Jesus and the Law

 

 

The function of the law

Christ fulfills the law (Matt 5:17), so we need to understand the Law, in order to know “who Christ is, and what he is doing (/has done/will do)”.  If you do not know what someone is saving you from, you can neither appreciate nor cooperate with His saving work in your life.

 

Ray Comfort elaborates upon this idea (especially as it is related to evangelism) at:

http://www.raycomfort.com/listenwatch/

 

1 Tim 1:8‑11

8          We know that the law is good if one uses it properly.

 

 

The law defines sin

           

1 John 3
4   Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.

 

Rom 3:19-31

19         Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God.

20         Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin.

21         But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify.

22         This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference,

23         for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

24         and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.

25         God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished--

26         he did it to demonstrate his justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.

27         Where, then, is boasting? It is excluded. On what principle? On that of observing the law? No, but on that of faith.

28         For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from observing the law.

29         Is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles too? Yes, of Gentiles too,

30         since there is only one God, who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through that same faith.

31         Do we, then, nullify the law by this faith? Not at all! Rather, we uphold the law.  (NIV)

 

Rom 7:7

7          What shall we say, then? Is the law sin? Certainly not! Indeed I would not have known what sin was except through the law. For I would not have known what coveting really was if the law had not said, "Do not covet." (NIV)

 

Gal 3:21-24

21         Is the law, therefore, opposed to the promises of God? Absolutely not! For if a law had been given that could impart life, then righteousness would certainly have come by the law.

22         But the Scripture declares that the whole world is a prisoner of sin, so that what was promised, being given through faith in Jesus Christ, might be given to those who believe.

23         Before this faith came, we were held prisoners by the law, locked up until faith should be revealed.

24         So the law was put in charge to lead us to Christ that we might be justified by faith. (NIV)

 

 

Why did Jesus die?

 

He died to fulfill all 3 main aspect of His law:

 

1.       Ceremonial - Heb 9:22-28 and Col 2:16‑17 are explained below.

2.       Political – by establishing His Kingdom in individual hearts (spiritual Israel), as opposed to moving collectively through the political nation of Israel.

 

Rom 2:29

No, a man is a Jew if he is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code. Such a man's praise is not from men, but from God. (NIV)

 

3.       Moral -

 

Hebrews 9

15For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance--now that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant.

 

So the new covenant defines sin the same way as the old covenant:  by the law.  Who is the “them” referred to above?  The writer of Hebrews identifies them as those who are called.  Are you called?  Then your sins are also judged by the standard of God’s moral law.

 

 

To lead us to Christ

Therefore, you should:

 

1.       read God’s moral law in the Old and New Testament

1.       repent of your transgressions of it

2.       obey its commands until death

 

If you do not do this, it shows that you do not care about not sinning against God.  An obedient believer would never have this attitude.

 

Psalm 119:11
I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.
(Whole Chapter: Psalm 119 In context: Psalm 119:10-12)

 

1 John 3
4   Everyone who practices sin also practices lawlessness; and (1) sin is lawlessness.

 

Anyone who truly believes that Jesus died for their sins will avoid sin at all cost.

 

Matt 5:27-30

27         "You have heard that it was said, 'Do not commit adultery.'

28         But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

29         If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.

30         And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.  (NIV)

 

Mark 16:16
Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.
(Whole Chapter: Mark 16 In context: Mark 16:15-17)

 

 

To kill us

 

Romans 7:4
So, my brothers, you also died to the law through the body of Christ, that you might belong to another, to him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit to God.
(Whole Chapter: Romans 7 In context: Romans 7:3-5)

 

In order to be truly born again, we must first die.  The law confronts us with our own wicked behavior and tendencies: our own deadness. 

 

Romans 6:16
Don't you know that when you offer yourselves to someone to obey him as slaves, you are slaves to the one whom you obey–whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness?
(Whole Chapter: Romans 6 In context: Romans 6:15-17)

 

By becoming a slave to obedience, instead of sin, we die to sins.

