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Please turn in your Bibles to 
Galatians chapter 3 as we continue our study in Paul's letter to 
the Galatians. Galatians chapter 3. I'm going 
to take up verses 19 to 25 this evening. Trying to keep it simple. Get 
the lessons out of it that we can get. The thing that I want 
to encourage you is that the apostle here is not speaking 
necessarily or primarily about personal faith. Though that obviously 
goes into it, what he is dealing with is redemptive history. He's 
dealing with the relationship between the promise made to Abraham 
and the covenant made with Israel, who had as its mediator the man 
Moses, what we might call or what we do call the old covenant. Remember, the idea here is that 
men came in and said, it's good to believe on the Lord Jesus, 
but you also need to submit to the Mosaic law so that you may 
have acceptance with God. And so Paul is dealing with that 
particular subject. And so that's something that 
you need to keep in mind when we work our way through verses 
19 to 25. Yes, personal faith is involved, to be sure, but 
the primary focus of the apostle is to deal with the history of 
redemption, very specifically how the mosaic covenant relates 
to the Abrahamic promise. So when we read law in this particular 
section, it is a reference to that mosaic or old covenant. But I'll pick up reading in verse 
15 just to remind us of the context in which we're dealing. Brethren, 
I speak in the manner of men, though it is only a man's covenant. 
Yet, if it is confirmed, no one annuls or adds to it. Now to 
Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He does not say 
and to seeds as of many, but as of one and to your seed, who 
is Christ. And this, I say that the law, 
which was four hundred and thirty years later, cannot annul the 
covenant that was confirmed before by God in Christ, that it should 
make the promise of no effect. For if the inheritance is of 
the law, it is no longer a promise. But God gave it to Abraham by 
promise. What purpose, then, does the 
law serve? It was added because of transgressions, 
till the seed should come to whom the promise was made. And 
it was appointed through angels by the hand of a mediator. Now, 
a mediator does not mediate for one only, but God is one. Is the law, then, against the 
promises of God? Certainly not. For if there had 
been a law given which could have given life, truly righteousness 
would have been by the law. But the scripture has confined 
all under sin that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might 
be given to those who believe. But before faith came, we were 
kept under guard by the law, kept for the faith, which would 
afterward be revealed. 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. For you are all sons of God through 
faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as were baptized 
into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek. 
There is neither slave nor free. There is neither male nor female. 
For you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ, 
Then you are Abraham's seed and heirs according to the promise. Amen. Well, let us pray. Our 
father in heaven, we come now and we ask that you would fill 
each one of us with your Holy Spirit, that you would guide 
our thinking in this very important subject concerning your dealings 
with men. God, how we thank you for the 
Lord Jesus, how we thank you for salvation by grace through 
faith in Him. And our Father, we just pray 
that you would forgive us now for all of our sins and wash 
us afresh as we come to the scriptures and grant us the grace to take 
every thought captive to the obedience of Christ. And as well, 
God, give us the grace to appreciate the larger scheme, the larger 
context in which this passage is given. The fact that God is 
in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself. How we praise You, 
Lord, that You've included us in this gracious plan. How we 
praise You that You have not dealt with us according to our 
sins. And how we pray that this Gospel 
would run swiftly and be glorified. And that a great multitude would 
believe and be saved. And we ask through Jesus Christ 
our Lord Amen. So remember, last week we considered 
the priority of the promise in verse 15. He says, I speak in 
the manner of men, though it is only a man's covenant, yet 
if it is confirmed, no one annuls or adds to it. When men enter 
into an agreement, when they sign the God of life, when they 
shake hands, People don't come along afterwards and add to that 
or annul it. It is a binding contract. It 
is a binding covenant. And the same is true, obviously, 
with reference to God the Lord. Now to Abraham and his seed, 
where are the promises made? He describes or he identifies 
the seed here as being the Lord Jesus. The Westminster Larger 
Catechism asks, With whom is the covenant of grace made? The 
covenant of grace is made with Christ Jesus as the second Adam 
and all the elect with him. as a result of his redemptive 
work. And so Jesus is the seed. Jesus 
is the one who is the mediator of this better covenant. He goes 
on to say, and this I say, that the law, which was 430 years 
later, cannot annul the covenant that was confirmed before by 
God in Christ. That's the whole point. The law, 
the Mosaic Code, the Mosaic Covenant did not add stipulations to the 
promise. It did not add conditions to 
the promise. The only way that we'll ever 
be saved is by believing on the Lord Jesus Christ. So that naturally 
leads the apostle to consider the function of the Mosaic Covenant. And he asked the question concerning 
the law in verse 19, and then he gives an answer with reference 
to its purpose in verses 19 and 20. And then he gives some explanation 
concerning the relationship between the Mosaic code or Mosaic covenant. to the promise made to Abraham 
in verses 21 to 25. So there is a question concerning 
the law, the answer with reference to its purpose, and then thirdly, 
some explanation concerning its relationship to the promise. Now, let's take up this question. 
