Day 918: Part of the family - Galatians 3 vs 19 - 29

19 Why then the law? 20 It was added because of transgressions, until the offspring should come to whom the promise had been made, and it was put in place through angels by an intermediary. 21-23 Now an intermediary implies more than one, but God is one. Is the law then contrary to the promises of God? Certainly not! For if a law had been given that could give life, then righteousness would indeed be by the law. But the Scripture imprisoned everything under sin, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe. Now before faith came, we were held captive under the law, imprisoned until the coming faith would be revealed. 24 So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith.

25-28 But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian, for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to promise. Galatians 3:19-29 English Standard Version

In trying to show the Galatians that people are saved through faith in Jesus Christ, not by how well they could keep the laws of Moses, the apostle Paul wrote earlier in this chapter of an incident in the Old Testament book of Genesis. Genesis 15:5-6 says that God spoke to a man named Abram in a vision, and gave him a promise saying:“Look towards heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them, so shall your offspring be.” And we're told that Abram “believed the Lord, and He counted it to him as righteousness.” Some Bibles put that as “God credited it to him as righteousness.”

In vs 1-18 of Galatians Chapter 3 Paul pointed out that this 'crediting righteousness' to Abram was over 400 years before Israel received the laws which God gave later through Moses. And because God's promise to Abram had been given in the form of a covenant, that covenant was not cancelled by something given so much later. But this led to an obvious question which we see in vs 19 of today's reading. Why was the Law given at all? What was Paul's reply in vs 20, and also vs 24?

The law was given to keep Israel from being overcome by the sins of the world, and still be there for when the Messiah would arrive. Abram, who became Abraham, had been living amongst sinful people who worshipped idols when God set him apart to be the one through whom Messiah would eventually come. Israel also lived amongst sinful nations who worshipped idols, and the danger was that they would copy those nations. So God gave them righteous laws to keep them in check until the days when Christ would come into the world to bring salvation by His death and resurrection to all who believe upon Him.

The reason why the faith of those who believe on Christ can be counted as righteousness is because He perfectly fulfilled the Law's requirements, and therefore believers are accepted by God. God sees believers as if they are 'in Christ'. His righteousness becomes theirs. Earlier, in vs 13, Paul wrote that: “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us.” He had also said earlier that the promise God made to Abram would find it's fulfilment in, and through, Christ. What was the conclusion he said the Galatians should draw? (vs 21-23)

There were no longer separate category's for baptized believers in the Lord Jesus Christ. Jewish believers were not to think themselves better then Gentile believers. Christian men shouldn't think they were more important than Christian women, neither should people in positions of authority regard others as inferior. Christians should see themselves as all part of one body. People who aren't Christians are making a big issue in today’s world about, what they refer to as, 'equality, diversity and inclusion'. That's not the same thing that Paul is speaking of here. He is speaking of something more wonderful. He speaks of an equality, and inclusion among diverse groups that is rooted in righteousness, and comes from being part of Abraham's family who inherit God's promise. No longer under the curse of the law, but under God's grace.