Galatians 3:15-29 (ICB)

15 Brothers, let me give you an example: Think about an agreement that a person makes with another person. After that agreement is accepted by both people, no one can stop that agreement or add anything to it. 16 God made promises to Abraham and his descendant. God did not say, “and to your descendants.” That would mean many people. But God said, “and to your descendant.” That means only one person; that person is Christ. 17 This is what I mean: God had an agreement with Abraham and promised to keep it. The law, which came 430 years later, cannot change God’s promise to Abraham. 18 Can following the law give us what God promised? No! If this is so, it is not God’s promise that brings us the blessings. Instead God freely gave his blessings to Abraham through the promise he had made.

19 So what was the law for? The law was given to show the wrong things people do. It continued until the special descendant of Abraham came. God’s promise was about this descendant. The law was given through angels who used Moses for a mediator[a] to give the law to men. 20 But a mediator is not needed when there is only one side. And God is only one.

21 Does this mean that the law is against God’s promises? Never! If there were a law that could give men life, then we could be made right by following that law. 22 But this is not true, because the Scriptures showed that the whole world is bound by sin. This was so that the promise would be given through faith. And it is given to people who believe in Jesus Christ.

23 Before this faith came, we were all held prisoners by the law. We had no freedom until God showed us the way of faith that was coming. 24 So the law was our master until Christ came. After Christ came, we could be made right with God through faith. 25 Now the way of faith has come, and we no longer live under the law.

26-27 You were all baptized into Christ, and so you were all clothed with Christ. This shows that you are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus. 28 Now, in Christ, there is no difference between Jew and Greek. There is no difference between slaves and free men. There is no difference between male and female. You are all the same in Christ Jesus. 29 You belong to Christ. So you are Abraham’s descendants. You get all of God’s blessings because of the promise that God made to Abraham.

Think back to playing games as a kid after school. Remember the arguments that ensued over an out-of-bounds call in basketball or a safe/out call in kickball? We knew the rules, but our selfish desire led us to yell, and even fight, over calls that didn’t go our way. It often took a mediator, like a teacher or parent, to correct the dispute.

The same way we needed a mediator for kickball and basketball, we need a mediator in our spiritual lives. Sin caused a rebellion between people and God, and we cannot restore the relationship on our own.

Jesus is the mediator who brings God and His people together. When God chose Israel to be His people, He gave Moses a set of commands called the law. The law established guiding principles for God’s people to follow. The law didn’t save people from their sin; it taught them how to be holy until a mediator arrived who could settle the dispute between our desires and God’s desires (Galatians 3:24-25)

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