Be Blessed: The Law

"Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. Therefore, whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called the least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in heaven. For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and the Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven." (Matthew 5:17-20)

This here is all about God's justice. Rather than simply ushering in a new way of doing things, Christ is intentional in letting the people know that He's there because He has to be; the Law must be fulfilled and He's the Way, the only thing that can remove the separtion from God that exists because of sin. If that's the case, if Christ came and fulfilled the Law, then we must be cleared of any wrongdoing going forward, right? No, on the contrary, we're held to what seems to be an even tighter standard.

The Lord's after our hearts here. A similar idea comes up in Paul's writings about grace...

"Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men... What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it?" (Romans 5:18-6:2)

The Law isn't a set of rules now so much as a set of responses, in my view. It lays out the way one who's conquered sin should and would conduct themselves. Rather than "freeing us up" to act in any manner which we choose, sinful or not, Christ's sacrifice gives us the freedom to act in a manner that is good. We're no longer tied down in slavery to sin. What's this have to do with blessedness?

Slaves to Sin

"For there is no distinction: For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God." (Romans 3:22b-23)

First of all, sin, or falling short of God, has become an integral part of "post-Fall" living. Once Adam and Eve ate of the fruit of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, we inherited a nature that pulls toward sin (almost like a human-wide genetic inheritance)–the "flesh" that the Word often refers to. This is a piece of all of us, the propensity to do what's good for us before what's good for others. We lie, we cheat, we steal, we scroll, all for the aim (conscious or subconscious) of selfish benefit–even if it's just a moment of comfort.

If you've ever tried to knock out a bad habit or sinful pattern by willpower alone, you've likely felt the grip and power that sin actually has on us. Most of us, in our own strength, will continuously fall prey to temptations to compromise. These fleshly desires work against the deepest desires of our spirit to be known and loved. The battle between flesh and spirit, two forces opposed (Galatians 5:17), can leave one discouraged, embarrassed, and hopeless. I imagine this is what it felt living in Israel waiting for the Messiah to come.

Before Jesus, in the wait for a Savior, the population didn't have personal access to God. Only the priest could go and make a case before the Lord. God gave them a chance at making things right by way of ritual sacrifice. These rituals were more for like a merciful cover than a graceful invitation, though. The world generally lived in a moment of silence, a silence which made way for temptation–temptation which the nation was professional at giving in to (look at the their reaction to Moses' trip to Mt. Sinai in Exodus 32).

Now God was gracious and merciful. Rather than set them up for demise, God often gave Israel another chance to go forward. But this chance was almost automatically squandered every time. The relationship continued to suffer, and eventually the people were made to pay for their continued disloyalty.

I often feel like Israel, stuck learning the same lessons, trying on my own might to present myself as blameless before the Lord, so that I can one day come and ask what I will of Him. There's a silent fear that God might still see me as an Old-Testament Israelite, unclean, sinful, and deserving of wrath. But this method of running from God until I'm "clean" is exactly what we've been invited to turn from. Because of Jesus, we're allowed to give up the shame and fear that we cling so strongly to and to replace it with something better and truer.

From Slavery to Freedom

"For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery." (Galatians 5:1)

Paul is writing to a Galatian Church which has grown confused. They'd quickly distorted the Gospel thay were taught and replaced it with a counterfeit version, one that catered more to the flesh and feelings than to the new reality introduced by Jesus. The letter is a call to return to faith in Jesus Christ alone, and now he's addressing the Galatian's relationship to the old Law.

Paul calls the Galatian Christians "children of promise" rather than children of the Law or slavery–he references Hagar and Sarah's children, one born in sin and another by a promise. By way of an ancient promise, we're apart of a blessed family, brothers and sisters in Christ. Our tendency now, the one that Paul is addressing here, is to try and replace the old Law with a new one. For there to be no law almost feels like we're given too much freedom–the apparent lack of guardrails feels dangerous.

Christ corrects this thinking and action, though. He says He came to fulfill the Law, not to abolish it. We're not being left to our own devices, this clearly doesn't work. Instead, we're given access to a new source of love and wisdom–the Source that sin seperated us from. Paul says this about replacing the Law in Galatians:

"For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'" (Galatians 5:13-14)

Freedom to Love

In short, Christ's sacrifices frees us up to fulfill the Law without distraction. Without the weight of sin looming over us, we're given the freedom to simply love others and to walk out the call our lives. The Law is clear about what sin is, and God's grace is His understanding that we won't be perfect as we fulfill this new, undistracted Law; but this grace is only to keep us in the same lighthearted posture of love and service. That's the new standard.

We're helped along in this by the Holy Spirit, by the Word, and by God-fearing community. Being blessed looks like living and loving freely–by His definition of Love, not the world's (for another time). As we get closer to God, our hearts move to look more like His. That movement, the process of sanctification, continues to free us up to love God and love neighbor better than before. This can only happen, though, if we understand who Jesus actually is and what He actually did when He dies on the cross and rose from death. That's the importance of the Gospel.

So, don't give in to the temptations which feel so strong today. We're set free from the sin which used to cling to us, but only if we replace the space. Rather than giving back into the old patterns and habits that harm us, take temptation as an opportunity to love someone. Pray to God, reach out to a friend and ask for prayer (give them the chance to love you; see James 5:13-19). Christ took care of the hard part for us because He loves us.

Be blessed.

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Verses to Look Back On:

Romans 13:8-14

1 Corinthians 10:13

2 Corinthians 12:9-10

Galatians (Whole)

James 5:13-19

1 John 2:28-3:24