Law Written for Our Sakes

Do you realise God gave the Law to His people and also to you?  Because it is often said "we are not under the Law," a devaluing of it has occurred.  Whilst it is true those who are in Christ Jesus have entered into a New Covenant in Christ's blood through faith, the Law is completely relevant to us today.  We are not obligated to "keep" the letter of the Law, but the principles are just as true and righteous today as ever.  We are no longer under the authority of the "schoolmaster" of the Law (Galatians 3:24-25), but we can still learn much from that teacher.  The Law focused on external righteousness, but Jesus came to establish righteousness within us through faith in Him.  Instead of outward conformity, God desires inner transformation leading to outward godliness through the Holy Spirit.

Jesus said in Matthew 5:17-18, "Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. ¹⁸ For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled."  Jesus did not come to destroy the Law or lessen its relevance to us, but to fulfil it.  To fulfil means to "complete."  Comprehension of the Law works to increase our appreciation of God's grace.  Righteousness was never intended to be obtained through external acts, but through faith.  The Law proved the complete inability of man to keep the Law, and exposed the perverse nature of his heart which denies the spirit of the law whilst creating a facade of keeping it.  Romans 3:19 says, "Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God."  The Law reveals our sinfulness, and therefore is still righteous and good.  Perhaps some have diminished the value of God's Law in these last days, but Jesus never did.  His commands extended beyond the reach of the Law, and are only accomplished through the power of the Holy Spirit.

When you realise the Law was not only for the Israelites way back when but for you, what wonderful truths open up to us!  Did you know verses in the Law actually address the days in which we live specifically.  In the New Testament, Hebrews 1:1-2 tells us we are in the last days:  "God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, ² has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds..."  Last night I read in the Old Testament Law a message to Jews living in these last days in Deuteronomy 4:30-31:  "When you are in distress, and all these things come upon you in the latter days, when you turn to the LORD your God and obey His voice ³¹ (for the LORD your God is a merciful God), He will not forsake you nor destroy you, nor forget the covenant of your fathers which He swore to them."  If God only intended this passage for the Jews who were under the Law in Moses' day, why would God mention the trouble they would face in the "latter days?"  It is clear God wanted people in the last days to read and believe them.  The verses were for the people in Moses' day, but they are also for people in the latter days - even after Jesus established a New Covenant with His own blood.  Until Jesus returns in power, God extends a gracious opportunity for all people to turn to the LORD and obey His voice.

The New Testament also confirms the valid application of principles in the Law for our lives today.  Paul quoted from the Law in his epistle to the Corinthian church in 1 Corinthians 9:8-10:  "Do I say these things as a mere man? Or does not the law say the same also? ⁹ For it is written in the law of Moses, "You shall not muzzle an ox while it treads out the grain." Is it oxen God is concerned about? ¹⁰ Or does He say it altogether for our sakes? For our sakes, no doubt, this is written, that he who plows should plow in hope, and he who threshes in hope should be partaker of his hope."  Without a doubt, Paul says the command in Deuteronomy 25:4 was written for the church, for us today.  As Warren Wiersbe used to say, that command was obviously not written down for oxen, because they can't read!  It is for men!  God certainly cares about oxen, but He cares about people most of all.  In the Law, God laid down a righteous, eternal principle which involved oxen which remains applicable today.

The Law is filled with principles, examples, warnings, and truth completely relevant to our lives today.  Don't be put off by genealogies, words tricky to pronounce, or look at the Law as less important than other scripture.  It has been written for our sakes, and it will endure forever!