Let us open our Bibles this evening
again to Galatians chapter 3. Tonight we will be looking at
verses 19 through 22. Galatians chapter 3 beginning
in verse 19. Wherefore then serveth the law?
It was added because of transgressions, till the seed should come to
whom the promise was made. And it was ordained by angels
in the hand of a Mediator. Now a Mediator is not a Mediator
of one, but God is one. His law then against the promises
of God, God forbid. For if there had been a law given
which could have given life, verily righteousness should have
been by the law. But the scripture hath concluded
all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might
be given to them that believe. Let me just remind us of what
we saw last time. We looked at verses 6 through
18, and we saw these three things. First of all, that each individual
believer in Christ is a child of Abraham. Every one of us here
tonight who know Christ as our Lord and Savior, we are children
of Abraham. Notice that in verse 7. Know
therefore that they which are of faith the same are the children
of Abraham. Let me just read this verse from
Romans chapter 4. The Apostle Paul says, therefore
it is of faith, that is justification, salvation, it is of faith that
it might be by grace to the end the promise might be sure to
all the seed, not to that only which is of the law, not just
to the Jews who had the law given unto them, but to that also which
is of the faith of Abraham, who, that is Abraham, who is the father
of us all. So that's the first thing we
saw. Individual believer in Jesus Christ is a child of Abraham. Number two, that as many as are
of the works of the law are under its curse. Notice that in verse
10. For as many as are of the works
of the law are under the curse. For it is written, curse it is
everyone. that continueth not in all things
which are written in the book of the law to do them. Anyone
and everyone who would seek to be saved, seek to be justified
by his or her obedience to the law, Paul says, is under the
curse of the law, because the law requires perfect obedience
in all things at all times. And the Judaizers, this is the
reason for the letter of Galatians to begin with, these false teachers. We call them Judaizers because
they tried to convince the believers in the churches of Galatia that
what they had heard, the gospel, was good as far as it went, but
they needed really to be under the law of Moses. They needed
to subject themselves to the law of Moses, to be circumcised,
and if they weren't, then they could not be saved. You read
that in Acts chapter 15. Now, the third thing that we
saw last time is that the covenant, the covenant of promise, was
revealed to Abraham, that it could not be disannulled 430
years later by another covenant. Let me say that again. The covenant
of promise that was revealed unto Abraham. It's a covenant
of grace. It's the everlasting covenant.
It could not be disannulled by a subsequent covenant that was
made 430 years later. Notice that in verses 16 and
17. Now to Abraham and his seed were
the promises made He saith not unto seeds as of many, but as
of one, and to thy seed which is Christ. And this I say, that
the covenant that was confirmed before of God in Christ, the
law, which was four hundred and thirty years after, cannot disannul,
that it should make the promise of none effect. Now this evening,
before we go on with verse nineteen, I want to take a few minutes
to remind us of some things that are true of covenants. Because we are reading of covenants,
and in the next chapter, the apostle will take up the two
covenants again. But if you notice in verse 15,
Paul says, Brethren, I speak after the manner of men, though
it be but a man's covenant. Now this tells us that we may
use what is true of covenants that we are all familiar with,
covenants that men make. We may use these covenants of
which we're all familiar with to illustrate truths about the
covenants of God. A covenant, now here, pay attention
to this statement. A covenant may be a man's last
will and testament. Every man here, I'm sure, you
have a will somewhere written. That is a covenant. According
to the Word of God, that's considered as a covenant. For instance,
in Hebrews chapter 9 and verse 16, The scripture says, for where
a testament is, and that word testament is the very same word
which is here in our text translated covenant. For where a testament
or covenant is, there must also be the death of the testator. Now we just know that a person's
