It's easy to look at "Bible characters" such as the apostles and assume they were some type of spiritual super-humans who understood everything there is to know about God.
In their writings, there are references to growing in various ways when it comes to Jesus, our knowledge of the truth, His grace and love, etc. We'll always be learning, otherwise, eternity might get rather dull.
Regardless of how God chooses to use people in extraordinary ways, it doesn't change the fact that we're all humans who depend upon God to reveal truth and enlighten us to grow in our spiritual understanding. This week, we'll look at just one example which left many Jewish believers and apostles divided due to a lack of understanding when it came to the first covenant and the new one that replaced it.
Jesus told His disciples that He did not come to abolish the Law and the Prophets but to fulfill. And what was meant when He said that not one jot or tittle will pass from the law? Does this contradict what Paul said about the law having been abolished by Jesus in His flesh?
For those who might suggest the words of Jesus in Matthew 5 imply that the Mosaic law continues to function in some way, shape or form ... they may want to pause and carefully examine what that would look like—every jot and every tittle. In addition, Jesus said the law would not pass ... (wait for it) ... "until all is fulfilled" (or accomplished).
This is a follow-up to our last couple of programs relating to the New Covenant and what it means for Jesus to be declared as High Priest. Jesus completed the job that He was sent to do by fulfilling the Law, the Prophets, and the Psalms.
Nullified. Cancelled. Abolished. Annulled. Set aside. Ended. Obsolete. After the cross and resurrection, these are some words used to describe the Mosaic law of stone tablet commandments contained in ordinances within a covenant between God and the Jewish people. It had a purpose for a certain period of time but was destined to reach an expiration date ... which was until the time of Christ and His fulfilling of the law and the prophets.
Some misunderstood or misinterpreted writings within the New Testament pages have led to even some who consider themselves people of grace to suggest the ministry of the law still functions today. But we're in danger of contradicting ourselves with such talk ... because if any of that old law is still to be considered as an active ministry, then Jesus cannot be considered a legitimate High Priest as described in Hebrews 7. If any leftover jots or tittles from the law package have not been thoroughly and permanently abolished and replaced with something new and better, then all of it should continue to apply for those (Jews) who were under it—leaving Gentiles who never had the law in a place of hopelessness.
Let's compare within the proper context what the writer of Hebrews, the Apostle Paul, and also Jesus had to say as they communicated to the people of their day.
Okay, okay, we admit it. Last week was going to be our final program in “The Law Abolished” series. But in case you didn’t read the fine print in our podcast contract, we reserve the right to change our minds. We felt another round would be beneficial to finish this series or topic to further address questions that may still be lingering … and there is a handful of potential “light bulb” moments here as we attempt to help bring further consistency to the message of the gospel of pure grace … fully apart from a law of commandments.
Today, God has a very different ministry than before Jesus died and rose. It’s the ministry of the Spirit, which completely surpassed the previous ministry of works from a former covenant which has absolutely no place since Jesus Christ fulfilled it.
At the time we recorded this episode, we were thinking it would be our final program in the series, so you will hear us talk about that. However, the next time we sat down to record, our brain cells started firing and we ended up having a few more thoughts to share, so there will be one more after this one!
This particular episode provides us an opportunity to tie a number of thoughts together regarding the Mosaic law, its purpose and why it is no longer needed today in a covenant of grace. What once had glory has come to have no glory at all … because of the greater and more superior ministry of the Spirit of God.
Our fourth program in the series brings us to a conversation which challenges the idea that the law of commandments from Mount Sinai is still meant to be ministered to people after the cross as a tool to bring them to Christ. There is an effective way to look back on this obsolete law package from the Old Covenant … and the writer of the book of Hebrews shows an example of explaining how it was once the way that Jews attempted to attain righteousness by works—and that it couldn’t be done.
It’s not hard for we grace folks to fall into a similar trap that the legalists have been stuck in—picking and choosing selective bits and pieces of that old law while ignoring other parts that seem more obsolete or abolished. The law only spoke to Jewish people before the cross. It never spoke to Gentiles. So let’s consider a radical idea: stop trying to use the law of sin and death to persuade people and just start sharing the good news of Jesus. He did what the law never could—He fulfilled it in us.
Our third program in the series takes a look at how the Mosaic law was something that had kept people from God, from righteousness, and from a covenant of grace. While it had been meant to ultimately lead the Jewish nation to a Savior, in this New Covenant, we don’t use it in the same way (because nobody is under it). It was a ministry that brought guilt, death, condemnation, and bondage, while bringing a reminder of sins … the precise opposite of what Jesus brings. It came to an end when Jesus became High Priest. It was nailed to the cross and in Paul’s words, it was abolished.
As Paul stated, the law spoke to those who were under it (Jews). Since it has been made obsolete with a new and better covenant, it doesn’t say anything to anyone today. If the law were truly not abolished, that would mean none of it was and it would (all) still have a place … which brings confusion and inconsistency to the message of the gospel of grace.
Prior to the ratification of the New Covenant of Jesus Christ, we find that there was a barrier, a middle wall of separation which was keeping the Jews from attaining righteousness … and the other 99% of the world without a covenant at all. At the time of the Old Covenant (before the cross), Gentiles were described as being without God and having no hope in the world.
What was it that was keeping Jews from righteousness and Gentiles separated from God entirely? It was the law of commandments contained in ordinances from the first covenant. Jesus broke down this law wall—abolishing this enmity in His flesh. This resulted in Gentiles being brought near to God by the blood of Christ, and bringing both groups together into one new man. Inside of a very different covenant, it is not an obsolete, abolished law that lures people towards God … it was having it removed and taken out of the way.
The law of commandments came through Moses during the first covenant made with Israel. There are some in both legalistic and grace circles who will teach things about this law from very different covenant perspectives, but will often both be of the persuasion that the law itself was not abolished. There may be many reasons for this ideology—with one of those having to do with something Jesus said during the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5.
Whatever your opinion may be on the subject, our goal during this series will be to help provide a viewpoint for consideration in order to bring as much consistency as possible when it comes to the message of the grace of the gospel.
