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Who is in Charge?
My wife and I were so excited when our eldest child was old enough to babysit.
Galatians 3:24-25
My wife and I were so excited when our eldest child was old enough to babysit. We could leave her at home and she could take care of the younger kids while my wife and I could get out and do some things, not having to drag the kids along was a huge relief.
I’ve noticed that as the younger kids have now become older and they’re doing the babysitting, that the kids often want to know who’s in charge. I can tell you, I want to know who’s in charge too, but probably for a different reason than the kids do. They want to know who do they have to obey? For me, I want to know who’s going to keep them safe.
In our verses today, we’re going to read that God is speaking to us as children and that he has put something over us to supervise us. And as children, we can misunderstand that thing. And not understand God’s purpose for it. So in Galatians chapter three we read.
So the law was put in charge to lead us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith. Now that faith has come, we are no longer under the supervision of the law. (Galatians 3:24-25)
God placed the law over us, to supervise us, to lead us to Christ. The law is very often misunderstood, though. People look at the commandments and what God has required of us, especially in the Old Testament. And thought that is the way to obtain righteousness. People think that as long as they’re doing what God commands in all of the steps of life, then he’s going to be happy with them. But God reveals here that he put us under the law to lead us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith. That word justify means to be declared righteous.
We’re not declared righteous by God’s law and commandments. In fact, those laws and commandments, they declare us guilty of sin. We’ve lied. We’ve been hateful. We’ve been greedy. We’ve been unkind. All of those actions are revealed by the law to be sin. If the commandments were the way to receive righteousness before God, none of us would ever get it. But here God reveals that we’re justified, declared righteous by faith in Jesus. Jesus lived the life that the law demands, and Jesus died the death that the law demands, so that we are perfect in God’s eyes. And our sins are forgiven.
When we look at God’s law, we see our guilt. And our need for Jesus. God gave us that law so that we would be led to see our need for the Savior. And hold on to him by faith. So as you live as God’s child, remember the purpose of the law. We cannot obtain righteousness before God by it. Only faith does that. The law, then, is there to guide us as we live in thankfulness to Jesus for the salvation he won for us all.
May God bless you and lead you to Christ your Savior. Amen.
