L.A.W- Legalism at Work

According to the Hebrew Bible, Moses was the leader of early Israel out of Egypt and traditionally the author of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible. The law attributed to Moses, specifically the laws set out in Deuteronomy, as a consequence came to be considered supreme over all other sources of authority (the king and his officials), and the Levite priests were the guardians and interpreters of the law.

Content of the Law


The content of the Law is spread among the books of Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers, and then reiterated and added to in Deuteronomy (deutero-nomy is Latinised Greek for "Second reading of the Law"). This includes:
 the Ten Commandments
 Moral laws - on murder, theft, honesty, adultery, etc.
 Social laws - on property, inheritance, marriage and divorce,
 Food laws - on what is clean and unclean, on cooking and storing food.
 Purity laws - on menstruation, seminal emissions, skin disease and mildew, etc.
 Feasts - the Day of Atonement, Passover, Feast of Tabernacles, Feast of Unleavened Bread, Feast of Weeks etc.
 Sacrifices and offerings - the sin offering, burnt offering, whole offering, heave offering, Passover sacrifice, meal offering, wave offering, peace offering, drink offering, thank offering, dough offering, incense offering, red heifer, scapegoat, first fruits, etc.
 Instructions for the priesthood and the high priest including tithes.
 Instructions regarding the Tabernacle, and which were later applied to the Temple in Jerusalem, including those concerning the Holy of Holies containing the Ark of the Covenant (in which were the tablets of the law, Aaron's rod, the manna). Instructions and for the construction of various altars.
 Forward looking instructions for time when Israel would demand a king.

A Heavy Burden

The Law was a heavy unbearable burden. In Acts 15:10 the question is asked:  “Now therefore, why do you test God by putting a yoke on the neck of the disciples which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear?” And in Matthew 23:4  Jesus said of those who teach the law: “For they bind heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers.”

So many people have said that Jesus did away with the Law, but that is a false statement. Even Jesus, himself, stated in Matthew 5:17 “Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill.”

He said that HE came to be the fulfillment of the Law-the Word. Jesus is the WORD. This we know and understand by reading John 1:1 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” A study of the old covenant will reveal that JESUS is woven all through it.

Dwells in You

What was once a heavy weight meant for man to become righteous from the outside is now flipped over and has become like a life boat. We can “climb” into Jesus (the Word) and fulfill all with Him.
Since the Law was fulfilled in Christ Jesus and He dwells in us, we are now made righteous from the inside. Romans 8:10-11 says it this way: “And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. 11 but if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.”

The Law is Perfect

David said in Psalms 19:7 “The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul; the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple.”
The Law of the Lord is perfect so therefore as John 3:16 begins: “For God so loved…” we can understand that because of this LOVE the Law cannot be thrown out or disregarded. It has now become all about love.

Love  vs Legalism

Jesus even gave a new commandment in John 13:34 “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another.”  And this theme was even continued in John 13:35, John 15:12 and John 15:17
The L-A-W still requires action. It is not about legalism, but now that action is love.

LOVE AT WORK

Let us fulfill the Law through our love. Romans 13:8 “… for he who loves another has fulfilled the law.”


Blessings,

Pastor Todd Lackey