" For as many as have sinned without law will also perish without law, and as many as have sinned under the law will be judged by the law. For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous in the sight of God, but the doers of the law will be declared righteous. For whenever the Gentiles, who do not have the law, do by nature the things of the law, these, although they do not have the law, are a law to themselves, who show the work of the law written on their hearts, their conscience bearing witness and their thoughts one after another accusing or even defending them on the day when God judges the secret things of people, according to my gospel, through Christ Jesus. " - Romans 2:12-16
"We are no longer under the Law but under Grace." This has been a theme from some commentators on our last 10 posts examining the 10 commandments spoken by our God to Moses and all of Israel from Mt. Sinai. Others have said that the indwelling of the Spirit and the Grace and example of Christ enables us to truly follow the law - summarized as loving God with all of our heart, soul, and might and loving our neighbor as ourself. These have been the kinder comments - others have lambasted us for going back to legalism, or wasting people's time with a study of a dead doctrine which no longer applies to the modern Christian.
Before we continue with our study of the Law, this is an appropriate juncture to consider the question - what role does the Law play in our lives in this age of Grace? The reason for pausing here will quickly become apparent, particularly since this question has truly vital implications for our Christian walk and assurance of salvation.
"The Law" is not a monolithic entity - some may think it is the "Old" Testament in its entirety while the more learned may say it is the Jewish Torah ( the first 5 books of the Bible attributed to Moses ). The latter is correct, but there are some distinctions that are important to observe.
There are at least 3 major divisions of the "Law".
1. The 10 commandments- expressing Gods moral code for humans. They are unique in that - they were audibly spoken to Israel, they were inscribed by the finger of God on stone tablets, they were the only laws that resided in the Ark of the covenant, AND, most importantly, are the laws that STILL apply to govern human conduct. Living in the age of grace does NOT grant us license to commit idolatry, worship other Gods, commit murder, adultery, steal etc. These are still sins - and yes - Sabbath observance is part of the 10. In our previous posts we have seen that these laws reflect the very nature of God Himself and He does not change! These are the laws Christ obeyed and taught His disciples to obey (e.g. " love one another " ) in spirit and in truth, elevating them from ritualistic observance to following them from the very heart.
The final testament to their eternality is in the text that we opened with. He has given all mankind a conscience - a knowledge of good and evil that reaches back to the garden of Eden. This conscience is universal - so that no flesh can say - we did not know that was bad! Now, idolatry was/is practiced by many in ignorance , and certainly they did not have all the moral law, but there is a moral code that is universal and global. In the post-Christ age however, God has made His law available to all, and as the Apostle says ".. Therefore although God has overlooked the times of ignorance, he now commands all people everywhere to repent," - Acts 17:25
2. Laws for approaching God for worship, praise and atonement of sin. Also called priestly or ceremonial laws, these regulated how God was to be approached, represented and honored in the sight of His people. The key statement here is that He is a Holy God. "You must be holy, because I, Yahweh your God, am holy." - Lev 19:2 These all speak of the work of Christ as both our representative to God ( as priest ) and our atonement as Lamb of sacrifice, our redeemer, whose offering of His Life was a sweet savor to our God, and who was the first fruit of the Human race! These laws WERE negated by His work on the cross, where the ripping of the veil of the temple at His death, and its eventual destruction in 70 AD completely eradicated the Levitical priesthood and the ceremonial laws - centered as they were around the temple. It's why we don't "Tithe" to support the temple & priesthood but "Give" to support the church and care for the poor, sick and unfortunate.
3. Civil laws given to instruct and guide the Israelites in day to day matters, to distinguish them from the nations around them ( the OT laws are very different from laws then prevailing in the Middle East, though some are similar ), and for their health & benefit ( dietary and hygiene ). They were asked to "....observe them diligently, for that is your wisdom and your insight before the eyes of the people, who will hear all of these rules, and they will say, 'Surely this great nation is a wise and discerning people.' For what great nation has for it a god near to it as Yahweh our God, whenever we call upon him? And what other great nation has for it just rules and regulations just like ⌊this whole⌋ law that I am setting ⌊before⌋ you ⌊today⌋?" - Deut 4:6-9.... well ... a lot of US law is actually drawn from the OT, so in a sense, we are observing some aspects of these laws. Observant Jews of course, try to keep most of these ( diet / clothing etc ) but cannot of course keep all of them. ( e.g. Capital punishment for adultery ).
