Paul the apostle has been
sharing reasons why the promise of God is not made void by the law of
God. This might cause someone to ask, “Why then did God give the
law in the first place?” Paul begins to answer that question in
chapter three and verse nineteen where he wrote:
Wherefore then serves
the law? It was added because of transgressions, till the seed should
come to whom the promise was made; [and it was] ordained by angels in
the hand of a mediator.
Paul
begins, “Wherefore then serves the law? It was added because of
transgressions,”. In other words, what purpose does the law of
God serve? Since the law of God cannot add to the promise of the
grace of God, is the law really necessary? The answer is yes,
“because of transgressions.” People sin. We sin, and the
law exposes the sin nature we have within us. In chapter seven and
verses seven through nine of Paul's book written to the Romans he
wrote:
What shall we say then?
[Is] the law sin? God forbid. No, I had not known sin, but by the
law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, You shalt not
covet. But sin, taking occasion by the commandment, worked in me all
manner of concupiscence. For without the law sin [was] dead. For I
was alive without the law once: but when the commandment came, sin
revived, and I died.
As long
as there is no law, we do not know whether a behavior is a
transgression or not. As soon as a law is put in place, we understand
how transgressions may be. For example, if there is never a law that
says, “Do not take a cookie from the cookie jar”, then we would
never know it was a violation to take a cookie. However, now that the
law is in place, we understand our propensity to violate the law and
take a cookie anyway. But how long was this purpose of the law to
linger?
Paul
adds, “till the seed should come to whom the promise was made;”
Notice once again that Paul uses the word “seed” to
provide his answer, “till the seed should come.” Until the
promised “seed” from God through Abraham should come, the
law was to continue in place. The law was only added for sin's
revelation purposes. When Jesus came, then the fulfillment of the
promise of grace from God arrived. The law serves its purpose by
revealing our transgressions and affirming our need for a Savior,
Jesus.
Paul
adds the manner in which the law was given, “[and it was]
ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator.” When Moses went
to Mount Sinai where he received the law of God not only was he a
mediator between the people and God, angels were in the company of
God as well. In the book of Deuteronomy in chapter thirty-three and
verse two says:
And he said, The LORD
came from Sinai, and rose up from Seir unto them; he shined forth
from mount Paran, and he came with ten thousands of saints: from his
right hand [went] a fiery law for them.
And in
the book of Psalms in chapter sixty-eight and verse seventeen the
Psalmist wrote:
The chariots of God
[are] twenty thousand, [even] thousands of angels: the Lord [is]
among them, [as in] Sinai, in the holy [place].
The law
had mighty purpose and was given by a Holy God. Its value is
irreplaceable as it exposes sin for what it really is. Without the
law we would not know transgression, and our need for Jesus would be
nil. There is much more to write about this wonderful topic, but we
shall have to wait until the following verse.
Next time we will
learn more about the mediator, so read ahead, and let us join
together then.
Until
tomorrow...there is more...
Look for
the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation
to Generation” in all major
bookstore
sites, www.amazon.com ; www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to
e-books, and find it
locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore
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