The Red Letters - of death and condemnation!

I'm assuming everyone knows what a "Red Letter" edition of a Bible is. It's where the words of Jesus are printed in the color red (representing His blood). Fascinating words, are they not, those words in red? They're the very words of Christ, right? And so it's all about how to live the Christian life then, right? After all, He's the Messiah! And whatever words the Messiah spoke, we just do it and we're on the right path, right?

Let's back up just a bit and look at something else. Actually, let's look "ahead" to Paul's writings, which of course were written years after Jesus' death and resurrection. He says some interesting things that have helped me to see a lot clearer when it comes to some of the words of Jesus. Regarding God's law, Paul called it "the ministry of death" and "the ministry of condemnation" (see 2 Cor 3:7-11). Paul talked much about the purpose of the law. It was a "tutor" to lead TO Christ, but once faith has come, the tutor's (law's) job is done and we are no longer under it (Gal 3:24-25). And the key verse that turned my thinking upside down in such a way in which I can never go back is Romans 3:19, "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 become guilty before God."

The law was meant from the beginning to be the ministry of death and condemnation. It was not meant as a source of life, but of death. It was not meant as a way to live a godly and holy life, but rather through it we died and were then made alive together with Christ (Gal 2:19-20). Its purpose was to speak to those who were under it, stopping their mouths and making them guilty! All of this is important, but I want to focus on that one phrase, "that every mouth may be stopped."

Now that we know what the law's purpose was, we can look back and see how Jesus used the law when speaking to people. They didn't have Paul's epistles, and Jesus was very clever and skillful with His use of the law, so we're very fortunate today to have Paul's epistles to understand all of this! Let me give a few examples of what I'm talking about.

In Jesus' encounter with the rich young ruler (Luke 18:18-23), the man asked Him, "What shall I do to inherit eternal life?" Now, we know through Paul's epistles that we cannot obtain eternal life through keeping the law, right? But yet Jesus answered the man, "You know the commandments, 'Do not commit adultery,' 'Do not murder,' 'Do not steal,' 'Do not bear false witness,' 'Honor your father and your mother.'" Huh? And what about this - Another time "a certain lawyer" asked Jesus the same question (Luke 10:25-37). Again, two commandments came up. "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind," and "Love your neighbor as yourself." Jesus replied to the man, "You have answered rightly; do this and you will live." Again, I say, "Huh?" Paul said in Gal 3:21 that there is NO LAW that can give life!

But if we put all of this together I think we get the bigger picture. The law was meant to make everyone guilty and it was meant to stop mouths! Jesus used the law perfectly with these two men, and He used it perfectly and skillfully elsewhere as well. Follow the "certain lawyer" story all the way, and the man sought to "justify himself" by probing Jesus a little bit further about the meaning of those laws, and Jesus told him the parable of the Good Samaritan. We've often looked at this parable as a "Christian teaching," but look, it was spoken as an answer to this man who was seeking to justify himself! It was a mouth-stopping parable! "My neighbor" is EVERYONE, including my worst enemies.

Keep all of this in mind when reading the "Red Letters" (the words of Jesus). Very often it's not a "Christian teaching" that He's giving, but rather it's the ministry of death and condemnation! But you say, "Joel, Jesus didn't come to condemn, but to save!!!" And you're very correct! The thing is, often it takes a mouth-stopping, guilt producing word to bring people to the end of themselves and their self-reliance, and their trust in their own works, and that acts as a tutor that leads to faith and salvation!

GIG 195 - The Purpose of the Law

Last week we asked the question, "Don't we need to commit ourselves to the laws of God?" This week we begin exploring that question by going back and talking briefly about what the gospel is (in short, we talk about God's righteousness that is given to us as a gift, apart from the Law) and we move on from there.

Was the Law given to help us live right and overcome sin? The Bible says that we've been set free from sin and that sin does not have dominion over us! Why? Does God's Law have anything to do with this? What is the Law's purpose? We'll talk about this and more on this week's episode of Growing in Grace.

gigcast.graceroots.org

Keep all the rules, still lose

Gal 3:19-25
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 it was appointed through angels by the hand of a mediator. 20 Now a mediator does not mediate for one only, but God is one.

