Introduction
I have read many times in Scripture that we should not go back to the law. It took me a few years to gain a good understanding of what this actually means, and how we live it out. Thanks be to God for His wonderful guidance and through the teaching of His Holy Spirit, I believe that I have a much better understanding now. Even though I know I still have so much to learn, I would like to share with you what I believe the Holy Spirit has taught me over the last few years, as I would like to help anyone who has had a similar struggle of understanding what this means for us as believers in Jesus.
We know that God gave Moses the 10 Commandments on Mount Sinai, and later God gave him the Mosaic law which the Israelites were expected to observe. I believe it is important to understand that the law was given as a whole, meaning that even though the law contained many (about 613) commands, it was to be observed as a single holistic law. This meant that God’s people weren’t able to decide which laws they wanted to keep and which ones they wanted to leave out. If they broke any one of the commandments, they were guilty of breaking the law.
For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all. For whoever shall keep the whole law, yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all. For He who said, “Do not commit adultery,” also said, “Do not murder.” Now if you do not commit adultery, but you do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law.
James 2:10-11 NKJV
We know that Jesus came to fulfill the law, because we couldn’t do it. The law which was given to God’s people was a spiritual law, and mankind is flesh, therefore no man was ever able to keep the whole law all the time. But does that mean that we are not under God’s laws anymore? Definitely not. In fact, when Jesus came to earth to fulfill His earthly ministry, He raised the standard. For example: He included lust with the sin of adultery, and hatred with the sin of murder.
“You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.”
Matthew 5:27-28 NKJV
“You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.’ But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. And whoever says to his brother, ‘Raca!’ shall be in danger of the council. But whoever says, ‘You fool!’ shall be in danger of hell fire.
Matthew 5:21-22 NKJV
And 1 John 3:15 says, “Whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.”
Based on these scriptures, we can see that we are still under God’s laws and commandments. How then can we still be under God’s laws and commandments, but not go back to the law? What does that even mean? With God’s help, I am hoping to be able to answer these questions for you.
Romans 7:12 tells us that God’s law is good and holy, but why then couldn’t man observe it?
I’d like to offer you two main reasons, based upon what I have learned through Scripture as well as personal experience.
- The law was a heavy burden to carry and brought God’s people into bondage.
- Righteousness can only be achieved through faith in Jesus Christ, not by the works of the law.
Let’s now discuss these points in greater detail:
- The law was a heavy burden to carry and brought God’s people into bondage
Before I share Scriptures to support this, I would just like to share my story with you:
Many years ago, when I repented to God from my heart, I knew with everything inside me that I never wanted to sin again. I knew that I was forgiven, and I wanted a close relationship with God. I was so determined to live a life pleasing to God, that I found myself reciting the commandments because I wanted to obey them. For example, I would tell myself over and over again not to lie. But do you know what happened, I found myself lying even more than I did before I came to the knowledge of the truth, because it was constantly on my mind. Lying is just one example, but it could be anything that we are constantly telling ourselves not to do.
By constantly trying not to sin, I quickly realized that I had picked up a burden that was too heavy to carry. This burden honestly felt heavier than the burden of sin I was carrying before I was born again, and I knew that something had to change. Scripture also tells us that observing the law put a heavy yoke on God’s people. We see this from Acts chapter 10 – the disciples were speaking about whether or not the Gentiles should be circumcised and observe the law of Moses. This was Peter’s reply to them:
“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?”
Acts 15:10 NKJV
Other Scriptures to support this is come from the Epistle to the Galatians:
But now after you have known God, or rather are known by God, how is it that you turn again to the weak and beggarly elements (referring to the law), to which you desire again to be in bondage?
Galatians 4:9 NKJV
Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again in the yoke of bondage.
Galatians 5:1 NKJV
Why does this happen?
The apostle Paul explains it so well in Romans chapter 7. I would like to encourage you to read the full chapter as well as chapter 8 in your own time for greater understanding. You may also like to read the epistle to the Galatians. For now, I’m just going to focus on some key points:
For when we were in the flesh (old sinful nature), the sinful passions which were aroused by the law were at work in our members to bear fruit to death. But now we have been delivered from the law, having died to what we were held by, so that we should serve in the newness of the Spirit and not in the oldness of the letter. What shall we say then? Is the law sin? Certainly not! On the contrary, I would not have known sin except through the law. For I would not have known covetousness unless the law had said, “You shall not covet.” But sin, taking opportunity by the commandment, produced in me all manner of evil desire. For apart from the law sin was dead.
Romans 7:5-8 NKJV
Paul then also goes on to say:
For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do. If, then, I do what I will not to do, I agree with the law that it is good.
Romans 7:15-16 NKJV
Many of the New Testament writings warn us not to go back to the law, because it brings God’s people into bondage and eventually death. Let’ take a look at just a few Scriptures confirming this:
And the commandment, which was to bring life, I found to bring death. For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it killed me.
Romans 7:10-11 NKJV
For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.
2 Corinthians 3:6 NKJV
The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law.
1 Corinthians 15:56 NKJV
There is a wonderful allegory (a hidden message within a story) within Scripture which foretold that the law would be cast out when the promise of the Savior (Jesus Christ) would be fulfilled. He came to set us free from the law which brought us into bondage, sin and death. He is the Promised Seed who came to give us life, freedom from the power of sin, and true righteousness – apart from the works of the law. Thank You Jesus!
For it is written that Abraham had two sons: the one by a bondwoman, the other by a freewoman. But he who was of the bondwoman was born according to the flesh, and he of the freewoman through promise, which things are symbolic. For these are the two covenants: the one from Mount Sinai which gives birth to bondage, which is Hagar – for this Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia, and corresponds to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children – but the Jerusalem above is free, which is the mother of us all.
For it is written: “Rejoice, O barren, you who do not bear! Break forth and shout, you who are in labor! For the desolate has many more children than she who has a husband.”
Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are children of promise. But, as he who was born according to the flesh then persecuted him who was born according to the Spirit, even so it is now. Nevertheless what does the Scripture say? “Cast out the bondwoman and her son, for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman.”
So then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman but of the free.
Galatians 4:22-31 NKJV
I have prepared a table of comparison for us, so that we can better understand the allegory of this Scripture:
| Hagar (represents the Old Covenant – the law) | Sarah (represents the New Covenant – love) |
| Handmaid (servant) | Freewoman (wife) |
| Ishmael born of the flesh | Isaac born through the promise |
| Old Covenant (Mount Sinai) | New Covenant (Mount Zion) |
| Children of bondage | Children of freedom |
| Ishmael persecuted Isaac | Christians are persecuted |
| Handmaid and her son are cast out – the law must be cast out under the new covenant. The law cannot co-exist with grace | Freewoman and her son inherit the promises by faith |
| Children of the handmaid – bondage | Children of the freewoman – freedom in Christ |
In part 2, I will be showing you from Scripture that Righteousness only comes by having faith in Jesus Christ, and not by our own efforts to keep a law.
In part 3, I will show you from Scripture how we can obey God’s commandments (without going back to the works of the law) by changing our focus. I will also show you that true change comes from within when we surrender to the Lord’s will and allow Him to change us from the inside. I will also show you that Christ like love is the fulfillment of the law.
Blessings in Jesus’ name.