LS 30

Message 30 - By Leroy Surface

“Wherefore Then Serveth

The Law?”

An introduction by JDG

This message was written by Bro. Leroy Surface in response to a letter he received from a young, sincere, brother in the Lord, who poses many legitimate questions concerning Paul’s letter to the Galatians. Some of these questions may be ones you have also wondered about and never really knew exactly who, or even how to ask. I believe you will find this informative message very helpful in understanding the message of the book of Galatians and the gospel message in general. If you are truly interested in understanding the scriptures, please read this message. JDG

Wherefore then serveth the law? It was added because of transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made….

Galatians 3:19

I recently received a letter from a young man who is presently incarcerated. The letter was one of the most humorous and, at the same time, the most sincere letters I have ever received from anyone, especially a young convert, who is distressed in his search for the truth. I felt to answer his letter publicly, as I know he raises the same questions many others have had, but have never verbalized. I will not give him a doctrine or a tradition to believe, but seek to faithfully guide him through the scriptures in question; into the understanding the apostle Paul was seeking to give. The text color of this young mans letter throughout this message is in GREEN, and begins as follows:

Hello: I’m having a really tough time understanding Paul in the book of Galatians. I am just absolutely dumbfounded by his “riddles!” Galatians 2:16, “That we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law:”

If you don’t follow the law, how will you know sin? The law lets you know what sins are, correct? He continues in verse sixteen saying, “…for by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified.” (Is this not a contradiction all in one verse?) Something in works and law may be creating my confusion.

This brother is obviously studying a “New King James Version,” or one of the many other modern versions of the Bible; which are promoted as saying the same as the King James Version in modern language. This is not the case, however, as this verse in Galatians 2:16 will prove. Where the NKJV and most of the other modern versions say, “by faith in Christ,” the KJV says “by the faith of Christ;” which is correct according to the Greek words used in the text. We are not justified by our faith in Jesus, which we must have; but in what Jesus did for us through His death (on the cross), His burial, His resurrection, and His ascension into heaven. This is what Paul is speaking of when he says, “the faith of Christ;” which is “the faith” that justifies us when we believe it. The NKJV is truly redundant and confusing in this sixteenth verse;

“...knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law….” NKJV

The KJV says something totally different in this sixteenth verse;

“…knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law….” KJV

(Please read the Note! at the end of this message concerning Modern Bible Versions.)

The term “the works of the law” speaks of “The Law of Moses,” which is the “Old Covenant” that even if a person kept it to perfection, it could not justify them. In Romans 3:20, Paul says, “Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.” The part of the law that brings the “knowledge of sin” is that negative part which says “thou shalt not.” The “deeds of the law” are something altogether different. They cannot be identified by “thou shalt not,” but in all the things the worshiper is commanded to do under that covenant. Paul’s fear for the Galatian Christians who turned to the Law of Moses was not that they might “obey the Ten Commandments;” instead, it was that they would start keeping feast days and holy days, as he told them in Galatians 4:10-11, “Ye observe days, and months, and times, and years. I am afraid of you, lest I have bestowed upon you labour in vain.”

“The faith of Jesus Christ,” which Paul said we are justified by, is “The New Covenant” that Jesus confirmed for us in His own blood when He suffered and died on the cross to take away our sin. Our salvation does not hang on the thin thread of man’s ability to believe, yet Paul said, “…we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ….” There is absolutely no conflict between the New Covenant and the Ten Commandments. In fact, they are inseparable. When teaching the New Covenant to the Hebrews, Paul quotes the words of God recorded in Jeremiah 31:31-34, saying in Hebrews 8:10, “…this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people: And they shall not teach every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest. For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more. In that he saith, A new covenant, he hath made the first old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away.” Every person that is justified by the faith of Jesus Christ has received a “new heart;” which has the Ten Commandments of God written in it. It is the new, divine nature which we are made partakers of, that is called the “new heart.” The Old Covenant (the Law of Moses) has been “abolished” on the cross where Jesus died for us (Ephesians 2:15); and the Law of God has been established by faith and grace in the heart of the child of God. This is the essence and result of the New Covenant.

The letter continues with a scripture verse taken from Galatians 3:10:

“For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: (what curse?) for it is written, cursed is everyone who does not continue in all things which are written in the book of the law, to do them.”

I can’t be justified by the law (Galatians 2:16), and now I’m cursed if I don’t follow it?

The intrinsic difficulty of the verses is so far beyond my capabilities and my comprehension I just don’t know what to say!

I should point out something here that few teachers will acknowledge; The “Law of God” and the “Law of Moses” are two very different covenants. Moses pointed this out on the last day of his life on earth. In Deuteronomy 5:2 Moses said, “The LORD our God made a covenant with us in Horeb.” The entire fifth chapter of Deuteronomy is given to the events of the day God came down on Mount Horeb and gave His “Ten Commandments” to the people in an audible voice (Exodus 20:1-19). The terms of the “covenant” which God made with His chosen people that day is found in Exodus 19:5-6; “…if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine: And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation.” When God began speaking to Israel, they turned in fear and fled from His presence, saying, “Moses, speak thou with us, and we will hear: but let not God speak with us, lest we die” (Exodus 20:19). The next twenty three chapters of Deuteronomy (chapters six through twenty-eight) are filled with the words of the Law that Moses gave to the people. The last fifty-four verses of the twenty eighth chapter are filled with “curses” against the people if they did not obey all the commandments (the laws) of Moses. Immediately following the giving of the six hundred and thirteen (613) commandments of Moses’ Law and the fifty four (54) verses of curses on the people, the scripture records these words in Deuteronomy 29:1, “These are the words of the covenant, which the LORD commanded Moses to make with the children of Israel in the land of Moab, beside the covenant which he made with them in Horeb.” Clearly, there were two different covenants, one given by God in Horeb, and the other given by Moses in the land of Moab. Even the word “Deuteronomy,” which is the name given to this “book of the law,” means “second law.”

