The
Bible:
It's All About Jesus
Law vs. Grace
The
Purpose of the Law
Keeping
the law sounds admirable. But contrary to what most of us
have heard in church for years, attempting to follow the
law is not intended to make us closer to God. Rather, its
purpose is to show us how far we are away from Him!
More ...
The
Old vs. The New
The
Old Testament (or covenant) told us how to live life focused
on God's standards. Then the New Testament came into effect
and God's grace and mercy became the target. Assuming that's
all true (and it is), why is it so hard to find a substantial
difference between what is taught in the Gospels and what
is found in the Old Testament? The difference is that God's
New Testament with mankind (that's what we would call a
"will" today) actually begins in the book of Acts!
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It
Is Finished
When
Christ cried out from the cross "It is finished!"
He did not mean that His life was over. He was telling the
whole world --both Jews and Gentiles-- that the law was
completed; it was fulfilled; and it no longer stands between
man and God.
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The
Solution to Man's Real Problem
Mans'
real problem is not his sinfulness and need for forgiveness.
Since the time of Adam, man has needed life --spiritual
life-- because the punishment for Adam's sin in the Garden
was spiritual death. When God took away Adam's spiritual
life, that life was not able to be passed down from one
generation to another as physical life is. But God provided
a permanent solution to the problem.
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What
Part Should It Play In Our Lives?
After
receiving God's gift of eternal life, doesn't the law help
us to understand His desires for us? Doesn't it at least
show us where to ask God to help us improve? Not according
to the Bible! There is passage after passage telling us
to give up trying to follow the law --and instead to live
by faith.
More ...
Enter
Into God's Sabbath Rest
The
true Sabbath is not a day of the week. It's a description
of resting from our own efforts of trying to please God.
There is only one way to please Him and it's not by performing
good deeds or avoiding bad ones. It can only be accomplished
by learning to trust and rely upon Him more each day.
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Who
Teaches that We Should Keep It?
The
teachers of the law might have good intentions, but the
Bible doesn't have anything good to say about them. A pair
of passages in 1 Timothy reveal the motives of those troublesome
teachers in Paul's time that are just as relevant today.
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In
Summary ...
There
is nothing more frustrating in a Christian's life than trying
to do all the right things to please God and realizing that
the life we want to live can't be achieved. While striving
to make a good performance, our shortcomings become all
the more obvious. It's because the very thing we use to
measure our life successes is what God designed to show
our failures.
More ...
The
Purpose of the Law
It
Shows Just How Good We Have To Be
The
law was given so that man could see the condition of his
relationship with God. To be acceptable to Him, we must
be perfect, holy and righteous. The law shows just how imperfect,
unholy and unrighteous we really are.
All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our
righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like
a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away. (Isaiah
64:6)
Contrary
to what most of us have heard in church for years, attempting
to follow the law is not intended to make us closer to Him.
Rather, it's to show us how far away we are from God. That's
why there were all those rules and rituals for offerings
and sacrifices in which blood had to be shed. They demonstrated
the severity of the consequences of our sins.
It
Only Condemns and Nothing More
The
law was designed to condemn us by pointing out our faults,
our guilt, our sins. It is supposed to stop us
from bragging about how good we are and to show us how desperately
we need God's mercy. The law's goal is to break through
our stubborn pride and lead us to Jesus Christ for salvation.
Now
we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who
are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and
the whole world held accountable to God. Therefore no one
will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the
law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin.
(Romans 3:19-20)
Before
this faith came, we were held prisoners by the law, locked
up until faith should be revealed. So the law was put in
charge to lead us to Christ that we might be justified by
faith. Now that faith has come, we are no longer under the
supervision of the law. (Galatians 3:23-25)
It
Was a Covenant Given to the Israelites
Actually,
the law that we usually refer to was only given to the Israelites
at Mt. Sinai in the form of the Ten Commandments. More laws
and statutes and regulations were added to govern their
conduct, worship, and even their diet. All the laws had
the one very special purpose: It was to show God's greatness
to the nations around Israel by what He required of his
people.
