Someone said that we don’t keep the law to get saved, we keep the law because we’re saved. Love fulfills the law and faith upholds the law. We’re doers of the law by faith.
For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but it is the doers of the law who will be declared righteous. (Romans 2:13)
Being a doer of the law is being obedient to God’s commandments. The man who calls Jesus Christ good teacher in Luke 18:18 asks Jesus in Matthew 19:16 what “good thing” must he do to inherit eternal life. Jesus tells him that if he wants to enter life, he must “keep the commandments”:
“Why do you ask Me about what is good?” Jesus replied, “There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, keep the commandments.” (Matthew 19:17)
Some believe in a separation between the Old and New Testaments. Let’s listen to God:
but showing loving devotion to a thousand generations of those who love Me and keep My commandments. (Exodus 20:6)
Now let’s listen to Jesus Christ:
If you love Me, you will keep My commandments. (John 14:15)
It’s the same God. The commandments are spread throughout the letters of Paul. In 1 Corinthians 6:9, Paul tells us not to be adulterers and idolaters. In Ephesians 4:28, Paul tells us not to steal. In Ephesians 6:2, we’re told to honor our father and mother. In Colossians 3:9, we’re told not to lie. Another command is to put all filthy language from our lips. We’re told this twice, once in Ephesians 5:4 and once in Colossians 3:8. But we know we’re not justified by works of the law such as circumcision:
Therefore no one will be justified in His sight by works of the law. For the law merely brings awareness of sin. (Romans 3:20)
In Romans 2:13, the apostle Paul says we’re declared righteous by being doers of the law. Here’s James, the brother of the Lord:
Be doers of the word, and not hearers only. Otherwise, you are deceiving yourselves. (James 1:22)
We should be doers, not just hearers.
LAW vs. FAITH
Let’s begin with these scriptures:
16 The Law and the Prophets were proclaimed until John. Since that time, the gospel of the kingdom of God is being preached, and everyone is forcing his way into it. 17 But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for a single stroke of a pen to drop out of the Law. (Luke 16:16-17; cf. Matthew 5:17-19)
Here’s Jesus again:
He said to them, “Therefore every teacher of the law who has become a disciple in the kingdom of heaven is like the owner of a house who brings out of his storeroom new treasures as well as old.” (Matthew 13:52)
We’re going to bring out some old treasures.
Again, we’re told it’s not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, it’s the doers of the law who will be declared righteous. Those who think that all we have to do is believe are simply hearers of the law. We have to be “doers of the law” because it’s the doers of the law who are declared righteous. We’re not under the law but under grace. We’re saved by God’s grace through faith in Jesus Christ.
Do we, then, nullify the law by this faith? Certainly not! Instead, we uphold the law. (Romans 3:31)
The law is upheld by faith, by doing what is right.
LOVE
5 But by faith we eagerly await through the Spirit the hope of righteousness. 6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. All that matters is faith, expressed through love. (Galatians 5:5-6)
Our faith is expressed through love.
And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love; but the greatest of these is love. (1 Corinthians 13:13)
Let’s listen to Jesus:
This is My command to you: Love one another. (John 15:17)
Why is love the greatest? We’re commanded to love one another because love fulfills the law. So, if we love one another, we’re doers of the law by nature, not just hearers of the law.
Love does no wrong to its neighbor. Therefore, love is the fulfillment of the law. (Romans 10:13)
The entire law is fulfilled in a single decree: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” (Galatians 5:14)
Love fulfills the law because if we love our neighbors as ourselves, we’re not going to sin against them. We uphold the law by faith, and obedience comes from faith as we read in Romans 1:5.