When Paul says “…as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse,” he is speaking of the “Law of Moses” which is filled with “curses” against the people who do not obey it to its smallest detail. While it is true that carnal obedience to the Ten Commandments does not “justify” a person, these are not the “works of the law” that Paul is referring to. The works of the law are never introduced by “thou shalt not.” Instead, the “works of the law” are all the things Moses commanded the people to do. When Paul says in Romans 3:20, “Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight,” he was speaking about the animal sacrifices which they were commanded to offer. Paul confirms this in Hebrews 10:4; “…it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins.” The deeds of the law included keeping all the feast days, new moons, holy days, and Sabbaths (Colossians 2:16-17). The Law of Moses was filled with “dead works” which everyone was commanded to do but did not benefit the one doing them. There was no life in the Law of Moses; therefore it could not give life to those who obeyed it. “For if there had been a law given which could have given life, verily righteousness should have been by the law” (Galatians 3:21).

Paul tells us in Galatians 3:19 that the “Law of Moses” was “…added because of transgressions till the seed should come to whom the promise was made.” The Law of Moses was not given as a blessing, but as a “punishment” against Israel because they refused to hear the voice of God, chose Moses over God, and transgressed every command of God when they worshipped the golden calf. In the last day of Moses’ life he told the priests, “Take this book of the law, and put it in the side of the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God, that it may be there for a witness against thee” (Deuteronomy 31:26).

Not only was the Law of Moses “added because of transgressions,” it was also added “…till the seed should come to whom the promise was made (given).” In Galatians 3:16, Paul makes it very clear; that “seed” is Jesus Christ. The Law of Moses began when Moses gave it; and it ended when Jesus died on the cross to abolish it (Ephesians 2:15). It was given as a temporary measure to keep the children of Israel, and especially the “Jew,” from being absorbed by the nations around them until their redeemer, Jesus Christ, would come. If the children of Israel had accepted God at Mount Horeb and “obeyed His voice” (the audible voice of God speaking from the mountain) there would never have been a “Law of Moses.” God Himself confirms my statement in Jeremiah 7:22-23; “For I spake not unto your fathers, nor commanded them in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, concerning burnt offerings or sacrifices: But this thing commanded I them, saying, Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and ye shall be my people.” There would never have been another animal slain in sacrifice if they had obeyed God’s voice at Horeb; and there would never have been a Levitical Priesthood; because they would have been “a kingdom of priests” according to the promise of God in Exodus 19:5-6.

Our brother continues with yet another scripture.

Then we get to Galatians 3:17; “That the law, which is 430 years later, cannot annul the covenant that was confirmed before by God in Christ, that it should make the promise of no effect.” Clueless on that!

The “covenant that was confirmed before by God in Christ” is found in Genesis 22:16-18, and was given immediately after Abraham offered His Son Isaac upon the altar to God.

“By myself have I sworn, saith the LORD, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son: That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies; And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.”

This is the covenant of blessing that God gave to Abraham and “his seed,” which Paul shows in Galatians 3:16 to be “Christ.” God “confirmed” the covenant when He “swore by Himself” to do the thing promised in the covenant. He confirmed the covenant “in Christ” because it is “in thy seed (Christ) shall all the nations of the world be blessed.” It is an “everlasting covenant (Hebrews 13:20-21)” that came into effect when Jesus shed His precious blood for everyone who will ever trust in Christ,.

The Law of Moses, which was “added because of transgressions,” was only in effect “until the seed (Jesus Christ) should come;” and could not replace, add to, take away from, or disannul the covenant of blessing that God “swore by Himself” to confirm and “gave His only begotten Son” to fulfill.

We continue in the letter;

And verse 18, and then 23-25? “…before faith came, we were kept under guard by the law.” Then it goes on to say, the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ. But after faith came we are no longer under a tutor. (the law was the tutor, now we aren’t under it?)

Our brother is studying from a New King James Version of the Bible. For understanding of these three verses, I will now refer to my verse-by-verse commentary on Paul’s letter to the Galatians; which is based on the King James Version. We begin with Galatians 3:23.

Galatians 3:23

23 But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed.

Before the “…‘faith of Christ’ came….” The scriptures tell us in Hebrews, 11:39-40, of men and women of faith who obeyed God and did mighty exploits “through faith;” yet all of them lived and died before “the faith of Christ” came. The term, “before faith came,” speaks of the duration of the Law of Moses spoken of in the nineteenth verse; “…till the seed should come to whom the promise was made.”

“…we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed.” According to the Greek wording in this phrase, Paul speaks of the “law” as a “prison” in which they were shut up and kept under guard until the “faith of Christ” came. In Romans 7:6, Paul says, “…we are delivered from the law, that being dead (unto that) wherein we were held; that we should serve in newness of spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter.” In Romans seven Paul portrays the law as a harsh husband from which the only escape is through death; And again in Galatians he portrays the law as a prison from which only Christ can redeem us (Galatians 3:13; 4:4-5).

24 Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.

The Greek word “paidagogos,” which was translated “schoolmaster,” actually refers to a “boy leader” which was a slave whose duty was to take the children to and from school. Interestingly, the Greek word for “boy” is “pais,” which Strong’s Concordance defines as “a boy (as often beaten with impunity).” In this verse, the “schoolmaster” was not a teacher, but a “disciplinarian.” Though a slave himself, he could “beat” the son of his master “with impunity,” which means he was “exempt from punishment” when he disciplined the child. The Law of Moses was added upon Israel to discipline the nation until “the seed (Jesus Christ) should come to whom the promise was made.” Those who “despised” the law “died without mercy before two or three witnesses,” and those who stoned them to death were exempt from prosecution. Such was the power of the law over the people until Christ came.

“…to bring us unto Christ…” We should notice that the word “to bring us” are written in italics in the Bible, indicating that they are not in the Greek text. If the purpose of the “Law of Moses” had been to “lead” the people to Christ, then those who were most under the law would have gladly received Christ, but such was not the case. The apostle John said, “He came unto His own, and His own received Him not…” (John 1:11). It was those who were most “zealous” of the law that plotted the death of Jesus, and who also persecuted the church. If any came to Christ because of the law, it was because they were “driven,” hence, as Jesus said, “…publicans and harlots go into the kingdom before you” (before the chief priests and elders; Matthew 21:23-31). In Luke 18:10-14, Jesus tells of a “publican” who went to the temple to pray, but was harshly condemned by a Pharisee who also prayed. The publican could not even “lift his eyes unto heaven;” instead, he “smote his breast” and prayed, “God, be merciful to me a sinner.” Jesus said, “This man (the publican) went down to his house justified rather than the other (the Pharisee).”

