Galatians 3:24

The context

Galatians 3 argues from Abraham, the promise and the curse, then asks what the law was for. Paul's answer is custodial: the law kept watch until faith should be revealed. Verse 24 uses the image of a household attendant who escorts a child. Verse 25 draws the conclusion that the arrangement has ended.

What it establishes

The law's function is described as temporary and supervisory. It was not the means of justification but a custodian leading to the one who is. Paul's argument is about sequence and purpose: the promise came first, the law served an interval, and faith is the arrival.

What it does not establish

It does not mean the law was bad. The image is of a slave attending a minor, which is a specific social arrangement; the point is the term of service, not the character of the law. Nor does the verse say the law has no continuing use.

Short note, first pass, October 2026. Corrections welcome.

Cited in these answers

• THE Truth
• Should we really be stoning homosexuals, disobedient children, adulterers and witches, as the Old Testament commands? What an all-loving god you serve, Christians!

Part of Scripture, Opened — the exegetical layer behind every citation on this site. Scripture quotations are from the ESV.