Aren’t we obedient to the laws of the land in which we live? The law of Moses and the laws of the land are the same principle. If we’re not obedient to the laws of the land, we get a fine or thrown in jail. Those of us under God’s grace don’t have to worry about the written law because we’re obedient, because of love. The law is written in our hearts and on our minds. If people aren’t under the grace of God, those in disobedience and unbelief, they’re under the law, so to speak, and those under the law are self-righteous. They don’t have the righteousness of God which comes through faith in Jesus Christ. Let’s read these scriptures:
8 Now we know that the law is good, if one uses it legitimately. 9 We realize that law is not enacted for the righteous, but for the lawless and rebellious, for the ungodly and sinful, for the unholy and profane, for killers of father or mother, for murderers, 10 for the sexually immoral, for homosexuals, for slave traders and liars and perjurers, and for anyone else who is averse to sound teaching (1 Timothy 1:8-10)
God’s laws still stand. For those of us under grace, the laws are written on our hearts, not on stone, hence, love fulfills the law. We instinctively know it’s wrong to lie, steal, murder, commit adultery, and so forth. Under grace, we offer God sacrifices of praise and thanksgiving:
Through Him then, let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that give thanks to His name. (Hebrews 13:15)
I will offer to You a sacrifice of thanksgiving and call on the name of the LORD. (Psalm 116:17)
We offer spiritual sacrifices:
you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. (1 Peter 2:5)
Doing good deeds and sharing is a good sacrifice.
And do not neglect to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased. (Hebrews 13:16)
THE LAW
Over time, men have added their own laws to God’s laws. For example, Moses allowed divorce, not God:
Jesus replied, “Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because of your hardness of heart; but it was not this way from the beginning. (Matthew 19:8)
In the same way, if we harden our hearts, God will give us what we want. Laws today allow for divorce, same-sex marriage, and abortion. These aren’t God’s laws, and just because we’re saved by God’s grace through faith in Jesus Christ doesn’t mean that God’s laws are nullified. In the following scripture from Acts 23, Paul upholds the law by quoting from Exodus 22:28:
“Brothers,” Paul replied, “I was not aware that he was the high priest, for it is written: ’Do not speak evil about the ruler of your people.’” (Acts 23:5)
Jesus upholds the law by quoting from Deuteronomy 19:15:
But if he will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’ (Matthew 18:16)
Let’s go to Matthew 14 and listen to John the Baptist:
3 Now Herod had arrested John and bound him and put him in prison on account of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, 4 because John had been telling him, “It is not lawful for you to have her.” (Matthew 14:3-4)
John the Baptist upholds the law by telling Herod it’s not lawful to have his brother’s wife. Here’s the law:
You must not have sexual relations with your brother’s wife; that would shame your brother. (Leviticus 18:16)
The laws of the land in which we live are meant for the unrighteous. In the following scripture, the apostle Paul distinguishes between the unrighteous and the saints:
If any of you has a grievance against another, how dare he go to law before the unrighteous instead of before the saints! (1 Corinthians 6:1)
In the following scripture, the apostle Paul is describing an “unspiritual” or “carnal” person who is under the law of sin:
We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. (Romans 7:14)
Was Paul unspiritual? No, he’s describing a person under the law, using himself as an example. Let’s continue in verse 23:
23 But I see another law at work in my body, warring against the law of my mind and holding me captive to the law of sin that dwells within me. 24 What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? (Romans 7:23-24)
In verse 24, Paul asks who will rescue him from “this body of death,” that is, the law of sin, and in verse 25, he gives thanks to God through Jesus Christ, who rescues us of from our body of death. In the same verse, Paul says that he serves the law of sin with his flesh, which ends chapter 7, and in 8:1, Paul says there’s no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus:
1 Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. 2 For in Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life has set you free from the law of sin and death. (Romans 8:1-2; see 1 Corinthians 15:56-57)
There’s no condemnation in Christ Jesus because we’re set free from the law of sin and death. We don’t serve the law of sin and death from Romans 7:25 and 8:2 while we’re under grace. So, if we keep deliberately sinning, we’re under the law because the law is meant for the unrighteous:
16 So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For the flesh craves what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are opposed to each other, so that you do not do what you want. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. (Galatians 5:16-18)
Verse 18 says that if we are led by the Spirit, we’re not under the law. Since this is true, the opposite is true: If we are not led by the Spirit, then we’re under the law, understanding that the old law and the laws of the land today are the same principle. So, if someone who claims to be under grace keeps deliberately sinning against his neighbor and himself, then that person is not led by the Spirit. That person is under the law because the law is meant for the unrighteous, not the righteous, as it says in 1 Timothy 1:9.
