Galatians 3:22 But Scripture has locked up everything under the control of sin, so that what was promised, being given through faith in Jesus Christ, might be given to those who believe.
We now live in a world where rules are more important than almost anything else. We are almost bowing to the rules without even thinking about the consequences. (Think masks, lockdowns, vaccinations.) And there are more rules every day, it seems. When will freedom come!
If imposing rules could have solved our current crisis, then it would have been solved. What had been “flatten the curve” has turned into unending restrictions. Sweden has thrived without any rules. Australia locked down their capital city over ONE case. Rules are not the answer.
Our text comes in the middle of a section of this letter to the Christians in the city of Galatia. The argument being presented is that the rules of the Old Testament were never meant as a means to salvation, as a way to get to heaven. They were always a means to getting people to ask for mercy and grace from the LORD.
But somewhere along the way, the means became the ends. The keeping of the rules became the measure of success and not the connection to God. Paul centers his argument around the historic dividing line between Jews and non-Jews, and that line is now taken away in Jesus.
Scripture has declared that we are all alike under sin. Those who thought rule-keeping would gain their entrance have found out that they have failed. It was an impossible goal to reach by that means. You can’t stop a flu virus by holding people hostage. You can’t stop sin by never ending lists of rules.
But now that all are under the curse of sin, then all can be set free through the faith that Jesus has brought, a faith in His accomplished work on the Cross. Scripture has locked us all in the jail of sin. Everyone has been sentenced and found guilty, even those who relied on the Law, and the keeping of the Law, for their salvation.
The promises of the Old Testament come to us, not on the basis of our ability to faithfully keep the rules, but instead through our trust in Jesus’ work on our behalf. The Law brought people to the place of helplessness, in order that they might cry out to the LORD for mercy and grace. And everyone is in the same predicament. We all need mercy and grace.
This virus seems to have locked us all up in a state of fear. But the goalposts have shifted. It is no longer death that is the object of fear, but instead, fear has moved to getting infected. The rate of mortality has dropped significantly, about the same as every other flu season, and yet the fear continues. We have been taken prisoner.
Death is not the worst thing that can happen. For the Believer, death is just the beginning of a life without death, sorrow, pain, tears, sin, and separation. In Jesus, death has been conquered. It is defeated. Its fangs have been removed, because Jesus has secured our life with Him after our physical deaths.
Paul argues that we are no longer slaves to sin, that we have been set free to live a life as life was intended to be lived. We can finally life in tune with our design. The Creator’s original design specifications can now be fully at work in us. We can become the best versions of ourselves, ones that reflect the fact we are created in His image.
How are you living today? Free, or still locked up?
The Arnold Journey 