What
other nation is so great as to have their gods near them
the way the LORD our God is near us whenever we pray to
him? And what other nation is so great as to have such righteous
decrees and laws as this body of laws I am setting before
you today? (Deuteronomy 4:7-8)
But
the Gentiles Have a Similar Law
Although,
it was specifically given to the Israelites, we Gentiles
have our own version of the law written on our hearts. That's
so that everyone can recognize their spiritual condition
and their need for God's gift through His Son.
Indeed,
when Gentiles, who do not have the law, do by nature things
required by the law, they are a law for themselves, even
though they do not have the law, since they show that the
requirements of the law are written on their hearts, their
consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts now
accusing, now even defending them. (Romans 2:14-15)
We
all --both Jew and Gentile alike-- know what it is that
God desires for us. He wants us to have eternal life with
Him. And to do that we have to be perfectly righteous and
completely sinless. The law leads us to Jesus Christ
who is the only One who can make this become a reality.
What Part Should It Play In Our Lives?
Isn't
It Good for Correcting Us?
Can't
the law at least point out the flaws and weaknesses we Christians
have so that we can ask God for help in correcting them?
No! The law has only one function, it's to tell dead people
that they are in need of life through Jesus Christ. That's
it and nothing more!
There
are three great passages that illustrate what relationship
the Christian should have with the law. In First Timothy
we are told that the law is only for those who are unrighteous
--not for the righteous!
They
want to be teachers of the law, but they do not know what
they are talking about or what they so confidently affirm.
We know that the law is good if one uses it properly. We
also know that law is made not for the righteous but for
lawbreakers and rebels, the ungodly and sinful, the unholy
and irreligious; for those who kill their fathers or mothers,
for murderers, for adulterers and perverts, for slave traders
and liars and perjurers-- and for whatever else is contrary
to the sound doctrine that conforms to the glorious gospel
of the blessed God, which he entrusted to me. (1 Timothy
1:7-11)
When
you became a Christian you were clothed with Christ and
clothed in His righteousness through faith. You were washed
and sanctified and made alive in Christ. Why would you continue
to put yourself under the law? This passage says that those
who teach that you need to keep the law don't know what
they are talking about or at least how it relates to the
gospel!
The
Law Brings Death, Not Life
This
next passage is from chapter two of Galatians. It's here
that Paul relates what happened to him when he realized
that the good and perfect law --that which he was so dedicated
to-- was now condemning him. The law is what he lived for,
but it essentially killed him.
"If,
while we seek to be justified in Christ, it becomes evident
that we ourselves are sinners, does that mean that Christ
promotes sin? Absolutely not! If I rebuild what I destroyed,
I prove that I am a lawbreaker. For through the law I died
to the law so that I might live for God. I have been crucified
with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.
The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son
of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not set
aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained
through the law, Christ died for nothing!" (Galatians
2:17-21)
Paul
died to the law and he wasn't going to rebuild his relationship
with it again. It's only purpose was to open his eyes to
the fact that he needed to be saved God's way. His own efforts
--as great as they seemed-- were not sufficient to meet
the righteous requirements of the law. The law he thought
he knew so well was full of examples showing the need for
a substitute to take on the death penalty that he --a law
breaker-- deserved. Once Christ became his savior --took
the death penalty for him-- there was no need more for the
law!
Have
You Died to the Law Yet?
This
third passage is from Chapter 7 of Romans. It's an illustration
presented to the legal experts of the time using the law
of marriage. The law says that marrying someone else while
still married is adultery. However, it is quite legal to
marry again after a spouse dies.
Do
you not know, brothers-- for I am speaking to men who know
the law-- that the law has authority over a man only as
long as he lives? For example, by law a married woman is
bound to her husband as long as he is alive, but if her
husband dies, she is released from the law of marriage.
