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"For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ." John 1:17 "Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage." Galatians 5:1 "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." Matthew 11:28-30 There is a growing trend among evangelical Christians to start toying with adding certain Old Testament practices (days, diets, disciplines) to their newfound freedom in Christ. I find this more than a little disheartening and offer my own testimony in support of the idea that this is a foolish and even destructive course of action. My understanding and experience, from many years in the Worldwide Church of God (for most of its history, a 7th Day Sabbath and Old Testament Feast Keeping, non-pork eating institution) is that the Law of Moses (Torah) actually kept me at arms-length from God. It never drew me into His loving embrace, the immense depth of His grace, or the mystery of godliness revealed in the gospel. It never discipled me, nor induced me to love the Father, Son and Spirit, or empowered me to fulfill His eternal purpose for my life. It even did not (and this may shock you) lay down complete moral truth or the ultimate answer to man’s dilemma as a fallen creature. This may seem strange as is not the Law supposed to inform our moral values, teach us wisdom, and lead us forward into how God Himself perceives life. This is true, my friends to a degree, but the problem with the Law on its own is that it imposes a burden that we cannot ever hope to bear, and gradually over many years of heaviness, it is this weight that grows to occupy our attention. The Law reminds us constantly that we are captive to sin, and captivity is never a desirable condition for the human spirit, which was created to be free. Sure the Law legislated my time, and diet and speech. Yet it never seemed to be able to go deeper to the root of my hopeless condition...the blackened heart, the corrupted mind, and the defiant will. It was, as the Apostle Paul suggests, ABSOLUTELY POWERLESS to do anything but alter behavior. It created habits, and a disciplined regimen, monitored constantly by myself and others; it contained an enforceable code that could be policed from without or within. But were these positive things? What the Mosaic Law actually did was to reveal the sum and total of my life amounted to a “body of death” (Romans 7:7). This makes sense, as this is fundamentally the purpose of the Law, to convince us of our need for a savior… “For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find. For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice. Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. I find then a law, that evil is present with me, the one who wills to do good. For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man. But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?” Romans 7:18-24 Indeed! Who or what could effectively save me from this desperate condition? Condemned under the Law, and worthy of death, to whom can I turn? Paul records the answer in verse 25. I am sure it is familiar to most of you. “I thank God--through Jesus Christ our Lord!” Romans 7:25 After many years of law-keeping, I remained for the most part unchanged and unborn. There was no newness of life but a growing desperation. As Paul indicates, we sincerely want be good, but we are unable; we are powerless, and although we dress up in our sabbath-best, smile at church and nod our heads at all the religious platitudes, we are nonetheless dying inside. After many years of this, what we experience is the polar opposite of all that is promised in Christ – LIFE, FREEDOM, POWER, VICTORY, REAL CHANGE, HOPE, THE HEART-CHANGING LOVE OF GOD! My friends, I knew many people who died in this situation, ignorant that the real hope of the Law was the Author of Life, the Bright and Morning Star who brings a new day and a fresh hope to those fallen at the alter. How sad! That all they were left with was a changed diet and a new suit of clothes! “I am the Way and the Life and the Truth” pronounced our Lord. Only by following Him and living each moment in Him will we experience God’s ultimate hope for humankind! Recall that the first tablets of stone were smashed to shards, reminding us that a code written on anything but the heart is fragile and fleeting. Religion loves and needs and multiplies rules, as this is how it controls and manages people. Yet relationship and true life in the Body of Christ needs only heavenly love, which not only changes behavior, but penetrates to the inner core of the self and sin. It engages the heart and infuses the mortal spirit of man with the moral life of a Holy God. It liberates and empowers the sin-drawn slaves that we are! It doesn’t just prune the fruit, it replaces the seed! The good news of the Gospel is not that we have a set of rules that work, but that we have found LIFE! Real Life! Life flowing out through the wonder and person of the Creator of all Life, the River of Life! The Inventor and Author and Champion of Life! The Healer and Restorer of Life! But some may ask… Is it not the Law that informs our conscience of right and wrong? Must we not refer to it to know how to lead a moral life? There are, I believe, 613 listed do and don'ts in the Torah? As a Spirit-breathed disciple of Jesus Christ, and redeemed child of a Heavenly Father, are these alone what inform my conscience regarding good and evil, sin, righteousness, love, hate? I reject that my brethren. Although the moral truth contained in the Torah is inherently good, as Paul and John affirms, it is also incomplete. “Grace and truth” came only with the incarnation of the Divine into the world of men. Paul indicates that his gospel, revealing the complete picture, the mystery of godliness (the indwelling life of God within a man), the hope of God’s love flowing in us - all of this solves the problem that the Law defines. Where, for example, does it say in the Torah that we are to lay down our life for our friends? Does love stop at the 613th point? How does the law guide me into the love of Christ that empties itself for the glory of God and the good of others? Consider the fact that the reality and perspective of God now resides and abides within us through the medium of the indwelling Spirit of Truth. It is He (one of the Holy Three of the Divine Trinity) that is now the captain and guide of