The Narrow Path Ministries

It's me again. ^_^

As some of you know from having followed my posts, I come from a religiously divided background. My dad is Catholic, while my mom is part of one of the hundreds of seventh day Sabbath-keeping churches of god out there. The church she belongs to was once extremely legalistic, although it's somewhat less so today. So let me just say that I have a personal stake in understanding what it means that "the Law was our schoolmaster."

Before tackling this passage from Galatians itself, let's cover a little background. What can we understand about the purpose of the Law, based on its context in the Old Testament?

Let's start with Abraham, since that's what Galatians starts with by way of its explanation. Abraham was a man who lived by faith. He trusted in God, to the point of being willing to sacrifice his son when God required it of him. We can all agree on that, right?

When Abraham's descendants went into Egypt and became slaves to the Egyptians, they were in what I prefer to call "disaster circumstances." Losing a friend or loved one to cancer, while painful and emotionally trying, isn't the same kind of "disaster" that I'm talking about. Seeing almost 200,000 lives lost in the recent tsunami - that's "disaster circumstances." The pain and the grief that the Israelites were suffering was about equivalent to what the survivors of the tsunami are going through right now.

Why is this important to understand? Because when people are in disaster circumstances, it's nearly impossible to act in love and with trust. If what God has wanted since the time of Adam is pure love and trust, no matter how difficult things might get (see Matthew 24:12-13 and also my post on "Exile and Regathering" in the Eschatology section), how can people who just don't have it to give ever be restored?

The Law was given as the first step towards that restoration of love and trust.

Understand that when a child is rebellious and stubborn, as the Israelites were because of the disaster circumstances they had just come out of, then one has to be all the more strict and disciplinarian to get them to do what's right! But when they're ready to do what's right based on love and trust, that strict "letter of the Law" is no longer necessary.

The Jews themselves understand part of this growth process today. According to Jewish interpretation, the Law has two facets: parts of it are minimized and restricted, whereas other parts of it are emphasized with no limitations. For instance, animal sacrifices were restricted to being offered under such-and-such circumstances for such-and-such a purpose. On the other hand, there was no limitation given on loving one's neighbor as oneself (Lev. 19:18 ). Their explanation for this is that the Law was meant to minister to the Israelites all through their journey of inward growth. It dealt with the rebellious and stubborn (who, for instance, had to offer animal sacrifices whenever they sinned) as well as the loving and faithful.

According to the Jews, the Law was also a journey from outward action to inward character change. This can be seen most clearly in a chiasmus found in Deuteronomy 6:

A - These are the commands, decrees and laws the LORD your God directed me to teach you to observe in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess,

B - so that you, your children and their children after them may fear the LORD your God as long as you live by keeping all his decrees and commands that I give you, and so that you may enjoy long life.

C - Hear, O Israel, and be careful to obey so that it may go well with you and that you may increase greatly in a land flowing with milk and honey, just as the LORD , the God of your fathers, promised you.

D - Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one.

C' - Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts.

B' - Impress them on your children.

A' - Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.

The structure is as follows:

A - These are the LAWS you are to keep so that you may live in the LAND.

B - You and your CHILDREN are to keep these commands.

C - Hear and OBEY.

D - The Lord is "one."

C' - OBEY FROM THE HEART!

B' - TEACH your CHILDREN these laws.

A' - SPEAK of these LAWS in all the aspects of your life related to your personal inheritance in the LAND.

The central focus of this chiasmus is "the Lord is one." Far from being a commentary on how many beings make up the Deity, this is a reference to the Lord being in marital union with Israel! God loved Israel and married them, taking them as His people and giving them His (marital) covenant Law. Their response? LOVE. (Also see Deut. 7:8-11, all of Deut. 8, and etc.)

Notice that A, B, and C all have to do with OUTWARD ACTION, whereas C', B', and A' all have to do with ACTION THAT COMES FROM THE HEART.

That's what the Law was meant to do. That's how it was meant to bring the Israelites to Christ, from being rebellious and stubborn because of their terrible circumstances to loving Him and trusting in Him.

Once Israel has turned their hearts back to God, there is no longer a need for a strict, disciplinarian "schoolmaster." It's not that the Law isn't important any longer because it was a necessary step in their growth! But it doesn't apply to those who have become spiritually mature.