So then, if she marries another man while her husband is
still alive, she is called an adulteress. But if her husband
dies, she is released from that law and is not an adulteress,
even though she marries another man. (Romans 7:1-3)
So,
my brothers, you also died to the law through the body of
Christ, that you might belong to another, to him who was
raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit
to God. For when we were controlled by the sinful nature,
the sinful passions aroused by the law were at work in our
bodies, so that we bore fruit for death. But now, by dying
to what once bound us, we have been released from the law
so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in
the old way of the written code. (Romans 7:4-6)
Based
on these Scriptures, what is required in order for us to
belong to Jesus? We must die to the law! And what is necessary
before we can bear fruit to God? Die to the law!
What
Makes Sin Such a Powerful Enemy?
Sin
is an enemy, right? Of course it is --and we battle it continuously!
Would you knowingly give your enemy any weapons to overpower
you? No way! As you read the following passages, think about
how you are doing just that --helping to defeat yourself--
by just trying to follow God's law!
The
sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.
(1 Corinthians 15:56)
What
shall we say, then? Is the law sin? Certainly not! Indeed
I would not have known what sin was except through the law.
For I would not have known what coveting really was if the
law had not said, "Do not covet." But sin, seizing
the opportunity afforded by the commandment, produced in
me every kind of covetous desire. For apart from law, sin
is dead. (Romans 7:7-8)
Could
it possibly be that God's holy, righteous, and good law
can be fuel for sin? --Yes! Is it because the law is bad?
--No! It's because we have a fallen nature which is naturally
disobedient. And the law is God's mirror to show us that
nature. (You can read the rest in chapters 7 and 8 of Romans.)
For
a Christian to truly live a victorious life, he must die
to the law --like to a dead spouse. The law has
no place in a Christian's life. And when that becomes a
reality, then sin has lost it's power!
Which
Law Are We Talking About?
Lets
set the record straight here before we get any deeper. The
law that we've been talking about up to this point --and
will continue to talk about-- is the law of sin and death.
It's that set of rules which point out our sins. For the
Jews, it's the laws, statutes and regulations wrapped around
the Ten Commandments. For the gentiles, it's basically the
same thing but written on our hearts (Romans 2). And in
both cases --for Jews and Gentiles-- the penalty for breaking
even one is death. There is another law that we've been
hinting at --it's referred to as the law of love or the
law of the Spirit of life.
Therefore,
there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ
Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the
Spirit of life set me free from the law
of sin and death. For what the law was powerless
to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God
did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man
to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in sinful
man, in order that the righteous requirements of the law
might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the
sinful nature but according to the Spirit. (Romans 8:1-4)
We
have been freed from the law of sin and death. Simply put,
whoever sins is to be put to death. We now serve
God based on a new law. Whoever has the Spirit has been
made alive!
It
Is Finished!
You've
Been Told to Keep the Law, But Can You?
As
Christians, we continually hear about the need for us to
follow the law and we also hear that Christ fulfilled the
law. Does that sound like a contradiction? It should!
More
often than not, we're told that we need to try to keep the
law, but not to worry, because when we fail we can ask God
to forgive us. This cycle of failing and asking for God's
forgiveness has become a way of life for most of us. Jesus'
words from the cross "It is finished!" were meant
to break that religious cycle.
Christ
is the end of the law so that there may be righteousness
for everyone who believes. (Romans 10:4)
Before
this faith came, we were held prisoners by the law, locked
up until faith should be revealed. So the law was put in
charge to lead us to Christ that we might be justified by
faith. Now that faith has come, we are no longer under the
supervision of the law. (Galatians 3:23-25)
Both
of these Scriptures state that coming to faith in Jesus
Christ ends the need for the law. We no longer need to compare
our goodness to God's commandments. We've been humbled and
have seen our unrighteous, unholy selves for what we were
--dead and in need of His grace and mercy so that we could
receive eternal life through His Son.
The
Law Is Only a Shadow of Something Better
Like
the parables, the true meaning of the law is hidden. Obviously,
the law describes the strict requirements for a person to
live a perfect life and it also describes the penalty of
death for not doing so. Yet the law uses pictures to tell
us about Jesus' perfect life and about His death for our
sins!
