11 - The Role of the Law in the New Covenant - Covenants Course - Imad Awde

Added: 2026-06-02

[00:00:26]So, as you can see on the screen, today's lesson is the role of the law in the new covenant. Now, earlier in this series, we we studied the different covenants, but we studied also the old covenant and the introduction of the system of the law. And as we did that, we identified four major roles the law fulfilled. Right? If you remember, they were to convict the sinner of sin, to teach the Israelites uh the gospel, to provide an entry point into salvation or into a covenant relationship with God, right? And to govern the morals and lives of the people back then. You can go back in the studies uh uh one of the two lessons about the old covenant. That's where we covered it if you want to see it in detail and and how we came to these uh um roles of the law, right? But we're picking up from there. Now, in this lesson, I want us to examine these four roles of the law and determine which ones migrate into the new covenant and which do not. And if I say something doesn't, well, why doesn't it? Right?

[00:01:39]It's not just up to me to say this does, this doesn't. If it does, why does it?

[00:01:44]And if it doesn't, why doesn't it?

[00:01:46]Right? So we'll start with the first one. Convict the sinner of sin. Now this has always been and will always be the role of the law to condemn and to kill the transgressor. Right? Paul tells us that the law entered that the offense might abound. This is obviously in the in the New Testament the writings of Paul. He says and that sin by the commandment might become exceedingly sinful. He goes on to say that the law served as an instrument to identify sin for by the law is the knowledge of sin.

[00:02:19]And he goes on to say that uh uh the the law it it brings sin to life. Right? So the first role of the law to convict and condemn the sinner is still valid today in the new covenant because the law is still an instrument to convict and condemn the sinner. Of course, we are to take into consideration the farreaching spiritual meaning of the law as Jesus expanded upon it and Paul and and and so forth. But Paul was very clear in his writing that the law of God, especially the ten commandments were not were not abolished or made void through the cross of Christ. Right? I don't want anyone to think as we finish this study and as we continue the the series and as we look at the new covenant that Amad is saying that the law is done away with. I'm I'm stating it clear. Paul never thought that the law was abolished at the cross, especially the ten commandments. Right?

[00:03:25]Here are some verses why I have come to that conclusion. Paul says, "Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid." No, we establish the law. Faith was not given to abolish the law, specifically the ten commandments.

[00:03:39]Right? On the contrary, through faith in Christ, we establish the law. We fulfill its requirements. and righteousness in our lives. Right? That's what the Bible that's what he goes on to say in in Romans chapter 8 and and verse 4. We fulfill the righteousness which is of the law. Notice what Paul also says. He says, what shall we say then? Is the law sin? Is the law bad? No. God forbid. May I had not known sin but by the law? For I had not known lust, except the law had said, thou shalt not covet. Right? There should be a full stop there. Romans 7:7 Paul saw that the law is holy and just and good and spiritual. There is no suggestion that he rejected the law because it was nailed to the cross. No, it's not there. As a matter of fact, he said circumcision is nothing and uncircumcision is nothing but the keeping of the commandments of God.

[00:04:39]So, am I saying the law is done away with? I hope by now you understand. No, I'm not. I don't believe that. I don't say that. Paul doesn't teach that. Jesus doesn't teach that. Right? Legalism is not. Legalism is not obedience to God's law. It's not. Legalism is the attempt to obey his law without first receiving the life and righteousness of Christ.

[00:05:03]Legalism is the attempt to be obedient to the law because of the law rather than because Christ imparts a new nature. Legalism is the attempt to keep the law in order to be saved rather than because I'm saved. Legalism is is the attempt to keep the law in order to establish a relationship with God rather than as a fruit of that relationship with God. Are you with me? Upon receiving Christ, one receives power, John tells us, to become and to live like a son of God. If the spirit or or the life of Christ is within you, you cannot but manifest the fruit of the spirit. If you have an indwelling righteousness within you, you cannot but manifest that righteousness.

[00:05:56]Neither Jesus nor his apostles intended to do away with God's law. The word of God testifies very clearly to this fact.

[00:06:06]So yes, the role of the law as to convict the sinner of sin is still valid in the new covenant. It migrates into the new covenant.

