WHY THE LAW?

GALATIANS 3:15-22

JUNE 7, 1998

 

Was Paul anti-Law in his theology?  The Judaizers might very well have been accusing him of denigrating the Law with his grace alone/faith alone teaching.  They were trying to move the Galatians back to the Law as the means of being justified.  So Paul sets the record straight.  He was not against the Law; but he was for the right use of the Law. As Martin Luther put it, "So then the law is a minister that prepareth the way of grace" [Commentary on Galatians, 194].

 

When we discuss the Law in relationship to salvation, we obviously are referring to a "works" mentality.  Many have stumbled over this matter, thinking that their works accrue merit before God.  But the Apostle argues firmly against this.  He shows that you cannot have it both ways:  the way of faith and the way of works.  In order to see this, we must understand the reason for the Law.  Why did God give the Law?  If it cannot save us, then does it not add to the confusion about salvation?  Let's see how the Apostle Paul clarifies the Law as he continues to show justification by faith alone.

 

I.  The Promise--Covenant of Grace

 

Paul is continuing to build his argument of justification by grace alone through faith alone by establishing it upon the bedrock of Scripture.  Again, as in verses 6-14, Paul goes back to the Old Testament (his Bible) and shows that the gospel which he preaches is not some strange, new addition in the economy of God.  Instead, he demonstrates that the gospel of grace was evident in God's covenant relationship to Abraham.

 

We have in this passage a contrasting of the promise of God--His covenant of grace, and the Law given through angelic and human agencies.  Grace and Law do not accomplish the same thing.  John MacArthur offers an excellent contrast of the covenant promise and Law:

The heart of his [Paul's] answer is to show that the covenant with Abraham was an unconditional covenant of promise relying solely on God's faithfulness, whereas the covenant with Moses was a conditional covenant of law relying on man's faithfulness.  To Abraham, God said, "I Will."  Through Moses he said, "Thou shalt."  The promise set forth a religion dependent on God.  The law set fort a religion dependent on man.  The promise centers on God's plan, God's grace, God's initiative, God's sovereignty, God's blessings.  The law centers on man's duty, man's work, man's responsibility, man's behavior, man's obedience.  The promise, being grounded in grace, requires only sincere faith.  The law, being grounded in works, demands perfect obedience [MacArthur New Testament Commentary--Galatians, 82].

1.  Directed to the Seed

 

The covenant promise to Abraham has its ultimate fulfillment in Jesus Christ and all those who are in Him by faith.  The Apostle begins by giving an example of a human covenant in the normal circle of relationships.  He points out that once it is established it is secure; it is not modified or changed or nullified.  "Brethren, I speak in terms of human relations:  even though it is only a man's covenant, yet when it has been ratified, no one sets it aside or adds conditions to it."  The nature of this type of covenant [there were historically several types] is that once it is established, it cannot be changed.  It is a lasting agreement by which the party or parties enacting the covenant are bound.  In a sense, Paul is saying, 'If we humans can make a covenant and not change or alter it to suit our whims, how much more can the Eternal God make a covenant and be faithful in keeping all of its provisions'.  He uses this example to lay the groundwork for explaining God's covenant with Abraham.  Such a covenant was not superseded by the Law; but it still has promise for us today through faith in the "promised Seed," Jesus Christ.

 

Next, the Apostle builds his argument upon an interpretation of the Genesis passages referring to Abraham and God's promise to him (Genesis 12:1-3; 15:1-7; 17:1-22; 18:1-33).  He offers a synthesis of these passages to demonstrate that the word translated 'descendent' or 'seed', refers to one seed or descendent.  "In you all the families of the earth shall be blessed" (Genesis 12:3).  How are all the families of the earth going to be blessed in Abraham?  He lived and died and was buried.  The nations that came from his loins are not the promised blessing to the families of the earth either. All the people of the world are not inheriting Canaan land!  We do not look to the sons of Isaac nor the sons of Ishmael to lead us to God!