will to be put into effect, the person must die. And then when
a person dies, through his will he disposes of his property according
to his mind according to his will and those who receive his
goods They're called heirs. Heirs. They're given something. They don't earn it. They don't
necessarily deserve it. They don't merit it. They are
given something according to the covenant of the person who
made out his will. And this is what he wanted. This
is what he wrote down. It was sealed, signed, and it's
official. And to put it into effect, he
dies. The death of the testator. Now,
that's one type of a covenant. Keep that in mind. That's one
type of a covenant. A man makes out his will, makes
out his covenant. And he disposes of his property,
he gives it out as he so desires. But now there's another type
of covenant in the Scriptures. And we are familiar with this
type of covenant. It is an agreement between two
parties. It's sometimes called a compact,
or sometimes an agreement. I can't think of
the word that I want to use, but it's binding on both parties. And remember this, anytime that
God is party to a covenant, He makes the stipulations. Anytime
that God is part of a covenant, one party of a covenant, he makes
the stipulations. He doesn't negotiate. Contract,
that's the word I wanted. We see sometimes there's negotiations
between a man who owns the company and those who work for him. To
reach a contract, there's negotiation. The employees give in on some
things, the owner gives in on other things, but in a covenant
in which God is one of the parties, there's no negotiation. He stipulates
the terms of the covenant. Now, you see, there's two types
of covenants. Keep that in mind. One, like
a will. And that's the one when the Lord Jesus Christ said, is
my blood of the new covenant by his death he put into effect
the new covenant now I want us to turn back keep your place
here but along this line thinking of the fact that there are two
types of covenants I want you to go back with me to Exodus
Exodus chapter 24 This is when the Israelites had
just come out of Egypt, and they're in the wilderness, and they've
come to Mount Sinai. Now, in verse 3, let's begin
our reading here in Exodus chapter 24 and verse 3. And Moses came
and told the people all the words of the Lord. See, there's no
negotiation. There's no the Lord proposing
this, and the Israelites proposing something else, and them coming
to an agreement. No, Moses comes and tells the
Israelites all the words of the Lord, and all the judgments,
and all the people answered with one voice and said, all the words
which the Lord hath said will we do. And Moses wrote all the
words of the Lord, and rose up early in the morning, and built
an altar under the hill, and twelve fillers according to the
twelve tribes of Israel. And he sent young men of the
children of Israel, which offered burnt offerings, and sacrificed
peace offerings of oxen unto the Lord. And Moses took half
of the blood, and put it in basins, and half of the blood he sprinkled
on the altar. And he took the book of the covenant,
Those are the words of the Lord. This is what God demanded. He took the book of the covenant
and read in the audience of the people and they said, they agreed
to this covenant. All that the Lord has said will
we do and be obedient. And Moses took the blood and
sprinkled it on the people and said, behold, the blood of the
covenant which the Lord hath made with you concerning all
these words." So this is that old covenant. A covenant that was given 430
years later after the covenant of promise that was revealed
to Abraham. God gave his law and they agreed
to it. And so by the sprinkling of the
blood upon the book of the covenant and I believe upon the people
as well. The covenant was ratified. Now
look back just a page, if you will, to chapter 20. Exodus chapter
20. You're familiar with this covenant. The Ten Commandments was a big
part of this covenant. Verse 3, Thou shalt have no other
gods before me. Now that's what the covenant
said. Thou shalt have no other gods
before me. The people said all that the
Lord hath commanded, all that he has said we will do. And the covenant was ratified. Now you know, you know that it
wasn't any time until they had broken the covenant. Moses was
up on the mountain receiving the tablets of stone. What happened? He was there 40 days and Aaron
and the Israelites, they made some golden calves and said behold
thy God. The covenant was broken, right?
