As a
child I usually walked to church alone. When I came home there were no
discussions about what I was learning or what I thought about God. I remember
being confused and scared because it seemed like there was one God revealed in
the Old Testament who was strict and harsh and a very different God revealed in
the New Testament who was gracious and kind. I loved the God presented in the
New Testament, but my fear of the God from the Old Testament, and trauma I had
experienced, made it difficult for me to fully trust Him.
Some of
the fear I had was healthy fear that the Holy Spirit used to draw me to the
Savior. But, some of the fear was toxic and was formed through
misunderstandings of God's Word. These misunderstandings came from not having
conversations with adults who could have clarified what I believed, correcting
misconceptions I had formed about God. Some fear was caused by good people who
left out details they thought we were too young to hear, making God's judgments
seem unreasonably harsh and out of control. Some of the misunderstanding came
from simply being young and not grasping how sinful humans can be when they
choose to live life apart from God. I was scared and literally expected God to
strike me dead when I made mistakes or sinned. As a child, I laid in bed at the
end of the day worried and replaying my day in my head, hoping every word
spoken was true, that I had respected my parents adequately, and that I was
loving enough to get to wake up the next day. One time, when the wind blew the
front door shut on my hand, it hurt so bad that I screamed a curse word and
immediately began trembling, not from pain, but from the fear that God was
going to strike me dead for the word I had said.
Fortunately,
God took me and my husband to a small Bible teaching church where I studied the
Bible under a great teacher and for seven years I could ask questions and
explore my views of God in depth. The pastor and the elders believed in a
gospel filled with grace and I began to grasp more and more of the love of
Christ. I had forgotten which books of the Bible alleviated my unreasonable
fears until yesterday when one of our pastors was teaching on Galatians 3,
which was the same book that had radically changed my view of God and the
Bible.
Verses
17-18 say, "The Law introduced 430 years later, does not set aside the
covenant previously established by God and thus do away with the promise. For
if the inheritance depends on the law, then it no longer depends on the
promise; but God in His grace gave it to Abraham through a promise." The
law was given because of sin and it remained in place until Jesus came. The law
is beautiful because it describes God and His holiness. It describes His
love and shows His grace through the temporary sacrifices that pointed to the
grace that would be shown us through Jesus who would be the Lamb, without
blemish or spot, sacrificed for our sin. The law was also God's protection for
us and the suffering we inflict upon each other and upon ourselves because sin always
causes spiritual, physical, emotional, or relational death.
It is
important to understand that when the law was given it was not a replacement for grace and it did not nullify God's
promise to Abraham. Neither can the law give us life, because we are incapable
of keeping it. The law, when it is obeyed, only puts a stay to the sin in man's
heart, preventing some of the wounding and the damage caused by it. Without the
law, sex is a free-for-all that spreads disease and death. It also destroys the hearts of those involved because we were not made for sin that binds us into a
one flesh relationship with multiple people. Without the law, alcohol and drug
abuse destroys bodies and families as users seek their next hit. Without the
law rageaholics rage at those around them, breaking hearts and bones, and
either killing others or themselves from the stress rage puts on their bodies.
Without the law, our selfish hearts tend to love poorly, putting ourselves
first, neglecting the hearts and needs of spouses, families, and friends. Sin
is serious, serious business. When we don't deal with it and when we don't call the evil deeds we do or the ugly attitudes we display sin, we are prone to take it to levels we never thought we would. This is
because it can't fill the needs that were written on our hearts by our Creator
leaving us starving for what will fulfill us, and then we lose sight of the truth that only He
can fulfill those needs.
The law
was a guardian showing us God's character and our need for a Savior and our
need to be justified by faith. Now that Jesus has come, we no longer need the
law. When we believed in Christ we were sealed by the Holy Spirit who came to
dwell in us. We are now children of God, Abraham's seed, and joint heirs
with Christ. As believers, we now have the ability to love as Jesus loves.
Because of this we don't need the law. That statement will cause some people
great angst when they read it. But, if we are walking closely with Christ and
spending time with Him, His Spirit in us gives us discernment and godly
desires. His Spirit leads us to speak loving words of encouragement that build
others up and offer sacrifices of thanksgiving and praise. His Spirit enables
us to extend grace when it is needed and to set godly boundaries with those who
refuse to repent, and to speak the truth in love in such a way that pride is melted and others are drawn back to the Savior.
Non-believers
still need the law and its protection as it shows them what sin is, but we
don't. We are to focus on love, not sin. As we focus on loving God and others we will
automatically show honor and respect to those around us. As we focus on loving,
we won't do things from a selfish motive and we won't sin in ways that deeply wounds others. We won't hold on to grudges and we won't speak wounding words
intentionally. Those who love well don't abuse or murder others physically or
emotionally, they offer life to them. Even in the heat of arguments,
Spirit led people can find themselves asking, "What can I do to love you
better right now?"
The law
does serve a purpose, but its purpose was never about Salvation. That has
always been, still is, and always will be about grace.
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