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The Law Of Christ

"The perfect law of liberty" vs. religious legalism

1. Salvation is purely by grace, not works:

Rom.3:28 - A man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law
Eph.2:8,9 - By grace (undeserved mercy) are ye saved through faith; it is the gift of God: Not of works
Tit.3:5a - Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us

A. Salvation is not partly by grace & partly by good works:

Rom.11:6 - If by grace, then is it no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace

B. Salvation was always by grace, even in the Old Testament:

Gen.6:8 - But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord
Gen.15:6 - (Abraham) believed in the Lord; & He counted it to him for righteousness (See also Rom.4:3,5-8,21,22)
Hab.2:4 - The just shall live by his faith
Heb.11:13 - [Old Testament saints] all died in faith...having seen (the promises) afar off...& were persuaded of them

C. Scrupulously keeping the Mosaic law never saved anyone:

Jn.1:17 - Law given by Moses, but grace & truth came by Jesus
Rom.3:20 - By the deeds of the law shall no flesh be justified
Rom.9:31 - Israel, which followed after the law...hath not attained unto the law of righteousness
Gal.2:16 - A man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ (See also Gal.3:11)
Heb.7:19 - The law made nothing perfect, but...a better hope did

2. What was the Mosaic law?

A. It was a legal code that God gave Moses upon Mt. Sinai:

Exo.24:12 - The Lord said unto Moses, Come up to Me into the mount...& I will give thee a law...[to] teach them
(See also Exo.31:18; 32:15,16,19; 34:1,28.)

B. It was a strict code of justice & retribution:

Exo.21:23-25 - Thou shalt give life for life...eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand...burning for burning
Heb.10:28 - He that despised (broke) Moses' law died without mercy

C. The ten commandments were not merely "helpful moral guidelines", but strict laws carrying the death penalty:

Exo.20:2,3 - (1) Thou shalt have no other gods before Me [Death penalty: Exo.22:20; Deut.13:1-18.]
Exo.20:4,5 - (2) Thou shalt not make any graven image (Death penalty same as (1). See also Lev.26:1,30; Deut.4:23-26.]
Exo.20:7 - (3) Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord in vain [Death penalty: Lev.24:10-16]
Exo.20:8-10 - (4) Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy [Death penalty: Exo.31:14,15; 35:2.]
Exo.20:12 - (5) Honour thy father & thy mother [Death penalty: Exo.21:15,17; Lev.20:9; Deut.21:18-21.]
Exo.20:13 - (6) Thou shalt not kill (murder) [Death penalty: Exo. 21:12; Lev.24:17,21; Num.35:16-31.]
Exo.20:14 - (7) Thou shalt not commit adultery [Death penalty: Lev. 20:10; Deut.22:22.]
Exo.20:15 - (8) Thou shalt not steal [Punishment: Exo.22:7; Pro. 6:30; death penalty: Exo.21:16.]
Exo.20:16 - (9) Thou shalt not bear false witness [Punishment &/or death penalty: Deut.19:16-21]
Exo.20:17 - (10) Thou shalt not covet anything (of) thy neighbours'
Gal.4:21 - Tell me, ye that desire to be under the law, do ye not hear the law?

D. The ten commandments were only the beginning; Moses' law contained hundreds of other commandments:

Deut.27:26 - Cursed be he that confirmeth not all the words of this law to do them (See also Gal.3:10)
(See also Deut.4:13,14a)

E. It was impossible to avoid guilt or to keep the whole law:

Jam.2:10 - Whosoever shall keep the whole law, & yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all

3. The law served a purpose only for a time:

Gal.3:19 - Wherefore then serveth the law? It was added because of transgressions till the Seed (Jesus) came
Gal.3:23 - Before faith came, we were kept under the law
Heb.9:10 - Carnal ordinances, imposed on them until the time of reformation

A. It was merely a copy, a shadow, of the real thing:

Col.2:16,17 - Sabbath days...are a shadow of things to come; but the body [the reality that casts the shadow] is Christ
Heb.8:5 - The example & shadow of Heavenly things
Heb.9:8b,9 - First tabernacle...a figure for the time then present
Heb.10:1 - The law (had) a shadow of good things to come, & not the very image of the things
1Jn.2:8 - A new commandment...because the darkness is past, & the true light now shineth

B. The law was impossible to keep:

Jn.7:19 - Did not Moses give you the law, & yet none of you keepeth the law? (See also Acts 7:53)
Acts 15:10 - A yoke upon the neck...which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear
Rom.7:14-19 - The law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin. How to perform that which is good I find not

