Day 75 "The Religious Laws are Dead! Heresy, You Cry?

Mention to someone that Christ died to set us free from the law, and you will probably encounter stiff resistance and a quick rebuff! Why is it that so many Christians and churches are so up in arms whenever they are faced with someone commenting about living by God's grace and love, and not by the law? I have come to believe there are several reasons for this:

1) Lack of understanding about what the bible teaches about Jesus setting us free from the law and why the law was placed over us in the first place.

2) Fear that people will go off the deep end and live a life unrestrained, full of sin.

3) Find it discomforting that living by grace takes out the control one has living their life by performance.

If one undertakes an indepth reading of Romans and Hebrews, and looks also at Galatians and Ephesians, I believe one will come away with an understanding of the law's weakness in changing the heart and attitude of man and for the need of a new covenant for man to live by. There was a reason that the law was given to man, but it may come as a shock and surprise to most believers. Finally, though, now that we have been set free from living our lives under the shadow of the law, what are we to live our lives by now? By something that is much, much better!

Reason #1: The lack of understanding about the law and Jesus setting us free:

a) The Christian life, redeemed by Christ's blood, is to be lived by faith, not by works:

"For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last." Romans 1:17

"Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law;" Romans 3:20

"But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known."

Romans 3:21

"This righteousness from God come through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe." Romans 3:22

"and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Jesus Christ." Romans 3:24

"God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood."

Romans 3:25

"For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from observing the law."

Romans 3:28

"It was not through law that Abraham and his offspring received the promise that he would be heir of the world, but through the righteousness that comes by faith."

Romans 4:13

"Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ," Romans 5:1

"So, my brothers, you also died to the law through the body of Christ, that you might belong to another, to him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit to God."

Romans 7:4

"Christ is the end of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes."

Romans 10:4

"And if by grace, then it is no longer by works; if it were, grace would no longer be grace."

Romans 11:6

"If perfection could have been attained through the Levitical priesthood (for on the basis of it the law was given to the people), why was still need for another priest to come?"

Hebrews 7:11

"For when there is a change of the priesthood, there must also be a change of the law."

Hebrews 7:12

"The former regulation was set aside because it was weak and useless ( for the law made nothing perfect), and a better hope is introduced, by which we draw near to God."

Hebrews 7:18

"Therefore he (Jesus) is able to save completely those who come to God through him,"

Hebrews 7:25

"For if there had been nothing wrong with that first covenant, no place would have been sought for another. But God found fault with the people, and said, "The time is coming, declares the Lord, "when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel."

Hebrews 8:7-8

"For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance-now that he has died as a ransom and set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant."

Hebrews 9:15

"The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming-not the realities themselves."

Hebrews 10:1

"Here I am, I have come to do your will. He sets aside the first covenant to establish the second. And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all."

Hebrews 10:9-10

"know that a man is not justified by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ."

Galatians 2:16

"So we, too, have put our faith in Jesus Christ that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by observing the law, because by observing the law no one will be justified."

Galatians 2:16

"I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothings."

Galatians 2:21

"All who rely on observing the law are under a curse."

Galatians 3:10

"Curse is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law."

Galatians 3:10

"Clearly no one is justified before God by the law, because the righteous will live by

faith."

Galatians 3:11

"Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming the curse for us."

Galatians 3:13

"Before this faith came, we were held prisoners by the law, locked up until faith should be revealed. "

Galatians 3:23

"Now that faith has come, we are no longer under the supervision of the law."

Galatians 3:25

"But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons."

Galatians 4:4-5

"You who are trying to be justified by the law have been alienated from Christ; you

have fallen away from grace."

Galatians 5:4

"But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law."

Galatians 5:18

"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith-and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God- not by works, so that no one can boast."

Ephesians 2:8-9

"For he himself is our peace... by abolishing in his flesh the law with it command- ments and regulations."

Ephesians 2:14-15

"In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence."

Ephesians 3:12

"He forgave us all of our sins, having cancelled the written code, with it regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away nailing it to the cross."

Colossians 2:13

All that the law was effective in doing was to show man's inability to keep it, bringing him condemnation and shame. The law was faulty, it was unable to change man's heart, itself. By God's grace, orchestrated by God's love, God put a plan in place to reconcile us back into a relationship with him. Rather than being performance and works orientated, we are now to live our lives by faith in what God has already done for us.

b) Why was the law given to us in the first place?

The law was placed over us as a guardian to watch over us until Christ came, and to reveal to us our inability to keep it and to show us our need of a savior- Jesus Christ.

"So the law was our guardian until Christ came that we might be justified by faith."

Galatians 3:24

"rather, through the law we become conscious of our sin." Romans 3:20

"The law was added so that the trespass might increase. But where sin increased, grace increased all the more."

Romans 5:20

"What, then, was the purpose of the Law? It was added because of transgressions until

the Seed to whom the promise referred had come. "

Galatians 3:19

"So the law was put in charge to lead us to Christ that we might be justified by faith."

