AN ALLEGORY OF GALATIANS 3.

Posted bySteven WalesPosted inLAW, Law and Grace, the Law is our Teacher pointing us to Salvation by Grace AloneTags:, , , , ,

Imagine a KINGDOM called FAITH. The head of the kingdom is KING ABRAHAM. Before King Abraham leaves for a long journey, he places his child and heir, PRINCE ISRAEL, in the hands of a guardian. The guardian’s name is LAW. Guardian LAW will raise the heir while the king is away, teaching the heir all the things he will need to know when he joins his father at the head of the kingdom.

When King Abraham and Prince Israel are reunited, there will be feasting and great celebrations and the Royal Family will be full of joy. Until then, Prince Israel is to study and prepare until he reaches the age of 21. At 21, Prince Israel will no longer need his guardian, Law, recognizing that the royal blood of FAITH—ABRAHAM’S FAITH—flows in the veins of all of Abraham’s children.

But then something goes wrong. When Prince Israel reaches 21, doubts set in. He has grown attached to Guardian Law, and rejects the king’s plans. What about the feast? Preparations have been made! So the king sends workers into the kingdom. They search among aliens and foreigners for any that will come to the feast. All they need is a drop of faith—Abraham’s faith—and if they love Guardian Law, they must leave him behind. Law cannot enter the kingdom.

Thousands upon thousands, ten thousand times ten thousand, come by faith alone. And finally, Prince Israel comes too, persuaded by Guardian Law himself that faith, after all, was always the heir’s destiny.

THE FAITH OF ABRAHAM EXISTED 430 YEARS BEFORE THE LAW—THE LAW’S PURPOSE WAS ALWAYS TO POINT THE KING’S CHILDREN TO FAITH.

Salvation by faith is not a New Testament idea; Abraham was saved by faith. The law has its important role as Israel’s guardian and teacher, Galatians 3:24. But the law could never provide salvation. In fact, when the law gets mixed up with salvation, it leads only to death, being the “extra piece,” that can distract from God’s plan.

“The law was added 430 years later…” Galatians 3:17.

God, teach us to embrace godly habits without turning them into laws that separate us from the lost, from believers, and from our Savior. Remind us that we are saved by grace.

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Published by Steven Wales

Dad's Daily Devotional began as text messages to my family. I wanted my teenagers to know their father was reading the Bible. But they were at school by then. Initially, I sent them a favorite verse or an insight based on what I read each day. That grew into drafting a devotional readng which I would send them via text. I work as an attorney and an adjunct professor, and recently wrote a book called HOW TO MAKE A'S.

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