Note: The Greek text of Galatians 3:25 literally reads, “But now that the faith has come.” But since the passage is referring to a specific faith, (“the faith”), as opposed to faith in general, it appears that the term as used here is an abbreviated way of referring to the Messiah, with the special emphasis on the fact that He is the One who is the object of our faith. The same is true with regard to Galatians 3:23a, which literally reads, “But before the faith came.”

Introduction⤒🔗

The Demilitarized Zone at Panmunjom is a narrow, well-guarded strip of land that separates North and South Korea.

If you were to tour the DMZ, a military guide would point out to you the propaganda signs posted in North Korean territory: advertisements urging the South Koreans to cross the line and come into the North. The guide would inform you that every evening, by means of a loud speaker, the North Korean government blasts its propaganda into the South, urging the South Korean soldiers and villagers to cross the line and join them in North Korea.

If anyone was ever so foolish as to accept the North Korean invitation, he would cross the Bridge of No Return and enter into a wholly different world on the other side: a world of tyranny and famine. Despite the incessant efforts on the part of the North Korean government, the citizens of South Korea have rejected the offer to cross the line and have stayed on the course of freedom and prosperity.

In the Epistle to the Galatians, the Apostle Paul is addressing Christian people who were being urged to cross a spiritual line: to depart from the way of salvation by faith in favor of accepting the way of salvation by obedience to the law. In this present passage he is demonstrating the foolishness of crossing over that line and is urging these Christian people to stay on the course of salvation by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

We must never lose sight of the fact that salvation by obedience to the law (i.e. salvation by human effort) and salvation by faith in Christ are two mutually exclusive religions that cannot be intermingled. Because the Word of God informs us that salvation is by faith in Christ, let us be sure to stay on the course of faith and not deviate from that course, let us not cross the line and venture into the realm of salvation by works.

Note: In this passage of Galatians, for the sake of argument, the Apostle Paul is adopting the Judaizers’ view of the Mosaic Covenant, namely, that it was a covenant of works. In fact, the Mosaic Covenant was a covenant of grace, as Paul will explain in his Epistle to the Romans. See the accompanying Appendix, which presents a study of the pertinent passage of Romans 10:5-8.

Let us now consider Three Reasons to Stay on the Course of Faith, as they are presented to us in Galatians 3:15-25.

Stay on the Course of Faith, because the Law Cannot Replace Faith as the Way of Salvation←⤒🔗

In verses 15-18, the Apostle Paul is dealing with God’s covenant of promise originally made with Abraham, and the fact that the law given at Mt. Sinai cannot replace that covenant as a new way of salvation. But before considering Paul’s argument contained in those verses, it would be good to first review the making of that covenant, as it is described in Genesis 15.

Genesis 15 records for us the making of that covenant with Abraham (who at that time was known as Abram):

After these things the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram, I am your shield, and your reward shall be exceedingly great. ²And Abram said, O Lord GOD, what will you give me, seeing that I am childless, and the one who shall inherit my estate is Eliezer of Damascus? ³And Abram said, To me you have given no offspring; so a servant born in my household is my heir. ⁴Then the word of the LORD came to him, saying, This man shall not be your heir; rather, he who shall come forth out of your own bowels shall be your heir. ⁵And [the LORD] brought him out [to the open field] and said, Look toward heaven and number the stars, if you are able to number them. Then he said to him, So shall your offspring be. ⁶And he believed the LORD; and [the LORD] credited it to him as righteousness. Gen. 15:1-6

Abram’s covenantal relationship with the LORD was based on faith: “he believed the LORD; and [the LORD] credited it to him as righteousness” (Gen. 15:6). Abraham put his faith in the LORD’s word and the LORD’s ability to fulfill His word. The great promise, of which the formal covenant would be the pledge, is stated in Genesis 15:7, “And he said to him, I am the LORD who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldees, in order to give you this land [i.e. the land of Canaan] to inherit.” Note: The Old Testament land of Canaan was a spiritual model or type of the kingdom of heaven, as Hebrews 11:10 explains, “[Abraham] looked for the city that has foundations, whose builder and maker is God.” Speaking of Abraham and all the Old Testament believers, the writer of Hebrews declares, “they desire a better [country], [i.e. better than the land of Canaan] that is, a heavenly [country]; ¹⁷therefore, God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them” (Heb. 11:16-17).

In response to the LORD’s promise, Abram ask for a sign of confirmation, a pledge from the LORD: “And he said, O Lord GOD, how shall I know that I shall inherit it?” (Gen. 15:8).

