1. The Promise (15-18)

God promised that Abraham and his Seed, that is Christ, would be a source of blessing for all people. God redeemed us from bondage to sin so that the blessing of forgiveness and the Holy Spirit might come to us, and through us, to all the world (14). This is the promise of God. A promise is an expression of God's grace. God's promises belong to anyone who claims them by faith. If we are redeemed by God's grace alone, what is the purpose of the Law?

2. The Law (19-25)

God gave the Law at Mount Sinai through Moses, because his people, whom he had delivered from slavery in Egypt, needed training in order to become a kingdom of priests and a holy nation (Ex 19:4-6). They needed guidelines for living in a moral and spiritual wasteland. The whole world is a prisoner of sin. The Law is powerless to set us free. The Law is a supervisor or a tutor, put in charge to lead us to Christ so that we might be justified by faith.

Application: Lord, thank you for your law, which disciplines us in love. Thank you for the grace of forgiveness through Jesus.
One Word: God's love through law and grace