Our True Freedom from the Law—Part 2
How Most Christians View the Law
In my previous article, Our True Freedom from the Law – Part 1, I introduced you to one of the Bible’s most interesting “contradictions.” Paul had some seemingly negative things to say about the Law, but the Law (specifically the Psalms) spoke of itself in glowing terms, nothing negative at all. Specifically, I compared some of Paul’s statements from Romans 5-7 to statements made in Psalm 119. My conclusion was that the two groups of statements seemed to convey opposite conclusions concerning the effect of the Law on people who observe its dictates. For example, here are some specific examples. First, let me list some of the things Paul stated concerning the effect the Law has on those who try to obey it.
Moreover the law entered that the offense might abound. But where sin abounded, grace abounded much more (Romans 5:20).
For when we were in the flesh, the sinful passions which were aroused by the law were at work in our members to bear fruit to death (Romans 7:5).
But sin, taking opportunity by the commandment, produced in me all manner of evil desire . . . (Romans 7:8a).
I was alive once without the law, but when the commandment came, sin revived and I died (Romans 7:9).
And the commandment, which was to bring life, I found to bring death (Romans 7:10).
For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it killed me (Romans 7:11).
Has then what is good (the Law] become death to me? Certainly not! But sin, that it might appear sin, was producing death in me through what is good, so that sin through the commandment might become exceedingly sinful (Romans 7:13).
With those verses in mind, let’s review some specific contradictions to what we read in the Psalms. If we compare Romans 5:20, 7:8a, 7:10 and 7:13, can we not surmise that Paul is saying the Law defiles a person? After all, according to Romans 5:20, can we not say that a heart where offenses and sins abound is a heart that is defiled? Isn’t it clear that a person who has all manner of evil desire in him (Romans 7:8a) is a defiled person? Isn’t a place of death (Romans 7:10) one of the worst types of defilement? Lastly, wouldn’t you characterize a place that has become exceedingly sinful (Romans 7:13) as a place of defilement? Well, although Paul is stating that obedience to the Law leads to defilement, Psalm 119:1 says the exact opposite. According to Psalm 119:1, the person who keeps Adonai’s Law is the one who will be undefiled! Doing a similar type of analysis, we can find the following types of specific contradictions between Paul’s statements in Romans 5-8 and Psalm 119.
As you can see, it looks like we’ve got a bit of a problem. And it doesn’t stop here. Using Galatians 3:10 as a proof text, Christian pastors and teachers constantly tell us that those who keep the Law are under a curse:
For all who rely on the works of the law are under a curse, as it is written: “Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law.”
Ironically, other portions of the Bible say the exact opposite of what many Christian pastors and teachers say. The Bible always puts the curse on those who do not obey the Law, not those who obey!
Behold, I set before you today a blessing and a curse: 27 the blessing, if you obey the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you today; 28 and the curse, if you do not obey the commandments of the LORD your God, but turn aside from the way which I command you today, to go after other gods which you have not known (Deuteronomy 11:26-28).
You rebuke the proud—the cursed, who stray from Your commandments (Psalm 119:21).
and say to them, ‘Thus says the LORD God of Israel: “Cursed is the man who does not obey the words of this covenant.”’ (Jeremiah 11:3)
But it shall come to pass, if you do not obey the voice of the Lord your God, to observe carefully all His commandments and His statutes which I command you today, that all these curses will come upon you and overtake you: (Deuteronomy 28:15)
Yes, all Israel has transgressed Your law, and has departed so as not to obey Your voice; therefore the curse and the oath written in the Law of Moses the servant of God have been poured out on us, because we have sinned against Him. (Daniel 9:11)
According to Romans 6:14-15, we are told by Christian pastors and teachers that the Jews lived under the law, but we, as Christians, are living under grace.
For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace. 15 What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? Certainly not! (Romans 6:14-15)
That’s strange. My Bible clearly teaches me that Adonai’s grace has always been with His people. First of all, many people found grace in Adonai’s eyes before the Law was given:
But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD (Genesis 6:8).
Also, Adonai bestowed grace upon His people during the time frame of the Law.
So the LORD said to Moses, “I will also do this thing that you have spoken; for you have found grace in My sight, and I know you by name” (Exodus 33:17).
For the LORD God is a sun and shield; the LORD will give grace and glory; no good thing will He withhold from those who walk uprightly (Psalm 84:11).
One of the greatest statements of grace in the entire Bible occurred in Exodus 34. In context, Adonai’s extension of grace to Israel is one of the foundations of the Law!
Now the LORD descended in the cloud and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the LORD. 6 And the LORD passed before him and proclaimed, “The LORD, the LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth, 7 keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children’s children to the third and the fourth generation” (Exodus 34:5-7).