21 Is the law then against the promises of God? Certainly not! For if there had been a law given which could have given life, truly righteousness would have been by the law. 22 But the Scripture has confined all under sin, that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe. 23 But before faith came, we were kept under guard by the law, kept for the faith which would afterward be revealed. 24 Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith. 25 But after faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor.

Imagine a person was able to keep all the rules - to follow God's laws fully and completely - always, without failing once. A perfect law-keeping record. That's impossible, of course, but even it really did happen this person would still be far, far away from God because there is no Life in the law. In fact, in order to have Life, we had to die to the law. Unless a person dies to the law, he or she cannot be raised to Life with Christ.

Rom 8:2-3
2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus [true Life] has made me free from the law of sin and death [God's laws]. 3 For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin...

"Weak through the flesh" doesn't mean that we were weak because of all our bad deeds. It means that even in the best of the best of our own righteousness (the ability of our flesh), we were still dead. We were weak and fell short of God's glory (and Life).

What we needed was the gift of Life, not law.

Whatever the law says... (Part 5)

"All things are lawful for me," Paul said twice in 1 Corinthians. I can do whatever I want without fear of the law condemning me or making me guilty. "But not all things are helpful... but not all things edify... but not all things are beneficial." "All things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any." (see 1 Cor 6:12, 10:23)

In the verses prior to 1 Cor. 6:12, Paul goes through a list of sinful behavior and he says that those who practice those things will not inherit the kingdom of God. He then goes on to say, "And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God." It's after all this that he says, "All things are lawful for me... but not everything is beneficial."

As people who have been washed clean (a done deal), we are now among those who have inherited the kingdom of heaven. Since we've been washed, sanctified and justified... there is no legal case that can be made against us - no charge that can be brought up against us - no matter what we do, because "(God) has made (us) alive together with Him (Christ), having forgiven (us) all trespasses, having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross." (Col 2:13-14). We are now under a new covenant, because "He has made the first obsolete (and) what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away." (Heb 8:13).

All things are lawful for me. Even my sinful behavior doesn't stand in the way of my having been washed, sanctified and justified. However... since I have now been made alive together with Christ, I should not allow myself to be mastered by anything. Not everything is beneficial. All things are permissible, but not everything is constructive.

The main thing I'm pointing out here is that law is not the issue! Real, vibrant, constructive LIFE in Christ is what matters! Whatever the law says, it does not say to those who have LIFE!

This will be the last post in this series for now, unless I think of anything else to add or if anyone has any thoughts or questions that they'd like me to address.

Whatever the law says... (Part 4)

This entry might seem a little odd coming from me, but the subject matter here has come up from time to time when I've been discussing grace and law with others. On rare occasions, New Testament writers such as James and Paul have brought up "law" in their talk of the Christian life. So I've heard people say things such as, "See, both James and Paul said law was part of the Christian life!" And so I just wanted to include an entry here in which I shared my thoughts on all this. As always, I'm open to your thoughts as well.

First off, I want to make clear my personal conviction that the law itself does not convict a Christian of sin or of guilt or of having fallen short in any area of Christian living. In the examples I'm going to share from James and Paul, it looks to me as if it has more to do with 1) silencing Christian hypocrisy and legalism, and 2) showing us what is good. I'll explain below.

The life we live, we live by faith in Christ. We live by the life of a Person, not by rules that were written in cold stone. We don't live by law, and we don't look to the law to see how to live. There is no life in the law, but there is life in Christ. In fact, we have died to the law in order to have life in Christ! We don't go back to our old lover... especially when our new Lover is sufficient in every way! We know that "His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness" (2 Peter 1:3), which is something we will simply never, ever find in the law. We live by the very life of Christ, not through looking at the law.

My first example of one of the rare cases of an New Testament writer talking "law" to believers is from James. Again, I can't stress enough that I believe we need to look at this in the context of the full understanding of the law that has been revealed in the NT.

