Contrary to what most of us have heard or believe, attempting to follow the law is not intended to make us closer to God but rather, to reveal to us just how far away we are from Him. Anyone who lives to follow the law finds him or herself struggling and the works of the law overcomes him/her leading her/him to slavery, captivity, backsliding and later damnation.
The law condemns us and the wage (price) is beyond our reach. Reason in the Old Testament there were rules and rituals for offerings and sacrifices in which blood had to be shed: only blood is the price of sin. This demonstrated the severity and consequences of our sins: consequences of breaking the law. Any breaking of the law needed and still needs shedding of blood to be cleansed. Reason Jesus Christ gave His life to save every man from the severity and result of breaking the law through the cross and by shedding His blood once and for all those who accept him.
The law was established to shame and condemn us by pointing out our faults, our guilt and our sins. It is supposed to stop us from bragging about how good, righteous, we are and to show us how desperately we need God’s mercy. The law’s goal is to break through our stubborn pride and justification, and lead us to Jesus Christ for salvation. The law does not save in any way; salvation is through Jesus Christ Him alone.
The early Jews, Pharisees, and Scribes used to take and uphold the law literary, only been concerned with its literal face meaning but not its deep reality truth and spirit. For I say unto you, that except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven (Mt 5:20).
Many today’s believers are not different from the early Jews Pharisees and scribes; they do the literal meaning of the law and live by it without obeying the spirit of the law. They are proud of themselves, boasting of how they obey and are close to God by keeping His commandments and statutes, justifying themselves, judging and condemning those who do not keep the law (those not under the law) while the truth is that they are neither with nor close to God and they are not Christians (sons of God).
This is the highest degree of hypocrisy. Mt 23:25, 27: Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you are like unto white sepulchers, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness.
Jesus had to break through the pride and stubbornness of the Pharisees and Jews by revealing to them that none of them keeps the law and they needed pardoning. He explained the law in details and its spiritual impart convicting every man and showing their need of grace and pardoning. By doing this, He also broke through the boasting and pride of today’s many ‘Pharisees and Jews’ who keep the literal meaning of the law but not obeying its spirit.
Example; many today believers are Sunday Christians who keep the literal meaning of Sabbath but not obeying the spiritual meaning of the day. They are slaves and captives of the law and yet claiming to be perfect, clean and intimate with Jesus Christ while the truth is they are lost and Jesus knows them not.
For you to know that the law demands more than the literal meaning, let us look briefly at the explanation of the Ten Commandments (in the next article).
All glory to Jesus Christ; amen.