[00:06:17]However, based on this, based on what I just said, which many people very easily and rightly find in the Bible, some have concluded that that since the law is still as valid as it was before the cross, Christians are to to relate in the same way relate to God and to the law in the same way the Jews related to God and to the law before the cross.

[00:06:45]Are you with me? They think, well, if the law is valid today, and it was valid back then, then I need to relate to the law the same way the Jews related to the law. Is this so?

[00:06:56]Hopefully, as we continue in this lesson, we will discover the biblical answer to this question, not simply my answer. So, the first role of the law, convict the sinner of sin, migrates into the new covenant. What about the second one, which is teach the Israelites or teach the people the gospel? Again, this the role of the law as a teacher of the gospel and the things of God, as an instrument to teach is also valid in the new covenant, but not in the same way nor to the same extent.

[00:07:32]You see, Christians can learn many wonderful lessons from the law, from the statutes and the judgments that that will enhance one's spiritual walk. I'm not denying that. particularly a study of the of the sanctuary and its service would uncover many wonderful and deep insights into the plan of salvation. I'm not denying that the Bible repeatedly refers to the system of the law as a shadow of good things to come. Right? It also says that they were written for our learning, for our admonition, for our instruction.

[00:08:08]So we can learn from them. However, to us who will live on this side of the cross, we have the reality of the shadow. These things were shadows.

[00:08:21]We have the reality. We have the story of Jesus as recorded in the four gospels and the other books of the New Testament that give us a much deeper and better insight into the plan of salvation into the character and the heart of God than what the law gave to the Israelites before Christ came.

[00:08:42]So yes, the law still serves as a as an instrument to teach the people the gospel, but only in a limited way, not to the same extent.

[00:08:55]What we have in Christ and through Christ supersedes anything one can learn from the law. You don't need to go to the law to study the law in order to understand God's love, God's mercy. Just look at Jesus. Look at what he did. Look at his life. Look at his teachings. Are you with me? But does that mean we throw these previous instructions? Does that mean we can learn nothing from them?

[00:09:19]Absolutely not. Of course, we can. They do still teach, right? Okay. Moving to the third role as an entry point into salvation or an entry point into a covenant relationship with God. If somebody has a problem with the word salvation, even though it's a biblical word, not my word, you'll see it soon.

[00:09:38]Right? So the the third role of the law as an entry point into salvation or a covenant relationship with God, I believe and what I believe I will show you from the Bible is that it seized at the cross. This was Paul's main point in his letter to the Galatians. We will address some points from the letter to Galatians because we don't have time to go through it all. But read it in your own time and study it.

[00:10:06]You see, under the the Mosaic covenant, the law served as the avenue through which the Israelites entered and participated in the covenant relationship with God. Circumcision, sacrifices, feasts days, ceremonial rituals, sanctuary service, and various ordinances were all a mandatory part of the covenant structure God established for that dispensation, for that time, for that generation. Right? These things could not save in and of themselves because salvation has always been by grace through faith. However, under the old covenant, faith had to be expressed through participation in the system or in the covenant God had established.

[00:10:57]We looked at this in detail in previous lessons. They back then the people they had to be circumcised and keep the law of Moses in order to enter into a covenant relationship with God. Again, we covered this.

[00:11:13]Faith back then had to be expressed through covenant participation which entail circumcision, law and and different type of worship and so forth.

[00:11:26]The mistake some do today is carry this role of the law which is an entry point into salvation or an entry point into a covenant relationship with God. Some Christians Christians carry this role of the law into the new covenant.

[00:11:45]That's a mistake. This is the same mistake that Judaizers did at the days of Paul. They insist that gentile they insisted back then that gentile converts must still enter the plan of salvation through the same way we entered it in the old covenant structure.

[00:12:09]They believed that the gentile converts had to enter this covenant relationship with God the same way we have always entered it. That's why they taught here's a Bible verse except you be circumcised and keep the law of Moses or except you be circumcised after the manner of Moses sorry you cannot be saved.

