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the law code is dead

Opening 

I have found that over the years the Christian community has created may different rules, regulations and laws designed to govern the walk of the faithful; some based on scripture, others based on traditions.  In this paper I will be examining several point I believe primary to understanding how we, as followers of Christ, are to view "the law code," or other set of rules, regulations or laws created by any religious organization.   These point are not "new."  In fact, I developed them over a long period of study by looking deep into the Scriptures; with a strong study of Paul's letters to the Galatians and to the Ephesians.  In Galatians Paul shares with us the true nature of the law code and it's place - actually it's lack of place - in our lives and the greater place that God's grace plays in all we are and do.

the premise

Let me start with my basic premise - "The law code - the whole law code, all of it without exception - has been repealed. (407)"  This being my premise, I can say that we do not live under the law, and that following the law will do nothing for us at any point or any level of our lives.  Over long study and prayer I have come to the conclusion that if you are walking in Christ, the law code will only hinder that walk.  Because if you are truly in Christ no law code is needed, the Holy Spirit will guide you in your faith, beliefs and practices.  Many Christian churches claim that to be the principle position of the Holy Spirit - to guide us in our faith, beliefs and practices - yet they seem to want to "help" the Holy Spirit by developing guidelines for the followers.  Here is what I have found as reasons Paul gives for the Law Code being repealed - they echo with a relevance that will touch your heart today.

People only choose a selective use of the law code to fit their particular needs:  "You can't pick and choose in these things, specializing in keeping one or two things in God's law and ignoring others." (484) - Scripture supports, and I have found, that no matter who the person is and no matter their intentions, people always (without exception) select the law they like and supports their point of view and they reject those that do not, or that they feel "silly."  for example, tattoos and piercing; people are quick to quote the Leviticus Law that says, "do not pierce yourself or tattoo your self" yet they leave out the next section which states not to do it "for the dead or other gods."   They also forget some of the more interesting laws (right next to the one they half quote) - if you have an employee you must - must - pay them everyday, not weekly - every day (Lev 19:13); you forbidden to wear clothing made of two different types of materials - no poly-blends in my house (Lev 19:19); you are not allowed to cut the hair on the side of your head or shave your beard (Lev 19:27).  As you can see this selective use of the law code is destructive and arbitrary.  Jesus knew this, and Paul simply adds to what Jesus proclaimed so loudly - that religious people who are guided by the law will always be called Pharisees and Sadducees.  We believe, as Paul continues to state, that all good intentions can not change this and therefore the law code is destructive.  People who selectively choose laws they desire and reject others have only one aim, to control others - which leads us to the next point.  (403, 484)

It gives power to others over others in their walk:  "They want to shut you out of the free world of God's grace so that you will always depend on them for approval and direction, making them feel important." (399)  - No matter how we cut the cake, the law makes us slaves, and Christ sets us free.  All religious people who claim that the law is good and that the law is needed do so only because they desire to control, and they have no trust in God to guide people (discussed later as a separate topic).  God is in control of our walk in faith, by the power of the Holy Spirit, not the law; not even people who quote the law.  In The Message Paul calls them "Paper Tigers," they think they have power, but they do not - only on paper (398).  People who quote the law simply desire to control your walk by telling you what is right and what is wrong.  Keep in mind that control is based in fear, and there is no fear in love (509).  When we allow others to control our walk, we loose our freedom and our faith in God, because we trust the law to work for us. (399, 403)

It steals our freedom and places us under slavery:  "Christ has set us free to live a free life.  So take your stand!  Never again let anyone put a harness of slavery on you.  I an empathic about this.  The moment anyone of you submit to circumcision or any other rule keeping system, at that same moment Christ's hard-won gift of freedom is squandered." (400) - The law code controls and brings about a slave relationship between us, the law and others.  Not only are we to not give-up our freedom, we are to walk away from those who claim we must follow the law.  These people, people who demand we follow their rules and "god law" are simply trying to steal your freedom.  When we count on rules, regulations or the law to replace the freedom we have in Christ, we replace our faith and trust in God for the law. (398, 400, 401)

It shows a lack of faith and trust in God: "Rule keeping does not naturally evolve into living by faith, but only perpetuates itself in more and more rule keeping" (396) - It is easy to be told what to do, and most even look for this type of relationship.  Let's face it, life is hard and would it be nice to be told how to live?  What's harder to do is trust that God will speak to you and tell you what you need to do and act.  You see with the law we have others to blame, but when we are the ones needing to listen to God speak - any problems that develop are on us, and that we do not like.  We would rather look out a window, then look in the mirror.  Seeking to have others tell us what we need to do is a lack of trust and faith in God's guidance, and our willingness to surrender to that guidance.  This lack and trust in God makes us go deeper and deeper into the law, but the law will never save us.

