The Law of Liberty (2)

“Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.”  Matthew 5.19

Don’t blame me!
The Law of God – the Ten Commandments and the precepts, rules, statutes, and ordinances that accompany them – are the “law of liberty”, the “royal law” which God has before ordained to guide us in doing good works of love to God and neighbors for His praise and glory (Matt. 22.34-40; Matt. 5.16).

I am not unaware that many of you are saying, “No, no!” even as you read these words; and I fully expect to hear from some of you who will insist that I am teaching salvation by works.

Let me say again emphatically: We are saved by grace through faith, unto good works – the good works of the Law of liberty, the Law of God. Full faith living is living in love for God and neighbors, according to the teaching of God’s Law and all His Word.

So if you want to insist, as one theologian put it, that “the Christian has no relationship to Law…for the Christian, the Law of God is a dead and a useless thing,” you should be clear that your argument is not with me: it’s with the apostles James, Paul, and John, as we shall see.

More than that, your argument is with the Lord Jesus Himself, Who taught us that you cannot attain to greatness in His Kingdom without obedience to the Law of God, and faithfully urging of that Law on all the followers of Christ.

Salvation unto works
This is not salvation by works, but salvation unto them. But which works? The good works prescribed in the holy, righteous, and good Law of God (Rom. 7.12). Believers in Christ are called to confirm, work out, express, enjoy, and give evidence of the full power of their salvation, and their full faith commitment to Christ, by keeping the Law of God. Any who refuse, fail, or neglect to do so must consider that, in spite of having confessed Jesus as Savior and Lord, they may not have come to saving faith at all (Matt. 7.20; 1 Jn. 2.1-6; Jms.2.14-26).

But how can this be?

To set us free!
The explanation is simple: As James put it, the Law of God is a liberating moral code. It does not encumber us with man-made obligations and traditions, like the Pharisees in Jesus’ day tried to do. Rather, it liberates us from merely human protocols and priorities into the clear light of divinely-revealed Truth. It sets us free from the confusion and uncertainty of our own best guesses or strongest inclinations into the unchanging reliability of God-given standards. The Law of God frees us from relativism and pragmatism into the light of life and Truth. It shatters the bonds of guilt and the allure of sin, bringing us to the forgiveness of Christ and the sweet attractiveness of the divine presence.

The Law of God liberates us from folly into glory; all who live and teach the Law of God discover the course of Christ’s Kingdom and walk in full faith the path of good works that Jesus Himself did (1 Jn. 2.1-6).

We are not talking here about the laws of sacrifice, diet, and cleansing, all of which pertained to the ancient priesthood of Israel. Even though these religious codes provide some guidance for following Jesus, all those laws ceased when Jesus assumed the eternal priesthood from the tribe of Judah, rather than Levi (Heb. 7-10).

And we’re not auguring for believers to take each statute of the civil code of Old Testament Israel and carry it out on their own authority or even in the letter as opposed to the Spirit of the Law (2 Cor. 3.4-6). What we’re saying, echoing the apostles and the Lord, is that the Law of God is of enduring value for those who believe in Jesus – indeed, for all people – in learning to walk the path of holiness, righteousness, goodness, and love, the path of Christian discipleship (Rom. 7.12; 1 Jn. 5.1-3; cf. Lk. 1.6).

We are unable to walk that path on our own strength, as we shall see; and we cannot walk that path in order to earn our salvation, as I have said.

However, if we have come to know Jesus as Savior and Lord, and have been born again into the light of His Truth; and if we desire to grow in full faith in the Lord, then taking up the Law of God to obey and teach it will lead us into the freedom of the sons and daughters of God.

 For reflection
1.      The Law of God, given through Moses, is the acorn to the oak of Biblical revelation. Explain.

2.      Meditate on Romans 3.21-31. Jesus fulfilled all the righteous requirements of God’s Law so that, in His righteousness, we might follow that same path. Explain.

3.      Can we love God and our neighbors without knowing the Law of God? Why not?

Next steps: Have you memorized the Ten Commandments? If not, do so this week.

T. M. Moore

Your gifts to The Fellowship of Ailbe make this ministry possible. It’s easy to give to The Fellowship of Ailbe, and all gifts are, of course, tax-deductible. You can click here to donate online through credit card or PayPal, or send your gift to The Fellowship of Ailbe, 19 Tyler Dr., Essex Junction, VT 05452.

Subscribe to The Week, T. M.’s daily insights to worldview issues, by going to the website and, when the pop-up appears, put in your email, click on The Week, then click to update your subscriptions. You’ll be sent an email allowing you to add The Week to your free subscriptions.

This week’s ReVision study is Part 8 of a 10-part series, “Full Faith.” You can download “The Law of Liberty” as a free PDF, prepared for personal or group study. Simply click here.

Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.