What The Law Has to Do
with
Your
Need
for
Jesus
(Hint: You've Been Under a Curse)
An overview of the law may sound as enticing as chewing cotton, because it evokes images of ancient papyrus housed in a distant museum far removed from us. But this history is directly connected to you. There are mysteries revealed in the passages you'll be reading.
​Originally, God gave the law to Moses for the people of Israel. God had chosen Israel to be a holy people and belong to him. He also did this to bless all the families of the earth through the promise he made to Abraham in Genesis 12:2-3:
"Then I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you, and I will make your name great,
so that you will exemplify divine blessing. I will bless those who bless you, but the one who treats you lightly I must curse, so that all the families of the earth may receive blessing through you.”
So why was the law given?
"Why, then, was the law given? It was given alongside the promise to show people their sins. But the law was designed to last only until the coming of the child who was promised. God gave his law through angels to Moses, who was the mediator between God and the people. Now a mediator is helpful if more than one party must reach an agreement. But God, who is one, did not use a mediator when he gave his promise to Abraham. Is there a conflict, then, between God’s law and God’s promises? Absolutely not! If the law could give us new life, we could be made right with God by obeying it. But the Scriptures declare that we are all prisoners of sin, so we receive God’s promise of freedom only by believing in Jesus Christ." Galations 3:19 -22
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The law was also protective until we could be made right with God through faith:
"Before the way of faith in Christ was available to us, we were placed under guard by the law. We were kept in protective custody, so to speak, until the way of faith was revealed. Let me put it another way. The law was our guardian until Christ came; it protected us until we could be made right with God through faith. And now that the way of faith has come, we no longer need the law as our guardian. For you are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus." Galations 3:23-26
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People became aware of their sinful condition through the righteous standard of God's law. Romans 3:19-20 explains "Obviously, the law applies to those to whom it was given, for its purpose is to keep people from having excuses, and to show that the entire world is guilty before God. For no one can ever be made right with God by doing what the law commands. The law simply shows us how sinful we are."
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But the law was designed to last only until the promised coming of the child (see Galations 3:19 above).
Galations 2:21 "For if keeping the law could make us right with God, then there was no need for Christ to die."
We just saw that the law could not save people from sin; only show them they were sinners. Scripture reveals:
"The law of Moses was unable to save us because of the weakness of our sinful nature. So God did what the law could not do. He sent his own Son in a body like the bodies we sinners have. And in that body God declared an end to sin’s control over us by giving his Son as a sacrifice for our sins. He did this so that the just requirement of the law would be fully satisfied for us, who no longer follow our sinful nature but instead follow the Spirit." Romans 8:3-4
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​And how did he send his Son? "Now the birth of Jesus Christ happened this way. While his mother Mary was engaged to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. Because Joseph, her husband to be, was a righteous man, and because he did not want to disgrace her, he intended to divorce her privately. When he had contemplated this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, because the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son and you will name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” This all happened so that what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet would be fulfilled: “Look! The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will name him Emmanuel,” which means “God with us.” When Joseph awoke from sleep he did what the angel of the Lord told him. He took his wife, but did not have marital relations with her until she gave birth to a son, whom he named Jesus." Matthew 1:18-25
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Why did he come as a baby?
"Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, he likewise shared in their humanity, so that through death he could destroy the one who holds the power of death (that is, the devil)," Hebrews 2:14
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"Indeed according to the law almost everything was purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness." Hebrews 9:22 (see all of Hebrews 9 and Why Did We Need Christ to Shed His Blood? )
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Jesus did this for us all. Though the law was given to the nation of Israel ("the Jews were entrusted with the oracles of God." Romans 3:2), it was God's righteous standard that measures all people:
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"When the Gentiles (non-Jews) sin, they will be destroyed, even though they never had God’s written law. And the Jews, who do have God’s law, will be judged by that law when they fail to obey it." Romans 2:12
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If you have not yet believed, you may want to know that the truth is purposefully being hidden from you. Scripture explains: "If the Good News we preach is hidden behind a veil, it is hidden only from people who are perishing. Satan, who is the god of this world, has blinded the minds of those who don’t believe. They are unable to see the glorious light of the Good News. They don’t understand this message about the glory of Christ, who is the exact likeness of God." 2 Corinthians 4:3-4​
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You are not alone in this. We all used to live that way. To live in sin is to obey the devil. He is the spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God:
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"Once you were dead because of your disobedience and your many sins. You used to live in sin, just like the rest of the world, obeying the devil—the commander of the powers in the unseen world. He is the spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God. All of us used to live that way, following the passionate desires and inclinations of our sinful nature. By our very nature we were subject to God’s anger, just like everyone else. But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!)" Ephesians 2:1-5
In the world, we've been exposed to ideas through movies, teachings and stories that anesthetize us to what’s true. Evil is often being diminished or positioned as something good by comparison to more blatant evil. Or good can be depicted as something ridiculous or "cute" but a lesser pursuit than what makes us happy. We've devised our own standards. Here’s the reality:
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"For all who rely on doing the works of the law are under a curse, because it is written, “Cursed is everyone who does not keep on doing everything written in the book of the law.” Galations 3:10
​Most of us go about the busyness of our day to day lives and don’t realize;
that failing to keep the law, we've been under a curse.
