Is the Law Good?
I was reading in Leviticus today and came across some interesting commandments that were given to the Children of Israel. Now I personally thought these to be some pretty awesome commandments, and I picked some out that I want to show you.
‘Now when you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap to the very corners of your field, nor shall you gather the gleanings of your harvest. Nor shall you glean your vineyard, nor shall you gather the fallen fruit of your vineyard; you shall leave them for the needy and for the stranger. I am the Lord your God.
Leviticus 19:9-10 NASB
‘You shall not oppress your neighbor, nor rob him. The wages of a hired man are not to remain with you all night until morning.
Leviticus 19:13 NASB
You shall not curse a deaf man, nor place a stumbling block before the blind, but you shall revere your God; I am the Lord .
Leviticus 19:14 NASB
‘You shall do no injustice in judgment; you shall not be partial to the poor nor defer to the great, but you are to judge your neighbor fairly.
Leviticus 19:15 NASB
You shall not go about as a slanderer among your people, and you are not to act against the life of your neighbor; I am the Lord .
Leviticus 19:16 NASB
You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the sons of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself; I am the Lord.
Leviticus 19:18 NASB
So as you can see, these are some awesome commandments. And they are all about helping people and loving people. Imagine if we all just kept these couple commandments. We defininty would see an improvement in society. But a lot of Christians today, don’t even know about these commandments. And they don’t care for them. But we know that the Law is good, not only from what we just read, but also from the apostle Paul.
So then, the Law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good.
Romans 7:12 NASB
So I encourage Christians to take a different stance on the Law of Moses. It is a standard and measure that we can judge ourselves by. And in fact this is the very standard that Christ fulfilled as our example. He was without sin. And if Christ followed the Law, should we also follow it as His disciples? I am going to leave you with this, if the sacrifice of Jesus allows you free reign to sin, why did Paul say that we shouldn’t? And how do we define sin, but by what is contrary to the Law?
What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin so that grace may increase? May it never be! How shall we who died to sin still live in it?
Romans 6:1-2 NASB
What shall we say then? Is the Law sin? May it never be! On the contrary, I would not have come to know sin except through the Law; for I would not have known about coveting if the Law had not said, “You shall not covet.”
Romans 7:7 NASB
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There is some good wisdom in the Law, some of which is only being appreciated now as science catches up on some guidelines regarding social health. I remember the first one in particular coming from a rural community where the farmers left the edges of the fields deliberately. Incidentally one year a particular farmer took the whole field, the end results of his greed saw him go out of business. The Law of Moses is good, but is under the Mosiac Covenant which we are not required to follow. We are under Christ and covered by the New Covenant He ushered in through divine Grace.
I understand that we are not saved by our works but by grace. But show me where Jesus said that we are no longer required to keep the Law.
“Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill. For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished. Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
Matthew 5:17-19 NASB
Jonathan be clear that I did not say the Law was obsolete or abolished. But Christians are definitely under the New Covenant which the Mosaic Law layed the foundations for. The Mosaic Law was being enforced by some Jews in the early days (Acts 15) but Paul made it clear that there was no need for Gentiles to be circumcised and take the Law. Indeed he makes the relationship of the Law clearer in Galatians 3, that it laid the foundations as a “tutor” for the New Covenant. Once we accept Christ our Salvation is complete under Divine Grace, nothing else is required. I hope this makes my position clear brother.
The question is not whether we are justified by the Law but are we to grow and be conformed to the image of Christ or not. If yes, then to complete the Law through the power of the Holy Spirit is necessary. If no, then the sacrifice of Christ is only to free us from wrath and not also from sin. We are under grace yes, but we are taught by the Spirit to righteousness. The missing link is the Holy Spirit.
the one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked.
1 John 2:6 NASB