He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.15 Brothers and sisters, let me take an example from everyday life. Just as no one can set aside or add to a human covenant that has been duly established, so it is in this case. 16 The promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. Scripture does not say “and to seeds,” meaning many people, but “and to your seed,” meaning one person, who is Christ. 17 What I mean is this: The law, introduced 430 years later, does not set aside the covenant previously established by God and thus do away with the promise. 18 For if the inheritance depends on the law, then it no longer depends on the promise; but God in his grace gave it to Abraham through a promise.19 Why, then, was the law given at all? It was added because of transgressions until the Seed to whom the promise referred had come. The law was given through angels and entrusted to a mediator. 20 A mediator, however, implies more than one party; but God is one.21 Is the law, therefore, opposed to the promises of God? Absolutely not! For if a law had been given that could impart life, then righteousness would certainly have come by the law. 22 But Scripture has locked up everything under the control of sin, so that what was promised, being given through faith in Jesus Christ, might be given to those who believe.23 Before the coming of this faith, we were held in custody under the law, locked up until the faith that was to come would be revealed. 24 So the law was our guardian until Christ came that we might be justified by faith. 25 Now that this faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian. Gal.2:14-25
The Law to me is a little like alcohol. I grew up in a Christian home and my parents wanted me to grow up to follow Christ on my own, yet in the short term (which toward the end felt like the long term) their primary goal was for me to act or behave like a Christian and avoid sin. One of the churchy slogans was "we don't drink, smoke, or chew or go out with girls who do." So where does alcohol come in? My parents taught me that drinking alcohol was a sin. Why would they do that when it clearly isn't?
Paul says in verse 19, "the Law was added because of transgressions." To me this means that initially there was one rule - Don't eat from the tree. When that was broken this world became a sinful and cursed and dangerous place and a whole litany of laws and rules had to be added to protect us from the ravages of sin and yes, to identify with people who were followers of the one true God by their different behavior and morality. My parents, likewise added rules like don't drink alcohol to protect me from the dangers of it which we all clearly know, until the point where they were no longer guardians of me and I could decide for myself with hopefully a more developed frontal lobe, but mainly being under control of the indwelling Holy Spirit, the promise of the New Covenant obtained by the same faith that Abraham was justified through 430 years before the law was given.
Paul was saying, "What, after living in freedom in your dorm, then moving into an apartment with friends where you could have beer in your fridge, girls till all hours, streaming whatever you want, no curfew, no limit on electronics, You want to move back in under the roof of your parents with all their rules? Are you nuts? That's not normal." Disclaimer, I know the picture I gave of dorm/ apartment living bordered on sinful, yet all those things can be managed if our eyes are pure and our heart is pure, and I was just demonstrating the freedom we can have in Christ. I think of my kids who went to secular colleges who navigated these situations with purity and spiritual growth and probably preferred that freedom to moving back home.
We aren't meant to live under the bondage of parental rules. We were meant to be free! Feed the Spirit inside of you and follow the law of the Spirit instead.
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