Subject: Raven, do you want ALL the Law? |
Bible Note: So what is the purpose of the Law? To show sin exceedingly sinful so that manking would turn to Christ. Paul says that the Law is indeed holy, righteous, and good. Why? Because it reflects God's morality. James says that it is a mirror that reflects just how sinful mankind really is. But man, full of do-it-yourself religion and performance-based acceptance, grabbed the Law and said, "I can do THAT! I'll clean myself with it." When you look in a mirror and see yourself with all your imperfections, do you grab the mirror off the wall to clean yourself? Of course not, the mirror can do nothing to clean you up, it just shows you reality. The Law is the same. Paul says that it was a schoolmaster (a discplinarian) to lead us to Christ so that we would be made right, not by keeping the Law, but by faith in Jesus alone. So the Law was given to drive man back to God as his source for righteousness, holiness, sanctification, love, etc. When we acknowledge that all these things are found in Christ and receive them in receiving Christ, we call it "grace." It is a gift. The confusion arises when Christians would claim that Christ is indeed our righteousness, our life, our holiness, our sanctification, then return to the Law as our standard. Christ is our standard and He fulfills it in and through us. The just (righteous) shall live (walk, perform) by faith, not the Law. In Christ, we can once again look to God alone as our source for everything we need for life and godliness - 2 Pet 1:3. The problem with much of modern Christianity is that we think that grace is an EVENT, not a life-style. We think we received grace at salvation and not WE maintain our righteous standing before God. But grace is just as much a process as an event. That is why Paul urges us to grow in grace (never Law) and "as you have received the Lord - by faith through grace - so walk in Him. This is why Paul as the Galatians, "You foolish people! You were justified and born again by faith in Christ! Are you trying to be sanctified by the flesh (trying to keep the Law)?" They were being told by the Judaizers that salvation by grace through faith in Christ was fine, but that now they needed to go back to the Law to find out how to live, how to be "sanctified." God has a better way, walking by faith in Christ fully expecting Him to live out God's righteous requirements in us each day: Romans 8: 3- "For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh (self-performance), God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh (self-performance) but according to the Spirit." Hope this helps, brother. You may not agree with me. That's okay. But I hope you understand my viewpoint better. ChristLifer2001 5 For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on (6) the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, (7) the things of the Spirit. |