Tag Archives: New testament

discipleship, Finding Answers to Stuff Churches Don't Discuss, Uncategorized

The Long Arm of the Law

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Many Christians say they’re “no longer under the Old Covenant Law.” That’s mostly true. However, the statement downplays the Law’s importance and ignores the need to follow its moral teachings. Here, we’ll examine both Old and New Covenant Laws. First, why are laws necessary?

Why do we have laws? Boundaries are everywhere. Traffic laws help keep us safe on the road. Others protect communities from harm. This is true even in the animal kingdom. For example, I saw an elephant herd temporarily expel a young male that was getting ‘frisky’ with already spoken-for females. Laws also helped Israelites honor God and love people.

Old Covenant Law. First, a better translation of ‘Law’ is ‘instruction.’ The Old Covenant version consisted of 613 instructions, starting with the Ten Commandments. Second, there were three types of instructions: civil, religious, and moral. Civil instructions addressed issues like handling corpses, sexual immorality, and other community safety measures. Religious instructions directed people to serve God, and an abundant life in ancient Israel depended on meditating on the Law’s commandments and obeying them (e.g., Deuteronomy 30:8; Joshua 1:8).

Although New Covenant Christians are no longer bound by Old Covenant civil or religious laws (e.g., Romans 7:6; Galatians 5:18), moral guidance—such as most of the Ten Commandments—is still relevant. These principles continue to apply (e.g., you don’t have a green light to murder someone!).

Old Covenant instructions served another purpose: to establish an impossible standard. Breaking the rules became sin that could cause physical or spiritual death, emphasizing the need for a remedy (e.g., Romans 5:20-21; 1 Corinthians 15:55-57). Now, there is a New Covenant Law that fulfills the Old Covenant’s civil and religious instructions and offers the cure for sin.

New Covenant Law. The relationship with God, as outlined in the Old and New Covenants, is a continuum from the Old to the New. The New doesn’t erase the Old (Romans 3:31), and offers the solution for our inability to perfectly follow the Old Law of God: Jesus, through whom grace and truth are made known (John 1:17). Through Him, those led by the Spirit by faith are justified before God. This isn’t achieved by merely following Old Covenant’s civil and religious rules (Romans 7:4-7; Galatians 2:16 and 5:18)! But don’t be fooled: belief and action go hand in hand (Romans 2:13; James 2:14-26)! A belief that produces no results is worthless to God and will lead to wrath at the end of the world (John 15, Matthew 25:31-46, etc.).

Summary. Christians no longer follow the Old Covenant’s civil and religious rules, but they still need to adhere to many of its moral principles. And the New Covenant’s instructions to honor God and love others (relational terms and conditions) must be obeyed … or else. What’s next? Let’s revisit “Christmas, the Retold Story!” to take a closer look at how the plan of reconciling creation with the Creator unfolded.

Blessings and peace,

Dr. Ron Braley (MDiv, DMin)

Finding Answers to Stuff Churches Don't Discuss, Finding the End of the World

The “A-B-C’s” of God’s Law and Covenant

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What is the Old Testament ‘Law’ (note the capital L) and what does it have to do with today’s New Testament Christian? To answer these questions, we must first understand where the Law came from.

Long ago, God formed a covenant with mankind through the nation of Israel with Abraham, reaffirmed through Moses. There was no formal Law before God revealed it to Moses in about 1445 BCE. The covenant God formed with Israel was to be as close and as binding as a marriage contract and the resulting relationship. This is why He called Israel His ‘wife’ and the Church is called the ‘bride of Christ’. The Law given to God’s bride through Moses and the prophets would serve to guide her in this relationship with God. It would also become an unachievable standard by which we realize our sinful and imperfect nature (i.e. Romans 5:20 and 7:7; Galatians 3:24).

Today, no one can truly be called ‘Christian’ unless they’ve entered into a similar covenant with God through our Christ. That marriage-like agreement and its “I’ll be yours if you’ll be mine” promise begins with a change of heart and corresponding behavior that moves our direction and actions toward God and His ways (repentance). We give ourselves to God and then reaffirm our commitment to Him and our Christ – the Savior of mankind as foretold by God through the prophets – whenever we drink from the Communion cup.

But . . . salvation from God’s wrath to come and eternal life with Him through a following of our Christ doesn’t nullify the Law as some suggest (see Paul’s response in Romans 3:31). Jesus fulfilled the Law by His coming, death, resurrection (i.e. Matthew 5:17-18), but it still serves a purpose and the words contained within it and the Torah (Old Testament) that houses it are very valid, even today. We may no longer be under the religious requirements of the Law (i.e. any of hundreds of rules from tithing to sacrifices), but that ancient guide can tell us a lot about how we’re to walk with God and treat our fellow man.

Want to know the mind of God – what He likes and what He hates? Interested in knowing where you came from, spiritually-speaking? Then study the Old Testament and the Law – the Scriptures referenced by the Apostle Paul (2Timothy 3:14-17)!

The old covenant between God and His bride, Israel, brought us the Law. God’s new covenant with the world through our Christ fulfilled the ancient Law and provides the Spirit to all who truly believe and follow. The perfect law is now written on the hearts/minds of followers through the Spirit (i.e. Romans 2:13-15; prophecy of Jeremiah in Chapter 31, etc.). And, we still have the ancient Law as it existed to instruct, guide, and provide a sanity check in our daily activities (i.e. Matthew 7:12; Romans 13:8).

Keep an eye out for “Finding Answers to Stuff Churches Don’t Discuss!” scheduled for a mid-2015 publication. There, you’ll find roughly 60 topics related to daily life (such as sex, religion, finances, tattooing, and everything in between!) along with practical application of God’s guidance for navigating those difficult waters!

And, for a very comprehensive and detailed study of the very important topic of God’s judgment to come and being rescued from it, feel free to read my 2011 guide titled, “Finding the End of the World” available at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and from www.ronbraley.com in paper and e-book formats. In the guide, you’ll find roughly 500 pages of building blocks to help you do your own complete and unbiased study based on Scripture and history!