What did Paul mean when he wrote "Christ is the
end of the law" (
Romans 10:4)? Did he mean it's over and done with, and so we need never bother with those 600+ rules and regulations in the Old Testament? or did he mean all the Law has Jesus as its goal (its "end") and so we have no choice but to be intimately involved?
Christians exhibit a bizarre ambivalence about the commandments. Politicians want to post the Ten Commandments in public places, and when adjudicating a moral issue (like homosexuality) Christians point to verses in otherwise unnoticed books like Leviticus. Other laws (like "Do not lend or borrow at interest") we conveniently ignore. The vast majority of the laws seem strange, irrelevant curiosities from a bygone (and uptight) era. And after all, we are saved by grace, not by the works of the law (Ephesians 2:8), right? So why did Jesus say that the law is far from abolished? In fact, our righteousness should exceed what is written in the law (Matthew 5)! So what is a Christian to do?
We read these alien texts, familiarizing ourselves with the strangeness of God's way with people. We delight in a God who cares what you do with your pots and pans, what clothes you wear, what you eat and drink, how you fritter away your time, what you buy and don't buy, how you resolve little disputes with your neighbor. We see that if my ox gored your lamb, I can't get off by saying "I'm sorry." I have to make restitution. If God blesses me with a healthy flock of sheep or a harvest of wheat, I can't merely say "Thank you." I have to sacrifice right back to God my best sheep (not the runt, but the stud), and before I make bread for my kids I have to sacrifice the first sheaf in gratitude to God. You and I may not raise sheep or grow wheat, but we get the picture... The Law (whether the hundreds of laws in the Old Testament or the teachings of Jesus or Paul) does not exist so we can earn our salvation, but rather the Law shows us how saved people act.
For Paul, the Law plays a surprising role (Galatians 3): since we tend toward sin and evil, our behavior must be curbed. But the Law also humbles me: I discover a chronic inability to fulfill God's wishes; God's bar is set high, so the Law exposes how lame our feeble efforts can be - which erases all smugness, and drives me into the arms of God's mercy. Hidden behind every Law is a promise of God's grace, and the Spirit's empowerment. Martin Luther King once said, "The law can keep a man from lynching me, but can never make a man love me." A powerful promise is unleashed when we contemplate God's Law. "The law says 'Do this' but it isn't done. Grace says 'Believe this' and it is already done" (Martin Luther). So we then sing with Psalm 19: "The Law is more desirable than gold, sweeter than honey."
James
james@mpumc.org
The complete email series on Bible Questions can be found if you click here.
Many have replied to last Sunday's sermon asking about giving to our sister Church, South Tryon Community Church - as we have a matching gift offer so you can double your investment in a marvelous ministry. Just mail checks to Myers Park UMC, Box 6161, Charlotte NC 28207 - and thanks for asking.
Coming up:
eBibleQuestions15 - Why so much warfare in the Bible?
eBibleQuestions16 - What can archaeology tell us? and not tell us?
