“What purpose then does the law serve? It was added because of transgressions, till the Seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was appointed through angels by the hand of a mediator.” (Galatians 3:19 NKJV)
Like the Jews of old, many religious folks today are misusing the law for a purpose it was not intended for. The Jews stumbled because they were bent on using the law as a means of righteousness and earning or obtaining salvation from God (Rom. 9:30-32, 10:1-4).
The Scripture teaches that the law was given primarily to serve as our tutor, guardian, or schoolmaster until the coming of Jesus Christ, the Savior. The law was not designed to be our savior, justifier, or deliverer.
However, God does not intend for us to remain under the custody, tutorship, or guardianship of the law He gave Israel through Moses after giving us grace and truth through His Son, Jesus Christ (John 1:17, Gal. 3:23-25).
The purpose or ministry of the law as our tutor, guardian, or schoolmaster ended at the cross of Jesus Christ. God does not intend for the born-again believers, the new creations in Christ, to live under the burden of the Jewish laws, sacrifices, ceremonies, or rites (Rom. 10:4).
The believers in Christ are not expected to serve God in the oldness of the letter of the law but in the newness of the Spirit of grace. Why? Because we have become dead to the law through the body of Christ and thus delivered from the law (Rom. 7:4-6)!
Why did God entrust men to the law as our tutor or guardian until Christ came?
What purposes does God intend the law He gave Israel through Moses to serve?
First, the law is intended by God to show us His moral values and standards of holiness.
Like a measuring tape or rod, the law reveals God’s standards and demands that fallen men can never attain or measure up to. It also shows us how we have fallen short of God’s moral standards.
While the law, as our tutor, teaches us what God expects of us, it does not equip us with the divine ability to meet those expectations. Although the law demands perfection, it cannot make us perfect.
Hebrews 7:19 – NLT
19 For the law never made anything perfect. But now we have confidence in a better hope, through which we draw near to God.
Our failure to keep the standards and demands of the law results in fear, shame, guilt, condemnation, and death. Therefore, anyone living under the law is under curse, condemnation, and death (Gal. 3:10). Apostle Paul rightly referred to the Mosaic Law as “the ministry of condemnation and death” (2 Cor. 3:7-9).
Second, the law is intended to reveal to us our utter bankruptcy, sinfulness, or wretchedness.
God’s intended purpose of the law as our tutor is to expose the sin embedded in our fallen nature. While the law itself did not bring sin, it brings us the knowledge or consciousness of sin (Rom. 3:20, 7:7).
Before God gave the law to the Jews through Moses, sin was already at work, but they were completely blinded to their sins. It was the law that exposed their sins. It was through the law that sin became exceedingly sinful.
Romans 7:13 – NKJV
13 Has then what is good become death to me? Certainly not! But sin, that it might appear sin, was producing death in me through what is good, so that sin through the commandment might become exceedingly sinful.
Although sin has already beaten, enslaved, and killed us, we didn’t realize it. We never knew how depraved, sinful, wretched, or bankrupt we were from birth until the law was given. It was the law that exposed the sin that was embedded in our fallen nature from the womb.
The Scripture states that the law was added because of transgressions and that the strength or power of sin is the law. Without the law, sin has no power to exert over us!
Galatians 3:19 – NKJV
19 What purpose then does the law serve? It was added because of transgressions, till the Seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was appointed through angels by the hand of a mediator.
1 Corinthians 15:56 – NKJV
56 The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law.
Lastly, the law is intended by God to humble us, shut our mouths, and make us plead guilty before Him.
Before God gave men the law, men were proud, thinking they could merit, earn, or deserve God’s love, acceptance, favor, or blessing through their self-righteousness, performance, or good works.
But when God gave us the law and none of us could keep it perfectly, completely, and constantly without stumbling at some point, we all became guilty before God. The law humbled us before God and placed us at God’s mercy.
Romans 3:19 – NKJV
19 Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.
We were given the law to stop boasting about our self-righteousness, performance, or good works before God. The law made all men guilty before God, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Rom. 3:23 NKJV).
The law was not given to help us struggle against sin but to give sin an occasion, opportunity, or advantage over us. The law gives sin strength over us and brings all men under guilt, condemnation, and death. You can never obtain justification by the works of the law!
Paul reveals this truth in his epistles.
Romans 7:11 – TCNT
11 Sin took advantage of the Commandment to deceive me, and used it to bring about my Death.
1 Corinthians 15:56 – TCNT
56 It is sin that gives death its sting, and it is the Law that gives sin its power.
Beloved, the law was not given to help you overcome sin but to strengthen sin against you so that you may realize your utter sinfulness, wretchedness, and helplessness and then cry out to God, saying, “O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?” (Rom. 7:24 NKJV).
The law is intended to show you God’s demands and standards of holiness, to expose your inherent inability to meet God’s demands and standards, and to condemn you for failing to fulfill God’s demands and standards so that you may humbly cry out to God for mercy and wholly put your trust in the Savior, Jesus Christ, whom God has sent to save you.
Has the law fulfilled its intended purposes in your life?
Or are you still striving to use the law for the purpose it was not intended for?
Prayer:
My Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for sending the law as my tutor to reveal my depravity and show me my dire need for a Savior. Today, I put my whole trust in the person and the finished work of Jesus Christ. I confess Jesus Christ today as my Savior and Lord, in Jesus’ name. Amen.