C. This showed man he was a sinner in need of grace:

Rom.3:20b - By the law is the knowledge of sin
Rom.7:7 - I had not known sin, but by the law
Rom.3:19 - That...all the world may become guilty before God
Gal.3:24 - The law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ
(See also Rom.4:15)

D. The old law was unprofitable & eventually to be replaced:

Rom.8:3 - What the law could not do, in that it was weak
Heb.7:18 - There is verily a disannulling of the [Mosaic law]...for the weakness & unprofitableness thereof

4. Atonement (payment) for breaking the law:

A. Because men constantly broke the law, forgiveness was needed, & a blood sacrifice was required:

Lev.4:1-4 - If a soul shall sin...against the commandments of Lord...bring a (bull)...kill the (bull) before the Lord
Lev.17:11 - It is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul
Heb.9:22 - Without shedding of blood is no remission
(See also Lev.6:2,3,6,7; 16:3,5-11,15-22.)

B. But this never permanently freed man from sin:

Heb.10:1-4,11 - It is not possible that the blood of bulls & of goats should take away sins...can never take away sins

C. But Jesus made a perfect & permanent sacrifice:

Mat.26:28 - This is My blood...which is shed for remission of sins
Heb.9:7-14 - By His Own blood...obtained eternal redemption for us
Heb.9:25-28a - Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many
Heb.10:10-12 - We are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all
1Pet.1:18,19 - Ye were redeemed with the precious blood of Christ
1Jn.1:7b - The blood of Jesus Christ...cleanseth us from all sin
(See also Jn.1:29; Rom.5:9.)

5. The new law, the law of Christ:

A. God promised a new law to replace the old Mosaic law:

Jer.31:31-33 - The days come that I will make a new covenant...I will...write (My law) in their hearts
Heb.8:7-10 - Finding fault with (that first covenant), He saith, I will make a new covenant

B. Names of the new law:

A new covenant(Jer.31:31); the law of faith(Rom.3:27); the law of the Spirit of life(Rom.8:2); the law of righteousness(Rom.9:31); the law of Christ(Gal.6:2); the new testament(Heb.9:15); the perfect law of liberty(Jam.1:25); the royal law(Jam.2:8); the holy commandment(2Pet.2:21).

C. Jesus' death on the cross fulfilled & ended the law:

Mat.5:17 - I am not come to destroy (the law), but to fulfil
Jn.19:30 - (Jesus) said, It is finished [When He died for our sins, the Mosaic law ended for believers]
Rom.10:4 - For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth
Col.2:14 - Blotting out [wiping the slate completely clean of] the ordinances (the law)...nailing it to His cross

D. The old Mosaic law is now discarded (for believers in Jesus):

Heb.8:13 - He hath made the first (covenant) old. That which decayeth & waxeth old is ready to vanish away
Heb.10:9 - He taketh away first (law), that He may establish second
Heb.8:6 - A better covenant...established upon better promises

E. True believers are no longer bound by the rigid Mosaic law:

Rom.6:14b - Ye are not under the law, but under grace
Gal.3:24,25 - The law was our schoolmaster. But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster
1Tim.1:9 - The law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless...ungodly...profane...murderers

F. Jesus has liberated us from the Mosaic law:

Rom.7:4 - Ye...are become dead to the law by the body of Christ
Rom.7:6 - Now we are delivered from the law
Rom.8:1,2 - The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin & death
Gal.3:13 - Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law

G. Jesus' Spirit & truth gives us freedom:

Jn.8:36 - If the Son shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed
2Cor.3:17 - Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty
Gal.5:1 - The liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free
Gal.5:5 - Through the Spirit...hope of righteousness by faith
Gal.5:18 - If ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law

H. Read Jesus' liberating Words to be set free:

Jn.8:31,32 - Ye shall know the truth, & truth shall make you free
Rom.10:17 - Faith cometh by hearing...the Word of God
Jam.1:25 - Whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, & continueth therein...shall be blessed in his deed

6. Now the commandment is to love God & our neighbour:

A. This fulfils the law, & fulfils your only obligation:

Mat.7:12 - All things...ye would that men should do to you, do...to them: for this is the law (See Lk.6:31)
Mat.22:36-40 - Thou shalt love God...thou shalt love thy neighbour. On these two commandments (depend) all the law
Rom.13:8 - He that loveth another hath fulfilled the law
Rom.13:10 - Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law
Gal.5:14 - All the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself
Jam.2:8 - If ye fulfil the royal law... Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well
(See also Mk.12:29-31)

