Galatians 3:21. Is the law then contrary to the promises of God? Certainly not! For if a law had been given that could give life, then righteousness would indeed be by the law.
Again, Paul asks the anticipated question, “Is the law contrary (opposed to) the promise?” Of course, if faith and law-keeping were two equal and opposite ways to gain eternal life, then the answer would be, “Yes.” But our salvation is not a “choose your own adventure” game. There is only one way to God the Father, and that is through faith in the Son. The law does not stand in the way of this faith; quite the opposite, it points to our need for faith in Christ over all else.
As we’ve said many times, the Judaizers saw the law as something that made them righteous. Yes, the law teaches what is right, but it lacks any power to make a person right. Only God’s grace can do that. Only the new heart can do that. Only the Spirit of Christ abiding in us can do that—not the law. The Spirit empowers a righteousness that actually goes beyond the law, a righteousness from the heart. It is a righteousness that will choose to love not only my neighbor, but also my enemy.
The law could only be obeyed by reducing it to behaviorism, by making deals with it in order to keep it manageable. The law asks, “Who is my neighbor?” Faith sees everyone as a neighbor to be loved. Properly used, the law does not contradict faith in Christ. Instead, it prepares our hearts for faith in Christ. Simply put, it humbles us. Only when a person can see just how wicked they truly are—how desperate, how utterly full of contempt toward God and His law—can they finally be set free by faith in the Promise.
Look at how Paul describes this work of the law in Romans 7:21-25:
21So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. 22For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, 23but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. 24Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? 25Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!
Deliverance. Freedom. Only through Jesus Christ our Lord! And it comes only through the desperation and failure that comes from trying to follow the law. Does the law contradict the gospel? Certainly not! It makes the gospel our only hope.
You: Can you think of how your attempts at law-keeping have revealed your complete inability to please God?
You in Christ: How does the new heart change how we see the law of God?
Christ in you: Where can you see the Spirit empowering righteousness in you?
Pray: Father, help me to understand the role of Your law in my life. Keep me always aware of my own wretchedness and my need for Your grace. Amen.
