Friday, June 26, 2026
Added, Not Mixed
By Theodore Epp
Galatians 3:15-25
The passage before us says that the Law "was added" (Gal. 3:19). It was added to something already existing. John the Baptist introduced our Lord to the public and said of Him, "The law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ."
The Law had a definite beginning. It began not with Adam but with Moses. There was not a God-given Law in all those 2500 years or more between Adam and Moses, but there was sin, and because there was sin there was death.
Adam had some very definite instructions from God as to what he was to do or not to do, and he disobeyed. For this he died.
But those who lived between Adam's day and the day of Moses died also, not because they had sinned exactly as Adam sinned but because they were sinners.
The Gospel is good news to all, past, present and future. But the Law was never good news. It was bad news. It was added to the good news, but it did not take the place of grace.
Neither was it mixed with grace. And it did not supplant grace. Grace was the good news, but the Law was not. The word translated "added" means "to place alongside of." The Law's being placed alongside of grace does not mean grace was removed.
This is wonderful to see, and yet it is all-important. Grace was there so that man could flee to it when the Law had done its work. When man saw himself condemned and cursed by the Law, he could turn to God's grace and find salvation.
"Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law" (Rom. 3:28).
Setting Our Sails in the Will of God
Setting Our Sails in the Will of God
By A.W. Tozer
In the kingdom of God what we will is accepted as what we are. If any man will, said our Lord, let him. God does not desire to destroy our wills, but to sanctify them. In that terrible, wonderful moment of surrender it may be that we feel that our will has been forever broken, but such is not the case.
In His conquest of the soul God does not destroy any of its normal powers. He purges the will and brings it into union with His own, but He never breaks it. In the diaries of some of God's greatest saints will be found vows and solemn pledges made in moments of great grace when the presence of God was so real and so wonderful that the reverent worshiper felt he dared to say anything, to make any promise, with the full assurance that God would enable him to carry out his holy intention.
The self-confident and irresponsible boast of a Peter is one thing and is not to be confused with the hushed and trustful vow of a David or a Daniel. Neither should Peter's embarrassing debacle dissuade us from making vows of our own. The heart gives character to our pledges, and God knows the difference between an impulsive promise and a reverent declaration of intention.
Let us, then, set our sails in the will of God. If we do this we will certainly find ourselves moving in the right direction, no matter which way the wind blows.