Verse 19. What purpose then does the law 
serve? In other words, if the promise 
made to Abraham has priority, If the promise made to Abraham 
is permanent and binding, why in the world would God have made 
this covenant with Israel through the mediator Moses? Why in the 
world would this have been introduced? That's what the apostle takes 
up. He answers it. Very clearly, 
but before we look at that answer, I just want to make a reference 
to John Calvin, a quote from John Calvin. What we find in 
this section is not Paul's exhaustive dealing with the law. He's not 
dealing with every use, every misuse, everything that has to 
do with the Mosaic Code. He is specifically dealing with 
what this context establishes. Calvin said, The law has manifold 
uses, but Paul confines himself to that which bears on his present 
subject. He did not propose to inquire 
in how many ways the law is of advantage to men. It is necessary 
to put readers on their guard on this point. For very many, 
I find, have fallen into the mistake of acknowledging no other 
advantage belonging to the law but what is expressed in this 
past passage. So the idea is that verses 19 
to 25 does not exhaust what the Bible says concerning the law 
of God. Very often we come to verse 25. After faith has come, 
we are no longer under a tutor. Well, the tutor was the Mosaic 
law, therefore we have no law. Well, that's not the conclusion 
we're supposed to take away from this particular study. The law 
has manifold uses. The apostle is dealing with one 
specific aspect of the law in this particular context. So that 
brings us to consider his answer with reference to the law's purpose. Notice in verse 19, it was added 
because of transgressions. It was added because of transgressions, 
till the seed should come to whom the promise was made. It 
was added because of transgressions. Probably two things are at work 
here. One is for the purpose of restraining 
sin. God gave this law in a codified 
fashion to the nation of Israel to restrain their wickedness. 
to restrain their evil. Now, law doesn't have the power 
to change the heart, but it certainly can restrict and hedge in the 
heartless. And so we need to appreciate 
that function and that use of the law. It was added because 
of transgressions, but as well, it was added to reveal sin. The fact that God spoke His law 
causes men to see their need for a Savior. The fact that God 
defines for us what is and isn't sin causes us to see our great 
need, causes us to see our misery. For by the law, Paul says in 
Romans 3.20, is the knowledge of sin. In Paul's own experience, 
according to Romans chapter 7, he said, I would not have known 
covetousness, or rather, I would not have known lust, if the law 
had not said, do not covet. So this law was added, not to 
annul the promise, not to add to the promise, not as a means 
of achieving the promise, but the law was added to restrain 
the sinfulness of the nation and to reveal to the nation their 
need for the Lord Jesus, their need for this promised Messiah 
that would rescue them and save them from their sins as well. Some taking Romans 520 say that 
this is a reference or that this text also shows that the law 
was given to multiply or increase transgression. Romans 520 says, 
moreover, the law entered that the offense may abound. It skirted up. It showed what 
problem was in man's heart. The law of God comes and reveals 
that wickedness and hopefully restrains, at least externally 
or outwardly, that wickedness. But it also serves to multiply 
the transgression or increase it. Again, crying out to high 
heaven for atonement, for cleansing, for justification. John Gill 
said 430 years after the covenant made with Abraham, it did not 
succeed it. This is the Mosaic covenant, 
nor take the place of it. And so make it null and void, 
but was over and above added to it for the sake of restraining 
transgressions, which had there been no law, men would not have 
been accountable for them. and they would have gone into 
them without fear and with impunity. But the law was given to lay 
a restraint on men by forbidding such and such things on pain 
of death and also for the detecting, discovering and making known 
transgressions, what they are, their nature and consequences. 
