Laws and the Babysitter

Good morning!

How do you react to the concept of "laws"?  Some folks appreciate good laws because they are comforted by the order and relative safety that laws bring to our lives.  Other folks immediately bristle at the thought of laws, because anything that constrains their own desires is an enemy.  We all fall somewhere along that continuum.

Today's verses are Galatians 3:21-25.  The apostle Paul was fond of tying the old and new testaments together (of course he wrote most of the latter), and I'm so glad that he did this.  The new Christians were so entrenched in the laws and practices of Judaism, it was vital that Paul explain to them thoroughly the "new way" which came through Jesus Christ.

21 Is the law therefore opposed to the promises of God? Absolutely not! For if a law had been given that was able to give life, then righteousness would certainly have come by the law. 22 But the scripture imprisoned everything under sin so that the promise could be given—because of the faithfulness of Jesus Christ—to those who believe.  23 Now before faith came we were held in custody under the law, being kept as prisoners until the coming faith would be revealed. 24 Thus the law had become our guardian until Christ, so that we could be declared righteous by faith. 25 But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian.

To briefly recap (and spare you an extensive exposition):  Adam enjoyed full communion with his Creator God, until Eve sinned and Adam followed suit.  (At this point, I began to research how many years passed from Adam to Moses, thinking {foolishly} that I could share some kind of real-time chronology.  However, I discovered that that study is way beyond the scope of today's post.  All kinds of strange answers out there...)  At any rate, a good general answer is "a few thousand years" passed from the time of Adam to the time of Moses.  During this period, God destroyed all life on earth via The Great Flood, except for Noah and his fellow refugees in the ark.  The way that God revealed Himself to humankind during this period was by speaking strongly to individual people, who obeyed Him and carried forward His grand plan.  Noah, Abraham and Moses are striking examples of this. In general, the depravity of the human heart demonstrated that this approach was ineffective to redeem mankind, to buy us back from our sinful captivity.

Through Moses, whom Paul refers to as a "mediator" (NIV) in Galatians 3:20, came the Mosaic Law, a new approach, a new revelation of God. In His infinite all-knowingness and wisdom, God saw fit to reveal Himself more fully and in a more widespread fashion, via the Law.  He had made promises to Noah and to Abraham, which He used the Law as a tool to partially fulfill.  Paul uses a contemporary analogy in our passage for today (vs. 24) to explain the role and purpose of that law.  

In Paul's day, the wealthy freeborn Greeks assigned a trusted servant to their sons.  This babysitter (Greek-"paidagogos") accompanied the boy wherever he went.  This slave was a guardian to the boy, in charge of his welfare.  Paul compares the Law to the servant in this scenario, with the boy representing God's chosen people.  Paul rightly points out however that the Law itself was insufficient to redeem humankind.  Instead, it appeared to have the opposite effect:  driving men further and further from God.  Although many tried to achieve righteousness through obeying it, righteousness only comes by faith.  The Law served to time after time after time drive the Hebrew people into idolatry.  Paul describes this in verse 23 as being a "prisoner of the law", locked up by it. Once again, God had demonstrated that there was only one remedy for mankind's sin.

Then, to bring about another layer of order, God established ruling judges over His people for a time. That approach did not bring about righteousness either.  His people clamored for a king; so, he gave them Saul, David, Solomon and a whole procession (if you'll pardon the pun) of kings, some godly, but most heinously evil.  Again, no dice.  These approaches to call mankind back to God mostly failed.

In our pride we are so prone to rely on our own "righteousness" to achieve our salvation.  Indeed, of all the world's "religions", Protestantism/Christianity is the only one that claims a living Savior and the only one that claims that its adherents do not have to "work" to "earn" their salvation.  Do you not have to constantly check your spirit for the presence of sinful pride?  God knew that this would be the tendency of each of us.  He had to show, over several generations, the futility of this approach.

Only one thing can irrevocably take care of our sin problem:  the spilled blood of a sinless sacrifice, that blood which will wash our sin away.

Jesus Christ, in His earthly ministry, affirmed Paul's words here.  Jesus said that He had not come to destroy the Law and the Prophets (the Old Testament Scriptures), but to fulfill them.  Jesus came to fulfill the promise made to Abraham (Abrahamic Covenant - - Genesis 12:1-3), who the Scriptures declare (Romans 4:3; Hebrews 11:8) lived his life and earned God's favor by faith.

The Law could not fulfill the Promise.  The judges nor the kings could bring about the promise. Jesus Christ IS the one and only fulfillment of the Promise.  All these precursors merely lead us to Jesus so that we are no longer imprisoned by the Law or under its supervision, but are free to live and walk by faith...resplendent!

1.  Free from the law, O happy condition,
Jesus has bled and there is remission,
Cursed by the law and bruised by the fall,
Grace hath redeemed us once for all.

Refrain

Once for all, O sinner, receive it,
Once for all, O brother, believe it;
Cling to the cross, the burden will fall,
Christ hath redeemed us once for all.

2.  Now we are free, there’s no condemnation,
Jesus provides a perfect salvation.
“Come unto Me,” O hear His sweet call,
Come, and He saves us once for all.

Refrain

3.  “Children of God,” O glorious calling,
Surely His grace will keep us from falling;
Passing from death to life at His call;
Blessed salvation once for all.

         (word/music by Phillip P. Bliss, late 1800s)

Dear Father, thank you for Your glorious revelation of Yourself to us.  You have amply demonstrated that, apart from You, we can do nothing of worth.  All our so-called self-righteousness is like filthy rags in your eyes.  I am so grateful that I don't have to depend on my own efforts to achieve my salvation.  It is given to me through Jesus' finished work, free and clear.  I am only responsible for living that certainty, walking in it.  May I never use this eternal gift as a permission to sin, for sin is as offensive to you as ever it was, whether found in the unbeliever or in the saint.  Please fill me with Your Spirit, so that all who see me today, see You.  In Jesus' name, amen.