Galatians 3:22-23. 22But the Scripture imprisoned everything under sin, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe. 23Now before faith came, we were held captive under the law, imprisoned until the coming faith would be revealed.
Why then the law? This is the question that Paul is answering for the Galatians. If the law can’t justify us, is it therefore useless? Should we just ignore it completely? Throw it out?
Once again, we are reminded that we must understand the purpose of the law, and of all “Scripture,” for that matter. Paul says that the Scripture “imprisoned,” or locked up, everything under sin. This is a function of the Bible that we rarely, if ever, talk about. How did your Sunday school teachers teach the Bible to you when you were a child? They may have presented the stories in the Old Testament (Joshua, Ruth, David, Daniel, etc.) as moral examples to follow, and yes, they can be. But that is not the primary purpose of the Old Testament. The Scripture and the law were meant to imprison us, to hold us captive as the convicts we are—to restrain us from sinning freely. Yes, the Scripture reveals how to relate to God, as Abraham did by faith. Yes, the law points us to a relationship with God, telling us who He truly is and how He wants to be in a relationship with us. The law keeps the life of faith from being “blind faith.” In scripture and in the law, we have a guide for what faith looks like.
What will faith in God look like? Well, for sure it will look like having no other gods, no idols, not taking His name in vain, Sabbath rest, honoring parents, not murdering, committing adultery, stealing, lying, or coveting. Faith isn’t less than the law, but for sure, it is so much more.
Paul will get to that eventually, but for now, let us make sure that we have considered fully his point—the Scripture and the law are a prison that we can neither escape from nor find comfort in. It is only in using scripture to acknowledge our weakness and sin that we will begin to look for God’s grace. Weakness and sin, empowered by the law, then become the catalyst for our good—faith in Christ that becomes our union with Christ. This is why Paul says “so that.” There’s a cause-and-effect in play here. The law makes it “so that” we are ready to receive the free grace of God through Jesus. Therefore, let us rejoice in our inability to live up to the law’s demands, for until we do, we will never know freedom.
You: Have you completely accepted your inability under the law?
You in Christ: How has your relationship with Christ changed your relationship to the scripture?
Christ in you: How do you use the scriptures and the law in your own life? In the life of others? Do you use it the way Jesus did, to point to our need for grace?
Pray: Father, your word has imprisoned me and now your Word has set me free. Help me to live from the freedom of Christ, the fulfillment of all scripture. Amen.
