Why the Law Was Given — Galatians Chapter 3 Explained

Hello, and welcome to Through the Bible with Les Feldick, an Oklahoma rancher and farmer. Les Feldick has been teaching homestyle Bible classes for over 20 years in Iowa, Oklahoma, and Texas. Les Feldick's unique style of Bible teaching has made the books of the Bible come to life. When Les is teaching, it's so interesting that people say, time just seems to fly by. And now, here is Les Feldick. I guess I should always remind people that yes, everything is available on videotape, audio tape, and the little booklets. And you call or write, and we like to send out the list first that shows the Table of Contents, and then if you're still interested you can call back and order or write to us for whatever. Alright, time is of the essence. As we found out in our last program, it goes so fast that I just lose track of it once in a while. So this time we're just going to jump right in at Galatians chapter 3 and verse 17. And remember in our last program we were looking at that 430 years which transpired from the time that Abram left Haran and went down into Canaan until Moses led the children of Israel out, and they went and received the Law at Mount Sinai. Alright, now verse 18. For if the inheritance be of the Law, then it's no more based on what? Promise. But as we saw in the last program, what did God do with Abram? Promise, promise, promise. I will, I will, I will. And the Law couldn't fulfill any of those promises, because all the Law could do, remember, was to condemn Israel. It didn't fulfill any promises per se, and so if the Law was going to do the job, then it's no more a promise. But God gave the Covenant based on promise, promise. Verse 19. It's not part of the promises, and it's certainly not part of grace, well then what was the purpose? Why did God ever give the Law to Israel in the first place? Because you know, God doesn't do anything without having a valid reason, and He did give the Law for a reason. So wherefore then serveth the Law? It was added. Now you want to remember, how many years of human history had transpired from the time of Adam until Moses received the Law? Well 2,500 years, 2,500 years mankind went without a written Law. 2,000 years up to Abraham, another 500 years from Abraham, and then 2,000 to Abraham, and then another 500 years between Abraham and the actual giving of the Law. Well we saw it was 430 years, but that's in round figures 500 years. It was added. It was brought in 2,500 years after the human race had begun, because of transgressions, sin. Now let's go back and look at how sin ran rampant. It's been a long time since we've been in Genesis on the program. We're teaching it in a couple of classes in Oklahoma again, but go back to Genesis chapter 6. I always like to remind people that up until the Law was given at Mount Sinai, 2,500 years after Adam was created, there was no system of worship. There was no organized religion as we call it. There was no written, Thou shalt and Thou shalt not. And so what happened? Here we have a good example, Genesis chapter 6, verse 5, and God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. Can you imagine that? Well we're getting close, but not that close. But this is all people could think about, things that were evil, and wicked, and dishonest, always trying to cook up a crooked deal. You know I get a kick out of our law making process, and I've told people this for almost as old as I am. Just as soon as our government passes a law, being the democracy that we are, in the coffee shops all over America, writing on napkins, figuring out a way to beat it, especially a program. You know I'm a farmer from way back, and the farm programs had their place I guess. But shoot I can remember they could come out with a new farm plan, and those farmers, myself included, could sit in a soft coffee shop and on a napkin. They could figure out a way to get around it, and beat the government almost every time. Well it isn't just farmers, that's everybody. They are always out to beat the system. Well as soon as enough of them get away with it, what does the legislature have to do? Pass another law. And it just keeps feeding on it, that's the human race. Just as soon as they can figure out a way to beat the system, the system has to try to correct it. Well now we're up against it of course with high tech stuff. In fact I was just reading again yesterday, it's getting easier and easier for people to rob the system through the computers, because they're getting sharp, and even the counterfeiters. Why are they going to have a heyday if they can't find some way of stopping it? Well that's always been the case, but back here that's all they could think about, is how to be wicked in some other way. Now let's see, come on down to verse 11, and the earth was corrupt. Now I don't know if you think of the same things when you see the word corrupt as I do, but I imagine you do. First thing I think of is an old rotten potato. Now there's nothing that smells worse or