The Law is Good

The Word of God is quite simple. God has provided a loving handbook to life which explains how to live it fully.  In the administration that we live in, the grace administration, we have the privilege to accept the opportunity to have the energized power of God living in the very depths of our heart through the gift of holy spirit. This was provided as a result of the life and sacrifice of Jesus Christ including his supernatural deliverance by God in being raised from the dead.

In the Old Testament only certain people manifested the spirit of  God so the law in a physical sense was what people knew about God. The law was taught and embellished on in oral tradition by the leaders. People endeavored to carry it out.

Jesus Christ came to fulfill the law. The law became established by means of faith in Jesus Christ. The law then became something impressed on our hearts spiritually by believing, not by works of external piety. God's word becomes a living reality in the righteous and capable of all that Jesus Christ accomplished because of the inherent power of God energized in the gift.

In Timothy Paul encourages believers to stay on the simple truth of grace:

As I urged you when I went into Macedonia, stay there in Ephesus so that you may command certain people not to teach false doctrines any longer or to devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies. Such things promote controversial speculations rather than advancing God’s work—which is by faith.  The goal of this command is love, which comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. Some have departed from these and have turned to meaningless talk. They want to be teachers of the law, but they do not know what they are talking about or what they so confidently affirm.(NIV I Timothy 1:3-7)

We see false doctrines magnified today in certain psychological and sociological circles. It is rampant in politics and even in some religious circles. We are constantly bombarded with alternative ways of living. In regards to God's law and its use, Paul provided clarifications to filter the speculative assaults of  culture:

We know that the law is good if one uses it properly. We also know that the law is made not for the righteous but for lawbreakers and rebels, the ungodly and sinful, the unholy and irreligious, for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers,  for the sexually immoral, for those practicing homosexuality, for slave traders and liars and perjurers—and for whatever else is contrary to sound doctrine (I Timothy 1:8-10 NIV)

 The warnings are for those who argue with God and who become desensitized and tolerant of evil. People who turn away from the evil and towards the goodness of God see huge differences in their lives. God's work is advanced by believing good sound doctrine and its application to life. It is practical and pertains to all aspects of living a meaningful life.

Ephesus or Galatia?

The seven church epistles are written to people who belong to the  body of Christ. The  first of these epistles is Romans. Romans is about why we needed a Christ (Messiah) and why we need to make him the authority in our life as our access to God. It is basically the book about believing. 

In  the next book, Corinthians, we read reproof  as to how the Corinthians mis-practiced Romans. Peoples' habits, old religious practices, and cultural and societal influences crept into how people lived. Man has a tendency to bring God down to His own level instead of rising up to God’s heart. Human love cannot match the true love God has for us. 

When man doesn’t respond and acknowledge the infinite wisdom of God, he makes his own adjustments and designs his own religion. If practically applied long enough, the original doctrine gets skewed. That is the reason for Galatians: to correct the doctrinal error that crept in due to the practical mixing of world and the right believing in Romans. The error can range from very subtle to very blatant.God is tough love in Galatians.

Read Galatians and then read Ephesians. Who would you like to fellowship with? The Galatians or the Ephesians? Yet today, every human being has to make that decision when you really start studying the Bible. The great apostle Paul had to make these same decisions.  His decision to go to Jerusalem instead of staying in the spiritually hot Ephesus is an example. God tried to shut the door several times but he just had to go (he thought he was being so sacrificial) and it turned out badly.

What happened when Paul got to Jerusalem is written in Acts 21:19-23:

 And when he had saluted them, he declared particularly what things God had wrought among the Gentiles by his ministry. And when they heard it, they glorified the Lord, and said unto him, Thou seest, brother, how many thousands of Jews there are which believe; and they are all zealous of the law: And they are informed of thee, that thou teachest all the Jews which are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, saying that they ought not to circumcise their children, neither to walk after the customs.What is it therefore? the multitude must needs come together: for they will hear that thou art come.

 The law, works, and religion are the major problems of  his trip and of the book of Galatians. We don’t perform for God, we love Him! We share His love with others based on His standard of love.  Our 'coming together' should be based on His Word. Our culture today is no different in this respect from those groups of the first century believers. It is God’s standard that causes His people to live exceedingly abundantly. It is not about sacrifice or self-abasement in certain religious minds. It is not dependent on the government or political winds of the times; not the far right’s, the far left’s or even the moderate middle. Read Romans 8 and then Ephesians to see true abundance and sufficiency. It is wonderful!