y that is
offended and to placate the party that is the offender. However, Moses'
mediation consisted only in changing the tone of the Law to make it
more tolerable to the people. Moses was merely a mediator of the veil.
He could not supply the ability to perform the Law.

What do you suppose would have happened if the Law had been given
without a mediator and the people had been denied the services of a
go-between? The people would have perished, or in case they had escaped
they would have required the services of another mediator to preserve
them alive and to keep the Law in force. Moses came along and he was
made the mediator. He covered his face with a veil. But that is as much
as he could do. He could not deliver men's consciences from the terror
of the Law. The sinner needs a better mediator.

That better mediator is Jesus Christ. He does not change the voice of
the Law, nor does He hide the Law with a veil. He takes the full blast
of the wrath of the Law and fulfills its demands most meticulously.

Of this better Mediator Paul says: "A mediator is not a mediator of
one." We are the offending party; God is the party offended. The
offense is of such a nature that God cannot pardon it. Neither can we
render adequate satisfaction for our offenses. There is discord between
God and us. Could not God revoke His Law? No. How about running away
from God? It cannot be done. It took Christ to come between us and God
and to reconcile God to us. How did Christ do it? "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." (Col. 2:14.)

This one word, "mediator," is proof enough that the Law cannot justify.
Otherwise we should not need a mediator.

In Christian theology the Law does not justify. In fact it has the
contrary effect. The Law alarms us, it magnifies our sins until we
begin to hate the Law and its divine Author. Would you call this being
justified by the Law?

Can you imagine a more arrant outrage than to hate God and to abhor His
Law? What an excellent Law it is. Listen: "I am the Lord thy God, which
have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of
bondage. Thou shalt have no other gods...showing mercy unto
thousands... honor thy father and thy mother; that thy days may be long
upon the land..." (Ex. 20:2, 3, 6, 12.) Are these not excellent laws,
perfect wisdom? "Let not God speak with us, lest we die," cried the
children of Israel. Is it not amazing that a person should refuse to
hear things that are good for him? Any person would be glad to hear, I
should think, that he has a gracious God who shows mercy unto
thousands. Is it not amazing that people hate the Law that promotes
their safety and welfare, e.g., "Thou shalt not kill; thou shalt not
commit adultery; thou shalt not steal"?

The Law can do nothing for us except to arouse the conscience. Before
the Law comes to me I feel no sin. But when the Law comes, sin, death,
and hell are revealed to me. You would not call this being made
righteous. You would call it being condemned to death and hell-fire.

VERSE 20. But God is one.

God does not offend anybody, therefore He needs no mediator. But we
offend God, therefore we need a mediator. And we need a better mediator
than Moses. We need Christ.

VERSE 21. Is the law then against the promises of God?

Before he digressed Paul stated that the Law does not justify. Shall we
then discard the Law? No, no. It supplies a certain need. It supplies
men with a needed realization of their sinfulness. Now arises another
question: If the Law does no more than to reveal sin, does it not
oppose the promises of God? The Jews believed that by the restraint and
discipline of the Law the promises of God would be hastened, in fact
earned by them.

Paul answers: "Not so. On the contrary, if we pay too much attention to
the Law the promises of God will be slowed up. How can God fulfill His
promises to a people that hates the Law?"

VERSE 21. God forbid.

God never said to Abraham: "In thee shall all the nations of the earth
be blessed because thou hast kept the Law." When Abraham was still
uncircumcised and without the Law or any law, indeed, when he was still
an idol worshiper, God said to him: "Get thee out of thy country, etc.;
I am thy shield, etc.; In thy seed shall all the nations of the earth
be blessed." These are unconditional promises which God freely made to
Abraham without respect to works.

This is aimed especially at the Jews who think that the promises of God
are impeded by their sins. Paul says: "The Lord is not slack concerning
His promises because of our sins, or hastens His promises because of
any merit on our part." God's promises are not influenced by our
attitudes. They rest in His goodness and mercy.

Just because the Law increases sin, it does not therefore obstruct the
promises of God. The Law confirms the promises, in that it prepares a
person to look for the fulfillment of the promises of God in Christ.

The proverb has it that Hunger is the best cook. The Law makes
afflicted consciences hungry for Christ. Christ tastes good to them.
Hungry hearts appreciate Christ. Thirsty souls are what Christ wants.
He invites them: "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden,
and I will give you rest." Christ's benefits are so precious that He
will dispense them only to those who need them and really desire them.

