Christ: the End of the Law

Jesus did many miracles during His pilgrimage on earth.  He also kept the Law without fail, a truly monumental and impossible task for an ordinary man.  He urged His disciples to believe He was the way, the truth, and the life.  He said in John 14:11-12, "Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me, or else believe Me for the sake of the works themselves. ¹² "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father."  One thing which marked the life of Jesus is He always did what pleased the Father.  While shunning man's traditions, He remained blameless and righteous.

In his letter to the Galatians, Paul confronted them for their return back to Law after being born again through faith in Jesus.  In chapter 3 Paul proved that righteousness is by faith apart from the Law.  The grave error of the Galatians was thinking once they were born again they were thus empowered by the Spirit to keep the Law.  Abraham was made righteous by faith in God before the Law, therefore righteousness by faith and labours to keep the Law are mutually exclusive.  Paul stated emphatically in Romans 10:4, "For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes."  The Law is good, but it has no power to save sinners:  it can only condemn.

There is confusion to this day concerning what role the Law plays under the New Covenant established by the shed blood of Jesus.  The Law should not be thrown out or seen as irrelevant for several reasons:  all people under sin's curse will be judged according to it; it is the primary means of revealing sin and our need of forgiveness; and the Law is thus a schoolmaster which leads us to salvation in Christ.  During my morning reading I was reminded of the great work Jesus did in remaining completely obedient to the Father.  Having been born again and filled with the Holy Spirit, Christians are called to a greater task than obedience to external commands.  We are called to be led by the Spirit as we follow Jesus in faith.

So what does this practically look like?  Consider the 10 Commandments in Exodus 20 as an example.  Instead of being content with avoiding evil, we are called to do good!

• "Thou shalt have no other gods before me..." - it is good for us to be completely loyal to God alone, but we also are led by the Spirit to tell others about Him so they too can fear and love God.
• "Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image..." - eliminating idols is critical, but we also should humble ourselves before God and worship Him through faithful service.
• "Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain..." - it is good to guard our tongues from blasphemous speech, but the name of God should be on our lips as we pray without ceasing.
• "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy..." - setting aside a day of rest is good in following God's example after creating the earth in six days and resting the seventh, but since Christ is our Sabbath we ought to be holy, set apart unto God, resting in our Saviour and His grace.
• "Honour thy father and thy mother..." - honouring your parents is a command with a blessing for all who obey, yet when we are born again we are adopted by our heavenly Father, entering by faith into a relationship of love and purity.
• "Thou shall not kill..."  - avoiding killing someone is a good thing, but we should love even our enemies, praying for those who hate us.
• "Thou shalt not commit adultery..." - it is good to remain sexually pure in marriage, but husbands should love their wives as Christ loves the church, and wives ought to submit to their own husbands as unto the LORD, as both spouses submit to Christ in love.
• "Thou shalt not steal..." - it is good to respect the rightful ownership of others, but isn't it a greater work to give to those in need as a sacrifice unto the LORD?
• "Thou shalt not bear false witness..." - in court we should be honest, but how much better still to speak the truth in love at all times, boldly sharing the truth of God's Word with all who has ears to hear.
• "Thou shalt not covet..." - it is good to be satisfied with your possessions without envying what others have, but it is better to do this while thanking God for all He has given you, rejoicing in His bountiful provision.

Jesus did many amazing works, and we shall do them too when it comes to obeying God through the empowerment of the Holy Spirit.  These thoughts only scratch the surface of the ways God can lead us by His grace as we take up our cross daily and follow Jesus.