James wrote, "If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself," you do well; but if you show partiality, you commit sin, and are convicted by the law as transgressors. For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all. For He who said, "Do not commit adultery," also said, "Do not murder." Now if you do not commit adultery, but you do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. So speak and so do as those who will be judged by the law of liberty. For judgment is without mercy to the one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment" (James 2:8-13, emphasis mine).

Keep in mind what we've already said in this series... that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law. Keep in mind that it was given to stop the self-justifying mouths of unbelievers. Keep in mind that it was given to make the world guilty. And keep in mind that after it did all this in the life of a non-believer, that person turned to faith, and died to the law in order to be married to Christ (Rom 7:4). Keep in mind that "the law is not of faith" (Gal 3:12).

And keep in mind that James was talking to people who knew the law. Remember in Romans 7 when Paul talked about how we had to die to the law in order to be married to Jesus? Paul started off by saying, "I speak to those who know the law." In other words, "I want to explain to you how a person has to die to the law in order to have Jesus, and since I'm speaking to those who know the law, let me use this example, from the law itself, to make my case." Paul wasn't talking "law" for the purpose of putting anybody under it, but rather to make an illustration of something else. Paul could have illustrated his point without using the law, but that's simply how he chose to do it.

I see James doing something similar. James says here, "If you really fulfill the royal law according to scripture, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself,' you do well." How does one do this? It most certainly can't be a fleshly act (our own attempts at following the law). It's the result of God's divine power that has given us all things that pertain to life and godliness. James then says - and this, to me, is the key of the entire passage - "but if you show partiality, you commit sin, and are convicted by the law as transgressors."

Now, if James' words mean that a Christian stumbles in one point and is "guilty of all," and is actually convicted by the law as a transgressor, then that has just made void all that Christ has accomplished on our behalf, and it makes void His life in us! Indeed, as Christians we sin. But we are not convicted by the law as transgressors. The law already did that, and then we died to it and turned to life and righteousness in Christ. Please give me liberty in paraphrasing, then, what I believe is being communicated here:

"My Christian friends, through Christ you fulfill the royal law ("love your neighbor as yourself"), and that is good. But if you show partiality (or "if you have respect of persons," as another versions says), you sin. I know you're familiar with what the law says. Don't you even remember that under the law you were convicted as transgressors? Even if you had kept the whole law and yet stumbled at one point, you were guilty of all! If you didn't commit adultery, but did murder, you were still a transgressor of the law nonetheless. So... now that you're in Christ, by His life love one another and don't sin by judging one another and showing partiality. You know that you were saved by the principle (law) of liberty, not the law of Moses. In the end, you will be judged by this wonderful law of liberty, in which you were made free by the love of God. Act and speak towards others in this same way!"

Another rare example of bringing up the law in the life of a believer comes from Paul in Eph 6:1-3. "Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. 'Honor your father and mother,' which is the first commandment with promise: 'that it may be well with you and you may live long on the earth.'"

A quick read of this would perhaps make it seem as if Paul is talking about actually using the law as a guide in the life of a Christian. But I don't think so. In admonishing children to obey their parents, Paul points out how this is a good thing. Again, my own paraphrase, "It's such a good thing that God even promised long life for those who would honor their parents."

If we take into account everything else that Paul said about the law, we can clearly see that he is not telling Christians to follow a certain law here. For one thing, Paul himself said that there is no law that could ever give life. This particular commandment promised life... but of course it was conditional upon people keeping the law - the whole law - and no one has ever done that. As James said, if you keep all the laws but break one, you're guilty of all. No matter what, under the law, we're guilty! This case in Ephesians is a very rare reference to the law that Paul made to remind us what is good.

Again, I've heard these scriptures brought up from time to time and I just wanted to share my thoughts on it all as part of this series. The fifth and most-likely final post in this series will be tomorrow, and I'll also get Part 2 of "Love in 1 Corinthians 13" posted soon.