[00:12:33]Now you must understand if you've been progressing through the lessons that we have studied that's why I've been taking my time and exploring each one. If you have been progressing through the lessons, you'll understand that this was the mentality, the right mentality that the Jews had throughout their generations because that is the covenant that God made with Israel.

[00:12:57]So this idea, unless you're circumcised, and I keep and add to it, my words and keep the law of Moses, you will not be saved. It didn't come out of thin air.

[00:13:08]This was part of the covenant that God made with Israel. Whatsoever the Lord says we will do, God says, "Okay, go ahead. Do it and you will live."

[00:13:17]And over the years, the 2,000 years, the Jews have learned, it became ingrained in them. And this is the conclusion.

[00:13:25]That's what they believed. Unless you be circumcised after the banner of Moses, you cannot be saved. This was the way all Jews entered into covenant with God.

[00:13:37]But what the Judaizers failed to understand, what they failed to understand is that with a change of covenant came a change to the way we relate to God. Came a change to the way we enter into a covenant with God.

[00:13:55]Paul strongly objected to the Judaizers teaching because it shifted the focus from Christ to the works of the law. To the Romans, he wrote, "Therefore, by the deeds of the law, you want to enter the covenant by you keeping the law.

[00:14:11]Therefore, by the deeds of the law, there shall no flesh be justified in his side. For by the law is the knowledge of sin." He says, "Therefore, we conclude that a man is justified by faith." We conclude a man justified by faith without the deeds of the law.

[00:14:29]Right? To the Ephesians, he wrote, "For by grace are you saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it's the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast." To the Philippians, he wrote, "And I want to be found in him, not having my own righteousness which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith." To the Galatians, he wrote, "Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ."

[00:14:58]When you read the word justified, you need to understand it's it's not just a theological word.

[00:15:05]Justification is not just a click like that and and it's meaningless.

[00:15:09]Justification is the entrance into a covenant. Justification is you you become justified when you enter into that covenant with God.

[00:15:21]Back then in the days of Israel, the way a gentile could be justified is by being circumcised and keeping the law of Moses. Hence, he had entered into the old covenant. He has entered into the covenant with God. Then and only then can he keep and eat the Passover. We examine this. In the new covenant, the Jews said, "You will be justified. You will enter the relationship with God the same way we do. You must be circumcised after the manner of Moses." Paul says, "Get lost." Uh-uh.

[00:15:50]Not going to flow away. It's not going to work with me. No way. Right. So, that's what he's saying. Knowing that man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ.

[00:16:02]For if there had been a a law given which could have given life, verely righteousness should have been by the law. Back in the old covenant, the law could reveal sin. It could point to Christ, be a teacher, teach the gospel, and it could govern the people, but it could never impart life.

[00:16:24]This issue about the law and its place in the life of the Gentile convert, just in case you didn't know, you're a gentile. I'm a gentile.

[00:16:36]99% of Christians today are gentile converts, right?

[00:16:41]the the issue about the law and its place in the life of the gentile convert back then caused a big contention among the believers. So much so that they decided to have a meeting about it.

[00:16:53]Right? We read in Acts 15:2 when therefore Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and disputation with them.

[00:17:02]Those people that thought unless you circumcise after the manner of Moses you cannot be saved. That was verse one.

[00:17:08]They determined that Paul and Barnabas and certain other of them should go up to Jerusalem and to the apostles and elders about this question. Let's get together and have a meeting. All the apostles or all all the disciples, all the leaders back then. Let's get together and decide what are we going to teach the Gentiles, not the Jewish converts, the gentile converts. What are we going to teach them? Right? That was the topic, the theme of the meeting, the council they had in Acts chapter 15, right? What should we teach the Gentile converts about the system of the law? Or how can Gentiles enter into covenant with God?

[00:17:52]Must they enter it the same way us Jews do?

[00:17:57]Right? We read going on in verse four.

[00:18:01]And when they were come when they were come to Jerusalem, they were received of the church and of the apostles and elders. And they declared all things that God had done with them. That's Paul and Barnabas, right? But there rose up certain of the sect of the Pharisees which believed. Pause for a second.

[00:18:18]Believed what? Believed on the Messiah.

[00:18:20]These are Jewish converts, right?

[00:18:24]Saying that it was needful to circumcise them and to command them to keep the law of Moses. These are the same people that in in verse one it referred to them as they thought unless you circumcise after the manner of Moses you cannot be saved.

[00:18:38]So they these people the Pharisees who believed now they possibly they are in the meeting and they they they chucking up us. They're saying no no no no we need to teach a gentile converts that they have to be circumcised and keep the law of Moses in order to be saved.

[00:18:53]And the apostles and elders came together for to consider of this matter.

[00:18:59]How can Gentiles enter into a covenant relationship with God? How can they be saved? Now again, keep in mind or or I want you to note that these Judaizers that were in the meeting, they were teaching that for a gentile to enter into a covenant relationship with God, they must be circumcised and keep the law of Moses.

[00:19:22]That's how we did for 2,000 years, right? I'm going to refer to it bit later when we get to Galatians. Now, during that meeting, Peter said stood up and said, "Now therefore, why tempt God to put a yoke?" He referred to this idea, this theology, this way of entering a covenant as a yoke. Yoke upon the neck of the disciples which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear.

[00:19:46]But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, we shall be saved even as they. You see, Peter back then, the Jews back then, they believe that they are saved by grace through faith, not by the law. But because we're Jews and because we are under the old covenant, the manifestation of our faith, the external the outward manifestation of our faith is being circumcised and keeping the law together. Unless you outwardly manifest your faith in this particular way, circumcise and keep the law of Moses, you cannot enter into a covenant relationship with God. Hence, you cannot be saved even though we know that we're saved by grace through faith. So, Peter is saying, "Hang on a second.

[00:20:42]Us Jews, we know that we're saved by grace through faith, but because we are Jews, we know we have to be circumcised and keep the law of Moses. We understand that. But let us not put this yoke upon the gentile converts.

[00:20:57]There's a difference. In the first century, I'll I'll dig into it even deeper in another lesson. There was a difference between a Jewish convert and a gentile convert. As Jews, we still enter the covenant relationship with God the same way we entered it back then.

[00:21:11]But as Gentiles, what should we tell them? How do they enter it? Right?

[00:21:16]Then James concluded the meeting by saying, "Wherefore my sentence is that we trouble not them which from among the Gentiles are turned to God." We trouble who? Trouble not those who are from Gentile turn to God. Again, it was about Gentile converts, not about Jewish converts, but that we write unto them that they abstain from pollution of idols and from fornication and from things strangled and from blood. Right?

[00:21:43]We're not going to put this yoke upon them of entering the covenant that way, but let's tell them to abstain from these things. I mean, there are multiple guesses why this is the case, but I think a good guess is because back then they sat and ate together as Christians, believer in believers in the Messiah.

[00:22:02]And the Jews will not tolerate this type of behavior. You know, uh um idols, food offered to idols and and this fornication and and and blood. and they won't tolerate it. So in order to keep the peace and in order to live rightly don't do these things. So they wrote letters to send to the churches and they said in the letters for as much as you have heard or we have heard that certain which went out from us who's us Jewish converts believers in the Messiah presuming to be leaders right have troubled you with words subverting your soul confusing your soul saying you must be circumcised and keep the law of Moses to whom we gave no such command we we didn't instruct them don't Listen to them, right? For it seemed good to the Holy Ghost and to us to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary thing that you abstain from meats offered to Adal and from blood and from things strangled and from fornication from which if ye keep yourself ye shall do well and so forth.

[00:23:08]The meeting again was about gentile converts and the decision the decision was that we should not teach the gentile converts to be circumcised and keep the law of Moses in order to enter into a covenant relationship with God. The disciples agreed that the law is no longer the entry point into covenant or relationship with God as far as Jewish converts are concerned which all of us here fit in that. Right. talking about this meeting to the Galatians. Notice what Paul says, right? He wrote a letter to the Galatians. He's referring to his time of this meeting of Acts 15. Notice what he says. Then 14 years uh after I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, and took Titus with me also, and communicated unto them that gospel which I preach among the Gentiles. But neither Titus who was with me being a Greek was compelled to be circumcised.

