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Paul now goes on to summarise his argument before shifting the focus back onto the Galatians in order to make some applications to them.
This verse is like a rallying cry to finish chapters 3–4: the gospel is all about setting sinners free! But that freedom is under threat. People will try to swamp it, throttle it and undo the freedom that is found in Christ. Paul wants the Galatians to resist that and remain free.
At its core, the false teachers’ critique of his message was that Paul was soft on sin. Galatians is not a debate about whether Christians should sin or not. Paul is not saying we are free from the law so that we can sin freely (see v. 13). But God has provided a better solution for sin than the Old Covenant. Paul is arguing that the law was never intended to be a solution for sin. The law highlights the sin problem, but it doesn’t solve it.
Paul took sin far more seriously than the serious-faced legalists did. Why? Because he knew that sin comes from within, so it is a much deeper problem than just behaviour. Therefore, God’s solution has to address the very heart of the human problem, which is the human heart. Any solution that does not address the heart does not truly deal with sin.
The law in the Old Covenant was like a rumble strip beside the motorway. It made it clear when you were drifting off the road. The rumble strip helps the driver avoid disaster, but it does not make them a good driver.
A mirror, like the law, shows you when something is not right. But the mirror does not fix the problem. You do not take the mirror off the wall and scrub your face with it. The mirror is a good thing, but the mirror does not solve the problem.
The law serves a purpose, but it does not solve the problem because the law cannot create righteousness in anyone. But the gospel does make us righteous and compels us toward goodness – God has done that in Christ. So we must not slide back into a reliance on the law, for that would mean turning our backs on Christ and on the gospel.
Reflection
When you focus on keeping rules, is your gaze on Christ or on yourself?
Scripture
About this Plan
Paul wrote the book of Galatians to Christians who were tempted to add good works to the gospel. Although we might not want to admit it, adding to the gospel is a great temptation for us too. So be encouraged as Peter Mead takes us through these devotions, be reminded that Christ is everything, and that the gospel is all we need for our lives now in Jesus.
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