The Law

 

Basic Christian Doctrines 40

 

1.   God Gave Us His Law.

 

God gave His Law to Man to tell us our duty. Sin is defined as the breaking of this Law (I John 3:4). If there was no Law, there would be no such thing as sin (Rom. 4:15).  lt is the Royal Law (James 2:8). The Law is holy and just and good (Rom. 7:12). The Hebrew word for Law is TORAH. The Greek word is NOMOS. God's Law is given to all men through Natural Revelation (Rom. 2:14-15). It was given more specifically and verbally in the Bible.

 

2.   The Law is Summarized in the Ten Commandments.

The Bible contains over 600 laws in the Pentateuch alone, but God summarized them in the Ten Commandments, which are found in Ex. 20 and Deut. 5. The first 4 commands deal with our relation with God; the next six with our relation with other people. Some of them are negative, some are positive. When a certain thing is forbidden, its opposite is implicitly commanded. When something is commanded, its opposite is implicitly forbidden (see Eph. 4:28). Virtually every other law in the Bible is subsumed under these 10 laws. Some laws and sins involve several laws (e.g., to kill your father on the Sabbath).

 

3.   The Law Has Three Divisions.

 

When we study the many laws in the Bible, we find that they fall down into three main categories. The Moral Law is the main one. The Moral Laws pertain to all men everywhere. They are written on their hearts and consciences. They pre-date Moses and continue today. They allow no exceptions. One might call these direct laws of pure morality. Others fall into the category of the Ceremonial Law. These are primarily ceremonial in nature, and are only indirectly moral. They do not apply to all men, but only to those within the covenantal limits. For instance, Gentiles were never bound by the laws regarding circumcision, animal sacrifices or special festivals for the Jews. In the NT, non-Christians are not bound to keep baptism or the Lord's Supper. These laws are mainly types and symbols, and are temporary. The third group are the Civil Laws, such as in Ex. 21-23. Some of these are meant to apply to all civil societies, such as capital punishment. Others were tied into the Ceremonial Laws and were temporary and only for Israel.

 

4.   Part of the Law Has Been Chanqed.

Law as Law cannot be changed any more than the very holy nature of God can be changed, for the Law reflects that holiness. The Moral Law stands unalterable. See Matt. 5:17-19. Yet, God has changed the Ceremonial Law and also the Civil Law in part. The OT Ceremonial Laws were types of Christ, and so were fulfilled and abolished when Christ came (Col.2:17). God then substituted these laws with two new ceremonies, namely Baptism and Communion, which symbolize salvation with Christ as well. Those civil laws that had to do with Israel as a special theocracy have been abolished, while others of a purely moral nature still continue.

5.   The Law Has Three Uses.

First, there is the Political Use. The Law is meant to punish certain kinds of sinners (I Tim.1:9-10) and to act as a restraint on sin. Second, there is the Pedagogical Use. The Law convicts of sin, tells us what sin is, and thus prepares us for conversion (Gal.3:24, Rom.3:19-20, 7:7- 13). It silences all excuses and kills self-righteousness. Thirdly, there is the Didactic Use. It teaches Christians how they may express gratitude to God for saving them (John 14:15, 21-24, I John 5:3).

 

6.   Legalism is Wrong.

There are two major misuses of the Law. The first is legalism. It involves several things. First, we cannot be saved by the Law. Legalism is the religion of the Pharisees and Galatian Judaizers, saying we can be saved in whole or in part by Law-keeping. Another form of legalism retains those OT ceremonies which have passed away. Another form emphasizes the letter over the Spirit of the Law. Another places human tradition on the same level. Another form puts more emphasis on Law than on grace. But the Bible is clear: Christians are not under the curse of the Law, nor under it as a means of salvation (Rom.6:14-15). Christ has freed us from the dangers of legalism and warns us of it. 

 

7.   Antinomianism is Wrong.

The opposite error from legalism is Antinomianism. The word comes from the words ANTI (against) and NOMOS (Law). It is an outlaw view of religion. It is similar to libertinism and  licentiousness, which say that we have the liberty and licence to sin all we want because we are not under the Law but under grace. Doctrinal Antinomianism says, "The Law is one, therefore it has all been abolished"(the opposite of legalism, which says it has all been retained). It pretends to be super-spiritual by saying that the Spirit replaces the Law. This is a false mysticism. It often advocates Situation Ethics. It sometimes says that works are totally unnecessary to the Christian, even as evidence of conversion. Most forms of Dispensationalism teach a form of Doctrinal Antinomianism, claiming that the Law was only for Israel and not the Church.

 

8.   The Holy Spirit Enables Us to Keep the Law.

The Spirit does not replace the Law, but leads the child of God to obey it. The Spirit of the Law does not annul the letter of the Law. One of the great benefits of the New Covenant is that the Spirit writes this Law on our hearts and causes us to follow it (Jer.31:33). In our state of sin, we could not keep the Law. But being regenerate, we are freed from sin by the Spirit so that we can keep it, though never perfectly.

 

9.   Christians Should Love God's Law.

 

We ought to echo David’s words, “O how I love your Law’” (Psa. 119:97).  Read through all of Psalm 119, the longest chapter in the Bible, and you’ll see how David loved the Law, did not forget it, learned from it, etc.  Paul said, “I delight in the Law” (Rom. 7:22).  We show our love to God by loving His Law.  If we love Jesus, we ought to obey His Law.  We should obey it willingly and joyfully, not grudgingly.  The Law tells us how we may express our gratitude to God for saving us.  Too many Christians have a low view of the Law.  To them, the Law is bad, whereas God says the Law is good and holy and perfect.  It is sin, not the Law, that is bad.  The Law stirs up the sin that is resident in us, but that doesn’t make the Law bad.  The Law by itself cannot save or move us to obedience.  But it tells us the will of our Heavenly Father.

 

10. The Two Love Commands Epitomize the Law.

According to Matt. 22:37-39, Rom. 13:9, Gal. 5:14 and James 2:8, the whole Law is summed up in two simple Laws: Love God and love other people. This is the heart of the Law. It is a summary. A Table of Contents does not annul the rest of the book, but indexes it. So too here. Love is the inner attitude that shows true obedience to the meaning of the Law. God desires us to love Him with all our being. God also tells us to love other people as Jesus loved us, even to love our enemies. With this in mind, the Law truly is a Law of Love.