The second principle of the new law which we need to understand is: We keep wanting to depend on OURSELVES and God keeps wanting us to depend on HIM.

    If you really want to understand the teaching of Jesus just spend some time reading Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5-7. Read it over several times as though this was the first time you have read it. I get over-whelmed every time I read it because I realize how far I am from the kind of life he is talking about. What he is talking about is something so radically different that it takes a total dependence on God to enter into it.  It is not something I can do by my own effort. If this is what my life must be like, God has to change me completely, because I can’t do it at all. I have to totally depend on him every moment of my life, and the minute I stop depending on him I begin to fall. The Christian life is not an offer I make to God, it is an offer which I must accept from God. It is not something I do for him; it is something he does for me.

    Listen as Jesus says, “You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’ But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if someone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. If someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you” (Matthew 5:38-42)  Can you live like that? Most of us would be ready for a fight if we experienced that kind of injustice. But when we are completely depend-ing on God, we allow him to settle all the scores. We don’t try to get even; we give him control.

    You have to lean on God to do what Jesus taught when he said, “But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you” (Luke 6:27-28) In order to live God’s way we have to have God’s power. We have to depend on him. This means that we live with humility. Jeremiah wrote: “I know, O LORD, that a man’s life is not his own; it is not for man to direct his own steps” (Jeremiah 10:23). This is difficult in our culture of radical independence. It means that we surrender to God and agree to live his way instead of our way.

    Jesus said, “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5). We are not sure we like the idea that we can’t do anything without him. We want to be in charge. We even want to be in charge of our own spiritual lives. We want to accomplish things for God and have him congratulate us. That way we can compliment ourselves and have others admire us. We want to feel good about ourselves. We want to do something to please God, but he wants us to allow him do something in us. We have to give up our straining and striving, and surrender.

    The Christian life is a life of dependence on God. It is the way of surrender and humility. The Bible says, “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). Paul wrote to the Romans saying, “Therefore, I urge you brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God — this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is — his good, pleasing and perfect will. For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you” (Romans 12:1-3). This means that I have to be surrendered totally to the lordship of Jesus Christ in my life.

    Well, let me continue with my thoughts on the fact that Jesus said he did not come to “abolish the law.”

    Under that old system, God was distant and separated from the people, and the practice of their faith was actually a burden. Now, some people think it is a burden to get up and drive to church on Sunday! Jesus came to replace rules and regulations with relationships. No more trembling mountains; no more veiled rooms and walls of separation; no more animal sacrifices. Now we can “draw near to God by a new and living way” (Hebrews 10:19-20) which is why Jesus said “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life, no one comes to the Father except by me.”

    The first principle of the new law which we need to understand is this: We keep wanting to DO something and God keeps wanting us to BECOME something.      

    Jesus wants to internalize our relationship with God. It is a transfor-mation of the heart, mind and attitudes. The issue is character. In the Old Testament the law was something written on stone tablets. It was something you did or did not do. Your relationship with God was based on performance. Obeying the law of God was your duty. However, in the New Testament the law is written on your heart. It becomes something you want to do, not what you are obligated to do. It becomes a love relationship with God.

    The Old Testament law changed what you did; New Testament law changes who you are! You become a different person. You become changed from the inside out. The focus becomes the interior life. It has to do with thoughts and motives, desires and intentions, love and surrender. This is a whole new way of understanding what it means to live for God, because this means that you can be a perfectly moral person and miss the whole point of what Jesus was saying.

    The old law was much easier because it was observable. You could see if a person was stealing or being violent. You could eventually catch them cheating or lying. But the new law has to do with the person inside which no one sees. We often think of the Old Testament law as being hard, demanding and difficult, but we need to understand that of the two, the New Testament standard is much more difficult.

    The Old Testament said that 1/10^th of what I have belongs to God; the New Testament says that everything I have belongs to God! The new law of Jesus not only speaks about what I am doing, but about who I am becoming. Jesus said, “You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment.” (Matthew 5:21-22)

    I have been able to control myself enough that I have never become violent with anyone. I have never physically attacked anyone. But I have not been as successful with not being angry at people. I have never murdered anyone, but I have thought very bad things about them in my mind and called them names in my head.

    Jesus said, “You have heard that it was said, ‘Do not commit adultery.’ But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” (Matthew 5:27-28)  I have never committed adultery, but I have not been as successful at keeping lust out of my heart. I have never stolen anything, but I have not been as successful at not wanting what someone else has.