For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace. (Romans 6:14)
Since this is true, the opposite is true: if we are under the law, then sin is our master. There is no law against the fruit of the Spirit:
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law. (Galatians 5:22-23)
A person under grace won’t sin against his neighbor because he loves his neighbor as himself, and love fulfills the law. The same is true of a person sinning against himself:
Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a man can commit is outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body. (1 Corinthians 6:18)
Let’s look at another treasure that’s upheld by faith:
Do not accept a bribe, for a bribe blinds those who see and twists the words of the righteous. (Exodus 23:8; see also Ecclesiastes 7:7)
Is it ok to accept a bribe under grace? No, it’s not. We don’t even need the law to tell us this:
14 Indeed, when Gentiles, who do not have the law, do by nature what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law, 15 since they show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts either accusing or defending them. (Romans 2:14-15)
Let’s look at this law:
If men who are fighting strike a pregnant woman and her child is born prematurely, but there is no further injury, he shall surely be fined as the woman’s husband demands and as the court allows. (Exodus 21:22)
If this happened today, wouldn’t this law still stand? If someone injures a premature baby, wouldn’t there be retribution or compensation in court? It’s the same principle. Let’s read the next verse:
But if a serious injury results, then you must require a life for a life— (Exodus 21:23)
If serious injury results to a premature baby, then life for a life is required under God’s law. Even though abortion is legal in many places, God’s law will be upheld in eternity. So, for those who seriously injure a premature baby, including abortion, life for life will be required (see also Matthew 5:21). However, God is patient, merciful, and forgiving, and there’s forgiveness of sins through the blood of Jesus Christ.
Let’s look at this law from Exodus 23:
If you see the donkey of one who hates you fallen under its load, do not leave it there; you must help him with it. (Exodus 23:5)
If a person under grace saw his neighbor broken down on the side of the road, wouldn’t the person under grace help, even if his neighbor hated him? Wouldn’t this be love fulfilling the law? But always use discernment when wanting to do good deeds. The power of evil is cowardly and always lies in wait.
8 He lies in wait near the villages; in ambush he slays the innocent; his eyes watch in stealth for the helpless. 9 He lies in wait like a lion in a thicket; he lurks to seize the oppressed; he catches the lowly in his net. 10 They are crushed and beaten down; the hapless fall prey to his strength. (Psalm 10:8-10)
Let’s listen to Jesus again:
But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, (Matthew 5:44)
In Romans 12:20, Paul quotes from Proverbs 25:
On the contrary, “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him a drink. For in so doing, you will heap burning coals on his head.” (Romans 12:20)
Proverbs 25:22 adds, “And the Lord will reward you.” So, let’s love our neighbors as ourselves and receive our reward from God.
WORKS OF THE LAW VS. GOOD WORKS
We shouldn’t get “works” of the law and good “works” confused. Good works are “works of faith”:
2 We always thank God for all of you, making mention of you in our prayers 3 and continually recalling before our God and Father your work of faith, your labor of love, and your enduring hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Thessalonians 1:2-3)
Our works of faith are labors of love.
Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast and immovable. Always excel in the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain. (1 Corinthians 15:58)
We love God, and we want to do what is pleasing in his sight. Let’s remember that obedience comes from faith and righteousness is having faith and love. Let’s look at this scripture:
To this end, we always pray for you, that our God will count you worthy of His calling, and that He will powerfully fulfill your every good desire and work of faith, (2 Thessalonians 2:11)
Again, Paul says “work of faith.” Obedience to Christ by word and deed and good works are works of faith. In the following scriptures, James is talking about good works, not works of the law:
14 What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? 15 If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? 17 So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. 18 But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. (James 2:14-18)
James isn’t talking about works of the law, he’s talking about works of faith, and works of faith are good works. Those of us under grace are created for good works. Let’s compare these scriptures from James to the apostle Paul:
For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. (Ephesians 2:10)
So, things like feeding the hungry and clothing the naked are good works, and we should walk in the way of good works, according to our means. So, in regard to works, there’s no debate between James and Paul. Some who read Paul’s letters simply confuse the word works. Building an ark is work.
By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in godly fear built an ark to save his family. By faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that comes by faith. (Hebrews 11:7)
What if Noah believed God but didn’t build the ark? He and his family would’ve drowned. Noah’s building of the ark completed his faith, and it saved his life. Let’s listen to Jesus Christ:
“Therefore, everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. (Matthew 7:24)
If we’re building on the rock, we’re putting Jesus’s words into practice. Building a house on the rock is work.
There is profit in all labor, but mere talk leads only to poverty. (Proverbs 14:23)
Here’s Paul again in regard to good works:
And our people must also learn to devote themselves to good works in order to meet the pressing needs of others, so that they will not be unfruitful. (Titus 3:14)
In the following scripture, Paul talks about “our works”:
He has saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works, but by His own purpose and by the grace He granted us in Christ Jesus before time eternal. (2 Timothy 1:9)
We know there’s nothing we could’ve done to save ourselves:
not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, (Titus 3:5; see Job 11:6)
We did nothing to earn our salvation (see Romans 4:4). Nonetheless, we have to do our part, and once we’re saved in Jesus Christ, we have to pay close attention to our lives. Here’s Paul in his letter to Timothy:
Pay close attention to your life and to your teaching. Persevere in these things, for by so doing you will save both yourself and those who hear you. (1 Timothy 4:16)
In the epistles, when Paul uses the word works, he’s talking about works of the law a lot of the time. Here’s an example:
know that a man is not justified by works of the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have believed in Christ Jesus, that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified. (Galatians 2:16)
In the following scripture, is Paul talking about works of the law or works we do?
not by works, so that no one can boast. (Ephesians 2:9)
Paul is talking about works of the law because in verse 10, which we read earlier, he uses the phrase good works. Let’s read the scriptures in context:
9 not by works, so that no one can boast. 10 For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance as our way of life. (Ephesians 2:9-10)
In these scriptures, Paul differentiates between “works” and “good works.” Also, when Paul talks about works of the law, he sometimes uses the words boast or boasting in context of being justified by the law. In the following scripture, Paul is talking about works of the law:
31 but Israel, who pursued a law of righteousness, has not attained it. 32 Why not? Because their pursuit was not by faith, but as if it were by works. They stumbled over the stumbling stone, (Romans 9:31-32; see also verses 11-12)
Now let’s go back to Romans 3:
27 Where, then, is boasting? It is excluded. On what principle? On that of works? No, but on that of faith. 28 For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the law. (Romans 3:27-28)
When Paul says “works” in verse 27, he’s talking about works of the law, and we know this from verse 28. In the following scripture, Paul is talking about works we do after we’re saved in Christ Jesus:
Each one should test his own work. Then he will have reason to boast in himself alone, and not in someone else. (Galatians 6:4)
Those of us who are justified by God’s grace through faith can boast in our good works of faith, not works of the law. Here’s Paul in his letter to Titus:
This is a faithful saying, and these things I want you to affirm constantly, that those who have believed in God should be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable to men. (Titus 3:8)
Once we believe in God and are saved, we should be careful to maintain good works.
For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead. (James 2:26)
In these last days, let’s do the right thing in life and love the Lord our God. Let’s receive God’s promise of eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Peace to all.
Futile World 