 

While there was an immediate blessing upon those issuing from Abraham's lineage, there was the ultimate blessing for the world in terms of justification through Abraham's promised Seed, Jesus Christ the Lord.  "Now the promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed.  He does not say, "And to seeds," as referring to many, but rather to one, "And to your seed," that is, Christ."  By the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, Paul interprets the Genesis passages in light of our Lord.  He shows that in Christ alone do we find the blessing of justification (3:6, 8, 9, 14), which he typifies as "the blessing of Abraham."  The ultimate promise given to Abraham which would affect the entire world was not the little plot of land known as Canaan, but the spiritual blessings of having our enmity with God removed and being brought into an eternal relationship of righteousness with the living God through faith in Christ.

 

2.  Lasting authority

 

The nature of a covenant's authority might help us to understand this.  A covenant was a binding agreement between two parties by which certain promises were made or rights were clarified.  There were terms and conditions stipulated in the covenant.  For instance, when Joshua and the children of Israel made a covenant with the Gibeonites after entering the Promised Land, the covenant stipulated mutual protection of each party and in particular, that Israel would not destroy the Gibeonites in their conquest of Canaan.  When it was discovered that the Gibeonites had deceived the children of Israel, the conditions of the covenant were not altered.  They had entered into a covenantal agreement and considered that God's wrath would be upon them for violating this covenant, even though they entered into it without having all of the facts of relationships before them.  Later, when some of the Canaanite tribes were attacking Gibeon, they asked Joshua and the nation to come to their aid on the basis of their covenant agreement (Joshua 9-10).

 

In that covenant, both the children of Israel and the Gibeonites had responsibilities to ensure the validity of the covenant promises.  But there is a contrast with the covenant God made with Abraham.  In this case, God made the covenant, while Abraham was simply a recipient.  "What I am saying is this: the Law which came four hundred and thirty years later, does not invalidate a covenant previously ratified by God, so as to nullify the promise."  The key phrase is "a covenant previously ratified by God."  The Law could not alter what God had already ratified beforehand!  The tense of the verb (perfect passive participle) "ratified," gives this act of ratification the lasting authority of an unending promise.  Long before the Law was given, God "ratified" the covenant of grace and no Law could nullify what God had promised beforehand!

 

The uniqueness of this covenant with Abraham, as opposed to the covenant of Mt. Sinai (i.e., the covenant of the Law), is found in the details of its arrangement.  In the covenant of Law ratified at Mt Sinai, God obligated Himself to bless the children of Israel upon their total obedience to His Law.  He also obligated Himself, in the same covenant, to curse the children of Israel upon their disobedience to His Law.  This was a covenant of "mutual obligations."  The Israelites were obligated to obey the Law in its entirety, including all of its ceremonial and civil aspects (Deuteronomy 5:33).  The Lord was obligated to bless or curse Israel, depending on how well they did in their part of the bargain.  Obviously, Israel failed in their part of the covenant!

 

The covenant with Abraham, on the other hand, was "one-sided."  The Lord God obligated Himself to bless Abraham and all who come to faith in the Lord, unconditionally.  We see this in the act of covenantal ratification (Genesis 15), when in typical ancient Near East ceremonies, Abraham brought a heifer, a female goat, a ram, a turtledove, and a pigeon before the Lord.  He cut them in half and laid them opposite each other.  In a normal, mutually obligating covenant, both parties entering into agreement with each other would pass through the bloody pathway between the animals.  In this case, Abraham was only an observer, as "a smoking oven and flaming torch," symbolic of the Lord, passed between the pieces--thus ratifying the covenant.  This is why Paul stated that this covenant was "previously ratified by God," rather than by God and Abraham.  As MacArthur explains, "God alone walked through, indicating that the covenant, though involving promises to Abraham and his descendants, was made by God with Himself.  The covenant was unilateral and entirely unconditional, the only obligation being on God Himself" (83).  This is why we call it a covenant of grace.

