With Jesus of Nazareth God established a new priesthood, according to the order of Melchizedek (Hebrews 7:11), and the law based upon this new priesthood is the Law of Christ (I John 2:3; 3:21-24; 4:13-21), the commandments, or simply "God's Law. In the New Testament this royal law, not the Ten Utterances given to Israel, define the Christian's duty to live by every world of God. Christians are to exercise their love to God and to humanity—love toward God and love toward neighbor (Matthew 22:36-40).
The royal law of Christianity, the Law of Christ, deals exclusively with the intent of the heart and not on physical acts as God places his very nature, character, and values into his begotten children through the indwelling of the Spirit of God. When people live by the Law of Christ, through the indwelling of God's Spirit, they never come within the reach of the Ten Utterances given to the ancient people of Israel. The Ten Utterances, based solely on tangible deeds and not the intent of the heart, were for governing carnal minds. The Law of Christ, the royal law, is for converted minds. As only Christ living in humans can in fact keep the royal law sin has literally been present in humans from Adam to the present day irrespective of the Ten Commandments.
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The apostle James officially, in a public decree, ruled that a Gentile did not have to become a Jew first in order to be a Christian (Acts 15:10, 15:20, 15:23-29). Being part of the new people of God, the Church of God, required neither Jews nor Gentiles to keep the Sinaitic Covenant, or the Law of Moses, or the Ten Utterances, or bear an external symbol binding the convert to the faith.
While many Christians agree they have a duty to observe the Law of Christ they disagree to what extent, if at all, this includes the literal language of the Ten Utterances including its Sabbath command. Some argue for only their spiritual intent, meaning their underlying spiritual policy. Others argue for both the letter and the spirit of the law. Some soften the Ten Utterances by holding that Sunday is the Christian Sabbath.
Irrespective of denominational praxis, the indwelling of the Spirit of God enables humans to comply with God's royal law, as expressed in the Ten Utterances, and to live in accord with its underlying spiritual policy of love (agape). Jesus magnified the Ten Utterances to reach their underlying spiritual intent of love toward God and love toward neighbor. Paul says the entire law, the whole Torah, is summed in a single command: "Love your neighbor as yourself" (Galatians 5:14 NIV). Consider the Apostle John's assurance:
We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love abides in death. Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer; and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him. (John 3:14-19.)
The apostle Paul states the duty of the Christian in his epistle to the Judeo-Christian congregation at Rome wherein he wrote:
Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law. For this, "YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT ADULTERY, YOU SHALL NOT MURDER, YOU SHALL NOT STEAL, YOU SHALL NOT COVET," and if there is any other commandment, it is summed up in this saying, "YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF." Love does no wrong to a neighbor; love is the fulfillment of the law. (Romans 13:8-10.)
To have the kind of love to which Paul refers is to fulfill the underlying spiritual intent of Torah. To fail to love one's neighbor by fulfilling the spiritual application of the law is sin. Paul teaches that the "fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law" (Galatians 5:22-23).
Page last edited: 02/02/06 06:31 PM
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