Hello, McFly!!

Advertisers use every trick up their sleeve to create a desire in us to want something. According to many commercials, we desperately need the product we didn't even know existed 30 seconds ago. 

But infomercials are the worst. A full half hour dedicated to whipping up our desperation for a Snuggie, Sham Wow or real estate investment CDs. 

We have no clue about the cost. We simply know that we need it. And we need it RIGHT NOW! Operators are standing by!! 

It's only after making the purchase that we realize we've invested in something that won't come close to delivering on the promises of the commercial. 

If only someone would have stopped us and tried to talk some sense into us before we did something so stupid.

That's EXACTLY what Paul is trying to do here in verse 21. It's like he just warned the Galatians about the foolishness of buying junk "as seen on TV” while the newly delivered box sitting on their front porch. 

These new believers have bought the spiritual snake oil sold by the Judaizers. These hucksters duped them into believing that their salvation is up to them. 

Believe or not, we're still buying their garbage today. Jesus was a good guy. Trusting in Him and accepting what He has done is nice start, but it won't finish the job. You need good works. You need law. If you REALLY want to be saved, you've got to save yourselves through obedience to the law. 

That’s when Paul grabs us by the shoulders and shakes us. Don't you realize what you're doing? Hello, McFly!!!

The apostle begins by talking to those of us who've been suckered into purchasing one of the Judaizers' self-salvation kits on late night cable. "Tell me, you who desire to be under the law" (v21). In other words, "So you want to be under the law. Can we talk just a minute?” 

Paul uses the Greek verb θελω/thelo. It means to wish, desire or want something. He wants to hear from those of us that were excited about being "under the law."

"Under the law" (or "under law") is one of Paul's go-to phrases. He uses it 14 times in his letters. It simply describes someone who is trying to impress God by keeping the law. Religious rule-keeping. 

There's one big problem. The law is NOT meant to save us. The law is meant to crush us. Being "under the law" is not like cuddling up under a cozy blanket. It's more like being squashed under a steamroller. 

The law was never meant to save. It was meant to pulverize us into realizing our need for a Savior (Rom 19-20).

Paul asks those who can't wait to be under the law if they have any idea what's in the law. "Do you not listen to the law?" (v21). 

Slow your roll and think for just a minute. Before you do anything else, stop and read the law. Have you read the law? I mean, REALLY read the law? Do you realize what you're getting yourselves into? 

There aren't just Ten Commandments, but a grand total of 613! And God requires absolute perfection if we are we choose the path of self-salvation (James 2:10; 1Jn 3:4). There's no curve. 

And the bad news is we've never gotten past God’s Top Ten (Ex 20:1-17; Dt 5:6-21) without putting our life in the ditch. In other words, if you REALLY want to be under the law, why don't you go back and REALLY read the law one more time?

Hello, McFly!!!

Here’s the deal. The law can't save anyone. Only Jesus can (Gal 2:16). The sinless Son of God perfectly obeyed the law that we could never obey. He died the brutal death that we should have died. He was raised to a new life that we don't deserve. He did what we could never do. 

The only way we can be saved is by trusting what He did for us. Eggheads call this "penal substitutionary atonement.” A guy named Luther calls it the "Great Exchange.” 

Paul says it this way: "For our sake, He made Him who knew no sin to be sin, so that in Him we might be the righteousness of God" (2Cor 5:21). In other words, ONLY Jesus could stand up under the crushing weight of the law. He did what we could never do.

So, let's talk. Do you really want to try and save yourself? It doesn't matter whether it's perfect obedience to God's law He laid out in the Old Testament or our own handy dandy self-salvation kit. We can't save ourselves. 

Bible reading won't do it. Church attendance? Nope. Baptism is just bath without Jesus. Paul is telling us to pump our breaks if we think we've got the mad skills to do this on our own.

So you want to live under the law, huh? Hello, McFly!!!

©2012

Jay Jennings