FAITH REPLACES THE LAW

Galatians 3:23-25 New Living Translation

“Before the way of faith in Christ was available to us, we were placed under guard by the law. We were kept in protective custody, so to speak, until the way of faith was revealed. Let me put it another way. The law was our guardian until Christ came; it protected us until we could be made right with God through faith. And now that the way of faith has come, we no longer need the law as our guardian.” 

       The Galatians had fallen back into living by the Law of Moses and not by the faith they had originally embraced. Paul is not overly pleased with them. In the beginning of chapter three he first calls them “foolish”, then asks them who had “bewitched” them into clinging once again to the Law over faith. Paul likens living under the Law as being held in custody of a guardian. This was necessary in God’s economy until faith in Christ was introduced to man.         

        Justification came in the form of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who was born, lived among us and died a criminal’s death in our place. That death erased our sins, not just covered them as the Old Testament blood sacrifices did each year. Christ’s death cleansed us once for all time. Do we still sin? Yes! Is forgiveness still available to the contrite heart? Yes!! Are we living under the guardianship of the Mosaic Law? No, we are not. Christ’s death freed us from the Law forever. This is seen in the renting or tearing of the veil or curtain that separates the Holy of Holies from the Holy Place in the Jewish Temple (Matthew 27:51). That represented our open access to God. No longer were we required to go through a High Priest, but rather could approach God ourselves due to the death of Christ on Calvary’s cross. We are now able to have a personal relationship with Almighty Jehovah God directly, where once a go-between was necessary. This fact may mean more to a Jew who receives Christ as their Messiah, then a gentile who never had the Law to live by, however, we can still embrace this gift of freedom by making ourselves aware of what the Jews were required to do previously. Many Jews still live by the Mosaic Law to this day, not realizing that their Messiah had come.

       A relationship with God, which may seem impossible, is made possible by a single death. God dwelling within us in the form of His Holy Spirit, made possible by a single act of love. Christ’s death on a wooden cross shall stand for all time as the most selfless act of love and mercy known to man and yet millions reject that act each day. There is no other hope of redemption. Without forgiveness, sin goes unpaid and all hope vanishes. Living for God gives life, freedom and hope for all our tomorrows. Until next time, walk with the King and be a blessing!

Resource: The Life Application Study Bible, published by Tyndale House.