Free to Love – The Use of the Law

Free to Love

Matthew 5:17-19

“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.”

Jesus taught that the Law and the prophets all pointed to Him (John 5:39). Further, He insisted that the Law summarizes the demands of love, the love He had come to express from the Father (Matt. 22:34-40; John 3:16).

The problem with the religious leaders of Jesus’ day was not that they held the Law in high regard; rather, it was that, in trying to make the Law the source of righteousness, the means for finding favor with God, they both misinterpreted God’s purpose for the Law and misused the Law for their own advantage in keeping the people subject to a spiritual tyranny of their souls.

The Law is not meant to enslave, but to liberate us–to free us to live in love for God and our neighbors. Anyone who desires to please God and love his neighbor must look to the teaching of God’s Law, and walk in it (James 2:12; 1 John 5:1-3).

Do we ever do this? Do we ever try to bind people by hard and fast demands that become legalistic loyalty tests, whether for salvation or just for friendship? How can we guard against such legalism?

Lord, if I am “lording it over” anyone else, today…

Daily meditation in the Law of God helps us along the path of holiness, righteousness, and goodness (Rom. 7:12). Order your copy of The Law of God, a compilation of the Mosaic Law for contemporary believers, by going to www.MyParuchia.com, point your browser to “Publications,” then click on the drop-down option, “Waxed Tablet Publications.”

–

In the Gates is a devotional series on the Law of God by Rev. T.M. Moore.

T.M. Moore is editor of the Worldview Church. He serves as dean of the Centurions Program of the Wilberforce Forum and principal of The Fellowship of Ailbe, a spiritual fellowship in the Celtic Christian tradition. He is the author or editor of twenty books, and has contributed chapters to four others. His essays, reviews, articles, papers, and poetry have appeared in dozens of national and international journals, and on a wide range of websites. His most recent books are The Ailbe Psalter and The Ground for Christian Ethics (Waxed Tablet).

Scripture quotations in this article are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, (c) copyright 2001, 2007 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Editor’s note: The use of a translation other than the Authorised Version in an article does not constitute an endorsement in whole or in part by The Christian Observer.