[00:24:07]And that because of false brethren unawares brought in who came in privilege to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus that they might bring us into bondage. Couple of points.

[00:24:20]Number one, Paul is saying look I went and I preached to them the gospel that God taught me. the gospel that I preach to the Gentiles that the Gentiles do not need to be circumcised and keep the law of Moses in order to be saved. We are saved by grace through faith. And you know Paul's teaching, right? He says the apostles, the leaders, the brethren, they accepted my teaching. The evidence is the proof is Titus who was a Greek, who was a convert into Christianity and obviously he was a teacher traveling with Paul was not compelled to be circumcised. meaning he was accepted as he is uncircumcised as a brother in Christ. Right? That's why he's pointing to Titus. But then he goes on to say that these people who who who sorry these people who came in to spy our liberty, they wanted to bring us into bondage. Now this is extremely important to understand Paul's mind. Paul equated the idea, the theology that we must be circumcised and keep the law of Moses to be saved. He equated that with bondage.

[00:25:29]This is evidence that the law as an entry point into covenant relationship with God does not migrate into the new covenant because that this role of the law in the old covenant was translated to mean you keep the laws of the covenant in order to enter into covenant relationship with God. At that time it was circumcision and keeping the law of Moses. migrate that into the new covenant. The principle is you must keep the law in order to be saved. You must keep the law in order to enter into a covenant relationship with God. That role of the law does not migrate into the new covenant because it's bondage.

[00:26:13]As a matter of fact, Paul says, "For you are all the children of God." How? By faith in Christ Jesus. Not by circumcision. You don't become children of God. You don't become covenant people by circumcision or by lawkeeping or by covenant works or by reforms or by whatever you want to put there. No, by faith in Christ in the new covenant. This is how we enter into a covenant relationship with God. By faith in Christ, not by keeping the law. This is important to understand. The mentality that we must keep the law to be saved was valid under the old covenant. That was the issue that Judaizers presented.

[00:27:00]Right? To keep holding on to this belief is to stay under the old covenant. It means you are refusing to move into the new covenant.

[00:27:12]You are doing what Korak and the 250 princes did. You are bringing to God something he has already rejected. You are relating to God in a way he no longer accepts.

[00:27:28]That's what Kor and the 250 princes did.

[00:27:31]They came. We are all holy. We can all be priests. We can still apply the patriarchal priesthood. God says no.

[00:27:41]I've brought in a new way. the same way.

[00:27:44]Now, we must you must be circumcised and keep the law of Moses in order to be saved. You must keep the law in order to enter into a covenant relationship with God. God says, "No, this was back then.

[00:27:55]It's not now."

[00:27:57]You and I do not set the terms of the covenant. God does. And God's terms of the covenant changed with the change of the covenant.

[00:28:07]This brings us to the fourth role of the law to govern. Okay, I don't have it there. to govern the morals and the lives of the people. Right?

[00:28:19]Israel back then had just came out of Egyptian bondage. They were spiritually immature and deeply affected by generations of slavery and paganism. God therefore placed them under the administration of the law in order to govern, restrain and guide them. We we we studied this. The law told them what to do and what not to do. What to worship and how to worship and how to relate to one another and civil laws and and all kind of things. What to do with a transgressor, all kind of things, right? Their lives were externally governed by external commandments and statutes and judgments and ordinances, right? Paul describes this role of the law to the Galatians this way. He says, he says, "But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up, undo the faith which should afterward be revealed." Now, at this point, many people misunderstand Paul. When Paul wrote before faith came, he did not mean that in the Old Testament, people did not have faith. Absolutely not. Hebrews 11 is full of people that lived under the old covenant and were heroes of faith.

[00:29:40]By faith, he means before before faith came, he means before the cross or before the time of Jesus or before the system in which we related to God or we relate to God by faith or through faith, right? He's talking about a system. He's contrasting two systems. System of faith and the system of law. He says before faith came or before the system of faith came, we were kept under the law. Shut up unto the faith or until that system of faith which should afterward be revealed.