 

So, the Apostle argues, this covenant ratified 430 years before the giving of the Law could not be superseded by the Law!  "What I am saying is this: the Law, which came four hundred and thirty years later, does not invalidate a covenant previously ratified by God, so as to nullify the promise."  The promise of justification (which is contextually what the Apostle is describing, cf. 3:6-14) cannot therefore come via a man's works in keeping the Law.  Though he will explain the purpose for the Law shortly, he makes it clear that God never intended for men to be justified by personal merit in keeping the Law.  The only way to God is through justification by faith in the Seed of Abraham, Jesus Christ.

 

3.  Solitary way

 

This is where we move from history to reality.  We can find ourselves entrenched in biblical history, yet lose sight of the fact that biblical history is divine revelation; a revelation that shows the solitary way to the Living God.  "For if the inheritance is based on law, it is no longer based on a promise;" in other words, you cannot have it both ways.  There is not the 'law-way' and the 'promise-way' to God.  Clinging to one excludes the other.  Just be honest when it comes to the Scripture:  has anyone ever been declared righteous before God on the basis of his works?  The very best example of a man that might have a wild shot, humanly speaking, at being declared righteous by his works was Abraham.  But the Scripture is clear, "God has granted it to Abraham by means of a promise."  Abraham had nothing to commend himself to God. As a sinner, he clung to the promise of God by faith.  Even the word "granted" expresses the gracious gift of God, given out of His abundant grace. God justified Abraham as an act of divine grace!

 

Do you find this confusing?  There are many people who have missed this truth and are yet in their sins and at enmity with God.  Many of them lead commendable lives.  They participate in the services and labors of their local churches.  They have a high degree of morality.  They may even engage in detailed studies of the Bible, especially in recognizing its facts and historical concepts.  But they are devoid of eternal life!  They believe that they will inherit the blessings of justification because of all that they are doing "for God."  Paul is saying, 'Look back at Abraham.  We hold him up as a great example of how to live before God.  But how did Abraham enter into righteousness before God?  Was it because of all that he did in terms of God's commands?  No, "God has granted it to Abraham by means of a promise," as Moses wrote, "Abraham believed God and it was accounted to him as righteousness."'  It was faith in the promise of God, not a reliance upon his own works, that brought Abraham into a right relationship to God.

 

And it is faith in God's promises in the gospel of Jesus Christ that God requires of you.  Yes, after faith, as in the case with Abraham, there is a life of works honoring God.  But only after faith.

 

II.  The Law--Not a replacement for faith

 

With that look at the covenant of grace, we must see the place of the Law in the economy of God.  As Paul has clearly explained in verses 15-18, the Law is not a replacement for faith.  So, if not, why did God give us the Law?  What purpose does it have in our lives?

 

1.  Reveals transgressions

 

Paul asks the question, "Why the Law then?"  We must pause and consider that the Law has never been dispensed with in God's economy.  There is great purpose in the Law and a great need for continuing to teach the Law.  I would even go so far as to state that the gospel will not make sense without the Law.  I am speaking with particular reference to the moral law we have in the Ten Commandments.  The civil and ceremonial laws were particularly covenanted for Israel.  Even those laws were instruments to expose the sinfulness of the Israelites before God and their inadequacy to justify themselves.

 

The answer is short and simple:  "It was added because of transgressions, having been ordained through angels by the agency of a mediator, until the seed should come to whom the promise had been made."  Now this may seem strange, that the Law was "added because of transgressions," or as the marginal rendering in the NASB has it, 'for the sake of defining transgressions'.  What is meant by transgressions?  The word means 'to step over a boundary'.  It pictures a definite boundary established by which the crossing is an act of "transgression."  Here the boundary is the Law of God, particularly the moral law of the Ten Commandments, which manifests the moral character of God.  To break anyone of them is to be a "transgressor."  And who have we transgressed?  The Giver of the Law--the Lord God Himself.

