Why Was The Law Given?

Why then, was the law given?   It was added because of transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator.

Galatians 3:19

When God began His dealings with humanity in real time, He kept it simple: Live in the garden, stay busy, do not eat of the one tree.  Once Adam and Eve sinned by eating of the one tree, God began to elaborate on His commands.  The epitome of this elaboration, in the moral realm, was the Ten Commandments.  The Ten Commandments took such deep root in the psyche of the Israelites, that when Christ came, they refused Him as the living fulfillment of the Law.  Even some who would profess faith in Christ would attempt, to add adherence to the law, to the Gospel of free grace.  Paul takes the whole of the book of Galatians to correct this thinking.  In our text for today, he tells the Galatians why God had given the Law.  It was because of sins until Christ would come.  The Law of God is the precursor to Christ.  It exists as ‘a schoolmaster to bring us to Christ.’  Righteousness is never by the law.  It simply shows us how badly we fail and how much we need Christ.  From our breaking one law at the beginning to our breaking of many commandments later, we have only proven how much we need Christ.  Therefore, we ought to value what the Law does for us in bringing us to Christ without relying on it to deliver more than it is able.  Our hope is in Christ Who is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.

Our Glorious, Living Christ,
we rejoice in You and in the perfection of Your Life.
We praise You that You have fulfilled the law,
that we could never fulfill.

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning