430 years

As I mentioned in the last post ("2,500 years"), most people in the history of mankind have never even heard of "God's laws" that He gave to Israel. If God had intended for His laws to be the staples that held mankind together in salvation and right living, don't you think perhaps He'd have done a little better of a job of making His commandments known to all of mankind? But as I also said in the last post... that was never the point of the law!

The law did have a point and a purpose - a very legitimate and necessary purpose. I mentioned last time that Rom 5:12 says that sin entered the world through one man (Adam) and sin spread to everyone. The next verse contains a key to the purpose of the Law. "For until the law sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed when there is no law" (Rom 5:13). In other words, sin was in the world but it had not been charged to man's account (imputed to him). The law entered, not to help man live right or as something for man to follow as a way to inherit eternal life. The law was "weak and unprofitable" because it could not do that! (Heb 7:18-19). Rather the law's purpose was to charge the world with the sin that they already had, but had not yet been charged with.

A dozen paragraphs earlier, Paul had begun to make this point: "Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God" (Rom 3:19). In short, the law's purpose was to charge the world with sin. It made all of humanity guilty. As Paul also said in Gal 3:19, "What purpose then does the law serve? It was added because of transgressions, till the Seed should come to whom the promise was made..."

And so what's this about a "Seed?" It all has to do with a promise God made to Abraham (when he was still known as Abram), four hundred and thirty years before the law. An inheritance was promised to Abraham:

Then He brought him outside and said, "Look now toward heaven, and count the stars if you are able to number them." And He said to him," So shall your descendants (Hebrew word Zera`, meaning 'seed') be."

Paul illuminates: Now to Abraham and his Seed were the promises made. He does not say, "And to seeds," as of many, but as of one, "And to your Seed," who is Christ (Gal 3:16).

Paul continues, "And this I say, that the law, which was four hundred and thirty years later, cannot annul the covenant that was confirmed before by God in Christ [the promise to Abraham], that it should make the promise of no effect. For if the inheritance is of the law, it is no longer of promise; but God gave it to Abraham by promise (Gal 3:17-18).

In other words, "Here's what it's all about. Life with God is not about Law, it's about living according to the promise of God." The law charged everyone with guilt, but God's promise was an inheritance and a life that was lived by faith, not law.

But the Scripture has confined all under sin, that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe. But before faith came, we were kept under guard by the law, kept for the faith which would afterward be revealed. Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor. (Gal 3:22-25)

Abraham's response to God's promise in Gen 15:5 is what those who are of the faith also live by: Gen 15:6 - "Abram believed the LORD, and He credited it to him as righteousness."

Abraham is known as "the father of all those who believe" (Rom 4:11) because the blessedness of life and righteousness that is imputed (accounted, credited) to man apart from works came through him. He received the promise long before the law came, and that promise supersedes the law! We have absolutely no need for "law" in order to have a full-on relationship with God. In fact, "the law is not of faith" (Gal 3:12). We had to "die to the law" in order to "live unto God" (Gal 2:19). "The life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith" (Gal 2:20) just as Abraham did.

The answer is always B - 4/30/08 - "Tutorage"

What is the correct wording of Galatians 3:24-25?

A. "Therefore the law is our tutor that keeps us in Christ, that it might help us to live right. After faith has come, it helps us all the more."

B. "Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor."

C. "Let's listen to a couple of songs from Tenpole Tudor!"

(This was a band formed in the 70's who had a few popular hits in Britain. These two songs came out the year we moved back to the States, and the songs have stuck in my head all these years.)

Tenpole Tudor - Swords of a Thousand Men


Tenpole Tudor - Wunderbar


Gee golly I just don't get why this band never became as popular as other bands from the British Isles, such as U2 and The Police. (Hmmmm) (???) :) All I know is that as a 12 year old boy, I really dug 'em.

Big Difference 4 - Under the Law vs. Freed from the Law

Or do you not know, brethren (for I speak to those who know the law), that the law has dominion over a man as long as he lives? 2 For the woman who has a husband is bound by the law to her husband as long as he lives. But if the husband dies, she is released from the law of her husband. 3 So then if, while her husband lives, she marries another man, she will be called an adulteress; but if her husband dies, she is free from that law , so that she is no adulteress, though she has married another man. 4 Therefore, my brethren, you also have become dead to the law through the body of Christ, that you may be married to another — to Him who was raised from the dead, that we should bear fruit to God. 5 For when we were in the flesh, the sinful passions which were aroused by the law were at work in our members to bear fruit to death. 6 But now we have been delivered from the law, having died to what we were held by, so that we should serve in the newness of the Spirit and not in the oldness of the letter. (Rom 7:1-6 NKJV)

The first thing I want to point out here is that I've heard this passage used time and time again in the context of rules for Christian marriage, but yet it has nothing to do with that! Paul was using an example from Jewish Law to make a point about our need to be freed from the Law in order to be "married" to Christ.