 

The addition of the Law did not mean that there was no sin in existence up to that point!  The sons of Adam have continued in his example in every period of history.  Let me explain it like this. Suppose you were driving through the country and found a peach tree loaded with ripe peaches.  The tree was not near any house so you decide to stop and help yourself.  You cross a rickety barb-wire fence and load your arms with these luscious peaches.  You bite into the first one and find its taste sweeter than you imagined.  Then you notice a sign:  NO TRESPASSING ALLOWED.  What does that do to your appetite for the peaches?  As soon as you realize that there is a prohibition in gathering these peaches for yourself, you find yourself looking around, perhaps feeling anxious that you might be caught.  The sweet taste turns almost sour.  The solitary commandment, "No trespassing allowed!" strikes fear in your heart.

 

What if you had not seen the sign?  Would you have been wrong to have taken the peaches for yourself?  Certainly, you would have been wrong.  But with the sign (commandment) you understood that you transgressed against the owner of the peach tree.  A particular person was offended by your act.

 

In the same way, the Law was given so that we might understand that "sin is any lack of conformity unto, or transgression of, the law" [The Shorter Catechism: A Baptist Version, 6].  As John Stott explains, "It is the law which turns 'sin' into 'transgression', showing it up for what it is, a breach of the holy law of God....It was intended to make plain the sinfulness of sin as a revolt against the will and authority of God" [The Message of Galatians, 90].

 

The Law of God enables us to understand the holy character of God.  He did not declare laws that are contrary to His own being and actions.  The Law allows us to glimpse the nature of our Creator.  But the Law also exposes to us an understanding of our own character.  We look at God as He is revealed in the Law; then we look downward to see ourselves and realize how bankrupt we are in our own moral character.  We see we have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.

 

2.  Inferior as a way to justification

 

Another argument for the promise granted by God's grace through faith being superior to the Law is the fact of its mediation.  Paul explains that the Law was added because of transgressions, "having been ordained through angels by the agency of a mediator, until the seed should come to whom the promise had been made."  The distinction he makes is that the promise given to Abraham was delivered personally by the Lord God Himself.  The Law, on the other hand, was not given directly to the people by God, but through angels and "the hands of a mediator" [lit.], who is Moses.

 

The Law was never meant to be a means to justification.  Instead, as Paul expresses it later, "The Law has become our tutor to lead us to Christ, that we may be justified by faith" (3:24).  We need the Law to serve this purpose of exposing our sinfulness and our helplessness before God "until the seed should come to whom the promise has been made."  By this, I believe that Paul is saying, 'Until you come to faith in Christ for justification, you need the Law to hammer and break you over your sin.  But when Christ comes to dwell in your hearts by faith, you no longer need the Law in the same way.  It has served its tutorial purpose of bringing you to Christ.  Now you view it in a totally different way; rather than agony to your soul, it becomes a delight to you'.

 

Martin Luther explains this well.  "When the law showeth unto me my sin, and revealeth the law and judgment of God, so that I begin to fear and tremble, there hath the law its bounds, its time, and its end limited.  Here we must say:  Now leave off, law, thou hast done enough."  There is a limitation to this purpose of the Law and that is when you are in Christ by faith.  Luther continues, "Thus the law endeth, when Christ that blessed seed is come, who hath gracious lips, wherewith He accuseth not, nor terrifieth, but speaketh of far better things than doth the law; namely, of grace, peace, forgiveness of sins, victory over sin, death, the devil, and damnation, gotten by His death, and passion for all believers" [196].

 

This inferiority in the Law is seen also in its mediation when compared to the promise of justification by faith.  "Now a mediator is not for one party only; whereas God is only one."  One commentator said that there is upwards of 250 to 300 interpretations on this verse [L. Morris quoting Lightfoot, Galatians: Paul's Charter of Christian Freedom, 114].  It has been jostled in the religious world to satisfy all sorts of beliefs!  But in context, Paul is simply showing that the promise given to Abraham by faith is superior to the Law.  Here he explains that the Law required a mediator, which implies that two parties were involved:  God and the people.  While keeping in mind the language of the covenant, this meant that both parties of the covenant of Law had obligations.  God had his part and the people of Israel had their part.  If either failed to maintain their responsibilities, then the covenant was broken.  With a mediator needed, "the giving of the law was not a direct communication of God to those who were to receive its benefits.  This is a mark of the law's inferiority to the promise, which was communicated directly to Abraham without an intermediary" [Curtis Vaughan, Galatians: A Study Guide Commentary, 69].

