Before the way of faith in Christ was available to us, we were placed under guard by the law. We were kept in protective custody, so to speak, until the way of faith was revealed. Let me put it another way. The law was our guardian until Christ came; it protected us until we could be made right with God through faith.
—Galatians 3:23-24 (NLT)
The law of the Old Testament was our guardian before the way of faith was revealed to us. The word “guardian” has some interesting synonyms—warden, custodian, keeper. We were placed under guard by the law. It kept us in line, but it did not make our hearts right with God. The law never changed our character—from the inside out. It protected us by keeping us in obedience. It was our guardian until Christ came. And now Christ has come! The way of faith has been revealed by Jesus. The gift of His righteous life for our sinful one has made our hearts pure. Only Jesus has made us right with God. The law never could.
We cannot make ourselves perfect by obeying the law, and we cannot add one thing to Christ’s perfectly finished work on the Cross. He perfects us from the inside out. We count His righteousness as ours. We are not kept in line anymore by the law. The way of faith has come. The Holy Spirit guides us into all truth and faith convicts us. Faith leads us where the law never could—right into Holy of Holies to worship God in Spirit and Truth.
Jesus Christ—the way of faith—removed the veil that separated us from God. He removed the condemnation of sin. He removed guilt and shame. He purified us with His precious blood. The debt for sin that the law exposed, was paid by Jesus. Grace replaced judgment. Life replaced death.
“All of us who have had that veil removed,” wrote Paul, “can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord—who is the Spirit—makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image” (2 Corinthians 3:18, NLT).
The Spirit gives new life to us. The letter of the law never can. The Grace of Jesus sets us free to love as He loves—to forgive as He forgives. The Lord—who is the Spirit—makes us more like Him. He changes us from the inside out. The law does not change us. Only Jesus.
If we will take our minds off the “do’s and don’ts” and place them where they belong—on Jesus—we will experience the freedom of His Grace. When we know who we are in Him—what His finished work has done—we know that where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.
Jesus has no need of the law to approve the gift of His life for ours. His blood already has. Grace makes more of the gift of His righteousness over sin. But Grace never makes light of sin. After all, Jesus paid the price for it. Grace just makes more of Jesus. Does this news seem too good to be true? Well, it is true. It is the Gospel of Jesus—the way of truth—that sets us free to soar.
© 2019 Lynn Lacher
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