looks worse than an old rotten potato, and you all are used to that. So that's what I think of when I think of corruption. Something that is vile, and something that you don't even want to touch, and something that smells to high heaven. The whole world was corrupt, and it was filled with violence. They went hand in hand. Corruption and violence, corruption and violence, and it's just no different today. In fact what did the Lord say? As it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be at the coming of the Son of Man. Well we're getting close, and this is a good description of the earth today. Alright then you come down to verse 12. Now you know what I'm always saying, when the Scripture repeats something 3-4 times in a matter of 5-6 verses, it's getting our attention. It's there for emphasis. And here it comes again. God looked upon the earth, and behold it was corrupt, and all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth. And again God said in verse 13 to Noah, the end of all flesh, for the earth is filled with violence. Was there anything to deter it? No. There was no law. There was no system of worship. There was no ritual that men could follow, and this was the end result. Even after the destruction of the Flood, everything starts cranking up again, and it's heading right down that same old road until they get to Babel. And now they're ready to embrace every evil pagan concept of worship that you can imagine, and that's all the Tower of Babel was. It was a place of worship, and it was pagan, and it was ungodly. Out of it came all the immorality of the mythologies, and the gods and goddesses, and you name it. And once again God just saw it all, and He said, Now this time I'm not going to destroy them. I'm going to do something different. I'm going to find one man, and He found him. One man, and I think he was the only man that God could have used. He found Abram, and He spoke to him and gave him these promises. Then after Abram came out and was given all the promises, the I wills of chapter 12, 15, and 17, and so forth, now it comes to the place where God says, Man has to understand what's right and what's wrong. He doesn't seem to get it, and so He gave the Law. He laid it down punctually, and He said, Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Well right off the bat, what did that fly in the face of? Everything that took place at Babel, because Babel was the beginning of all the false worships. And so God comes right back, and says, Thou shalt have no other gods before me. And then He comes on through with the rest of the commandments. Now remember, very few people understand this. Percentage wise it would be way down. Romans chapter 3, verses 19 and 20. These are verses that very few people know, even in their Bible, and yet it says so much. Romans chapter 3, and remember what we just saw in Galatians, that the Law was added because of sin. It did not take sin away from people, it merely showed them their sin. Now Romans chapter 3, verse 19. Now Paul writes, we know, and the Greek word know is a full knowledge. We know that what thing soever the Law saith, it saith to them who are under the Law, and who was that? Israel. Only Israel was put under the Law, but the power of it, the convicting part of it, didn't stop with Israel, it went out to the whole human race. Galatians chapter 3, and it saith to them who are under the Law, that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world, not just Israel, all the world is now made guilty before God. Now you see that's the exact opposite of what most people think is the function of the Law. Most people think that the Law was given to help people do right, and do good, and do the best they could, and God would somehow wink and say, Yeah, you didn't do too bad, I'll let you in. That's not the purpose of the Law. The Law was given for only one purpose, and that was to show mankind how far they fell short of God's standard. Because no man has ever lived that could keep the Ten Commandments, it's impossible. And so it was given for that purpose alone. Now verse 20 makes it so clear. be stopped, and all the world, not just Israel, all the world is now made guilty before God. Therefore since all the world now has become guilty by the giving of the Law, therefore by the deeds of the Law shall no flesh, not one human being, can be saved or justified in His sight, for or because by the Law is only one thing, and that is the knowledge of sin. Oh, if my classes don't learn anything else in twenty years, I hope they learn that the Law can do nothing but convict a person of their utter sinfulness. And so that's why it was added. Up until this time God couldn't even impute all that wickedness before the Flood. He couldn't put it to those people's account, because they weren't breaking any written Law. Now that's hard for us to comprehend. We say, now wait a minute, wait a minute. When they come up before the Great White Throne, the books aren't going to be open for them like they will be for everyone