The “Law of Moses,” which was “added because of transgressions,” had never been the plan of God for His people. It was given as a “cruel disciplinarian” to beat the people into obedience and as a “prison” to “shut them up” and “keep them” till Christ would come. It was a curse upon the nation, and is unto this day, to those who “trust” in it. Notice in the thirteenth verse of this chapter that “Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law…,” and in the fifth verse of the fourth chapter, Christ came to “…redeem them that that were under the law.” If there are any who continue to think that the “Law of Moses” is the answer to the sin problem, consider the words of Paul in I Corinthians 15:56, “The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law.”

25 But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.

“Faith,” as used in this verse, could not come until after Christ died for us, because the death and sufferings of Christ is what constitutes “…the faith of Christ” (Galatians 2:16). The word “faith” is used as a noun and encompasses all that Christ did for man through His death, burial, resurrection, and ascension. It is a “fact” that Christ died for us. It is the “faith of Christ” which declares that we died with Him, unto sin (Romans 6:6), unto the world (Galatians 6:14), and unto the law (Romans 7:4). The Law of Moses would be in effect “…till the seed should come to whom the promise was made.” That “seed,” according to Paul in the sixteenth verse, is Christ, who hath “…redeemed us from the curse of the law…” (verse thirteen). We who believe are no longer under the administration of that one who could “beat us with impunity (i.e., the law).” In II Corinthians 3:7-9, Paul speaks of the “Law of Moses” as both “…the ministration of death…” and “…the ministration of condemnation.” In the same text, he speaks of the “New Covenant” as “…the ministration of the spirit…” and “the ministration of righteousness.”

It is an error to think that no one is “under the law” simply because Christ “died for us.” The damning nature of the law continues until “faith” comes. Many who profess to “believe” remain under the curse of the law, because they do not hold the “faith of Christ,” which alone can justify them (Galatians 2:16).

Again we return to our brother’s letter.

In all honesty, as a new Christian, I don’t think anyone in my position should be reading or studying anything by Paul without someone watching over me.

Everything I’ve studied in “The Foundation” Bible Study Course has been very helpful in the Book of Romans.

To me Paul should have been a car salesman or a politician. I’ve read his scriptures all week and he never said anything I remotely understand! I would imagine in the last few weeks I’ve successfully misunderstood the scriptures more than anyone alive!

I was fine in the Old Testament, got along very well; even in Matthew, Mark and Luke I did okay. Is there some book I could get regarding all the books of Paul that would translate verse by verse?

I know Daniel’s writings were not intended for his day and were sealed until the end of time and only wise men will understand them.

Some people get mail order brides; I need a mail order wise man! Maybe two!

Honestly, I have pretty well beaten myself up over this whole deal with Paul. It really bothers me that it’s so far over my head! Am I the only one who’s having this problem? My yoke of Bondage is Paul’s word. If I ever figure out if he keeps the law would really help! I may have said this before. Law/Grace: Paul seems to present them in conflict, however I think they go hand in hand and should compliment each other.

The apostle Peter had this to say about Paul in II Peter 3:15-16: “…our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you; As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction.” Peter confesses that Paul writes some things that are “hard to be understood.” However, they are not to be ignored, because Peter also warned of those who “wrest” Paul’s teachings “…as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction.” Paul received the “revelation of Jesus Christ.” He heard “unspeakable words” from God which were “unlawful to utter (according to the Law of Moses)” (II Corinthians 12:4). Such revelations are hard to express in human terms, but the same Spirit that revealed them to Paul will also reveal them to us if we prayerfully seek Him for understanding.

Concerning whether Paul kept the law or not, he never broke the Law of God, because it was written in his heart by the Spirit of God that was in him. For God’s children, His law is never written on paper or stone, but in their “inward parts” (Jeremiah 31:33). Paul did not keep the Law of Moses, which would involve keeping all the ceremonies, rituals, feast days, holy days, Sabbaths, circumcision, animal sacrifices, and hundreds of other “dead works” that were “purged” from his conscience by the blood of Jesus (Hebrews 9:14-15). Paul was not a sinner; neither did he have a secret struggle with sin. He understood as the apostle John did that “…sin is the transgression of the law” of God (I John 3:4). He also understood, as John did, “…that he (Jesus Christ) was manifested to take away our sins…” (I John 3:5). John the Baptist had introduced Jesus at the beginning of His ministry, saying, “Behold, the lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). The apostle John continues in the fifth verse, “…and in him is no sin.” These are very simple things to grasp.

1. Sin is the transgression of the Law of God.

2. Jesus came into the world to take our sin away (take sin out of our heart) through the sacrifice of Himself.

3. There is no sin in Jesus Christ. It is easy to follow these three points. It is number four that people stumble over. It says,

4. “Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him.”

Paul was not a sinner, because Jesus died to take his sin away. He did not sin, because he remained in Christ where God had saved him. He did not keep the Law of Moses, because it could not give him life; and lastly, he did not sin because he “did by nature” the things contained in the Law of God. It was written in his heart.

We come to the conclusion of our brother’s letter.

One thing I really love about “The Foundation” course is all the translations and meanings of words are right here and explained in detail. Looking back, Romans is probably just as difficult, but I have my study course. I would like to say “thank you” to all of you who take the time out of your life to drag me to salvation! And taking the time to answer all my questions. I know that’s complicated, because sometimes I’m not even sure how to ask the question.

God Bless You All….

This letter, though written in a humorous style, really touched my heart by the deep sincerity I felt in the man who wrote it. It was also a source of encouragement to me personally because it was almost a year and a half ago that the Lord told me to write “verse by verse commentaries” on the gospel letters of Paul. I have spent the last sixteen months doing just that. Those of you who receive this publication regularly should have received your copy of “The Foundation,” which is a commentary on the first eleven chapters of Romans. We also have the Spanish version of “The Foundation,” titled “El Fundamento,” which is being distributed both locally, and in Mexico. We also have a study curriculum on the English version of “The Foundation” that the brother referred to in his letter, which you can receive upon request. A verse by verse commentary on the book of Ephesians which we have titled “The Habitation” will soon be going to press. We hope to release it by July 1^st along with the study curriculum which we will make available to all who request it. I have also finished five chapters of the book of Galatians, which we hope to publish by the first of next year (2011). I feel an urgency to finish this work the Lord has given me to do. I most certainly appreciate the prayers of God’s people, as well the financial support we receive from those who have felt led to help in this very important ministry of the word. Some have given sacrificially, and you can never know what it means to me personally that you love enough to do so. I have freely received His truth, and you have helped me to “freely give” it to thousands of hungry souls.