    This new law is difficult for me. Yet, this new law is how I will be judged. The Bible says, “For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account” (Hebrews 4:12-13) This means that even if you haven’t been caught, you still haven’t gotten by with it. It means that even if no one knows what you have done, it is still wrong. This means that even if you have done the right thing, but have done it for the wrong reason, you will be held accountable. That is much more difficult than the old law, because now I am not only judged for what I do, but why I did it. This is where the conviction of the Holy Spirit and God’s forgiveness and grace become the overwhelming hope of my heart.

     God is asking that even my intentions and motives need to be transformed by the Holy Spirit and come under his control. God judges the attitudes of my heart as well as the actions of my hands. The part of me that nobody sees needs to belong to God. I need a new heart. The beauty of this is that when I allow God to change my interior life, I begin to experience spiritual health in a way I have never experienced before. God begins to change me from the inside out, and my actions – the exterior and my interior life come into harmony. I am no longer a spiritual schizophrenic. A new genuineness takes over my life. 

    First, it is The Ten Commandments – which are the Law with a capital “L”. Second, the law was considered the first five books of the Bible, or the Pentateuch  otherwise known as the “law of Moses.” Third, we have the Law and the Prophets which refers to what we now call the Old Testament. In Luke 24:44 Jesus said, "These are the words which I spoke unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me."  This is why he said that he came not to destroy that law… but to fulfill it!

    The Psalmist David had a very different concept of Law. He spoke about God’s Law in Psalm 19:7-10 and said, “The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul. The decrees of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple. The commandments of the Lord are right, bringing joy to the heart. The commands of the Lord are clear, giving insight for life.  They are more desirable than gold, even the finest gold. They are sweeter than honey, even honey dripping from the comb.”

    This is the view that Jesus brings to the Old Testament Law. This is what Christ said would not pass away, the fact that the law is “trustworthy; perfect; making wise and bringing joy; they are to be desired”. But, there was also a fourth meaning of the law which Christ was talking about – that is the Ceremonial law.

    This was all the laws, rules, regulations, and traditions that had to do with the offerings and sacrifices that were required in order to have sins forgiven and have a right relationship with God. It was the Ceremonial law that the Apostle Paul is speaking of in Colossians 2:14 where he says “He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the “written code” – (the Ceremonial law - with its regulations)… “he took it away, nailing it to the Cross!”  Jesus, God’s Son, was the final sacrifice.

    There is a perfect example of this in the Book of Numbers 21:8-9 “The Lord said to Moses, “Make a snake and put it up on a pole; anyone who is bitten can look at it and live.”  So Moses made a bronze snake and put it up on a pole. Then when anyone was bitten by a snake and looked at the bronze snake, they lived.” (This is still the emblem of healing in the medical world.) A wonderful picture of Christ on the Cross. All who look to Him receive forgiveness, healing, and life!

    This should help us to understand the Law a little better, and what Jesus meant when he said “I have come not to abolish the law, but to fulfill it.” So, the question then is, how should we live? Should we live as though we have no use for the Ten Commandments or the law of Moses, or the Prophets? Should we live as though we have a license to sin, because Christ died once and for all? Of course not. In fact, biblically, this is the only way we can lose our salvation. Hebrews 10:26 says “If we “deliberately” keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, but only a fearful expectation of judgment.” Deliberate rebellion and a willful continuation of sin, is like throwing God’s free gift of salvation back in his face. And, then we will be judged by the Law.

    We catch a glimpse of what Paul was proclaiming in a couple of other places. In the Book of Acts, for example, 13:38 says; “Therefore, my brothers, I want you to know that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you. Through him, everyone who believes is justified from everything you could not be justified from by the law of Moses.” And, in Hebrews 9:26 it reads: “But now he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself. Just as man was destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him. The Law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming - it can never, by the same sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship.”

    So, does this mean that the Old Testament is “null and void” for those of us who are called New Testament Christians? No, in fact, I am convinced that Christ stated this specifically for all those well intentioned people who are forever saying, "We not under law, but under grace". Somehow we seem to have drawn the faulty conclusion that the Old Testament no longer matters, that it no longer applies, that it’s just a collection of historical books, filled with rules and regulations and sacrifices that we no longer have to follow, we just have to believe!  And yet, Christ plainly said “I have not come to abolish the law but to fulfill it”.  It becomes even more confusing for some if we read what Paul wrote in Romans 10:4 where he says “Christ is the end of the law so that there may be righteousness (here’s the important part) for everyone who believes.”

    Well in order to properly understand what Christ said, we have to understand what was, or what is the law? ( Join me next Sunday.)