Must I Keep the Law?

Romans 7:9–13 (NLT) — 9 At one time I lived without understanding the law. But when I learned the command not to covet, for instance, the power of sin came to life, 10 and I died. So I discovered that the law’s commands, which were supposed to bring life, brought spiritual death instead. 11 Sin took advantage of those commands and deceived me; it used the commands to kill me. 12 But still, the law itself is holy, and its commands are holy and right and good. 13 But how can that be? Did the law, which is good, cause my death? Of course not! Sin used what was good to bring about my condemnation to death. So we can see how terrible sin really is. It uses God’s good commands for its own evil purposes.

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So you believe in God and you're convinced the the Christian faith is true, what next?

If you're not convinced that the Christian faith is true I would love for you to continue reading, however, I think some of my earlier post may be more interesting to you (apologetics).

What does the Christian faith demand of you? What does it require?

I'm sure you've heard, "Love God and love your neighbors," but is there more? What else must I do? How do I make sure to stay on good terms with God?

There are Christians out there that will tell you that believing in Jesus for the forgiveness of you sins is the "first step," but now you must keep the law. Oh, they'll say that you don't need to keep ALL of the Old covenant law but certainly you must at least keep the ten commandments. Some would even go as far as saying that you must keep the commandments perfectly.

If you have heard this or if you believe this I encourage you to keep reading.

I want to try and avoid hopping all over the Bible because I believe the chances of misinterpreting scriptures or misapplying them drastically increase when you are "cherry-picking" verses. So for today's discussion I would like to stick with Romans.
   

Romans 7:1–6 (NLT) — 1 Now, dear brothers and sisters—you who are familiar with the law—don’t you know that the law applies only while a person is living? 2 For example, when a woman marries, the law binds her to her husband as long as he is alive. But if he dies, the laws of marriage no longer apply to her. 3 So while her husband is alive, she would be committing adultery if she married another man. But if her husband dies, she is free from that law and does not commit adultery when she remarries. 

4 So, my dear brothers and sisters, this is the point: You died to the power of the law when you died with Christ. And now you are united with the one who was raised from the dead. As a result, we can produce a harvest of good deeds for God. 5 When we were controlled by our old nature, sinful desires were at work within us, and the law aroused these evil desires that produced a harvest of sinful deeds, resulting in death. 6 But now we have been released from the law, for we died to it and are no longer captive to its power. Now we can serve God, not in the old way of obeying the letter of the law, but in the new way of living in the Spirit.

Paul first illustrates his point with an analogy that we can all understand, then he takes the same principle and applies it to the law. So the question arises, when Paul says law, what law is he talking about? We Christians like to make distinctions with the law, we will say that he is referring to either the moral, ceremonial, or civil aspects of the law...however...Paul makes no such distinctions. He uses the term law multiple times and he uses it in different senses. But I think context is always the key to understanding a term so let's keep reading.

    

Romans 7:7 (NLT) — 7 Well then, am I suggesting that the law of God is sinful? Of course not! In fact, it was the law that showed me my sin. I would never have known that coveting is wrong if the law had not said, “You must not covet.”

What part of the law is Paul referencing here? It's the moral aspect of the law. So we can see at least in this part of scripture that Paul is referencing even the ten commandments when he speaks of the law.

Let's continue on...

     

Romans 7:8–24 (NLT) — 8 But sin used this command to arouse all kinds of covetous desires within me! If there were no law, sin would not have that power. 9 At one time I lived without understanding the law. But when I learned the command not to covet, for instance, the power of sin came to life, 10 and I died. So I discovered that the law’s commands, which were supposed to bring life, brought spiritual death instead. 11 Sin took advantage of those commands and deceived me; it used the commands to kill me. 12 But still, the law itself is holy, and its commands are holy and right and good. 

13 But how can that be? Did the law, which is good, cause my death? Of course not! Sin used what was good to bring about my condemnation to death. So we can see how terrible sin really is. It uses God’s good commands for its own evil purposes. 

14 So the trouble is not with the law, for it is spiritual and good. The trouble is with me, for I am all too human, a slave to sin. 15 I don’t really understand myself, for I want to do what is right, but I don’t do it. Instead, I do what I hate. 16 But if I know that what I am doing is wrong, this shows that I agree that the law is good. 17 So I am not the one doing wrong; it is sin living in me that does it. 

18 And I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. I want to do what is right, but I can’t. 19 I want to do what is good, but I don’t. I don’t want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway. 20 But if I do what I don’t want to do, I am not really the one doing wrong; it is sin living in me that does it. 

21 I have discovered this principle of life—that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong. 22 I love God’s law with all my heart. 23 But there is another power within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me. 24 Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death?

First I want you to notice that even Paul, who is like a super hero of the Christian faith, struggled just like we do, just like I do. For those of you who are desperately trying to keep the law, I'm sure you can relate to this just as I can. But is there no end to this cycle? I'm sure you know it just like I do. Days when I can "perform" well I feel great and like God is close, days when I don't "perform" well I feel like I've been abandoned by God. Do you know this? I do...but it's not the end and it's not the truth.

Romans 7:25–8:4 (NLT) — 25 Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord. So you see how it is: In my mind I really want to obey God’s law, but because of my sinful nature I am a slave to sin. 1 So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. 2 And because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death. 

3 The law of Moses was unable to save us because of the weakness of our sinful nature. So God did what the law could not do. He sent his own Son in a body like the bodies we sinners have. And in that body God declared an end to sin’s control over us by giving his Son as a sacrifice for our sins. 4 He did this so that the just requirement of the law would be fully satisfied for us, who no longer follow our sinful nature but instead follow the Spirit.

So what's my point? 

I want to tell you good news. You don't need to stay on the treadmill of works righteousness. I know none of you would say that you are earning your salvation but deep down I bet that you do believe that you have to at least do your part to maintain it....and there is truth to that but it's not where the Biblical emphasis is. A general rule of thumb, if your focus is on you and how you're doing or how you're "performing' then your focus is in the wrong place.

As Christians our focus should always be on Jesus Christ. The good news is that Jesus kept the law perfectly even unto death. The gospel of the Christian faith is not just that Jesus died to pay the penalty for sin but that God counts Jesus resume as our own. When God looks at someone who is "in Christ" He sees them as perfect, as if they were flawless just like Jesus. But that's not it either! The good news is also that God loves you like a son! Romans 8 actually goes on to say that the love God has for us, because of what Jesus has done, is like He has adopted us into His family. But that's not it either, there's more! God never leaves us! He gives us His Spirit to live every moment of every day of our new life!

    

Romans 8:11 (NLT) — 11 The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you.

The gospel is like a diamond, it has many facets and you can get lost gazing into just one facet when there are so many other wonderful facets to explore.

Take Away

God loves you, He saved you while you were terrible. You didn't "earn" salvation by performing works and you don't "maintain" salvation by performing works. 

    

Romans 6:23 (NLT) — 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.

I want you to notice that phrase, "free gift." A gift is already free or it wouldn't be a gift! Paul is emphasizing this because it is against our nature to accept it. Salvation is a gift, a free gift! You didn't perform to earn it and your don't perform to maintain.

So what do you do? Believe in Jesus Christ and place your trust, all of your trust, in His perfect works to save you. When you believe this, truly believe it (not just intellectually) it will free you and transform your life into a life that loves God and by extension loves his/her neighbors.