People try to reconcile why God gave all the details of the Law of Moses only to abrogate them with the New Testament. There are two key points to embrace: 1) Jesus came not to abolish, but fulfill the law—give us more accurate understanding of its purpose and the spirit of the law ; and 2) the law serves as a mirror to show us our human nature and how much we need God’s grace.
RELEVANCE
In fulfilling the Law of Moses, Jesus explained it more accurately. He gave it substance and relevance in the context of life by demonstrating how to truly live within the framework of the spirit of the law: loving God and loving others. As Paul revealed, the law was good in that “by the law is the knowledge of sin” (Romans 3:20).
In other words, the law acts as a mirror in establishing a standard by which to show us how impossible it is to live by its exacting demands, and that only by grace will we be justified, or found in right-standing with God. In that the law is good. Hear him explain it.
“I would not have known sin except through the law. For I would not have known covetousness unless the law had said, “You shall not covet.” But sin, taking opportunity by the commandment, produced in me all manner of evil desire. For apart from the law sin was dead. I was alive once without the law, but when the commandment came, sin revived and I died. And the commandment, which was to bring life, I found to bring death. For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it killed me. Therefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy and just and good” (Romans 7:7-12).
Truly the Mosaic law, the law of sin and death, demanded obedience without a real way of walking in it. The law of the Spirit, on the other hand, empowers obedience that truly satisfies God. It serves to upgrade the law and provide new capacity in the same way an upgraded software package provides greater features and functions! For one thing, it guarantees grace as our heart obeys in trusting faith the conviction of the Holy Spirit working in our conscience. In addition, it provides the capacities of the many grace gifts of the Holy Spirit.
REFLECT AND RELATE
How do you walk in the “law of the Spirit?”
What grace gifts of the Holy Spirit have you tapped into; grown in?
REFERENCES
Romans 12:1-18; 1 Corinthians 12:1-31; 1 John 3:18-21