The remainder of this message will be from our, as yet, unpublished verse-by-verse commentary on the third chapter of Galatians. It has not been finally edited, and has not yet been titled. Nevertheless, I know that the answers to many of our brothers questions will be found, if sought for sincerely and prayerfully. I trust it will be a blessing to all who “love the truth.”

(An excerpt from our verse-by-verse commentary.)

The THIRD CHAPTER of GALATIANS

1 O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you?

Paul has just related the tragic incident that took place in the church at Antioch. At Antioch it was the Jews led by Peter, who had been willing to “set aside” the grace of God, at least for a season. It is of them that Paul says, “…I saw that they walked not uprightly according to the truth of the gospel…” (Galatians 2:14). Peter and the Jews at Antioch had been afraid when some men arrived from Jerusalem, sent by James, to observe the order of the church at Antioch. These men were “of the circumcision,” meaning that they still held to the Law of Moses. James and the elders at Jerusalem had only recently acknowledged the liberty of the Gentiles from circumcision and the Law of Moses, but no such liberty was extended to the Jews. Peter, since arriving in Antioch, had lived among the believing Gentiles, eating their food, and enjoying their liberty. Now, with the arrival of these men from Jerusalem, he literally feared for His life, as any “law-breaker” would. He knew the truth of the gospel as it had been revealed to Paul, but did not want to suffer for it, thus he, “…walked not uprightly according to the truth of the gospel”(Galatians 2:14).

These believers at Galatia had never been under the law. The law held no power over them whatsoever, but they were bringing themselves under its yoke. Paul had thoroughly preached the gospel of “Jesus Christ, and Him crucified,” among them. They had believed and had been baptized with the Holy Ghost. The miraculous manifestations of God were among them, but now, they were trusting in the dead works of the Law of Moses which could not justify anyone. “O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth?” For a short season, the Jews at Antioch had dishonored the truth out of fear of those men of the circumcision, but now, “…who hath bewitched you? You have willingly turned away from faith in Christ-crucified to trust in something that can only condemn you to death.

“…before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you?” The English translation of this statement is a little confusing. The words “evidently set forth” tell us that the message of “Jesus Christ, and Him crucified (I Corinthians 2:2)” had been fully preached by both word and letter to them. They knew the truth and saw the proof of it, yet turned away to the error of those false brethren who were teaching, “…except ye be circumcised after the manner of Moses, ye cannot be saved” (Acts 15:1).

2 This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?

Paul is very direct in his questions and clear in his statements, because the life of this church is at stake. It is not a matter of their natural lives being taken away. No one is forcing them into the law. It is their spiritual life they are in danger of losing. Those who profess “once saved, always saved” should read and understand Paul’s message to the Galatians. He feared for their souls. “Answer this one question; ‘Did you receive the Holy Ghost by the works of the law…?” Obviously not! They were Gentiles; they had never had the law. It was by the “hearing of faith;” they had believed the gospel Paul had preached unto them

3 Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?

They “began in the Spirit,” do they now expect to “complete their salvation” by the flesh? The Greek word “epiteleo,” which was translated as “made perfect” in this verse, carries the connotation of “performance” as in “to execute.” They have been “born again of the Spirit of God.” Jesus said, “…he that is born of the Spirit is spirit” (John 3:6); will they now turn again to the “flesh” as the executor of their salvation? Millions of Christians today are following the same error the Galatians followed. The six hundred and thirteen commandments of the “Law of Moses” are not the issue today; instead, it is the thousands of so called, “principles of life,” that claim to “perfect holiness” (II Corinthians 7:1). While holiness must be “perfected,” it is vain to believe that carnal obedience to carnal principles will ever do so.

4 Have ye suffered so many things in vain? if it be yet in vain.

The scripture is not clear concerning the things they had suffered at the hands of unbelievers when they first trusted in Christ, but it was not uncommon at the time that they would be cast away from their families and friends, cast out of their houses, and stripped of their inheritance. It is amazing to this writer that very often, many of the children of God who are “born (again)” in the fires of persecution flourish until the time “peace and prosperity” comes to them; then they wither and die.

5 He therefore that ministereth to you the Spirit, and worketh miracles among you, doeth he it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?

This is the sixth question that Paul will ask of the Galatians in five different verses. They are random, and come so quickly that it reminds me of a parent questioning a disobedient child, but not waiting for an answer. Paul is making a point in every question that he asks. Not only had the Galatian churches “began in the Spirit,” but there were those in the churches who were anointed by the Holy Ghost with “miraculous gifts.” Miracles had been commonplace among them when they “began in the Spirit.” Paul questioned them, did these miracles come by the “works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?” Obviously, the Law of Moses had never done anything for these Gentiles; why would they bring themselves under bondage to it, at the expense of losing the Spirit of God in their midst?

6 Even as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.

These Gentiles who had believed had more in common with Abraham than the Jew who had rejected Jesus Christ and the gospel message. Abraham was never under the Law of Moses. He had lived in an idolatrous land, in an idolatrous home, until he “believed God.” His “faith,” not the law, was accounted unto him for righteousness.

7 Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham.

In Romans 4:11 Paul says of Abraham, “…he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had yet being uncircumcised: that he might be the father of all them that believe, though they be not circumcised; that righteousness might be imputed unto them also.” It is those who are “of faith (the faith of Christ)” that are the children of Abraham, whether they are Jews or Gentiles. They have “believed God,” because they have “believed the record that God gave of His Son” (I John 5:10).

8 And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed.

The common belief of the Jew was that a Gentile must be circumcised and become a “proselyte,” keeping all the commands and ordinances of Moses in order to be saved. Paul points out that God promised Abraham, over four hundred years before Moses and the law, “…in thee shall all nations be blessed.” The Greek word “ethnos,” which is translated as “nations,” is the same Greek word that was translated both as “heathen” and “gentiles” throughout the New Testament. The same is true in the Old Testament scripture. The same Hebrew word was translated as Gentiles, nations, and heathen. The promise to Abraham is better understood if we say, “…in thee shall the Gentiles be blessed.”

