Christian Living

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LAW vs LOVE

Galatians 3:24-26
So the law was put in charge to lead us to Christ that we might be justified by faith. Now that faith has come, we are no longer under the supervision of the law.


What an awesome proclamation by Paul- that we are no longer under the suppressive power of the Law. In its entirety, The Old Testament law, with its hundreds of rules and standards, was so burdensome and limiting, that it frustrated the people to the point of exhaustion. Thank God that we are freed from that and He no longer requires us to adhere to such standards. But let’s not be too quick in our comfort. If we take an honest, concerned look at what that implies, a huge problem begins to take shape. A question inevitably arises: If we are no longer under the supervision of the Law, then what restrains us to walk a moral life? What holds us to keep the course and live a life that is pleasing to God? Is it simply fear or is it something else? If faith has truly come, and I am no longer measured against my works, what keeps me living straight? More importantly, are there still rules? And if so, which rules do I follow and which rules do I ignore.

In the Old Testament the people’s moral restraint was regulated by the law. However, because the Law was so impersonal, it needed to be exhaustive to cover everything that can be thought of under the sun. For example, an interpretation of the 4th Commandment (Remember the Sabbath day) had to be issued to define what was considered “work” and therefore cannot be done on the Sabbath. It came to be such a burden that people had to tie ropes around their waists when at home to keep them from walking a certain distance in order to satisfy the requirements of the Law regarding the Sabbath. Now, since the Law was a decree from God, people knew that disobedience against it will bring punishment. Naturally the people became fearful and followed the law in order not to provoke the Almighty, but not because they really wanted to obey.

When Jesus came he did away with the legalism of following the Law. Jesus essentially freed us from the set of rules that we didn’t have a connection to. However, as we had already mentioned, this idea gives birth to a major problem with morality. What restrains us from doing wrong since we are now freed from the Law. The answer is found in Matthew 22:37-40, where Jesus quotes from Deuteronomy and Leviticus. His answer to the pointed question of the Pharisees and Sadducees in turn answers our moral dilemma here. His answer was “Love”. Love for God & love for our neighbor. In one stroke of divine genius, Jesus accomplishes three unthinkable tasks: (1) He boils the entirety of the Law & prophets back to two overlooked passages in the Pentateuch. (2) He immediately solves the problem of having a morality without a strict regulatory law, by saying that what governs us now is not an impersonal law, but rather a relationship- a relationship with others & with our God. (3) He maintains the integrity of scripture. He introduced no new ideas, he simply shed light on two old ones.

How amazing! Only the mind of the Almighty can come up with something like that.



In Romans 14, Paul says God honors both the brother who restrains from certain foods and the brother who eats everything, since they both do it for the Lord. That was impossible with the old law. After all is said and done, we find that God is after the heart of man. Our desire to please God is what pleases God. Where the law failed, love soars. Now, we have an answer to our inner questions of “is it right to…” or “should I…”. Now, our moral conduct is not regulated by a set of distant “DOs & DON’Ts”, but by our love for our fellow sinners and our Holy God. We refrain from certain practices & activities because it neither pleases God nor builds up our brethren. We are careful of our words & actions because we care against stumbling our neighbors and disappointing our Lord. We do things meaningfully and genuinely as opposed to adhering to a set of regulations that we don’t identify with. We serve and obey our God, not simply because we fear His wrath, but because we love Him. By one great act, God eliminated an insincere, impersonal legalistic practice and replaced it with a genuine, personal affection to both God and man. With a few words, Jesus sets up a new standard- a new law. It’s all about love. Love is our new Law.


God bless,
March M. Villareal
www.freewebs.com/manswicked
[email protected]

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