 

1 Peter 2:24
He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed.
(Whole Chapter: 1 Peter 2 In context: 1 Peter 2:23-25)

 

 

 

 

 

 

NOT to abolish, but to fulfill the Law. (Matt 5:17‑19)

 

Rom 10:4

4          Christ is the end [goal] of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes.  (NIV)

 Christ fulfills the law (Matt 5:17),

1

 

Matthew Henry explains this passage--

Romans 10:1‑11  PP14

 

            (1.) Christ is the end of the ceremonial law; he is the period of it, because he is the perfection of it. When the substance comes, the shadow is gone. The sacrifices, and offerings, and purifications appointed under the Old Testament, prefigured Christ, and pointed at him; and their inability to take away sin discovered the necessity of a sacrifice that should, by being once offered, take away sin.

 

(from Matthew Henry's Commentary)

 

Bracketed text above is mine.  I inserted the word “goal’ because the Greek word “teleo” can be translated as “goal” or “end”. 

 

 

Good bye to Ceremonial Law:

 

Ceremonial Law is now unnecessary, since the perfect picture/image of it is Christ. 

 

Heb 9:22-28

22         In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.

23         It was necessary, then, for the copies of the heavenly things to be purified with these sacrifices, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.

24         For Christ did not enter a man-made sanctuary that was only a copy of the true one; he entered heaven itself, now to appear for us in God's presence.

25         Nor did he enter heaven to offer himself again and again, the way the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood that is not his own.

26         Then Christ would have had to suffer many times since the creation of the world. But now he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself.

27         Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment,

28         so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.  (NIV)

 

Col 2:16‑17

16         Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day.

17         These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ.  (NIV)

 

 

 

So much for the Political Law:

R. A. Torrey’s Topical Textbook refers to this type of God’s laws as the “Civil laws”.  These laws are based in God’s mode of expressing himself culturally via a theocracy. 

 

Deuteronomy 17
9 Go to the priests, who are Levites, and to the judge who is in office at that time. Inquire of them and they will give you the verdict.

 

Well, who’s in office today?  This “civil” portion of the law had a clear beginning via Moses, and a not-so-clear end in the destruction of the Jerusalem city/state shortly after the death of Jesus. Much like the destruction of the temple during this same siege made obedience to the ceremonial law impossible, the judges of the Israeli city/state no longer had civil authority to obey these types of commands. 

 

This did not surprise God or his prophets.  Most Rabbis expected Messiah to “magnify” the law:  To bring new light on it, or to make it bigger:

 

Isaiah 42
21 It pleased the LORD
for the sake of his righteousness
to make his law great and glorious.

 

This is what Jesus did.  He took the law that He had given one culture, and applied the moral law to all cultures.  He even prophesied this historical event in the “Old” Testament.

 

Jeremiah 31:32

29 "In those days people will no longer say,

'The fathers have eaten sour grapes,
and the children's teeth are set on edge.'

30 Instead, everyone will die for his own sin; whoever eats sour grapes-his own teeth will be set on edge.

31 "The time is coming," declares the LORD ,
"when I will make a new covenant
with the house of Israel
and with the house of Judah.
32 It will not be like the covenant
I made with their forefathers
when I took them by the hand
to lead them out of Egypt,
because they broke my covenant,
though I was a husband to [4] them, [5] "
declares the LORD .
33 "This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel
after that time," declares the LORD .
"I will put my law in their minds
and write it on their hearts.
I will be their God,
and they will be my people.
34 No longer will a man teach his neighbor,
or a man his brother, saying, 'Know the LORD ,'
because they will all know me,
from the least of them to the greatest,"
declares the LORD .
"For I will forgive their wickedness
and will remember their sins no more."

 

In this passage, do you notice the shift in emphasis from the National to the personal relationship with God? 

