“So the law was put in charge to lead us to Christ that we might be justified by faith.” – Gal 3:24
“‘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.’” – Mat 5:17
Ever wonder about the law? What is the purpose of the law? Is the believer supposed to still obey the moral commands of the law? What is the relationship of the New Covenant to the law? What are we to do with the law? Let’s look at the law and its purpose and relationship to today’s believer in Christ.
Paul shows us the purpose of the law this way,
“Indeed I would not have known what sin was except through the law.” Rom 7:7
“… through the law we become conscious of sin.” Rom 3:20
So the purpose of the law was not to make a way for us to attain salvation from God by our works, but to show us how sinful we really are—just how woefully short of God’s sinless perfection we come—and the huge need we have for Jesus’ sacrifice to make us holy and righteous. The law is to show us God’s holiness and a standard for living. “…the law is holy, and the commandment is holy, righteous and good” (Rom 7:12). “So the law was put in charge to lead us to Christ…” Gal 3:24. We cannot earn salvation through following the law.
Is the believer supposed to still obey the moral commands of the law? Paul asks a similar question in Romans 3:31, “Do we, then, nullify the law by this faith [faith in Christ]? Not at all Rather, we uphold the law.” Let’s look at the relationship of the New Covenant to the law.
Consider the story of the Greatest Commandment.
Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together. One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”
Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” Mt 22:34-40
Jesus is showing us we must still fulfill the law, but we do it out of love for Him, not out of a compulsion to earn salvation. Paul confirms this in the letter to the Galatians:
You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love. The entire law is summed up in a single command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Gal 5:13-14
Consider the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus tells us in Matthew 5:17-20,
“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. Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.
Jesus goes on to raise the standard even higher. He says not only should we not commit murder, but it is wrong to hate another. And not only can we not commit adultery, but it is wrong to look lustfully on another. He has raised the bar from the realm of our actions to the realm of our thoughts and motives. In this way the New Covenant is more stringent than the law. So the New Covenant embraces, fulfills, and surpasses the law. It does not abolish it. God is after our hearts, not just our actions.
Finally let’s look at the law and its relationship to today’s believer in Christ.
For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace. What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! ... You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness. Rom 6:14-15, 18
For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, Titus 2:11-12
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…Therefore, brothers, we have an obligation--but it is not to the sinful nature, to live according to it. For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live, because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. Rom 8:3-4, 12-14
So the New Covenant gives us what we could never earn through the law—the righteousness of God. However, it also gives us a higher standard than the law to live out. Jesus is asking us to fulfill the law out of a love relationship with Him and through the Holy Spirit He has given us. We are to be under Christ’s Law (1 Cor 9:21) and fulfill the Law of Christ (Gal 6:2). “If you love me, you will obey what I command. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever—the Spirit of truth…” (Jn 15:14-17). The New Covenant is a better covenant because it gives us a greater power to conquer sin and a better motive to carry out acts of righteousness (law). It gives us the Holy Spirit as a source of power to overcome sin, and it gives us love as a motive to help us obey the law and the prophets.
O Gracious Father, thank you for setting us free from our sin in Christ’s sacrifice. And thank you for sending your Holy Spirit that we might have power over sin and power to become Christ-like in actions, thoughts, and character—to love and fulfill the law. Help us to follow you with hearts of love. Amen!
References
All Scriptures not otherwise specified are quoted from Life in the Spirit Study Bible (NIV). Stamps, Donald C., and John Wesley Adams. Life in the Spirit Study Bible: New International Version. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2003. Print.
