Galatians 3:19-20 — Mediator, not Medi-hater

READ THIS: Galatians 3:19-20

19 Why, then, was the law given at all? It was added because of transgressions until the Seed to whom the promise referred had come. The law was given through angels and entrusted to a mediator. 20 A mediator, however, implies more than one party; but God is one.

WHAT’S THIS MEAN, ANYWAY?

Paul asks a really important question here: why do we even have the law if Jesus was just gonna come in and change everything through His grace? Paul makes it clear that the law certainly had a purpose for both the Galatians and us. The law was given to do two big things: to show us right from wrong, and to remind us that we all fall short of what God calls us to do (...we typically call that sin!).

But Jesus is our mediator. Google just told me that a mediator is "a person who attempts to make people involved in a conflict come to an agreement." So Jesus helped bring the conflict between us and God (we were and keep on sinning, right?) to an agreement: Jesus would die on the cross so that people who believe in Him would escape the ultimate punishment—eternal death!

But now that Jesus has changed how we see the law, does the law not matter? Paul basically says, "no!" Here's what he says in Romans 3:31, "Do we, then, nullify the law by this faith? Not at all! Rather, we uphold the law." It's our job to do our best to follow God's law, but we also need to know that we are forgiven by our Mediator when we fall short.

THINK ABOUT IT:

1. Have you ever had to mediate a disagreement between people? Was it easy or hard?

2. Think about some of the laws you know in the Old Testament... are there any that are still very important to follow today?
 
TRY THIS:

Sometimes the best way to remember the grace Jesus offers us is to show grace to others... so, think of someone you can show grace to today, and do it! (Remember, grace=giving something to someone who doesn't deserve it...like how Jesus gives us life forever even though we didn't earn it).

Comments

  1. AnonymousMarch 4, 2023 at 4:51 AM

    When we truly repent of our sin, we become reconciled to God through Jesus’s death on the cross. We don’t deserve it, yet God grants us back into fellowship with Him. We are to do the same for each other.

    ReplyDelete

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