Tuesday, March 3, 2020

Law In The Day Of Grace


Many Christians are confused about our relationship to the law.  Romans 8:1-tells us, “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.  For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.”  As a result, many have concluded that the Law is no longer relevant. 

Jesus contradicted such an idea in Matthew 5:17-20.  “Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.  For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.  Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.  For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.”

Jesus literally said that as long as this earth remains, the Law will remain in effect, exactly as written with no changes whatsoever.  He also said that anyone who breaks those commandments or teaches others to do so will be considered one of the least in heaven, essentially losing his rewards.  Fortunately, because Christ has died for us, he has freed us from that old law as Romans 10:4 tells us.  “For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth.”  Only those who believe have been freed from the law.  Everyone else is still under the law. 

Although we have been freed from the Law, we ought not go back and do the things the law forbids, as Romans 6:12-18 tells us.  “:12 Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof.  Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.   For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.

What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid.  Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?  But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you.  Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness.”

After the Civil war, there were slaves who did not understand what it meant to be set free, and continued to serve their former masters just as they had before.  While they were legally free, in their own minds they were still slaves.  When we became a Christian we were set free from sin, as Romans 6:6-7 tells us.  “Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.  For he that is dead is freed from sin.”  For the Christian to continue in sin implies he is still a slave to sin just as those slaves were to their master, even though they had been set free.   We need to realize that our salvation means we are not longer slaves to that sin, as Romans 6:11 tells us.  “Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.”  why continue as a slave when you don’t have to?

For the Christian, the Law is just a set of warnings about potential danger, which only become a problem as we get farther from God.  For those who are living far from God, Those same Laws become very restricting. 

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