The Law That Leads Us to the Promise

The law reveals what’s wrong, but only Jesus can make us right.

Devotional Credit: Day by Day by Grace by Bob Hoekstra
Photo Credit: Unsplash

This devotional from Day by Day by Grace explores the distinct but connected purposes of God's law and God's promises. Paul asks two vital questions in Galatians 3. What is the purpose of the law? And does it oppose the promises of God? The answer to both reveals the heart of grace-based living. God did not give the law to replace His promises but to reveal the depth of humanity’s problem—sin. Without the law, we would not see the seriousness of our condition or our desperate need for redemption.

The law was added to reveal the reality of transgression. It exposes sin and clarifies that all are accountable to God. As Paul said elsewhere, through the law comes the knowledge of sin. The law cannot give life or bring righteousness. Its purpose is diagnostic, not curative. It shows us how far short we fall, but it cannot lift us from the pit.

However, this does not make the law opposed to the promises. God’s law and God’s promises are not in conflict. They serve different purposes in His redemptive plan. The law shows what holiness looks like. The promises show how holiness can be received. In short, the law demands what only the promises provide.

Jesus fulfills both. He embodies the holiness the law describes and extends the promise of life to those who believe. Righteousness does not come by law-keeping. It comes by faith. It comes by trust in the One who fulfilled the law and invites us into the life of God through His Spirit.

Journal Entry – Voice of the Holy Spirit Through Scripture

My child, I have never asked you to earn what I have already given. The law showed you the problem, but I am the answer. I revealed the holiness of God through commandments, but I revealed His heart through Jesus. You were not created to struggle under the weight of performance. You were designed to live by faith in My promise.

I allowed the law to expose what was hidden. It brought your sin into the light. But I never left you there. I called you into grace. I drew you through love. The law could never give life, but I gave you My Son, and in Him, you have life eternal. I have now written My ways on your heart. What the law demanded from the outside, I now fulfill from within.

Do not fear the law. It is holy. But remember, it is not your ladder to reach Me. It was your mirror to reveal need. And now, you have everything in Me. Righteousness is no longer out of reach. It is your new nature in Christ. Rest in My promises. Yield to My presence. Trust that I am the One who lives in you and through you.

Scripture References: Galatians 3:19, Galatians 3:21–22, Romans 3:19–20, Romans 7:7, Leviticus 19:2, John 1:17, Galatians 2:21, Romans 8:3–4, Hebrews 8:10, Ezekiel 36:26–27, 2 Corinthians 5:21, Galatians 2:20

Real-Life Analogy

Think of the check engine light in your car. When it turns on, it’s not fixing anything. It’s just telling you something is wrong under the hood. It exposes the issue, but it can’t repair the engine. The mechanic handles that. And once the fix is made, the light is no longer needed.

The law is like that light. It alerts you to what’s wrong but offers no power to make it right. The promise, fulfilled in Jesus, is the mechanic. He not only diagnoses but restores. He replaces what was broken and empowers what was powerless.

Today, if you catch yourself trying to earn God’s acceptance or stressing over whether you’ve done enough, pause and turn your heart toward the promise. Say, “Lord, I trust You to live Your righteous life through me right now. I don’t want to perform for approval. I want to walk in the approval already given through faith in You.” Let that response carry you forward in quiet confidence.

Prayer of Confidence

Father, I praise You for the purpose of Your law. It revealed my need, but it never left me hopeless. You did not abandon me to performance. Instead, You gave me the promise of life through faith in Jesus.

Thank You that I no longer live under the weight of trying to measure up. I live in the freedom of being made new. I rest today in the truth that righteousness is a gift, not a goal. I am in Christ, and He is in me. What the law demanded, He fulfilled. What You required, You provided. I trust You to express His life through mine today.

Previous
Previous

Formed for This Very Hour

Next
Next

The Gift of Pressure