Some may argue that the grace Paul is speaking of is different than the type of grace spoken of in the Tanakh. That’s not true. It was the same grace that Christians say is only for them. Let’s take a look at Romans 5:20:
Moreover the law entered that the offense might abound. But where sin abounded, grace abounded much more.
Notice that Paul starts off saying, “Moreover the law entered.” This sets the time frame for the rest of his sentence. Thus, we are notified that the time frame Paul is speaking of is when the Law was given. At that time, at the giving of the Law, Paul said the Law was given so that offenses might abound. But, according to Romans 5:20, what else happened in the exact same time period? Grace was given and it abounded even more! When? During the time frame of the giving of the Law to Adonai’s people. So, the idea that Adonai’s grace is limited to “New Testament” believers is false and cannot be supported by Scripture.
At this point, the best we can say is it seems as if the Bible is proposing two opposing positions on how people interact with the Law when they try to obey it. I suggest we try not to pick one side over the other. The Bible has no contradictions because it is the eternal Word of God, and it is perfect! So, what should we do to bridge the gap and resolve this apparent discrepancy? We need to accept both arguments as true. How can we do that, you may ask? It’s easy. If the Bible says trying to obey the Law makes a person more sinful, then it’s true. On the other hand, if the Bible says obeying the Law preserves a person from sin, then that’s true also. You see beloved, the answer lies in determining in what context does the Bible exert these opposing influences in a person’s life when they try to obey the Law! What is the context, or what are the circumstances within which obedience to the Law causes offenses and sins to abound and increase. Likewise, what is the context or what are the circumstances within which obedience to the Law prevents a person from sinning, leads them to life and cleanses their way? If we simply choose sides, as if only one scenario can be true, then we will end up with a one-sided theology of darkness and deceptions.
I’d like to present to you the inevitable conclusions one will reach if one has chosen to ignore the positive benefits of obeying Adonai’s Law. The ideas presented below are from people who see the Law as negative, as something that should be avoided. These people have simply ignored the positive effects of obedience to the Law as if they don’t exist.
Once we have come to Christ and cried “Help I’m a sinful man!” then we not only are set free from sin we are also set free from the Law. After all what use is the Law to us anymore? It served its purpose and now we look to Christ not Law. The Law never could save anyone anyway it was only meant to point out sin not give us a righteous life. (Galatians 3:21b) “For if a law had been given which was able to impart life, then righteousness would indeed have been based on Law.” [1]
The apostle Paul refers to the law of sin and death in Romans 8:1–2: “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death.” What is the “law of sin and death”? In these verses, Paul contrasts two laws: the law of the Spirit and the law of sin and death. The law of the Spirit is the gospel or good news of Jesus, the message of new life through faith in the resurrected Christ. The law of sin and death is the Old Testament Law of God. The Law is holy, just and good (Romans 7:12), but, because we cannot keep God’s Law on our own, the result is only sin and death for those under the Law.[2]
The law of the Spirit refers to the good news of the gospel and the new life of faith in Christ that we can live through the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit. When Paul references the law of sin and death, He is talking about the Old Testament Law of God. The Law itself is “holy and righteous and good” (Romans 7:12). Once sin was defined when the Law was given, it stirred up the natural human tendency toward rebellious behavior. The reason Paul calls it the law of sin and death is because under the Old Testament Law, the sure result of the Law is sin and the only just end for any one of us would be death; it is impossible for us to keep the Law perfectly (Romans 7:10–11; cf. Romans 3:23; 6:23).[3]
One of the profound emphases of the New Testament, especially the epistles of Paul, is that Christians are no longer under the rule of the Mosaic law . . . the New Testament makes it abundantly clear that the believer in Christ is not any longer under the Mosaic law in its entirety . . . Indeed after having been delivered from the law, to deliberately place ourselves once again under its [control] is said to be “falling from grace” . . . The Mosaic Law was an indivisible unit, and is that which was terminated by the Lord Jesus. Though the Law is usually divided into three parts, as described above, it is important to see that it was an indivisible unit. Thus, when Paul stated that we are not under the Law, this included all three parts, including the Ten Commandments. Some will agree that parts of the Old Testament Law have been done away, but assert the Ten Commandments are supposedly still in force today. But all three parts of the Law were designed to function as a unit to guide Israel in all of its life. The Ten Commandments cannot be separated from the rest. Further, even though most recognize this three-fold division, the Jews so numbered all the commands that they approached the Law as a unit.[4]
As you can see, these authors view the Law negatively, and as a result they conclude that it has been done away with. As I prepared for my teaching series on Our True Freedom from the Law (Torah), I came across a short sermon preached by pastor John MacArthur of Grace to You media ministry. He is also a pastor-teacher at Grace Community Church in Sun Valley, California, and chancellor of The Master’s University and Seminary. He was teaching on Galatians 3:10 before administering communion, in a message entitled, The Curse of the Law. Before going further, I’d just like to say that I respect Pastor MacArthur greatly and would not and will not personally attack him. Therefore, all of my comments are simply aimed at the teaching, not the man. So, as I sat and listened to his sermon, I was literally horrified at his narrow, negative and dark view of the Law. His view of the Law is so dark and negative that I could not believe what I heard. So, it’s with sadness that I share with you his views of Adonai’s Law. I will mark with bold italicized text those portions I find particularly grievous.