To grant Abram assurance that He will indeed fulfill His promise, the LORD established His covenant with Abram:

And he said to him, Bring me a three-year-old heifer, a three-year-old she-goat and a three year-old ram, also a turtledove and a young pigeon. ¹⁰Abram brought all these to him, cut them in two, and arranged the halves opposite each other; the birds, however, he did not cut in half. ¹¹Then the birds of prey came down upon the carcasses, but Abram drove them away. ¹²And when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and a horror of great darkness fell upon him. ¹³And he said to Abram, Know for sure that your descendants shall be sojourners in a land that is not theirs, and they shall serve the inhabitants of that land; and that nation shall afflict your descendants for four hundred years. ¹⁴But also know that I will judge that nation whom they shall serve; and afterward shall they come out with great possessions. ¹⁵But you shall go to your fathers in peace; you shall be buried at a good old age. ¹⁶And in the fourth generation your descendants shall come back here again; because the iniquity of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure. ¹⁷When the sun went down and it was dark, a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch passed between the pieces of the divided animal carcasses. ¹⁸On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, To your descendants have I given this land...Gen. 15:9-18

The fact that only the LORD passed between the pieces of the divided carcasses shows that He was taking upon Himself the sole responsibility of fulfilling the covenant; Abram must simply trust the LORD and rest in His work.

Thus, the LORD made a covenant with Abram: a covenant of grace, one in which Abram would trust the LORD to do the work of fulfilling the requirements of the covenant and thereby securing the promise. It was a covenant that was established 430 years before the giving of the Law on Mt. Sinai.

With this as background, we can come to Galatians 3:15-18 and understand how that original covenant of promise, (or, covenant of grace), continues to be the one and only way of salvation: it cannot be arbitrarily replaced by a new covenant of works, one in which human effort replaces the role of faith as man’s responsibility in the covenant.

In verse fifteen, the apostle reminds the Galatians of the binding character of a covenant: “Brothers, I am speaking in terms of human contracts: even though it is [only] a covenant made by man, when it has been ratified, no one can ignore it or add conditions to it.” Once a covenant has been ratified it becomes legally binding: it cannot be annulled; it cannot be altered by the addition of new terms that would conflict with the basic structure of the original covenant. If this holds true with regard to a man-made covenant, how much more is this true with regard to God’s covenant! In Numbers 23:19 there is revealed to us the unchangeable integrity of God: “God is not a man, that he should lie; nor a son of man, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill?” The point being made in Galatians 3:15 is this: God’s covenant was established with Abraham; as such, it is a binding covenant that must be fulfilled and cannot be annulled or altered.

In verse sixteen, the Apostle Paul points out that God made this covenant with Abraham and Christ, (i.e. the Messiah): “Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring. He does not say, ‘And to your offsprings,’ as referring to many, but as referring to one, ‘And to your offspring,’ which is Christ.” The promises were spoken to Abraham and his singular offspring (or, seed). Paul is alluding to Genesis 13:14-15, “After Lot had separated himself from him, the LORD said to Abram, ‘Now lift up your eyes from the place where you are and look northward and southward and eastward and westward; ¹⁵because I will give to you and to your offspring forever all the land that you see.’” Paul is teaching that even before the LORD made a formal covenant with Abraham He had already made His promise to Abraham and his offspring, (namely, Abraham’s one singular offspring). The covenant recorded in Genesis 15 was merely a formalizing of God’s sure promises for Abraham’s sake. Note: The fact that the LORD promises to give “the land” to Abraham and his Seed “forever” (vs. 15), shows that something far greater than the land of Canaan was in view; again, the earthly land of Canaan served as a type of the heavenly kingdom.

Paul emphasizes the fact that the offspring referred to is not plural (“offsprings”), but singular (“offspring”); one singular descendant of Abraham. Note Genesis 22:16-18, a passage in which the LORD distinguishes a singular offspring of Abraham:

I have sworn by myself, declares the LORD... ¹⁷I will surely bless you and I will surely multiply your offspring as the stars of the heavens and as the sand of the seashore. Your offspring shall take possession of the city of his enemies. ¹⁸By your offspring shall all the nations of the world be blessed.

Paul is emphasizing the fact that God’s covenant of promise was established with Abraham and Abraham’s one great Descendant; and that one great Descendant is Jesus, the Christ (i.e. the Messiah).

