Friday Reading: Galatians 3:19-24
Key Verse: Galatians 3:22
22 But the Scripture shut up all under sin, so that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe.
Devotion:
If God’s promise was good enough for salvation, why then do we have the law (the Old Testament)? If Christ’s gift of salvation to us is perfect, why should we have all the laws written in our bibles? The answer is surprisingly simple... By reading our Old Testaments we can find out that even God’s chosen people (the Israelites) were sinners, and yet His promise to send a Saviour for us stood from the beginning. How did the Israelites know they were doing things wrong? They knew they did wrong because they had the law given to them from God via Moses. That is the one thing that allowed them to know what they were supposed to do and allowed them to see what they did wrong in God’s sight.
The law was not intended as a means by which the Israelites could discover a way to be justified but rather as a means by which they could discover they were sinners. It is not until we understand that we are sinners that we can turn to God and ask for His forgiveness. The bible gives us all of that knowledge and even pointed the Israelites towards the truth that Christ would come to be their Saviour. Moses was the mediator at that time, being the person in the middle hearing the woes from each side and trying to find a way forward for both sides. He had to explain God’s rules to the people and also to take the peoples worries back to God.
The fantastic truth is that the law promised that by the faith of Jesus Christ we would all be able to receive salvation. It was a promise that spanned time, a promise that would stand true for all those before and all those to come; a promise that whosoever believes on His name should receive everlasting life. But before that faith came, man was kept under the law so that the faith that was to come could be understood by all. What a perfect gift God gave to us. What a perfect explanation before the gift. What a perfect end and His gift...
Points to Ponder:
How do you know when you have done something wrong?
Have you read your bible to understand God’s law?
