“Why then was the law given? It was added because of transgressions, until the arrival of the descendant to whom the promise had been made. It was administered through angels by an intermediary. Now an intermediary is not for one party alone, but God is one. Is the law therefore opposed to the promises of God? Absolutely not! For if a law had been given that was able to give life, then righteousness would certainly have come by the law. But the scripture imprisoned everything under sin so that the promise could be given—because of the faithfulness of Jesus Christ—to those who believe”. Galatians 3:19-22 NET
Paul points out that the law was given because of sins; “…no
one could be righteous—no, not one.” Romans 3:10 NET, Paul is getting this
passage in Romans 3 from Psalms 53:3. The purpose of the law was not to make
people righteous, but to reveal sin and our inability to come to God with an
unregenerate heart. God always knew that the only way to approach Him was to be
perfect, as God was perfect. Jesus affirms this in Matthew 5:48 NET: “So
then, be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” This divine standard
of perfection, spoken of by Jesus, has echoes from Leviticus 11:44-45 &
Leviticus 19:2: “Speak to the whole congregation of the Israelites and tell
them, ‘You must be holy because I, the Lord your God, am holy.”
There is an underlying message here: you can’t be perfect or
holy; only God is holy, and because God is the only one who is holy, We must
surrender possession of our body to our creator God and allow Him to become our
holiness. John the Baptist said it best: “He must increase, but I must
decrease” John 3:30 ESV. In the same way that Jesus becomes our righteousness,
we are challenged to die to ourselves, allowing Jesus to increase, and we to
decrease. We become alive in Christ apart from the flesh and its desires or
tendencies, motivated by the promise of spiritual growth.
As I discussed in my previous blog, the laws of God do not
stand in opposition to His promises; rather, His promises are unconditionally
and firmly established as part of His unwavering commitment to His people. The
law, however, is conditional and demands steadfast adherence to its rules and
ordinances. The stark reality is that the law became a prison for those who
were committed to it. Paul pointed out that if the law could bring
righteousness, then there would be no need for the promises. Yet, in the face
of the law's imprisoning nature, the promises of God were not just a necessity,
but a beacon of hope for righteousness to prevail.
The promises of God were for the chosen one and those who
put their believing loyalty in Him. The understanding that the righteousness of
Jesus Christ has and does become our salvation and nothing else. In Jesus
Christ, we become the righteousness of God. That is the amazing part of our
salvation, we contribute nothing to it, we bring nothing to the table. Jesus
has done it all, which is why He declares, “…it is finished,” a final declaration
that brings completeness and finality to His work in the earthly and spiritual
realms. (John 19:30)
We are left with the question concerning the unique promises
of God: Why would God give separate promises apart from the law? I believe it
was for one specific reason, the promises were meant for His son to fulfill;
every promise of God was not meant for carnal man to achieve; it was for the
Messiah who would receive the promises and fulfill the law in its entirety,
which is why the law was given, the law was given for man to control man's
behavior within community, but it was never meant for salvation. The promises
of God were different, for they spoke of what God was going to do when the
Messiah came and what salvation would look like when He would bring that salvation to the
people, nothing in the law offered that.
However, the law did keep order and brought many within the Jewish
community a deep sense of belonging to God (through Abraham) and His purposes for
their lives. Many Jews not only believed they were to observe the law but also created traditions
that were not the law as a means of reinforcing their own beliefs about their
understanding of God and His requirements for their lives. As if the law wasn’t
enough to keep people away from the mercies and love of God, the Jews were
adding even more requirements which God did not require to make it even more difficult to come before God.
Paul emphasizes that the obedience of Christ through His death brings salvation into our lives, not our adherence to the law or tradition.
This is where the promises of God come into effect for us. The living Christ within us
makes us righteous and holy before our heavenly Father, and it is not our
actions that contribute to our salvation other than our surrender and death to
our own desires and efforts. This assurance in Christ's obedience is what makes our salvation
complete. He did it all. Jesus conquered sin and the grave, giving us access to our Heavenly Father once again, and we are restored to our rightful
place as priests unto our God. It is our believing loyalty in Jesus and His finished work for us that provides our salvation, nothing else.
Stephen Barnett
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