The Purpose of the Law
Comments on Galatians with an ear to Luther’s commentary
Scripture Text: Galatians 2:17 and Exodus 20:18-21
Series: Comments on Galatians
Moses brought the people out of their camp to meet God (Exodus 19:17). This is the purpose of the Law: to meet God. At first, when we meet with God, we must be terrified because we encounter who we are and that God is not pleased with us living lives separated from him. If we were worshiping an idol, we learn quickly that thus will never do. He is the One God. If we were coveting our neighbor’s wife or breaking any of his other laws, these will not stand with God either. We discover this, when we meet God.
When we meet God in his law, we discover that we are perfectly lousy at keeping his commands. Ask David, whom God loved, and he will may relate to you a story of a woman taking a bath. David thought that he was above the law of God. He was acting foolishly and the law revived him, making him wise to the demands of God. Thereafter, he was still unable to perfectly keep the perfect law of God (Psalm 19:7).
This is the purpose of the law: to make us aware of our sin so that we may try to live as God desires but then, see that we still cannot do so. No matter how hard we try, we cannot keep the law of the Lord. We soon see that something else is needed than law-keeping.
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Rev. Dr. Mark E. Ryman has served as Pastor for St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Salisbury, NC, since 2021. Previously, Pastor Ryman served congregations in North Carolina and Ohio, as well as a call to specialized ministry with Sola Publishing.
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