Should Christians, New Testament Believers, Obey The Law?

In the previous related article, we sought to answer a question we were asked, Did Jesus Abolish The Law?. In case you haven't read yet, please do it for better context. In the article we saw that Jesus did not abolish or canceled the law, instead He fulfilled its purpose, which according to Galatians 3:24, was to be a tutor and bring people to Christ. Once the law finished its course, it was set aside and a New Covenant was ratified, the covenant of Faith. As mentioned in the article also, the Law was not and is not bad, it simply worked to accomplish its purpose.

Now, the question is: knowing that the Law is not bad and it was not canceled, are Christians supposed to still obey it? In our experiences, this is the real question many believers want answered when they begin to wonder or not the law was abolished. We have been there and asked ourselves the same question! it is our prayer that through this article God gives you clarity in Jesus.

If the Law Is Not Bad, Should New Testament Believers Obey It Then?

The straightforward answer to this question is: No! Not at all, not even a single command. Some people believe that the ceremonial laws, those pertaining to the service in the temple and the sacrifices, were the only laws canceled, but that the moral laws are still in effect. However, looking to the purpose of the law this seems contradicting. The law itself was not canceled, and not part of the was canceled or abolished either; again, Jesus Himself said it. The law had a purpose and it was accomplished, therefore, the law was set aside and not canceled, it became antiquated.

Not a single commandment of the law is to be obeyed by new testament believers, hence we call it old. We are under the new covenant, thus, under the law of Christ and not under the law of Moses. However, we can learn, and only learn, from the essence of the Law, because it still reveals the Holy nature of God, but this must be done in the light of the New Testament, without ever submitting ourselves to the Law again, and we will explain why in the course of this article. Let's jump to it.

The Law Foreshadowed Superior Spiritual Blessings

As we have mentioned briefly in the previous article also, one of the purposes of the Law was to foreshadow superior spiritual blessings found in Christ. Thus, if we are in Christ, we have access to the superior-spiritual blessings themselves and not their shadows anymore, the veil is removed and we can see them clearly. If we have the superior blessings themselves, then the shadows are automatically rendered unnecessary. Why would we then, need again the lesser blessings? That would mark a regression and not a progression and render the work of Christ of no effect.

The book of Hebrews put this way, "'And according to the law almost all things are purified with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no remission. Therefore it was necessary that the copies of the things in the heavens should be purified with these, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. For Christ has not entered the holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us;'" Hebrews 9:22-24.

Notice the passage says, "the copies of the things in heavens should be purified with these, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices." The system that came through the Law was a copy of the heavenly realities - superior blessings, therefore, God warned Moses saying, "'And see to it that you make them according to the pattern which was shown you on the mountain.'" Exodus 25:40. However, in Christ, we have access to the superior blessings themselves, not the copies like they had; therefore, if we focus on obeying only the righteous requirements of the new covenant, which is superior, automatically we fulfil the righteous requirements of the Law.

Paul puts this way, "'There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh, that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.'" Romans 8:1-4

Notice the last verses, "For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh, that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.'". In other words, the Law was impotent to redeem or transform us, but Christ's sacrifice is sufficient to redeem and transform us. In him get we access to a new law, "The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus", and if we walk on it, we fulfill the righteous requirement of the old testament law.

Under this new covenant, we have access to the Holy Spirit, who leads us so we don't fulfill the lusts or the sinful desires of the flesh, and in so doing, we will fulfill the demands of justice or righteous requirements that the Law of Moses had, this is because, the bible says, "'For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”' (Galatians 5:14). Thus, if one loves his neighbor as himself, like the New testament commands, although is a commandment also given under the law (Leviticus 19:18), he is fulfilling the requirement of the law but not obeying the law itself and neither putting himself under its yoke. Do you see the difference? Again, obeying the requirements of the new covenant is enough for Christians; by doing so, they satisfy the law without obeying it.

Now, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” refers only to the aspects of the law related to our relationship with our neighbors. However, the law had also requirements about our relationship with God Himself. Perhaps the best way to see this is by looking to the Ten Commandments first mentioned in Exodus 20:1-17. The first part comprised of the first 4 commandments, verses 1-11, pertains directly to our relationship with God, and the remaining 6 commandments comprise the second part and deals directly with our relationship with our neighbors, although it ultimately also affects our relationship with God. What is the point? The point is that with the above in mind, these 10 laws can be summed up in two great commandments.