The point of Galatians 3:16 is this: Since the covenant was made with Abraham and his one great Descendant, Jesus Christ the Messiah, it was not possible for the covenant to be fulfilled prior to the coming of Christ into the world, and it certainly could not be nullified.

In verse seventeen, Paul concludes that the law given at Mt. Sinai cannot nullify the original covenant of promise: “Now this is what I mean: A covenant that was previously ratified by God cannot be cancelled by the law, (which came four hundred and thirty years later), so as to nullify the promise.” The law was given 430 years after the covenant of promise was ratified; but it was given centuries before Christ came into the world. So then, the law given at Mt. Sinai could not possibly serve as a new covenant, replacing the original covenant that had been previously ratified, but was not yet fulfilled.

Verse eighteen points out the radical difference between the law as a possible way of salvation and the way of salvation by means of the covenant of promise: “if the inheritance is by the law, it is no longer by promise. But God has granted it to Abraham by promise.” Salvation by the law requires trust in one’s self and one’s own personal ability to fulfill the perfect requirements of the moral law of God. Salvation by the covenant of promise requires trust in the LORD, that He will provide the means of salvation: He will provide the necessary works to fulfill the covenant and grant salvation to all who trust in Him. Thus, the law cannot possibly be a new covenant that the LORD introduced at a later date, because the law introduces such new and different conditions for salvation that it would amount to nothing less than an annulment of the original covenant and the establishment of a completely new and different covenant. Note: Remember that in Galatians 3:1-ff. the Apostle Paul, for the sake of argument, is temporarily adopting the Judaizers’ view of the Mosaic Covenant, namely, that it was a covenant of works.

The Apostle Paul’s whole argument in Galatians 3:15-18 is this: Stay on the course of faith, because the law cannot replace faith as the way of salvation. Do not let anyone tell you that, while it is true that Abraham was saved by faith, now that the law has been given at Mt. Sinai you are under a new and different type of covenant, one in which you must seek to save yourself by means of your own personal fulfillment of the law.

The covenant of promise was made with Abraham and Christ; therefore, nothing that came between the time of the making of that covenant with Abraham and the coming of Christ, not even the giving of the law at Mt. Sinai, can replace or alter that original covenant. By way of illustration: The city has made a covenant with your father specifying that through the third generation his family may farm a particular piece of land free of charge. The city cannot now come to you, (the one who represents the second generation down from your father), and change the rules, demanding that you pay rent for the land. By way of application: Do not forsake the way of faith in order to pursue the way of the law, because the law cannot and has not replaced faith as the way of salvation:

Therefore, they said to him, What must we do so that we may perform the works God requires? ²⁹Jesus responded to them by saying, This is the work God requires, that you believe in the one whom he has sent. Jn. 6:28-29

Stay on the Course of Faith, because The Law was Not Intended to Replace Faith←⤒🔗

In verses 15-18, the Apostle Paul has explained that the law can neither abolish nor alter the covenant of promise. This quite naturally raises the question, What exactly is the purpose of the law? Why did God give the law to Moses at Mt. Sinai? Paul provides some answers to this question in Galatians 3:19-25. Note: Whereas biblical scholars identify the Mosaic Law by its distinct parts: the moral, sacrificial and ceremonial laws, Paul indiscriminately speaks of each individual part simply as “the law.”

What is the purpose of the law? According to verse 19, the law was given as a provisional means of dealing with transgressions: “[the law] was added because of the transgressions, until the offspring had come to whom the promise had been made.” The (sacrificial) law was instituted by God to deal with the transgressions of the people. The law reveals God’s just demands that sin be punished, and that God Himself provides the atoning sacrifice for sinners: the Old Testament sacrificial laws prescribed animal sacrifices instead of the sacrifice of the sinner himself, and those Old Testament sacrifices pointed forward to the ultimate sacrifice for sins provided by God: His own Son, Jesus Christ. John the Baptist testified of Jesus, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (Jn. 1:29)

“The [sacrificial] law was added...until the offspring had come to whom the promise had been made.” The sacrificial laws were in effect until the Messiah came to offer Himself as the one truly acceptable sacrifice for sin. The Book of Hebrews emphasizes the inadequacy of the Old Testament sacrificial laws as the means of truly cleansing the sinner from sin. The sacrifices of the Old Testament, prescribed by the sacrificial law, could never make the sinner “perfect,” (i.e. those animal sacrifices could never truly atone for a man’s sins and truly satisfy the justice of God):

