Bible Study # 14
The Law
Introduction
One of the biblical doctrines that has generated the most controversy in the history of Christianity is the law. There are three errors concerning this doctrine that we Christians must reject and avoid. The first is legalism; it consists of an extreme emphasis on the letter of the law, and in believing that we are saved by obedience to the law (religious Pharisaism). The second error is antinomianism. This word is derived from the Greek words “anti” (against) and “nomos” (law). It is the name given to a theological current that holds that since Christ abolished the law, we Christians have no obligation to keep it. This position teaches that we are free from all moral commitment to the law. But Saint Paul says that “we are under the law of Christ” (1 Cor. 9: 21). The third incorrect teaching is Galatianism, which preaches that we are saved by grace and by the law, by Faith and by works. Teaching what is correct according to the teachings of the Word of God is the purpose of this study.
1. Through whom did God give the law?
John 1: 17; 7: 19 “For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ” “Did not Moses give you the law, and none of you keeps the law? Why do you seek to kill me?”
2. What is the nature of the law of God?
Rom. 7: 12-14 “So then the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good. 13 Then did that which is good become death to me? Certainly not; but sin, that it might appear sin, produced death in me through that which is good, so that through the commandment sin might become exceedingly sinful. 14 For we know that the law is spiritual; but I am carnal, sold under sin”
3. What cannot be achieved through the law, and what does come through it?
Rom. 3: 20 “since by the works of the law no human being will be justified before him; for through the law comes the knowledge of sin”
4. To what does the apostle James compare the law?
James 1: 23-25 “For if anyone is a hearer of the word but not a doer of it, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror. 24 For he looks at himself, and goes away, and immediately forgets what he was like. 25 But he who looks intently into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and continues in it, not being a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does”
5. What is the law for, according to Saint Paul?
Gal. 3: 19-25 “Then, what is the law for?
It was added because of transgressions, until the seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was ordained through angels in the hand of a mediator. 20 Now a mediator is not for one only; but God is one. 21 Is the law then against the promises of God? Certainly not; for if the law given could have given life, truly righteousness would have been by the law. 22 But the Scripture has shut up all under sin, that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe. 23 But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up for the faith which was afterward to be revealed. 24 Therefore the law has been our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith. 25 But after faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor…”
6. What did Jesus come to do, and what did He not come to do, in relation to the law?
Matt. 5: 17-19 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets; I have not come to abolish, but to fulfill. 18 For truly I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, not one jot or one tittle will pass from the law until all is fulfilled. 19 Whoever, therefore, breaks one of these least commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does them and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven”
7. What did Jesus abolish and nail to the cross?
Col. 2: 14-17 “having canceled the handwriting of the decrees that was against us, which was contrary to us, taking it out of the way, nailing it to the cross, 15 and having stripped the principalities and powers, he exhibited them publicly, triumphing over them in the cross. 16 Therefore let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a feast day, new moon, or sabbaths, 17 all of which is a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ. “The law of the LORD is perfect” (Ps. 19: 7), and its demands are too (Rom. 7: 12). Man could not satisfy those demands because of his inability to do good (Rom. 7: 14-21). Christ came to fulfill the law (Matt. 5: 17). The old covenant could not be abolished without first being fulfilled. Christ, by His life of perfect obedience, fully fulfilled the covenant of the law and in this way can justify believers (Rom. 5: 17-21). Jesus Christ also delivered us from the curse of the law (Gal. 3: 10-13). Who was cursed according to the law? The one who did not obey it perfectly and flawlessly. (Gal. 3: 10). So since no one could give this kind of obedience, we were all under a curse. Christ did not deliver us from the curse by abrogating the law, but by fulfilling everything the law demanded of man, which man was not able to fulfill.
8. In what way was the law nailed and abolished on the cross?
A. The law was abolished as a covenant (Heb. 8: 6-13). This means that the New Covenant, the one that is now in force, is that of Grace, not that of the law of Moses.
B. The law has also been abolished as a regime (Rom. 7: 1-6). The law as a husband to us has died and now we are under the law of a new husband, who is Christ. (Rom. 7: 1-4). We are “under the new regime of the spirit, and not under the old regime of the letter” (Rom. 7: 6). We Christians are not under the law, but under grace (Rom. 6:14). Not being under the law means that we are not governed by the covenant of the law, but by the Covenant of Grace. Under the law means under the letter or the code of the law of Moses. That is, for example: ( 1 ) “food, drink, feast days, new moon or sabbath days” (Col. 2: 14-16); ( 2 ) “do not handle, do not taste, do not even touch” (Col. 2: 21); ( 3 ) “circumcision” (Gal. 5: 6); ( 4 ) all the commandments, statutes, precepts, and stipulations of the law of Moses. Now we are under the law of Christ (1 Cor. 9: 21). The law of Christ is all the commandments and ordinances of the New Testament (the law of the spirit). C. The law is abolished as a means of justification (Gal. 2: 16). “knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, we also have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ and not by the works of the law, because by the works of the law no one shall be justified”
