5 Minute Read
Prepare Your Heart
To the best of your ability, get rid of all distractions. Take a few minutes to breathe deeply and quiet yourself in the Lord’s presence. Then, ask the Lord to speak to you in this time. Let Him know that you will listen and make whatever adjustments He will reveal to you.
Read God’s Word
A Verse for Today
Slowly and reflectively read the following verse(s) and listen to what God will say to you through His written Word. Consider writing down any insights He reveals to you.
Galatians 3:10-11 (CSB): “For all who rely on the works of the law are under a curse, because it is written, ‘Everyone who does not do everything written in the book of the law is cursed.’ Now it is clear that no one is justified before God by the law, because the righteous will live by faith.”
Reflecting on God’s Word
There are times when I live under God’s law, rather than under God’s grace, and I suspect that you do, too.
What does it look like to live under the law? For the Galatians, it meant that they were adding human effort to grace. Instead of salvation being received by grace through faith (with no human effort), they were being told that they must also be circumcised and live according to the Old Testament law.
I would never intentionally add anything to the simple message of the biblical Gospel. But I have often lived under the law after I was saved. This perspective manifests itself when I sin and then feel as if God cannot forgive me. It shows up when I feel like I have to live right and do so for a lengthy period of time to get back on right terms with God. On and on I could go about how I sometimes slip into a “human effort” (a.k.a. “works”) mindset.
Paul was giving the Galatian Christians a tongue-lashing because they had “fallen from grace” (Galatians 5:4). In other words, they had fallen from living in God’s grace to the depths of trying to gain God’s favor by their efforts at obeying the Old Testament law.
So what argument could Paul make to people who were relying upon human effort and the Old Testament law to gain God’s favor? He went to the Old Testament law to blow up their argument! He quoted from the Torah!
Deuteronomy 27:26 (CSB): “‘Anyone who does not put the words of this law into practice is cursed.’ And all the people will say, ‘Amen!'”
Did you get that? The one who doesn’t obey the law is cursed!
So what’s the purpose of the law? Essentially, the law had multiple purposes but there were primarily two as far as we are concerned.
First, it was to point out that every single person stands guilty before God. On multiple occasions, I’ve asked men and women, as I prepare to share the Gospel with them, “Do you think you are a good person?” Almost 100% of the time, they will say “yes.” Then I ask them, “Have you ever told a lie?” They will reluctantly admit that they have. So, I point to the 9th commandment and say that they have broken it (Exodus 20:16). I will ask if they have ever looked at someone to lust to which they also answer affirmatively. I then point them to Jesus’ words where He said that looking to lust makes someone guilty of breaking the commandment regarding adultery (Matthew 5:27). After a few targeted questions, they have incriminated themselves. They realize that they have broken multiple laws in God’s Word.
That’s what the Law does. It condemns us because no one can possibly obey all of them all the time. Our sin nature will entice us to violate laws all the time. The law was never intended to make us feel good about ourselves. Instead, it was intended to show how guilty we are.
Romans 3:20 (CSB): “For no one will be justified in his sight by the works of the law, because the knowledge of sin comes through the law.”
The law was never a means to be made right in God’s eyes. It was, instead, to push us toward the Lord, pleading for His grace. In the New Testament, we look back to the unspeakable grace God gave to us when He sent His own son to die on the cross to forgive and declare righteous everyone who trusts in Him.
This leads us to the second big reason for God’s law. After we are saved by trusting in Jesus (grace, no human effort), we go back to the Law to obey it. We don’t obey it to gain God’s favor. Instead, we obey it because Jesus has made us right and we want to do what He has told us. When we mess up, we rely upon His grace as we confess our sins and God graciously forgives and cleanses us (1 John 1:9). We don’t rely on the Law to make us right in God’s eyes. Grace does that. But we strive to obey the Law because of our love for Him and His matchless grace that we have received.
Spend Time in Prayer
- Ask God to help you cultivate a biblical view of how we are to think about all of the commands in the Bible.
- Ask God to help you relate to Him in the sphere of His grace, which motivates you to obey His Law.
Going Deeper
If you want to dig a little deeper into the purpose of the Old Testament Law, consider reading the following GotQuestions article:
“What is the purpose of the Mosaic Law?”
Sharing
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Matt Ellis is the pastor of White Hall Baptist Church in Richmond, Kentucky (whitehallbaptistchurch.org)
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