Daily Devotional for Monday, January 13

The Roman Father and His Son

"Now I say,That the heir, as long as he is a child, differeth nothing from a servant, though he be lord of all; but is under tutors and governors until the time appointed of the father;' Galatians 4:1,2.

The limited future value of the Law is summed up by Paul in his letter to the Colossians, "Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross" (Colossians 2:14). In other words, once Jesus fulfilled the Law, the Law was no longer a necessary component of Jewish life. It was nailed to the cross by Jesus. As Paul exhaustively argued throughout his letter to the Galatian churches, the Law had served its purpose and was no longer necessary because of the faith available to all through Jesus Christ. The illustration Paul used at the beginning of Galatians 4 also showed the limits of the Law. When a rightful heir was a child, he was no different than any of the servants in his father's house. He was not in authority and was still under "tutors and governors" (Galatians 4:2). Only at the appointed time would the heir assume his rightful place. Jesus came to earth at God's appointed time to be the acceptable

sacrifice for sinful mankind.

Like the young heir, the Law had its limitations. It was restricted. If the purpose of the Law was to show us that we are sinners, and sinholds us in bondage (Romans 6:16-20), then we can logically conclude that we are in bondage to the Law. We already know salvation is not available through the Law. Jesus Himself tells us that salvation by grace through faith in Him grants us freedom from sin, ''And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free" (John 8:32). The Law imprisons us while God's grace frees us.

JUST A THOUGHT

Embrace the freedom that you have in Jesus Christ.

Chris Floyd