 

In contrast, the promise made to Abraham was given directly by God.  The Lord Himself came to Abraham, taking upon Himself the fulfillment of His promise unconditionally.  Consequently, it is superior to the Law.

 

Why do we wrangle over this?  So that each of us might understand the superiority of faith in Christ as the only way to God.  And so that we might reject the notion that we can commend ourselves to God by works of personal righteousness.  This is made quite clear in the Gospels when Jesus declared, "I am the way, the truth, and the life; no man comes to the Father but by Me" (John 14:6).

 

3.  Distinct purpose:

 

'So, Paul,' we might ask, 'are you saying that we should toss out the Law?  Is it worthless?  Is it out of line with all that God has promised?  Is it a contradiction in terms?  Is it even necessary to give attention to the Law?'

 

The Apostle responds, "Is the Law then  contrary to the promises of God?  May it never be! For if a law had been given which was able to impart life, then righteousness would indeed have been based on law."  He shows us that in our need for righteousness before God, there was never an intention in the divine mind for us to achieve righteousness by our adherence to the law.  The law cannot impart life.  The law cannot make us righteous.  Then why was it given?

 

a.  From the prison house

 

Paul makes it clear:  "But the Scripture has shut up all men under sin, that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe."  The word translated, "shut up," means 'to lock up together' or 'to shut in on all sides'.  It implies that there is no possibility of escape.  "All men" are locked up in the prison house of sin from which there is no parole for good behavior nor escape by human ingenuity.

 

I have always been fascinated by stories of men escaping from prisoners of war camps.  Some times there were daring moves to escape imprisonment; other times there was hard work of tunneling out of a prison.  But the Apostle reminds us that all of us are imprisoned by sin, with no human way out.  "The Scripture" exposes the reality of our hearts, the surety of our guilt, so that we will understand our need for the Redeemer.  Charles Spurgeon put it like this:

The divine Spirit wounds before he heals, he kills before he makes alive. We usually draw a distinction between law-work and gospel-work; but law-work is the work of the Spirit of God, is so far a true gospel-work that it is a frequent preliminary to joy and peace of the gospel.  The law is the needle which draws after it the silken thread of blessing, and you cannot get the thread into the stuff without the needle: men do not receive the liberty wherewith Christ makes them free till, first of all, they have felt bondage within their own spirit driving them to cry for liberty to the great Emancipator, the Lord Jesus Christ. This sense or spirit of bondage works for our salvation by leading us to cry for mercy [Reisinger, Law & Gospel, 39].

Are you still in the prison house?  My friend, the fact that you recognize this shows the mercy of God at work in your life, leading you to cry out to the only One who can liberate you.  And He does so by His own wounds at the cross.  Won't you wing your way to Him by faith?

 

b. To the divine promise by faith

 

One man wrote, "Satan would have us to prove ourselves holy by the law, which God gave to prove us sinners" [Stott quoting Andrew Jukes, The Message of Galatians, 90].  You can cling to your adherence to the Law in hopes of gaining some merit with God; but it will not avail. Satan is indeed pleased with such use of the Law.  The Law only proves to you that you are a helpless sinner, in need of divine grace.  So, if the pains of the Law are being applied to your soul, then understand that the Holy Spirit is at work to show you "the promise by faith in Jesus Christ...given to those who believe."  By faith, embrace the promise of eternal life, full justification, in Jesus Christ!

 

Conclusion

 

The Law is an impossible way to be justified; but it is a necessary way to lead you to Christ alone, who justifies you by faith.  It is indeed, in Luther's words, "a minister that prepareth the way to grace."  This grace is abundant and free to all who will come to Christ by faith alone.

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