BIBLE TEACHINGS MADE PLAIN, part 13 – Gospel and Law

BIBLE TEACHINGS MADE PLAIN, part 13

Gospel and Law

In part 12 we discussed the topic “What is the Gospel?” and we concluded that the Gospel is all about Jesus Christ. If we look for peace of mind, forgiveness of sin, reconciliation with God the answer is not with Buda or Mohammed, who died, or any other world religion or social leader, but with Jesus Christ crucified in our place for our sins and taking our penalty and who rose from the dead and is alive and well. Jesus Christ is our living High Priest in the heavenly sanctuary, Hebr.8:1, 2. We have also learned that it was transgression of God’s law which caused God to have for us a substitute in our place who would take our sins and penalty and provide for us grace, mercy and reconciliation. We have learned this clearly from the sanctuary model erected by Moses in the desert, and from Isa.53 and 2Cor.5:18-21. A transgressed law cannot save us or give us eternal life, only Jesus can.

In this lesson we will answer the question “How does the Gospel related to God’s Law?” Some people in Christian communities answer; the Gospel cancels the law and made us free from keeping the law. Is this Biblically true? We agree that salvation is only and only in Jesus Christ, no other name under heaven guarantees our salvation, Acts.4:12. But did Jesus, did God cancel the law, cancel obedience to the law? These are important questions to be answered, how do Gospel and law relate to each other?

As we have done before we will go to the beginning. When reading the Bible through we will notice different laws for different purposes
There is first God’s moral law the Ten Commandments, this is the law we will discuss in this lesson.
Second there are ceremonial laws in relationship to the OT sanctuary/temple. All these laws were pointing to Christ the Messiah and have been fulfilled in Christ and are of no value any more. Hebr.8:1, 2; 9:8-14.
Third you will find also social laws dealing with health and church maintenance how to keep our bodies running properly and how to keep the body of Christ, the church running properly, More about this issue in a later lesson.
You will also find laws related to Israel as a nation, so-called civil laws. Israel was an independent theocratic nation under God Who had provided them with civil laws to govern the nation. They lost their independence when in captivity for 70 years in Babylon and later having been made subject to the law of the Roman Empire.

Now back to the beginning. When God told Adam and Eve not to eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, were they subject to the moral issues of the Ten Commandments? To answer this question we have to know what the Ten Commandments are all about. For most people it is a code of don’t do this and don’t do that which is not very attractive to people. As a law it is stated like that, but let’s have a look behind these Ten Commandments. We find them listed in Exod.20:2-17 and a second reading is in Deut.5:7-21. We take Exodus 20.
Here we find the issue of worship of the Living Creator God and no-one else
Nature and the universe have been given to us for our pleasure and the sun, moon and stars to give light. Not for making images of wood or stone and bow down before them Again it is about true worship
We must have respect for God’s name. God is Holy so is His name. Let it not be maligned by misuse or abuse of God’s name.
Remember to keep the Seventh-day Sabbath holy, it is God’s Holy day
Have honour and respect for your parents.
Have respect for the life of your neighbour, don’t take life.
Be faithful to your marriage vow and loyal to your spouse.
Respect the goods of other people and leave it to them.
Be honest under all circumstances and always speak the truth
Be happy with what you have and don’t be jealous over what others have.
Looking at the Ten Commandments this way it puts them on a high positive moral level and regulate relationship with God and our neighbour.

How did Adam and Eve transgress these ten moral issues Number one they switched their worship from God to Satan because they believed Satan and not God. God was their Father, Adam the son of God, Luke 3:38 and by listening to the serpent, Satan, they dishonoured God and transgressed the fifth commandment. The sixth commandment says do not take life, they took their own lives by transgression and made them subject to the death penalty. Number seven they transgressed, because they lived in a marriage spiritual relationship with God. Isa.54:5; Jer.3:14. In the last book of the Bible the Revelation, the Apostate church is called a whore being unfaithful to God, breaking a spiritual marriage relationship, which is adultery.
Eating from the forbidden tree made them steal what did not belong to them, no respect for the goods of another. They made untrue statements trying to find a reason for their sin and thus transgressed the ninth commandment. Finally they transgressed also the last commandment by coveting, having lust and giving in to that lust of what did not belong to them. Sin starts with lust, James1:15. By analysing the event in the Garden of Eden this way most of the Ten Commandments were transgressed by eating from the forbidden tree.

Did God cancel the keeping of His law when He saw that Adam and Eve did not keep it? Absolutely not and we have no word from God anywhere to that respect. As we have learned God gave them the promise of a future Deliverer and made provision for forgiveness and granted them a second chance. However the consequences of their sin they had to bear. While we have no knowledge that the Ten Commandments did exist as a written code, they did exist.

