For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

— Romans 6:23

8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—

9 not by works, so that no one can boast

— Ephesians 2:8-9

23 Before this faith came, we were held in custody under the law, locked up until faith should be revealed.

24 So the law became our guardian (tutor) to lead us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith.

— Galatians 3:23-24

6 Then the LORD passed in front of Moses and called out: “The LORD, the LORD God, is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in loving devotion and faithfulness,

7 keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children’s children, to the third and the fourth generation.”

— Exodus 34:6-7

Thoughts on Today’s Reading

Grace, mercy and love from Christ to you.

Without the law, the gospel makes no sense because there is no need for it. When we understand we cannot save ourselves, we see our desperate need for a Savior. Until the moment of faith, the Law holds us like a guardian, a tutor. It holds us until the day the Spirit places in us the faith in Christ alone. Before faith came, we were kept custody under the Law guardian. We are bound and unable to escape on our own. Our attempt to be righteous in our own strength is like rattling the bar of the custody confinement. Eventually the Spirit gives us the faith in Christ and the door of the custody swings open.

The Law as custody is not cruel. It is preparatory. Let’s step back from ourselves and look upwards. What does the law say about God? Exodus 34:6-7 tells us the Law was given to reveal God‘s whole character in contrast to our sinful state. The Law reflects the perfect moral nature of God. It was designed to show humanity. It shows the need for a meditating Savior.