So the law was our guardian until Christ came that we might be justified by faith.
Summary: Today, we discover that the Lawman is not our enemy but our friend.
In our last meditation, the law was a “Lawman.” The purpose of the Lawman was to keep us in “custody,” “locked up until the faith … to come would be revealed.” To hear Paul tell it this way, it sounds like we are prisoners of the law. Yet, as we discussed, some people break out and ignore the law, pretending it does not exist.
In today’s passage, we discover that we are not prisoners but wards of the law. The Lawman was our guardian until the Messiah was revealed to us when Jesus rose from the dead.
How does the law guard us?
I like to think of it in terms of guardrails.
Everyone who drives a car has seen a guardrail. They are the metal railings installed along roads to keep cars from leaving the roadway.
Sometimes, drivers are distracted. Sometimes, we lose track of how fast we are going. Weather conditions change, and what was a safe speed last week might be dangerous or deadly this week.
The purpose of the guardrail is to stop us before we go too far.
Like a guardrail, the law can be circumvented. For those who are intentionally going too fast or driving too recklessly, the guardrail does not guarantee protection. Some cars find themselves impaled on the very thing designed to keep them from danger.
Neither the law nor the Lawman can keep us from hurting ourselves if we are determined to do so. Yet, for those of us who yearn for truth, who are looking for God amid a crazy and corrupt world, the law is our friend. The law tells us the difference between right and wrong until we meet our Maker and our Savior. Once we meet Jesus, we have a mentor and a friend who takes us by the hand and shows us what is right. He gives us the Spirit who “teaches [us] all things” (John 14:26).
In discovering Jesus, we come to know him. To know him is to trust him. Trust is another name for faith, so to trust Jesus is to have faith in him. Faith leads to obedience, and obedience becomes visible evidence of faith. Ultimately, like Abraham, the result of faith is being justified before the law. In the end, the Lawman, our guardian, does not accuse. Instead, he applauds what Jesus and faith have accomplished.
Application: Trust Jesus so much that nothing else matters.
Food for Thought: How does our attitude toward the law impact our attitude toward Christ?
Both the Law and the Christ (through the Incarnation) were gifts given to us by God. If our attitude toward the Law is bad it is likely a reflection of how we feel about the Law giver. The One Who sent the Law and sent the Christ are the same Person. Our problem with the Law is not with the Law itself or the One who gave it. Our problem is our sin and our inability to keep the Law. Every good gift comes from God (James 1: 17). God gave us the Law to help us. And of course, Christ died in our place because of our sinful inability to keep the Law. Both are good. Both are from God. If our attitude is bad toward one that it is likely bad toward the Other. Whatever our attitude is, we need Jesus.
Well said, Rich.
I like your conclusion: “Whatever our attitude is, we need Jesus!”
— Amen!
How does our attitude toward the law impact our attitude toward Christ?
An arrogant attitude is a path to judgment while humility and trust received in Christ, will be seen as we receive and grow in His power.
Matthew 5:17-20, Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. 18 For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.
19 Therefore anyone who sets aside one of the least of these commands and teaches others accordingly will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.
Thank you, Ron!
Well said! There really are only two paths…