B. Deeds done in pure, unselfish love are lawful:

Gal.5:22,23 - Fruit of the Spirit is love...against such there is no law
1Cor.6:12 - All things are lawful unto me (See also 1Cor.10:23)
Tit.1:15a - Unto the pure, all things are pure
Lk.11:41b - Behold, all things are clean unto you

C. But you have to have faith for your actions:

Rom.14:14 - To him that esteemeth (thinks) any thing to be unclean, to him it is unclean
Rom.14:22 - Happy is he that condemneth not himself in that thing which he alloweth
Rom.14:23 - He that doubteth is damned (judged)...for whatsoever is not of faith is sin
Tit.1:15b - Unto (the) defiled and unbelieving is nothing pure

7. Living the new law:

A. In some ways, the law of Christ is stricter than Moses' law:

Mat.5:38-42 - [Exo.21:24 - said:] An eye for an eye, & a tooth for a tooth: but I say unto you, resist not evil
Mat.5:43-45 - [The law] said, Love thy neighbour, & hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies
Lk.10:25-37 - Thou shalt love...thy neighbour as thyself. Who is my neighbour? [Even those you'd normally dislike]
Jam.4:17 - Him that knoweth to do good & doeth it not...it is sin

B. Only Jesus can give you the power to live His law:

Phi.2:13 - For it is God which worketh in you both to will & to do of His good pleasure
Phi.4:13 - I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me
2Cor.5:14a - The love of Christ constraineth (compels) us
2Cor.12:9 - My (God's) grace is sufficient for thee

8. Warnings against misusing the new law:

A. Selfish, unloving liberties:

Rom.14:15 - If thy brother be grieved...now walkest thou not (in love). Destroy not him with thy [liberty]
Rom.14:20 - All things indeed are pure; but it is evil for that man who eateth with offence
1Cor.6:12 - All things are lawful...but all things not expedient
1Cor.8:9,12 - Take heed lest...this liberty of yours become a stumblingblock to them that are weak (See 1Cor.8:all)
1Cor.10:23 - All things are lawful for me, but all things edify not

B. Walk in love, not in lust & sin:

Rom.6:1,2 - Shall we...sin, that grace may abound? God forbid
Gal.5:13 - Use not liberty as an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another
1Pet.2:16 - As free, & not using your liberty for a cloak of maliciousness, but as the servants of God
(See also Rom.3:8; 14:all; 15:1,2.)

9. Beware of falling into religious legalism:

A. The concision: Believers still bound by the law:

Acts 21:20 - Many thousands of Jews...which believe (in Jesus); & they are all zealous of the (Mosaic) law
Phi.3:2,3 - Beware of evil workers, beware of the concision
(See also Acts 15:1,24; Gal.6:12,13; Rom.2:28,29.)

B. Don't be entangled again by the law:

Gal.3:1,3 - Are ye so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?
Gal.5:1 - Stand fast therefore in the liberty...& be not entangled again in the yoke of bondage [to the law]
Col.2:20-22 - If ye be dead with Christ... why are ye subject to ordin- ances...the commandments & doctrines of men?

C. Legalism is self-righteousness & denies Jesus' sacrifice:

Rom.10:3 - Going about to establish their righteousness, have not submitted unto the righteousness of God
Gal.2:21 - If righteousness come by the law, then Christ (died) in vain (for no reason) (See also Gal.5:4)

D. The law can't save you or make you righteous:

Acts 13:39 - By Him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law
Rom.9:31,32 - Israel, which followed after the law...hath not attained to the law of righteousness
Phi.3:3-9 - Not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ

E. Those who attempt to obey the law are under bondage:

Gal.3:10 - Cursed is everyone that continueth not in all things
Gal.4:21-31 - [The allegory of the two covenants, one of freedom, the other of bondage]
Gal.5:2-4 - [Who tries to keep the law]...is a debtor to do whole law
Jam.2:10 - Whosoever shall keep the whole law, & yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all

10. Trying to legalistically keep the law is not God's will:

A. Legalists completely miss the main issue:

Mat.15:2-6 - Why do Thy disciples transgress tradition of elders? Ye transgress commandment of God by your tradition
Mat.23:23 - Woe! For ye pay tithe of [tiny spices but] have omitted weightier (more important) matters...mercy & faith
Mat.23:24 - Ye...strain at a gnat, & swallow a camel
Mk.7:6-8 - Their heart is far from Me...ye hold the tradition of men, [such] as the washing of pots & cups
Jn.5:8-11 - [Jesus told a lame man, Take up thy bed & walk. The legalists ignored the miraculous healing & told him it was not lawful to carry his bed on the Sabbath]

