Why did God give us the Ten Commandments?
Jul 21, 2011
The Race for Grace - part eight in a study from the book of Galations
By Mike Gaudet
If we’re not supposed to use commandment keeping to earn God’s acceptance . . .
. . . why did God give us commandments in the first place?
“For if the inheritance depends on the law, then it no longer depends on a promise; but God in his grace gave it to Abraham through a promise. What, then, was the purpose of the law? It was added because of transgressions until the Seed to whom the promise referred had come.” Galatians 3:18-19
A divine “inheritance” is either conditional or unconditional . . . it’s either law-based or promise-based.
God’s covenant with Moses is an example of a conditional, law-based inheritance. God promised to bless the Israelites “if” they kept His commandments and to curse them “if” they didn’t.
God’s covenant with Abraham is an example of an unconditional, promise-based inheritance. God promised to bless Abraham and his descendant. There are no “ifs” in this agreement.
God’s eternal blessings are exclusively available to us as part of a promise-based inheritance. “God in his grace gave it to Abraham through a promise.” If we hope to be named as eternal beneficiaries it will be because we claim God’s promise . . . not because we keep God’s law.
It’s important to understand that these two kinds of agreements are mutually exclusive. An inheritance either “depends on the law” or else it “depends on a promise.” It cannot depend on both. When God makes an inheritance available by means of a promise, there aren’t strings attached. When an inheritance is based on law, there are strings attached.
Once the difference between law and promise is understood, a question naturally arises. If God gave His inheritance to Abraham as a promised-based gift, why did He give it to Moses as a law-based reward 430 years later? If God’s inheritance is based on a promise, “What, then, was the purpose of the law?”
The answer to this question is surprising. The law “was added because of transgressions.” The word translated “because of” means “for the purpose of” or “for the sake of.” The verse suggests that God gave the law in order to promote transgressions. This same puzzling logic is found elsewhere in the Bible. “The law was added so that the trespass might increase.” Romans 5:20
A “transgression” is a conscious disobedience of a definite divine command. We transgress when God draws clear lines and we cross them by “not doing the dos” or “doing the don’ts.” God gave the law so that we would find ourselves on the other side of lines that He has drawn.
We naturally assume that God gave the law to keep sin under control. The opposite is true. God did not give law so that we could control sin. God gave the law so that sin would control us. God gave the law so that in trying to keep it to earn His blessing we would spiral deeper and deeper into sin.
Why would God knowingly promote sin? So that frustrated attempts at living a righteous life would force mankind to wait “until the Seed to whom the promise referred had come.”
God bestowed a promise-based inheritance upon Abraham and his “Seed” Jesus Christ. Abraham received this inheritance not by keeping God’s commandments but by believing God’s commitments . . . “He believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.” We receive this inheritance the same way Abraham did... Understand, then, that those who believe are children of Abraham.” Galatians 3:7
Through faith in the promise made to Jesus we become “co-beneficiaries” with Christ and receive His eternal inheritance. Mortal men and women who place their faith in Jesus enter into His immortal existence. Jesus Christ is the “mortal-immortal portal.”
God gave us the commandments so that we will turn from trying to obtain a law-based inheritance and seek to obtain a promise-based one. When we find ourselves on the other side of lines that God has laid down we have two choices; we can rely on believing or we can rely on behaving.
When we rely on believing we rely on God keeping His promises to us . . .
. . . and we reap the eternal benefits.