These the law charges men with sets them before them in their 
true light and proper colors and convicts them of them stops 
their mouths and pronounces them guilty before God. So the Mosaic 
Covenant came, and specifically that component of law, in order 
to restrain, reveal, and even increase transgression. To shut 
their mouths, to show them their need, and to cause them to look 
forward to the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, who would 
take away their sin. Now notice the text again, in 
verse 19. It was added, because of transgressions, 
till the seed should come to whom the promise was made. I 
suspect that this law was given as well to preserve the integrity 
of Israel. Now, they didn't always do very 
well on their own. They had a lot of issues. You 
read the Old Testament and you'll see lots of sin and lots of waywardness 
and lots of evil and wickedness and covenant breaking. But God, 
by the law, hedged them in. And one of the purposes for his 
hedging them in and seeking to keep them relatively pure was 
so that in the fullness of the time, God sending forth his son 
would be born of a woman born under the law. It preserved the 
stock of Israel for the coming of the Lord Jesus. It was prophesied 
concerning him that he would come from David's line. It was 
prophesied concerning him that he would be of the tribe of Judah. 
And so this law functioned to hedge the people in to keep them 
relatively pure so that Jesus could come in accordance with 
the prophecies. One man says in terms of Paul's 
concerns in Galatians, this is very important. I would really 
urge you to listen. I understand this again is one 
of those. Big picture, theological, covenant things, sort of things 
that we don't always traffic in. But as I said last week, 
covenant theology is the framework by which God is working to save 
His people from their sins. It's like looking at the blueprint. 
Now, most of us just like to look at the finished product. 
But hopefully somebody's looking at the blueprint, checking it 
out and observing and looking and studying the detail. And 
that's what covenant theology is. It's the blueprint behind 
the actual fleshing out of God's redemptive plan. This man says 
in terms of Paul's concerns in Galatians, it was necessary for 
there to be a covenant that at a minimum preserved two things. First, memory of the gracious 
promises made to Abraham and his seed. And it did most certainly 
do that. The Mosaic covenant made or promoted 
the memory of those gracious promises made to Abraham and 
his seed. And he says the second function, 
to preserve the biological integrity of the seed itself. Sinai's dietary 
laws and prohibitions against intermarrying with the Gentiles, 
along with Sinai's calendar and its circumcision, set Abraham's 
descendants apart from the Gentiles. saving them in some degree from 
their desire to intermarry with the people of the land until 
the time came to do away with such a designation forever. There 
were things necessary to teach via the types and sacrifices 
of the Old Testament system in order for the work of the coming 
Christ to make any sense when he appeared. So it laid the framework. It laid the foundation. The sacrificial 
system taught them without the shedding of blood, there is no 
remission. The sacrificial system taught 
them that they needed a priest. The sacrificial system taught 
them that they needed substitutionary curse bearing. That whole thing 
was designed to teach, to train, to guard, to supervise, and watch 
over these people. until the fullness of the time 
had come." Then notice what he says in verse 19 concerning the 
law. It was appointed through angels 
by the hand of a mediator. It was appointed by angels. Stephen 
refers to the same thing in Acts 7 and verse 53. Hebrews chapter 
2 and verse 2 mentions a same or similar thing concerning the 
law coming by the angels. And many suspect that this comes 
as a reference from Deuteronomy 33. The Lord came from Sinai 
and dawned on them from Seir. He shone forth from Mount Paran 
and He came with ten thousands of saints. From His right hand 
came a fiery law for them. So the law was appointed by angels. It came by the hand of a mediator. I believe the mediator, according 
to Galatians 3, 19, is Moses. That is specified in Leviticus 
26 and Deuteronomy chapter 5. And I think the point is simply 
this. This is a tough portion of scripture. 
