Title: Live with grace
Galatians (16) Live by grace (Galatians 3:15-22)
< Beware of legalism >
I know that the basic principle is not to break the promise when a person has made a promise (verse 15). But how can God later break the covenant previously established? When did God make a promise to be justified by faith? In Genesis 15, the covenant of the torch was made in which Abraham's faith was regarded as righteousness. In general, when people look at Genesis, Genesis 1, which is the 'chapter of creation', or Genesis 12, which is the 'chapter of Abraham's calling', is important. Most important.
About 430 years after the covenant of torches, Moses receives the law at Mount Sinai. The law is a concrete and distinct form of law, and the basic laws for the religious life and moral life of the chosen people were enacted. However, no matter how good the law is, it cannot break the covenant 430 years ago, that is, the previous covenant (verse 17). To say that the law that was created 430 years later does not break the covenant of 430 years ago implies that the law does not break the principle of justification by faith. In other words, ‘believing in God’ is more important than ‘keeping the law’.
People have an instinct to see the law as a final judgment tool, but in reality the law is not the final judgment standard for actions. The main purpose of the law is not to gain salvation by keeping the law, but to serve as a channel to highlight God's covenant and make us more aware of the importance of God's grace. The law also said that the promised offspring, that is, until Jesus comes (verse 19). That means that the law of grace by faith will replace the law after Jesus comes.
<Putting grace in front of you>
There are three concepts in the Law. First, the ‘literal law’. The Bible says, “Do not worship idols! Don't kill! Do not commit adultery! Thou shalt not steal!” The commandment itself is a literal law.
Second, it is the ‘law of interpretation’. For example, “What does it really mean not to kill?” should be interpreted. David's killing of Goliath on the battlefield is not considered murder. Murder in self-defense is acceptable in some sense. So what is murder? So interpretation is necessary. In other words, the deeper meaning of not killing is to believe that life belongs to God, and to cherish and love life. The law itself is important, but in fact the interpretation of the law is even more important.
Third, it is a ‘sub-legal law’. In other words, because there is a higher law than the law, sometimes the violation of the law is justified. For example, you must keep the Sabbath, but if a sheep falls into a pit on the Sabbath, you must save it. If you turn away from a dying life to keep the law that says you should not work on the Sabbath, it becomes a sin. If there is a dying patient and it is not treated on the Sabbath, it is indirect murder. Breaking the Sabbath while treating an emergency patient dying on the Sabbath is not condemned. As such, there may be cases where a higher law than the law applies.
After all, the law is not the standard for final judgment of actions. The law cannot break God's covenant of justification by faith. Ultimately, the core of the theme of ‘Law and Grace’ is “How do you build a relationship with God?” is to do How should we build a relationship with God? Relationships are made up of tangible and intangible contracts. In other words, personal relationships are built around promises. In that sense, even if it is not a legalistic attitude of “If you break your vows, you will be punished!”, believers should try to keep their promises as much as possible. It is the basis of the life of faith.
Grace preceded the law. However, because they did not receive grace right away, a negative control of the law was created. As such, the purpose of the law is not for salvation, but rather as a teacher to highlight how great God's grace is. Therefore, you must not become a legalist who says that you must keep the law to be saved. Just as divine agape love, which transcends calculation, must take precedence over calculating human eros love, always put grace ahead of the law.