Galatians 2:21 English Standard Version (ESV) I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness^{[jusification]} were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose.

Let us skip over the fact that no one has ever been able to keep all the law and that sin is still present in mankind. Knowing that does not explain the purpose of the law. Here in Galatians 2:21 we find the purpose of the law.

If man could keep the law perfectly he was justified to stand before the living God. That we might call a right standing or righteousness. Since this verse ties directly into the death of Christ then it is reasonable to assume that His death changed the demands of the law for righteousness sake.

Righteousness or a right standing before God is no longer associated with keeping the law. Now that is good news. It is not all the good news because it is a little more complicated than saying I no longer have to keep the law.

What was it about Christ’s death that made this the game changer?

Hebrews 7:26-28 English Standard Version

²⁶ For it was indeed fitting that we should have such a high priest, holy, innocent, unstained, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens. ²⁷ He has no need, like those high priests, to offer sacrifices daily, first for his own sins and then for those of the people, since he did this once for all when he offered up himself. ²⁸ For the law appoints men in their weakness as high priests, but the word of the oath, which came later than the law, appoints a Son who has been made perfect forever.

The word of the oath came after the law and replaced the law as a means of justification before God.

As we said before, the good news is more complicated than God speaking to us. Now we have to find this oath that replaced the law and what that means to us.

Matthew 4:23 English Standard Version (ESV) And he went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction among the people.

People will often say “That’s the gospel truth.” Their reference to the word gospel may mean that what they say comes from a higher authority and then again maybe not. Some people use “that’s gospel” to try and solicit acceptance of what they are saying.

If we look to biblical definitions it gets more complicated. Many will try and simplify it by calling it the “Good News”. If no one has ever heard it before then the news needs to be delivered in order for the hearer to understand what is good about it.

We left off yesterday stating that Christ’s death was a game changer. Some might understand what is meant by that and then again, some will not. So let us try and explain what is so good and what has changed.

Here is a simple definition of gospel that might be understood by everyone. One definition of gospel calls it God speak. It God’s message to us of His plans for mankind. It is those plans that make things a little more complicated.

If something is to be called good, then bad has to come first in order to have something to compare bad with. There is a lot of bad in the world now and that is nothing new. What does God speak have to say about that?

When Moses came down the mountain with the tablets containing the Ten Commandments those who had just been saved from Egypt’s slavery where found worshipping a golden calf. Moses broken those tablets on the ground and people died. Not everyone died but many did. Here the people had not even received the law but broke the law and perished.

That is a clear message that we should all understand why the law was given in order not to die.