The Law was given to charge the world with the guilt of sin. Rom 5:13 says that sin was in the world before the Law, but without Law sin could not be imputed (charged) to man. That was the purpose of the Law, to charge sin to man's account. The Law was never given as a way that man could get right or stay right with God, and it wasn't given as a "moral compass." If it was meant to be a moral compass... it didn't work!

Moreover the law entered that the offense might abound. But where sin abounded , grace abounded much more, so that as sin reigned in death, even so grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. (Rom 5:20-21 NKJV)

Through the Law, sin abounded. The Law never has and never will curb sin. It produces exactly the opposite of what the carnal mind logically thinks it should.

And so the problem, as presented in the first passage above from Romans 7, is that if we are under the Law, we cannot be joined to Christ. The Law only leaves us guilty, and through it sin abounds. Even a little Law will do this. Speaking in the context of the Law, Paul warned the Galatians that "a little leaven leavens the whole lump" (Gal 5:9). Paul had just finished speaking about the bondage of the Old Covenant (Gal 4). The Law can never and will never set us free. It only keeps us in bondage. That's it's "job," so to speak. That's it's purpose.

So... how do people who are "married" to the Law gain freedom from the Law? According to the example in Romans 7, one of two who are bound in marriage has to die in order to legally be unbound (freed) from the other. Well, the Law wasn't going to die. The Law is holy and perfect and has no obligation or need to die! So... the only solution left is that we had to die! Only when we died to the Law, were we able to be raised again with Christ. We are now dead to the Law. Having been freed from the Law through our very own death, we have been made alive together, once and for always, with Christ.

Paul exhorts the Galatians, "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). He is speaking to believers who have been set free from the Law and have been made alive together with Christ. I'll paraphrase what he goes on to tell them. "If you think the Christian life has anything to do with keeping the Law, then you are obligated to keep the whole Law. If this is really what you think it's about, then Christ is of no benefit to you!" (see Gal 5:2-4)

In this life in Christ, we must stand firm in our freedom! We don't keep going back to the Law (that we died to!) in order to improve our performance in our Christian life. That's bondage! A little leaven means bondage for the whole lump of dough.

Our guide, our "moral compass," our way of living is no longer found in Laws but is found in a Person with whom we've been made alive together! This Person resides in us. He is not a set of external rules, principles or laws. He is freedom personified! We have been made alive together with Him. He (Jesus, the person who dwells in us) is the way, the truth and the life!

*For an explanation of this Big Difference series, see the original post.*

Revival

The church wants a revival... of sin. Well, at least that's how many in the church act! However, I think that many or most of those who are supporting a sin revival don't realize that that's what they're doing... and therefore I should try to be fair and say that I realize where they're coming from, because I once thought the same way.

What I'm talking about is the preaching of the Law in the Christian church. I've talked a lot on this blog about the purpose of the Law so I won't go into great detail right now, but I'll just give a brief overview of New Covenant revelation about the Law. When the Law came, several things happened: The Law became a curse for everyone who did not keep it (see Gal 3:10-14) - and no one has kept it; the world was confined under sin (Gal 3:21-23); the world was condemned (2 Cor 3:9); sin abounded (Rom 5:20); sin was made exceedingly sinful (Rom 7:13); sinful passions were aroused, bearing fruit to death (Rom 7:5); the Law aided in the revival of sin (Rom 7:9-11); the Law acted as a tutor that would show people the true depths of their sin and condemned state, leading them to the Savior, Jesus (Gal 3:24-25).

The New Covenant teaches us that all of these things (and more) are the true purpose of the Law.  The Law doesn't aid us in Christian living. In fact, it's just the opposite! The Law won't help a person who is indwelled by the Holy Spirit any more than the Law will help a person who doesn't have the Holy Spirit. That was never meant to be the Law's purpose. All of this said, remember that the Law is holy, and the commandment holy and just and good! (Rom 7:12) I'm not putting down the Law. I'm not saying that the Law itself is not good. In fact, the Law is so holy and just and good that the only thing it can do in a relationship with sinful man is to condemn and to do all that the New Covenant reveals about it, as summarized in the above paragraph.

But yet the church continues to teach and preach the ministry of death and condemnation as valid ways to aid in holy Christian living. That makes no sense! New Covenant scripture has given us revelation and enlightenment about the true nature and purpose of the Law, and yet we seem to skim right over it, and make the absolutely-new-and-fresh New Covenant out to be nothing more than Old Covenant Part 2. And that's sad, because the Law can do the same thing in the mind and life of a person indwelled by the Spirit that it was meant to do only in the life of an unbeliever. It can bring about feelings condemnation and fear. It can still aid in the arousal and revival of sin. In Christ, there is no condemnation. Christ has set us free from sin. So why do we teach and preach the very thing that is meant to bring these things on?

