Read Galatians 3:15–29
Now that faith has come, we are no longer under the supervision
of the law.
Galatians 3:25
In many Roman and Greek households, well-educated slaves guarded
the children during the day. Sometimes they would teach the children,
sometimes they would protect and prohibit, and sometimes
they would even discipline. This is what Paul meant by schoolmaster
(Gal. 3:24 KJV), but please do not read into this word our modern idea
of a schoolteacher. The transliteration of the Greek would give us our
word pedagogue, which literally means “a child conductor.”
By using this illustration, Paul was saying several things about the
Jews and their law. First, he was saying that the Jews were not born
through the law, but rather were brought up by the law. The slave was
not the child’s father; he was the child’s guardian and disciplinarian.
So, the law did not give life to Israel; it regulated life. The Judaizers
taught that the law was necessary for life and righteousness, and Paul’s
argument shows their error. But the second thing Paul said is even
more important: The work of the guardian was preparation for the
child’s maturity. Once the child came of age, he no longer needed the
guardian. So the law was a preparation for the nation of Israel until
the coming of the promised seed, Jesus Christ.
Something to Ponder
Are there any ways in which you tend to trust the law instead of faith?
If so, what are they?