VERSE 21. For if there had been a law given which could have given
life, verily righteousness should have been by the law.

The Law cannot give life. It kills. The Law does not justify a person
before God; it increases sin. The Law does not secure righteousness; it
hinders righteousness. The Apostle declares emphatically that the Law
of itself cannot save.

Despite the intelligibility of Paul's statement, our enemies fail to
grasp it. Otherwise they would not emphasize free will, natural
strength, the works of supererogation, etc. To escape the charge of
forgery they always have their convenient annotation handy, that Paul
is referring only to the ceremonial and not to the moral law. But Paul
includes all laws. He expressly says: "If there had been a law given."

There is no law by which righteousness may be obtained, not a single
one. Why not?

VERSE 22. But the Scripture hath concluded all under sin.

Where? First in the promises concerning Christ in Genesis 3:15 and in
Genesis 22:18, which speak of the seed of the woman and the seed of
Abraham. The fact that these promises were made unto the fathers
concerning Christ implies that the fathers were subject to the curse of
sin and eternal death. Otherwise why the need of promises?

Next, Holy Writ "concludes" all under sin in this passage from Paul:
"For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse."
Again, in the passage which the Apostle quotes from Deuteronomy 27:26,
"Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are
written in the book of the law to do them." This passage clearly
submits all men to the curse, not only those who sin openly against the
Law, but also those who sincerely endeavor to perform the Law,
inclusive of monks, friars, hermits, etc.

The conclusion is inevitable: Faith alone justified without works. If
the Law itself cannot justify, much less can imperfect performance of
the Law or the works of the Law, justify.

VERSE 22. That the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to
them that believe.

The Apostle stated before that "the Scripture hath concluded all under
sin." Forever? No, only until the promise should be fulfilled. The
promise, you will recall, is the inheritance itself or the blessing
promised to Abraham, deliverance from the Law, sin, death, and the
devil, and the free gift of grace, righteousness, salvation, and
eternal life. This promise, says Paul, is not obtained by any merit, by
any law, or by any work. This promise is given. To whom? To those who
believe. In whom? In Jesus Christ.

VERSE 23. But before faith came.

The Apostle proceeds to explain the service which the Law is to render.
Previously Paul had said that the Law was given to reveal the wrath and
death of God upon all sinners. Although the Law kills, God brings good
out of evil. He uses the Law to bring life. God saw that the universal
illusion of self-righteousness could not be put down in any other way
but by the Law. The Law dispels all self-illusions. It puts the fear of
God in a man. Without this fear there can be no thirst for God's mercy.
God accordingly uses the Law for a hammer to break up the illusion of
self-righteousness, that we should despair of our own strength and
efforts at self-justification.

VERSE 23. But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up
unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed.

The Law is a prison to those who have not as yet obtained grace. No
prisoner enjoys the confinement. He hates it. If he could he would
smash the prison and find his freedom at all cost. As long as he stays
in prison he refrains from evil deeds. Not because he wants to, but
because he has to. The bars and the chains restrain him. He does not
regret the crime that put him in jail. On the contrary, he is mighty
sore that he cannot rob and kill as before. If he could escape he would
go right back to robbing and killing.

The Law enforces good behavior, at least outwardly. We obey the Law
because if we don't we will be punished. Our obedience is inspired by
fear. We obey under duress and we do it resentfully. Now what kind of
righteousness is this when we refrain from evil out of fear of
punishment? Hence, the righteousness of the Law is at bottom nothing
but love of sin and hatred of righteousness.

All the same, the Law accomplishes this much, that it will outwardly at
least and to a certain extent repress vice and crime.

But the Law is also a spiritual prison, a veritable hell. When the Law
begins to threaten a person with death and the eternal wrath of God, a
man just cannot find any comfort at all. He cannot shake off at will
the nightmare of terror which the Law stirs up in his conscience. Of
this terror of the Law the Psalms furnish many glimpses.

The Law is a civil and a spiritual prison. And such it should be. For
that the Law is intended. Only the confinement in the prison of the Law
must not be unduly prolonged. It must come to an end. The freedom of
faith must succeed the imprisonment of the Law.

