Ministry of Grace Church

 

Galatians 3:25

²⁵But after faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor.

Truth to Learn

Once we are saved, we no longer need the Law of Moses to be our guard or our guide.

Behind the Words

“after faith has come” is the translation of “elthousēs tēs pisteōs.” The word “tēs” is the definite article for faith (pisteōs) and as we saw in Galatians 3:23 this means that Paul is talking about “the faith,” that is, faith in the gospel of Jesus Christ, not faith in general. The word “elthousēs” is an aorist participle of “erchomai” which means to come or to go. The significance of the aorist participle is that it refers to action that was happening in the past but is now completed. To put this all in perspective, this verse could be translated as “But the faith having come, we are no longer under a tutor.”

Meaning Explained

In the previous verse we learned that the Law of Moses acted both as mankind’s prison guard, constantly reminding us of our sinfulness, and mankind’s guide, leading us to faith in the gospel of Jesus Christ. The law, with all its rites and ceremonies, required the blood of a sacrificial lamb to atone for sins. Not only did this make those under the law keenly aware of their own sinfulness and need for atonement, but it was the very picture of Jesus Christ as the sacrificial Lamb of God.

Now that the Lamb of God has been slain and His blood applied to cover our sins we can appropriate that blood payment for our own sins. We who have received Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior (the faith having come) no longer need to have the guide (tutor).

The Christians in the churches of Galatia had been led astray by the false teachers into believing that they had to obey some of the commandments and practices of the Mosaic Law in order to be completely saved. They were being taught that circumcision and subjection to the law were required for salvation.

But, now that Paul has shown them the purposes of the Law of Moses, which have been fully accomplished in Christ, the Galatians could clearly see that they have been led astray by the false teachers.

So What?

Are you being told by your church that you have to be baptized in a certain way to be saved? Are you being told that if you are not a member of their church then you aren’t really a Christian? Are you being taught that you have to complete a set of classes and partake of the “Sacraments” in order to be acceptable to God? These are all false teachings. Do you recall what God said to Abraham?

Genesis 15:5, 6 ⁵Then He brought him outside and said, “Look now toward heaven, and count the stars if you are able to number them.” And He said to him, “So shall your descendants be.” ⁶And he believed in the LORD, and He accounted it to him for righteousness.

Abraham simply believed and he was declared righteous. When we believe the gospel of Jesus Christ we, too, are declared righteous. Nothing more is needed!

In God’s service, for His glory,

Copyright © 2007 Will Krause. All rights reserved.

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