As we prepare to come to this table that is set before us, I want you to turn in your Bible to Galatians chapter 3. And I want to read just a portion of a verse there, and then just set our thoughts toward the Lord. Galatians chapter 3, just that 10th verse: “For as many as are of the works of the law, are under a curse, for it is written, ‘Cursed is everyone who does not abide by all things written in the book of the law to perform them.’ ” “Cursed is everyone who does not abide by all things written in the book of the law to perform them.” The curse of the law is a theme that any Bible student should know. When you look at the Old Testament and you remember the Ten Commandments, the first half of them relating to our attitude toward God and the second our attitude toward one another, we all agree that those Ten Commandments articulate God's moral law. But there's much more than that. As you read through the Old Testament and the New Testament it becomes clear that God has a very far-reaching and wide and comprehensive standard for human conduct.
It also becomes very apparent that this law is exacting on all mankind. In fact, our inability to keep it puts us all under a curse. God has set down a righteous law. God has designed a moral standard that touches every area of human life. We are told to live up to that law. And we are told if we fail, we are cursed.
Sometimes you hear people say, “Well, I'm doing my best, I hope God will accept me.” Well, He won't. Some people say, “Well, I'm . . . I'm certainly a good person, and I'm religious, and I do a lot of good deeds. That ought to satisfy God.” Well, it doesn't.
God has established a moral law that, in effect, does nothing more than curse us. Let me tell you why. First of all, God's law requires things contrary to human nature. God's law requires things contrary to human nature. It demands of us behaviors that are opposite the desires of our hearts. It asks us to do what we don't want to do. It demands unnatural things. You see, sinners love sin. Sinners love darkness. Sinners love the world. Sinners love the flesh. Sinners love their lusts and their passions. And to try to all of a sudden change your desires and want to keep the law of God is impossible. It is asking a frog to fly. It can't be done. It is contrary to all of our desires. And so we are left to be cursed by it because we really don't care to keep it. And without the motivation, where is going to be the behavior?
Secondly, the law curses us another way: It curses us in that it calls for us to do impossible things. First of all it goes against our desires, and if we could even get our desires in line, it asks us to do impossible things. Sinners can't do holy things, can't think holy thoughts, can't speak holy words, even if they desired them. We can't perform them. We don't have the desire and we don't have the ability. And so we're cursed by it.
Thirdly, the law exacts on everybody absolute perfection of performance. That's right. Cursed is everyone who doesn’t abide
by all things written in the book of the law. The law exacts on everyone absolute perfection of performance and accepts nothing less. The law is a severe creditor that demands perfect compliance. Sinners don't have the ability to do that. We can't be perfect. Not at all. And so we are held up to an exacting perfection that we can . . . we cannot possibly attain. And so the law asks us to do things that are against our nature. It asks us to do things that we don't have the ability to do. And it demands that we do them all with absolute perfection. And we fail on all three counts and therefore the law sentences us to death for violation.
Fourthly, looking at the curse of the law, the law refuses to accept good intentions and good effort as any consolation. The law refuses to accept good intentions or good effort as any consolation. Sinners could do a few good things. Sinners could be kind. Sinners could do a good deed, be charitable, demonstrate unselfishness. They can do a few good things to some degree, but all the good things they do, all of them cumulatively, mean nothing. Because the law will not accept good intention or a few good works as some form of consolation. Anything that falls short of perfection is absolutely unacceptable to the law. The law just puts the rules down, and it knows no exception to perfect obedience.
Fifthly, sort of following that point up a little bit, the law accepts no limited payment. The law's not going to allow you to say, “Well, I know I broke a lot of laws, but I'd like to . . . I’d like to start paying off my debt. Maybe if I did five good deeds this week and five next week I could sort of get on a weekly payment plan, and just pay into this deal five good deeds a week and erase my debt.” No, the law accepts no limited payment plans. The law demands absolute damnation forever to anyone who violates it once. And there's no payment plan.