You may think that since a Christian is indwelled by the Holy Spirit, then something as holy and just and good as the Law should be viewed as a gift from God that goes right along with His Spirit in us, helping us walk in all holiness and goodness. But it doesn't, and it won't! Any one of us who has been a Christian for any length of time knows that we still sin, right? So, as Christians who have the Holy Spirit living in us, we're still able to operate independently of the Holy Spirit, right? If we were co-operating with the Holy Spirit at all times, we would never sin, right? And so even though we're no longer "in the flesh," as Paul plainly states in Romans 8, we can still behave as if we were walking according to the flesh. We can still make choices that are not in accord with our true nature of righteousness and holiness.

So what brings this on? What leads us to sin? One obvious reason is that we're tempted by our own fleshly desires (our desires that we have apart from our union with God) and we don't put to death the deeds of the flesh by the Holy Spirit, as per Col 3:5. But one HUGE thing that gives rise to independent living - living as if we were still in the flesh, apart from God - would be the teaching and preaching of the Law! If we look at what the Law's purpose is (see again the second paragraph above), why would we EVER want to preach this to people who have come to know Christ and have escaped the fleshly lifestyle of living by the Law?

The Purpose of the Law

When I made a "decision" to follow Christ, at the time I thought that what I was really doing was making a commitment to follow the various rules and regulations that you find throughout the Bible. In fact, for years I had put off my "decision" because I knew that I wasn't in a place where I could (or wanted to) keep all the commandments. On January 7, 1992, at the age of 22, something changed in me (I'll have to give the full story another time), and I basically thought I was finally ready to start "living right." This time in my life was truly a time when God did some very noticeable things in my life, and my life truly changed forever. However, my perspective of all that was happening to me was a bit skewed, and I quickly copped a 'holier than thou' attitude and I was down on everybody who I thought wasn't living right and I started being down on myself whenever I thought I was falling short, even just a little!

Trusting solely in Jesus was basically set aside so that trusting in my own right living could take over! And since the reality is that I cannot maintain my own righteousess, even for a minute, I was down on myself quite a bit! I'm thankful that God has given me grace to understand who I am and what His purposes were in giving the law. It's actually RIGHT THERE IN THE BIBLE!

Gal 3:11-12 But that no one is justified by the law in the sight of God is evident, for "the just shall live by faith." Yet the law is not of faith, but "the man who does them shall live by them."

Gal 3:19, 24-25 What purpose then does the law serve? It was added because of transgressions, till the Seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was appointed through angels by the hand of a mediator... Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor.

Rom 3:19-20 Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin.

Rom 7:4 Therefore, my brethren, you also have become dead to the law through the body of Christ, that you may be married to another — to Him who was raised from the dead, that we should bear fruit to God.
(All verses NKJV, emphasis mine)

The Law was given, not for righteous people, but for sinners. The Old Testament declared God's word that "there is no one righteous, no not one." So the law was put in place to charge the world with guilt... and that's ALL it can do! Paul calls the law "the ministry of death" and "the ministry of condemnation" because that is really what the law's purpose is! The law's purpose was to charge the sinner with sin, and ultimately to bring a sinner to faith in Christ. Once a person has been brought to faith, the law's job is DONE in that person's life! It had led them to the realization that they are guilty of sin and that they cannot make it without the Savior. Once they turn to the Savior in faith, they become "saints" and "new creations" and they no longer need the law to point them to Christ. The law is no longer needed because they have moved onto LIFE!

One thing the ministry of death and condemnation cannot do is give LIFE! And one thing the ministry of LIFE in Jesus Christ will never do is condemn.

But what about Jesus teaching the law? How can we reconcile that the law is not for the believer at the same time that we see Jesus having taught the Law?

Indeed, Jesus is the best Law Teacher there ever was! You will find a lot of Law teaching by Jesus. But considering what the Bible says about the purpose of the Law makes it easier for us to understand why Jesus taught Law. The Bible says that the law is the ministry of condemnation, and yet Jesus said He came not to condemn, but to save. How does all this make sense?

The law was our tutor to bring us to Christ. God's plan was for the law to condemn us (for the sin we were born into) and then to lead us to the Savior. Jesus taught the Law to lead people to faith in Himself. Once a person is in faith, the Law's job is done in their life. Paul said we had to DIE to the law in order to be 'married' to Christ. "Through the law I died to the law that I may be married to another." The law's job is definitely finished when we come to Christ! In fact, we become DEAD to it! But it was necessary in leading us TO Christ.