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.)
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