THE CURSE OF THE LAW!!!

The CURSE of the Law?

It does have one! But the END of the law is the Same Forever!

CHRIST THE END OF THE LAW?

What relationshlp do the Ten Commandments have to our standing

before God? Can we satisfy God's moral requirements by obeying

them? How me they related to faith? These and questions like them

puzzle many Christians. If we are to gain the benefit of the law

described in Psalm 1, we need to know answers.

by Vincent Schmieder

     THE TEN COMMANDMENTS ARE PART OF SCRIPTURE 

AND ARE THEREFORE HOLY, righteous, and just (Ro.7:12). 

They are a perfect blueprint for interpersonal relationships. 

But as part of the "law" they have three other purposes in Scripture. 

They show man his sinful condition. They show man that he is totally 

helpless to deal with his sin by himself. They point the way to God's 

plan of salvation through Jesus Christ.

     The way to become righteous or just in God's sight is by a

gift of grace by God. We cannot work for the gift, but can only

receive it through faith in what Jesus did for us. Once we have

received the gift of righteousness and have been made just, we

must continue in faith. We must not try to keep the Ten

Commandments as a way to maintain our righteousness before God.

Nevertheless, as Christians who walk by faith we act out our

faith, for "faith without deeds is useless" (Jas.2:20). We act in

love because faith expresses itself "through love" (Gal.5:6). We

also obey and keep the words and commandments of Jesus

(Jn.14:21-23). Thus we want to fulfill the Ten Commandments

perfectly in the way God intended.

     Paul tells us, "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful

for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness"

(2 Tim.3:16). He tells us the purpose of Scripture in verse 17:

"so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good

work." We need to study and understand the Ten Commandments

properly if they are to be used by God to teach, rebuke, correct,

and train us in righteousness.

     In the New Testament the law frequently is contrasted with

grace. It is associated with Moses. Grace comes by Jesus Christ

(Jn.1:17). Because of Christ we are not under the law but under

grace (Ro.6:14).

     It seems at first that all we have to do to be right with

God and to have perfect relationships with others is to obey the

Ten Commandments. But both Scripture and human experience tell us

that we are unable to do what God wrote. We cannot follow all of

His holy commandments all of the time (Ro.3:20; 7:7).

     Paul summarizes the purposes of the commandments in Ro.

3:20-22: "Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his

sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become

conscious of sin. But now a righteousness from God, apart from

law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets

testify. This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus

Christ to all who believe."

     If righteousness before God comes by faith, what are we to

do about the Ten Commandments? Are we to neglect them? No, 

but we must realize that there are right and wrong uses of them.

     The moral law seals our fate in sin, binding us over to

death and sentencing us to God's   wrath (Ro.4:15; 5:13) - So it

brings us death (1 Cor.15:56; Ro.8:2).

     But how can holy, righteous commandments in God's perfect

law cause our condemnation and seal our bondage in sin? The law

is unable to deal with man's sinful nature. The Ten Commandments

reveal but do not deal with sin. We know the law is right but our

sin and old nature make us go the opposite way. Only death can

destroy the bond between our sin and the law (Ro.7:1-6). In fact

the entire message of Romans 7 is that even Christians cannot

lead a free life until the law has been dealt with.

     How is the law dealt with? "Christ is the end of the law so

that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes" (Ro.

10:4). How did Jesus become the "end of the law?" He did so

through death.

     The death of Jesus Christ on the cross paid the death

penalty for the broken law in our stead and thus liberated us

from the law. The Living Bible describes our freedom from the

condemnation of the law this way: "In my mind I want to be God's

willing servant but instead I find myself still enslaved to sin.

So you see how it is; my new life tells me to do right, but the

old nature that is still inside me loves to sin. Oh, what a

terrible predicament I'm in! Who will free me from my slavery to

this deadly lower nature? Thank God! It has been done by Jesus

Christ our Lord. He has set me free" (Ro.7:24-25).

     It is thus a basic Christian doctrine that no one can be

saved or made just or right with God by obeying the Ten

Commandments. The only way to come to God is by receiving 

the gift of God's grace by faith.

How Do We Live? 