I'm not going to lie to you. In fact, verse 20, very often 
in sort of a preliminary study, I go through the passage. I might 
write down notes. And around verse 20, I put question 
marks. I don't have a clue what it means. 
I know that sounds like an awkward admission from your pastor to 
say, but every commentator I checked said, this is a tough passage. 
Some speculate there's 430 takes. As many years between the giving 
of the promise and the giving of the law, there's that many 
interpretations of verse 20. It is a tough passage. It is 
difficult to know specifically what the apostle means. Here's 
the direction I think, at least, it is going. Notice, verse 19, 
the law, the covenant made with Moses, was appointed through 
angels by the hand of a mediator. Remember, when God spoke to Abraham, 
there were no angels there. There was no mediator there. 
There was God the Lord alone. God spoke, God commanded, God 
unilaterally imposed the terms of this arrangement. God alone 
walked through those pieces that had been separated in terms of 
sacrifice. God alone took the maledictory 
oath. If the covenant should be broken, 
he swore by that ceremony that he would be subject to that same 
penalty. So while the law is great and 
while the Mosaic code and covenant is beautiful and supreme and 
excellent and all these things, it was given by mediation. God 
dealt very directly with Abraham, again, upholding the priority 
and the permanence of the promise. And that's the direction I think 
verse 20 takes it. Now, a mediator does not mediate 
for one only. Moses mediated between God and 
Israel, but God is one. The priority of the promise is 
seen in that this one true and living God acted unilaterally 
in his promise made to Abraham. That's what I believe is going 
on, at least to some degree, here in verse 20, highlighting 
the fact that God the Lord made this promise, the law made with 
Israel, or the covenant made with Israel, does not null it, 
does not render it obsolete, and it does not add to it. And 
then that brings us, thirdly, to consider the explanation concerning 
the relationship to the promise. Notice in verse 21, again, another 
question would arise. Is the law then against the promises 
of God? No. You're thinking wrongly if 
you have a problem between the Mosaic Covenant and the Abrahamic 
promise. He says, certainly not. The King 
James translates it. God forbid. No way. It's not the case, though given 
by mediation. The Mosaic Covenant was still 
made by God, the God who made the promise to Abraham. He doesn't 
make and enact things that are at war with one another. Is the 
law against the promises of God? Certainly not. Now, notice his 
proof. For if there had been a law given 
which could have given life, truly righteousness would have 
been by the law. The Mosaic Covenant was never 
intended to impart life. It wasn't a competitor alongside 
the Abrahamic promise. It wasn't like if some of you 
want to go with Abraham, great. If you want to go with Moses, 
great. We'll try and see who makes it to the very end. That 
wasn't the purpose. The Mosaic Covenant had a very 
specific and a very defined purpose. It was never given to impart 
life. It was never given as a means 
of acceptance with God. It was given to restrain sin, 
to reveal sin, yea, to even increase sin, and to show men their need 
for that promise that was made to Abraham. Yea, for the seed 
that would come from Abraham that would ultimately live, die, 
and rise again. It's a beautiful piece of logic 
here. If there had been a law given which could have given 
life, truly righteousness would have been by the law. What's 
the implication? That's not the point of the law. 