Again, as I mentioned in my post on "Exile and Regathering" in the Eschatology section, it's the Holy Spirit who restores our love and trust, and who guides us through to spiritual maturity in Christ.

With all of this in mind, the last few verses of Malachi 4 are very interesting:

"Remember the Law of My [God's] servant Moses, the decrees and laws I gave him at Horeb for all Israel. See, I will send you the prophet Elijah before that great and dreadful day of the LORD comes. He [Elijah] will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers; or else I will come and strike the land with utter extermination."

In other words, Elijah's ministry is a catalyst for bringing the Israelites through the process of understanding and taking in the Law of Moses to acting from the heart, in love and with trust. Not only was this true of John the Baptist who heralded Christ's first coming, but it'll also be true of the end-time prophet who heralds His second coming, because the Jews - as well as many of the Christians - haven't really learned this lesson yet.

Fascinating, innit? 8)

Damon

Here are a few thoughts I've had related to the law being a school master. Let us go back to the promise given to Abraham of having children as the stars for multitude. His circumstances of being old and childless, as well his wife's age spoke against the promise. God gave him the promise then let the clock tick for years. He believed despite outward contrary circumstances and was counted righteous for a faith which endured under trial. This faith manifested that he had cut away the fleshly aspect of his inward identity(unbelief) and was a spiritual man. As a token of that inward faith God marked him outwardly in his body, tatooed, branded him. He had him circumcised. Why a mark there? Because that part of a man is his identity as a male. He cut away the fleshly aspect of Abraham's identity as a token that thus Abraham was inwardly.

By the time of the exodus from Egypt there were 600,000 circumcised men. But God wanted the inward circumcision above the outward. So he proved them with a similar test. He gave them a promise. He said he would give them a land of milk and honey. Then he led them into the desert to enjoy the hot air. No milk, no honey. There were also the obstacles in the way of the inheritance such as walled cities and giants. The circumstances were not met with faith but unbelief. They were not Abraham's children.

What do you do with a congregation of people flunking the test of their faith? What would you do if your son was flunking math or reading? You get them a TUTOR. Also referred to as a GOVERNOR, and SCHOOL MASTER. Moses went to the top of Sinai to get this school master. When he came down his face shown. In a figure it symbolized one who had been tutored and graduated to the faith of Abraham his father. The tutor/ law was not made for a righteous man but sinners, son's of Abraham who were spiritually uncircumcised. The law was to tutor successive generations and would produce graduates in each following generation until Christ. When Moses veiled his face it symbolized the Jews wouldn't get it. (FAITH in God's promises despite circumstances) To this day when Moses is read they don't get it. ( they are tutored in vain).

We also have been given precious promises such as eternal life. Every one here on earth dies. Do you believe?

Much of Paul's reasoning to the Gentiles is saying that we are justified through faith (inward circumcision of the heart) And not works (physical circumcision) I think it is important to note the context of Paul saying we are not justified by works. The word circumcision is used 16 times in Galations. Also in the early chapters of Romans Paul is making the same point.

Here is a lesson from Ray Comfort that might help clear up your question. You can also get some more free teachings from thewayofthemaster.com.