The covenant was made They agreed to it. God stipulated the conditions
of the covenant. They agreed to it, but they soon
broke it. Now look with me in Jeremiah
31. Jeremiah chapter 31. And really, that one command,
that first command that we see there in those ten words, the
first word, as you read through the Old Testament, how many times
did Israel break that covenant? How many times were they guilty
of worshipping false gods? That's what the book of Judges
is all about, isn't it? And that's when they had just
come into the land of Canaan. But that's what that book is
all about. They would forsake the Lord and
begin to worship a false god, and they would be sold into captivity. And then God would raise up a
judge. And God would deliver Israel
through that judge. And every one of those judges,
you see, was a type of the Lord Jesus Christ. But the point I'm
making is, they agreed to the covenant, the covenant was ratified,
and they broke the covenant over and over and over again. Here in Jeremiah chapter 31 and
verse 31, the scripture says, Behold, the days come, saith
the Lord, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel
and with the house of Judah. Not according to the covenant
that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by
the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt. That's the
covenant we read about in Exodus. Which my covenant they break,
although I was in husband unto them, saith the Lord. But this
shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel
after those days, saith the Lord. I will put my law in their inward
parts, and write it in their hearts, and will be their God,
and they shall be my people. And they shall teach no more.
Every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, Know
the Lord, for they shall all know me. From the least of them
unto the greatest of them, saith the Lord. For I will forgive
their iniquity, and I will remember their sins no more. We sang that
hymn just a few minutes ago. You must be born again. To see the kingdom of God, to
enter the kingdom of God, a man must be born again. And everyone
who is born again, he knows God. That's the promise of this covenant.
And God writes His Word not on tables of stone, but on the tables
of our hearts. Now, let's go back here to Galatians. Here in Galatians 3 Paul speaks
of a covenant confirmed before of God in Christ like a will. Remember I said there's two types
of covenants. Now in verse 17 Paul speaks of
one type of covenant and this I say that the covenant that
was confirmed before of God in Christ Now the law, here's the
second type of covenant. The law, which was 430 years
after, cannot disannul that it should make the covenant of none
effect. Now, we looked the first time
when we studied here in chapter 3 at five questions the Apostle
Paul asked. Here's the sixth question that
we see in this chapter. And that is in verse 19, wherefore
then serveth the law? Wherefore then serveth the law? If justification, if salvation
come by promise of Christ to all them that believe, then how
did the law serve? Wherefore serveth the law? Before we look at the answer
to that question, let me make sure, I know we do, but I just
want to make sure, they say repetition is the best teacher, I just want
to make sure that we all recognize this truth. The law, now listen
to me, the law was never intended to serve for man to be his own
savior. It never was intended for man
to be his own Savior. That was never the purpose of
the law. Never. In verse 21, in our text
here, the Apostle asks if the law is against the promises of
God. Well, no. The same God who gave
the promises gave the law. So no, the law is not against
the promises. The problem, you see, is not
with the law. The law is like its author, holy,
just, and good. The problem is with you and I,
with those who are under the law. Our inability to keep the
law perfectly as God requires and God cannot accept any less. You say that's a bold statement
to say there's something God cannot accept anything less than
perfection, than absolute purity, than absolute holiness. For him to do so, he would no
longer be God. Because the Lord our God, he
is the holy Lord God. Well, wherefore then serveth
the law, Paul asked. And notice he answers this question,
it was added because of transgressions till the seed should come to
whom the promise was made. Wherefore serveth the law? It
was added because of transgressions. Now I want to give us five things
to explain what that means. It was added because of transgressions. Five ways that the law served. Wherefore did the law serve?
Here's five things that the law accomplished. Number one, it
was to restrain transgression among the Jews. It was to restrain
transgressions among the Jews. Now you remember that a law that
does not have a penalty is not worth the paper it's written
on. The law says the speed limit
out here is 30 miles an hour. What if a man decides he wants
to drive 80 miles an hour? There's a repercussion. If the
police pull him over, there's a penalty to be paid. If there
were no penalty, what good, what possibly good, could a law be? And yes, the law, it was added
because of transgressions. It served to restrain transgressions,
because if you transgress the law, publicly at least, remember
one man, they found he was out gathering sticks on the Sabbath. Now, you and I, how do we think
of that? We think, well that's such a
minor offense. Surely, surely they're not going
to come down hard on that man, are they? Yes, they are. He's
going to be stoned. Why? Because the law said, remember
the Sabbath day to keep it holy. Yes. You know, the law even said
if a parent had a rebellious son. Now, I don't know that this
was ever accomplished in Israel, but I
know what the law said. If parents had a rebellious child
that they could not contain, they could not take care of him.