The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming, not the realities themselves; for this reason it can never, by the same sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship. ²If it could, would they not have stopped being offered? for the worshipers would have been cleansed once for all, and would no longer have had consciousness of sins. Heb. 10:1-2

What is the purpose of the law? According to Galatians 3:21-22, the (moral) law was given to show our need for salvation: “if a law had been given that was able to give life, [then] certainly righteousness would have been by the law. ²²But the Scripture has confined all things under the dominion of sin, so that what was promised, being [received] by faith in Jesus Christ, might be given to those who believe.” Verse twenty-one presents a hypothetical situation: If a law had been given that was able to impart life, then righteousness would have come by the law. That is to say, if God had given a law that would not only declare to man what is right, but would also have enabled us to do what is right, then righteousness and acceptance with God would have come by that law.

Verse twenty-two presents the actual state of affairs: the Scripture “has confined all things under the dominion of sin.” That is to say, the law of God proclaims the righteous demands of our holy God, exposes all men to be sinners, and thus declares us all as being liable to the righteous judgment of God.

The Scripture, by means of the moral law, has done this work of convicting men of their sin, “so that what was promised, being received by faith in Jesus Christ, might be given to those who believe.” So it is that the moral law shows us our need for salvation and points us away from ourselves to Christ as the only One who can meet our need and provide for our salvation.

Yet once again, What is the purpose of the law? According to verses 23-25, the (ceremonial) law was given to stimulate the desire for salvation: “But before the [one in whom we place our] faith came, we were held in bondage by the law, confined for the faith that was destined to be revealed. ²⁴So then, the law became our guardian for Christ, so that we might be justified by faith. ²⁵But now that the [one in whom we place our] faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian.”

Paul explains that the ceremonial law served as “our guardian.” In Greek society a guardian (iTαιδαγωοs) was a slave who was put in charge of his master’s son during the years of the child’s adolescence, (from 6-14 years of age). This slave was not a teacher but a guardian, responsible for the child’s safety, protecting him from the evils of society. The guardian had constant and total supervision over the child, regulating all of the child’s activities and acquaintances. Throughout antiquity, such guardians were known for their sour disposition and severity: the child longed for the day when he would come of age and be released from the custody of his guardian. But until that day, the guardian’s main function was to keep the child under constant surveillance, protecting him from evil and making him stay in line with his father’s requirements. Paul informs us that the Old Testament (ceremonial) law, with all of its regulations, served the function of being a spiritual “guardian:” through its multitude of ordinances and regulations, the Old Testament law kept the people of Israel under constant surveillance and separation from the Gentile world.

Writing to those who shared a Jewish background with him, Paul writes, “The law became our guardian for Christ.” The Old Testament ceremonial law served this function of “guardian” in order to guard the people for Christ, the Messiah, (so that they would not drift into paganism); at the same time creating in their hearts the desire for the salvation Christ would bring.

The message of Galatians 3:19-25 is this: The law was never intended to replace the covenant of promise; the law was never intended to replace faith as the way of salvation. On the contrary, the sacrificial law was intended to illustrate the way of salvation; one purpose of the moral law was to show our need for salvation; and the ceremonial law was intended to stimulate a desire for the salvation that only Christ Himself could accomplish.

Conclusion←⤒🔗

There are always voices urging us to cross the line and forsake the way of salvation by faith in Christ in order to pursue the way of salvation by our personal efforts to obey the law. But the Scripture informs us that the law cannot replace faith as the appointed way of salvation, nor was the law ever intended to replace faith.

Discussion Questions←⤒🔗

1. What illustration does the Apostle Paul present to the Galatians (cf. Gal. 3:15a); what point is he making (cf. Gal. 3:15b)? How does he now apply this to the promises the LORD made to Abraham and his “seed,” (i.e. Jesus the Messiah)? See Gal. 3:16 Paul is directing the Galatians’ attention to God’s integrity; as a Christian, what does God’s integrity mean to you, what assurance and confidence does it provide for you? Note Num. 23:19

Brothers, I am speaking in terms of human contracts: even though it is [only] a covenant made by man, when it has been ratified, no one can ignore it or add conditions to it. Gal. 3:15

Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring. He does not say, 'And to your offsprings,' as referring to many, but as referring to one, 'And to your offspring,' which is Christ. Gal. 3:16

Since the promises were made to Abraham and his seed (i.e. Jesus, the Messiah,) the LORD, in His divine integrity, could not alter or abolish the covenant prior to fulling the promises to Abraham’s “seed.”