Whatever the law says... (Part 3)

I think we really misuse Jesus' "law" words in the church today. We wrongfully and woefully treat them as if they are aimed at Christians, when in reality they are words to those who are under the law. (Can I mention enough, that the purpose of those words would be to stop their mouths and make them understand how far short they really fall - and ultimately that the purpose of the law was to charge the world with the guilt of their sin?)

I think many people have come to Christ for the wrong reasons. They think they have come to Christ so that they can start living better. And if they aren't doing so well in that, they go back to the law or to any or all of Jesus' law words and get "convicted" all over again (and again and again and again). They have missed the whole point of the Law, and ultimately of what it means to be in Christ!

Here's the key to all of this. Once a person who is under the law has heard what the law says and has had their mouth stopped by it, they then die to the law (Gal 2:19) (see also Rom 7:1-6, which contrary to popular application is not a passage about Christian marriage, but is an example of lawful Jewish marriage that Paul uses to show how we had to die to the law in order to be married to Christ). Then by faith (not law), they are raised up and made alive together with Christ. They are then no longer under the law. "For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace" (Rom 6:14).

Under the law, sin had its reign over everyone. It's only by dying to the law and being raised together with Christ that sin no longer has dominion over that person. Having died to the law, that person is no longer under the law (and again, no longer under the dominion of sin!). The law has done it's job! The law has spoken and the person has finally understood the message. "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 3:24-25). The law no longer has anything to say to that person, because it's job has been accomplished. The law doesn't go on convicting a person once they've come to faith. From that point on, the person is led by the LIFE of Christ, not by law.

The person now has LIFE, which is the very reason Jesus came. As mentioned above, He came to fulfill the law, He came to redeem those under the law... and He came to give Life. The law could never give life. "For if there had been a law given which could have given life, truly righteousness would have been by the law" (Gal 3:21).

Whatever the law says... (Part 2)

One very important point that I've been leading up to is this: If Moses is talking law, or if a prophet is talking law, or if David is talking law, or if Jesus is talking law... they are speaking either to those who are under the law and/or as those who are under the law themselves. Many of them didn't even understand at the time what was ultimately happening. So, what did this ultimately accomplish? It stopped the mouths of people and to showed them the guilt that they were under as long as they remained under the law.

The sermon on the mount is a great example of this. Jesus not only talks "law," but He gets to the very heart of what law really means. It's not just the physical act of adultery. Rather it's what's in the heart. It's not just a matter of doing a pretty decent job of keeping the precepts of the law. Rather, "you shall be perfect, as your Father in heaven is perfect." And remember what Jesus Himself said near the beginning of the sermon? I quoted His words in Part 1 and it's worth quoting again:

"Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill" (Matt 5:17). He then went on to say, "For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled" (Matt 5:18).

And since Jesus went on to talk a lot of "law" talk, who was He talking to? Well, let's make one thing clear. He wasn't talking to Christians. There was not yet any such thing! One thing I think we seem to miss is that this is before the death and resurrection of Jesus. This was before anyone was ever born-again. This is before the New Covenant came into effect (through Jesus' death). Jesus' life on earth was still during Old Covenant times! He was born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under the law. He taught the law and Old Covenant! Now, at times, Jesus did also speak New Covenant talk. Our challenge today is to rightly divide the Old from the New. We must make a distinction between Old Covenant talk and New Covenant talk, whether we find it in the Old Testament writings or in the New Testament writings.

So, if life in Christ isn't about "law," why did Jesus teach the law and the Old Covenant? Because the Law is the tutor that leads people to Him! (Gal 3:24-25). It's the law that stops every mouth from justifying itself and that puts all the world under the sentence of guilt... and that ultimately leads people to the Savior. You may say to me, "well, doesn't John 3:17 say that Jesus didn't come into the world to condemn the world, but to save it?" I heartily agree! In speaking the Law, Jesus was not Himself condemning people. The LAW itself condemned people, and Jesus simply taught the law (and again, He got to the very heart of the law) in order to stop the mouths of those who would justify themselves through the law. His law talk showed them how unrighteous they really were.

