When Christians hear the term “Law,” they typically think of the Ten Commandments God gave to the nation of Israel through Moses
(Exodus 20-2-17; Deuteronomy 5:6-21)
- You shall have no other gods before Me.
- You shall not make for yourself a carved image.
- You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.
- Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.
- Honor your father and your mother.
- You shall not murder.
- You shall not commit adultery.
- You shall not steal.
- You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
- You shall not covet.
- The first four commandments pertain to our responsibilities toward God, while the last six deal with our responsibilities to our fellow humans
- Jesus recognized both aspects when He was asked which commandment in the Law was the greatest.
Jesus said to him, “You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself: On these two commandments bang all the Law and the Prophets.”
Matthew 22:37-40 (NKJV)
Gods intentions for the law:
Therefore you shall be careful to do as the LORD your God has commanded you; you shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left. You shall walk in all the ways which the LORD your God has commanded you, that you may live and that it may be well with you, and that you may prolong your days in the land which you shall possess.
Deuteronomy 5:32-33 (NKJV)
- God wanted things to go favorably for His people, and if you stop and think about it, any society that would embrace the values communicated in the Ten Commandments would certainly be a better, healthier, and safer society to live in than one that would reject them
- Beyond those laws articulated in the Old Testament, rabbis regularly added commentaries, interpretations, and applications to these hundreds of laws, creating even more rules and traditions.
- No doubt many of these individuals were devout, God-fearing men who esteemed God and His Word greatly. However, by the time Jesus came on the scene, some who specialized in the intricacies of “the letter of the Law” had become religious bullies.
Jesus’ harshest rebukes were reserved for such legalists. Here is just some of what He had to say:
“Everything they do is for show. On their arms they wear extra wide prayer boxes with Scripture verses inside, and they wear robes with extra long tassels.”
Matthew 23:1-5 (NLT)
Pride, lack of compassion for others, and nit-picky focus on minutiae had caused them to miss the most important aspects of the Law: justice, mercy, and faith (Matthew 23:23)
- Jesus said they had missed seeing something else that is very important in Scripture: Him.
- The Law points to Jesus.
“You search the Scriptures because you think they give you eternal life. But the Scriptures point to me! Yet you refuse to come to me to receive this life.”
John 5:39-40 (NLT)
Don’t misunderstand why I have come. I did not come to abolish the how of Moses or the writings of the prophets. No, I came to accomplish their purpose.”
Matthew 5:17 (NLT)
Jesus came to fulfill the requirements of the law.
After His resurrection, Jesus had a conversation with two of His disciples, attempting to open their eyes to see Him in the Old Testament Law and the Prophets.
And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.
Luke 24:27 (KJV)
The entire Old Testament had been preparation for the coming of Jesus to carry out God’s plan of redeeming mankind unto Himself.
Paul’s ministry carried the same message
“So when they had appointed him a day, many came to him at his lodging, to whom he explained and solemnly testified of the kingdom of God, persuading them concerning Jesus from both the Law of Moses and the Prophets, from morning till evening.”
Acts 28:23 (NKJV)
The Purpose of the Law
“For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.”
John 1:17 (NKJV)
The New Testament brings clarification to the distinction between LAW AND GRACE.
If the Law was incapable of “delivering the goods” to people, then why did God give the Law in the first place?
Why, then, was the law given? It was given alongside the promise to show people their sins. But the law was designed to last only until the coming of the child who was promised. Is there a conflict, then, between God’s law and God’s promises? Absolutely not! If the law could give us new life, we could be made right with God by obeying it. But the Scriptures declare that we are all prisoners of sin, so we receive God’s promise of freedom only by believing in Jesus Christ. Before the way of faith in Christ was available to us, we were placed under guard by the law. We were kept in protective custody, so to speak, until the way of faith was revealed. Let me put it another way. The law was our guardian until Christ came; it protected us until we could be made right with God through faith. And now that the way of faith has come, we no longer need the law as our guardian.
Galatians 3:19,21-25 (NLT)
- The Law was given to show people their sins (verse 19).
- The Law was temporary and only designed to last “until the coming of the child who was promised,” Jesus (verse 19).
- The Law could not give us new life (verse 21).
- Apart from Christ, all mankind are prisoners of sin (verse 22).
- The Law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be “justified by faith” (verse 24 NKJV).
- The Law was a guardian (or a form of protective custody) until people had the opportunity to be made right with God through faith (verses 23-24).
- Now that the way of faith has come, we no longer need the Law as our guardian (verse 25).
Before we can understand and fully appreciate how God’s grace saves us, it is good to understand why the Law could not.
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- The Law was never given to save us, but to show us we needed salvation.
- The Law was never given to make us righteous, but to show us we were unrighteous.
- The Law was never given to justify us, but to show us we needed justification.
Before we will seek or be open to receive help, we have to realize and accept that we need help. The Law of God, in no uncertain terms, reveals to us that we have sinned and fallen short of God’s holy standard.
Obviously, the law applies to those to whom it was given, for its purpose is to keep people from having excuses, and to show that the entire world is guilty before God. For no one can ever be made right with God by doing what the law commands. The law simply shows us how sinful we are.
Romans 3:19-20 (NLT)
A mirror has limitations. It can only show you where the sauce is; it cannot clean the sauce off your chin. Likewise, the Law that came through Moses reveals your sin, but it cannot remove your sin. The Law is the schoolmaster who teaches you where you have missed it. You need a savior.
It was the law that showed me my sin. I would never have known that coveting is wrong if the law had not said, “You must not covet”
Romans 7:7 (NLT)
That’s where Jesus comes in with grace and truth.
But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.
James 1:25 (NKJV)
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- law of liberty
- based on rights not requirements.
But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.
II Corinthians 3:18 (NKJV)