Daily Devotions
Galatians
"For all the law is fulfilled in one word..."
Text: Galatians 5:14a
A DEEPER APPRECIATION OF THE LAW OF GOD
The apostle Paul seemed to have been against the Law of Moses, but he wasn’t! He just rejected the doctrine of keeping the law to earn justification from God. He refuted this doctrine at every turn. Astutely he summarised the law into one sentence.
For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this:
‘You shall love your neighbour as yourself.’Galatians 5:14
1. The law in Pauline theology
a) Paul has consistently maintained that by the works of the law no flesh can be justified (Galatians 2:16).
b) He also argued that the law was but a tutor leading us to faith (Galatians 3:24).
2. A summary word
a) Paul attempted to summarise the law in the simplest way possible.
b) The law was meant to be fulfilled but not in the hope of obtaining justification.
3. “You shall love your neighbour as yourself”
a) What Paul did not do.
i) He did not mention the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20).
ii) He did not advocate the keeping of the law for justification.
b) What Paul did.
i) He cited a relatively obscure text (Leviticus 19:18).
ii) This was a commandment of the Lord too.
iii) The law was meant to be fulfilled in a very practical way.
iv) A proper and correct application of the law was to love one’s neighbour as oneself.
THE TEACHING OF JESUS
The Lord Jesus Himself had a very similar approach with reference to the application of the law. He summarised the thrust of the message of the Law and the Prophets.
1. One must love the Lord with all the heart, soul and mind (Matthew 22:37).
2. One must also love one’s neighbour as oneself (Matthew 22:39).
On these two commandments hang all the Law
and the Prophets.Matthew 22:40
The fulfilment of the law should be on the heart and mind of every believer. He seeks to fulfil the law of God out of deep love for Him and mankind. He does not keep the law in the hope of obtaining justification. That has already been provided for by the Lord Jesus Christ. It is in this light and in this context that love and liberty must work together. Love and liberty wonderfully complement each other perfectly.