Are You Under the Law?
But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed. Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster [to bring us] unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster. — Galatians 3:23-25
If you’ve been reading my blog lately, you know that this year (for the first time) I am counting the Omer. It’s a regulation (a law) given to God’s people, the details of which can be found in Leviticus 23:15-16 and also in Deuteronomy 16:9-10. Through this journey, I have continued to look for Jesus — even in the midst of what appears to be mostly complicated rituals to my New Testament eyes. And, HE CONTINUES TO REVEAL HIMSELF!
Over the last few days, I’ve found myself somewhat perplexed over the seemingly endless rules and regulations that mushroomed out of the simple list known as The Ten Commandments. In studying, I found a refreshingly relevant quote from the famous 19th-century preacher (who also wrote “O Little Town of Bethlehem”), Phillips Brooks. His words brought clarity to me:
“When Jesus as a young Jew came into Jerusalem, he found complication flourishing about him. Elaborateness was everywhere. Great, tedious ceremonials occupied the temple service. Long lists of rules and arbitrary laws had overspread the simplicity of the Ten Commandments. Society was a most intricate system of castes and classes. Thought, as the rabbis guided it, turned and twisted and retwisted on itself in endless subtleties. Every hair had to be split and split again. Every definition had to be defined and redefined a thousand times. There are indications in the Gospels that Jesus was expected to accept the system of things, and to come in among the scholars and teachers and join in their hairsplitting. But the glory of his simplicity was that he refused. He struck this whole mass of complication and elaboration aside and set a few big, broad simple truths and laws back in the place that they had occupied. He bade the rabbis in the temple to reflect the broad sunshine of God’s world.”
How did it get so complicated?
Following shortly after the exodus from Egypt, Moses ascended Mount Sinai into the presence of the Lord. At that time, he received The Ten Commandments from God. This giving of the Law occurred on the Feast of Pentecost — and effectively gave birth to the Jewish Nation.
Here’s the list:
The Ten Commandments — Read the full text in Exodus 20:2-17
1. I am the Lord your God. You shall have no other gods before Me.
2. You shall not make for yourself carved images or idols.
3. You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.
4. Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.
5. Honor your father and your mother
6. You shall not murder.
7. You shall not commit adultery.
8. You shall not steal.
9. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
10. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife or possessions.
While The Ten Commandments were straightforward, what resulted over time was something much more complicated — the Halakhah (or Jewish Law). Halakhah is a hard-and-fast list of 613 rules, mapping-out a comprehensive way of life for the Jew. Halakhah is filled with rules and practices that affect every aspect of life. They instruct on things like:
What you do when you wake up in the morning
What you can and cannot eat
What you can and cannot wear
How to groom yourself
How to conduct business
Who you can marry
How to observe the holidays and Sabbath days
and perhaps most important, how to honor God, other people, and even animals
To read the entire list of 613 regulations & laws, click here.
Is it Religion… or Relationship?
There are a number of thoughts I could share here about religious regulations, especially as they compare to a genuine relationship with God. But, the more important thing is to look at what the bible says. Here is a passage from Romans Chapter 2 out of Eugene Peterson’s paraphrase known as The Message:
14 -16 When outsiders who have never heard of God’s law follow it more or less by instinct, they confirm its truth by their obedience. They show that God’s law is not something alien, imposed on us from without, but woven into the very fabric of our creation. There is something deep within them that echoes God’s yes and no, right and wrong. Their response to God’s yes and no will become public knowledge on the day God makes his final decision about every man and woman. The Message from God that I proclaim through Jesus Christ takes into account all these differences.
17 -24 If you’re brought up Jewish, don’t assume that you can lean back in the arms of your religion and take it easy, feeling smug because you’re an insider to God’s revelation, a connoisseur of the best things of God, informed on the latest doctrines! I have a special word of caution for you who are sure that you have it all together yourselves and, because you know God’s revealed Word inside and out, feel qualified to guide others through their blind alleys and dark nights and confused emotions to God. While you are guiding others, who is going to guide you? I’m quite serious. While preaching “Don’t steal!” are you going to rob people blind? Who would suspect you? The same with adultery. The same with idolatry. You can get by with almost anything if you front it with eloquent talk about God and his law. The line from Scripture, “It’s because of you Jews that the outsiders are down on God,” shows it’s an old problem that isn’t going to go away.