since the Law? No, not in the same way. Now they're going to come before the Great White Throne, and they're going to be consigned to their place of judgment. But God is not going to be able to say, look at all of the Law breaking that you did. Because they had no Law. You can't break a Law if there isn't one, you just can't do it. But as soon as the Law was given, then the whole world became responsible, because now there was no question. Yes adultery is sin, yes thieving is sin, yes coveting is sin, and all the way down through the ten. So all the world has now been made guilty because there is now no excuse for adultery. Well I didn't know there was a Law against that. Now they know, and that's what it means. Back to Galatians. Galatians 2.19 "...wherefore then serveth the Law, or why was the Law given? It was added because of transgressions, until the seed should come to whom the promise was made, and it was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator." In other words this whole covenant promise made to Abraham was spiritual, it never left the hands of spiritual beings, and as it was given to Abraham, that's all it was. It was something that was heavenly in its origin, and Abraham merely became the subject of it, but he couldn't touch it, he couldn't change it, and even though his offspring would break it, and break it, and break it, God kept it settled, and he's never going to go back on it. And that's why we can say with all the confidence in the world, he's not through with Israel. He hasn't finished his covenant promises with them. If Israel would be like most of Christendom says, off the board, and of no more count in God's eyes, then all the covenants fall apart. And they won't, because God is not through with Israel, and He is still going to finish and fulfill those covenant promises. Now verse 20 almost says what I've been saying all along, that now a go between is not a mediator of one, but God is one. Now what do we mean? Well if you're going to have a controversy between two people, and you bring in a mediator, and of course we're most aware of that with labor unions and management, and so they can't get together on a contract. So what do they bring in? A mediator. Well what's the purpose of the mediator? Well to make a meeting of the mind, to give here, and give here, and then finally agree and sign a contract. But God is not going to use a three person mediation. God is a mediator, and the instigator, and the fulfiller, and He alone is involved. Even man can't touch those covenants, it's impossible. So that's what it means then, that God is one. I guess I could put it this way. He is the one and only involved in a covenant. He gives it, He carries it out, and He's going to complete it, and man has nothing to do with it. Okay, I guess we've got time to go on to another verse. Verse 21. Good question isn't it? Is the Law then against the promises of God? If all these promises of Abraham were given without the Law, and they were remember, that was 500 years almost before the Law was given, does the Law come in and abrogate or cancel the promises? Well I know, it enhances them. Now read on. Was the Law then against the promises of God? Well don't even think such a thing. For if there had been a Law given which could have given life, verily righteousness should have been by the Law. Do you see what that says? That if it was possible for the Law to give eternal life, and the potential was there, because all the demands of that Holy God were in those Ten Commandments, and what I'm standing here and telling you is that if a human being could have kept all ten, would God have let him into His Heaven? Well sure, because that's what it says. The Law was perfect, and anybody that could fulfill it, would now have met God's demands, and He could say, come on into My Heaven. But what's the problem with that? No person can do it. Nobody can keep those Ten Commandments other than Christ Himself, nobody. And so the Law reverts right back to what we said it was before. It does nothing but condemn the whole human race. Day in and day out the Law is condemning good people and bad people. This is what's so sad. There are a lot of good, upright, nice people who for the most part keep the Law. They wouldn't dream of robbing a bank. They wouldn't dream of committing adultery. They wouldn't dream of gossiping. But somewhere along the line, they're going to fail. And if you fail one, James says, you're guilty of how many? All of them. And so we're law breakers. We don't stand a chance by law keeping. Verse 22. Here is the great answer to the even greater dilemma. But the Scripture, the Word of God, hath concluded all, everybody, rich and poor, black and white, all under sin, that the promise by the faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them who believe. All right, let's come back to Romans chapter 3. It's been a long time since we studied Romans on the program, and as most everybody knows, it's one of my favorite books, the Book of Romans. Chapter 