[00:30:16]Right? He says before that system came, we were kept under the law. Keep in mind that in in his letter Paul was addressing the problem of legalism which he faced many times and had mentioned earlier in chapter 2 which we refer to it verse four when he said these people came to spy our liberty and bring us into bondage. This is the Judaizers promoting entering the covenant through keeping the law. It's bondage. He's referring to that as back then we were under the law. Right now what does kept under the law mean?

[00:30:55]The the Greek word that's translated kept it means to guard protect by a military guard either to prevent hostile invention or to keep the inhabitants of a besieged city from flight from escaping. And the word translated under it means by right. So kept kept under the law means we're guarded, protected, or held captives or controlled by the law. As a matter of fact, notice how some translations put this verse. The uh Bible in basic English, but before faith came, we were kept in prison under the law, waiting for the revelation of the faith which was to come. ESV says, "Now before faith came, we were held captive under the law, imprisoned until the coming faith would be revealed." Paul is saying that before this system of faith came, we that is God's people were controlled by the law. We were under a system where the law was our protector and guard. It told us what to do and what not to do. It controlled our morals and our lives. Obviously, this is referring to the old covenant that began on Mount Si during which God promised to make a new covenant. We we studied all this, right? As a matter of fact, few verses earlier, Paul says, "Wherefore then serveth the law?" It was added because of transgression till the seed should come.

[00:32:23]The law was added specifically 430 years later after the promise that God made to Abraham. However, this covenant was not supposed to last forever. Neither was the law, the system of the law supposed to be our tutor and governor forever.

[00:32:42]The system was put in place for a limited time and was supposed to last till the seed should come. Meaning until the coming of Christ who ushered in the new covenant. It is important to understand that before the cross being under the law was the right way to go.

[00:33:03]It was not bad. Neither was it considered a system of bondage. It was all they had. However, after the cross or after the new system was introduced, Christian could no longer relate to the law in the same way the Jews related to it before the cross.

[00:33:20]Seeking that same relationship with the law places the believer in bondage according to Paul in bondage to the law to laws and rules.

[00:33:30]In light of the new covenant, the old covenant became a system of bondage. The liberty offered in the new covenant highlighted and brought to light the bondage of the old covenant. And the problem is that many Christians today still struggle with this very problem.

[00:33:49]They believe in Jesus. Yes. Relate to God as servants rather than sons. Their confidence rises and falls based on their performance. When they pray more or study more or obey more, they feel accepted. When they fail, they feel distant from God, rejected. Their relationship with God becomes centered on rules rather than on Christ. This is exactly the bondage Paul was writing the Galatians about. You see, the new covenant does not produce careless Christians. No, it it produces spirit-led sons and daughters of God who obey from the obey from life rather than for life.

[00:34:34]After the cross, God's people shifted from being under the law to being under grace or under the system of faith.

[00:34:43]Let's continue with Paul's argument in Galatians. He says, "Before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up under the faith which should afterward be revealed. Wherefore the law was our school master to bring us unto Christ that we might be justified by faith."

[00:34:59]But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a school master.

[00:35:04]He says, "Therefore, the law was past tense. It's not anymore. The law was our school master which means tutor governor until the coming of Christ or the promised seed. As he says in the verses earlier the words to bring us are added cuz some people say well the law is still today it's there and it leads us to Christ and it still fulfills it. No that's not the word brings us to is added. Notice how it should read.

[00:35:38]So that the law became that the law became our child conductor to Christ or until Christ that by faith we may be declared righteous. Another translation I mean the law was the guardian in charge of us until Christ came.

[00:36:01]After he came we could be made right with God through faith. Another translation modern King James. So that the law has become a trainer of us until Christ. You with me? That is exactly what Paul said earlier in in verse 19 when he said the law was added till the seed should come. The law is our school master till Christ. The law our school master until Christ came no longer our school master. Right? Another very important point that I don't want you to miss is understanding what the word school master means in Greek. Right? Sometimes due to the language and the culture, we miss a very important point, a point, a very deep meaning of what the author trying to say. Let me read you what the word means in Greek that's translated school master.

[00:36:59]It means a tutor that is a guardian and a guide of boys among the Greeks. He's telling you where this word comes from.

