Here’s a very interesting thought, in response to something I read on www.gotquestions.org today:
The “question of the week” that was posed was, “Do Christians have to obey the Old Testament Law?” The answer was an emphatic “No”, and for this reason which I had not considered before—the Law was not written for Christians! It was written for the nation of Israel, as guidelines for how they could interact with their God in purity, and to be free from sin. Hence laws regarding things such as sacrifices, festivals, and the priests. As Christians, we follow Christ’s law, because he fulfilled the Old Law. What is Christ’s law? “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul and strength, and love your neighbour as yourself” (Mt 22:36–40).
You can read more of this article here.
I got to thinking after reading this, prompted by this scripture: “In fact, this is love for God: to keep his commands. And his commands are not burdensome, for everyone born of God overcomes the world” (1 Jn 5:3–4). And Christ said of himself, “My yoke is easy and my burden is light” (Mt 11:30). The fact is that before Christ fulfilled the Law, the burden was heavy indeed. Because the Law brought condemnation but without the reality of salvation. This would be a hard place to be! Of course, Israel still did have hope for salvation because of their close relationship with the Father (not always), and the promise of the coming Messiah. But it was a distant hope, and many times Israel strayed away from it, to their downfall.
But the amazing thing is that he fulfilled the Law, and established a new covenant by his own blood which is greater than the blood of any animal, and sent forth his Spirit—so now the burden truly is light. As a Believer, God has given me a “heart of flesh” (Ez 11:19), and his grace has enabled me to love him more than the old, sinful self could.
His burden is light
Here’s a very interesting thought, in response to something I read on www.gotquestions.org today:
The “question of the week” that was posed was, “Do Christians have to obey the Old Testament Law?” The answer was an emphatic “No”, and for this reason which I had not considered before—the Law was not written for Christians! It was written for the nation of Israel, as guidelines for how they could interact with their God in purity, and to be free from sin. Hence laws regarding things such as sacrifices, festivals, and the priests. As Christians, we follow Christ’s law, because he fulfilled the Old Law. What is Christ’s law? “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul and strength, and love your neighbour as yourself” (Mt 22:36–40).
You can read more of this article here.
I got to thinking after reading this, prompted by this scripture: “In fact, this is love for God: to keep his commands. And his commands are not burdensome, for everyone born of God overcomes the world” (1 Jn 5:3–4). And Christ said of himself, “My yoke is easy and my burden is light” (Mt 11:30). The fact is that before Christ fulfilled the Law, the burden was heavy indeed. Because the Law brought condemnation but without the reality of salvation. This would be a hard place to be! Of course, Israel still did have hope for salvation because of their close relationship with the Father (not always), and the promise of the coming Messiah. But it was a distant hope, and many times Israel strayed away from it, to their downfall.
But the amazing thing is that he fulfilled the Law, and established a new covenant by his own blood which is greater than the blood of any animal, and sent forth his Spirit—so now the burden truly is light. As a Believer, God has given me a “heart of flesh” (Ez 11:19), and his grace has enabled me to love him more than the old, sinful self could.