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Uses of the Law: To Clarify the Good News (2)
T. M. Moore
“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have come to abolish them but to fulfill them.” Matthew 5.17
Central to the Gospel is the work of Jesus Christ, what He has accomplished on our behalf so that we might know God and dwell in His presence without fear. For most Christians, the cross and resurrection receive primary emphasis as the work of Jesus Christ.
When our proclamation of the Good News convicts a lost sinner of his sin, and creates in him that sense of woe and longing, so that he is now looking for redemption, we quickly point to the crucifixion of Jesus as having satisfied the wrath of God against our sin, and to the resurrection as the hope of new life in Him.
But why should this be so? And how can we expect to God to continue forbearing with us, since we will continue to sin, even though we have come to faith in Jesus Christ (1 Jn. 1.8)? Where is the righteousness that we require to be able to stand before God without fear of judgment (Rom. 8.1)?
It is, of course, in Jesus Christ. Jesus fulfilled all the Law of God, completely and exhaustively, so that He embodies the righteousness we require, day by day, in order to know the favor of God. In the Gospel we rejoice that Jesus has kept the Law – knowing that we never have or ever can – and that God has accepted His righteousness as satisfaction for what He requires of us.
Thus, we see in Jesus what the Law of God looks like lived out in a human life. And, in particular, in this human life, we find a righteousness which satisfies God’s demand that all who would know Him must be holy as He is holy. Our proclamation of the Gospel is not complete until we have relieved the sinner of any sense of ever having to produce in himself, by his own obedience, righteousness that will keep him in good standing before the holy and righteous and good Judge of all men. Jesus ever lives to intercede on behalf of those who trust in Him, pleading His righteousness and blood as the means of our lasting redemption.
For a practical guide to the role of God’s Law in the life of faith, get The Ground for Christian Ethics by going to www.ailbe.org and click on our Book Store.