Same as It Ever Was

Paul concludes his analogy where he uses the soap opera of Abraham, Sarah, Hagar, Isaac and Ishmael to explain situation involving the Judaizers and the new believers in Galatia.  

In this letter, he's doing everything he can to undo the damage these false teachers have done.  

They've infiltrated these churches and convinced them that the only way they can stay saved is through their own good works (Gal 2:4; 3:1-3).  The apostle repeatedly uses the Old Testament as an explosive to blast away at their false gospel.  

Beginning in Galatians 4:22, he uses the story of Hagar and Sarah as an allegory to illustrate just what's going down.  The Judaizers and those who follow them are just like Ishmael and his mom.  The followers of Jesus are like brothers of Isaac, "children of the promise" (Gal 4:28).

Ultimately, the man from Tarsus hopes his readers will understand that the relationship between these two half brothers still exists today.  He wants us to see that history repeats itself.  Here we go again.  

Same as it ever was.

Once again, Paul flips open the pages of Genesis.  He recalls, "But just as at that time he who was born according to the flesh persecuted him who was born according to the Spirit..." (v29).  He reminds them that Ish and Ike weren't exactly close.  

Once again, he describes Ishmael as "born according to the flesh."  In other words, this was when Abe and Sarah took things into their own hands to fulfill God's promise (Gen 16:2).  

The writer of Genesis says that the day Abe and Sarah weaned Ike as a baby, Ish mocked his little brother (Gen 21:9).  This is more than a little sibling rivalry.  Hagar’s kid openly talked trash and laughed at his kid brother.

Paul points out that just as Ish ridiculed and insulted Ike, "so also it is now" (v29).  What's happening in now Galatia is the same thing that happened back in Genesis.  In other words, don't fall for the Judaizers' trash talk of Paul and the rest of Jesus' followers.  

That's what Jesus taught His followers on a Galilean hillside (Mt 5:10-12).  Unbelievers will persecute those who trust God.  It’s Christ’s way of saying, “Haters gonna hate."

As a matter of fact, the radical Rabbi/Carpenter says this is pattern of persecution is actually a good thing.  It let's you know that "your reward is great in heaven."  

It happened then.  It's happening again.  Here we go again.  Same as it ever was.

The apostle quotes Genesis 21:10 which describes how Sarah insisted that Abe kick Hagar and Ishmael to the curb so that they would not be included in Isaac's inheritance.  

Paul wants us to know that folks like the Judaizers that teach self-salvation will never be saved through trying to keep the rules.  When the divine will is read, they won't hear their names.  

This family feud continues today.  Forget the Hatfields and the McCoys.  That ain't NOTHING compared to the descendants of Isaac and Ishmael.  Jews and Arabs have been at war ever since.  We're not talking centuries, but millennia!  

Same as it ever was.

Notice in Paul's analogy the different ways he refers to the unnamed Isaac.  He's the child "by a free woman" (Gal 4:22, 23, 30).  He's the boy born through the "promise" (Gal 4:23, 28).  He's kid "born according to the Spirit" (Gal 4:29).  

He wants us to know that they all mean the same thing.  When we're born according to God's promise, we're born according to the Spirit and we're born free! 

Paul concludes his allegory with the bottom line: "So, brothers, we are not children of the slave but of the free woman" (v31).  

This is what he wants the Galatians to take away from the illustration.  They are NOT like the Judaizers.  They are NOT like Ishmael.  

If you've placed your trust in what Jesus has done FOR you, then you're a child "of the free woman."  

Don't let these spiritual snake oil salesmen fool you with scriptural slight of hand.  And it's still happening today!  That's why we need be aware just like the Galatians.  It happened then.  It's happening again.  Here we go again.

Same as it ever was.

©2012

Jay Jennings

Brother from Another Mother

Family history and genealogy are incredibly popular these days. It's easy to understand why. The United States is a melting pot. 

Other than the native people who were already here when the explorers and colonists set foot on the shores, we all came from somewhere else. 

People want to know where they came from. We want to know who we are.

That's Paul's point here in verses 24-28. Using the story of Hagar and Sarah as an analogy, he draws a distinct difference between the Mosaic Covenant and the New Covenant. 

He wants the Galatians to understand that while the followers of Jesus may share a few things in common with those who are under the law, they are actually brothers from another mother.

Don't forget that the apostle continues to hammer away at the Judaizers' false gospel taught in the Galatian churches. They've tried to use the Old Testament to teach these new believers that Paul didn't get it right. 