 

 

 

Culture and Morality

Morality is an aspect of humanity, not of only one particular culture.  God redeemed a culture or a nation:  Israel.  He revealed himself culturally and politically.  He incarnated within that culture at a time of great religious revival.  He was understood and received by a few who were expecting Him and could see his fulfillment of scripture. He was surprisingly uninvolved with politics.  He did not set up an earthly kingdom for himself.  He did not even open a church.  The Father sent the Holy Spirit to do that on the day of Pentecost.  Israel is located at the crossroads of 3 continents.  From there His followers obeyed his command:

 

Matthew 28
18Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in[1] the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

 

It makes sense.  Think of this scenario:  What if the Father incarnated on a remote island among a tribe with no concept of God being one, of morality being absolute, of humans breeching God’s absolute standard of morality as something that hurts Him and them, even to the point of death for both?

 

I met a missionary to Papua New Guniea, who worked a few tribes over from the tribe featured in the “Et Tau” video, described their method of evangelizing a new tribe.  They spend weeks or months teaching stories from the Old Testament exclusively, before they even mention Jesus or the Gospel.  Why?  I don’t know, maybe they learned the hard way about cultural revelation of truth.  Most people believe what their culture or subculture believes.  This is especially true for new tribes who make a collective decision on whether to follow Christ or not.  I have noticed that it is true also for even the most “independent” Americans too.  They tend to believe the same as whoever they are hanging around with. 

 

So, as Paul says, we who are gentiles have become part of Israel through faith in Jesus.  We were not born again into a new government (or nation), or an earthly priesthood, but we do have a different culture—and it is based in Old Testament Judaism.  This is because it is very difficult to completely separate culture from morality. 

 

Culture is an elusive term, and I’m sorry if I am confusing the issue.  I’m not writing about “Christian Culture”.  It is obviously not very Jewish or Old or New Testament.  The New Testament was written by practicing Jews—and often addressed to Gentiles. 

 

Colossians 2

16Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. 17These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ.

 

We can classify the religious festivals as both ceremonial and civil, perhaps, since the government has to be involved with holidays of that magnitude to some degree.  The Sabbath day seems to be included in this list of laws that are not binding on Gentiles.  That is confusing to many because it appears as one of the Ten Commandments, which are typically considered to be the summed essence of God’s morality. 

 

This leads us to Torrey’s third classification of Old Testament laws.  How do we classify biblical laws which are neither ceremonial nor civil?  What we are left with Torrey refers to as the “Moral Law”. 

 

 

 

Did God’s morality change?

God’s morality, his moral law, has not changed.  While the ceremonial and civil law can not be followed, God’s moral law is still right.  God’s morality, or standards of what is right and wrong, has not changed.  I do not understand how God's morality could change.  Is His index of what is right and wrong different now? 

 

James 1:17

17                 Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.

 

Heb 13:7-8

7          Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith.

8          Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.  (NIV)

 

Should you not make restitution to those from whom you have stolen, since you are free from the law?  What is right (as spelled out by the moral law) is still right.  Jesus is the end of the moral law in that He has paid the price for the believer’s transgressions of it. That does not mean that we should ignore or cast away God’s moral law?

 

Paul "upholds" the law.


Rom 3:31
31 Do we, then, nullify the law by this faith? Not at all! Rather, we uphold the law.  (NIV)

 

We uphold the law as right, asking forgiveness of our transgressions of it. We respect the price he payed, and pays for each of our transgressions. Thus, we wish to uphold the moral law, now written on our hearts, to avoid hurting our God and Savior. The admission that God’s morals (moral law) are right, and our behavior is wrong is essential to understanding and receiving salvation through our Messiah.

 

Christ’s example

Jesus upheld the law, and we are to "Walk as Jesus did".


I Jn 2:1-7
1 My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense-- Jesus Christ, the Righteous One.
2 He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.
3 We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands.
4 The man who says, "I know him," but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him.
5 But if anyone obeys his word, God's love is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in him:
6 Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did.
7 Dear friends, I am not writing you a new command but an old one, which you have had since the beginning. This old command is the message you have heard.  (NIV) 

 

The moral law remains God’s standard of perfection, which Jesus commands us to keep:

 

Matt 5:48

48                 Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.  (NIV)

 

We are called to perfection, but forgiven of our shortcomings when we agree with God’s law:  That they are shortcomings or sins. 