9 So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham.

It is those who have “believed God” in every age since the beginning of time that have been blessed by God. Since Christ has come and died to redeem us, it is those who “believe the gospel of Christ,” whether Jew or Gentile, who are blessed with Abraham.

10 For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them.

The law curses everyone who does not obey it in its smallest detail; therefore those who are under the law are under its curse.

11 But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith.

Paul quotes a scripture from Habakkuk which says, “The just shall live by his faith,” which is true in every age. It has always been those who have “believed God” that have been spared the wrath of God, and not the “keepers of the law.” Paul quotes this text from Habakkuk in three different letters; Romans 1:17, Hebrews 10:38, and this text in Galatians. The meaning of the phrase is different as Paul uses it in the New Testament. Habakkuk indicated that the lives of those who believed God would be spared because they would flee the nation when they read the vision God gave him. “…the LORD answered me, and said, Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it” (Habakkuk 2:2). In Luke 21:20-21, Jesus said, “…when ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh. Then let them which are in Judaea flee to the mountains; and let them which are in the midst of it depart out; and let not them that are in the countries enter thereinto. For these be the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled.” History records that none of those who believed the words of Jesus suffered and died in the siege of Jerusalem in seventy AD.

Jesus said, “I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly” (John 10:10). If Jesus had not come, no one would have life, because every person would be “dead in sin.” Even those who were “righteous” according to the Law of Moses did not have life. It is just as Paul said in Galatians 3:21, “…if there had been a law given which could have given life, verily righteousness should have been by the law” (Galatians 3:21). “Righteousness” is not about a “lifestyle;” it is about “life.” How to receive that “life” which Jesus came to give becomes the question. Paul answers it in this text; “…that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, ‘The just shall live by faith’.” The simple truth of this statement is this; the righteous receive life “by the faith of Jesus Christ.” I refer back to the words of Paul in Galatians 2:20; “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.” Paul’s meaning is simple; “I am dead, and Christ lives. He lives in me, for He is my life.” It is by “the faith of Christ” that I have life (see the comments on Galatians 2:16 under “…that we might be justified by the faith of Christ….” We have “faith in Christ” to be justified by the “faith of Christ.”

12 And the law is not of faith: but, The man that doeth them shall live in them.

The only life that the law could “give” is the natural life you already have. Hebrews 10:28 says, “He that despised Moses’ law died without mercy under two or three witnesses.” The statement, “The man that doeth them shall live in them” did not refer to eternal life; instead they would not be slain with those who broke the law.

13 Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:

The curse of the Law of Moses is the “law” itself. The “law” was not given to bless the people; instead “…it was added because of transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made…” (Galatians 3:19). When the Law of Moses was complete, Moses commanded the priests to place it in the Ark of the Covenant “…that it may be there for a witness against thee…” (Deuteronomy 31:26). The law cursed the people. It even “cursed” Jesus Christ for dying on the cross (“cursed is everyone that hangeth on a tree”). There were those in Israel whose crimes were so heinous that after they were “stoned to death” the elders would hang their bodies on a pole or a tree in the belief that God would curse them for all eternity. Jesus accepted that curse, and was “made a curse for us” to “redeem us from the curse of the law.” Jesus had no sin, and the Father did not “curse” Him, but raised Him again from the dead, thus the Law of Moses was broken by God Himself, who “nailed it to His cross” (Colossians 2:14).

14 That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.

Many people erroneously believe that the “blessing of Abraham” is found in Deuteronomy 28:1-13, which is the blessing promised to those who keep the Law of Moses to perfection. Israel never received that blessing, but they did receive all the curses of Deuteronomy 28:15-68. If Israel had “believed God” as Abraham did, they would have received the “blessing” of God’s law rather than the “curse” of Moses’ law. The blessing of God’s law is found in Exodus 19:5-6; “…if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine: And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation.” These blessings did come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ for Peter wrote in his letter to the Gentile believers, “…ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light: Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God…” (I Peter 2:9-10). It is in this that God’s promise to Abraham was fulfilled; “…in thy seed (Jesus Christ) shall all the nations of the earth be blessed” (Genesis 22-18).

“…that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.” The term “the promise of the Spirit” in this text speaks of the promise that God made to Abraham. We receive the promise “by faith” and not “by the works of the law” of Moses. In Acts 13:32-33, Paul said, “…we declare unto you glad tidings, how that the promise which was made unto the fathers, God hath fulfilled the same unto us their children, in that he hath raised up Jesus again….”

15 Brethren, I speak after the manner of men; Though it be but a man’s covenant, yet if it be confirmed, no man disannulleth, or addeth thereto.

When Paul says, “I speak after the manner of men,” he is giving a natural example to help us understand something that is spiritual. The contracts made among men are valid and binding after they are signed. No one can add to or take away from such a contract. Paul is applying this principle to the promise that God gave to Abraham, which He confirmed with an oath, saying, “By myself have I sworn, saith the LORD, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son: That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies; And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice” (Genesis 22:16-18).

16 Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ.

Paul points out the fact that these promises of blessing were made to both Abraham and “his seed.” He further shows that God did not say “seeds, as of many;” instead, the promise to the “seed” was speaking specifically of “one seed” which is Jesus Christ.

17 And this I say, that the covenant, that was confirmed before of God in Christ, the law, which was four hundred and thirty years after, cannot disannul, that it should make the promise of none effect.

The “covenant of blessing” with Abraham and His seed was given at least four hundred and thirty years before the Law of Moses was given. The law could not add to, nor could it take away from what God had promised. Notice that the covenant “…was confirmed before of God in Christ.” The promise was to “Abraham and his seed,” which “is Christ.” The covenant was confirmed hundreds of years before the law was given, but it was “confirmed in Christ,” which means it would not be in effect until Christ shed His blood for the remission of our sin.

