The Law & Promise (Gal 3:15-29)

In Galatians, Paul makes it clear that the Christians he is writing to are saved from the wrath of God because they believed in his gospel. Paul received it directly from Christ, and they believed it so that they could be forgiven of their sins and redeemed from the curse. Jesus did not ask them to be circumcised or to adopt a Jewish lifestyle. He asked them to submit their hearts to Christ. These false teachers overemphasize the law as though they are saved because they keep a few parts of it. Paul makes it clear that this is not true. No one is righteous or justified because they keep the law well enough. We receive the blessing of redemption from the curse by putting our faith in what Jesus did for us.

We have been studying through Galatians for the past few months and trying to grasp this very fundamental concept. We will study this concept again tonight, but Paul explains something hugely important this time. Our text tonight explains God's actions throughout history. Why did God do what he did back in Genesis and Exodus? What was he hoping to accomplish, and did he accomplish it?

Why Is History Like It Is?

Galatians 3:15--18 (ESV) --- 15 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. 16 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. 17 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. 18 For if the inheritance comes by the law, it no longer comes by promise; but God gave it to Abraham by a promise.

These are very dense passages. They aren't passages where we can break up the sections into different sermons. They need to be joined together to make sense of them but to begin, notice that Paul points to covenants. Why does he talk about covenants? When we make a covenant agreement, we cannot just set it aside and act like it didn't happen. There is a legal process to get out of a covenant or add anything.

Verse 16 turns our attention to the covenants of God, specifically Genesis 12 and the promises God made to Abraham. God formally made these promises into a covenant in Genesis 17. God has Abraham cut animals in half, and his pillar of smoke and fire walk through them, signifying that if he breaks this covenant, he will submit to being made like these animals (Jer 34:18). Paul brings up God's covenant to Abraham to say that there was never an annulling of that promise or an adding to that promise. God didn't promise Abraham that one of his seeds (Descendants) would bless the nations, then add a requirement that only those who keep the law will receive the blessing.

Look carefully at verse 18. He says, "For if the inheritance is based on the law, it is no longer based on the promise, but God graciously gave it to Abraham through the promise." Do you understand what this means? It means that the blessing promised to those who keep the law is separate from the blessing promised to Abraham. The blessing promised to Abraham didn't have strings attached. It wasn't conditional upon man's ability or obedience. In other words, it did not come from man's righteousness. This blessing came because God wanted to give it graciously. That is the way it appears if you study the promise closely. He doesn't offer this blessing to Abraham's descendent with a condition attached or a law being given.

Why Is The Law Given?

Galatians 3:19--23 (ESV) --- 19 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. 20 Now an intermediary implies more than one, but God is one. 21 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. 22 But the Scripture imprisoned everything under sin, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe. 23 Now before faith came, we were held captive under the law, imprisoned until the coming faith would be revealed.

The rest of this text will answer the question from verses 15-18. That question is, "Why was the law given?" If God wanted to bless mankind through the seed of Abraham, why did he confuse everyone with the law? That's a great question. Paul answers this question on multiple levels.

Because of Transgression

The most simplified answer is "Because of transgression." What does it mean? You know what it means if you read Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers. They were far from righteous. The law helped the people see their sin to battle against the temptations and desires that were raging inside them. Was the law, then, a solution to sin? No. Romans says, "Because the law was given, transgression increased." The more we knew about what we shouldn't do, the more we wanted to do it.

But Paul doesn't end with "Because of transgression." Then, he says, "Until the offspring should come to whom the promise had been made." The goal was not to stop sin. The goal was to make sin evident to them until the promised blessing could come and save everyone from sin.

All Part of God's Plan

At the end of verse 19 and in verse 20, we read that God gave the law through an intermediary. He did not promise a blessing through the law in the same way he promised the blessing to Abraham. Angels spoke to Moses, who relayed the information to the people. He says, "An intermediary implies more than one, but God is one." It refers to the fact that God using a different method does not indicate that he changed. The law was a part of the plan, and his method indicates that it is inferior to the promise and apart from the promise.

Not good enough

He goes on to ask if the law is "contrary to the promises of God." But this cannot be. He says, "If a law had been given that could give life, then righteousness would indeed be by the law." The law was outstanding. To a great extent, it explained what true righteousness and goodness are all about. But it did not give life to Israel. God knew that giving the law would never make Israel righteous because they would fail to keep it. We could go to the multiple passages that bluntly state that Israel will fail, or we could consider the law itself. It has commands for offering sacrifices when people mess up. God knew that the law would not set the people free from sin.

