The point I will attempt to make in this post is that we, Christians, can live a Christianity governed by a Judaistic principle, namely, the attempt to keep a moral law. Now please, don’t misunderstand me, I am not saying we should live as lawbreakers. I am simply saying that if our Christianity is—on the whole—an attempt to keep a moral law, we are building on the wrong foundation.
The story of the Galatians
This is precisely the point the apostle Paul is trying to make with the Galatians. They had experienced salvation (Gal. 3:26), received the Spirit (Gal. 3:2), and had been—according to Paul—running well for a season. Added to it, the apostle bore witness of the unfeigned love they had manifested during his first visit (Gal. 4:15). Nevertheless, after all this, these Christians were returning to the law as if the answer was to be found there. Consequently, to his dismay, Paul had to shake them up by saying:
This only I want to learn from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh?” (Gal. 3:2,3).
The story continues
I suggest many evangelicals fall in the same trap today. For some reason we stop focusing on Christ, who Paul says is the end of the law (Rom.10:4), and turn our attention to a sort of self-made religion—established on a moral law—only to find out we are not able to fulfill it.
Actually no human can keep a moral law while focusing on it, not even us Christians. Paul went a long way to explain it to the Galatians. The moment our Christianity transmutes itself into an effort to keep a moral law, we have gone out of the path of life. Pay attention to what Paul writes to the Galatians:
For if there had been a law given which could have given life, truly righteousness would have been by the law” (Gal. 3:21).
Here Paul refers to any moral law. This includes any law we might take upon ourselves such as: Don’t lie, don’t steal, don’t deceive anyone, don’t commit adultery, etc. And he maintains that such laws cannot give life. I am not saying we should disregard these commandments. I am only saying that to focus on them can only lead to frustration.
I love the little phrase Paul wrote to the Corinthians: “And yet I show you a more excellent way” (1 Cor. 12:31). This is precisely the way I want to focus on: the way of love.
A healthy substitution
Paul had rightly noticed that, “love is the fulfillment of the law” (Rom. 13:10). Let me ask you a question: Did you get saved because you succeeded in keeping a moral law, or because you fell in love with Jesus? How did everything begin? You might answer: By faith. But faith can work only if love is present:
For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but faith working through love” (Gal.5:6).
It follows that faith without love is dead since it cannot engender works (James 2:20 & 26). Therefore we can say, and say authoritatively, that love is the vital element of the Christian life. Obviously, when Jesus was on the face of the earth he was not attempting to keep a moral law. He simply loved His Father.
Keeping the commandments
Jesus tells us: “If you love me, you will keep my commandments” (John 14:15). These words have led some Christians to attempt to keep Jesus’ commandments to prove they love Him. But again I suggest that such an approach is deduced from a misunderstanding, for it is not the keeping of the commandments that engenders love but the very opposite, i.e., love is here the efficient cause.
For instance, if someone says: “When it rains the ground gets wet.” It doesn’t mean that if you make the ground wet it will rain. The sentence presents a negative test, not a positive. It could be compared to the following statement: “If you are a Christian you believe God exists.” Of course this doesn’t imply that all those who believe in the existence of God are Christians. It follows that to turn a negative test into a positive will simply not work. The effect will never engender the cause.
Paul had come to the same conclusion. Pay attention to what he says: “Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law. 9 For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not bear false witness”, “You shall not covet,” and if there is any other commandment, are all summed up in this saying, namely, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 10 Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law” (Romans 13:8–10).
The person who loves will naturally bear the fruit of love as much as the person who hates the fruit of hatred.
A practical example
Like any example this one might prove a little defective, but I believe it will help you to understand what I mean.
Imagine a man of 84 years old driving a car, feeling unsecure when he passes 75 km per hour. Obviously, on the highway, the speed limit doesn’t bother him at all. Likewise, when he drives within the city limits, he is very cautious since he is afraid he could hit somebody. Therefore he drives 20 to 30 km per hour. Here again the speed limit doesn’t affect him. It is not a burden for him because by nature he fulfills it.
Similarly, the person who loves his neighbor will not steal from him, lie to him, deceive him, or go with his wife. On the contrary, he will help him and protect him.
Conclusion
Through the decades I found out that when I focus on having a sweet fellowship with Jesus my love for Him grows—after all, he is unrivaled by ten thousand (Song 5:10)—and when I love Him I naturally obey Him. No wonder the devil attempts to take our attention away from Jesus, for he knows that in Him resides our victory and joy.
To focus on a moral law is to contemplate defeat. To enjoy Him is to experience exuberance and life. Don’t forget: Only in the bosom of love can the law be fulfilled.
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