Paul has passionately argued thus far in the book of Galatians that the law (or works) did not belong in the salvation process. Salvation is by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. Circumcision or any other work of the law is not needed. And, if it’s added, the gospel is compromised and is no longer the gospel.

      Now he’s grinding gears on the momentum he’s made with that debate to argue what good the law is. He’s running the risk of questioning the plan and/or wisdom of God in giving the law in the first place. So, why did God give the law? Why is it a part of God’s redemptive history?

      Freedom is something we all desire. We want the thrills of being young, but not the shackles of parents. We want remuneration but not have to perform the work or deal with the boss. We want to live in a free society and yet try to get away with civil disobedience. We want to do what we want to do and we don’t want anyone telling us differently.

      A good definition of freedom is doing what you want to do. When it comes to spiritual things, you can do whatever you want to do. You are responsible for your actions and held accountable by God. However, you are only able to do what you have the ability to do. If you are held in bondage to the sin nature you were born with, that makes you a sinner. You can do nothing but sin because that’s all you’re capable of doing. You are free to do what you want but all you want to do is sin.

      To break us from this nature the law and grace are not opponents but teammates working together for the salvation of God’s people. In Galatians 3:19-25 Paul explains three usages of the law.

I.    The first use is the Law exposes you for who you truly are; a sinner– vv. 19-20

¹⁹ Why then the law? 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. ²⁰ Now an intermediary implies more than one, but God is one.

      The Law is part of God’s redemptive plan. Since the fall of man when Adam sinned against God’s commandment, God had been hinting, shadowing, shading, and picturing toward the coming of One who would redeem His people from their sin. In order to prepare the way for the “offspring” to come, the law was given to proclaim from the mountain tops that you are a sinner!

      The law was given to show us our sin. You cannot become a Christian unless without first realizing you are a sinner. The law acts as evidence of what God’s character is like. We wouldn’t know that His character is holy unless it was revealed to us by Him. When we compare our character against His, it’s obvious that we cannot measure up. We fall short as the Scriptures tell us.

      The law convinces us that we are unable to keep it because of our sinful nature. As a matter of fact, the law actually serves to increase sin. It actually has a way of making people want to break it. Paul wrote in…

Romans 7:7

Yet if it had not been for the law, I would not have known sin.

Romans 5:20

Now the law came in to increase the trespass…

      Now, Paul continues to make the argument that the law does not save and should not be part of the gospel. The angels delivered the law through Moses to the people of Israel.

Deuteronomy 33:2

The Lord came from Sinai and dawned from Seir upon us; he shone forth from Mount Paran; he came from the ten thousands of holy ones, with flaming fire at his right hand.

      Paul heard from the mouth of Stephen, the first New Testament martyr, this statement from Acts 7:53 as part of his (Stephen’s) defense before sentenced to death.

you who received the law as delivered by angels and did not keep it.”

      While the law truly reflects the nature of God, it was delivered by angels to a person who was then to pass it on to the rest of the nation. Paul’s argument is the promise through faith was so important and so far above the law that God Himself delivered it to Abraham, face to face if you will. God is not angels. God is not Moses. God is one. God the Son in the person of Jesus Christ is the offspring fulfilling the covenant promise to Abraham. The fact that God personally dealt with the promise to Abraham makes it more important than the law.

      One of the places I’ve been going ever since I was a kid is the dentist. The most memorable tool the dentist has used on me is the drill. However, I want to talk to you about another instrument he uses every time I visit him: the mirror. The mirror is used to look at the condition of the teeth. If there is decay in the tooth, the mirror is used to guide the dentist to it. But, the mirror can’t do anything to get rid of the decay. It can’t polish. It can’t drill. It can’t rinse anything. Its purpose is to guide and direct.

      The law serves in the same manner. It detects sin. It exposes spiritual decay. But, it can’t wash it away. It can’t atone for our sin.

      Performing obedience to the law cannot save. But, the fact that we can’t obey it perfectly exposes our sin natures.

II.  The second use is the Law proves your need for a Savior – vv.21-23

²¹ 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. ²² But the Scripture imprisoned everything under sin, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe.