18 For if the inheritance be of the law, it is no more of promise: but God gave it to Abraham by promise.

In Romans 4:4, Paul said, “…now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt.” If the inheritance (the reward) is of the law, it is a “debt” that God owes to everyone that keeps the law. Instead, it is the result of the promise God made to Abraham when He “swore by Himself” in Genesis 22:16-18. It is given by “grace” and is received “through faith.” Israel dwelt in the “land of promise” under the law for nearly fifteen hundred years before the birth of Christ, but they never received the “inheritance” that was promised to Abraham and his seed in the twenty second chapter of Genesis.

19 Wherefore then serveth the law? It was added because of transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator.

“Wherefore then serveth the law?” Due to the fact that the inheritance cannot be received through the law, the question arises, “wherefore then serveth the law,” or literally, “what is the law for?” It is a simple question, and Paul gives a direct and simple answer. There can be no confusion as to the meaning of what Paul said.

“It was added because of transgressions…” When Paul speaks of “the law” that was “added because of transgressions,” it must be understood that he is speaking about the “Law of Moses.” The words, “…it was added…” are very important to our understanding. They refer to the fifteenth verse where Paul speaks of a “covenant” saying, “…if it be confirmed, no man disannulleth, or addeth thereto.” When God made His covenant of blessing with Abraham, He “confirmed it by an oath” (Hebrews 6:13-18). Nothing can be added to or taken away from the promises God made to Abraham and “his seed.”

When God came down on Mount Horeb to speak to Israel, His intent was to bring the “blessing of Abraham” upon them because they were the natural “seed of Abraham” through Isaac and Jacob. Before speaking to them from the mountain, He sent word to them by Moses, saying, “…if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine: And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation” (Exodus 19:5-6). When God “swore by Himself” to bless Abraham and his seed, He concluded the promise by saying, “…because thou hast obeyed my voice.” Now, He was expecting the natural descendants of Abraham to do likewise;”obey His voice.”

The “Law of God,” more commonly known as “The Ten Commandments,” was given to the children of Israel as a “covenant of blessing” on the condition that they would “obey His voice, and keep His covenant” (Exodus 19:5-6). Forty years later, when Moses is reviewing all six hundred and thirteen commandments of his “law” with the people, he “pauses” for the entire fifth chapter of Deuteronomy to relate the events of the day God came down on Horeb and spoke Ten Commandments to the people. In the second verse he reminds them; “The LORD our God made a covenant with us in Horeb.” In the fourth verse he says, “The LORD talked with you face to face in the mount out of the midst of the fire.” Then in Deuteronomy 5:6-21, he quotes the Ten Commandments in full detail, concluding in the twenty second verse with, “These words the LORD spake unto all your assembly in the mount out of the midst of the fire, of the cloud, and of the thick darkness, with a great voice: and he added no more.” These “ten commandments” were a part of the covenant of blessing with Abraham and “his seed;” a covenant of which it was said, “…no man disannuleth or addeth thereto.”

Moses plainly told the people of Israel that his “law” and the Ten Commandments were two different covenants. After giving the “blessings (Deuteronomy 28:1-14)” and “cursings (Deuteronomy 28:15-68)” of Moses’ law, he said, “These are the words of the covenant, which the LORD commanded Moses to make with the children of Israel in the land of Moab, BESIDE the covenant which he (God)made with them in Horeb” (Deuteronomy 29:1). Pay close attention to this verse. God gave His covenant (The Ten Commandments) in Horeb. Moses made a covenant with the children of Israel in Moab, which Moses said was “beside the covenant which God made in Horeb.” Clearly, they are two separate covenants.

The blessing of Abraham is found in God’s covenant with the people; “…if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine: And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation” (Exodus 19:5-6). Neither God nor man could have added to or taken away from the words God spoke to Israel in Horeb. If they would have “obeyed His voice, and kept His covenant,” there would never have been a “Law of Moses,” which was “added because of transgressions;” But the people did not “obey His voice;” they refused to even “listen” to His voice. When God came down on Horeb, a thick darkness covered the mountain; the atmosphere was charged with thunder and lightning, and the earth shook under their feet. God spoke to them “out of the midst of the fire,” and “…when the people saw it, they removed, and stood afar off. And they said unto Moses, Speak thou with us, and we will hear: but let not God speak with us, lest we die” (Exodus 20:18-19). Then they turned their backs and fled from the mountain. They refused to even listen to what God said, but they promised to hear and do all that Moses would command them. Within six weeks of that day, the people had turned away from Moses also, and were found worshipping an image of a calf made of gold.

The “Law of Moses” would never have been given if the people had “obeyed (Strong’s Gr. Def. - to hear intelligently; implies attention and obedience’)” the voice of God. There would never have been a “Levitical priesthood,” and they would have never, ever, offered an animal sacrifice. God Himself confirms the words I am saying in Jeremiah 7:22-23; “…I spake not unto your fathers, nor commanded them in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, concerning burnt offerings or sacrifices: But this thing commanded I them, saying, Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and ye shall be my people….” Jeremiah brought the conclusion of the matter in the twenty eighth verse, “…this is a nation that obeyeth not the voice of the LORD their God….”

“…added because of transgressions…” It was not the transgression of Adam that caused the Law of Moses to be added; instead, it was the transgression of the children of Israel at Horeb, where they first rejected God and His covenant of blessing, and later rejected Moses, and fashioned (and worshipped) a golden calf to go before them. Paul will prove the implications made in this verse (Galatians 3:19) in the remainder of the chapter, and in the fourth chapter also. The fact that Moses’ Law was “added” proves that it was not part of the covenant which God made with Abraham and His seed, because that covenant cannot be “disannulled, or added thereto” (Galatians 3:15).

“…till the seed should come to whom the promise was made…” Several things are implied by this single phrase. First, the Law of Moses had a beginning and an ending. It came into effect in the generation that rejected the voice of God and worshipped the golden calf; it would be in effect until “the seed should come to whom the promise was made,” which Paul confirms in the sixteenth verse to be Jesus Christ. Jesus “…abolished (the Law of Moses) in His flesh (Ephesians 2:15),” and “nailed it to His cross” (Colossians 2:14).

