Pt 7 :: The Law, the Promise and the Faith
I once heard from a preacher that the best book ever written that explains the law is Galatians. Everytime I read it I am blown away by how clear it is about the function of the law and what Christ did. It helps me to understand the Old Testament and also the new. I wont go into details here but I want to show you how amazing Jesus is.
Chapter 3 starts with a rebuke - "O foolish Galatians", Paul did not mince words. Imagine saying that to your church, its just not PC. Paul didnt care, what was at stake here was important, he is arguing for justfication by faith, he wants Jesus to take credit and he uncovers this truth in 3 ways and then an exploding fourth -
- The Galatian Experience -Did they recieve the Gospel by faith or works? (v1-4)
- The life of Abraham - Was it his works or was it by faith? (v5-9)
- The law - Can the law justify us?(v10)
The conclusion that Paul draws to is that you dont need to look any further then to see that its by faith, the Galatians first heard by faith, Abraham believed in God and that was enough and all those that rely on works of the law are under a curse. We therefore need a fourth and its been preached before to Abraham - the Gospel. This is amazing, the plan of the cross was right there in the start and we get glimpses of this mystery in Genesis. Abraham knew that he couldnt rely on what he does for God, but he had to love God and trust him with all of his heart. And God promised him an offspring - which isnt a whole line of people, but this offspring is Jesus Christ, the promised one, the seed and all those that believe in Jesus become Abrahams offspring and recieve the promise of being heirs.
Why have the law? Galatians shows us that the law was given because of our transgressions. The law showed us how Holy God is and how we are sinners. The law was our guardian until Christ came (v24) and the promise was coming to all those that believed in Him.
Now in Jesus we are free. We are "in" Christ and therefore we are clothed in his righteousness and its only because of Jesus. We can never think that its about what we do that has obtained this, its only because of the Cross.
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