06 Galatians 3:23-4:11 The purpose of the Law

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This section of Galatians (3:23-4:11) is part of Paul’s answer given to the question raised in Galatians 3:19, “Why the Law then?”

If the promise of God is as good as Paul says it is, why was the Law ever given? Is there any good reason for it? Paul replies, “Yes indeed, there is a very good reason for it.” The law teaches us that we are sinful and we need a savior. But having learned that lesson, we should graduate from law-keeping to the maturity of faith.

Often you love a rebellious child by laying down the law. You may restrict their freedom, limit the time they spend with friends, take away their internet or cell phone connections. The more rebellious they are, the more you set rules and boundaries. Partly this is to keep them from harming themselves and partly it is to teach them right from wrong, but always the goal is to end the rebellion.

The Law functioned in a similar way for us. When we lacked faith and lived our lives in rebellion to God, He gave us the law to hem us in, to imprison us. But now that faith has come, we should “graduate” into spiritual adulthood.

This passage includes one of the most frequently misquoted and misinterpreted verses of the Bible: Galatians 3:28. We’ll take a look at this verse in context and discuss how to evaluate whether an interpretation is true.