Jesus puts this way, "..., “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’'" Matthew 22:37-39. If you obey these two great commandments to the core, you then fulfill all the ten commandments because they resume the essence of the Law, and the prophets according to Jesus. He said, "'On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”' Matthew 22:40. In other words, "'The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.”' Matthew 22:40 NLT.

So, when new testament believers wonder whether or not they should obey the law, they show they never understood the new covenant, the character of God, the law itself and its purpose, or that they have been deceived by someone somewhere during their walk. If you have the latest iPhone why would you go back to the old? In theory the latest has all the feature of the old and much more, unless some old features were deemed unnecessary. Of course this is an imperfect analogy, considering the distraction that newer technologies can bring alongside better productivity. However, such is not the case of the new covenant.

The truth is that the latest covenant of God has embedded on it the essence of the old, and obeying the demands of the new covenant in Christ leads us to obey the demands of the law, fulfilling its righteous requirements, which quite frankly are nothing compared to new. The requirements of the New covenant are stricter compared to the old. Consider the words of Jesus, "'“You have heard that our ancestors were told, ‘You must not murder. If you commit murder, you are subject to judgment.’ But I say, if you are even angry with someone, you are subject to judgment! If you call someone an idiot, you are in danger of being brought before the court. And if you curse someone, you are in danger of the fires of hell.'" Matthew 5:21-22.

What is easier the old, "you must no murder" or the new, "if you are even angry with someone [without a cause], you are subject to judgment"? Certainly the new is. If you continue, you will see that Jesus makes other contrasts and in so doing He was removing the old and establishing the new covenant, founded on better promises (Hebrews 8:6) and with stricter requirements for righteousness. However, there is a couple caveats: The new covenant is transformation driven and not performance driven, under the new covenant, we have access to a new nature (John 1:12-13) not dominated by sin and access to the Holy Spirit who helps us subdue our old carnal nature.

Thus, although the demands of the new are stricter, the amount of help we have to obey them are greater also. On the contrary, if we go back to the law, we are left helpless and incapable of even obey God and fulfil the Law. Under the law it is, "either you obey all or you obey none", James frames it as follows, "'For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all.'" (James 2:10). The law is not a pick-and-chose system. If one says that we should obey "some" laws relevant for us today, then we should go back sacrificing animals and etc. Paul warns us against the idea of going back to the law in his letter addressed to the church of the Galatians.

A Warning Against The Old Heresy

He said, "'Oh, foolish Galatians! Who has cast an evil spell on you? For the meaning of Jesus Christ’s death was made as clear to you as if you had seen a picture of his death on the cross. Let me ask you this one question: Did you receive the Holy Spirit by obeying the law of Moses? Of course not! You received the Spirit because you believed the message you heard about Christ. How foolish can you be? After starting your new lives in the Spirit, why are you now trying to become perfect by your own human effort? Have you experienced so much for nothing? Surely it was not in vain, was it? I ask you again, does God give you the Holy Spirit and work miracles among you because you obey the law? Of course not! It is because you believe the message you heard about Christ.'" Galatians 3:1-5 NLT.

Paul expressly said that for someone, meaning new testament believers, who understood the meaning of Christ's death and received the Holy Spirit by believing the message of the cross, to go back to the law, it is an evil spell; it does not happen only by means of someone simply deciding to do it but by means of being deceived by a corrupted preacher, like the Judaizers that came to the church of Galatia after they had been saved by the preaching of the cross. This is the only way that new testament believers go back the law, it's by deception. Do not go back to the law! You cannot obey it and you won't be able to do so, the new covenant is enough, "'Do not be deceived: “Bad company corrupts good morals.” 1 Corinthians 15:33.

You see, the attempt to get believers back to the law is not a new thing. Paul dealt a lot with this issue in several churches throughout his ministry, and it usually began with circumcision and soon the Judaizers demanded more and more. For instance in Acts 15:1-2 reads, "'And certain men came down from Judea and taught the brethren, “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.” Therefore, when Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and dispute with them, they determined that Paul and Barnabas and certain others of them should go up to Jerusalem, to the apostles and elders, about this question.'" Notice that Paul and Barnabas didn't stay quiet, they disputed with those Judaizers, and so shall we do.

