Paul has been warning the Galatians not to rely on their obedience to the law as a way to become more acceptable in God’s sight, because no one can live the righteous life that God requires, and they already have been justified once for all by faith. In this week’s passage, Paul further explains that God did not give the Law as a way to righteousness and spiritual life in the first place. Instead, one of its purposes was to actually increase sin and imprison people under sin, so that they would turn to Christ in repentance and faith.