He was just like a wild ass, it's called, and they couldn't
do anything with him. They were to bring him to the
judges, And they were to cast the first stones. There was penalties,
right? To breaking the law. It was to
restrain transgressions among the Jews. In the letter of Romans,
Paul tells us that to the Jews, what advantages, he says, did
the Jews have? Well, first of all, he said they
had the oracles of God. They had the word of God. They
had the adoption, they had the glory, they had the covenants,
and the giving of the law, the service of God, and all the promises. They had much. But their tendency
was always the same. We want to be like these other
nations. They burned their children in
the fire to their gut. We want a God like that. That
was their history. But the law was given to restrain
transgressions. And remember, there was always
a remnant. A remnant. Not the whole nation,
but a few. A remnant in the nation of Israel
who were faithful to God. Always. Elijah said, I'm the
only one. God said, I've reserved unto
me 7,000 who have not bowed the knee to Baal. Number two, it
preserved the knowledge of the character of God. In a world
of polytheism, and everyone around them, every nation around them,
they had a multiplicity of gods. They worshipped the sun, the
moon, the stars. They worshipped a woman goddess,
Asterix. I mean, they're just one after
the other. Here in this nation, they have
the law given unto them that preserve the knowledge of the
character of the true God, the only true and living God, who
is the creator of all things, and He is God who loves righteousness
and hates iniquity. His holiness is clearly manifested
in His law. And this phrase, because of transgression,
Here in this text where it says, wherefore then serveth the law,
it was added because of transgression, might be over against transgression. The contrast between the iniquity
of man and the purity of God's law and God's anger against sin. As long as that law was there.
What a contrast between man's sin and the Holy Lord God who
gave this law. Number three, the law convicts
men of sin. Scripture says by the law is
the knowledge of sin. And the Apostle Paul in Romans
chapter 7, when he is giving his own personal testimony, you
remember he said this, I have not known sin. Paul was a religious
man. He was a Pharisee of the Pharisees. And in his mind, he thought he
was holy. Holy enough to stand before God
Almighty. He said, I have not known sin,
but by the law. When the law came to him in power
of the Holy Spirit, and the law said, thou shalt not covet. It wasn't just the outward actions,
but just the inward desire. Paul recognized that he was guilty,
a guilty sinner. And John tells us that sin is
the transgression of the law. Number four, it showed in the
many types and sacrifices the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul's answer,
it was added because of transgressions, indicates that God has an answer
for man's transgressions. But it's not in the law. It's
in the Lamb of God. And think of the law, the ceremonial
part of the law. How much of that law pictured
the Lord Jesus Christ? Don't you just love to read that
passage in Leviticus chapter 16 about the great day of atonement? When that priest took the blood
of that one goat in there and sprinkled it before the mercy
seat and on the mercy seat, and then he came back out and confessed
on the head of that live goat all the sins and iniquities,
transgressions of Israel. And that live goat is led away,
picturing to us how Christ made atonement for our sins by His
blood. and he took our sins away, never
to be remembered again. And number five, Moses served
as a mediator between God and Israel in giving that law and
thus he served as a type of Christ who is the one, the only mediator
between God and men, the man Christ Jesus. I pray that the
Lord would bless these words and this study to all of us here
this evening. What did John say? Behold, behold
the Lamb of God which taketh away the sins of the world. Look
to Christ. That's always the message, isn't
it? The law may show us our need, but it can't help us. No, it's
the gospel that proclaims Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who gave
himself for our sins. Let us sing a verse or two of
a hymn and be