The law in Galatians

[TheSeabass]

According to Romans 4:1-8, Abraham and David were justified by faith, which is the one and only way that there has ever been to become justified, so people during that time were justified by faith, just as we are, and by the same faith they lived in obedience to God's Law, just as we should.

Without the blood of Christ that does remit all sins, they had no way under that OT law to have all their sins remitted whereby they could be totally justified in the sight of God.

Hebrews 10:1-4 "For the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect. For then would they not have ceased to be offered? because that the worshippers once purged should have had no more conscience of sins. But in those sacrifices there is a remembrance again made of sins every year. For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins."

Even though the Jew had faith the Jew had no way to have all his sins purged away. The blood of bulls and goats could not do it. There was a remembrance of the Jew's sins even though he had faith. So the OT law in and of itself left no way for the Jew to have all his sins purged away other than through the work of flawless law keeping.

Rom 4:3 "For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness."
Rom 4:5 "But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness."

It was counted or credited to the obedient believer as Abraham and David. It was not until Christ shed His blood that all of Abraham's sins were fully remitted by Christ's blood where then he could stand before God fully righteous and justified. Hebrews 11:13 those OT characters, as Abraham, did not receive the promises but saw them afar off. It was not until the death of Christ that Christ's blood flowed backwards to cleanse away all their sins (Galatians 4:4-5) that they received those promises and had their sins all fully remitted where then they could stand before God fully, totally, completely justified. Yet as long as they were alive and under those OT laws without the blood of Christ, they had no way at all to have all their sins fully remitted where God would remember them no more.

A point to take away from this is that when Paul said "worketh not" in Romans 4:5, this refers to the OT work of flawless law keeping that law required for one to be completely justified before God. It is NOT eliminating ALL works of ALL kinds some people falsely claim for it does not eliminated the faithful obedient works Abraham did do Hebrews 11:8; Hebrews 11:17. It is not logically possible for Abraham to both "worketh not" and do works at the same time. It is a mutually exclusive impossibility.

Rom 4:4 "Now to him that worketh (flawless law keeping) is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt." (A sinless person needs no grace therefore God owes him his reward for flawless law keeping. Yet the Jew would always sin putting him in need of grace.)

Rom 4:5 "But to him that worketh not (no flawless law keeping), but believeth (obedient per faith Heb 11:8,17) on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness."

In this context there is the worker (vs4) the one that worketh not and the believer. (vs5)

1) The one that "worketh" of vs4 is the obedient man trying to keep all of God's law flawlessly.
2) The one who 'worketh not" is the disobedient man not keeping God's law.
3) The believer is the one who keeps God's law but does commit sins yet obediently repents of his sins.

Both Abraham and David were of those of #3.
Where does the 'faith only' person fit in this?