New Testament Law
2-Aug-11
Do you ever feel like a bad Christian? Do you feel like God is distant because you haven’t been doing what you should? Do you think that your Christian walk is so pathetic that it’s not worth pursuing? Do you feel like you have to do certain things to be in good standing with God? Or that you’re currently not in good standing with God because you haven’t been doing the things that you know a Christian should do? Feeling guilty? You have come to the right place.
Old Testament Law
Before we can move forward, we need to briefly look backward at God's history with His people. After Israel left Egypt, God provided them commandments for various things. Since He used Moses to issue these laws to the Israelites, collectively they are known as the Mosaic Law or Old Testament Law. The most popular portion of this law is the 10 Commandments (Ex 20.1-17). Over time, some of the Israelites started to believe that upholding these laws was a means of staying on good terms with God. (See: What’s the purpose of God’s law?)
By Jesus’ time, we certainly know there were some who were attempting to be justified (to be in good standing with God) by obeying the Mosaic Law. And Jesus points out two major problems that arise from this. The first is that people have a way of fabricating a superficial understanding of God’s laws & essentially dumb them down to the level that is suitable for and/or attainable by them. Therefore, they not only miss God’s original intent for the law & become slack, but also become prideful because they feel more “spiritual” or “holier than thou” for having attained this reduced standard. This is how man ruins pure religion, missing both God & others.
Jesus would point out that these religious elitists (Pharisees & Teachers of the Law) had missed the mark. When they thought they had upheld the commandment against murdering, Jesus clarified that it’s violated if you call someone a name in anger (Mt 5.21-22). Or when they assumed they had never committed adultery, Jesus explained that simple lust was the same as adultery in the heart (Mt 5.27-28).
The second problem Jesus highlights is that if you aren’t prideful about upholding a superficial understanding of God’s law, then you are going to be heavily burdened by trying to obey God’s law in an effort to be acceptable to Him which inevitably results in discouragement & despair. In fact, Jesus sums up both problems in the following passage:
Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples: “The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. So you must obey them and do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach. They tie up heavy loads and put them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them. – Mt 23.1-4
He said the people should obey what they tell them because He is referring to their public reading of Scripture (from Moses’ seat). But they were not to do what they did because they performed to a substandard understanding of those Scriptures. To the ordinary people, the religious elitists would seem to have obeyed the law perfectly - something the ordinary people knew they couldn’t sustain. To the religious elitists, they couldn’t understand why the ordinary people couldn’t obey God & thus they disdained the very people they were supposed to be ministering to (Mt 9.11, Lk 11.42). Legalism breeds pride & discouragement; God wants neither for His people.
Of course, Jesus teaches that if you want to rely on your own righteousness to be in good standing with God, then you have to be perfect. Obviously, this is an alarming statement because it’s a human impossibility – and that is precisely Jesus’s point. Enter grace – God doing for us what we can’t do for ourselves. Jesus came to Earth not just to be punished for our sins (violations of God’s law – 1 Jn 3.4), but also to live a perfect life – fulfilling the entire law for us. When someone “trusts Jesus”, they believe He was punished for all their personal sins & are qualified for heaven entirely because of Jesus’s perfection with no contribution of their own. At that point, that person is instantaneously & permanently justified before God – they have a perfect standing with God though they are not perfect. That is the good news that is the Gospel.
“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.” – Jesus in Mt 5.17
God made him (Jesus) who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
- 2 Cor 5.21
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. - Eph 2.8-9
New Testament Law
In the first century as the Gospel spread, people struggled with how they were to live as Christians, especially those who had the background of Mosaic Law tainted with legalism. In fact, the Apostle Paul dealt with this much in his letters to the Romans & Galatians.
Now that we have the completed Bible with God’s revelation of the New Testament, its easy look back & critique the Pharisees & Teachers of the Law for trying to gain good standing with God by obeying the law. It’s easy to agree with Paul in his rebuke of the Galatians for reverting back to trusting in the law for their justification after having already trusted in Christ. But there is a similar problem today among Christians. We have created New Testament Law.
We have come up with a new list of commandments that we either subconsciously hold in our own minds or perhaps even officially recognize as a list of things to we “ought” to do. We can subject ourselves to these or perhaps try to hold others to them. The items on the list are not wrong or bad – they are usually things that are very Biblical – much like the Old Testament Law. Here are some common things that make up our New Testament Law:
But the problem is revealed when we fail to maintain our list & consequently begin to feel like we are not in good standing with God – maybe we tell ourselves that we’re not a “good Christian”. We may not recognize it or say it out loud, but in essence we feel that we are not justified before God in the here & now. Oh sure, we might say that we have trusted in Jesus for our salvation & are justified somewhere out there in eternity after we die, but we honestly don’t believe we are justified in our moments (or seasons) of failings. In those moments, what does it show that we are really trusting in for our justification? When we think like this, we are no different from the Galatians & are just setting ourselves up to be demoralized.
