The Law-ful Gospel

Why then the law? It was added because of transgressions, until the offspring should come to whom the promise had been made, and it was put in place through angels by an intermediary. (Galatians 3:19 ESV) How often have you done devotions in Leviticus? Have you spent time running down the laws on fabrics or what's clean or unclean? Why not? Your answer might be simple: the gospel. That's not a bad answer. We have been learning about the priority of faith in Galatians. We have learned that salvation comes by faith alone. But that still leaves some pretty big questions. Why in the world did God spend so much time giving out the Law? What in the world are we supposed to do with it now? We may not have people telling us to follow these rules (although I've recently heard about some movements within western Christendom that are eerily similar to the legalist(s) in Galatians) but we still need to know how we relate to this large portion of scripture in the Old Testament. This is especially true when it is used to support, defend, or deny several moral issues. We should have some understanding of our connection to the Law. Do you?