There is one true promise keeper - God. None of us were even nominated or received honorable mention. No "A" for effort. It is an unchanging and eternal promise for those who believe, which began in the days of Abraham and carried through to the Seed - Jesus Christ. Once the Seed had come, the Jewish people were no longer considered as being under the "guardian" ... known as the law of commandments.
Many from the twelve tribes would struggle with Paul's message along these lines. But because of this truth—both Jew and Gentile were able to begin to identify as children of a royal family by faith. The law was a dead-end street and was not connected to the faith freeway. But those who belong to Christ are considered as Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise. We're mining for gold in Galatians Chapter 3.
Since the death and resurrection of Jesus, both Jews and Gentiles are justified by grace, apart from works. How can we keep from getting tangled between a mixture of law and grace ... or faith and works? Once we begin to understand that non-Jewish people (Gentiles) were never given the law that Moses handed to Israel, this will be a step in the right direction. That's right, the law was never for us to use. The Church has been thrown into a lurch by trying to balance law and grace and attempting to place believers in Christ under a combination of two different covenants—albeit a very revised version of it in our modern culture.
In the book of Galatians, Paul addresses this confusion to some believing Gentiles who had been persuaded by Judaizers they needed Jesus plus certain aspects of the Mosaic law. When Paul called the law a tutor, a better interpretation in our English language is "guardian" ... as some translations will show. Let's take a closer look at what Paul said in Galatians 3 and 4 from his Jewish perspective and how it translates to Gentiles and Jews ... then and now. We'll want to consider not only the historical background, and not just the context of the passage, but the context of the gospel itself so we can get a better view of the bigger picture.
Back in the early church, one of the greatest challenges Paul and his company faced was to expose those who would promote a different gospel, which often blended the keeping of the Mosaic law with the message of Jesus. At the beginning of his letter to Timothy, Paul instructed him to confront those who were spreading such strange doctrines, as they desired to be teachers of the law, even though they did not understand what they were talking about. He went on to explain the law was never meant for believers in Christ.
As Paul explained to the churches in Galatia, it was a tutor to bring people to faith. Once faith is in place, people are no longer under the tutor (law). The hypocrisy of modern-day law advocates within the Christian church can be easily exposed—as they are selling a weakened version of God’s original, perfect standard, while ignoring the vast majority of what was given to Israel. Partake of either law or grace, but they were never meant to be mixed. One brought death, the other provides life.
We frequently find them blended into the doctrines and sermons of Church Incorporated… selected portions of commandments from the law which came by way of Moses. Not the entire law, mind you. Each religious brand will pick and choose what they think should be applied and what should be left off the list. The problem? There shouldn’t be a list. The entire written code of the letter from the Old Covenant was wiped out and came to an end. It was replaced with a better option that arrived when Jesus was manifested - it’s called faith. Paul was explaining to the Galatians they needed to make one of two choices… attempting to follow and live by the works of the law (the flesh) or to live by faith in Jesus Christ.
Before faith came, the Jews were held as prisoners under the law. The Mosaic law was a tutor or guardian which was meant to eventually lead them to the custody of Jesus Christ. When faith (Christ) came, there was no longer the need for the guardian because us who are in Christ Jesus became children of God by faith. The law and commandments are not based upon the faith that was provided for us within a new and better covenant.