Moreover, notice also, that the Church of Antioch determined that Paul and Barnabas should to go up to Jerusalem, to the apostles and elders, to ask about this question and settle this issue once and forever. Again, this is not a new issue, the claim, "Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved." is the first major heresy the church had to deal with. In fact, this is the issue that led the church to have its first major council with Paul and Barnabas going to Jerusalem; who better than the apostles and elders of the early church to resolve this issue? No one but them. Thank God, they were still alive then and made a decree concerning this issue, as written:

"'They wrote this letter by them: The apostles, the elders, and the brethren, To the brethren who are of the Gentiles in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia: Greetings. Since we have heard that some who went out from us have troubled you with words, unsettling your souls, saying, “ You must be circumcised and keep the law” —to whom we gave no such commandment— it seemed good to us, being assembled with one accord, to send chosen men to you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul, men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. We have therefore sent Judas and Silas, who will also report the same things by word of mouth. For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things: that you abstain from things offered to idols, from blood, from things strangled, and from sexual immorality. If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well. Farewell.'" Acts 15:23-29. Praise God!

In short, the only thing coming from the law that believers are to observe, not as means to uphold the law or go back to it, but because they became requirements of the new covenant and are tied to the nature of God, are: "'[...] abstain from things offered to idols, from blood, from things strangled, and from sexual immorality. [...]'" Acts 15:29. In another words, "'Do not eat any food that people have given to their idols . Do not eat anything that still has blood in it. If people have strangled [squeeze or constrict the neck, especially so as to cause death, of] an animal to kill it, do not eat its meat. Do not have sex with anyone that you are not married to. If you obey these rules, you will do well. Goodbye.’" Acts 15:29 EASY Bible 2024. The leaders of the early church said, "If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well." Acts 15:29b.

These were the only requirements the apostles had for gentiles, they did not agree for a minute with the idea of being circumcised or obeying the law of Moses. They said, it would be "[...] a yoke on the neck of the disciples which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear?'" Acts 15:10b. For believers to obey the law is a yoke of bondage that neither the old testament figures nor the apostles were able to obey, so we won't either. Paul said in Colossians 2:16-17 NKJV, "So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths, which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ.". Do not go back to the law. It had a purposed and it was accomplished in Christ. What is prescribed in the new testament or covenant is enough for us.

In summary

The law is not bad, therefore, it did not have to be abolished and Jesus did not abolish it, rather He fulfilled it and ushered a new covenant in His blood. Thus, the Law is outdated part of an old testament or covenant to which new testament or covenant believers are not liable or bound - you are only legally bound to contracts or covenants you signed or that affects you, I speak as a man! Although some people claim that the moral laws are still in effect, again, not a single command of the law is to be obeyed by new testament believer, including the moral laws - to obey them because the law says so or because they are found in the bible is to obey the law and placed upon ourselves a yoke that was already removed in Christ, and explained by no other than the leaders of the early church.

Moreover, Paul warned us saying, "'Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh? Have you suffered so many things in vain—if indeed it was in vain? Therefore He who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you, does He do it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?— '" Galatians 3:3-5. Don't perfect yourself in the flesh by going back to the law. James says, "'For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all.'" (James 2:10). Thus, we can't simply choose to obey the moral laws, it's either all or none. Hence, the law is not for new testament saints.

However, we can learn, and only learn, from the essence of the Law, because it still reveals the Holy nature of God, but this must be done in the light of the New Testament, without ever submitting ourselves to the Law again because, Paul also said, "'For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh, that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.'" Romans 8:3-4.

As we walk in the Spirit and obey the new covenant, we satisfy the righteous requirement of law and enjoy fellowship with God, having no need to obey anything else. To be a perfect, complete or mature Christian is not to add upon ourselves the law, but rather to be a good new testament believer, obeying all that is prescribed in the new covenant only.

May God bless you, may you be free from any yoke God did not place upon you, and run the race of faith unhindered for His glory. See you and stay tuned for the next article in this category: Law & Grace.

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