Happy the person who knows how to utilize the Law so that it serves the
purposes of grace and of faith. Unbelievers are ignorant of this happy
knowledge. When Cain was first shut up in the prison of the Law he felt
no pang at the fratricide he had committed. He thought he could pass it
off as an incident with a shrug of the shoulder. "Am I my brother's
keeper?" he answered God flippantly. But when he heard the ominous
words, "What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother's blood crieth
unto me from the ground," Cain began to feel his imprisonment. Did he
know how to get out of prison? No. He failed to call the Gospel to his
aid. He said: "My punishment is greater than I can bear." He could only
think of the prison. He forgot that he was brought face to face with
his crime so that he should hurry to God for mercy and for pardon. Cain
remained in the prison of the Law and despaired.

As a stone prison proves a physical handicap, so the spiritual prison
of the Law proves a chamber of torture. But this it should only be
until faith be revealed. The silly conscience must be educated to this.
Talk to your conscience. Say: "Sister, you are now in jail all right.
But you don't have to stay there forever. It is written that we are
'shut up unto faith which should afterwards be revealed.' Christ will
lead you to freedom. Do not despair like Cain, Saul, or Judas. They
might have gone free if they had called Christ to their aid. Just take
it easy, Sister Conscience. It's good for you to be locked up for a
while. It will teach you to appreciate Christ."

How anybody can say that he by nature loves the Law is beyond me. The
Law is a prison to be feared and hated. Any unconverted person who says
he loves the Law is a liar. He does not know what he is talking about.
We love the Law about as well as a murderer loves his gloomy cell, his
straight-jacket, and the iron bars in front of him. How then can the
Law justify us?

VERSE 23. Shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed.

We know that Paul has reference to the time of Christ's coming. It was
then that faith and the object of faith were fully revealed. But we may
apply the historical fact to our inner life. When Christ came He
abolished the Law and brought liberty and life to light. This He
continues to do in the hearts of the believers. The Christian has a
body in whose members, as Paul says, sin dwells and wars. I take sin to
mean not only the deed but root, tree, fruit, and all. A Christian may
perhaps not fall into the gross sins of murder, adultery, theft, but he
is not free from impatience, complaints, hatreds, and blasphemy of God.
As carnal lust is strong in a young man, in a man of full age the
desire for glory, and in an old man covetousness, so impatience, doubt,
and hatred of God often prevail in the hearts of sincere Christians.
Examples of these sins may be garnered from the Psalms, Job, Jeremiah,
and all the Sacred Scriptures.

Accordingly each Christian continues to experience in his heart times
of the Law and times of the Gospel. The times of the Law are
discernible by heaviness of heart, by a lively sense of sin, and a
feeling of despair brought on by the Law. These periods of the Law will
come again and again as long as we live. To mention my own case. There
are many times when I find fault with God and am impatient with Him.
The wrath and the judgment of God displease me, my wrath and impatience
displease Him. Then is the season of the Law, when "the flesh lusteth
against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh."

The time of grace returns when the heart is enlivened by the promise of
God's mercy. It soliloquizes: "Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and
why art thou disquieted within me? Can you see nothing but law, sin,
death, and hell? Is there no grace, no forgiveness, no joy, peace,
life, heaven, no Christ and God? Trouble me no more, my soul. Hope in
God who has not spared His own dear Son but has given Him into death
for thy sins." When the Law carries things too far, say: "Mister Law,
you are not the whole show. There are other and better things than you.
They tell me to trust in the Lord."

There is a time for the Law and a time for grace. Let us study to be
good timekeepers. It is not easy. Law and grace may be miles apart in
essence, but in the heart, they are pretty close together. In the heart
fear and trust, sin and grace, Law and Gospel cross paths continually.

Whether reason hears that justification before God is obtained by grace
alone, it draws the inference that the Law is without value. The
doctrine of the Law must therefore be studied carefully lest we either
reject the Law altogether, or are tempted to attribute to the Law a
capacity to save.

There are three ways in which the Law may be abused. First, by the
self-righteous hypocrites who fancy that they can be justified by the
Law. Secondly, by those who claim that Christian liberty exempts a
Christian from the observance of the Law. "These," says Peter, "use
their liberty for a cloak of maliciousness," and bring the name and the
Gospel of Christ into ill repute. Thirdly, the Law is abused by those
who do not understand that the Law is meant to drive us to Christ. When
t