Do we think God's love is dependant on what we do?
1. God's legal will. (v15,16). Like our human wills, God's legal will is bound up in His promises. (Genesis 15). The promise to Abraham was made solemnly with sacrifices. Why (Genesis 12:2,3)? God's will is to bless the world through Abram (Abraham). Why does the world need blessing? (Genesis 3:15) God will provide a solution to the mess Adam and Eve brought on the world. That is the legal will of God.
2. Laws and God. But the problem in Galatia is that they accepted the will of God, but some teachers were adding further demands. (v17,18). Paul provides a simple time line - the promise was before the law (by 430 years). The promises was set and sealed long before the laws. (v21) The law does not contradict the promise - law is about behaviour, and not relationships. His promise is constant.
3. Why the law. (v19). He gave the law so we might recognise we were prisoners of sin (v22). Everywhere, we see sin at work, and we have no solutions. The law is to lead us to Christ (v23,24). We are the problem - we need a rescuer - and that is what Jesus came to do. The law shows us the problem we have, and the promise tells us the solution is Jesus.