[00:37:07]Among the Greeks and the Romans, the name was applied to trustworthy slaves who were charged with the duty of supervising the life and morals of boys belonging to the better class. The boys were not allowed so much as to step out of the house without them without them the school masters before arriving at the age of manhood.

[00:37:31]Are you understanding what it is? It's hard for us to fully understand because uh uh it's no longer a practice uh in our custom or in our day. But that was common at the days of Paul. Paul is likening the law to a trustworthy slave or servant or to a good, holy, and just instrument or method used by God to supervise or control the lives and morals of his people while they were children. His people were to be under the control of the supervisor or the law until the time appointed of the father or until the fullness of time or until the coming of the seed.

[00:38:14]Paul's use of these words school master and kept is not accidental. He wanted his readers to understand the role of the law before Christ.

[00:38:26]The law governed, controlled and guarded the people. It was vital for his argument that the Galatians understand this role because he was about to tell them that it came to an end as in it no longer fills that place. Now, why did God place the law in such a position?

[00:38:44]The verse tells us that we might be justified by faith. One of the reasons God placed the law in such a position was to lead the people to the realization that justification could not be attained by any other means other than faith. No one could be justified by works. Only when faced with the law of God did the Israelites realize their own sinfulness and inability of saving themselves because of the law. They sought after justification by faith.

[00:39:17]So, so the law was our tutor and governor until the coming of Christ. And from that point onward, the new system of faith came. Notice what Paul says.

[00:39:29]But after that faith has come, we are no longer under a school master.

[00:39:34]Now since this new system, this new administration came, we no longer are controlled by the law. In the same way again before faith came we were under the law. After that faith is come we are no longer under a school master. So under the law means under a school master which means tutor and governors.

[00:39:58]Right? We we looked at it. In other words under the law it means under tutors and governors.

[00:40:04]It does not mean under the condemnation of the law. No it means under tutors and governors. It means under the control of the law, not under the condemnation of the law. The law is no longer our tutor and governor controlling our lives and morals and instructing us on what to do and not to do. The law is no longer the instrument which God is using to keep us in line and to reveal his will to us.

[00:40:29]It's no longer the entry point into salvation. Neither is it the instrument God uses to govern you. Why? He tells us in the very very next verses, "For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ, because you are children of God by faith, not by the law. And because you have accepted Christ, you have put on Christ. And if you have Christ dwelling in you, you don't need a law telling you what to do and what not to do. I'm not doing away with the law. I'm just telling you where the Lord does not sit anymore. Christ sits in your heart.

[00:41:09]Christ guides and rules you. Christ controls you. Christ tells you what to do and what not to do. Now we become like mature adults who know the heart of their God and are controlled by his spirit which when followed will not only fulfill the law but also supersede the requirements of the law.

[00:41:33]He goes on to say, "There is neither Jew nor Greek. There is neither bond nor free. There is neither male nor female.

[00:41:38]For ye are all one in Christ Jesus."

[00:41:42]Now, after making his theological argument, I'm I'm getting there. I know taking longer than I should in this lesson, but I need to make it clear.

[00:41:51]After making his theological argument, Paul gives an analogy. I want to read it to you. He says, "Now I say that the air Now I say that as long as he's a Now I say that the heir as long as he's a child differereth nothing from a servant though he be lord of all but is under tutors and governors until the time appointed of the father. Even so we when we were children were in bondage under the elements of the world. But when the fullness of time was come, God sent forth his son made of woman, made under the law to redeem them that were under the law that we might receive the adoption of sons.

[00:42:33]Paul compares God's people to an underage heir.

[00:42:38]talking about the heir, he says, he says, look, as long as this heir is a child or underage, even though he's the owner of the estate, even though he's the owner of everything, he's not any better than a servant. Why? Because he's under tutors and governors until the time appointed of the father. He cannot sell the estate. He cannot turn it into a playground. He cannot do whatever he wants to do because his father wrote in the will before he died that my son will only be in charge of the estate when he turns say 21.

[00:43:12]Until then he's like a servant. He's the owner but he doesn't have power over it.

