~
Was This Law Given For A Limited Time? ~
Scripture ~ “What
purpose then does the law serve? It was added because of transgressions, till
the Seed {Jesus Christ] should come to whom the promise was made; and it
was appointed through angels by the hand of a mediator. Now a mediator does not mediate for one only,
but God is one. Is the law then against
the promises of God? Certainly not! For if there had been a law given which could
have given life, truly righteousness would have been by the law. But the Scripture has confined all under sin,
that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe. But before faith came, we were kept under
guard by the law, kept for the faith which would afterward be revealed. Therefore the
law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by
faith. But after faith has come, we are
no longer under a tutor” (Galatians 3:19-25).
“But now He has obtained a more excellent ministry, inasmuch
as He [Jesus Christ] is also Mediator of
a better covenant, which was established on better promises. For if
that first covenant had been faultless, then no place would have been sought
for a second. Because finding fault
with them, He says: ‘Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will
make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah—not
according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took
them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they did not
continue in My covenant, and I disregarded them, says the Lord. For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those
days, says the Lord: I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their
hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. None of them shall teach his neighbor, and
none his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for all shall know Me, from the
least of them to the greatest of them. For
I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds
I will remember no more.’ In that He says,
‘A new covenant,’ He has made the first
obsolete. Now what is becoming obsolete
and growing old is ready to vanish away” (Hebrews 8:6-13).
Comments ~ Jesus
summed up the Law this way: “Jesus said
to him, ‘“You shall love the Lord your
God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.” This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” On
these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets’” (Matthew
22:37-40).
“So, when he had gone out, Jesus said, ‘Now the Son of Man
is glorified, and God is glorified in Him.
If God is glorified in Him, God will also glorify Him in Himself, and
glorify Him immediately. Little
children, I shall be with you a little while longer. You will seek Me; and as I said to the Jews, “Where
I am going, you cannot come,” so now I say to you. A new
commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that
you also love one another. By this
all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another” (John
13:31-35).
Reference ~ You
may be interested in a previous “Abundant
Life Now” 14 post series entitled “10
Commandments Today” (from March 1 to June 28, 2018). “Abundant
Life Now” also posted a 12 post series entitled “Law vs. Grace” (from January 22 to December 24, 2013). The Key Passage in this series is: “Do not
think that I [Jesus Christ] came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill”
(Matthew 5:17).
~
Robert Lloyd Russell, ABUNDANT
LIFE NOW
NOTES:
(1) The current TOP 10 ALN posts are listed at the very
bottom of this home page.
(2) There is an INDEX of all ALN posts accessed by
scrolling down the left column.
(3) You may LINK to any ALN posts on your own
blog or website.
(4) You may COPY any ALN post, but please credit ALN as the source by
prominently displaying the following statement: Reprinted from “Abundant Life Now,” a free
blog which offers inspiring moments, thought-provoking comments, and solid
Biblical insight at http://RobertLloydRussell.blogspot.com/
.