The Law is for Wimps

This is a bold title for a blog, would you not agree?

First I want to say that I mean no disrespect to the Law or the Word of God.  That is not the point here! God’s word, the Bible is sacred to me.  So when I start out by saying the ” The Law is for Wimps”, I am referring to people and religious organizations who use legalism (the Law) to control and manipulate people.  I find in my 30 years of being a Christian, that there seems to be a worse attitude towards the “grace message and the New Covenant” than there is the law.  This article is meant to show you that “the grace of God” is not a cake walk and in reality is more a challenge than “the Law.”  Let us begin with a life experience of mine dealing with the Law and Church.

When I was a “baby Christian,” just born-again a year or so, I used to go to our Sunday morning service and a big subject was “keeping the Law and living in grace”.   I was studying the Books of Galatians and Romans which together say a lot about Doctrine and the subjects of Law and Grace.  So you can imagine that their take on this subject did not sit well with me.  God gave me a revelation on Grace and how we as New Testament Saints are no longer under the law but grace.  I brought this up and we got into a heated debate.  I was not trying to be difficult, but I was very confused by what the Elders in my church said.  This brought a real conflict into my spirit.  Because of this I was called to the “Pastors Office” for much needed correction and when I got there, the Spirit of God fell on both me and the Pastor .  I shared, “I was not trying to be difficult but I was more confused then anything how people who claim to be so “Word” minded refused to see scripture for what it said.”  So the Pastor asked me to share what God has been showing me and he would straighten me out.  I welcomed the idea, I loved my brothers in Christ and I did not want conflict. So as we began to discuss this topics, I began to share what God was showing me in scripture. The Pastor tried to maintain his position but I seen a uncomfortable look on his face.  Something was wrong!  The Pastor at this point stopped me and said “lets pray together.”  We did and then the biggest surprise happen.  He closed his bible and then asked me two questions. Who was teaching me on this subject of Grace and what book was I reading.  I said, “no one was teaching me but the Spirit of God, and what book I was reading, I said the, “the Bible.”  Thank God, my Pastor was a spiritually sensitive man and heard God real well because he stopped in his tracks. He said, “What is discussed here can not leave this room, I can not be at odds with the elders.” I agreed. He continued ” I see God has been teaching you and what you are understanding is completely correct.  Your understanding is at a pastors level of learning and I can not grieve the Spirit of God. So what God is teaching you is completely correct and biblical, but you need to understand that there are traditions in churches and men’s pet doctrines and you are stamping on them all, right now!  Secondly, I need to maintain control, how can I maintain control and the offering if I do not use the Law to enforce on people of my congregation.”  We agreed after the meeting I would cease my interjection of grace in the bible study and let there be peace.  But after that I had a deeper relationship with the Pastor and he was the one who made me “youth pastor” after God told him to place me there after he spent a month in prayer for a youth pastor. I began my life in ministry.

Let me show you I mean no disrespect to the Law, God word in the New Testament has it own way of saying this!  The Bible makes it clear that the law was only temporary, it was never established to be forever or even kept. But I going to use a lot of scriptures to state this so you can see this is not opinion based blog. It from word of God.

In that He says, “A new covenant,” He has made the first obsolete (the old covenant). Now what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away.
 
The Bible makes it clear that New Covenant (grace) has make the Old covenant (law) obsolete.  I did not say it the Bible does.
 
The word obsolete in the Webster Online dictionary says : no longer used because something newer exists : replaced by something newer: no longer used by anyone.
 
This is powerful in itself. I did not expect this definition when I looked it up: no longer used, something newer exist.  Exactly what Hebrews 8:13 says. That the New Covenant replaced the Old Covenant. I do not know about you. I have learned with the invention of cell phones it made the land line phone,  almost over night land line telephones became obsolete.  I have not had a home phone in almost 20 years now.  The same happen when cassette tapes replace the 8 track and now cassettes replaced by CDs and now the internet streaming is replacing everything.  It means to me that home phones still exist and I still can find a 8 tracks but why?  They are now obsolete and no value or use to me in comparison to owning a smart phone or having my music in mp3 form on my tablets and phones. The law still is there in print in the Old Testament of the Bible but it been replace by a better and more glorious Covenant.

 

2 Corinthians 3:4-17(NKJV)  And we have such trust through Christ toward God. Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God, who also made us sufficient as ministers of the new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit;[a] for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. But if the ministry of death, written and engraved on stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of the glory of his countenance, which glory was passing away, how will the ministry of the Spirit not be more glorious? For if the ministry of condemnation had glory, the ministry of righteousness exceeds much more in glory.

I can belabor this point indefinitely in the New Testament but when it come to people who in church they have one hobby horse they ride and it is this verse that Jesus said:

[ Christ Fulfills the Law ] “Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill.
For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled.