Let’s first look at how the prophets can help persuade sinners concerning
Jesus. Fulfilled prophecy proves the inspiration of Scripture. The
predictions of the prophets present a powerful case for the inspiration of
the Bible. Any skeptic who reads the prophetic words of Isaiah, Ezekiel,
Joel, etc., or the words of Jesus in Matthew 24 cannot help but be challenged
that this is no ordinary book.
The other means by which Paul persuaded sinners concerning Jesus
was “out of the law of Moses.” The Bible tells us that the Law of Moses is
good if it is used lawfully (1 Timothy 1:8). For what purpose was God’s
Law designed? The following verses tell us: “The Law is not made for a
righteous person, but . . . for sinners” (1 Timothy 1:9,10). It even lists the
sinners for us: the disobedient, the ungodly, murderers, fornicators, homosexuals,
kidnappers, liars, etc. The Law was designed primarily as an
evangelistic tool. Paul wrote that he “had not known sin, but by the law”
(Romans 7:7). The Law of God (the Ten Commandments) is evidently the
“key of knowledge” that Jesus mentioned in Luke 11:52. He was speaking
to lawyers—those who should have been teaching God’s Law so that sinners
would receive the “knowledge of sin,” and thus recognize their need
of the Savior.
Prophecy speaks to the intellect of the sinner, while the Law speaks to
the conscience. One produces faith in the Word of God; the other brings
knowledge of sin in the heart of the sinner. The Law is the God-given
“key” to unlock the Door of salvation.
The Bible says in Psalm 19:7, “The law of the Lord is perfect converting
the soul.” Scripture makes it very clear that it is the Law that actually
converts the soul. To illustrate the function of God’s Law, let’s look for a
moment at civil law. Imagine if I said to you, “I’ve got some good news
for you: someone has just paid a $25,000 speeding fine on your behalf.”
You’d probably react by saying, “What are you talking about? That’s not
good news—it doesn’t make sense. I don’t have a $25,000 speeding fine.”
My good news wouldn’t be good news to you; it would seem foolishness.
But more than that, it would be offensive to you, because I’m insinuating
you’ve broken the law when you don’t think you have.
However, if I put it this way, it may make more sense: “While you
were out today, the law clocked you going 55 miles an hour through an
area set aside for a blind children’s convention. There were ten clear
warning signs stating that fifteen miles an hour was the maximum speed,
but you went straight through at 55 miles an hour. What you did was
extremely dangerous; there’s a $25,000 fine. The law was about to take its
course, when someone you don’t even know stepped in and paid the fine
for you. You are very fortunate.”
Can you see that telling you precisely what you’ve done wrong first
actually enables the good news to make sense? If I don’t clearly bring
understanding that you’ve violated the law, then the good news will seem
foolishness and offensive. But once you understand that you’ve broken the
law, then that good news will become good news indeed.
In the same way, if I approach an impenitent sinner and say, “Jesus
Christ died on the cross for your sins,” it will be foolishness and offensive
to him. It will be foolishness because it won’t make sense. The Bible says
that “the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness” (1
Corinthians 1:18). And it will be offensive because I’m insinuating he’s a
sinner when he doesn’t think he is. As far as he’s concerned, there are a lot
of people far worse than him. But if I take the time to follow in the footsteps
of Jesus, it may make more sense. If I open up the divine Law, the
Ten Commandments, and show the sinner precisely what he’s done wrong
—that he has offended God by violating His Law—then when he becomes
“convinced of the law as a transgressor” (James 2:9), the good news of the
fine being paid will not be foolishness. It will not be offensive. It will be
“the power of God unto salvation” (Romans 1:16).
With that in mind, let’s look at some of the functions of God’s Law
for humanity. Romans 3:19 says, “Now we know that whatsoever things
the law says, it says to them who are under the law that every mouth may
be stopped and all the world may become guilty before God.” So one
function of God’s Law is to stop the mouth, to keep sinners from justifying
themselves by saying, “There are plenty of people worse than me. I’m
not a bad person, really.” No, the law stops the mouth of justification and
leaves, not just the Jews, but the whole world guilty before God.
In Romans 3:20 we read, “Therefore by the deeds of the law there
shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of
sin.” So God’s Law tells us what sin is. First John 3:4 says, “Sin is transgression
of the law.” In Galatians 3:24 we learn that God’s Law acts as a
schoolmaster to bring us to Jesus Christ that we might be justified through
faith in His blood. The Law doesn’t help us; it just leaves us helpless. It
doesn’t justify us; it just leaves us guilty before the judgment bar of a holy
God.
Charles Spurgeon, called the Prince of Preachers, stated, “I do not believe
that any man can preach the gospel who does not preach the Law.
The Law is the needle, and you cannot draw the silken thread of the gospel through a man’s heart unless you first send the needle of the Law to
make way for it.”

Hi Jeremiah.

I never had a question about why the law was like a schoolmaster. Rather, I had an interpretation to offer. What you said makes sense, of course, but I've heard basically the same thing many times before. However, I can't think of anyone else who's come up with my take on this subject, before now.

Damon

Charles Spurgeon may have been a great preacher but I believe it is manifestly untrue that the law must be preached before the Gospel can save. In Acts 16 where do we find Paul preaching the law to the Phillipian jailer before the jailer was saved? And what did Paul preach in Athens, Acts 16:17-34? Jesus and the resurrection! No mention of the law to these gentiles and yet we find "Dionysius, Damaris, and others believed and followed Paul".

