“The Law and Christ's Law”

Sunday, January 15, 2017

The Bible’s repeated, clear-cut designation of the Law of Moses as “THE Law” adds a compelling degree of force to its existence. If God saw it as the only Law, it might surprise us to find another Bible passage which would suggest another law’s preeminence. And yet, this is exactly what we find in Hebrews chapters 8, 9, and 10. There, as he expounds the fact that Christ is God’s better plan for redemption in every single way, the writer continually makes passing remarks about The Law’s passing, changing, and fading glory (cf. 2 Cor. 3). In its place, the Bible writers continually elevate what they call “the law of Christ” (1 Cor. 9:21, Gal. 6:2). What is the difference? What does this mean for us?

The difference is simple: Christ.

Christ is the ultimate manifestation of all the necessary tenets of the sacrifice system codified under the Law of Moses. He is the perfected manifestation of moral law-keeping outlined in the Law of Moses. He is the accomplishment of the Laws promises to bless Israel for their faithfulness. He is, in all things, the completion of the Law’s purposes. 

And this is why there is a law “of Christ.” Not just because he is the sovereign power behind this law (although he is), but because he is at the center of this law. The law under which Christians live, then, is governed by him as he extrapolates, explains, and fulfills “The Law” that God’s people have lived under for thousands of years hence. This means, of course, that some of our moral obligations have changed to reflect his superiority to the old system—especially, though not exclusively, the need to offer animal sacrifices. But understanding him as the completion of the Law is healthy in that it keeps us from wholesale abandonment of the principles of holiness outlined in The Law for such a long time.

The Old Testament literally contains thousands of years worth of theology as God revealed himself at various times and in various ways, and we would be foolish to disregard it as though it were only a relic of a bygone time. Rather, we revere The Law because we revere the God who conceived it, the Spirit who inspired it, and the Christ who fulfilled it. To be sure, there are elements of it which no longer bear on our behavior as individuals and groups of believers. But equally sure is the value that it has in teaching us to be holy because he is holy.

- Dan Lankford, minister

Share