Galatians 3:24

The law was put into place to show us our inability to keep it and to reveal to us our need for a savior.

Reason #2: Fear that people won't live properly if they don't adhere to the law:

a) In Christ, now that living by the law is dead to us, we are now to live our lives by the Spirit of God within us and be directed and motivated by his love- free from the mental anguish and condemnation brought about by the failures to live up to the religious laws and moral standards. In other words, we are now free to walk away from the darkness of legalism to walk into the light of grace.

"No, a man is a Jew if he is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code." Romans 2:29

"God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us."

Romans 5:5

"But now, by dying to what once bound us, we have been released from the law so that we may serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code."

Romans 7:6

"because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death."

Romans 8:2

"For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature,

God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit."

Romans 8:3

"And so he condemn sin in sinful man, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who live do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit."

Romans 8:4

"but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires."

Romans 8:5

"but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace."

Romans 8:6

"those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God."

Romans 8:14

"For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave to fear, but your received the Spirit of son-ship. And by him we cry, "Abba, Father."

Romans 8:15

"In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness."

Romans 8:26

"I will put my laws in the minds and write them on their hearts."

Hebrews 8:10

"Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by

the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain,

that is, his body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw

near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience."

Hebrews 10:19-22

"And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds."

Hebrews 10:24

"let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith,"

Hebrews 12:1-2

"See to it that no one misses the grace of God and..."

Hebrews 12:15

"Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, 'Abba, Father.'"

Galatians 4:6

"The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love."

Galatians 5:6

"You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge

the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love. The entire law is summed up

in a single command: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'"

Galatians 5:13-14

"So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature."

Galatians 5:16

"Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep step with the Spirit."

Galatians 5:25

"Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ."

Galatians 6:2

"Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit,

who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are

God's possession- to the praise of his glory."

Ephesians 1:13-14

"And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love

one another as he commanded us." 1 John 3:23

The power of love has been chronicled throughout the ages. Think for just a moment in your own life. What things would you not do for those whom you love? Get my point? You want to do things for the people you love. Do you feel that you have to do things for them?

So, do you see what lies at the heart of the your motivation? Is it not to please and to show someone how much you care about them and your desire to serve them? When it comes to God, will not our love constrain and compel us to do things for God in the very same way, because we want to? In fact, bring about greater things than the written code could ever coax it out of us. No, godliness and righteousness are not dependent on a set of religious rules and regulations. They never will be. They are a matter of the condition of one's heart.

And it is why God found fault with it, and through Christ, implemented a new covenant with man- for man to live by faith and love alone. Think about it.

Reason #3: Why people find it discomforting to live by grace?

a) People find it discomforting because it takes control out of the hands of man.

It is in man's nature-man likes to be the captain of his own ship, of his own life. Somewhat resistant to outside influences or authority trying to tell him what is best for him or what he needs to do to avoid certain things that would be harmful to him. Man stands fairly confident that he knows what is best for himself and how to attain it. If he doesn't have it, he has only to perform to acquire it. Unfortunately, such thinking is prevalent and deeply entrenched in our culture today. Everywhere we turn, performance is a key indicator as to how we are viewed and how we are valued and how we acquire things- even in our attempt to acquire love.

But in the spiritual realm of God's economy, man finds something radically different.

He is confronted with the idea that no matter how hard he tries, he cannot please God through his human efforts. Man is sinful. Man's sinful nature separates him from God. Man on his own cannot reconcile his relationship with God nor gain entrance to God's kingdom. All the information above highlights what the bible reveals about our spiritual condition and our inability to live up to God's righteous standards- no matter how hard we try or recommit our ways! Thus, continuing to strive in one's own efforts to achieve things in the spiritual realm is purposeless and will only lead to frustration, regret, shame, and despair for the bible is clear that no one is righteous, no one is capable of living such a lifestyle on their own.

And so, it is through God's love for us, that he made a way to reconcile our relationship with him. He did it all. He took the control out of our hands. He, therefore, sent his one and only Son, Jesus, to die in our place, paying the penalty for our sins- past, present and future-providing us with a complete and full pardon, and reconciling us back into an intimate relationship with God. We did nothing to make this happen! Absolutely nothing! What once was a matter of works, striving to live by the law, now has become living a life by faith alone. A new and living way has opened up to us forever. It is one of freedom and acceptance; one birthed out of love and grace.

The law, as far as it is our standard for living, our motivation for pleasing God, is dead to the believer. The bible clearly states it. But a better way has been made available to us. This roadway is motivated and installed through God's unconditional love for each one of us. For the legalists out there, have no fears. The compelling nature of God's love for us will do a much greater work and reach far farther than any set of righteous standards could ever achieve. With that in mind, I am reminded of the popular slogan by Allstate insurance company- except with a little twist:

"You are in good hands with God"

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Is the law dead? For us, YES! Is it heresy? No ( perfect) way!

It is now by grace!

In his love, see you tomorrow...

"Carpe Momentum in Love" (Seize the moment in love)