The Law

I read chapters 5, 6, and 7 of Matthew's Gospel this morning, and when I read 5: 17 & 18 where the Lord said, "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." After reading this, I did some heavy thinking about the law and what it means to a Christian. Here is my thoughts and feeling on the law.

First, we see Jesus had not come to abolish the law or the prophets, but to fulfill them. He clearly insisted that not one jot or one tittle would pass from the law until it was completely fulfilled. The jot, or "yod", is a smallest letter in the Hebrew alphabet; the tittle is a small mark or projection that serves to distinguish one letter from another, much as the bottom stroke of a capital E distinguishes it from a capital F. Jesus believed in the literal inspiration of the Bible, even in what might seem small unimportant details. Nothing in Scripture, even the smallest stroke, is without significance.

It is important to notice that Jesus did not say that the law would never pass away. He said it would not pass away till all was fulfilled. This distinction has ramifications for the believer today, and since the believer's relation to the law is rather complicated, I would like to write what I feel our relationship to the law is.

I look at the law as a system of legislation given by God through Moses to the nation of Israel. The entire body of the law is found in Exodus 20-31, Leviticus, and Deuteronomy, though its essence is embodied in the Ten Commandments.

The law was not given as a means of salvation (Acts 13:39; Rom.3:20a; Gal.2:16, 21; 3:11); it was designed to show people their sinfulness (Rom.3:20b; 5:20, 7:7; 1 Cor.15: 56; Gal.3:19) and then drive them to God for His gracious salvation. It was given to the nation of Israel, even though it contains moral principles which are valid for people in every age (Rom.2:14, 15). God tested Israel under the law as a sample of the human race, and Israel's guilt proved the world's guilt (Rom.3:19).

The law had attached to it the penalty of death (Gal.3: 10); and to break one command was to be guilty of all (James 2: 10). Since people had broken the law, they were under the curse of death. God's righteousness and holiness demanded that the penalty be paid. It was for this reason that Jesus came into the world: to pay the penalty by His death. He died as a Substitute for guilty lawbreakers, even though He Himself was sinless. He did not wave the law aside; rather He met the full demands of the law by fulfilling its strict requirements in His life and in His death. Thus, the gospel does not overthrow the law; it upholds the law and shows how the law's demands have been fully satisfied by Christ's redemptive work.

Therefore, the person who trusts in Jesus is no longer under the law; he is under grace (Rom.6: 14). He is dead to the law through the work of Christ. The penalty of the law must be paid only once; since Christ paid the penalty, the believer does not have to. It is in this sense that the law has faded away for the Christian (2 Cor.3: 7-11). The law was a tutor until Christ came, but after salvation, this tutor is no longer needed (Gal.3: 24, 25). Yet while the Christian is not under the law, that doesn't mean he is lawless. A stronger chain than law binds him because he is under the law of Christ (1 Cor.9: 21). His behavior is molded, not by fear of punishment, but by a loving desire to please his Savior. Christ has become his rule of life (John 13: 15; 15: 12; Eph.5: 1, 2; 1 Jn.2: 6; 3: 16).

The question you are asking is "Should believers obey the Ten Commands?" The answer is that certain principles contained in the law are of lasting relevance. It is always wrong to steal, to covet, or to murder. Nine of the Ten Commandments are repeated in the NT, with an important distinction- they are not given as law (with penalty attached), but as training in righteousness for the people of God (2 Tim.3: 16b). The one commandment not repeated is the Sabbath law: Christians are never taught to keep the Sabbath (i.e., the seventh day of the week, Saturday).

The ministry of the law to unsaved people has not ended: "But we know that the law is good if one uses it lawfully" (1 Tim.1: 8). Its lawful use is to produce the knowledge of sin and thus lead to repentance. But the law is not for those who are already saved: "The law is not made for a righteous person" (1 Tim.1: 9).

The righteousness demanded by the law is fulfilled in those "who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit" (Rom.8: 4). In fact, the teachings of our Lord in the Sermon on the Mount set a higher standard than that set by the law. For instance, the law said, "Do not murder"; Jesus said, "Do not even hate." So the Sermon on the Mount not only upholds the Law and the Prophets but it amplifies them and develops their deeper implications.

I hope this explains my thoughts on the law and how it applies to the believer.

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