Notice back in Galatians 221. I do not set aside the grace 
of God, for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ 
died in vain. They are not competitors. If 
anything, the Mosaic Covenant functions alongside of the promise 
to protect the integrity of the people, such until the time that 
the seed would come. One man, Ronald Fung, not Vincent 
Chung, but Ronald Fung, said, there is no essential contradiction 
of the promise by the law, because simply the law is intended to 
serve the purposes of the promise, which has to do with justification 
by faith. When Moses stood on Sinai and 
received the law from God, and then he went down and spoke it 
to the people, it was never intended to impart life. was intended 
to protect them, it was intended to define for them, it was intended 
to restrain them and to reveal certain things, but it was never 
a means of their acceptance with God. Why is that? The next verse 
answers, verse 22. But the scripture has confined 
all under sin, that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might 
be given to those who believe. No law could ever be a means 
of acceptance with God because the scripture has clearly stated 
we're all under sin. We're all slaves to sin. We've 
all violated the Holy God. We have all gone astray. There 
is none righteous. No, not one. The scripture has 
confined us. It hedges us in. It shuts us 
in on all sides. The verb indicates no possibility 
of escape. There's no getting around this 
fact. The Bible has told us very clearly we're all under sin. 
Therefore, it is not by law keeping. not by merit, not by the Mosaic 
Covenant, that we will be accepted before God. He says the Scripture 
is confined all under sin. That, verse 22, the promise by 
faith in Jesus Christ, might be given to those who believe. 
Not to the doers of the law, but to the believers of the Gospel. 
The believers of the promise by faith in Jesus Christ. And then notice the role of the 
law prior to the coming of Christ. Verse 23, But before faith came. Again, we're dealing in redemptive 
history. Abraham believed God and it was 
accounted to him for righteousness. Moses believed God. David believed 
God. Faith was present in the Mosaic 
covenant. Faith was present in the Davidic 
covenant. Faith was present in the Old 
Covenant. The idea here is not faith individually. The idea is faith in terms of 
God's covenantal arrangement. He's talking about the coming 
of the Lord Jesus. Before faith came, we were kept 
under guard by the law, kept for the faith, which would afterward 
be revealed. Faith here refers to the coming 
of Jesus Christ. What did the Mosaic Covenant 
do? It kept us under guard. Not us specifically, I believe 
the use of the pronouns indicates. Prior he's dealing with Gentiles, 
now he's speaking specifically of Jews. Prior to the arrival 
of faith, that law, that Mosaic code, that covenant kept us under 
guard. It hedged us in. I mean, read 
the Old Testament. You'll see it was a time during 
Ezra and Nehemiah. The people were intermarrying 
with pagans. It was in them to do this. But the law served to 
restrain them. The law served to guard them. 
The law served to hedge them in such that they would not completely 
obliterate the lines so that Jesus could come in fulfillment 
of the promise that He would be the Lion of the tribe of Judah. And then finally, the pedagogical 
use of the law. Pedagogue is a word that means 
child tutor or custodian. Literally, a pedagogue was a 
custodian or a male nurse maid. He was a slave employed in Greek 
and Roman families to have general charge of a boy in the years 
from about 6 to 16. This included discipline if the 
boy needed it. It wasn't a bad thing. This was 
a good thing. It wasn't just a vicious arrangement. This was a man who went about 
to supervise, to guard over and watch the young man until he 
matured. It says he would watch over his 
outward behavior and attend him both at home and whenever he 
left from home. So the custodial office or the 
tutorial office of the Mosaic arrangement, again, was to guard 
us or guard Israel, to hedge them in, to keep them under control 
so that they would not totally obliterate the line and the seed. And so the pedagogue, the pedagogical 
function here, verse 24, therefore the law was our tutor to bring 
us to Christ that we might be justified by faith. So the law 
functioned to keep the people together until the fullness of 
the time when God would send forth his son to live, to die, 
to rise again, so that everybody looking to him would be justified 
by faith. So when he concludes by saying, 
but after faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor, 
that doesn't mean you and I get to go murder or commit adultery 
or steal. That's not what he means. He 
means the Mosaic covenant is no longer binding. The book of 
Hebrews makes this very clear as well. The old covenant has 
