The Law of Christ

 

The Law of Christ

Comments on Galatians with an ear to Luther’s commentary

Scripture Text: Galatians 3:10 and Romans 3:21–26

Series: Comments on Galatians

Today's Scripture Jigsaw

At first, it would seem that Moses and Paul are opposed to each other. The first says to do the works of the law or you are accursed, while the other seems to say that if you do them, you are cursed. But this is not what Paul says. He says that if you rely on your works you are under the curse of condemnation. We must not, cannot, rely upon our religion, upon our ability to perform or to be perfect. Instead, we are to trust in the righteousness of Christ. 

Now, quite separate from the law, the righteousness of God has been revealed to us in Christ Jesus. Jesus has fulfilled the law (Matthew 5:17) so that when we fail at the law, we have something better than the law. The law is a shadow of the perfection that the prophecies pointed toward. Messiah Jesus is the perfection. In being the law’s fulfillment, Jesus is now our great High Priest, having become himself the sacrifice for our sins. Those sacrifices are no longer necessary (Hebrews 10:14). Now that faith has been revealed to us, we are under the law of Christ (Galatians 6:2), not the Mosaic law. In other words of Paul, we are justified by faith, not by works (Galatians 2:6; Ephesians 2:8–9).

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