Hey all! I just thought I'd drop in here and pop in my two cents worth!
What I don't see in these posts are the typically wrong approaches to the Law we've all seen before, I.E. "Do this or lose that." What I see are people trying to figure out exactly where the Law fits in the life of a believer in this dispensation. Personally, I don't have a problem with people "keeping the Ten Commandments" per se. Motivation is the key. I like what Pastor Roger said:
Instead of the ten commandments being on stone for us they are now in the fleshy parts of our heart.
I think that it is key to understand that Jesus
didn't come to abolish the Law, but to
fulfill it. How did He do so? Personally, I believe He did so primarily by making once for all the perfectly acceptable sacrifice that satisfied what each O.T. sacrifice
covered. Jesus sacrifice
removed, once, for all. But I also believe that Jesus was dealing with a bit more than just that. To elaborate a bit on what Pastor Roger said, consider this:
"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. For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
"You have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.' But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, 'You fool!' will be liable to the hell of fire. So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. Come to terms quickly with your accuser while you are going with him to court, lest your accuser hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you be put in prison. Truly, I say to you, you will never get out until you have paid the last penny.
"You have heard that it was said, 'You shall not commit adultery.' But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell.
"It was also said, 'Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.' But I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of sexual immorality, makes her commit adultery. And whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.
"Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform to the Lord what you have sworn.' But I say to you, Do not take an oath at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. And do not take an oath by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. Let what you say be simply 'Yes' or 'No'; anything more than this comes from evil.
"You have heard that it was said, 'An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.' But I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if anyone would sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. Give to the one who begs from you, and do not refuse the one who would borrow from you.
"You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
Matthew 5:17-48
Jesus says He's come to fulfill the Law. The Pharisees of the day had the outward practice of the Law down to a "T." They believed they could be immoral with a woman in their mind, so long as they didn't actually
do anything with her. That way they weren't disobeying. They believed they could say "FOOL!" so long as they didn't
kill their brother, and not be guilty of murder. Jesus said that it all starts in the heart. If the heart lusts, the adultery has already happened. If the heart is unjustly angry, the murder has already happened. Jesus made internal what the Law made external.
It's like me and my kids. I want them to obey me first. "Do this" or "Don't do that." As they grow in their obedience without question, I am working in them the understanding of why. I don't suffer the "why?" until the obedience proceeds the question. God's much the same way. He set up the Law. "Do this" or "Don't do that." Now He is working in us "why," and, I believe, to some extent back then as well.
And therein lies my problem: this concept of the heart was not lost to all previous believers. I do believe, however, that complete understanding of what Jesus sacrifice provided most often was.
The Law is good, Paul said. But we aren't under the Law anymore, Paul also said. I think we get into trouble when we begin to think that by doing something God commands we are granted "extra grace." This is the complete antithesis of what Paul said in Romans 6:1-2...
What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it?
Grace doesn't abound more when we sin, nor does it abound more when we
don't sin. Obedience to the Law isn't to
provide grace. It is to
picture grace. Without Jesus death, burial and resurrection, and without His grace in giving us that payment as a gift, we'd be condemned by that Law. But it is the grace of God
by which every demand, punishment and wrath God had shown us in the Law and in the sacrifices, was satisfied when Jesus died on the cross.
If a believer then takes it upon themselves to obey the Law - they've missed the point. We obey God because we
love God, not to gain something
from God. God's grace is literally there for us to dive into every second of every day. All we need to do, is go and get it.
Just a thought...