Old Testament Law
Before we can move forward, we need to briefly look backward at God's history with His people. After Israel left Egypt, God provided them commandments for various things. Since He used Moses to issue these laws to the Israelites, collectively they are known as the Mosaic Law or Old Testament Law. The most popular portion of this law is the 10 Commandments (Ex 20.1-17). Over time, some of the Israelites started to believe that upholding these laws was a means of staying on good terms with God. (See: What’s the purpose of God’s law?)
By Jesus’ time, we certainly know there were some who were attempting to be justified (to be in good standing with God) by obeying the Mosaic Law. And Jesus points out two major problems that arise from this. The first is that people have a way of fabricating a superficial understanding of God’s laws & essentially dumb them down to the level that is suitable for and/or attainable by them. Therefore, they not only miss God’s original intent for the law & become slack, but also become prideful because they feel more “spiritual” or “holier than thou” for having attained this reduced standard. This is how man ruins pure religion, missing both God & others.
Jesus would point out that these religious elitists (Pharisees & Teachers of the Law) had missed the mark. When they thought they had upheld the commandment against murdering, Jesus clarified that it’s violated if you call someone a name in anger (Mt 5.21-22). Or when they assumed they had never committed adultery, Jesus explained that simple lust was the same as adultery in the heart (Mt 5.27-28).
The second problem Jesus highlights is that if you aren’t prideful about upholding a superficial understanding of God’s law, then you are going to be heavily burdened by trying to obey God’s law in an effort to be acceptable to Him which inevitably results in discouragement & despair. In fact, Jesus sums up both problems in the following passage:
Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples: “The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. So you must obey them and do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach. They tie up heavy loads and put them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them. – Mt 23.1-4
He said the people should obey what they tell them because He is referring to their public reading of Scripture (from Moses’ seat). But they were not to do what they did because they performed to a substandard understanding of those Scriptures. To the ordinary people, the religious elitists would seem to have obeyed the law perfectly - something the ordinary people knew they couldn’t sustain. To the religious elitists, they couldn’t understand why the ordinary people couldn’t obey God & thus they disdained the very people they were supposed to be ministering to (Mt 9.11, Lk 11.42). Legalism breeds pride & discouragement; God wants neither for His people.
Of course, Jesus teaches that if you want to rely on your own righteousness to be in good standing with God, then you have to be perfect. Obviously, this is an alarming statement because it’s a human impossibility – and that is precisely Jesus’s point. Enter grace – God doing for us what we can’t do for ourselves. Jesus came to Earth not just to be punished for our sins (violations of God’s law – 1 Jn 3.4), but also to live a perfect life – fulfilling the entire law for us. When someone “trusts Jesus”, they believe He was punished for all their personal sins & are qualified for heaven entirely because of Jesus’s perfection with no contribution of their own. At that point, that person is instantaneously & permanently justified before God – they have a perfect standing with God though they are not perfect. That is the good news that is the Gospel.
“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.” – Jesus in Mt 5.17
God made him (Jesus) who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
- 2 Cor 5.21
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. - Eph 2.8-9
New Testament Law
In the first century as the Gospel spread, people struggled with how they were to live as Christians, especially those who had the background of Mosaic Law tainted with legalism. In fact, the Apostle Paul dealt with this much in his letters to the Romans & Galatians.
Now that we have the completed Bible with God’s revelation of the New Testament, its easy look back & critique the Pharisees & Teachers of the Law for trying to gain good standing with God by obeying the law. It’s easy to agree with Paul in his rebuke of the Galatians for reverting back to trusting in the law for their justification after having already trusted in Christ. But there is a similar problem today among Christians. We have created New Testament Law.
We have come up with a new list of commandments that we either subconsciously hold in our own minds or perhaps even officially recognize as a list of things to we “ought” to do. We can subject ourselves to these or perhaps try to hold others to them. The items on the list are not wrong or bad – they are usually things that are very Biblical – much like the Old Testament Law. Here are some common things that make up our New Testament Law:
- Read your Bible
- Pray
- Go to church
- Give
- Serve
- Evangelize
- Participate in ordinances, communion, etc.
- [fill in the blank]
But the problem is revealed when we fail to maintain our list & consequently begin to feel like we are not in good standing with God – maybe we tell ourselves that we’re not a “good Christian”. We may not recognize it or say it out loud, but in essence we feel that we are not justified before God in the here & now. Oh sure, we might say that we have trusted in Jesus for our salvation & are justified somewhere out there in eternity after we die, but we honestly don’t believe we are justified in our moments (or seasons) of failings. In those moments, what does it show that we are really trusting in for our justification? When we think like this, we are no different from the Galatians & are just setting ourselves up to be demoralized.
Part of this stems from a fractured theology. In our minds we have divorced justification from our sanctification (process of personal Christian growth). Thus, we really think that justification has only to do with the fact that when we die we will be able to stand in God’s presence by God’s grace through faith in Christ. We may even say that we are currently justified & regularly receive God’s gift of grace for various things. But when we beat ourselves up & have a deficient spiritual self-esteem, we have misunderstood justification. We have exchanged grace for bondage.
The truth is that just as none of us can live up to the Old Testament Law, no one can live up to this New Testament Law either. All of us fail to some degree. All except one – Jesus Christ. And just as He perfectly fulfilled all of the Old Testament Law, He also fulfilled all of our New Testament Law (at least the Biblical parts - Rom 8.1-4, Eph 2.15).
