Faith and Law

Who doesn't know the Ten Commandments? The rules God set for us, which He gave to Moses on the mountain to show His people the way.

In response to the question, whether these laws also apply to Christians, Christians often have dividing views. Some say that they are the basis for a Christian life and we can't do without them, others say that we are exempt from the law, according to Paul, and these rules no longer apply to us! Which of the two are correct?

The answer is quite simple – both sides are correct in their own way. When we read today's scripture, we find that, we cannot be justified by the law – it is not dependent upon the law, but in that no man can accomplish it to fulfill the law in its entirety. Because if one breaks just one of these laws, one is guilty of the entire law. It is like a chain, when one cuts through one single link, the entire chain breaks.

Only through faith in the crucifixion and resurrection we can obtain grace, through which we obtain salvation. In chapter 5 of his letter to the Galatians Paul writes in verse 14: “For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.”

This love however cannot be accomplished by ourselves. Only when we experience the grace and love of God within, only when we obtain salvation through Jesus Christ, are we able to accomplish this love. And whomever is loved, will also pass this love on to others!

So, keeping the law is not the prerequisite to salvation, but the result of our salvation. Because whomever can't love others lacks this love within himself...

Because we are loved, we can also love our neighbors and do good to them. That is the freedom of which Paul writes in chapter 5:1: “Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage!”

I wish you the freedom of this love – have a blessed day

Rainer Gigerich