin, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe. Now before faith came, we were held captive under the law, imprisoned until the coming faith would be revealed. So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian, for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to promise.
God Promises What Only He Can Produce (15-18)
1. Promise Or Performance (Grace Or Law?) a. The principle is that the very concepts of “promise” and “law” are mutually exclusive. If I give you something because of what I have promised, it is not because of your performance. If I give you something because of what you have done, it is not because of my promise. Paul is adamant: either something comes by grace or works, because of the giverʼs promise or the receiverʼs performance. It is either one or the other. b. This takes some reflection. - For a promise to bring a result, it needs only to be believed, but for a law to bring a result, it has to be obeyed. 2. Promise And Performance (Gospel Plus Is Another Kind Of Legalism) a. Functional Legalists Preaching “A” Gospel b. Two Ways Of Believing: Itʼs All About Jesus, Or, Itʼs All About You 3. Performance because Promise (Obedience Flows From Acceptance)
Why the Law? God Demands What We Can Never Do (The Law Leading Us To Christ) (19-22)
1. The Law Came Because Of Sin, TO Show How Sinful We Are a. Andrew Jukes put it this way: “Satan would have us prove ourselves holy by the law, which God gave to prove us sinners” b. This is almost certainly the meaning of the phrase “because of transgressions” (v.19). The law did not come to tell us about salvation, but about sin (transgression). The law was not sent as a way of salvation because it could not “impart life” (v.21b). It cannot give us the power to be righteous. It can only show us that we do not have that power. Therefore “righteousness” cannot “come by the law” (v.21b). c. Ironically, if we think we can be righteous by the law, we have missed the main point of the law. 2. The Law Came To Show Us The Need For The Savior (Until The Offspring Came) a. Anything that points to itself as savior other then Jesus is not functioning in the purpose it was created for. b. Nothing created or commanded is meant to have glory terminated on itself but reflected of itself. c. The law like all things given by God are meant to drive us and point us to Jesus. 3. The Law Demands What Only Jesus Can Do (Right reading of the Law will always leave us wanting...it is only when we hear the law rightly that we by faith trust in Jesus and are declared righteous) a. If I am preaching right I should have you look at everything else see that it by itself is empty and powerless and see The Glory and of Jesus and realize He is all I need.
2 Metaphors to characterie how the law works in a Christian's life
First, the law is a guard. “Before this faith came, we were held prisoners by the law, locked up until faith should be revealed” (v.23). The Greek words for “held prisoner” and “locked up” mean to be protected by military guards. Second, Paul says that the law is a tutor, a paidagogos. “The law was put in charge to lead us to Christ” (v.24). In the homes of Paulʼs day, the tutor or guardian was usually a slave who supervised the children on the parentsʼ behalf. We will see this metaphor again in chapter 4. In both cases, the guard and the tutor remove freedom. In both cases, the relationship with the “law” is not intimate or personal; it is based on rewards and punishments. And in both cases we are treated as children or worse. Thus Paul describes all non-gospel based religion as being characterized by: (a) a sense of bondage (b) an impersonal relationship with the divine, motivated by a desire for rewards and a fear of punishments (c) anxiety about oneʼs standing with God But the second metaphor (unlike the first) shows us that the lawʼs true purpose is instructive. It points beyond itself, just as the tutor seeks to prepare the children for lives as adults, as free persons. The law points to a life: (a) not of confinement, but of freedom (b) not an impersonal, but a personal relationship with God (c) not immaturity, but maturity of character There are many places in the Bible where it does so, demanding that we “love God with all our soul” and “have the law written on our hearts.” It seeks to show us our need for salvation by grace (because we cannot obey it). It even indicates our need to move beyond rewards and punishments into a motivation of gratitude and love toward God as the basis for our obedience. So the law continually emphasizes (if we are really listening to it) that we need a righteousness, a power, a love for God beyond ourselves and beyond the law. We need salvation-by-grace.
Why do we obey then? (26-29)
We are sons of God covered in Christ Jesus. We are sons. Sons are born into the kingdom by the grace and provision of the father and slaves are working and never become sons. So Paul is indicating not that we no longer have any relation to the values of Godʼs law, but it no longer is a system of salvation. It no longer forces obedience through coercion and fear. The gospel means that we no longer obey the law out of fear of rejection and hope of salvation-by-performance. But when we grasp salvation-by-promise, our hearts are filled with gratitude and a desire to please and be like our Savior. The only way to do that is through obeying the law. But once we come to it with this new motivation, we now are better in our obedience than ever. In short, the gospel allows us to truly honor the law in a way that legalistic people cannot. Without the gospel, we may obey the law, but we will hate it. We will use it, but we will not truly love it. In Galatians 2:17-20 (see comments, Week 2), Paul says now we “live for God.” In other words, we do not obey God any longer for our sake, by using the law-salvation-system to get things from God. Rather, we now obey God for his sake, using the lawʼs content to please and delight our Father. There is much more on this motivation in Galatians 5:1ff (Week 19).
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