According to the false teachers, Jesus may have saved us but we must make sure we stay saved through religious rule-keeping. 

The Judaizers have clearly picked a theological fight with the wrong person. There may not be anyone on the planet with a better understanding of the OT than the man from Tarsus. 

In this letter to the Galatians, he uses the truth of the Hebrew Bible as a wrecking ball to pound away at their phony gospel.

After bringing up Abraham's two sons, Ishmael and Isaac (Gal 4:22-23), Paul uses their story as analogy. "Now this may be interpreted allegorically" (v24). The original text literally reads "which are things allegorized.” 

The Greek verb here is αλληγορεω/allegoreo. It's the idea of trying to convey something other than literal meaning. It means to talk figuratively, to use analogies and to illustrate using comparisons.

Let's be VERY clear here. Paul is NOT saying that the story of Abraham's two ladies in Genesis is some sort of fairy tale fabricated to explain something not understood. 

The story of Abe, his aging wife and their young maid is much more than some sort of risque soap opera. It's actually TRUE! It is history. It is fact. 

We're to read the OT for what it says. It's not to be spiritualized. We are to read it in context of God's bigger story, the Meta-Narrative. In that story, Jesus is the Point of the story. Jesus is the one and only Hero of the Bible. 

And here, Paul is simply using the story of Hagar and Sarah as a way explaining the difference between those living under the law and those living under grace.  

When the apostle's done with his illustration, we'll have a better understanding of who we are and where we've come from.  We'll realize that living under the law is NOT a family heritage.  That's a brother from another mother.

The apostle begins his analogy.  "These women are two covenants" (v24).  Paul compares Hagar and Sarah with two of God's covenant promises.  

The mother of Ishmael plays the part of the Mosaic Covenant, "One is from Mount Sinai, bearing children for slavery, she is Hagar" (v24).  

In case you missed it the first time, he repeats it again: "Now Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia" (v25).  She reps the promise Yahweh made with His people through Moses on the mountain just after He freed them from 400-plus years of Egyptian slavery.  

It included the Ten Commandments but actually numbered a grand total of 613 commands.   That’s right, the Mosaic Covenant was 613 conditional commands.  

In order to gain God's blessing, the people had to obey them perfectly, completely and flawlessly (Ex 19:5-6).  

Read that again. There were 613 backbreaking commands.  Take a look at the impossible standard God dictated to Moses that's listed in Exodus 19-31.  

And it really didn't make it any difference if there was one or 613.  Before the Big Mo could make it back down the mountain, the people were partying like rock stars in front of a golden cow (Ex 32).

The Mosaic Covenant was NEVER intended to save anyone.  God gave it to His people to let us know that we could never save ourselves through our own performance, even on our best day.  

The law is not a spiritual therapeutic treatment but a diagnostic device.  Paul puts it this way in Romans: "through the law comes knowledge of sin" (Rom 4:20).  It's used to diagnose our disease.  

It is NOT the cure.  He gave us the law to prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that we need a Savior.  We need Jesus.  The Ultimate Remedy.

But there are those who misuse the law as a means of salvation.  That's like trying to cure an appendicitis with MRI.  It doesn't matter how many times the patient gets scanned, there's no treatment involved.  It only reveals the disease.  

The Judaizers were some of those that used the Mosaic Covenant as the cure.  Paul let's us know that Hagar represents that futile and foolish effort of self-salvation in his analogy.  "She corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is in slavery with her children" (v25).  

The "present Jerusalem" is where priests still offered animal sacrifices at the temple altar in the first century.  This was pointless for two reasons.  

First, Jesus' death on a Roman cross fulfilled God's requirement for sacrificial death once and for all (Heb 7:27; 9:12; 10:10).  Second, God's Spirit hit the road and left the temple centuries before (Ezek 10:18; 11:23).  

Hagar is the ultimate femme fatale in this drama.  She's the bad girl that leads us down the bad road.  She is the "present Jerusalem."  

She is the pinup girl for the Judaizers.  She represents slavery.  She represents works righteousness.  She represents self-salvation.

Meanwhile, the other female lead in the story is Sarah, or as Paul describes her, the "Jerusalem above" (v26).  She symbolizes life under the grace of Christ.  

Just as Abraham and Sarah should have trusted in the promise of God to provide a son through Sarah, we should trust in the promise of God to save us through grace by faith in Jesus.  Sarah is free.  And she represents the freedom we have in Christ.  

