While many may not know the Latin phrase ignorantia juris non excusat, they will be introduced to it instantly if they are caught speeding at 100 km/h in a 50 km/z zone if they try to argue that no sign warned them of the drop in speed. This Latin phrase simply means Ignorance of the law is no excuse. Civil laws help keep society decent and orderly, protecting people’s rights, property, safety, and privacy. The law God gave Israel at Mount Sinai did some of the same things, but it also had a deeper purpose that our civil laws lack. It was meant to uncover sin, showing both the nation and each person their true condition before God.
The Texte
Why the Law then? It was added because of transgressions, having been ordained through angels by the agency of a mediator, until the seed would come to whom the promise had been made. Now a mediator is not for one party only; whereas God is only one. Is the Law then contrary to the promises of God? May it never be! For if a law had been given which was able to impart life, then righteousness would indeed have been based on law. But the Scripture has shut up everyone under sin, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe. (Galatians 3:19-22)
A Flashlight on Offence
The apostle begins with a question: Why the law then? If Abraham’s covenant was in fact better and brought about blessings, why would a covenant of law be ratified at all. Douglas Moo points out that these passages are focused upon the limited time and specific purpose of the law[1]. Why was the law given then, if the promises were granted by grace through faith? The response provided by the apostle is that it was because of the transgression. The law was given at a specific moment in Israel’s history—when the people were wandering in the wilderness, rejecting God’s grace, and fashioning a golden calf that echoed the idols of Egypt, the land from which they had just been delivered (Exodus 32).It came into force to demonstrate to the Israelites what transgression looked like. They seemed oblivious to sin, and God’s standard needed to be laid out in writing for them (Romans 3:20). But it could also mean that the law was added for the sake of turning sin into transgression as in Romans 4:15 & 5:20. On Romans 4:15, Douglas Moo points out that:
This verse comes in a context similar to the one we are considering, as Paul argues that it is the promise and not the law that can make people “heirs” (Romans 4:14). The point of Rom. 4:15 is that the law, far from securing the promises, actually leads to more wrath because the law creates the necessary context for “transgression”. [2]
This law, however, was ordained through angels and delivered through the agency of a mediator. The angels did not originate the law; rather, they served as intermediaries, indicating their involvement in its transmission. This is the idea that we find in Acts 7:38 and even Hebrews 2:2. This law was so holy that it required the angels to have a part in it. The mediator spoken of here is Moses who interceded on behalf of the Hebrews at Sinai.
But while the law arrived at a defined moment in redemptive history, it is also a temporary administration that will one day cease. It was “until the seed would come to whom the promise had been made”. That seed is Christ Jesus (V.16). So, there is an end point here in the covenant of law mainly when Jesus came into the world.
The Covenantal Middleman
A mediator cannot, by definition of the term, function for one party. There must be at least two involved. And it does, indeed, require the cooperation of two parties to make the law effective: the lawgiver as well as response from the people to whom the law was given[3]. If the law is a covenant requiring mutual obligation, the promise stands in stark contrast. It involves only God, who both speaks the promise and sovereignly accomplishes what He has pledged. This is the difference between the covenant of works and the covenant of grace.
The Impossibility of Man
Paul continues to deal with the purpose of law. He asks whether law was in contrast to the promises and in return denies that there is any disagreement between the two. I’m not entirely convinced that Paul has THE law in mind here but rather the general concept of law. Does any law grant promise especially THE law? Paul then moves to answer his own objection. If a law had been given which was able to impart life, then righteousness would indeed have been based on law. Life here is probably speaking of resurrection as in 1 Corinthians 15:22, 36 etc. The law cannot impart life because it cannot be fulfilled. The law under the Old Testament did provide a promise in that if you were able to keep every single point of the law, you could live but ultimately it was an impossibility since man is a sinner, not because he sins, but he sins because he is by nature a sinner. We will see how this plays out in vs. 23-24 in relation to the law being a tutor.
The ImprisonedState
Paul now builds on his point from v.21 by clarifying the law’s real function. It was given to imprison all humanity under sin—closing off every avenue of self‑justification—so that people would recognize their condition and their need for grace. The text is similar to that of Romans 11:32: For God has shut up all in disobedience so that He may show mercy to all. The law brings a person to the unavoidable conclusion that they cannot achieve the righteousness necessary for life. This drives them to seek salvation outside themselves—and that refuge is found in the promise received by faith in Jesus Christ. The promise is given on a single condition, namely faith, and it belongs to all who place their trust in Him.
Exhortation
One of the crucial steps that lead me to the Lord in faith for my salvation was the law. I remember a family member continuously telling me that I was a sinner and that I needed to accept Jesus as my personal Saviour. Both concepts were challenging to me at that time, but it was the “you’re a sinner’ that I needed to deal with first. I couldn’t wrap my mind around it. How dare these Christians call me a sinner? It wasn’t until I read a chapter in a book that lead me through the Ten Commandments and showed me that I had broken each one of them that I realized that reality. I didn’t simply need to be told that I was a sinner but needed to be shown why I was justly condemned and needed a Saviour. The law opens up this reality to us! Take a moment to read it and ask yourself where you stand.
[1] Galatians, Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament, Douglas Moo, Baker Academics, 2013, Page 232