25 -29 Circumcision, the surgical ritual that marks you as a Jew, is great if you live in accord with God’s law. But if you don’t, it’s worse than not being circumcised. The reverse is also true: The uncircumcised who keep God’s ways are as good as the circumcised—in fact, better. Better to keep God’s law uncircumcised than break it circumcised. Don’t you see: It’s not the cut of a knife that makes a Jew. You become a Jew by who you are. It’s the mark of God on your heart, not of a knife on your skin, that makes a Jew. And recognition comes from God, not legalistic critics.
Many mainstream authors of Paul’s day referred to something they called the “unwritten law” within man. They thought of it as an “inner compass” that points men to the right way. And this inner guiding was, in many ways, more important to the people of Paul’s day than written laws. So, when Paul talks about the gentiles as “a law unto themselves,” he does not mean that these “obedient” Gentiles made up their own law, but rather that they were obedient to their conscience, which is the work of the law residing in them. So, in theory, a man might be excused by obeying his conscience, but the converse is also true: Every man has been condemned by (or violated) his conscience. Through the words of Paul, I believe God is describing a design detail inherent to His creation of all men: There is a ‘work’ within them, making them morally conscious. This same ‘work’ is what makes them aware that perfect moral behavior is not something they can attain all on their own.
Thank God He provided a solution to all of this through Jesus Christ:
Romans 8:1 — There is therefore now no condemnation to them that 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.
Can it really be that simple?
Romans Chapter 8 begins with a simple declaration of no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus. Since the Father does not condemn Jesus, neither does He condemn those are in Jesus. They are not condemned. They will not be condemned. And, actually, they cannot be condemned! What Paul is explaining ( in Romans chapter 8 ) comes from a purely logical argument: If we are one with Jesus and He is our head, we can’t be condemned. You can’t acquit the head and condemn the arm. You can’t drown the leg as long as the head is out of water. Joined to Him, the believers will hear the verdict: “no condemnation.” Please understand the verdict is not “less condemnation.” This is where many of us get stuck! We think that our standing has improved in Jesus. It hasn’t improved. It’s been completely transformed. It has been changed to no condemnation.
Romans 8:2-4 — For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has 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 did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh, that
the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.
The law of the sin and death was a strong and seemingly absolute law. But the law of the Spirit of life in Christ is stronger still. It is this same law of the Spirit that frees us from the law of sin and death. Though we inevitably do sin at times, the Christian does not have to sin, because we have been freed from sin’s dominion. We are free from the law of death; death no longer has any lasting power against the believer.
If Romans 8:1 tells us we are free from the guilt of sin, then Romans 8:2 explains to us that we are free from the power of sin. The law can do many things. It can guide us, teach us, and tell us about God’s character. But the law cannot give energy to our flesh — it can give us the standard for conduct — but it cannot give us the power to live pleasing to God.
“Moses’ law was right but had no might; Sin’s law has might but was not right; the law of the Spirit has both right and might.”
The law is weak because it speaks to our flesh. It comes to fleshly men and speaks to them as fleshly men. But the work of the Spirit transforms us by the crucifixion of the old man and the old nature and it imparts the new man – a principle distinctly higher than the flesh.
The law could not defeat sin,
it could only detect sin!
In short, the law could not defeat sin; it could only detect sin. Only Jesus can defeat sin, and He did just that through His work on the cross. In order to defeat sin, Jesus had to identify with those bound by it, by coming in the likeness of sinful flesh. Under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, Paul carefully and correctly chose his words here, indicating that Jesus was not sinful flesh, but He identified with it entirely.
That the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled? …
In us? … Really??
Because Jesus fulfilled the righteous requirement of the law, and because we are in Christ, we fulfill the law. Let me say that one more time: Because Jesus fulfilled the righteous requirement of the law, and because we are in Christ, we fulfill the law. The law is fulfilled in us in regard to obedience, because Jesus righteousness stands for ours. The law is fulfilled in us in regard to punishment, because any punishment demanded by the law was poured out upon Jesus. It is important to note here that Paul does not say that we fulfill the righteous requirement of the law. He carefully says that the righteous requirement of the law is fulfilled in us. It isn’t fulfilled by us, but in us.
Simply put, Jesus is our substitute. Jesus was treated as a sinner so we can be treated as righteous.
Ready to be free from the Law of Sin & Death? Click this link.
Enjoy your day!
Lori Greenwood, PhD.
Looking for more teaching resources? Check out my website.