Galatians [3:19]-29
Since school has recently started it seems appropriate to look at a text that mentions it. So the law was our schoolmaster that brings us to Christ, so that we are justified by faith. Easy enough to explain. The law shows us that we are sinners and that we need a Savior. The law points and leads us to said Savior and his perfect sacrifice that allows us to be drawn to Him and one day live with Him in His perfect world.
If only that was all that was placed on my mind. I would be finished, but as I was reading I noticed a small 1, indicating there is an “equivalent, alternate, or literal translation, language note, or explanatory note” (taken from How To Use This Reference Bible) beside schoolmaster. The footnote informed me that the schoolmaster is a tutor, the guardian responsible for care and discipline.
Well what in the world is the law guarding us from? How does the law care and discipline us? For clarification we will look to Brother Webster as to what a law is: a binding custom or practice of a community : a rule of conduct or action prescribed or formally recognized as binding or enforced by a controlling authority. For us, Gods spoken and written commandments are our law. The community here is the church of Christ. For the controlling authority see Genesis 1:1.
If we look in Genesis we see the first law given to Adam.
He didn’t give Adam tablets of stone though mister! He just told him not to eat the fruit of that tree.
Well my friends, if God Himself said it it’s more solid than any form of writing. He also told the penalty for breaking the law. We know the story…Eve eats the fruit, Adam eats the fruit, blame is passed around, and they are found guilty of breaking the law and are sentenced. DEATH!
Only death didn’t come as they thought. They didn’t die an immediate physical death. The death they got was separation from God. They were sent out of the garden to live a troubled life in a thorny world. But God didn’t send them out helpless. He made them some clothes out of animal skin to help guard them from the rough world they were going into. And to make those clothes God had to kill an animal to get its skin. In essence, blood was shed so that Adam and Eve would have safety going forward.
As we move to the law in Moses’ time we see a similar pattern. If God’s law is broken there has to be a sacrifice made. And if you look at these sacrifices they had to be perfect; without any natural defects. We also see that if you sinned again that you would have to make another sacrifice. Blood was continually being shed to cover you for your offences against God.
You’ve used a lot of ink. Get to your point.
Because of the law we see where we sin and fail God. We see that God through the law makes provisions for us how we may “correct” our position with Him (until we fail again). Most importantly it alludes to the future perfect sacrifice of Christ that will forever do away with the old sacrificial law.
When Christ died and the veil of the temple was torn, it showed that we no longer needed the law priest to guard us from the wrath of God by making sacrifices for us. It showed that the blood of Christ now guards us and puts us in a right standing with God.
May we never take for granted the death of Christ. His death provided us protection and restores us to have fellowship with God.
Riley Lee