This reference to "Jerusalem above" is the New Jerusalem that God will drop from heaven when all things are made new at the final fulfillment of His promises (Rev 3:12; 21:1).  

It's God’s heavenly paradise.  And one great and glorious day, heaven comes to earth when His kingdom literally comes.

Then the apostle makes a VERY important description of Sarah (who is strangely unnamed in this analogy).  "She is our mother" (v26).  Let's be clear about this, Paul says.  If you’re a follower of Jesus, Sarah's your mom.  Not Hagar.  

Your spiritual identity is found in the one through whom God pledged to fulfill His promise to Abraham.  Sarah is not only Paul's spiritual mom, but she's also the matriarch for the Galatians and all of those who've placed their faith in Jesus.  

As a follower of Christ, you are not one of Hagar's kids.  You're a brother from another mother.

Paul goes on to quote the prophet Isaiah.  "Rejoice, O barren one who does not bear; break forth and cry aloud, you who are not in labor!  For the children of the desolate one will be more than the one who has a husband" (v27; Is 54:1).  

He's applying this prophecy to the "Jerusalem above."  Like Sarah, one great day she'll have more kids, grandkids and great grandkids than you could ever imagine.

The apostle connects the dots in verse 28 by writing, "Now you, brothers, like Isaac, are children of promise."  By placing our faith in what Jesus did on our behalf, we are Sarah's kids and Isaac's brothers.  

Hagar represents taking things into our own hands and trying to do what only God can.  Sarah plays the part of the one who realizes that the only answer is to place our trust in the Lord.  

If we've trusted in Jesus' perfect life in our place, bloody death in our place and glorious resurrection in our place, we're like Ike and "children of promise."  

And like Ike, a brother from another mother.

©2012

Jay Jennings

Abe's Two Boys

The Judaizers have duped the followers of Jesus in Galatia to believe faith in God wasn't enough to save them.  Christ's work may have gotten them into God's kingdom, but they've got to keep working to stay there (Gal 1:6; 3:1-3).  

These false teachers have twisted the Torah and fooled the gullible Galatians.  Despite their evil intentions (Gal 2:4), the Judaizers are pretty nifty in their knowledge of the Old Testament.  

But there’s just one problem. They’ve brought a toothpick to a knife fight.  They're up against the Apostle Paul.  Few people on the planet knew the Scriptures as well as he did.  

As Saul, he was rapidly rising superstar (Gal 1:14).  The young man from Tarsus was one of the few, the proud, the Pharisees (Phil 3:5).  He did his post graduate work under Gamaliel, the leading Jewish theologian of the first century (Acts 22:3).  

The Judaizers may be good.  But they are completely out of their league when it comes to the Bible.  Little do they realize that they've chosen to pick a fight with the man God's chosen to write most of the New Testament.  

This is like a little leaguer stepping in to face Hall of Famer Bob Gibson.  It ain't gonna be pretty.

Previously, Paul has made a powerful case for grace through the OT Scriptures (Gal 3:8-4:7).  Despite everything the false teachers have said about the law, it was never meant to save.  

We are only saved by placing our trust in what Jesus did for us that we could never, ever do on our own.  Jesus is the One God promised to Abraham.  Jesus is the the Point of the OT.  Jesus is the Hero of the entire Bible!

Once again, Paul flips his Bible open to Genesis.  Once again, he'll go back to the very beginning to demolish the faulty foundation of the Judaizers' counterfeit gospel.  

“For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by a slave woman was born according to the flesh, while the son of the free woman was born through promise" (v23).  

These boys aren't mentioned by name, but everyone knows he's talking about Ishmael (Gen 16:1-16) and Isaac (Gen 15:4-6; 17:15-18:15; 21:1-7).  

You see, there's a striking parallel between this ancient story from Genesis and the unfolding train wreck in Galatia.  God had promised Abraham and Sarah that He would provide them a son despite the fact that they were old enough to be in a nursing home.  

They believed His promise.  But they thought Almighty God needed a little help.  So Sarah cooked up a scheme to have her hubby hop in the sack with a young maid named Hagar.  

Like the false gospel of the Judaizers, Abe and Sarah believed God might start something but they needed to help Him finish it.  

You know the story.  Hagar gets pregnant and has a bouncing baby boy named Ishmael.  And the Middle East has been at war ever since.

