The Law awakened
conscience and disciplined moral faculties. The ancient Israelites were like an
heir being trained and prepared with a view toward adoption. (Galatians 4:1-5)
Just as the head of a household must set standards for his family, God set standards
to preserve His truths and principles, protect His people from evil influences,
and distinguish them from the heathen; also, the Law, God's standards of
righteousness, made the sinful carnal adamic nature manifest, thus showing the
need for redemption and a redeemer. (Psalm 119:142; Romans 3:20; 3:31; 5:20;
7:7; Galatians 3:19, 24; I Timothy 1:9)
The Law will always stand
as God's standards of righteousness, but the Law itself had no saving power.
"Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish
the law." (Romans 3:31) "Wherefore the law is holy, and the
commandment holy, and just, and good." (Romans 7:12) "But we know
that the law is good, if a man use it lawfully." (I Timothy 1:8) "Thy
righteousness is an everlasting righteousness, and thy law is the truth."
(Psalm 119:142)
Everyone is obligated to
obey God. "Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and
keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring
every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or
whether it be evil." (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14)
The Bible does not teach
equality of sins; this can be seen in the differences in the severity of
penalties prescribed in the Old Testament. However, one sin or violation of one
law is sufficient to make one guilty before God and break fellowship with God.
"For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he
is guilty of all." (James 2:10) How many sins did Adam & Eve have to
commit to be expelled from Paradise? (One.)
Everyone will be judged
by works. "Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all
that are in the graves shall hear his voice, And shall come forth; they that
have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil,
unto the resurrection of damnation." (John 5:28-29) "And I saw a
great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the
heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead,
small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book
was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those
things which were written in the books, according to their works. And the sea
gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead
which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their
works." (Revelation 20:11-13)
But good deeds, good
works, or right living cannot and will not save anyone. "But we are all as
an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do
fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away."
(Isaiah 64:6) "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature:
old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. And all things
are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given
to us the ministry of reconciliation; To wit, that God was in Christ,
reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them;
and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. Now then we are
ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in
Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God. For he hath made him to be sin for us,
who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him."
(II Corinthians 5:17-21) "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and
that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man
should boast." (Ephesians 2:8-9)
I Corinthians 6:11 makes
it clear that born again Christians are fit to inherit (have, share, enter) the
kingdom of God because they are JUSTIFIED, and distinguishes them from those
who are UNRIGHTEOUS (unjust, unsaved) in I Corinthians 6:9-10. (Compare I
Corinthians 6:9-10, Galatians 5:19-21, Ephesians 5:5, and Revelation 21:8; also
consider Ephesians 2:1 and Colossians 3:6) Salvation is only possible through
the imputation of Christ’s righteousness.
We cannot be saved
without the righteousness of Christ imputed to us. Entrance into the kingdom of
heaven requires perfection, a perfection which is not merely outward
righteousness but is both outward and inward conformity to God’s standards.
(Matthew 5:20-48) We cannot measure up to that standard. For example, Christ
taught the whole Law is summed up in two commandments: “Jesus said unto him,
Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and
with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is
like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two
commandments hang all the law and the prophets.” (Matthew 22:37-40) While we
should make this our goal, if we are honest we all must admit that our every
thought, word, and deed does not always stem from love of God and neighbor.
“But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy
rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have
taken us away.” (Isaiah 64:6) Our righteousnesses cannot justify us or keep us
saved and assuming that they can is spiritually dangerous. “Who is blind, but
my servant? or deaf, as my messenger that I sent? who is blind as he that is
perfect, and blind as the LORD'S servant?” (Isaiah 42:19) “There is a
generation that are pure in their own eyes, and yet is not washed from their
filthiness.” (Proverbs 30:12) Our works have everything to do with rewards but
nothing to do with salvation. (Matthew 16:27; I Corinthians 3:8-15; II
Corinthians 9:6; Revelation 22:12; Ephesians 2:8-9)
To impute means to
ascribe or attribute something to someone. Christ paid the sin debt to God, and
the sin of a believer is ascribed to Christ and the righteousness of Christ is
ascribed to the believer so that a genuine believer becomes perfect in the sight
of God. “But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being
witnessed by the law and the prophets; Even the righteousness of God which is
by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is
no difference.” (Romans 3:21-22) “But to him that worketh not, but believeth on
him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.”