Sinners who violate God's law one time find that it is permanently fatal. In fact, were you to keep the law of God your whole life long and break it in the last moment of breath before you died, you would be forever damned for that one violation.
Sixthly, the law is an unrelenting taskmaster. It never eases up and it never lightens the load. The law doesn't say, “Well look, just work hard at this thing, keep it perfectly for the first five years and I'll . . . I’ll give you a few sins for the second five.” The law never lightens the burden. The law never eases up. Sinners never have any rest. They never have anything to look forward to in terms of an easing of the standard of the law. It never eases up. It has stringent, unbending, and unrelenting demands and no days off and no exceptions.
Number seven, the law shatters the soul like an iron rod shatters a clay pot. Like a hammer smashes glass the law shatters the soul. What do I mean by that? Sinners live with guilt, shame, restlessness, sorrow, pain, unfulfillment, dissatisfaction, futility, ignorance, doubt, hopelessness. And they can't recover, and they can't find a cure for their shattered souls. The law is a . . . steel rod that shatters the soul.
Number eight, the law gives a man the severest sentence to eternal punishment in hell. The law gives a man or a woman the severest sentence to eternal punishment in hell. Sinners can never be released from it. There is no parole. There is no time off for good behavior. Sinners will be tormented forever and ever and ever.
Number nine, this is very important, the law, with all of its demands, provides no help to the sinner. No help! The law doesn't say, “Here are the demands and I'll give you this to help you keep them.” The law offers no help, no strength. The law is impotent. It has no strength, it has no power, it offers us nothing. Sinners already are powerless to obey the demands of the law, and the law offers them no assistance, absolutely none.
Number ten, the law, once it has been offended, once it has been offended, provides no restoration, no restitution. The law doesn't offer the sinner a plan for restitution, a plan for restoration. The law doesn't offer some path to renewed opportunity. The law offers no salvation, no deliverance.
And that leads me to number eleven: The law listens to no one's repentance. The law listens to no one's repentance. The law doesn't care how sorry you are about your sin. The law doesn't care how weepy you are, how broken you are, how contrite you are. The law doesn't care how repentant you are. The law doesn't care how eager you are to make amends and change. The law is utterly indifferent to all repentance.
Twelve, the law offers no forgiveness. The law offers no forgiveness. You can't go to the law and plead for mercy. You can't go to the law and plead for grace. The law has none. The law says, “This is the righteous standard,” period. There is no mercy, there is no grace, there is no way that you can find a path of forgiveness.
Number thirteen, the law, rather than eliminating sin, stirs up sin. The law, rather than eliminating sin, stirs up sin. What do you mean by that? Well, the law states things we are not to do, and in so stating them stirs up sinful desire. Tell a child, “You can't do that,” and watch him want to do it. Tell a man, “This is forbidden,” and watch him desire it. The law, rather than eliminating sin, stirs up sin. Sinners who live by it are excited by it, and the more and more sin.
Number fourteen, the law offers no hope. The law offers no hope, no promise of a better day, no promise of a brighter tomorrow. Sinners have nothing to look forward to, nothing but judgment. Now do you know why the apostle Paul says, “Those who live under the law are cursed.” What an unbelievable curse! Here we are required to do things contrary to the desires of our heart. The law asks us to do things we don't even want to do. Secondly, the law demands us to do duties that we can't do. Thirdly, the law of God exacts on us an absolute perfection of performance and accepts nothing less. Fourthly, the law refuses to accept our good intentions and our zealous efforts as any consolation if we fall short of perfection. Fifthly, the law accepts no limited or partial payment but demands absolute damnation for everyone who has violated it once.
Sixthly, the law is an unrelenting taskmaster that never eases up and never lightens the load. Seventh, we said the law breaks the soul, crushes and smashes the soul like a steel rod does a clay pot, crushing the person into brokenness and guilt and shame. We said the law gives a man a severe sentence, the most severe sentence, to an eternal punishment in hell.
The law provides no strength. It is impotent. It can't help us to keep itself. The law, once it has been offended, offers no amends, provides no restoration and no restitution, listens to no repentance, and offers no forgiveness. The law, rather than eliminating sin, just stirs it up. And finally we said the law offers no hope and no promise of a better day.
You want to live under the law? Do you want to try to work your way to heaven under those circumstances? Want to try to rack up your good deeds and offer them to God and see if He'll accept them? You better try again. All the law is going to do is damn you. No matter how much you try to please God, you can't do it. So all that the law does is destroy. “By the deeds of the law,” Paul said, “no one will ever be made right with God.” The law is too demanding; you can't do it. All you have to do is break it one time and you are irretrievably damned to hell. I don't know about you but I don't want to live under a law like that, do you?