3, this is just sort of a review again, and yet it fits so beautifully with Galatians. Romans 3, what then? Are we Jews better than they, Gentiles? No in, no wise. What did that do to the Jewish community? Oh, it just sent them into orbit. How dare that man tell people that Gentiles are just as good as Jews. Because you see for almost 2000 years they had heard that you're special, you're my covenant people, you have been set apart from the rest of the world, you are not to intermarry with them, you are to stay within your tribes. And now have this little Jew come out and say there's no difference? No wonder! You remember when we were teaching I and II Corinthians? Who plagued the Apostle every step of his way? Jews! Because it just infuriated them that this man was now attempting to take the salvation of Israel's God to those pagan Gentiles who ever heard of such a thing. And so they did. They followed him from city to city, and in any way, shape or form that they could somehow try to defeat him, they tried it. They plagued him until his death. Well this was the crowning reason that he put something like this out there, that there is no difference now between Jew and Gentile. Verse 9. Ephesians 2. As it is written, there is none righteous, no not one. What do you suppose the Pharisees thought when they heard that? Oh, they could have put him to death, because they were righteous in their own eyes, and here he's making it so plain that no one is righteous. Not even the most religious Jew. And then of course the crowning verse of all this is verse 23. The verse that I've used over and over, and this is where every person who wants salvation has to start. I was so proud of my own pastor the last few Sundays, he's in the Book of Romans, and I could just about yell Amen, but it's one of those congregations where they don't do that. But anyway, he's just been making it so plain, and one morning a couple Sundays ago he put it this way. You can never be saved until you realize how lost you are. Well you can't put it any better than that, because that's what Romans 3.23 says. For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. That's where we have to start. Remember when we were back in the Gospels and I gave the account, and we've had a lot of comment on it that really shook a lot of people that had never seen the truth of it before. You remember when Jesus gave the parable of the 99 sheep, and I pointed out that everybody thinks they were safe in the fold according to the Old Hymn, but they weren't. They weren't safe in the fold. They were out on the desert without a shepherd, and you put sheep out on the desert as dumb as they are, and what are they? They're lost in 30 minutes, and they didn't know it. But that one little lamb that was caught in a crevice some place, bleeding his little throat dry, what did that little fellow know? That he was lost, he was in trouble. So which one did the Lord save? The 99 or the one? The one! Why? Because it knew it was lost, and that was the picture, and it's the same way today. Multitudes are sitting in their churches Sunday after Sunday, and they think they're all right, and they'll never be saved until they realize how lost they are. Like that little lamb in a crevice that has no hope unless the shepherd comes and finds him. Well it's the same way with lost people today. They have to understand that they're hopelessly lost, and then God can save them, and not until. Now let's go back to Galatians chapter 3, and again verse 22. But the Scripture, the Word of God, as we've just shown you, has concluded all under sin. Galatians 3.2a "...that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ," in other words believing again in His death, His shed blood, His burial, and His resurrection, "...that those who would believe that, that it might be given to them." What? Eternal life, salvation. And it's for nothing except believing the Gospel. But it doesn't do any good to believe the Gospel until you realize that you're lost. And see here's where it's so hard, especially for good people. They say, Well I'm not that bad, I'm pretty good. Well yeah they are, they're probably better than I am. But until they realize how lost they are spiritually, until they realize what the Scripture concludes, God can't save them. They are just without hope. And one day they're going to wake up and it's going to be too late. And it's sad, it's so sad. But God, as I've been stressing for the last several months, God has forgiven every sin, He has done everything that needs to be done. Thank you for watching Through the Bible with Les Feldick, a weekly Bible study. If you would like more information about the Les Feldick Ministries, a Bible study in your area, or about this program, write to Les Feldick Ministries, Route 1, Box 760, Kenta, OK 74552. That's Route 1, Box 760, Kenta, OK 74552. Through the Bible with Les Feldick is viewer supported and your gift is appreciated. Thank you and be sure to tune in next time for Through the Bible with Les Feldick.