In Matthew 5:17-18, it is the “Law of God” that Jesus said must be “fulfilled.” The word “fulfilled” in this verse is translated from the Greek word “genomai,” which means, “to cause to be (“gen”- erate), i.e. (reflexively) to become (come into being).” The Law of God was never “fulfilled” in a man until Jesus Christ was born into the world, but it is fulfilled in everyone that is “born of God;” it is “written in their hearts” (Hebrews 8:10-13). At the same time the Law of Moses was abolished at the cross, the Law of God came into its fulfillment in the hearts of all who would believe the gospel.

The second thing implied in this verse is earthshaking; the children of Israel were not the “…seed to whom the promise was made.” Moses understood this before his death. It was in the last day of Moses’ life that he gave the final reading of the his Law, after which he commanded the priest to “…take this book of the law, and put it in the side of the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God, that it may be there for a witness against thee” (Deuteronomy 31:26). This was the “law” that Jesus “blotted out,” as Paul said in Colossians 2:14; “…blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross.”

God also gave Moses a “song,” which he would “sing” to them in the last day of his life. Notice what God said the purpose of this song would be; “Now therefore write ye this song for you, and teach it the children of Israel: put it in their mouths, that this song may be a witness for me against the children of Israel” (Deuteronomy 31:19). The words of the song came directly from God and foretell what Israel’s existence under the Law of Moses would be, until “…the seed (Christ) should come to whom the promise was made.” Jesus would bring redemption through His precious blood. All these horrible things predicted in the song would come upon them because they did not “obey the voice of the LORD,” nor would they “obey” the writings of Moses. Again, in the last day before he died, Moses told why these things would come upon them; “…for I know that after my death ye will utterly corrupt yourselves, and turn aside from the way which I have commanded you; and evil will befall you in the latter days; because ye will do evil in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to anger through the work of your hands” (Deuteronomy 31:29).

There are two prophesies of redemption and the church of Jesus Christ found in Moses song. First, in the twenty first verse, God said, “…they have moved me to jealousy with that which is not God…and I will move them to jealousy with those which are not a people….” Peter tells who it was God spoke of as those “who are not a people” when he wrote to the Gentiles believers in I Peter 2:9-10, saying, “…ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light: Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God.” In Romans 10:19, Paul quotes Moses, saying, “I will provoke you to jealousy by them that are no people…,” and brings a conclusion in Romans 11:11, where he speaks of the “fall” of the children of Israel through unbelief; “I say then, Have they stumbled that they should fall? God forbid: but rather through their fall salvation is come unto the Gentiles, for to provoke them to jealousy.”

The second prophesy of redemption is found in verse forty three, the last verse of the song; “Rejoice, O ye nations, with his people: for he will avenge the blood of his servants, and will render vengeance to his adversaries, and will be merciful unto his land, and to his people.” The word “with” used in this verse is in italics, and is not found in the Greek text. The verse actually says, “Rejoice, O ye Gentiles, His people.” In Romans 15:10, Paul quotes this verse, using the phrase “with his people” in a litany of verses from the Old Testament that foretell the salvation of the Gentiles.

“…and it was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator.”Moses was the mediator of the Law of Moses. The Law of Moses was “ordained” because of Israel’s transgression, and delivered to Moses by angels. God told Moses in Exodus 23:20-21, “Behold, I send an Angel before thee, to keep thee in the way, and to bring thee into the place which I have prepared. Beware of him, and obey his voice, provoke him not; for he will not pardon your transgressions: for my name is in him.”

20 Now a mediator is not a mediator of one, but God is one.

This is an obscure text, the meaning of which is not easily seen, but when it is seen it becomes very clear. It was written to show that Moses was not the mediator of the “covenant of promise” which God gave to “Abraham and his seed,” because the second party of the promise (Christ) had not yet come. The Law of Moses could not add to, nor could it cancel, the promise which God confirmed to Abraham and his seed “by an oath” when He “swore by Himself” (Hebrews 6:13-17). Instead, it was added to the nation of Israel who had both heard and rejected both the voice of God and the covenant of promise when it was offered to them. Moses stood between God and the children of Israel to mediate the law which “…came by Moses” (John 1:15), and they were required, by penalty of death, to obey it in every detail. The “covenant of promise” was made with Christ Jesus, and after it was confirmed by His death and resurrection, He and He alone became the mediator between God and man (I Timothy 2:5).

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.

“Is the law then against the promises of God?” The Greek word “kata,” which is translated “against” in this question, is one of the most difficult words this writer has found, because its meaning varies according to the context it is used in. Strong’s Concordance gives the definition as follows; “kata (kat-ah’); a primary particle; (prepositionally) down (in place or time), in varied relations (according to the case [genitive case, dative case or accusative case] with which it is joined).” In its “genitive case” it indicates a “source” and is usually translated as “after.” In its “dative case” it indicates a “recipient,” and is usually translated as “according to.” In its “accusative case” it indicates the “goal of an action,” and is usually translated as “against.” Strong’s concluding thought on “kata” is that it “frequently denotes opposition, distribution, or intensity.”

The Law of Moses is neither for nor against the promise. It has no relationship with the promise whatsoever. The “promise” is not the “source” of the law, nor is the “Law” the “source” of the promise. When Paul said the law was “…added because of transgressions,” he did not mean that the law was “added to the promise;” instead, it was added to the transgressors. Paul tells Timothy, “Knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers, For whoremongers, for them that defile themselves with mankind, for menstealers, for liars, for perjured persons, and if there be any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine” (I Timothy 1:9-10).

“…for if there had been a law given which could have given life, verily righteousness should have been by the law.” In Hebrew 7:18, the apostle speaks about the “disannulling (cancelation)of the commandment (Law of Moses)” because of the “weakness and unprofitableness thereof.” The “weakness” of the law was that it could not give life to those who trusted in it. The law could only slay the sinner; it could never justify him, thus it could never make him to be “righteous.”

22 But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe.

In Romans 3:9, Paul makes this statement: “…we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin.” In the following nine verses, he offers his “proof” in a litany of scripture verses from the Old Testament.

Romans 3:10 “As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one….”

Romans 3:11 There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God (Psalms 14:2).

Romans 3:12 They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one (Psalms 14:3).