      The more you try not to sin you realize the more you actually do sin. Frustrating isn’t it. Now, think about this from the perspective of someone who is not trusting in Jesus Christ alone for eternal life. Believers see it as grieving the Lord, but realizing that we continue to more and more live a life of righteousness because of our position of salvation in Christ. Unbelievers continue to fall further and further away as they try to live up to the law for salvation. They eventually have to see that they cannot maintain the holy standards of the law. If unbelievers are able to perform works pleasing to God then righteousness would be by the law and life with it, which is what the Judaizers were telling the Galatians. But, because of sin, man can never perform a work perfectly. The law showed our sin. It even goes beyond that; the law imprisons everything under sin. So, the law is impossible to keep and is death-producing. The whole world is under the law, convicted of sin, and captive to its guilt. It drives us to faith in the One who kept it perfectly.

      Martin Luther said in his commentary on Galatians, Therefore the principal purpose of the Law in theology is to make men not better but worse; that is, it shows them their sin, so that by the recognition of sin they may be humbled, frightened, and worn down, and so may long for grace and for the Blessed Offspring.

      The law is something like chemotherapy. When chemotherapy is used to treat cancer, it does not give life. Actually, it is an instrument of death. The chemicals that are poured into the body destroy healthy tissue as well as cancer cells. During the course of treatment, chemotherapy actually makes the patient feel much worse. But it is all necessary for the patient’s long-term health. In much the same way, the law makes us worse so that Christ can make us feel better.

      Remember there is no sin you can commit to take away from your position in Christ and there is no work you can perform to increase your position in Him.

III. The third use is the Law fosters your freedom in Christ – vv. 23-29

²³ 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 But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian,

      The law is a guardian refusing to let us go until it hands us directly over to Christ. A guardian is a pedagogue or a slave appointed to serve as a child’s protector. In wealthy Greek families a slave would take care of a child until late adolescence. This person would literally raise the child. He was part babysitter and part chaperone. He was even in charge of disciplining the child. He was often portrayed in ancient drawings as holding a rod for disciplinary purposes. Because this guardian had the best interests of the child, a close, affectionate bond would develop. So, the guardian or pedagogue protected and punished, and served as a moral tutor to shape the child’s ethics.

      In God’s plan of salvation the law serves as a pedagogue. It raised the Jewish nation from childhood to adolescence. It protected them. It punished them. It shaped their moral compass. The Israelites didn’t always respond well to this guardian. Chaperones have never been popular. But, it served its purpose by preparing God’s children for adulthood.

      A pedagogue eventually worked himself out of a job. When this happened, others would release him from the care (or bondage) of the guardian and release him. He was then no longer under him, but allowed to go his own way.

      When the “coming of faith” came in the work of Jesus Christ, believers were and are released from the guardian; the law. It served its purpose by keeping us safe until Christ came to save us. We were imprisoned until Christ set us free. We were under a tutor until Christ made us sons.

      Again, Martin Luther said, The true use of the law is this, that I know that by the law I am being brought to an acknowledgment of sin and am being humbled, so that I may come to Christ and be justified by faith.

      Paul Harvey told a story of something which happened near Everson, WA on the I-5 Hwy. A man was traveling the wrong way on the divided highway. When the state troopers finally got him stopped they asked him if he knew he was going the wrong way. He stated that he did know this, and so they asked why he didn't get off at one of the off ramps and get on the right side of the highway. He said that he started to do this several times but every time he started to do this he saw a sign that said, Wrong Way, do not enter. He wanted to obey the law even though he was disobeying it. But, every time he tried to do something to obey the law he found that he was unable to do that which he wanted to do. In our own strength we are all unable to obey God's law. The indwelling Christ makes this possible, however, when we get saved.

      In Boston they were selling birds, birds that had been transported, or imported, from a certain country; but the canaries would not sing. So a buyer, who had tried in vain to coax a song from the immigrant bird, set it free You should have heard it when it felt itself on its wings, even though it was foreign air. How it sang when it felt the free air about it! So, soul, when the law is realized to be fulfilled in your substitute, when you get grace to lay hold of him as a sinner, and appropriate what the Savior has done once for all, you rejoice in God, as living in the faith.

      Freedom is truly enjoyed when Jesus Christ has set you free. The law served its purpose in that it was used by God:

I.    to expose you for who you truly are; a sinner– vv. 19-20

II.  to prove your need for a Savior – vv.21-23

III. to foster your freedom in Christ – vv. 23-29