God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make itgood? Num. 23:19

2. Between the making of the covenant with Abraham (cf. Gen. 15), and the coming of Jesus the Christ, what did the LORD give to Israel at Mt. Sinai? See Ex. 24:12. The Pharisaic Jews who were troubling the Christian church viewed the Law as a two-party covenant in which the LORD promised the blessing of salvation if the people provided the prerequisite obedience; why must that be a misunderstanding of the Law? See Gal. 3:17-18. Since the LORD promised His blessing to Abraham and the nations (cf. Gen. 12:3b) on the basis of faith in Christ as He is presented in the gospel, do you realize that the Law cannot possibly be a two-party covenant in which you are expected to do your part in earning the blessing of salvation?

Then the LORD said to Moses, 'Come up to me on the mountain and be there; and I will give you tablets of stone, and the law and commandments which I have written, that you may teach them.' Ex. 24:12

Now this is what I mean: A covenant that was previously ratified by God cannot be cancelled by the Law, which came four hundred and thirty years later, so as to nullify the promise, ¹⁸for if the inheritance is by the law, it is no longer by promise. But God has granted it to Abraham by promise. Gal. 3:17-18

The covenant made by the LORD was a covenant of grace: the LORD assumed full responsibility for fulfilling the terms of the covenant, (as seen by He being the only party to pass between the severed pieces of the animal carcasses), while Abram’s part was to place his trust in the LORD.

3. What legitimate question does this now raise (cf. Gal. 3:19a)? How does Paul begin to answer this question (cf. Gal. 3:19b)? To what part of the O.T. Law is Paul referring? Note, for instance, Lev. 9:7. Whereas the LORD provided His O.T. covenant people with the sacrificial law to make provisional atonement for their sins (note Heb. 10:1, 4), in anticipation of the Messiah’s coming, what great privilege do we as Christians have today? See 1 Pet. 3:18,

What then is [the purpose of] the law? It was added because of the transgressions, until the offspring had come to whom the promise had been made... Gal. 3:19

And Moses said to Aaron, 'Go to the altar, offer your sin offering and your burnt offering, and make atonement for yourself and for the people.' Lev. 9:7

¹For the law, having [only] a shadow of the good things to come...can never with these same sacrifices, which they offer continually year by year, make those who approach perfect... ⁴for it is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats could take away sins. Heb. 10:1, 4

Christ indeed died for sins once for all, the Righteous One for the unrighteous ones, so that he might bring us to God. He was put to death in the flesh but made alive [again] by the Spirit. 1 Pet. 3:18

4. The moral law of God confronts us with God’s righteousness and His demand for righteousness; but can the Law produce that righteousness in us? Note Gal. 3:21. In addition to confronting us with God’s holy demands, with what else does the Law confront us? Note Rom. 7:7b. Has God’s moral law confronted you of your sinful condition and need of the Savior God has graciously provided? See, again, 1 Pet. 3:18,

...if a law had been given that was able to give life, [then] certainly righteousness would have been by the law. Gal. 3:21

The Apostle Paul confesses,

I would not have known covetousness unless the Law had said, 'You shall not covet.' Rom. 7:7b

The moral law of God confronts us with our own guilt and accountability before our holy God.

Christ indeed died for sins once for all, the Righteous One for the unrighteous ones, so that he might bring us to God. He was put to death in the flesh but made alive [again] by the Spirit. 1 Pet. 3:18

5. What purpose did the ceremonial law serve? See Gal. 3:23-24a; note 2 Cor. 6:17-18. The O.T. law called God’s people to moral purity and separation from the surrounding pagan nations; what does the LORD require of us as Christians today? See Phil. 2:15-16a,

But before the [one in whom we place our] faith came, we were held in bondage by the law, confined for the faith that was destined to be revealed. ²⁴So then, the law became our guardian for Christ... (Gal. 3:23-24a)

The ceremonial law, with all of its purification rites and requirements that the covenant people remain separate from the Gentile nations, served to preserve the nation’s identity as holy unto God and served to prevent them from assimilation with the Gentile nations, so that they might be fit to bring into the world the promised Messiah.

“Come out from among them and be separate,” says the LORD...¹⁸ “I will be a Father to you, and you shall be my sons and daughters,” says the LORD Almighty. (2 Cor. 6:17-18)

...become blameless and pure, children of God without blemish, in the midst of a perverse and depraved generation, among whom you shine like stars in the universe, ¹⁶holding forth the word of life... (Phil. 2:15-16a)