The Law Part 3
Eternity Online: John Edmiston (Editor)
Eternity-Inspiration for Tuesday 4th November 1997
The Law Part 3
Who does the Law now apply to? The wicked (1 Timothy 1:7-11),
Gentiles trying to be made right with God through Jewish rituals such
as circumcision (Galatians 5:1-11) and to unbelieving Jews (Romans
2:12,13). The law does not apply to the righteous (1 Timothy 1:9).
Does this mean we can be law-less in our behaviour? Not at all! We
are to be holy as God is holy and in loving our neighbour as
ourselves we keep the law. We are no longer under a legal code for
approval but we are called on to be holy.
A possible key to this is our new natures in Christ Jesus. The "new
man" is holy and wants to be holy. Our true eternal selves desire
righteousness. When we are holy and righteous and good we are not
living up to a code but out from a new nature. We are already
approved by God because we are in Christ and a new creation. We are
not observing the law because we "have to" but because our new nature
is created to be a law-abiding creature in the image of Jesus Christ.
A somewhat trivial illustration may help. A small child may eat his
or her vegetables because they have to in order to get desert. An
adult eats them without the compulsion of law because they have a
responsible adult nature. The adult is "free from the law " (with
regard to vegetables) and yet eats them. Thus a Christian will be
free from the law regarding adultery but desire to be pure in heart
and free from sexual sin simply because that is them. They want to be
pure, they want to be holy, so they are. Not out of compulsion but
because of the desires of the Spirit in their hearts.
(Galatians 5:16-18 NKJV) I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you
shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. {17} For the flesh lusts
against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are
contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you
wish. {18} But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the
law.
When Jesus said "until all is fulfilled" it seems He had two levels
of meaning in mind. Firstly all is fulfilled when Jesus died on the
cross. This fulfillment is "all" but for a certain group - believers,
born again Christians. It is not the fulfillemt for the whole of
Creation. That comes when the new heaven and the new earth come into
being. For the wicked and the unbelieving the Law abides until this
heaven and earth are done away with and a new heaven and earth are
created "where righteousness dwells".
(2 Peter 3:13 NKJV) Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look
for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.
In that new creation "all is fulfilled" and there will be no more
need for the Law because righteousness will be established there. We
only need the law in "this present evil age". (Galatians 1:4) Until
then the Law is holy and righteous and good and a part of Scripture
and very useful for ministry. (2 Timothy 3:16) Jesus went on to say
that those who taught the commandments of the Law and obeyed them
would be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven.
That at first seems to contradict the well-established conclusion
that the Law does not apply to Christians. The Law does not apply to
Christians as a means of salvation but it does apply as a source of
wisdom and an example of the will of God. Nine out of the Ten
Commandments are restated in the New Testament as God's will for
believers. The exception is the Sabbath. The Law provides us with
insight into God's standards on many issues from homosexuality
through to theft. By upholding the Law and fulfilling the Law Jesus
agrees that the standards of the Law are good. Thus while Jesus did
not say anything directly about homosexuality by upholding the Law He
agreed with what the Scriptures say about homosexuality i.e. that it
is sin. However this can be taken too far by some enthusiasts and
Christians can get bogged down in "disputes about the Law" (1 Timothy
1:7-9). The primary revelation for Christians is Christ who is
revealed to us through the Holy Spirit (1 Cor 2:9-16). The law is
good but is of secondary importance.
Prayer:
Lord we wish to be both law-abiding and free in Christ. Make us holy
in our hearts so we can freely choose to live righteously before You.
Free us from the compulsions and obsessions that rules bring into our
lives. Let us be dead to the law and alive to Christ. Amen.
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John Edmiston ([email protected])
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