“So the law was put in charge to lead us to Christ that we might be justified by faith.” Galatians 3:24
This one verse encapsulates the main purpose of the law of God, which is often rightly described as revealing the nature and will of God. Hence, the law is good and as such deserves every Christian’s attention. However, the verse we are looking at is not dealing with the nature of the law but rather the purpose thereof.
Most people believe that, logically speaking, observing the law makes no sense except in pursuit of justification, meaning, in order to be made right with God. In other words, the law was given in order to justify us (make us just before God). Hence, we seek to please God by obeying His law, or becoming religious.
Paul had already rejected this view in chapter 2:15 when he confronted Apostle Peter saying, “we who are Jews by birth and not ‘Gentile sinners know that a man is not justified by observing the law but by faith in Jesus Christ.” Simply put, a man cannot please God by obeying the law (God’s) or becoming religious….
It is important to note that apostle Paul is saying here that faith (belief) in Jesus Christ, not the law, is what makes us just before God. Believing in Jesus Christ is the best way to please God. The bible uses the expression “being in Christ” to explain what happens spiritually to anyone who believes in Jesus Christ (Philippians 3:7-9; Ephesians 1:13). This is significant because God is pleased with Jesus Christ as His beloved Son (Matthew 3:17), hence being in Jesus Christ is the only way one can truly please God and escape His judgment – like with Noah’s Ark (Genesis 6-8) and the blood of the Passover lamb (Exodus 12)
Note also that for James the problem with seeking to please God by relying on observing the law is that one has to obey the whole of it, which is practically impossible, as breaking only one command means breaking the whole lot (James 2:10). Peoples disagree on many things, but the whole world agrees on the fact that no human being, not even one, is perfect. This is telling especially considering the number of world’s religions, none of them seems able to help humankind reach perfection in this life.
I believe that the verse we are looking at (Galatians 3:24) deals with the most important truth in life ever. It is liberating in many ways that we do not have the time nor space to elaborate here. The point is, God’s law has been misused and misunderstood by many peoples, even Christians, at the cost of denying them the right to experience the joy of the Lord daily due to constantly feeling guilt for breaking it and, therefore, living in hypocrisy (a double-life). Yet, the joy of the Lord is supposed to be our strength -no wonder that many give up the idea of walking with God in despair and discouragement.
See, the problem is not with the law itself. Failing to understand this point has led some honest (well-meaning) peoples to suggest discarding the law altogether, as if doing so would solve the problem of existential guilt. No, the problem is with man’s “fallen” nature which, by the way, led the “wretched man” -a religious man who honestly desired to please God- to describe himself as “a prisoner of the law of sin” (Romans 7:21-25). Note that without the law of God this man would not have been able to diagnose (discover, understand) his real problem. Understanding his real problem led him to Christ, which is the real purpose of law.
The wretched man’s experience helps us understand Galatians 3:24 for it (his experience) shows how the law led him to Christ as he realized that the law of God itself could only make him aware of his problem but was powerless to solve it. The man was led to Christ that he might be justified (declared just by God) by faith (without having to earn it through works or his own efforts).
To be justified by faith simply means on account, or in behalf, of Christ (Jesus Christ) who bore God’s judgment for all our sins on his body on the Cross of Calvary (Isaiah 53). It is important to note that the Bible does not limit the benefits of the Cross of Calvary to our justification only. Romans 8:1-4 reveals more: “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in sinful man, in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit.”
Someone tell me why I should not praise and thank God for Jesus Christ. Thanks to him I can live with my head up and testify daily that the Joy of the Lord is my strength, indeed. Having believed in Jesus Christ, I know that God is already pleased with me in Him. True, I am not perfect yet, but I can say that I am no longer a prisoner to the law of sin and I am on the way to perfection…. My being in Christ means real potential for me to walk in victory daily. I am saved! I am free at last!
Let me invite you to consider believing in Jesus Christ and let him take the burden of religion or trying to please God in vain by your own efforts off your shoulders and give you peace. I pray that you will say Amen, in Jesus Christs’ name.