(Romans 4:5) “For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we
might be made the righteousness of God in him.” (II Corinthians 5:21) “I am
crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me:
and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of
God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.” (Galatians 2:20)
Teaching God's holy law
(standards of righteousness) is needful so that fallen men can see themselves
as sinners in need of a savior and believers can recognise the need for
sanctification. The Law served to manifest the sinful nature, man's depravity,
and to pronounce everyone guilty before God and thus demonstrate the need for
redemption and sanctification. "Now we know that what things soever the
law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be
stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. Therefore by the deeds
of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is
the knowledge of sin." (Romans 3:19-20) "What shall we say then? Is
the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had
not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet." (Romans
7:7) "Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and
good. Was then that which is good made death unto me? God forbid. But sin, that
it might appear sin, working death in me by that which is good; that sin by the
commandment might become exceeding sinful. For we know that the law is
spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin." (Romans 7:12-14) "For
what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending
his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the
flesh: That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not
after the flesh, but after the Spirit." (Romans 8:3-4) "Wherefore
then serveth the law? It was added because of transgressions, till the seed
should come to whom the promise was made; and it was ordained by angels in the
hand of a mediator." (Galatians 3:19) "Wherefore the law was our
schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by
faith." (Galatians 3:24) "Knowing this, that the law is not made for
a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for
sinners, for unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers,
for manslayers, For whoremongers, for them that defile themselves with mankind,
for menstealers, for liars, for perjured persons, and if there be any other
thing that is contrary to sound doctrine; According to the glorious gospel of
the blessed God, which was committed to my trust." (I Timothy 1:9-11)
"For the law made nothing perfect, but the bringing in of a better hope
did; by the which we draw nigh unto God." (Hebrews 7:19)
One great end of the
Gospel is to deliver fallen men from the penalty of sin and restore them to a
position of obedience to God's holy law (standards of righteousness). The New
Birth is the beginning of a spiritual sanctification. "Therefore being
justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: By
whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice
in hope of the glory of God." (Romans 5:1-2) "Likewise reckon ye also
yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ
our Lord. Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey
it in the lusts thereof. Neither yield ye your members as instruments of
unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are
alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.
For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but
under grace. What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but
under grace? God forbid. Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants
to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of
obedience unto righteousness? But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of
sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was
delivered you. Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of
righteousness. I speak after the manner of men because of the infirmity of your
flesh: for as ye have yielded your members servants to uncleanness and to
iniquity unto iniquity; even so now yield your members servants to righteousness
unto holiness. For when ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from
righteousness. What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now
ashamed? for the end of those things is death. But now being made free from
sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end
everlasting life." (Romans 6:11-22) "For the grace of God that
bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, Teaching us that, denying
ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly,
in this present world; Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious
appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; Who gave himself for
us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a
peculiar people, zealous of good works. These things speak, and exhort, and
rebuke with all authority. Let no man despise thee." (Titus 2:11-14)
Many dismiss the Old
Testament as irrelevant, which is a mistake, as it is not possible to
understand the New Testament without the Old Testament. For example, suppose a
pastor was caught in the sex act with an animal and the church decided to
dismiss him because a pastor must be blameless. What would be the charge?
Fornication is clearly condemned in the New Testament but the English word
fornication, and the Greek word porneia which is rendered fornication in the
English text, simply means sexual immorality. How can bestiality and other
immoral sex acts be identified as immoral using only the New Testament? Without
the Old Testament the word fornication becomes vague and indistinct. Insisting
that the Old Testament is irrelevant and that we only need the New Testament
encourages and reinforces myths and heresies.
While the New Testament
teaches a different application of grace, the New Testament echoes the truths
taught in the Old Testament, reaffirms the moral principles of the Old
Testament, and you cannot understand the New Testament without the Old
Testament. (Consider Acts 24:14; Romans 3:31; II Timothy 2:15; 3:16) For
example, salvation has always been through blood, starting with the blood that
was shed for Adam and Eve: Making a coat of skin required the slaughter of an
animal. (Genesis 3:21) Abel sacrificed animals while Cain offered the product
or fruit of his labors, and Abel's offering was respected. (Genesis 4:3-5;
incidentally, Genesis 4 gives the first account of a liberal attacking a
conservative.) The blood of animals prefigured the blood of Christ. Old
Testament saints looked forward to the Cross and New Testament saints look back
to the Cross. (Hebrews 10:1-12)
The only right standard
for civil law is Biblical law. Do Old Testament laws have any relevance and
application today and to the society in which we live? Yes. The laws are based
on truths and principles, and while the application of the truths and
principles may have changed those truths and principles are eternal. Applying
Bible teachings benefits both believers and unbelievers; the important
difference is that for the unbeliever the Word of God is convicting and for the
believer the Word of God is cleansing. The Holy Bible provides guidance and
standards on every area of human existence and is the ethical standard for
governing individuals and society. Along with other benefits, codifying God’s
standards of righteousness into civil law helps the unsaved recognize their
sinful condition and need of salvation.