Paul pleads with the Galatian believers not to step into the same spiritual pot hole as Abe and Sarah.  What God starts, He WILL finish.  Or as he asked earlier, "Are you so foolish?  Having begun by the Spirit are you now being perfected by the flesh?" (Gal 3:2).  

Or as he wrote to his friends in Philippi, "He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ" (Phil 1:6).  What God starts, He finishes.  

Yahweh Himself stated it bluntly to Abe: "Is anything too hard for the LORD?" (Gen 18:14).  You don't need to answer that.

Not lost in the story of Abraham, Sarah and Isaac is the fact that God continually reaches out to messed up and jacked up human beings.  They aren't great examples of biblical heroes.  On the contrary.  They continually got it wrong.  

Yet God placed them under the waterfall of His grace.  While Abe's faith may have been flawed at critical times, the One in whom he had faith was without flaw.  In other words, this isn't about the strength of our faith but the strength of the One in whom we place our faith.  

Abe, Sarah and their boy Ike are just early members of the endless parade of losers, goofballs and weirdos that God has graciously chosen to use to further His kingdom.

Paul is asking the Galatians who they are going to be like.  Is it going to be Ishmael, "born according to the flesh?"  Or will it be Isaac, "born through promise?”  

Will we fail to trust that God will keep His promise and finish the work?  Or will we believe that He will do EXACTLY and COMPLETELY as He has said?

What's it gonna be? 

©2012

Jay Jennings

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

Throw out the Old Calendar

Paul is doing everything he can to convince the Galatians that they have made a HUGE mistake in believing the counterfeit gospel of the Judaizers (Gal 1:6; 2:4; 3:1).  

The apostle made two stops in the region during his first missionary expedition and established a network of churches there (Acts 13:13-14:23).  

He proclaimed to them the amazing news that Jesus had not only fulfilled the Jewish law but had thrown open the door of salvation to the entire world.  

But just as soon as he hit the road, a group of spiritual snake oil salesmen rolled into town.  They convinced the Galatian believers that Paul didn't give them the full story.  

According to them, Jews must still follow Jewish law.  And Gentiles must become Jews in order to follow Jesus.  In other words, Jesus might bring you into His kingdom, but it's up to you to keep yourself in it.

Once back in Antioch in Syria, the apostle has gotten the disappointingly bad news from Galatia of their return to Jewish ritual.  

He's floored to hear what is going on.  He hears that they have dusted off their old Jewish calendars to celebrate the holy days once again.  "You observe days and months and seasons and years" (v10).  

Paul is stunned.  He thought that he had instructed them fully that this was no longer needed.  He clearly preached to them in the synagogue specifically what Jesus had done for them.  

"Through this Man forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you, and by Him everyone who believes is freed from everything from you could not be freed by the law of Moses" (Acts 13:38-39).  

In other words, get rid of your old Jewish calendar.  

In Jesus, a new day has dawned.  There's no need to celebrate a weekly ritual of the Jewish Sabbath.  There's no need to concern yourself about what month it is on the Jewish calendar.  There's no worry about whether it's time to celebrate Passover or Pentecost.  Toss that old calendar in the trash.

But wait just a Mississippi minute.  No more Sabbath?  No more Passover?  Who gave Paul the right to ditch the ritual calendar after thousands of years of Judaism?  

God established these days, months, seasons and years so that we could remember Him, worship Him and set our hearts on Him.  What's changed on this side of the cross?

That was exactly Paul's point when he preached of Jesus in the Galatian synagogues (Acts 13:38-39).  Jesus provides forgiveness, so there's no more need for ritual sacrifice whether daily, weekly, monthly or annually.  Christ frees us from law of Moses by fulfilling it completely and perfectly on our behalf (Mt 5:17).  

In his letter to the Colossians, the apostle explains that these various holy days and festivals were simply put in place to remind us that Messiah would come one day.  "These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ" (Col 2:16-17).  And there's more of the same in Romans 14:1-6.

There is a parallel for the followers of Jesus.  The Lord told us to celebrate the communion meal as a way to remember His sacrifice for us until He comes back (Lk 22:14-23).  When you observe the Lord's Supper, "you proclaim the Lord's death until He comes" (1Cor 11:26).  

Once Jesus comes back, there will be no reason to observe communion.  At that point, we're invited to THE Big Party, the Wedding Supper of the Lamb (Rev 19:9).  There will no point to remember Jesus when He's already back with us.

But let's not get so high and mighty about the Jewish holy days.  Let's face facts.  We do the same.  We center our calendar on our days, months, seasons and years too.  