our conscience. My friends, take a few moments and consider the incredible enormity of this truth - that at this very moment, behind your eyes, and firmly settled in your mortal spirit, is the Author of All Life and Truth, the pre-existent One, The Very First, the Loving Shepherd of Our Souls! We now not only have the rules but the Rule Giver! Everything the Law (and the prophets) pointed to, and hinted at, and symbolized, and foreshadowed; all that it meant to God when he created them - embodied and finalized in His Beloved Son... this is what we now have my brethren. Read all about it in the Book of Hebrews and Galatians. Read it and rejoice for now we have real hope and absolute freedom! The Law also has no inherent power beyond condemning one to death! It is like a speed limit sign, that cannot prevent anyone from exceeding the posted speed, or a stop light that is routinely violated. Like the Jews under law, we are free moral agents, but now we have something most of them did not... moral power, or moral life if you will. The Power is in the Life, you see, not in the understanding of what to do. Even Paul indicated that it is not merely enough to know what to do or even desire to do it (Romans 7) "For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it." Romans 7:15-20 The freedom from, and power over sin and death comes from the spirit of life residing in all those who are twice-born or born again. Nicodemus, an expert in the law, couldn't quite get his mind around this concept, and yet it was key to Messiah's first coming. This is why it is taught that the law paved the way, or led to Christ. The Law fizzled out directly at His feet. It was a signpost with all arrows pointing to Him. It is most enlightening that Jesus' first directive to His new disciples was "Follow Me". Is this not what we are to do also, follow Him? If the Law was an end in itself (for this is what all legalists are implying), then why didn't our Lord say to Peter and John and Andrew "Follow Moses". Clearly, in my humble opinion, this is an "either or" situation. John then goes on to record Jesus' teaching that we are to imbibe Him (partake of His flesh and blood as food necessary for survival), then the ceremonial remembrance of this in the Lord's Supper. Why is this necessary if the law is sufficient of and by itself? This makes no sense to me, and defies the complete testimony of the Spirit over both old and new covenants. Legalists of every age, from Paul's day to today will promise you many things (believe me I know), but one thing they can never deliver is Life, which only exists when the creature is restored to perfect moral unity with the Creator, when the child is brought home, there in that heavenly place where mortal spirit is infused with immortal spirit. This is life we are talking about here... real life. The life is in the blood, not in the stone. Please don't make the mistake I made my friends. I wouldn't be writing any of this if I had no experience to back it up. I have heard the argument before, that the various laws and ordinances flesh out, or define sin down for us, so that we can better adhere to it. Yet, this is still an intellectual thing, an act of knowing, and even though we may sincerely desire to please God by keeping such imperatives so narrowly, it still does not address the "how" of it all. You are free to do whatever you think is helpful to you under the liberty of the New Covenant (Romans 14). Paul, a Jew, chose to abide by some (not all, and this is key, because if you break one part of the law you have broken it entirely) practices from His heritage, such as the Passover, certain Nazirite vows, etc. Yet he rejected those Jewish believers who were trying to reinstate the mosaic code on Gentile followers of Jesus Christ. This is equivalent to those today and in every age who attempt to reinstate or exalt the Torah in the lives of Christians. Now what each of us determines to be helpful is entirely up to ourselves and the Lord. It is a personal thing, much like our devotional life. I must confess that I rarely pray on my knees, but rather I walk more often than not. Religionists (those who consider form equal to, or more important than reality) will say that I am showing disrespect to the Lord. To date, the Spirit has not yet aligned my conscience with this. I trust Him entirely, and would hope that I would change course immediately once I was convicted of this or anything else. The problem with law-keeping however, is that human nature kicks in and we start projecting our personal norms on other people. I have seen it over and over again, and the history of the church testifies of it. This incidentally is what I believe is wrong with much of the method driven ministry we see today. I may have a number of habits or disciplines that I consider helpful for me, but the minute I tell you that these seven steps will produce the same fruit in your life, I have started imposing my relationship with God on you, and this seldom edifies anyone over the long term. Most parents with multiple children will tell you that each of them is unique and distinct; that one style of parenting cannot be readily applied to all. This is as true of God’s spiritual children, and it is what makes the church a dynamic and vibrant family. We must realize and understand that we are all on the same path but that our Lord relates to us quite differently as His children. Some are stronger or weaker in the maturity of the faith, and giving them some method or regimen may be entirely counter-productive to what the Head of the Body is hoping to do with that individual. Please take this to heart, my friends, and be aware of those who will try to convince you that somehow your life in Christ is incomplete. We need no supplements, for He is the All and the Everything for us now. The Law of Moses is still doing what it was created to do when the holy finger of God engraved it in stone. Yet, let us not confuse this with the law of liberty and life being etched on the fleshly tablets of our hearts, that now informs and empowers us as God’s beloved children. These are now the active rules of His household that will carry us forward into eternity. Please pray for us here at Living-Walk, that we would watch and see the Master at work, and understand what He would have us do. Your friend in Christ Jesus, Wayne |
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