Some of these laws were given as we have said, to distinguish Gods chosen people from the nations around them - homosexuality, cross dressing, bestiality, occult practices, child sacrifice, temple prostitution - God clearly disapproves of these practices, though mankind in general is Ok with them - as we see today. While these activities may be legal in the country we live in, the Christian should not be comfortable ignoring them. Grace changes nothing here. Other laws like circumcision, wearing specific types of clothing etc do not apply- the disciples in Acts freed the Gentiles from these observances.
A good general rule for today is to avoid what God explicitly forbids. Things commanded may be specific to Israel and that time. Others (diet etc) you can choose to observe for your benefit.Now it should be clear as to why we are discussing the Law vs Grace question now.
The 10 commandments were never repealed. On the contrary, God promised to write them in our hearts and not on tablets of stone. "But this is the covenant that I will ⌊make⌋ with the house of Israel after those days," ⌊declares⌋ Yahweh: "I will put my law in their inward parts and on their hearts I will write it, and I will be to them God, and they themselves will be to me people....If these rules would cease from ⌊before me⌋," ⌊declares⌋ Yahweh, "also the offspring of Israel would cease from being a nation ⌊before me⌋ ⌊forever⌋" - Jer 31:36 It doesn't get any more eternal than that!!!! The other Laws were written for Israels benefit and that time, and serve to help us understand Gods way of looking at things. Ceremonial law, dietary and civil law are not binding- the Disciples asked new converts to avoid idolatry, sexual immorality, and eating/drinking blood. We also have a new commandment to preach the gospel, baptize and make disciples."A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit within you, and --- cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them." Ezekiel 36:26-27 The work of the indwelling Spirit is to enable us to walk in the Law!
Now, we often focus more on our inability to keep the Law than our ability. That is the work of the enemy - to get you to focus on the 10% of time you sin, as opposed to the 90% of time you don't! ( Your exact mileage may vary :-) ) Truth be told, God keeps us so busy with work and life - we are usually too busy to sin - that's a good thing! Idle hands are the devils workshop - as the old saying goes. We also do resist sin and win ! Yes it may be sometimes for you, but the Spirit, like a good coach is going to keep encouraging you to do better, and is NOT going to yell at you for blowing it! Remember He knows everything, and has forgiven us everything - so He is not condemning you. He is going to point out areas of improvement, and caution you. He is going to remind you of what God likes and what He hates... if you don't listen to Him, He WILL shut up, and let you suffer the consequences of YOUR decision. Maybe you will pay attention the next time! It's a lifetime of growing up - just like you treat your kids!
The condemning voices are the voices of the enemy. We have a video on spiritual warfare on our website, so I won't go into detail here, but often times the voices in your head are not yours. Those voices will tell you you can't keep the law so why try, or look how you blew it, God can never deal with or forgive that... etc etc. Grace is NOT a license to sin, but sin was not a barrier to God loving you when you didn't care about Him, and it's not a barrier now, when you DO! But don't kid yourself, if you aren't moving forward and upward, you will start slipping back! The only way to fight the voices in your head is to immerse yourself in the Word. Let the Spirit's voice and the heart of Christ as written form and shape your thinking, be the lamp that lights your feet - for these 10 rules are given for YOUR BENEFIT, to enable YOU to have a happy and healthy life. They are NOT a religious TRIP imposed by a God who gets pleasure out of watching you fall and die.
In the parable of the Sower and the soils the key message is that the Word of God is removed from our lives by the enemy (birds), our lack of pursuing it for deeper understanding and therefore difficulty in keeping it (shallow soil, heat of the sun) , and the cares and distractions of the world (thorns). "But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience." Luke 8:15
And That, ladies and gentlemen, is how we do the Law in this age of Grace! Our Lord shall have the last word...
"He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him. If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him. He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father's which sent me." John 14:21,24