It will not save us, in fact it just gets in the way: "Legalism is helpless in bringing this about; it only gets in the way" (401) - One of the biggest misconceptions is that we learn from the law - let me out it this way, WE DO NOT LEARN FROM THE LAW, WE LEARN FROM OUR MISTAKES (398).  Because our path is set (in Christ), and we learn from our mistakes - demanding we follow law will not allow us the opportunity to learn.  We, in turn, will not grow in our faith - in fact, we will travel the other direction.  When we do this we place our understanding and path in the law - and no one can live to the law standard.  Because no one can live to the law standard, we believe salvation is out of our reach and we walk away from the faith, as many have.  I know of people who left the church, both Pastoral and non-Pastoral, because they felt they were unable to keep the "laws" others had placed upon them.  Upon leaving, they did not find another church - they simply left the faith.  This leads us to our final point.

If the law  is, Christ is not:  "If a living relationship with God could come by rule keeping, then Christ died unnecessarily" (395) - If we place our trust in the law, and demand that others follow the law, what we are saying is that Christ died for no reason, and this is so very wrong.  If we the law as stopping us from sinning we are saying that sin is what we do, yet this is wrong also.  Sin is not what we do, it is who we are.  If sin is what we do, following the law will save us because we simply stop doing wrong - we stop sinning.  But, because sin is who we are Christ came to save us - because the law could not.

Conclusion

The law code had its place.  One very interesting fact that came to life in my study is that when ever Paul speaks of the benefits of the law it is always in the past tense - "the law was" is a phrase used very often.  Because the law did have it's place we need to see it with respect, but because it no longer has control - of any kind - in our lives we must keep it at a distance.  We no longer live by the law code, any of the law code.  Christ repealed the law - all the law.  Our walk is based on our faith and trust in God's promise of salvation in Christ, and that we have faith and trust that God will work in the lives of those who follow him.  While I will admit that this is hard for some to deal with, and I do truly understand, I firmly stand by my understanding of the scripture.  I will admit that this paper is a work in process and I believe I will refine this paper over the next few years, but the basic premise will stand - because the scripture stands.

I would like to acknowledge the scripture that seems to contradict what I have said - scripture that calls the law holy; I agree the law was holy, all that comes from God is holy, but Christ repealed the law and Christ is more then the law - the law does not lose its "holiness" it simply loses its place in our lives, and as a guide to our faith.  I also acknowledge the call to follow God's Commandments - as in 2 John 2 (505).  In light of what I have just written I do not see this scripture as a call to follow the law - but the command to love God with all our heart and soul and to love others as ourselves (Matthew and Romans).  As I discussed this topic I was asked several important questions that I would like to share in this paper:

Discussion Questions

If no law, how do we know the parameters of our walk?  We trust 100% in the Holy Spirit and use Christ as our guide.

If we have no rules, people will do what ever they want - how can we allow this to occur?  First, it is not our place to not allow it to occur.  If we place our trust and faith in the guidance of the Holy Spirit, God will be the guide of our walk - and remember that God knows more about others then we could ever know.  With the Holy Spirit working in the life of others power in Christ can lead the way.  When we believe it is our place to guide people under the law we become what Jesus Himself argued against.

If no law, how can we teach people?  This is going to be tough, but here goes nothing: how about by example!  We need to stop telling people what to do and start living the life we need to - this is how we teach.  My father had a saying, "do as I say, not as I do" - which is so far outside the Christian way of life - we must tell people to "do as we do."  Be an example.  It is hard and places a great deal on you as an individual, but it is very important.

How do we teach people our faith?  We can not teach our faith - that is impossible.  Faith is something we must demonstrate and allow others to develop their own.  Faith can not be taught - it simply is.

If not law code, ok - but this does not include the 10 commandments, right?  This is going to sound crazy, but - this includes the 10 commandments.  You see, the 10 commandments are part of the law code.  If we exclude the 10 commandments we are simply finding reasons to get back to the law.  We soon find ourselves replacing the old code with a new code.  many try to exclude the 10 commandments from what Paul has said, but in all integrity we can not exclude them.  This may sound like a funny analogy, but here goes - it's like if you were an alcoholic - just drinking a little is not the answer - you must leave alcohol behind, any amount will hurt you.  The same is true with the law, the second you start making rules to govern faith you start a new law code based on all the problems we just listed.

Supporting Scripture

the following is a list of scripture we have found.  We would never recommend that you read only the "fine print" but that you read the entire book used for the determination of our premise.  As a guide, please read Galatians and Ephesians as a sold base to understanding the law and its relationship to who we are as Followers of The Way.

"if a living relationship with God could come by rule keeping, then Christ died unnecessarily" (395)

"The purpose of the law was to keep sinful people in the way of salvation until Christ (the descendant) came.  Inheriting the promise and distributing them to us.  Obviously this law was not a first hand encounter from God.  it was arranged by angelic messenger through a middleman, Moses." (397)

"If any kind of rule keeping had power to create life in us, we would certainly have gotten it by this time" (397)

Also read 397, 398, 399, 400, 401, 403, 405, 407 -

tough teachings from Scripture as being "irrelevant" simply because they are hard to deal with or stand against cultural teachings.  We accept the challenge of the Scripture, and the teachings of Christ concerning moral and controversial issues.  Our desire is to be Biblically correct, not politically correct.

(John 1:1-14, Mark 7:6-8, 1 Corinthians 1:18-25; 9:16-22, Colossians 3:17, Titus 1:9, Malachi 1:6-14)

john o'keefe