Lesson 4 Purposes for Slavery to Sin: That We Might Recognize Our Need to Wash at the Cross and Walk by the Spirit
Questions 1 and 2
Greetings again, friend, and welcome back to the course. Just as a reminder, for a few lessons we are looking at the purposes of God in giving people over to sin slavery. Here is the outline we are using:
Purposes of slavery to sin:
That we might experience grace.
That we might become broken and humbled.
That we might recognize our need to wash at the cross and walk by the Spirit.
That we might learn to war against our flesh.
So far, we have learned that God hands us over to disobedience for a time so that He might have mercy on us; and that God will often use our slavery to sin to lead us to Jesus, broken and humbled, ready to receive the grace and healing He gives at the cross.
In other words, our sin, and the brokenness it brings teaches us to wash at the cross so that we can be clean, and to walk by the Spirit so that we don’t gratify the lusts of our flesh.
Notice the following passage of Scripture:
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. Children of God 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. Galatians 3:22-24
Question 1. According to Galatians 3:22-24, the Scripture has locked up everything under the control of sin. Why is that?
The Scripture imprisoned everything under the control of sin, that we might be locked up by sin and be enslaved to it. Sometimes we become locked up to the power of lust or are controlled by self-promotion, greed, or by dishonesty, alcohol, unbelief, or any number of other things.
This being “locked up under the control of sin” is designed to have a good outcome ultimately. We acknowledge we’re unable to get free on our own and we see that faith in Jesus, that is, belief in the gospel (“what was promised”) is our rescue.
Question 2. According to Galatians 3:24, what is the purpose of God’s law?