<< CONTINUED BELOW >>
The truth is that just as none of us can live up to the Old Testament Law, no one can live up to this New Testament Law either. All of us fail to some degree. All except one – Jesus Christ. And just as He perfectly fulfilled all of the Old Testament Law, He also fulfilled all of our New Testament Law (at least the Biblical parts - Rom 8.1-4, Eph 2.15).
<< CONTINUED BELOW >>
New Testament Law - Fulfilled By Jesus
- Read your Bible - Jesus is the Living Word (Jn 1.1, 14, 12.49-50, 14.10)
- Pray - Jesus routinely prayed (Mk 1.35, Lk 5.16)
- Go to church - Jesus regularly went to Synagogue (Lk 4.16)
- Give - Jesus gives us many things, but especially His own life (Mt 20.28, Jn 10.14-18)
- Serve - Jesus exemplified service in washing His disciples feet (Jn 13.12-17)
- Evangelize - Jesus preached the Gospel (Mt 4.17, 9.35)
- Participate in ordinances, communion, etc. - Jesus fulfilled whatever was righteous (Mt 3.13-15)
- [fill in the blank] - Jesus did it all right because He always obeyed His Father (Jn 15.10)
By trying to keep New Testament Law, we will either deflate it to a superficial level that we can more easily attain causing us to be slack & prideful or we will be discouraged by regular failure – just as Jesus highlighted about the Old Testament Law. It is impossible for us to live up to either set of laws. Fortunately, justification doesn’t depend on that. In fact, we have some examples in Scripture of people who did lots of good, even spiritual things, yet they were not justified (Mt 7.21-23, 19.16-26). Justification has to do with our relationship with Christ by His Grace through faith in Him. It is God’s grace doing for us what we could never do, that enables us to stand at all. Since we didn’t do any deeds to attain this standing, we cannot lose it by not doing something or even sinning. So once this relationship is established, our justification always applies – even when we fail. Please note that little word “now” in Rom 5.1-2 below.
Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. – Rom 5.1-2
This passage applies at the moment of your salvation. It applies 20 years later. It applies when you succeed. It applies when you fail.
Well, don’t we still have to do the things listed in Scripture? Oh yes! But we do not do them in order to maintain a good standing with God; we do them because we are in good standing with God already! We do them because we love God, we don’t do them in order to love God (Jn 14.23-24, Gal 5.6).
The law was added so that the trespass might increase. But where sin increased, grace increased all the more, so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. – Rom 5.20-21
So what do we do when we fail? I’m glad you asked because this is critical. God knows we’re going to fail – just as Jesus called out Peter’s denial before it happened (Jn 13.37-38). Let’s be realistic – we will fail, but don’t despair! The Apostle Paul even shared our struggles (Rom 7.21-25). And let’s be honest, whenever we don’t do what the Scriptures tell us, it is sin (Jas 4.17). And the good news is the Good News of the Gospel. In fact, the answer to our problem is the Gospel. Not that we have to get saved all over again, but the steps are the same. We acknowledge our sin & our inadequacy then repent & trust in God’s grace to help us do what we cannot do on our own. If you fail to pray or read the Bible, confess that as sin & ask God to help you. If you struggle going to church, giving, serving, evangelizing, etc. - confess that as sin & ask God to help you. With this in mind, I highly recommend you read the books of Romans & Galatians, then rejoice in your justification & press on!
If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. - 1 Jn 1.8-9
So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. – Jn 8.36
It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. – Gal 5.1
Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. – Rom 5.1-2
This passage applies at the moment of your salvation. It applies 20 years later. It applies when you succeed. It applies when you fail.
Well, don’t we still have to do the things listed in Scripture? Oh yes! But we do not do them in order to maintain a good standing with God; we do them because we are in good standing with God already! We do them because we love God, we don’t do them in order to love God (Jn 14.23-24, Gal 5.6).
The law was added so that the trespass might increase. But where sin increased, grace increased all the more, so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. – Rom 5.20-21
So what do we do when we fail? I’m glad you asked because this is critical. God knows we’re going to fail – just as Jesus called out Peter’s denial before it happened (Jn 13.37-38). Let’s be realistic – we will fail, but don’t despair! The Apostle Paul even shared our struggles (Rom 7.21-25). And let’s be honest, whenever we don’t do what the Scriptures tell us, it is sin (Jas 4.17). And the good news is the Good News of the Gospel. In fact, the answer to our problem is the Gospel. Not that we have to get saved all over again, but the steps are the same. We acknowledge our sin & our inadequacy then repent & trust in God’s grace to help us do what we cannot do on our own. If you fail to pray or read the Bible, confess that as sin & ask God to help you. If you struggle going to church, giving, serving, evangelizing, etc. - confess that as sin & ask God to help you. With this in mind, I highly recommend you read the books of Romans & Galatians, then rejoice in your justification & press on!
If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. - 1 Jn 1.8-9
So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. – Jn 8.36
It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. – Gal 5.1