been replaced by a new covenant, a better covenant, which is founded 
on better promises. So the covenantal system, called 
the Mosaic or old, is done and over. This does not mean, however, 
that there's no place for God's moral law in the lives of his 
people. That is a question that has to 
be answered and pursued in other sections of scripture. You cannot, 
it is irresponsible to come to verse 25 and conclude that the 
Christian has no place with reference to God's law in his life. That's 
not the point. The point is the Mosaic covenant 
as an arrangement. by God imposed for a time to 
restrain the people, to reveal to the people until the seed 
should come. Since the seed has come, that 
arrangement is superseded. It is passed away. It is no more. The issue of God's abiding law, 
we go elsewhere, and the Bible answers that for us. So in conclusion, 
three lessons, then we close. The first is concerning the law 
of God. I realize Paul keeps calling 
it law. He is referring, obviously, to 
the Mosaic Covenant. That is the primary feature of 
the Mosaic Covenant. Not that there wasn't promise 
in the covenant made with Moses. Not that there wasn't atonement. 
Not that there wasn't sacrifice. Not that there wasn't priestly 
mediation. All those things were present. 
But when you hear Moses in the scripture, you automatically 
think in terms of law. This is the direction that John 
is going in John chapter one, John chapter one, verse 16. And of his fullness, Jesus fullness, 
we have all received and grace for grace. For the law was given 
through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. Doesn't mean there was no grace 
and truth during the time of Moses. That's not what it means. Doesn't mean there isn't any 
law in the time of Jesus. Didn't Jesus say, if you love 
me, you will keep my commandments. Doesn't John the Apostle say 
keeping his commandments is not burdensome. Doesn't Paul say, 
oh, no man anything but to love one another. How does he define 
love? He goes to the Ten Commandments. 
Doesn't Paul, writing to the Ephesians, urge upon Gentile 
children to honor their father and mother, which is the first 
commandment with promise? So the idea in John 1.17 isn't 
to say Moses was a wretch, the Old Covenant was a wretched system, 
it was all bad, everything's miserable. No, it's defining 
it in terms of its essential feature. For the law was given 
through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. So, though the old covenant has 
passed away, the moral law still abides. I've already referred 
to a few places where that is clear. We have studies that we 
can do on this particular subject or topic, but you cannot conclude 
from verse 25 in Galatians 3 that you can go out and do whatever 
you want. No. has law. God calls us to obedience. God calls us to follow him. John Calvin again, beautiful 
exposition on this section. I even twittered, Calvin is great 
on Galatians. That's how much I was moved when 
I read this section of Galatians. Some of you are going, what's 
twittered? It's a weird thing that you shouldn't get caught 
up in. Just kidding. Calvin says, but here the question 
is again put, is the law so abolished that we have nothing to do with 
it? Again, if you've not done reading or you have not looked 
into this whole question of the Christian and the law, verse 
25 of Galatians 3 is a huge text to prove that the law has no 
effect, no place in the life of the believer. Well, now that 
Christ has come, we don't need that pedagogue. Now that Christ 
has come, we don't need the law. Now that Christ has come, we 
don't need that system. We sign about the Mosaic covenant 
as a whole, not nulling or voiding or adding to the Abrahamic promise. 
Not dealing with the moral law, which I believe and will argue 
in other places, other times, transcends the covenant made 
with Moses. Calvin says, though, but here 
the question is again, but is the law so abolished that we 
have nothing to do with it? I answer the law so far as it 
is a rule of life, a bridle to keep us in the fear of the Lord, 
a spur to correct the sluggishness of our flesh. So far in short, 
as it is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, 
for instruction and righteousness, that believers may be instructed 
in every good work. is as much in force as ever and 
remains untouched. Don't go to Galatians 3.25 and 
say, well, there you go. We don't have any responsibility 
to the law. No, we do. The law still has 
three particular uses. One, to restrain evil. Two, to 
lead the sinner to Christ by way of showing him and exposing 
his wickedness. And then a third use of that 
law is when Jesus justifies us, when we believe the gospel by 
grace alone, through faith alone and Christ alone, then Jesus 
points us to the law as a pattern of sanctification, as a pattern 
of life. How do we know what pleases God? 