     But after we have been justified by grace through faith how

do we maintain right human relationships? Should we say, "Praise

the Lord for my salvation, and now I can go and keep the Ten

Commandments?" Or should we say, "I'll continue by faith and

allow the grace of God to work through me, which will result in

the Ten Commandments being fulfilled in my life?"

     The Bible gives a very clear answer: "...the righteous will

live by his faith" (Hab.2:4; cf. Ro.1:17; Heb.10:38; Gal.3:11).

The passage applies not only to how we are saved, but also to how

we are to live as Christians day by day. In Gal.3:11, living by

works of law and living by faith are directly contrasted:

"Clearly no one is justified before God by the law, because, 'The

righteous will live by faith.'"

     Surely here is a point of tension. We face two questions.

     First, faith sounds good, but it is vague and gives no clear

guidelines; what then are we to do? 

     Second, if we are not to follow the Ten Commandments, what

does guide our living?

     The answer to both questions is that faith comes by hearing

and hearing by God's Word (Ro.10:17). God will always speak in an

understandable way to those who will listen to Him. "He who

belongs to God hears what God says;" Jesus tells us (Jn.8:47). He

adds, "My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow

me" (Jn.10:27).

     Faith means listening to God's voice - it requires taking

time to be quiet and to listen with a humble attitude. It

involves asking God what His Word means as we study it.

     It also requires doing what we hear God telling us to do.

The parable of the two houses at the end of Matthew 7 reveals

that the man who hears but does not obey will fall, but the man

who does what he hears is built on the rock and does not fall.

James declares therefore that "faith without deeds is useless"

(Jas.2:20).

     God speaks to us through His Holy Spirit, the Author of

God's Word (2 Tim.3:16). God cannot contradict Himself (Mt.

12:25-28). Therefore the Holy Spirit never contradicts the

written Word of God. What does this have to do with the Ten

Commandments?

     It means that while we do not use obedience to the Ten

Commandments as our means to salvation, still if we live by faith

and do what God, through the Spirit, tells us to do, we will

never violate them, but instead will fulfill them. We will want

to obey God's Word (Jn.14:23), and thereby to prove that we love

Him. We will walk in love because faith works through love (Gal.

5:6), and walking in love is the fulfilling of all of the Ten

Commandments (Ro.13:8-10).

     Thus the "righteous requirements of the law" are "fully met

in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but

according to the Spirit" (Ro.8:4). We do not "nullify the law by

this faith" but, "Rather, we uphold the law" (Ro.3:31).

                             ................

At the time this article was published in the "Discipleship Journal" 

(issue 21 - 1984) VINCENT SCHMIEDER was a Lutheran minister, 

a lawyer, and a professor of law at the Simon Geenleaf School of Law, 

Orange,   California.

NOTE:

The phrase "end of the law" as explained in other studies on this

Website means, the "purpose" the "goal" the "aim" - the aim and

purpose of the law is to show and lead us to a PERFECT, and HOLY,

and RIGHTEOUS, Jesus Christ. As we meditate on the law of God as

King David did and as he taught us to do (Psalm 1), we will see

the PERFECT HOLINESS, the PERFECT SINLESSNESS of both 

God the Father and His Son Christ Jesus.

It is not hard to understand LAW AND GRACE. Even children reading

the Bible can understand it. It blows my mind to a million

pieces, that SOME in the North America "fundamental/evangelical"

world of Christianity, have not been able to understand it, and

have taught and preached a false Gospel. It surely was that way

with many of those fellows back in the 1960s when I was listening

and studying all that North American "fundamental" Christianity

was teaching on the radio and in literature. Maybe some have

learnt their errors since them, but do not be surprised if you

still hear taught that false Gospel. Deception is still very much

alive and well. 

You have seen in this series of studies SOME in the distant past

and some in the present of the last 50 years, DO UNDERSTAND 

LAW AND GRACE! 

SO CAN YOU! Just read ALL the Bible, ALL the New Testament, 

be as a child in your spirit of mind and attitude, and you will KNOW

THE TRUTH, and the TRUTH WILL SET YOU FREE! Jesus 

PROMISED it!

Keith Hunt

Entered on this Website March 2008