The next one who sinned was Cain. He got involved in wrong worship, opposite to what God had instituted. One thing led to another and he killed his brother. Cain complained about his punishment in Gen.4:13. Punishment is only in relationship to a law otherwise it is illegal to punish. Sin is transgression of the law, 1John 3:4 and the wages of sin is death, Rom.6:23

After what Cain did we read about the flood in Gen.6 and 7. Because of men’s wickedness the flood came. Wickedness is sin and again the people who perished in the flood were transgressors of God’s law.

We read about Abraham and his faithfulness to God’s law and commandments, Gen.26:5

After 400+ years in Egypt Israel was asked to enter into a covenant relationship with God. The covenant was about the Ten Commandments, lesson 15 will deal with this.
The people promised to obey, Exod.19:8.They were told what God had done for them,
19:4. Now God asks of them something in return, 19:8. They repeat their promise in 24:3, 7. This was not a bribe to buy their obedience, but He loved them and now He asks show Me how much you love Me. The introduction to the Ten Commandments in Exod.20:1 informs the people what God has done. We can only be obedient to God as we should if we realise and acknowledge what God has done for us, then it becomes a love relationship what it should be. Relationship with God is like a marriage relationship which is based on love with the freedom not to love, but God loves us always and at all times. Isa.54:6 and. Jer.6:2 shows our relationship with God, and when we become disloyal to God we are like a whore, Rev.17:1 and Jer.3:1. Isaiah wrote about the people of his time that they had transgressed the laws of God and changed them, Isa.24:5. One of the last words of King Solomon is in Eccl.12:13, 14 to fear God and keep His commandments. And the same we find in the last message which we read in Rev.14:6, 7 and 12. It should be clear that in the Old Testament keeping the law of God was not in order to be saved but out of love for what God had done first, to give them freedom from Egypt.

Now we come to the time of Jesus what was His teaching in regard to the law? It was foretold of the Messiah that He would have the law in His heart and magnify the law, Ps.40:8 and Isa 42:20, 21. We read in the Sermon on the Mount, called the inauguration sermon of Christ, that the law would stand forever, Matth.5:17.Not in the least there would be any change. All of Mathew 5-7 is a confirmation of the law and a clear magnification. In Christ’s last talk to His disciple before He was arrested and crucified He said that if we love Him we should keep His commandments, read it in
John 14:15 and 21, and in 15:10.

What do we learn from the apostle Paul in regard to the law? Rom.3:31 we do not make the law void but establish the law and in Rom.7:12 we read that the law is holy; the command is holy, just and good. By the law we learn what sin is, Rom.7:7. No law, no sin, no need for grace and no need for a Saviour Jesus Christ.
In Gal.3:13 we read that we have been redeemed from the curse of the law, not from the law itself. The curse is the penalty when we transgress God’s law and Christ took our sin and its penalty. If we accept Jesus as our personal Saviour then we are free from the condemnation of the law, from its penalty, but not free from keeping the law of God.

As Jesus had the law within His heart so God will write His law within our heart when we enter into a covenant of love relationship with God, Hebr.8:10.
One of Christ’s apostles, John, also teaches us to keep the law of God 1John 2:3. It gives evidence that we love God and keeping it is not grievous or heavy, 1John 5:3. What is done out of love is never heavy but light and a pleasure to do. Finally in the last book of the Bible we learn that Satan will be angry with those who keep the commandments of God and believe in Jesus, Rev.12:17; 14:12

From Eden till the end of time God’s law, His commandments stand solid as a rock, not as a means to be saved but because we have found salvation and grace with Jesus.
Salvation is by grace through faith alone, Eph.2:8, 9. But here comes the paradox, we are and will never be saved because we keep the commandments of God, but we will be lost when we do not keep the commandments of God. God’s plan of salvation is paradoxical. Let me give a few other examples:
We are saved by grace through faith, but faith is not our Saviour, Jesus Christ is, but without faith, not believing we will be lost, Mark 16:16
We must be born again, but we are not saved because we are born again, Jesus is our Saviour not our born again experience. John.3:3, 5 but at the same time without being born again we cannot see the kingdom of God.
We are not saved by keeping the commandments of God that would make commandment keeping our Saviour, Jesus is our Saviour. But without keeping the commandments of God we will be lost, Matth.7:22, 23 these people were condemned because they had performed iniquity, which is sin and sin is transgression of the law, 1John 3:4.

What have we learned in this lesson? The Gospel does not do away with the law of God. The gospel announces that there is grace and mercy with God when we have sinned and transgressed the law of God, read 1John 1:9. Jesus is our Saviour from sin, not from keeping the law, Matth.1:21. When a woman was brought to Jesus who had sinned, Jesus told her “go home and sin no more” John 8:11. We are told also not to sin, but if we have, we can go to Jesus, 1John 2:1, 2 (What propitiation means we will learn later)
Next lesson will be about Gospel and Judgment, when we believe in Jesus are we still subject to judgment?

Commitment: Because I have accepted Jesus as my personal Saviour and because now I love Jesus as He loved me first, I commit myself to be obedient to His law by His grace and faith in His power to be obedient.