Did not Joseph cry out when he was tempted (Genesis 39:9) "How then could I do this great evil, and sin against God"? Seems to me it was before the law was given.

"The Gospel is the power unto salvation"

Blessings, Homer

The passage you spoke of in
Acts 16:32 says
"Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house."
Jesus spoke of "the LAW" and Joseph had the law of God in his heart. Does this mean we must always teach the law when we teach at any given time? Of coarse not, but the law does show us we are sinners and need a savior, Jesus Christ!

Note I'm glad you are thinking about all that is written continue your search for God's TRUTH and He will show you it.
Sam McNear

Greetings,

I'm unsure of whether the subject is the law in general or the law of Moses in particular. The Jews referred to the Psalms as law, John 12:34/Psalm 110. Jesus also referred to the Psalms as law, John 10:34/Psalm 82:6.

You are correct that the law in general is written on the heart. Those who had not heard of the law of Moses still are aware of sin through their conscience - Romans 2:15.

The sacrifices required under the law certainly served as a reminder of sins (Hebrews 10:2) but the law was unable to fully demonstrate the malignancy of sin; that was demonstrated in Christ. God did not spare His own Son! How much more than the blood of bulls and goats does The Cross show how bad sin is!

In Galations 3:24 it is good to bear in mind that the pedagogue was in charge until the child matured, then was out of a job. V. 19 informs us the law was added until Christ came. The whole point of the analogy , taken in context, seems to demonstrate that the law is of limited usefulness under Christ. That is not to say that it is of no usefulness, there is much to profit from in the Old Testament. I am only objecting to the idea that it is necessary in leading sinners to Christ, as Spurgeon's comment states.

Blessings, Homer

Is the law necessary in leading sinners to Christ? No the law is not necessary in leading someone to Christ. But it is a powerful tool. Did Charles Spurgeon use what he said as an absolute truth? I'm not sure; if he is then he may be wrong. BUT the law is important to help us see we are sinners and that we need a savior. The law is our school master that brings us to the reality that we need a savior to save us from the wages of our sins which is death. If you do not know that you broke a law which the penalty is death then how can you understand what Jesus did for you in the cross? Let’s say a man gave up everything to buy a cure for a disease you didn't think you had and said your dying but I gave up everything to buy the cure for you here it is. You would think the man to be nuts. But let’s say the man told you, you have a disease and showed you several visible signs of the disease and then said I sold everything for the cure for you to live. You would instead of thinking him crazy would be grateful. It’s the same with the law of God; if you sin you get a disease that is eternal death. Showing people how they are not good enough by exposing them to the law and that they need someone to give them the cure for their disease and that someone is Jesus is the Gospel used with the law. They almost always go hand and hand. Hope this clears up what I was saying a little more for you.

Hi Sam,

I get your point but wouldn't Jesus teachings, for example The Sermon on the Mount, do a much better job? If you use the law for convincing a person they are a sinner you would be forever explaining things that are inapplicable to being a Christian. For example, how would you convict someone of being unforgiving when revenge was sanctioned under the law? How would you convince a person they had sinned if they had divorced their spouse, for a frivolous reason, to marry someone else?

I'm sure almost innumerable examples can be adduced demonstrating the inferiority of the law for the purpose of convicting sinners.

"If I be lifted up I will draw all men unto me". This would seem to apply to Jesus teachings as well as the cross.

Blessings, Homer

Guys, you both have valid points to make. To everything there is a season, that's all. There are times when it's more important to start with the Law, and there are other times when it's more important to start with the mercy and forgiveness of Christ. It's whatever is best for a person and serves their needs at the time.

As an example of when it's better to start with the Law, when you're dealing with someone who's spoiled and immature, forgiveness doesn't have much appeal to them because they're used to being pandered to. Hitting them hard with the consequences of their behavior has to come first. Only then can they appreciate the mercy and forgiveness, just like Sam was saying.

As an example of when it's better to start with mercy and forgiveness, when you're dealing with someone who is used to being thought of as somehow "worthless" (as opposed to being beloved of God) and is therefore going to act the part and sin left and right, explaining the mercy and forgiveness of Christ can show them a way out of that trap.

By the way, here's something interesting to think about. The Sermon on the Mount is given in the same form and style as the Ten Commandments in Exodus 20. It was Jesus' way of proclaiming Himself to be a greater Lawgiver than even Moses.

Damon