There's one other thing the law does. In Galatians chapter 3 verse 24 it tells us. It says this: “Therefore, the law has become our schoolmaster, or our tutor, to lead us to Christ, that we may be justified by faith.” Boy, is that good news! There's one other thing the law does: it leads you to Christ. How does it do that? It ought to be pretty obvious. When you've looked at the law and you've understood it, and you've understood what it does and what it demands, you get desperate. And you say to yourself, I can't save myself. I can't keep this law. I can't please God. I can't earn my salvation. I can't do this. And you find yourself in a desperate situation which drives you to someone to save you from the law's sentence. And that someone is Christ.
The law, then, is like a tutor that leads you to Christ, and you come to Christ to be justified or to be made right with God, not by law but by faith, faith. We can all say a hallelujah to that, can't we? We're not under the law, we're under grace. We realized that we couldn't keep the law, and so we cried out and said, “We need somebody to save us from the sentence of the law.” That somebody was Christ. Jesus Christ came into the world and He took the punishment that you deserve and I deserve for breaking God's law. He took it on Himself; He bore our judgment. He took the wrath of God for us. And if we put our faith in Him, we're made right with God. You can't do it by the law, but you can do it by faith, believing in Jesus Christ.
That's why we're at this table. We're here to celebrate the Savior who delivered us from the curse of the law. And as we come to this table, it ought to be with exuberant gratitude. If we were left under the law, we were forever damned. But Jesus Christ delivered us from the curse of the law. Jesus Christ died our death on the cross and bore the punishment for our sin. And if we believe in Him, we are made right with God and will never be judged and never be condemned. That's God's promise.
Father, we thank you for the fact that we're not under the law. We thank you that, “Jesus paid it all, all to Him I owe, sin had left a crimson stain but He washed us white as snow.” We thank you, Father, that You didn't leave us under the curse of the law, but that Jesus became a curse for us to deliver us from the demand of the law. We thank you. Words cannot express the gratitude of our hearts. If we were under law we would be doomed and damned.
Thank you, O God, that in Christ we're under grace through faith and we have nothing to fear. For He became a curse for us, taking on Himself the fury of the law that had been violated, that we might be forgiven and receive the promise of eternal life. We celebrate His death with great thanksgiving.[5]
Obviously, there is some truth in Pastor MacArthur’s words, but do you see the darkness that shrouds his view of the Law? Well, it’s not surprising when all you’ve been taught are the seemingly negative aspects of the Law. He hasn’t mentioned any of the positive aspects of the Law, and there are many! Lastly, the proper Biblical context within which Paul spoke the words that seem to disparage the Law are completely missing! So there you have it. People are being taught these things about Adonai’s Law daily, so it’s no wonder why people don’t want to have anything to do with the Law.
But did you notice, it’s obvious that Pastor MacArthur has ignored the other half of the story. Just review the verses I gave you at the beginning of this article which clearly contradict some of what Pastor MacArthur is saying. You see, he has chosen one side over the other instead of trying to see that there is a positive and negative aspect of the Law. More importantly, he has failed to diligently discern the context within which the Law functions negatively. Now, knowing what we’re up against, let’s take a deep breath, gird up our loins and determine ahead of time that we will not make this issue an either-or situation. The Law does do all of the negative things I mentioned earlier, but it also does all of the positive things I mentioned too. In order to sort this out, we need to do one more thing. We need to develop a pro-Law mindset, a worldview that views the Law positively! In other words, in my next article I will take you through the Tanakh and help you develop a Biblical view of the Law! How does Adonai want us to view His Law? I submit to you he has already told us, and it’s all laid out for us in the Tanakh. Only after we first adopt the Biblical paradigm for how to view the Law can we then tackle the seemingly negative aspects of the Law that Paul mentions.
[1] Author unknown.
[2] “What is the Law of Sin and Death, (Romans 8:2).” Got Questions.org, www.gotquestions.org/law-of-sin-and-death.html.
[3] “What is the law of sin and death (Romans 8:2)?” compellingtruth.org, https://www.compellingtruth.org/law-of-sin-and-death.html
[4] Keathley, III, J. Hampton. “The Mosaic Law: Its Function and Purpose in the New Testament.” Bible.org, 10 June, 2004, www.bible.org/article/mosaic-law-its-function-and-purpose-new-testament.
[5] MacArthur, John. “The Curse of the Law.” Grace to You, 5 July, 1992, www.gty.org/library/sermons-library/80-105/the-curse-of-the-law.