B. Legalism is a crushing weight to those it is imposed upon:

Mat.23:4 - They bind heavy burdens & grievous to be borne, & lay them on men's shoulders
2Cor.3:6b - The letter killeth, but the Spirit giveth life

C. The solution: Walk in God's love & Spirit:

Mic.6:8 - What doth the Lord require of thee, but to...love mercy, & to walk humbly with thy God?
Jn.6:63a - It is the Spirit that quickeneth (makes alive); the flesh profiteth nothing
Rom.7:6 - We should serve in newness of spirit, & not in the oldness of the letter [of the law]
2Cor.3:6a - Not...the letter [of the law], but of the Spirit
Gal.6:2 - Bear one another's burdens, & so fulfil law of Christ

11. Even under the Mosaic law, God's love & mercy prevailed:

A. God always wanted love & mercy more than legalism:

Hos.6:6 - I desired mercy, & not sacrifice; & the knowledge of God more than [sacrifices] (See also Mat.12:7)
Mic.6:6-8 - Shall I come before Him with...offerings? What doth the Lord require of thee, but to...love mercy
Mk.12:33 - To love Him with all the heart...& to love his neighbour... is more than all...offerings & sacrifices
(See also Deut.10:12; 1Sam.15:22; Psa.40:6; 51:16,17; 69:30,31; Isa.1:11-16; Jer.7:22,23.)

B. He allowed exceptions & the Mosaic law to be broken:

2Chr.30:1-3 - [King Hezekiah celebrated the passover in second month, in stead of first Exo.12] (Also Num.9:1-11)
2Chr.30:16-18a - Many in the congregation were not sanctified...yet did they eat the passover otherwise than it was written
2Chr.30:18b-20 - Hezekiah prayed, The Lord pardon every one...though he be not cleansed. The Lord hearkened to Hezekiah
Mat.12:5 - On the Sabbath days the priests...profane the Sabbath, & are blameless (See also Jn.7:22,23)
Mat.12:1-4 - David...did eat the shewbread, which was not lawful for him to eat (See 1Sam.21:6)

C. Even the highly religious, those bound by the law, broke it:

Exo.31:14,15 - [The Mosaic law:] Whosoever doeth any work in the Sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death
Mat.12:11 - [They pulled their sheep out of a pit on the Sabbath]
Lk.13:15 - [All of them led their ox or ass away to watering then]
Jn.7:22,23 - Ye on the Sabbath day circumcise a man

D. Certainly then, we who are not bound by it, can break it:

Mat.12:10-13 - It is lawful to do well on the Sabbath days [even if it means breaking the Mosaic law]
Lk.13:11-16 - Ought not this woman...be [freed] on the Sabbath day?
Jn.7:22-24 - [If ye break the Sabbath, why] are ye angry at Me, because I have made a man whole on the Sabbath day?
(See also Jn.9:14-16)

Key chapters: Rom.3,4,5,7,9,10,14; Gal.2-5; Heb.3-11.

Copyright (c) 1998 by The Family International

Request
James Arendt
James Arendt

My name is James Arendt. I was raised in the Hegewisch neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois, served in the USAF from 1970 to 1974, and became a full-time missionary for Christ living 40 years in Japan, 3.5 years in Russia, and a few months in other countries such as Finland, Poland, Estonia, Latvia, South Korea, Taiwan and mainland China where I also served the King of Kings, Jesus, as an Ambassador for His Kingdom. My full bio.

On September 24, 2023, I had an accident and broke the bone of the tip of my left elbow. A boy ran in front of my motorbike less than 2 meters from me as I was leaving home. I stopped suddenly and my front tire slid on the sandy concrete road which caused me to fall. I did not hit the boy. On October 18th I had surgery done on my elbow. The doctor put in titanium rods to hold my bones together. The entire procedure including an entire week in the hospital was roughly $4000 USD. This was done in the Philippines where my wife and I have been living since June this year.


X-rays of bone before and after surgery that inserted titanium rods to reinforce my broken bone.

Before and after one week in the hospital.

Undergoing therapy to bend my arm again.
I'm now undergoing therapy to be able to bend my arm again.

It would be a super blessing to us if any of the visitors of this website can help us cover this expense!

You don't need a PayPay account to send me a donation! Just click on the donate button and you will see an option to send through your debit or credit card.


Or if you have a PayPal account, just log into it and send to my PayPal ID:
james.arendt@jamesjpn.net

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