9. What of the law of the Old Covenant is still in force?
Not the letter, but the spirit of the law remains in force in the New Covenant. The spirit of the law is what the law wants to accomplish in man. What Jesus called the most important matters of the law (Matt. 23: 23): “ justice, mercy, and Faith.” The New Testament makes a distinction between the letter of the law and the spirit of the law. Saint Paul, for example, considers himself blameless as to the letter of the law (Phil. 3: 4-6). But when he is confronted with the spirit of the law, that is, the demands of holiness of the law, the apostle considers himself a failure and dead (Rom. 7: 7-25). The Pharisees and all the religious keep the letter of the law, but not the spirit of the law (Matt. 23: 13-18). Saint Paul says that “love is the fulfillment of the law” (Rom. 13: 10) “for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law” (Rom. 13: 8-10). The apostle says that every commandment of the law is summed up in this saying: “you shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Rom. 13: 9). That is the spirit of the law, its essence, its purpose, its holiness, its spirituality. This is what Jesus did in the Sermon on the Mount: explain what the spirit of the law was. He repeated many times, in the aforementioned sermon: “it is written…” (the letter of the law), “but I say to you…” (the spirit of the law). For example, the commandment of the Sabbath (Exodus 20: 8-10). The letter of this commandment is to keep the 24 hours of the seventh day of the week. The spirit of this commandment is to live in Christ as the spiritual rest of the believer (Heb. 4: 1-11). The believer does not have to stop working in order to rest; his rest is spiritual, his rest is Christ. According to the New Testament, we are not obliged to keep Jewish days, months, years, or feasts ( Col. 2: 14-17; Gal. 14: 9-11), but if someone decides to “regard the day,” Saint Paul says: “he does it for the Lord” (Rom. 14: 5,6). Keeping any aspect of the letter is optional, not obligatory for Christians. We recognize that there is wisdom, and that it is beneficial physically and spiritually, to set apart a day to cease our secular labors and go to worship God in the sanctuary together with the body of Christ. What is not beneficial is to keep it according to the letter of the law, and to impose it as a current commandment of the Lord.
10. What did the apostles, guided by the Holy Spirit, determine regarding the observance of the law by Gentile believers?
Acts 15: 1-32
“6 And the apostles and the elders came together to consider this matter. 7 And after much discussion, Peter rose up and said to them: Brethren, you know that some time ago God chose that the Gentiles should hear the word of the gospel from my mouth and believe. 8 And God, who knows the heart, bore them witness, giving them the Holy Spirit, just as he did to us; 9 and made no distinction between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith. 10 Now therefore, why do you test God by putting a yoke upon the neck of the disciples which neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear? 11 But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus we shall be saved, in the same manner as they. 12 Then all the multitude kept silent, and listened to Barnabas and Paul, who told how great signs and wonders God had done through them among the Gentiles. 13 And after they had stopped speaking, James answered, saying: Brethren, listen to me. 14 Simon has related how God first visited the Gentiles, to take out of them a people for his name. 15 And with this the words of the prophets agree, as it is written: 16 After this I will return, and will rebuild the tabernacle of David, which has fallen down; and I will repair its ruins, and I will set it up again, 17 so that the rest of mankind may seek the Lord, and all the Gentiles upon whom my name is called, 18 says the Lord, who makes all these things known from of old. 19 Therefore I judge that we should not trouble those from among the Gentiles who turn to God, 20 but that we write to them to abstain from the pollutions of idols, from fornication, from strangled things, and from blood. 21 For Moses has had from ancient generations in every city those who preach him in the synagogues, where he is read every Sabbath. 22 Then it seemed good to the apostles and the elders, with the whole church, to choose men from among them and send them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas: Judas who was surnamed Barsabas, and Silas, leading men among the brethren; 23 and to write by their hand: The apostles and the elders and the brethren, to the brethren from among the Gentiles who are in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia, greetings. 24 Since we have heard that some who went out from us, to whom we gave no command, have troubled you with words, unsettling your souls, saying you must be circumcised and keep the law, 25 it seemed good to us, having come to one accord, to choose men and send them to you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul, 26 men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. 27 Therefore we have sent Judas and Silas, who will also report the same things by word of mouth. 28 For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things: 29 that you abstain from things sacrificed to idols, from blood, from things strangled, and from fornication; if you keep yourselves from these, you will do well. Farewell. 30 So when they were sent off, they came to Antioch, and having gathered the assembly, they delivered the letter; 31 and when they had read it, they rejoiced because of the consolation. 32 And Judas and Silas, being prophets themselves also, exhorted and strengthened the brethren with many words”
11. What happened to the church of Galatia for listening to the Judaizing teachers who brought their message to it?
Gal. 5: 4 “You have been severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law; you have fallen from grace”
12. What does Saint Paul call the Galatians, and why?
Gal. 3: 1-5 “O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you not to obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed among you as crucified? 2 This only I want to learn from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? 3 Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh? 4 Have you suffered so many things in vain? if indeed it was in vain. 5 Therefore he who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you, does he do it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? 12. What is God’s counsel to those of us who have been set free from the yoke of the law? Gal. 5: 1-13 “Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage. 2 Indeed I, Paul, say to you that if you become circumcised, Christ will profit you nothing. 3 And I testify again to every man who becomes circumcised that he is a debtor to keep the whole law. 4 You have been severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law; you have fallen from grace. 5 For we through the Spirit eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness by faith; 6 for in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but faith working through love. 7 You ran well; who hindered you from obeying the truth? 8 This persuasion does not come from him who calls you. 9 A little leaven leavens the whole lump. 10 I have confidence in you in the Lord that you will not think otherwise; but he who troubles you shall bear his judgment, whoever he is. 11 And I, brethren, if I still preach circumcision, why do I still suffer persecution? Then the offense of the cross has ceased. 12 I wish that those who trouble you would even cut themselves off! 13 For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another”
