"Grace, can only be for someone who has transgressed against the law. Therefore, how can someone obtain grace, if they're in denial of the law."
Galations 3
Transgression of the moral law is our improper conduct, our disobedience to God in going against His Word, which also involves wrongdoing towards our fellow men. And in God’s favour towards man, the provision of the ceremonial laws were necessary, to redeem the individual from the penalty of their disobedience [“the wages of sin is death’, Romans 6:23].
These laws were given to reflect the faith of a repentant sinner, one who has transgressed [done wrong] in moral conduct, whether to God or to man [Exodus 10 :16] and is truly remorseful for their behavior. By an act of mercy these laws were provided as a medium, a peacemaker [between the offender and the offended], terms of which were the only way that God was granting forgiveness for sin, and that’s what the sanctuary service was for.
We have already made clear, that either of the laws cannot save [whether moral or ceremonial], however, the purpose of the ceremonial laws was not only to make known the faith of a believer, but also to make known the work of The Savior. And by definition, it is the function of a mediator.
Galatians 3:20 “Now a mediator is not a mediator of one, but God is one.”
• A mediator is defined as one who attempts to make those involved in a conflict, come to an agreement towards reconciliation.
• Therefore, there must be at least 2 participants or else there is no place or use for a mediator, as the mediator is the voice for both parties involved.
For example: If man had never transgressed there would be no need for a ceremonial system. “To obey is better than sacrifice” 1 Samuel 15:22
• The ceremonial laws [which is a system of laws, are representing the work of a person], this system expresses the terms of forgiveness for one [the offended], and it demonstrates the act of remorse for the other party [the offender], and without this there can be no reconciliation between God and man.
With that being said, a mediator is a mediator of two and of the two; concerning Galatians 3, God is one. And this understanding assures the Christian’s faith, that the giver of the law at Sinai was none other than Christ Himself.
• In Exodus 19:20 God calls Moses unto Him in the mount, yet Christ declares in John 14:6 that “no man come unto the Father, but by me,” and this applies to every man, as Jesus made known that “before Abraham was, I Am”[John 8:58]. Therefore between God and Moses, Christ was in the mount.
The bible is clear. 1 Timothy 2:5 “For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;.” Therefore anything mediating between God and man, is a representative of Christ.
“It was Christ who, amid thunder and flame, had proclaimed the law upon Mount Sinai...” MB 45.1
How important is this:
Christ is identified as the Messiah, as the One who is, was and will always be.
• Acts 7:38 “This is he [Moses], that was in the church in the wilderness with the angel [Christ] which spake to him in the mount Sina, and with our fathers: who received the lively oracles to give unto us:”
*This was at the burning bush, when The Angel of The Lord came down [Acts 7:30].
This is the angel that spoke to Moses out of the bush, who went before the children of Israel, in whom was the name of God. And it was by Him that the law was given at Sinai because of transgression [according to Gal 3:19] that the children of Israel might know what sin is, in order to correctly, of their free will reverence Jehovah. Therefore it is always Christ speaking on behalf of God, and interceding for the sins of man.
The question is then asked in verse 21:
Galatians 3:21 “Is the law then against the promises of God? God forbid: for if there had been a law given which could have given life, verily righteousness should have been by the law.”
• Why does Paul ask that question? “Is the law then against the promises of God?” He has already made clear that the promises are obtained by faith [Hebrews 6:12], and that understanding was established under the covenant with Abraham [Hebrews 11:17], however the law was not confirmed with the covenant, therefore “is the law against the promises, God forbid.”
The covenant [or agreement] is the promise of eternal life by faith in Christ, and the gospel is the life that was promised, which is Christ, with that being said, Christ was a keeper of the law. Therefore the law and the gospel cannot be separated, as it did not ignore the obligation due to God by both man and woman.
• Remember the theme of this passage is that Paul is establishing the point, that the law cannot accomplish what faith in Christ can. Also keep in mind that both the promises and the law comes from God, and for that reason they cannot be against each other. logically thinking, if it was God who gave the promise, then why would He set something up that’s against it?
Let us keep in mind that Christ kept the law, and 2 Cor. 1:20 states that all of the promises are in Him, so we can conclude then that in Christ the law and the promises are combined, and His life is the gift of faith.
• Here’s a second witness, within the covenant [that was established with Abraham] contains the promises, however, the promise of the Spirit contains the law, therefore the law is in the promise.
The Lord declares in Hebrews 8:10 “...I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts...” How will He do this? The same way that it was done with Abraham:
Romans 2:25 “For circumcision verily profiteth, if thou keep the law: but if thou be a breaker of the law, thy circumcision is made uncircumcision.
[in summary, circumcision is of value if you obey the law].
26. Therefore if the uncircumcision keep the righteousness of the law, shall not his uncircumcision be counted for circumcision?
27. And shall not uncircumcision which is by nature, if it fulfil the law, judge thee, who by the letter and circumcision dost transgress the law?
[in summary, he who is physically uncircumcised and keeps the law, will condemn those who have the written code of conduct and are circumcised yet breaks the law].
28. For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh:
[in summary, a Jew is not a Jew because of his outward display, in like manner the circumcision it’s not outward or physical].
