Gal 2:17, But suppose we seek to be made right with God through faith in Christ and then we are found guilty because we have abandoned the law. Would that mean Christ has led us into sin? Absolutely not!
Gal 2:18, Rather, I am a sinner if I rebuild the old system of law I already tore down.
Gal 2:19, For when I tried to keep the law, it condemned me. So I died to the law—I stopped trying to meet all its requirements—so that I might live for God.
It should be clear from holy scripture that we can't keep the law. Consider.
Rom 2:13, For merely listening to the law doesn’t make us right with God. It is obeying the law that makes us right in his sight.
Here, it seems that obeying the law makes us right in the sight of the Lord.
However, it is also written,
Rom 3:20, For no one can ever be made right with God by doing what the law commands. The law simply shows us how sinful we are.
We cannot be made right in God's sight by doing what the law commands. This appears to be in contradiction to what was said previously, that it is obeying the law that makes us right in His sight.
Until you look at the context. We find in the entire passage that there is no one righteous, no, not one; and that the law shows us how sinful we are.
It should be clear that the law shows us how sinful we are and that we cannot be justified in the keeping of it because we cannot keep it. Because if we could keep it, we would be justified in the keeping of it. Yet the scripture declares that no one will be justified in the keeping of it.
So, looking at the main text for today.
In coming to Christ I have abandoned the law and therefore, is Christ a minister of sin? No; I am a sinner if I rebuild the old system of law which I have torn down.
Consider.
Gal 3:22, But the Scriptures declare that we are all prisoners of sin, so we receive God’s promise of freedom only by believing in Jesus Christ.
The scriptures declare that we are all prisoners of sin and we receive God's promise of freedom only through faith in Jesus.
What is the freedom that Paul is talking about, in context?
Gal 5:1, So Christ has truly set us free. Now make sure that you stay free, and don’t get tied up again in slavery to the law.
It should be clear that, in Christ, we have come out from being under the law (Romans 6:14); we are dead to the law (Romans 7:4, Galatians 2:19); we have been delivered from the law (Romans 7:6).
We have been set free from the law, and therefore the law does not any longer point the finger at us and identify us as sinners.
I am a sinner saved by grace; however, I am not counted as a sinner by God because sin is not imputed where the law does not apply (Romans 5:13); where the law does not apply there is no transgression (Romans 4:15), and therefore no sin (1 John 3:4).
I am forgiven of every sin through faith in the blood of Christ.
I am set free from the condemnation of the law.
Paul's exhortation to me is that I not allow myself to be entangled again in a yoke of slavery to the law.
The reality is that I cannot sin because I am not under the law; because where the law does not apply, there is no transgression (Romans 4:15, 1 John 3:4).
The only way that I might be able to sin might be if I rebuilt the old system of law which I tore down.
Now, as someone who is not under the law, and who is dead to the law, and who is delivered from the law, I am not completely ungoverned by moral precept.
It is written,
Gal 5:13, For you have been called to live in freedom, my brothers and sisters. But don’t use your freedom to satisfy your sinful nature. Instead, use your freedom to serve one another in love.
As a believer in Christ, I am governed by the love of God which is shed abroad in my heart (Romans 5:5).
1Co 6:12, You say, “I am allowed to do anything”—but not everything is good for you. And even though “I am allowed to do anything,” I must not become a slave to anything.
I also must not allow any addictive behaviour to control me.
If I did that, I would no longer be truly free; and what is the purpose of my freedom from the law except to make me free from the power of sin?
As a believer in Christ, the following is my paradigm for living.
Heb 8:10, But this is the new covenant I will make
with the people of Israel on that day, says the LORD:
I will put my laws in their minds,
and I will write them on their hearts.
I will be their God,
and they will be my people.
The law is written on my heart and in my mind through love.
Gal 5:14, For the whole law can be summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”
I will point out one other thing.
If we have the love of the Father in us, we will not be indulging in the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, or the pride of life.
1Jo 2:15, Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you.
1Jo 2:16, For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world.
Therefore, being set free from the law, we begin to be governed by the love of the Lord. There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus; however this does not mean that we do not have a moral compass as believers in Christ.
The reality is that in Christ, I cannot sin no matter what I do; in God's sight. I am covered by the blood. The law is no longer my accuser because I am redeemed by the blood of the Lamb.
However, such a thing ought to produce within me a gratitude that produces the love of the Lord.
If it does not, then I may forfeit the forgiveness that I have because I insult the Spirit of grace and spurn the counsel of the Lord.
If I love the Lord, I will keep the commandments of the Lord (1 John 5:3, 2 John 1:6, Romans 13:8-10).
If I were to fail to keep those commandments, I would not be condemned because I am not under the law.
But because I have been redeemed, obedience ought to become my character. For there is an obedience to the faith (Romans 1:5) and an obedience of faith (Romans 16:26).
The law is not made for a righteous person, but for the lawless and disobedient (1 Timothy 1:8-11).
As one who has been made righteous through faith in the blood of Christ (Romans 5:19), I am no longer under the law (Romans 6:14), am dead to the law (Romans 7:4, Galatians 2:19), and am delivered from the law (Romans 7:6).
Because I am in love with Jesus Christ, I am His obedient servant.