You look at the law. How do we know how to love one 
another? You look at the law. How do we know how to conduct 
ourselves in society? You look at the law. How do we 
know how to conduct ourselves in our workplace? You look at 
the law. Jesus said, baptizing them in 
the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, 
and teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. Now, we're not to suspect that 
it's only those things that are in the red letters. It's only 
those things that Jesus spoke in his earthly ministry. We believe 
that God is one. We believe that the God who spake 
through Moses is our Lord Jesus Christ. So we ought to search 
the entirety of the scripture, looking for those things which 
are profitable. profitable for doctrine, for 
reproof, for correction, and for instruction in righteousness. So the law of God is for us, 
not as a means of justification, but as a means, a pattern, an 
example of what a sanctified life looks like. Secondly, we 
need to understand something here about the covenants of God. There is unity. Unity between 
the covenants. But there's also diversity. It 
was never an intention of God through Moses to give a law that 
would impart life. That's not the point of the Mosaic 
law. It is clearly defined in this 
particular passage. The Mosaic covenant protected 
the integrity of the seed until the coming of the large S seed 
in which the promise made to Abraham would find fulfillment. And then thirdly and finally, 
this passage speaks to the doctrine of justification. Now, whatever 
may be difficult in this passage, and I'm sure there's a lot, I'm 
up here trying to explain it, looking out and people going, 
okay, what's going on here? I've actually spent time with 
this passage, thinking through it for a little while, and here 
I'm trying to give you sort of the fruit of that. But whatever 
this passage may, or whatever is difficult in this passage, 
you cannot miss the emphasis on justification by faith alone. 
Right? So even if Paul's opponents were 
to walk away scratching their head, what was he talking about 
there? This much is true. Look at verse 
22, the scriptures can find all understand that the promise by 
faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe verse 
23. But before faith came, we were 
kept under guard by the law, kept for the faith, which would 
afterward be revealed. Therefore, the law was our tutor 
to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith. What does Paul want to ram down 
his opponent's throats? You are not justified by faith 
plus words. You are not justified by Abraham 
and Moses. You are not justified by a little 
of this and a little of that. You are justified solely and 
alone. by believing the gospel of the 
Lord Jesus Christ. Whatever may be difficult, whatever 
may be obscure, in this passage, no force certain, it emphasizes, 
highlights, and reinforces the truth that salvation is a gracious 
act of God Most High, given to His elect by virtue of, or through 
the means of, faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Do not miss that 
reality and you will not go wrong. You may never be able to describe 
or explain Galatians 3.20, but hopefully Galatians 3.22 is very 
clear, might be given to those who believe. So in conclusion, 
if you have not believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, come in faith 
to him. That's God's plan for the ages. to send His Son, who lived in 
obedience to His law, to die for sinners and to rise again, 
so that everyone who looks to Him in faith would have everlasting 
life. Well, let us pray. Father, we 
thank You for Your Holy Scripture, and we thank You for Your covenantal 
dealings with men, and thank You that You have included us 
in this arrangement. And our Father, we pray that 
you would just grant us grace to go now into a new work week. Give us grace, Father, to shine 
as lights and to hold forth your word of truth and to demonstrate 
love to you and love to our fellow man. We just pray, God most high, 
that you would be well pleased to bless your people, to cause 
your face to shine upon us, and to grant us that peace of God 
which does surpass all understanding. And we ask now that you would 
be glorified in all that we do, and we pray through Christ our 
Lord. Amen.