29. But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in [by] the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God.”
Therefore the promise of the Spirit contains the law. [Remember the law is a transcript of character, God’s standard of conduct, with that being said, how could we possess His Spirit and behave contrary to His character [the law]].
Paul then makes clear the disctinction between the two [law & faith] by stating “for if there had been a law given which could have given life, verily righteousness should have been by the law.” [the law cannnot give life].
• The promise is life, which is the gift of the covenant, and concerning the covenant, the law has no bearing. The gospel gives us life, and the law sustains it. And Paul gets more descriptive with this point in verse 22, as he states:
Galatians 3:22 “But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe.”
• What is meant by “concluded all under sin,” is that the scripture has shut up or bound together, both Jew and Gentile as sinners alike. All needed a Savior. And although the Jews had kept the “added law’’ [verse 19] they presented it to the gentiles as a necessary means for salvation, failing to realize that salvation is by faith in Christ, and that they too needed a Saviour just as much as did the Gentiles.
The scripture is clear
Romans 8:3 “For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:”
Which is to say, the law cannot accomplish holiness in a single sinner, it cannot make him righteous. And the weakness, is not through any defect in the law, but through the flesh. The law cannot justify man because in his sinful flesh the man is unable to keep the law, because of the corruption of his sinful human nature. His state of being is sinful.
We are entitled to heaven having the nature of Christ, and we live there according to His law. And the converse to that is true; the wicked are placed in hell or the lake of fire according to their nature [or condition] and they are consumed according to their works of transgressing the law, in that nature.
• Therefore the issue is the nature, and since Christ condemned sin in the human nature, the strength or the keeping of the law for man is only through Christ. Once again He is the mediator.
Galatians 3:23 “But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed.”
• What is meant by under the law? In general it indicates a state of sin, without law we would not have anything to classify someone as a wrongdoer, and this is one of the reasons why the law cannot justify. Any law that justifies a criminal is a bad law. However we have the testimony that God’s law is good [Romans 7:12], here’s and example:
Laws are given to maintain conduct, and once the law has been transgressed or broken, it is then presented as the charge of which the criminal is guilty, therefore, how can it free him? A convict desiring freedom cannot look to the law for justice, how can he demand the law to represent him and rest his case on that alone, when the law is the one that’s convicting him.
Once the law is transgressed we enter into a state of condemnation. Thelaw is a prison to those who have not yet obtained grace. Such as in the earthly system, once the law is violated the offender is seized and incarcerated, and the violation of the law is what keeps them there.
• Just like the previous verses of this chapter, you can utilize this text to refer to the ceremonial law, however in its context, in the strongest fashion you will see it’s the moral code of conduct. [before Faith came we were under the ceremonial law]
The verse declares that “before faith came, we were kept under the law,” Why? Because the previous verse states that “the scripture hath concluded all under sin,” therefore, faith is the deliverance from the trespass that the law holds us [all] accountable of.
Simply put, the 10 commandments is the law that grants us the knowledge of sin, and by transgression of that law, we are held accountable. And these are to whom the promise of the faith of Jesus is given, should they believe. Therefore the law is not against the promises of God, as it [the promises] are the key to our freedom.
2 Peter 1:4 “Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.”
• The scripture then proceeds to say that we [all] are “shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed.”
Which is to say, before faith came we were held in custody under the law, [just like the earthly system] awaiting either execution or pardon. Therefore we’re shut up [or confined] in bondage by sin, on account of the law, and this is the condition of every soul upon the earth before faith comes to them. However when faith does come, and is exercised [revealed], the righteousness of God is made known without the law [Romans 3:19-22].
Galatians 3:24 “Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.”
• Simply put, the law that convicts us of our sins, is the same law that displays the character of our redeemer, of Him that is sinless and is fit to take our place. It is in Him that we place our faith, that we might be justified.
And for that reason, the law and faith must blend, or else our faith would be under the same condemnation. This provision of pardon is called grace [God’s favour towards man], with that being said, grace does not remove the law... it accounts for the transgression of it. Therefore anyone under grace follows Christ acceptably, and like Him is a keeper of the law. He was obedient to the law until death, to give us that life.
Confirmation on the law that Paul was referencing.
“The law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith” (Galatians 3:24). In this scripture, the Holy Spirit through the apostle is speaking especially of the moral law. The law reveals sin to us, and causes us to feel our need of Christ and to flee unto Him for pardon and peace by exercising repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.” 1SM 234.5
“Which Law Is the Schoolmaster? I am asked concerning the law in Galatians. What law is the schoolmaster to bring us to Christ? I answer: Both the ceremonial and the moral code of ten commandments.” 6BC 1109.9
Galatians 3:25 “But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.”
• Which is to say, the law is a tutor for both Jew and Gentile concerning sin, “for by the law is the knowledge of sin.” Romans 3:20, which is the character of God. Meaning that after faith is come and we are justified, we are no longer under the dominion of sin; we are no longer shut up; because we have attained to the very thing which is the object of the law, and that is Christ.
“For Christ is the end [the object, the aim, the purpose] of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth.” Romans 10:4.