Why You Should Obey God's Law

 You’ve probably heard a pastor, Sunday schoolteacher, or Christian friend talk about freedom from the law. Bondage to the law is contrasted with freedom brought by grace.

The argument goes like this,

We Christians do not have to obey the law anymore. The law served a purpose, until the New Testament gospel came. The law and its bondage are inferior to grace and its freedom.

Now, many more things could be added to this summary, but this encapsulates the gist of the belief.

I have one disclaimer and a few thoughts for you to consider.

Disclaimer

I do believe this to be true. The problem is, it reveals a part of the truth, not the whole truth. We’ve got to tell the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help us God! I believe lots of confusion around law and gospel stem from trying to contrast the two, rather than showing their conformity to one another.

Jesus fulfilled the law

“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.” — (Matthew 5:17–18, NIV)

Jesus did not come to abolish the law but to fulfill the law. This of course, highlights Jesus and His perfection. Jesus could fulfill the law and He did.

How does that apply to us?

It frees us from the punishment our sins deserve. We are not freed from keeping the law but from the punishment of breaking it.

This distinction must be kept. The Bible is replete with warnings to obey THE law. Which is a law that Jesus re-established,

“The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these.” — (Mark 12:29–31, NIV)

It’s important to perceive, this is not a new law but is a summarization of the ten commandments.

The first four ten commandments are how to love God.

• Do not have another god before me
• Do not make for yourself an idol
• Do not take the Lord’s name in vain
• Remember the Sabbath and keep it holy

The last six are how to love people.

• Honor your father and mother
• Do not murder
• Do not commit adultery
• Do not steal
• Do not accuse, falsely, your neighbor
• Do not covet

It’s all about love. The ten commandments are not burdensome but meant for human flourishing. When we obey these commandments, we are not in bondage, but freed from our sinful and enslaved desires.

So…

We are not freed from keeping the laws of love. We are rather, freed from the justice we deserve for breaking them. Because we do break them, both consciously and subconsciously.

The laws we don’t keep

There are laws we don’t keep anymore. We must make a distinction between the 10 commandments and the 613 ritual laws.

We are freed from these laws. This is spelled out by the Apostle Paul in his epistles. As well as by Peter and his vision, which led to him eating meat sacrificed to idols.

The best example is circumcision. Circumcision was a law, and therefore must be followed. The Apostle Paul spends lots of energy, passionately proclaiming, that people do not need to be circumcised anymore.

Not even those who are circumcised keep the law, yet they want you to be circumcised that they may boast about your circumcision in the flesh. May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything; what counts is the new creation. 16 Peace and mercy to all who follow this rule — the Israel of God. — (Galatians 6:13–16, NIV)

I cite this text because the Apostle Paul’s words, sound eerily familiar to the belief stated in the beginning.

If we read this text literally, it sounds as if, the law is done, and the gospel has come. Which of course is true.

But lots of questions emerge, let’s take one example.

With the understanding of, law/gone and gospel/come, we can ask if practicing sin actually matters.

One might ask, “if the gospel has freed me from the law, can’t I live anyway I want?” Which is a valid question.

The emphatic answer is no.

The Bible clearly says that if we live sinful lives, we will not inherit the kingdom of God.

Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. — (1 Corinthians 6:9–10, ESV)

Notice the Apostle Paul states that licentiousness is a detrimental deception.

There will be people that professed faith in Jesus Christ, but their lives professed another. They will be judged by their actions. This is not an Old Testament motif but is substantiated in the entirety of scripture.

Which brings us back to the question…

Are we freed from the law? Wouldn’t it be by works that we are saved?

Conclusion

We are saved by grace. We are saved by the merits of another. We are not saved by our actions, but our actions, reveal who's living inside of us. It’s either dead flesh or the Spirit of the living God.

“The presence of deeds cannot be used to argue the presence of faith, but the absence of deeds may be used to argue the absence of faith.” — Alistair Begg

Jesus did not abolish the law but fulfilled the law. He is the only one who could fulfill it. He has sent us His Spirit, to free us from the guilt of our sins and to empower us to live holy lives.

There exists a tension between grace and works. The tension cannot be alleviated. If we believe we are freed from the law, that makes us free to do what we want. If we are free to do what we want, and therefore practice sin, we are not living in the grace God bestows.

Why obey the Law?

There is grace there.