What is the meaning of Galatians 3:21? Is the law, then, opposed to the promises of God? – Paul anticipates the reader’s concern that the Mosaic Law and God’s earlier promises might cancel each other out. – Scripture shows the two stand side-by-side in God’s plan, each serving a distinct purpose: • The promises—beginning with Abraham—are unconditional gifts of grace (Genesis 12:2-3; Galatians 3:16). • The Law—given 430 years later—acts as a guardian until the fullness of the promise arrives (Galatians 3:19, 24). – Romans 4:13-16 underscores that inheritance comes by promise, not by law, “so that it may rest on grace.” Certainly not! – Paul’s emphatic answer dismisses any thought that God contradicts Himself. – Romans 3:31 echoes the same “certainly not,” insisting that faith does not nullify the Law but affirms its rightful role. – The Law exposes sin (Romans 7:7) and points to our need for Christ; the promises supply the remedy. – Together they reveal one coherent story of redemption rather than two competing systems. For if a law had been given that could impart life, – The Law is good, holy, and just (Romans 7:12), yet it was never designed to generate spiritual life in fallen humanity. – It can reveal God’s standards and restrain sin but cannot transform the heart (Romans 8:3). – Life—eternal and abundant—comes only through faith in the promised Seed, Jesus Christ (John 10:10; Galatians 2:20). – Galatians 2:21 clarifies that if righteousness could come through the Law, “Christ died for nothing,” showing the Law’s inherent inability to save. then righteousness would certainly have come from the law. – If the Law could grant life, it would also confer righteousness, because true life with God is inseparable from right standing before Him. – The fact that righteousness does not come by Law proves its limits and highlights the necessity of grace. – Philippians 3:9 shows Paul abandoning “a righteousness of my own from the law” for that “through faith in Christ.” – Romans 10:4 crystallizes it: “Christ is the end of the law, to bring righteousness to everyone who believes.” summary Galatians 3:21 reassures us that God’s Law and His promises are not adversaries. The Law diagnoses the problem; the promises supply the cure. While the Law cannot impart life or righteousness, it faithfully points us to the One who can. In Christ, the promise is fulfilled, righteousness is granted, and eternal life is received—by faith alone, exactly as God intended from the beginning. |
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