I hear people quote this verse constantly in defending in keep on with the law because Jesus said it will not pass away until it was fulfilled meaning that the law is good until the “end of the world” not knowing or realizing at the cross when Jesus said  “it is finished” he was fulfilling this verse and the whole law. Jesus was the fulfillment and the end of the law. In verse 17 he said this before verse 18: I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. He did that at the cross he kept his word and the Law was fulfilled to the fullest extent to the requirements of God. I want to add some verses to finish this section of this blog.

  • For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace.
  • But now we have been delivered from the law, having died to what we were held by, so that we should serve in the newness of the Spirit and not in the oldness of the letter.
  • For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.
  • Therefore, my brethren, you also have become dead to the law through the body of Christ, that you may be married to another—to Him who was raised from the dead, that we should bear fruit to God.
  • I do not set aside the grace of God; for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died in vain.”
  • Is the law then against the promises of God? Certainly not! For if there had been a law given which could have given life, truly righteousness would have been by the law.
The purpose of the Law
So the logical question might be asked, If  we are saved by grace and by the blood of Jesus what was the purpose of the Law. I will explain it simply and then once again show you verses to help you out.  I find most do not realize that from Adam to Moses there was no law, no ten commandments. The law was first to show us want was wrong, if we have no law there nothing to say it is wrong!  It second purpose is to show us that we are sinners and need of a Savior.  God knew from the beginning that no human can keep the law and then it states in the Book of James that if you error in one point of the law your guilty of it all.  It was never meant to be kept but to show us our need for God.  If you do not believe me do the litmus test: Get honest with yourself, no rationalizations, no justifications and go through the ten commandments one by one and asked have I ever broke this to the small degree? I bet before you get to number 4 you will be full of guilt and shame, if you are honest.  Now image taking this test before a Holy, all knowing God and your eternal soul was on the line? Any takers? I do not think so.  Well this is why we need Jesus. He the only one who can go through the litmus test and pass and because he passed, you pass under the New Covenant. He paid for all those sins you committed.
  • Romans 3:20  Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin.
  • Romans 7:7[ Sin’s Advantage in the Law ] What shall we say then? Is the law sin? Certainly not! On the contrary, I would not have known sin except through the law. For I would not have known covetousness unless the law had said, “You shall not covet
  • Galatians 3:19[ Purpose of the Law ] What purpose then does the law serve? It was added because of transgressions, till the Seed (Jesus) should come to whom the promise was made; and it was appointed through angels by the hand of a mediator.
  • Galatians 3:23 But before faith came, we were kept under guard by the law, kept for the faith which would afterward be revealed.
  • Galatians 3:24 Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith.
     
     
    The Answer to Law 
    Jesus Christ, the Son of God is the answer to the law.  He came to fulfill the Law. God did not sweep our sins under a rug or say “boy will be boys.” or even turn his head and pay no attention.  He first announced that all men our guilty of sin and rebellion.  The said the “wages of sin, the consciences of sin is death” Roman 6:23 then after he announced our guilt, he became man (Jesus) and came and experienced what is to be human. He lived on this planet for 33 years. Not as royalty and all its splendor, as a son of a carpenter in a small rural village called Nazareth. Then after that took our sins, all our failures and Gods holy judgement on us and placed it on Himself on the cross. He paid all your debt and because He paid it all, we owe nothing. This is the love and the grace of God.  So what happens with Christians who are misguided, they receive the grace of God and then go back and try to earn Gods love and favor by trying to keep the law. The book of Galatians deals with this whole subject of trying to mix the Old and New Covenant. Paul called this a accursed Gospel.  Why try to work for what is already paid for and brought?   If I went to your bank and paid off your mortgage, and then later you go in and try to pay on it, knowing I paid if off. The banker would tell you. It paid in full, no longer do you need to pay on it. The house belongs to you. That what is done in Christ. Your sins, your debts been paid. You are no longer trying to be forgiven, you are forgiven. You no longer trying to be righteous, you been declared righteous by the Holy Judge.
    Here is some verses from this very idea. 
     
  • Romans 8:3 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,
     
  • Galatians 2:16  knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law; for by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified.
  •  Galatians 3:11  But that no one is justified by the law in the sight of God is evident, for “the just shall live by faith.”
     
  • Galatians 5:4  You have become estranged from Christ, you who attempt to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace.
  •  Galatians 3:10 [ The Law Brings a Curse ] For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse; for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who does not continue in all things which are written in the book of the law, to do them.”
  •  Galatians 2:21  I do not set aside the grace of God; for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died in vain.”
     
  • Romans 3:28  Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law
     
     
     We can conclude from these verses we are no longer under the Old Covenant (the Law) but under a better and more glorious covenant. Next week we will deal with those who think they are under the law and guilt.
 

 

If you enjoyed this first part tune in next week for Part 2. Also please bless us by sharing this with your friends and unreached by using Facebook and other social media. It helps us get out the word. Thank you and God bless.

DSI Ministries is available to speak at your bible studies or your church meetings and teach on any subject you enjoy on our blog series. Please feel free to contact us. 

 

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