“Therefore, the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor” Galatians 3:24-25 NKJV
In many schools, students in the early stages of education begin by writing with pencils. As they advance through the grades, they transition to using pens which continues through to university and beyond. It would seem ridiculous for a senior student, who is expected to use pens, to insist on continuing with pencils. Such insistence would likely prevent the student from meeting the standards required at that level and might even result in demotion or dismissal.
In like manner, those who hold on to the Mosaid Law as a means of gaining salvation are failing to conform to the fullness of God’s redemptive plan as revealed in the New Covenant. Through the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the old covenant has been fulfilled, and salvation is now granted by grace through faith in Him alone—not by works of the Law.
Our anchor text refers to the law as a guide and pathway to the ultimate light – Jesus. Apostle Paul explained that the Law served as a temporary guardian, similar to a tutor assigned to guide and discipline a child, until the coming of Christ. Its purpose was not to save but to reveal sin and prepare people for the salvation that would come through faith. Now that Christ has come and justification is available through faith in Him, believers are no longer under the Law’s guardianship. The era of the Law has given way to the fullness of grace found in the New Covenant.
The law was a prophetic revelation of the gospel. Every sacrifice, ordinance and ceremony in the old testament was a type and shadow pointing to the perfect sacrifice to come (Hebrews 10:1). From the passover feast (Exodus 12, 1 Corinthians 5:7) to the circumcision of first born males (Romans 2:29, Colossians 2:11), among several other ordinances and tenets of the Law– they all revealed in a covert manner, the ultimate plan of God in salvation through Jesus Christ.
Furthermore, the Law reveals to us what sin is, and by so doing, we realise our helplessness and our desperate need for Christ’s sacrifice. Apostle Paul, in his letter to the Romans, stated that he would not have known sin if there was no law, but sin took the opportunity of the law to produce in him all manner of sinful desires. (Romans 7:7-8). When we see the stringent requirements of the law, we also see our inadequacy to fulfill it by ourselves, and this drives us to true appreciation for the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, which has delivered us from the bondage of the law. (Romans 8:34). God did not give the Law so that we could save ourselves by it but so that we would see our need for a Savior. (Romans 3:20)
Our works could never have met the standards of God, and so Jesus met them for us. This should fill your heart with thanksgiving.
Dear believer, rest in God’s grace, knowing that you are loved, forgiven and made righteous by your faith in Christ.
Bible Reading Plan: 1 Samuel 15-16; Mark 9:30-50