The
law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming--
not the realities themselves. For this reason it can never,
by the same sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year,
make perfect those who draw near to worship. (Hebrews 10:1)
These
are a shadow of the things that we're to come; the reality,
however, is found in Christ. (Colossians 2:17)
The
entire system of sacrifices showed that if we wanted to
live, we needed to find one who is perfect to take our place
with the executioner. And the order of the priesthood showed
that someone needed to stand between us and God. That high
priest had to be someone that knew what it was like to be
a man and also someone righteous enough to stand before
God. These were foreshadowings of what Jesus was coming
to fulfill.
Are
You Living Under Law or Grace?
Whenever
the statement is made that the law's only purpose is to
lead us to Jesus, the response is nearly always the same.
"Well then, if the law doesn't apply to us any more,
then we have a license to sin --right?" (As if we ever
needed a license to sin!) That conversation must have been
one that even Paul heard because he recorded that question
and his response in Romans chapter 6!
For
sin shall not be your master, because you are not under
law, but under grace. What then? Shall we sin because we
are not under law but under grace? By no means! (Romans
6:14-15)
Nearly
every one of Paul's letters reveals a continual battle that
plagued him wherever he ministered. He taught about the
grace of God and following right behind him came teachers
of the law. He taught about the freedom we have by living
in a trust-faith relationship with God --we are holy and
righteous because of Jesus sacrifice for us. They --the
teachers of the law-- taught that after salvation, a Christian
remains holy and righteous by following the law.
He
Didn't Come to Abolish It, or Did He?
There's
nearly always another discussion following the one about
having a license to sin. It goes something like this: "You
say that the law came to an end for believers --that it
doesn't apply to us anymore. But didn't Jesus say that He
didn't come to abolish the law? And didn't He also say that
the law would never disappear? If He abolished the law like
you say, then how do you explain Jesus' words?"
"Do
not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets;
I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. I tell
you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the
smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by
any means disappear from the law until everything is accomplished.
(Matthew 5:17-18)
Did
you notice that He said that the law wouldn't disappear
"until everything is accomplished"? The solution
to this dilemma is found by understanding what it was that
Jesus came to accomplish. His purpose was to be the Father's
first-hand witness about the plan for mankind. God wants
us all to live eternally with Him. Yet in order to do this,
it requires living a perfectly sinless life --or finding
someone who is sinless that can qualify as our substitute.
It's one or the other.
Are
You Sure It's Abolished?
Jesus
lived the perfectly sinless life that we can't so that He
could become the perfect sacrifice in our place. Now, because
of what He did, the law can disappear since He has accomplished
His purpose! He fulfilled the law. "It is finished!"
This
passage in Ephesians should settle the matter about whether
Jesus abolished the law or not:
For
he himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has
destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by
abolishing in his flesh the law with its commandments and
regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new
man out of the two, thus making peace, and in this one body
to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which
he put to death their hostility. (Ephesians 2:14-16)
Some
might say: What about Romans 3:31 (Do we, then, nullify
the law by this faith? Not at all! Rather, we uphold the
law)? The response is this: We can only "uphold"
(fulfill) the law through faith in Christ Jesus sacrifice,
burial and resurrection --never by any works of our own.
At
the Cross, the Law Was Canceled, Taken Away, Replaced ...
Take
a close look at what was accomplished for all mankind when
Jesus died on that cross.
When
you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of
your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave
us all our sins, having canceled the written code, with
its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed
to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross. And having
disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle
of them, triumphing over them by the cross. (Colossians
2:13-15)
He
disarmed the powers and authorities --that's the Devil and
all of his helpers-- by nailing the law to the cross --canceling
it and replacing it with a new and better guide to life:
God's love! We were forgiven at the cross. We were
made alive --"It is finished!"
Grace: |
Grace
is free of charge, no strings attached, on the
house.
Conveying Grace is better than explaining
Grace.
Grace & gravity are all that matter. |