[00:43:18]He who has the power the tutors and governors they tell him what to do and what not to do until when until the time appointed of the father. He says, "In the same way, God's people, the Jews, the Jews, we, when we were children, we were in bondage under the elements of the world." What is this talking about?

[00:43:40]Elements of the world means the basic principles or the basic elements that govern this world or govern humanity.

[00:43:50]This is referring to the system of the law that govern the lives of God's people.

[00:43:57]The system of the law was the basic revelation of God's plan of salvation.

[00:44:02]Paul says there was a time when we were children and were governed by the basic system of the law. But when the fullness of time came, when the time uponer of the father came, God sent forth his son.

[00:44:20]He ushered in the new covenant. We're no longer under tutors and governors. We no longer under a school master. We are no longer under the law. The coming of Christ was the appointed time in which God's people will shift from under the law to a different government to being under Christ and his grace. Notice the the reoccurring time frame.

[00:44:44]It the law was added till the coming seat till the seed should come. Elsewhere he says in verse 24, the law was our guardian until Christ came in in verse two of chapter 4. He says that the heir is under tutor and governors until the time appointed of the father. And then in verse 3 and four he says we were under the elements of the world. And then he says when the fullness of time was come, God sent forth his son. Meaning we were under the elements of the world until the time appoint of the father when God sent forth his son. Paul's point cannot be missed and it should not be missed.

[00:45:30]God's people were placed under the jurisdiction or control of the law until the coming of Christ. Since then we are not under the law. The law is no longer our tutor and governor. Rather, we are under grace or under the system of faith. Notice how Paul says that Christ was in in in in um verse 6 of chapter 4 I believe it is. He says or verse four, Christ was made under the law. Christ was born under the control of the law. Meaning under the old covenant, Christ was not born under the condemnation of the law.

[00:46:09]Under the law does not mean under condemnation of the law. It means under the control of the law, under the system of the law. That's the system under which Christ was born. He was born under the old covenant. Jesus was the only person who could live under that system and fulfill all the requirements of the law. He did no sin. He knew no sin and in him was no sin. He came to fulfill the law, to bring it to its completion, to accomplish what no other human being could. His coming, his death and resurrection ushered in a new era, a new covenant, and a new way of relating to God. So to go back to our main point, the roles of the law, the first one, convict the sinner of sin, it migrates into the new covenant. is still valid to teach the Israelites the gospel. It does migrate somehow. It is still valid but obviously not to the same extent because the life of Christ, the writings of the apostles give us more revelation. Rule three, provide an entry point into salvation or provide an entry point into a covenant relationship with God. No, don't seek a relationship with God that way. Don't seek a a salvation that way.

[00:47:26]Don't think you can enter into covenant with God by keeping laws and rules. No, it is by faith of Jesus Christ.

[00:47:33]And to govern the morals and lives of the people? No, it doesn't apply. The law is no longer our school master.

[00:47:40]Christ says we're no longer under the law. We're under grace. Stop looking to the law in order to know what you should and you shouldn't do and start looking to Christ.

[00:47:51]Stop trying to fulfill the law in order to be in harmony with God and start walking with Christ. Allow the love of God to be shed abroad in your heart and you will fulfill the law. You will walk in unity with God. Right? Under the old covenant, the law stood outside the believer demanding righteousness. Under the new covenant, Christ dwells within the believer producing righteousness.

[00:48:18]The issue is not whether the law is holy and just and good or not. The issue is how does God relate to his people under the new covenant. Paul's answer is clear. We are no longer under tutors and governors. We are now sons and daughters of God through faith in Christ Jesus. We no longer enter through the law. We enter through Christ. We no longer live by external regulations. We live by the indwelling spirit. This is the glory of the new covenant. Amen. Thank you for being patient with me. Let me close in a prayer. Loving father, we thank you. We love you. We praise your name, Lord. I pray, Father, that you will uh make us fit to live in this freedom that you have given us.

[00:49:07]Lord, make us fit. Give us the heart we need. Give us the spirit we need in order to be able to live in this liberty of the new covenant. Lord that our lives will uh will reflect more of your character than being any under any other administration would make us reflect it.

[00:49:27]This is my prayer in Jesus name. Amen.