Galatians 3:17-18. 17This is what I mean: the law, which came 430 years afterward, does not annul a covenant previously ratified by God, so as to make the promise void. 18For if the inheritance comes by the law, it no longer comes by promise; but God gave it to Abraham by a promise.
Why live from the law instead of the promise when the promise is way better? That’s the question Paul is asking the Galatians and us. If God had wanted us to be justified by the law, he would have given it 430 years earlier when he called Abraham out of Ur after that whole Tower of Babel debacle. The bottom line is that the promise and the law are two totally different covenants. The Abrahamic covenant and the Mosaic covenant are NOT the same thing. Moses did not nullify Abraham, nor did he add to it. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. He does not change, nor does his plan of salvation change. Jesus is the Lamb of God slain before the foundation of the world. There never was, is not, nor ever will be any way to be saved other than through the Promise of Jesus Christ.
And that goes for our sanctification, too. Any attempts to grow spiritually apart from our union with the death and resurrection of Jesus will fail. If we could grow from law-keeping, trying harder, greater commitment levels, or “surrendering all,” then why union with Christ? Why the indwelling Spirit? If we can do it ourselves, then why do we need Christ in us?
You ask, “What is the real difference here? How are law and promise actually different?” The answer is that one is received and the other is accomplished. Faith receives the promises that are freely given. Law earns a reward through good works. Hopefully, you can see how diametrically opposite these two are, and why you can’t live from both at the same time. Simply put, the promise and the law aren’t telling the same story; they are telling two different stories. Sometimes God speaks in “law,” and sometimes he speaks in “gospel.” God’s gospel story ends in life. His law story ends in death. These two stories run parallel from Moses to Jesus, but they do not intersect. Because we don’t understand this distinction, we will inevitably mix these two stories into one convoluted mess—a law-gospel hybrid that is ultimately just more law.
You: In what practical ways do we accidentally blend the law and the gospel stories in our daily thinking?
You in Christ: Why is it impossible for the story of Christ living through us to coexist with the story of us trying to earn our way by keeping the law?
Christ in you: When you fail or make mistakes, how does knowing that your spiritual growth depends entirely on your union with Christ—rather than your own effort—change your immediate reaction?
Pray: Father, you speak in both law and gospel but only one of those stories can save my life. Help me to keep from mixing these two “words” together as I teach your word to others. Amen.
