The law of Moses served the purpose for preparing mankind for Jesus Christ. The only way to live under that law was to continue in flawlessly keeping of all its stipulations, else one was under the curse (Galatians 3:10). In the Old Testament, God stated through Solomon, “For there is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not” (Ecclesiastes 7:20); he acknowledged this truth again on a separate occasion—when praying at the dedication of the temple representing God’s holiness (1 Kings 8:46; 2 Chronicles 6:36). Nobody could keep the law perfectly; it was a yoke that no one could bear (Acts 15:10). Humanity needed to be saved from the curse it was under.
Enter Jesus Christ, the seed of Abraham through whom God had made a promise of blessing the world (Galatians 3:16; Genesis 12:1-3). This promise came before the law; it was God’s unilateral commitment to bless mankind in spite of man’s failing to keep the bilateral contract of the law (Galatians 3:17-21). Jesus perfectly kept the law which no other man could keep; only He “knew no sin” (2 Corinthians 5:21). As the apostle Paul goes on to write, “But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe. But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed. Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster” (Galatians 3:22-25). The law served as a guardian and disciplinarian until mankind came of age and could be blessed by the freedom in Christ. Jesus said, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin. And the servant abideth not in the house for ever: but the Son abideth ever. If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed” (John 8:34-36).
The faith that came is the system of truth of the New Testament. Faith in Jesus Christ is the way of salvation; those who become children of God by faith, by being baptized into Christ, are heirs of God’s promise (Galatians 3:26-29). It is contrasted to the law in that it is, at its root, a faith system, not a merit system. Faith is an integral part of God’s plan of justification that stands for the whole process (Galatians 3:24). Faith does not remove laws for even later in this book we are exhorted to “fulfill the law of Christ” (Galatians 6:2). But faith does remove the curse resulting from failing to faultlessly keep God’s commandments, for we trust and follow Him who did faultlessly keep the commandments.
Therefore, we are no longer under the old law. It served its purpose. It highlighted sin and the need for the Savior. We are not bound by that former law and we should not seek to return to its bondage; instead, we should stand upon the liberating truth of Jesus Christ (Galatians 5:1; cf. John 8:31-32). How thankful we should be that Christ came and brought the faith—His last will and testament. Has the faith found lodging into your heart? Have you become a child of God through faith in Jesus by putting Him on in baptism? What better way to finish up this year? You could then say, “I was in the bondage of sin, but then faith came and made me free.”
-Mark Day
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