Not to mention that all His law talk would be fulfilled by Himself! "I came not to destroy, but to fulfill," He said. Everything He said in the Sermon on the Mount, He fulfilled Himself.

And so, as He spoke "law" to those who were under the law, He was doing more than one thing. He was fulfilling the law Himself and He was simultaneously sending a message to those who were under the law! What message? A mouth-stopping message! In fact, whether they would realize it or not the Law already made them guilty before God.

Many people, perhaps feeling they've done a good enough job in keeping the law, do not understand this all, and I think Jesus often used to law to point out the reality of their guilt (to stop their mouths). I think the "certain lawyer" from Luke 10 and the "rich young ruler" from Luke 18 are wonderful examples of this. Scripture even reveals that in the Luke 10 case, the man was "wanting to justify himself." What do you do with someone who wants to justify himself before God? You dig deeper and deeper into the heart of the law until they finally "get" that they are guilty... and if needed you even leave them sad, as Jesus did with the rich young ruler.

Whatever the law says... (Part 1)

I've had this in draft mode for over two months, waiting to put some finishing touches on it. But since this is not a formal thing, I decided I'd just go ahead and post what I have. You'll find a few similarities here to my recent "2,500 years" and "430 years" posts. After all, it's the same subject matter.

"Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law..." (Rom 3:19a, emphasis mine).

I have known this verse (and the entire surrounding section of scripture) for a long time, but a few years ago as I was reading it, the above emphasized part stood out to me like never before. Whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law. Lights went on in my head and I pretty much spent the next six to twelve months camped out on those words, and I began to understand so many other passages of scripture that had previously confused me. I eventually came around to the second part of the verse, which I'll get to shortly because it's very important in understanding the "why" of the first part, but it was that first part that really began to illuminate so many things for me. Please follow me all the way through.

If the law has anything to say - and it has a LOT to say - it is speaking to those who are under the law (not to those who aren't under it). This has always been true. It didn't become true just when Paul wrote those words. He was simply revealing a truth to the Romans (and eventually us) that was already true. It was true when the law was given. It was true when the prophets (and any and all other Old Testament characters) spoke the words of the law. It was even true when Jesus spoke the words of the law. Whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law.

Remember, Jesus said, "Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill" (Matt 5:17). He then went on to say, "For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled" (Matt 5:18).

Paul tells us in Gal 4:4-5, "But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons" (emphasis mine).

We see at least two things here. 1) Jesus, born under the law, came to fulfill the law. 2) Jesus came to redeem those who were under the law.

Which actually brings us to the second half of the first verse mentioned here. Here's the full verse:

"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, emphasis mine).

In the full verse we see two things that the Law was given to accomplish. 1) The law came to stop every mouth. 2) The law came to make the world guilty before God.

So whatever the law says, it says to those who are under it. Why? (Or for what purpose?) To stop the mouths (of those who are under it) from justifying themselves in front of God and to make them guilty before God. (Rom 5:13 says that sin was in the world before the law, but the law was needed in order to actually impute sin - to make people guilty by putting sin on their account).

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Addendum (a few hours after original posting):
In the comments, the question came up of what "make the world guilty before God" means. I thought this was important, and I realized that I had mentioned Romans 5:13 in the above paragraph, but hadn't gone into any detail about the word "impute," so here's what I said in the comments:

That key word, "imputed," makes all the difference. It means to add to one's account. Sin was in the world, but the world had not yet been actually charged with sin. It had not been put on their account. When the law came, man was actually charged with sin, and "made guilty before God." This was necessary, in order for Jesus to come and take the guilt of the world upon Himself.
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We find the law all over the Bible, in both the Old Testament books and in the New Testament books. But no matter where we find the law, we must keep in mind what Paul said: Whatever the law says, it says to those who are under it. And whatever the law says to those who are under it, it says for the purpose of stopping their mouths and making them guilty. The law aids in no way in helping a person to be righteous nor to redeem them or give them life.

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.

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.