SO FAR IN OUR STUDY OF GALATIANS, PAUL HAS MADE IT CLEAR THAT:
- The Law plays NO PART in us being declared righteous
- It cannot produce spiritual life in our hearts

Paul’s proof for this, we’ve seen, was His own experience and SCRIPTURE – Abraham (Genesis 15:6)

IT’S IN THE SAME WAY, Paul argues, that we are declared righteous.
When, by faith, we believe Gods promise that Jesus died for our sin and rose again, we are justified.

The crux of everything we’ve unpacked in Galatians so far: our zeal for the law, our adherence to the law…our obedience of the law – cannot save us.

SO THEN – There’s a natural question: Is there no purpose for the law?

IT’S A FAIR QUESTION.

Does Gods law serve a purpose in a believer's life?

That’s the question we’ll consider this morning

GALATIANS 3:19-26 “Why, then, was the law given? It was added for the sake of transgressions until the Seed to whom the promise was made would come. The law was put into effect through angels by means of a mediator. Now a mediator is not just for one person alone, but God is one. Is the law therefore contrary to God’s promises? Absolutely not! For if the law had been granted with the ability to give life, then righteousness would certainly be on the basis of the law. But the Scripture imprisoned everything under sin’s power, so that the promise might be given on the basis of faith in Jesus Christ to those who believe. Before this faith came, we were confined under the law, imprisoned until the coming faith was revealed. The law, then, was our guardian until Christ, so that we could be justified by faith. But since that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian, for through faith you are all sons of God in Christ Jesus.”

1. THE LAW ACTS AS A MIRROR (Gal 3:19-22)

The Law acts as a mirror. It reveals two things to us
a. It Reveals What A Truly Righteous Heart Looks Like
b. It Reveals That My Heart Doesn’t Look Like That

Galatians 3:19-20 “Why, then, was the law given? It was added for the sake of transgressions until the Seed to whom the promise was made would come. The law was put into effect through angels by means of a mediator. Now a mediator is not just for one person alone, but God is one.”

Pauls question: “If the law is powerless to save us, what’s its purpose?”

THE LAW – given to us by God Himself, to show us what sin is, how we’ve failed to meet the standard of perfection that is required in order to be declared righteous before God, be allowed entrance into Heaven and drive us to the Messiah, our only hope.

It’s going to show me that perfect standard that’s required in order to have eternal life and how far I’ve fallen short of reaching that standard.

QUESTION TWO - Galatians 3:21 “Is the law therefore contrary to God’s promises? Absolutely not! For if the law had been granted with the ability to give life, then righteousness would certainly be on the basis of the law.”

Does this mean that the Law is a bad thing? That I should just avoid looking into the mirror?

Galatians 3:22 “But the Scripture imprisoned everything under sin’s power, so that the promise might be given on the basis of faith in Jesus Christ to those who believe.”

Paul paints a picture for us here: He gives us a visual image of a prison. We’ve been incarcerated because of our inability to keep the Law perfectly.

The Law, acting as a mirror, shows us why we’re locked up. The bars of our sin are strong. There’s no sawing through them. There’s no escape.
But there’s an offer from the Warden Himself. He stands ready to open the cell door and free you.

HOW?

Acknowledge you are confined, why you are confined, that you deserve your confinement and ask by faith that He would give you freedom! – When the prosecutor accuses – The sentence has already been paid in full!

John 8:36 “Who the Son sets free is free indeed!”

2. THE LAW SERVES AS A PROTECTOR (Gal 3:23-24)

Galatians 3:23-24 “Before this faith came, we were confined under the law, imprisoned until the coming faith was revealed. The law, then, was our guardian until Christ, so that we could be justified by faith”

Before I came to saving faith in Jesus, I was kept under guard by the Law.
Here, Paul uses a different word and idea than when he spoke of imprisonment in the previous verses.

The idea here – Protective custody.

While there is a sense in which we’re imprisoned by our own sin under the Law, there’s another sense in which the Law guards us.

In explaining the purpose of the Law in our lives before we come to faith in Christ, Paul describes the Law as our “Guardian” (or tutor)

In Pauls day, a “Guardian” was a servant who was given the task of looking after a child. He taught the child but also supervised their lives, kept their behavior in check and even disciplined the child when needed.
That was how the Law protected us before coming to faith in Jesus.
- Protects us by showing us Gods Heart
- Revealing the best way to live (right and wrong)
- Showing us what is acceptable and what’s not

3. THE LAW FUNCTIONS AS A GUIDE (25-26)

After being saved, the Law continues to show us that best way we can worship the God who has given us life. It reveals Gods character to us and guides us to a life that is pleasing unto the Lord.

Galatians 3:25-26 “But since that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian, for through faith you are all sons of God in Christ Jesus.”

WHILE THE LAW SERVED AS OUR GUARDIAN PRIOR TO JESUS – THOSE WHO’VE PLACED THEIR FAITH IN HIM ARE NO LONGER UNDER THE LAWS SUPERVISION

BUT - When a child is grown, he’s no longer under that guardian, but he doesn’t do away with the lessons he learned from him either.

This is the believer's relationship with the Law of God. We don’t live under it anymore but we don’t forget it’s benefits, either.
Those benefits function as a guide.