The 10 commandments written on the tablets of stone are the Old Covenant.
Heb_9:4 Which had the golden censer, and the ark of the covenant overlaid round about with gold, wherein was the golden pot that had manna, and Aaron's rod that budded, and the tables of the covenant;
Those in-Christ are to be like Abraham who lived by faith, before the Mosaic Covenant.
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Gal 3:16 Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ.
Gal 3:17 And this I say, that the covenant, that was confirmed before of God in Christ, the law, which was four hundred and thirty years after, cannot disannul, that it should make the promise of none effect.
Gal 3:18 For if the inheritance be of the law, it is no more of promise: but God gave it to Abraham by promise.
Gal 3:19 Wherefore then serveth the law? It was added because of transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator.
Gal 3:20 Now a mediator is not a mediator of one, but God is one.
Gal 3:21 Is the law then against the promises of God? God forbid: for if there had been a law given which could have given life, verily righteousness should have been by the law.
Gal 3:22 But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe.
Gal 3:23 But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed.
Gal 3:24 Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.
Gal 3:25 But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.
Gal 3:26 For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.
Gal 3:27 For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.
Gal 3:28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.
Gal 3:29 And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.
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The law is holy, righteous, and good (
Romans 7:12), but at the same time it had limitations and where we error is where we ascribe purposes for it for which it was not intended. The law was given because of transgression, to make us aware of the sin that we were committing. Man sinned long before the law was given, so the transgression was nothing new, the law just made it plain that it was sin and unacceptable to God. The other purpose was to show how God was going to deal with sin. In Noah's day, God brought about a flood, but after that He gives the law and deals with sin differently. The law says that if someone sins unintentionally, he must offer a sin offering without blemish, so a pure life must be taken to atone for sin, pointing the way to Jesus' life offered for the sins of the world.
The law was given by angels to Moses, so this was a very positive thing, not a trap that God set for His people. It was given as an aide to help bring about the promise. The problem in Galatians is that the influencers got the cart before their horse, they were teaching that the promise was contingent on the law, rather than the law being an integral part of the promise. The law is part of the promise because it speaks of how God will justify men so that they can have life with Him through the Messiah. The Messiah is the goal of the law or the target at which the law aims (
Romans 10:4). The justification that the law teaches of is found in the redemption that the Messiah brings. The law doesn't speak of how to have eternal life, but rather it speaks of living life to the fullest in the Kingdom of God on earth, of living a life by the principles so that God can bless you and dwell among His people on earth. The only way to ensure life in the world to come is to be justified before God and the only way for that is through the redemption of the Messiah. The law, while it did not bring about justification, pointed to the one who could. So if I say that the law was given so that God could come here and dwell with His people in this life, the promise of and the redemption of the Messiah was given so that you could go dwell with God in His kingdom.
The law serves as a teaching to teach you walk through life in a manner pleasing to God. Faith in the promised Messiah gives you life in the world to come. That law when used properly is holy, righteous, and good, and that why Paul said to Timothy that until he comes, devote yourselves to the public reading of Scripture, to preaching, and to teaching (
1 Timothy 4:13). The public reading of Scripture was done on the Sabbath day in the synagogues and Paul tells them to devote themselves to it, which is the law and the prophets, because the Gospels haven't even been written yet. Again he says that all Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work (
2 Timothy 3:16-17). These are not the words of a man who does not value the law, but rather are the worlds of a man who knows the true purpose of the law: to strengthen your faith in the Messiah and to keep your walk on the true path that God would have for you, to teach you of what is good so that you may perform every good work.
Paul is not teaching that the law is bad while faith in the Messiah is good, but rather he is teaching that the law is holy righteous, and good, that it will keep you from sin, and that it will teach you of the redeemer, but the promise is better in that it was spoken by God, it was given first, and that it can not be set aside. Not only that, but it had no mediation involved. God spoke it with no ifs, ands, or buts, so it's a done deal. From the day that he promised Abraham that through your seed all the nations of the earth would be blessed, it was yes and amen.
The law didn't make you a prisoner of sin, you did that, the law just exposed your sin and teaches of the one who can set you free from prison. The promise spoke before the law, that the law is an integral part of, releases you from that prison, but without the promised Messiah and the Spirit of God, we remain prisoners of sin.