Christmas.  Easter.  Fourth of July.  Thanksgiving.  Even birthdays and anniversaries.  These are all fun and great times for so many reasons.  But we shouldn't worship them.  They aren't Jesus.

I have to confess my personal legalism when it comes to the calendar.  I remember certain events that happened on particular dates in the past like these days hold some particular power or significance.  

The death of a friend or relative.  An important day at work.  A big event for the family.  

It's OK to remember.  It's wrong to worship.  It's a sin to obsess.  God tells us that He is always up to something brand spanking new.  "Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old.  Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?" (Is 43:19).  

And Paul wasn't one to stare at the rear view mirror either.  "But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus" (Phil 3:13-14).

Throw out the old calendar.

When the apostle gets the news that the Galatians are celebrating the old Jewish rituals and festivals, he's worried that his time with them is down the toilet.  "I am afraid I may have labored over you in vain" (v11).  

He thought they went all over that when he was there.  Had he wasted his time?  Was it all in vain?  That's what happens when we go back to our old ways of legalism.  

Come on, folks.  It's time to throw out the old calendar.

©2012

Jay Jennings

Protective Custody

It's called protective custody.  Sometimes the government places a critical witness for the prosecution under its protection when someone is in danger of being intimidated, threatened or murdered.  And often the witness being protected doesn't understand the imminent danger.  

There is little to no freedom.  Without a broader perspective of the case, the witness being protected can feel as if they are not only being confined but punished.

That's exactly how Paul describes God's law in these verses.  He continues to hammer away at the counterfeit gospel the Judaizers preached in the Galatian churches.  They've told these new believers that to maintain their salvation they must follow the rules of God's law.  

The apostle says that is an absolute crock and misuse of the Torah.  God gave us His law for a completely different reason.  Before Jesus came, both historically and personally, we are under the protective custody of the law.  It's how God protects us from the world, our enemy and ourselves.

"Now before faith came, we were held captive under the law, imprisoned until the coming faith would be revealed" (v23).  A look at the original text reveals that Paul speaks of "the faith."  

This is not a generic or broad faith in anything.  This is a VERY specific faith.  A trust in Jesus and what He has done for us.  Living the perfect life that we could never live.  Dying the brutal death that we should have died.

Paul tells us that before Jesus arrived on the scene, "we were held captive under the law" (v23).  He uses the Greek verb φρουρεω/phroureo.  

It describes setting a guard over something or someone in order to provide protection.  The term was used when a military garrison guarded a city from attack.  

America's recent role in both Iraq and Afghanistan may help us understand this idea.  While the US military may have provided protection from terrorists in these nations, the citizens believed they were under the fist of an occupying force.  

That's how we see God's law without the broader perspective.  Rather than being under divine protection, we think we're the boot of a dominating force.

The apostle goes on to say that we're under protective custody and "imprisoned until the coming faith would be revealed" (v23).  

Again, the original text gives us further insight.  This is συγκλειω/sugkleio, the same verb he uses in verse 22.  It means that we are completely surrounded and there is no possibility of escape.  

The verb was used when talking about how a school of fish was trapped in a net.  Paul lets us know that there is no escaping God's law before we come to a saving knowledge of Jesus.  

We're completely surrounded.  There is no escape.  We're not only under the protective care of the law but under its unrelenting and ever present judgment until we turn to Christ.

We also see that we don't find Jesus.  God reveals Him to us.  We're helpless to discover our Savior without the divine assistance of the Lord.  We need God to pull the spiritual blindfold from our eyes.  We need Jesus to be revealed for us.

Paul personifies God's law by saying "So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came" (v24).  He uses the term παιδαγογος/paidagogos.  

In Greek and Roman culture, families employed a tutor or male nursemaid to oversee the care and education over boys from ages 6 to 16.  

These guardians met kids after school and were very strict disciplinarians.  This was far from a warm and fuzzy relationship.  But it was for the good of the child.  Like a tough football coach, God's law breaks us down in order to build us up.

The apostle let's us know that this protective custody under the guardianship of God's law is only temporary.  It's only until Jesus comes into our lives.  It prepares us and helps us realize our need for a Savior.  

The law pounds and pounds on us until we come to the point that self-salvation is fruitless pursuit.  We can only "be justified by faith" (v24).  We are only made right in the eyes of God when we place our trust in the finished work of Jesus.  

Until then, we're under protective custody.

©2012

Jay Jennings