Jesus has freed us from the curse of the law, right? We often use negative words like "religious", "legalistic", and "dogmatic" to describe religious rules and laws. When we dismiss or downgrade the role of law in Christianity, we're ignoring biblical context. Christ's coming completes God's good gifts of law and righteousness through faith given in the Old Testament. Rather than dismissing the ways God worked in the Old Testament, we need to internalize John's thrilling words:
We all live off his generous abundance, gift after gift after gift.
We got the basics from Moses, and then this exuberant giving and receiving,
This endless knowing and understanding— all this came through Jesus, the Messiah. John 1:16-17 (The Message)
In the Old Testament, God showed His goodness by giving the law through Moses:
You came down on Mount Sinai; you spoke to them from heaven. You gave them regulations and laws that are just and right, and decrees and commands that are good. You made known to them your holy Sabbath and gave them commands, decrees and laws through your servant Moses. Nehemiah 9:13-14
Following the law may not be the perfect embodiment of God's transforming power, but it is light years ahead of life lived without it. That was true in the Old Testament, because it replaced mayhem and vindication with known principles of justice. It is true today as we see stories of genocide, terror, and lawlessness dominate the news cycle. While merely obeying the law is inferior to life in Christ, It's important to remember that the law God gave Moses remains foundational.
We can create a dichotomy between the Old and New testaments, believing the first teaches obedience to law and the latter grace through faith. However, it's important to remember that Abraham is given a great promise, that he will be called the father of all who live by faith:
"…. I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies, and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me."
Genesis 22:17-18
While Abraham didn't have the gift of the Holy Spirit, God commanded him to live by faith and gave him the ability to follow through.
Jesus' sacrifice becomes a "blessing upon blessing" because it allows us to live transformed lives:
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Galatians 5:22-24 (NIV)
Jesus came to fulfill the requirements of the law in us, not to denigrate them:
…. Trivialize even the smallest item in God's Law and you will only have trivialized yourself. But take it seriously, show the way for others, and you will find honor in the kingdom. Unless you do far better than the Pharisees in the matters of right living, you won't know the first thing about entering the kingdom. Matthew 5:17-20 (The Message)
Believers live in an in-between time. We can be sure that God has shown His goodness through gifts of law, faith, grace, and the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives. At the same time we often don't understand how He works through circumstances and suffering. We can live with the hope that He will give us another, final gift in eternity, on top of those we have already received:
We don't yet see things clearly. We're squinting in a fog, peering through a mist. But it won't be long before the weather clears and the sun shines bright! We'll see it all then, see it all as clearly as God sees us, knowing him directly just as he knows us! But for right now, until that completeness, we have three things to do to lead us toward that consummation: Trust steadily in God, hope unswervingly, love extravagantly. And the best of the three is love. 1 Corinthians 13:12-13
These magnified images of sand and stars remind me of the extravagance and wonder of God's promises to Abraham and to all who live by faith.
Magnified Sand
by Sherry Sommer
Magnified Stars