Romans 3:13 Their throat is an open sepulcher (Psalms 5:9); with their tongues they have used deceit (Psalms 78:36); the poison of asps is under their lips (Psalms 140:3):

Romans 3:14 Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness (Psalms 10:7):

Romans 3:15 Their feet are swift to shed blood (Isaiah 59:7):

Romans 3:16 Destruction and misery are in their ways (Isaiah 59:7):

Romans 3:17 And the way of peace have they not known (Isaiah 59:8):

Romans 3:18 There is no fear of God before their eyes (Psalms 36:1).

Paul’s “conclusion” is found in the next verse,

Romans 3:19 Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.

All the things that are written in these scriptures were written concerning the children of Israel, God’s “chosen people.” The Gentiles had no claim to righteousness whatsoever. If Israel is found to be in sin, then the entire world was found to be guilty before God.

“…that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to (all) them that believe.” If even one person could have been found that was not “under sin,” Christ would not have died to “…take away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). Notice that it is “by faith of Jesus Christ” that the promise is given “…to them that believe.” Remember the words that Paul spoke to Peter in Galatians 2:16; “…we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law.” The term “faith of Christ” speaks of all that Jesus did through His death and resurrection for our full salvation. Before Christ came into the world to redeem us from our sin, this “faith” did not exist.

23 But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed.

“…we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed.” According to the Greek wording in this phrase, Paul speaks of the “law” as a “prison” in which they were shut up and kept under guard until the “faith of Christ” came. In Romans 7:6, Paul says, “…we are delivered from the law, that being dead (unto that) wherein we were held; that we should serve in newness of spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter.” In Romans seven Paul portrays the law as a harsh husband from which the only escape is through death; And again in Galatians he portrays the law as a prison from which only Christ can redeem us (Galatians 3:13; 4:4-5).

24 Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.

“…to bring us unto Christ…” We should notice that the word “to bring us” are written in italics in the Bible, indicating that they are not in the Greek text. If the purpose of the “Law of Moses” had been to “lead” the people to Christ, then those who were most under the law would have gladly received Christ, but such was not the case. The apostle John said, “He came unto His own, and His own received Him not…” (John 1:11). It was those who were most “zealous” of the law that plotted the death of Jesus, and who also persecuted the church. If any came to Christ because of the law, it was because they were “driven,” hence, as Jesus said, “…publicans and harlots go into the kingdom before you” (before the chief priests and elders; Matthew 21:23-31). In Luke 18:10-14, Jesus tells of a “publican” who went to the temple to pray, but was harshly condemned by a Pharisee who also prayed. The publican could not even “lift his eyes unto heaven;” instead, he “smote his breast” and prayed, “God, be merciful to me a sinner.” Jesus said, “This man (the publican) went down to his house justified rather than the other (the Pharisee).”

The “Law of Moses,” which was “added because of transgressions,” had never been the plan of God for His people. It was given as a “cruel disciplinarian” to beat the people into obedience and as a “prison” to “shut them up” and “keep them” till Christ would come. It was a curse upon the nation, and is unto this day to those who “trust” in it. Notice in the thirteenth verse of this chapter that “Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law…,” and in the fifth verse of the fourth chapter, Christ came to “…redeem them that that were under the law.” If there are any who continue to think that the “Law of Moses” is the answer to the sin problem, consider the words of Paul in I Corinthians 15:56, “The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law.”

25 But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.

26 For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.

Paul said, “…we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law” (Galatians 2:16). It is our faith in that which Christ Jesus has accomplished through His death on the cross that justifies us. In His death, we died to sin (Romans 6:6-11); in His resurrection, we are “…begotten again (born again) unto a lively hope…” (I Peter 1:3). We are the children of God “by faith in Christ Jesus.”

27 For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.

In Romans 6:3 Paul asks the question, “Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?” In II Corinthians 5:17, Paul makes an absolute statement; “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” Everyone that is “in Christ” is a “new creature,” and “old things are passed away.” It is only through “baptism into His death” and “crucifixion with Him” that this can be true of “all who are in Christ.” The baptism in this verse cannot relate to water baptism. Water baptism can bring a person into fellowship within the visible church structure, but it can never bring them “into Christ.”

“…have put on Christ.” The wording from the Greek language literally means they are “clothed with Christ.”

28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.

Paul does not say that neither Jews nor Greeks, bond nor free, male nor female can be saved. Instead, they all lose their identity. If the “king” is saved, he is not a “king” in Christ. Neither is the “pauper” that is saved a “pauper” in Christ. The redeemed are all “one in Christ.”

“…for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.” To understand the importance of this phrase, we must look again at verse sixteen;“Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ.” There is only one “seed of Abraham.” Obviously, Abraham has many descendants. In the natural, he is the “father of many nations,” just as he was the father of eight sons; one by Hagar, one by Sarah, and six by Keturah. In Galatians 4:22, Paul calculated that Abraham had “two sons.” In Genesis 22:2, God counted that he had only one son, which was Isaac, the “child of promise.” It is by God’s count that Abraham has but one “seed of promise,” and that seed is Christ. As many as are “in Christ” are one, as Paul explains in I Corinthians 12:12-13, “…for as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ. For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.”

29 And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.

The hypothetical in this verse is an extension of the last phrase of the previous verse, and should be understood as; “…if ye be one in Christ, then are ye Abraham’s seed….” Jesus Christ alone is Abraham’s seed, but all who are “one in Him” are also Abraham’s seed as they are “one with Him.” They are the rightful heirs to the promise God made to Abraham.

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Note concerning Modern Bible Versions.

For anyone who might be interested in why most of the new “modern” versions of the Bible are spiritually dangerous, we recommend the book titled “Bible Versions,” written by“ our now deceased,” Brother in the Lord, scholar, and author, Eldred Thomas (mine is a 1988 edition). I have a limited number of these in my office (one case). If you are one who desires to know the truth about Bible translations, I will send you one of these books, without charge, upon receiving your request (as long as this stock lasts). Please, read the book and pass it on to someone else. You will be shocked at what the “Devil” has done to destroy the truth of the Word of God with the many “modern” Bible Versions. The one single thing that nearly all of these “modern” Bible Versions have in common is that they are translated from a corrupted “Greek Text,” of which “Nestle” is the most prominent. Brother Eldred does a wonderful job revealing this. Our recommendation: Be sure your Bible is translated from the “Textus Receptus” text. This is the “text” the “King James Version” is translated from; and is the only version we use and recommend. LS

LS Message 30 - Wherefore Serveth The Law

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