Right What's Wrong

By Pastor Dan Hickling

“But before faith came, we were kept under guard by the law, kept for the faith which would afterward be revealed.”—Galatians 3:23 (NKJV) 

Our human nature finds a sense of security in following a set of laws. Deep down in our conscience, we know things aren’t as they should be. There’s a whispering witness within that says we possess a sinful nature, and it require some form of reconciliation. It’s an inner itch that mankind finds some measure of relief from by doing what they understand to be the right thing. 

So there’s a natural pull within our human nature to live by a list of laws, because we think doing so rights what’s wrong with us. But doing what the law says does not change who we essentially are. The law is unable to meet the deepest and direst need we have. It cannot make sinners sinless, it can only expose sinners as sinners. It reveals our need but cannot meet it.

That’s the point Paul is making here to the Galatian Christians with reference to the system of law God gave to Moses. They had started to follow the human instinct to find security in rule keeping. The law had become a box they felt compelled to mark on their spiritual checklist.

But Paul reminds them that the law was given to Israel, not to perfect them before God, but to point them to Christ. For nearly 1,500 years it acted as a guardian, keeping Israel’s behavior somewhat in check, but ultimately revealing her need for something more—something that changes one’s nature, not just one’s behavior. He goes on to say: “The law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor” (Galatians 3:24-25 NKJV).

As a tutor’s role in a child’s life is limited and temporary, so was the law’s place in God’s program. It served a specific purpose of pointing people to their true need, a need so great it could only be met by God. A creature cannot change what it essentially is. Only a Creator can do that, which is what God accomplished by providing a new birth for all who place their faith in Christ. 

The law had done its job in leading the Galatians (and mankind) to Christ. But with its function fulfilled, it had been replaced by faith—faith in Christ—which is the only thing that truly rights what’s wrong with us.

DIG: Why is our human nature drawn to law keeping?

DISCOVER: Why is the law limited, and how is it ultimately fulfilled?

DO: Spend time thinking about what “rights what’s wrong” for you? How is this demonstrated in your beliefs and behavior?