In verse 22, he says, "The scriptures imprisoned everything under sin." Isn't that bizarre? Instead of helping everyone escape sin and spiritual death, the law kept everyone in a state of deserving death through enormous sin. Why would God do that? Verse 23 repeats this idea multiple times. He says, "Before faith came, we were held captive under the law." The answer is in verses 22 and 23. He says, "So that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe." Then he says we were "imprisoned until the coming faith could be revealed." There is the word "until" again. This tells us God knew that if we couldn't see our sin, we wouldn't accept our savior.

God had a plan in mind when he promised Abraham a blessing. He knew that there would need to be some training going on over time. He couldn't just give men the blessing. It wouldn't have meant anything to them. They wouldn't value it appropriately. Instead, he gave us a law to prepare us for a savior.

Faith Removes The Need For Law

Galatians 3:23--29 (ESV) --- 23 Now before faith came, we were held captive under the law, imprisoned until the coming faith would be revealed. 24 So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith. 25 But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian, 26 for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. 27 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. 28 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. 29 And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise.

In the last section, Paul calls the law a temporary guardian or tutor. It was like a babysitter sent to watch over us until the time came when we were old enough to understand our need for and accept Christ. God did this for us, not as a punishment or because he hated us.

Look again at verses 25-27. There are three verses here, but only one sentence. When we read it all together, it becomes clear that we are no longer under the law or guardian because faith has come, and we have put on Christ through baptism.

This faith is what makes us sons and daughters of God.

Putting on Christ gives us all of the blessings God promised to Abraham. It doesn't matter who you are, where you are from, what gender you were assigned at birth or your financial situation. If you put on Christ through faith in baptism, you are joined to Christ and an heir according to the promise.

As a side note, this is a common text people use to say that women can be preachers. Because women are equal to men, they say, there is no difference. The only problem is disregarding every other verse that contradicts this interpretation. Paul himself said multiple times that women have a different role in the home and the church than men. That does not make them lesser, but it makes them different.

What Do We Learn?

God promised to bless the nations through the seed of Abraham. He did not promise to bless the nations through the law. God gave the promise to Abraham and sealed it with a covenant. Then, 430 years later, he gave the law. Why? Because of transgression. Because we need to understand what's wrong with us before God helps us with it, God had this plan from the beginning. He wanted us to understand the difference between man and God so that we would fully understand how great our need is. The more we understand our sinfulness, the more easily we can see his great mercy.

The Galatian Christians were told to go to the law to be righteous. They were being told to be circumcised, to keep religious feasts, and to eat certain foods. Paul tells them that God's promises are not based on law. They are offered freely because of his grace to be accepted by faith.

Are You Still Imprisoned By The Law?

What about you? Do you understand your sin? Do you see how flawed you are and recognize that those sins matter to God? When Jesus came onto the scene, he revealed something more significant than the law. He took the law to another level. He showed us what absolute righteousness looks like in Jesus, and we are horribly wicked people compared to him. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus describes the true intentions of different laws. The law commanded men not to murder, but Jesus said, "I say to you don't be angry with your brother." Then he goes on to command men not to lust, not to lie, not to divorce, not to retaliate, and to be perfect like God is perfect. If you genuinely want to live a perfectly righteous life, you must let go of your law-keeping system and look for something else.

Application

If we want to apply this to ourselves, we need to recognize that we can't keep a law to be saved. If there were a law we could keep to be in a relationship with a holy God, the law of the Old Testament would be the law that would give life to us. But the law could not do that because we cannot keep it.

So, as Christians, we have to train ourselves to stop thinking about the law as a way for us to have a relationship with God. It will never work. The only way we can have a relationship with God is through faith in the offering of Jesus Christ. If we put our faith in him and submit to his calling in baptism, we can receive the promised blessing and have a meaningful relationship with our creator.

That relationship depends not on our ability to stay righteous enough but on Christ's willingness to bring us into a heavenly home with him. As we read scriptures, we find out that he is willing so long as we accept his gracious gift and become transformed to be like him. The salvation he offers is expected to change us and make us want to love God and one another. From the point of salvation onward, we know that salvation is real and available to us as long as we live for him.

Conclusion

If you need the salvation that Jesus offers, please let us know. Please stop trying to overcome sin yourself. You cannot do it. Jesus offers the help you need. He will work in you to make you like God always wanted you to be.