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But for those who receive him, the sacrifice of Christ rescues us from the curse pronounced by the law:
Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us (because it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”) in order that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham would come to the Gentiles, so that we could receive the promise of the Spirit by faith.” Galations 3:11-14
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​The power of sin is the law:
"The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." 1 Corinthians 15:56-57
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Something the law of Moses could never do:
“Therefore let it be known to you, brothers, that through this one (referring back to Jesus in vs 35) forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you, and by this one everyone who believes is justified from everything from which the law of Moses could not justify you." Acts 13:38-39
(translator notes from the NET Bible explain that justified here means "to be found in the right, be free of charges")
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The answer to this life that is dominated by sin and death:
​"I love God’s law with all my heart. But there is another power within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me. Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord." Romans 7:22-25a
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"So, my dear brothers and sisters, this is the point: You died to the power of the law when you died with Christ. And now you are united with the one who was raised from the dead. As a result, we can produce a harvest of good deeds for God." Romans 7:4
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This act of Jesus also brought salvation to the Gentiles (non-Jews), those outside the nation of Israel. So is it better to be of Jewish descent? "Well then, should we conclude that we Jews are better than others? No, not at all, for we have already shown that all people, whether Jews or Gentiles, are under the power of sin." Romans 3:9
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"After all, is God the God of the Jews only? Isn’t he also the God of the Gentiles? Of course he is." Romans 3:29
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"For you are not a true Jew just because you were born of Jewish parents or because you have gone through the ceremony of circumcision. No, a true Jew is one whose heart is right with God. And true circumcision is not merely obeying the letter of the law; rather, it is a change of heart produced by the Spirit. And a person with a changed heart seeks praise from God, not from people." Romans 2:28-29
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We all have access to the blessing:
"In the same way, “Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith.” The real children of Abraham, then, are those who put their faith in God. What’s more, the Scriptures looked forward to this time when God would make the Gentiles right in his sight because of their faith. God proclaimed this good news to Abraham long ago when he said, “All nations will be blessed through you.” So all who put their faith in Christ share the same blessing Abraham received because of his faith." Galations 3:6-9
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"And all who have been united with Christ in baptism have put on Christ, like putting on new clothes. There is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male and female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus. And now that you belong to Christ, you are the true children of Abraham. You are his heirs, and God’s promise to Abraham belongs to you." Galations 3:27-29
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"As the Scriptures tell us, “Anyone who trusts in him (Jesus vs 9) will never be disgraced.” Jew and Gentile are the same in this respect. They have the same Lord, who gives generously to all who call on him. For “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” Romans 10:11-13
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Looking into God's law reflects the truth of our sin condition
God’s law makes us aware of our sinful condition. We have to become aware that our sin brings us death.
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Romans 3:19-20 "Obviously, the law applies to those to whom it was given, for its purpose is to keep people from having excuses, and to show that the entire world is guilty before God. For no one can ever be made right with God by doing what the law commands. The law simply shows us how sinful we are."
The good message of the gospel is that Jesus provided the way to save us from the power of sin if we will receive him.
God's gift of salvation is freely available to us. It's not possible to earn it. Christ shed his blood as a sacrifice for our sins to free us from the power of sin and enable us to live to righteousness instead:
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"He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness." 1 Peter 2:24a-b
He also did not abolish the law rather he accomplished its purpose, Jesus explains this, “Don’t misunderstand why I have come. I did not come to abolish the law of Moses or the writings of the prophets. No, I came to accomplish their purpose. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not even the smallest detail of God’s law will disappear until its purpose is achieved. So if you ignore the least commandment and teach others to do the same, you will be called the least in the Kingdom of Heaven. But anyone who obeys God’s laws and teaches them will be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven." Matthew 5:17-19
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Luke 16:16 explains, “Until John the Baptist, the law of Moses and the messages of the prophets were your guides. But now the Good News of the Kingdom of God is preached, and everyone is eager to get in. But that doesn’t mean that the law has lost its force. It is easier for heaven and earth to disappear than for the smallest point of God’s law to be overturned."
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God's law is still righteous and we uphold it but we are released from its power.
Keeping it is not how we are made right with God.
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"Do we then overthrow the law by this faith? By no means! On the contrary, we uphold the law." Romans 3:31 NLT
The ESV translation may help provide fuller understanding:
"Well then, if we emphasize faith, does this mean that we can forget about the law? Of course not! In fact, only when we have faith do we truly fulfill the law." Romans 3:31 ESV
"But now we have been released from the law, for we died to it and are no longer captive to its power. Now we can serve God, not in the old way of obeying the letter of the law, but in the new way of living in the Spirit." Romans 7:6
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So, to be clear, how are we made right with God? We are justified (rendered just/righteous) by His grace through faith:
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"being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed, to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus." Romans 3:24-26
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His appeasing sacrifice put an end to the guilt we incurred and we receive this justification by faith.
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In fact, we are cautioned against trying to make ourselves right by the law in Galations 5:4, "For if you are trying to make yourselves right with God by keeping the law, you have been cut off from Christ! You have fallen away from God’s grace." which is very different than obeying the Lord as part of proving our repentance. That is what God requires of us in response to receiving what Christ has done for us on the cross. We simply can not be saved by any other means than Jesus Christ.​
"For Christ has already accomplished the purpose for which the law was given.
As a result, all who believe in him are made right with God." Romans 10:4
Notice this is not for everyone, but everyone who believes.
Scripture makes clear in many places the truth about believing in him that is stated in John 3:36,
"Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life;
whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life,
but the wrath of God remains on him."