 

1 John 2

1My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense--Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. 2He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for[1] the sins of the whole world.

 

 
 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Heb 5:7-10

7          During the days of Jesus' life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission.

8          Although he was a son, he learned obedience from what he suffered

9          and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him

10         and was designated by God to be high priest in the order of Melchizedek. (NIV)

 

Jesus and Stephen the martyr rebuked the Jewish religious rulers for breaking the moral law:

 

Matt 15:3‑9

3                     Jesus replied, "And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition? (NIV)

Acts 7

52Was there ever a prophet your fathers did not persecute? They even killed those who predicted the coming of the Righteous One. And now you have betrayed and murdered him-- 53you who have received the law that was put into effect through angels but have not obeyed it."

54When they heard this, they were furious and gnashed their teeth at him.

 

Acts 7
52Was there ever a prophet your fathers did not persecute? They even killed those who predicted the coming of the Righteous One. And now you have betrayed and murdered him-- 53you who have received the law that was put into effect through angels but have not obeyed it."

 

Paul adds,

Col 1:28-29

28         We proclaim him, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone perfect in Christ.

29         To this end I labor, struggling with all his energy, which so powerfully works in me.

(NIV)

 

If we were to struggle with all His energy, to this same end, the His energy (dunamis) would work powerfully in us today as well.

 

Heb 13:7-8

7          Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith.

8          Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.  (NIV)

 

Rom 15:18-20

18         I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me in leading the Gentiles to obey God by what I have said and done--

19         by the power of signs and miracles, through the power of the Spirit. So from Jerusalem all the way around to Illyricum, I have fully proclaimed the gospel of Christ.

20         It has always been my ambition to preach the gospel where Christ was not known, so that I would not be building on someone else's foundation.  (NIV)

 

James 1:21-25

21         Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you.

22         Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.

23         Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror

24         and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like.

25         But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it-- he will be blessed in what he does.  (NIV)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lawlessness

 

This next section debunks myths taught by lawless men who you need to be on guard against.

 

2 Peter 3:17
Therefore, dear friends, since you already know this, be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of lawless men and fall from your secure position.
(Whole Chapter: 2 Peter 3 In context: 2 Peter 3:16-18)

 

 

1 John 3
4   Everyone who practices sin also practices lawlessness; and (1) sin is lawlessness.

 

 

Old vs. New?

 

“That’s just the Old Testament, we are in the New Covenant now…”

 

1 Cor 10:1-15

1          For I do not want you to be ignorant of the fact, brothers, that our forefathers were all under the cloud and that they all passed through the sea.

2          They were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea.

3          They all ate the same spiritual food

4          and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ.

5          Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them; their bodies were scattered over the desert.

6          Now these things occurred as examples to keep us from setting our hearts on evil things as they did.

7          Do not be idolaters, as some of them were; as it is written: "The people sat down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in pagan revelry."

8          We should not commit sexual immorality, as some of them did-- and in one day twenty-three thousand of them died.

9          We should not test the Lord, as some of them did-- and were killed by snakes.

10         And do not grumble, as some of them did-- and were killed by the destroying angel.

11         These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the fulfillment of the ages has come.

12         So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don't fall!

13         No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.

14         Therefore, my dear friends, flee from idolatry.

15         I speak to sensible people; judge for yourselves what I say.

(NIV)

 

 

1 Cor 10:11:

 

Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for

our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come. (NKJV)

 

Now these things happened to them as an <*1> example, and <*2> they were

written for our instruction, upon whom <*3> the ends of the ages have come.

(NASB)

 

Paul specifically warns those who discredit the Tanuch, or “Old Testament”, to “be careful that you don't fall!”  He validates the warnings in the Tanuch as applicable to the “New Covenant” believer.  For, they were “written down as warnings for us”.  Also, keep in mind that Jesus and the Apostles only preached from the Old Testament.  From it, they clarified the Father’s message in Christ.