Law and Faith

When the Jews were rescued from Egypt under the leadership of Moses, God gave them the Law. This was much more than what we normally think of as the law. It comprised all the things that God wanted them to do to represent him as their God. This included the building of the tabernacle according to his precise instructions as a place which would symbolize his presence in their midst, detailed instructions about how they were to worship him, and, most importantly, the Ten Commandments.

The problem with the Law was that they believed that keeping these detailed instructions was all that God required of them, without seeing that the instructions were meant to point to something greater. They were like a dog who looks at your finger when you are pointing to something and not at the object you are pointing out. Over the course of time they added to these commandments in an attempt to make it clearer what to do and what to avoid. In the end, keeping the Law became a near obsession with them.

None of them was able to keep their Law. Even their own Scriptures say this. You just have to read the quotation from Psalms 14 and 53 (vv 10-18). It was never meant to make them acceptable to God. None of us, Jew or Gentile, can live a perfect life.

The Law was meant to point them to Jesus, who did live a perfect life and died for us. If we commit ourselves to Jesus, he forgives us, takes us into himself and presents us to God. God gives us the Holy Spirit to change us from the inside out. We are saved by our faith, not by keeping any code of behaviour.

Respond in Prayer

Lord Jesus, I am overwhelmed by how much I matter to you. I am overwhelmed by your love for me. I am overwhelmed that you would die for me. I love you and trust you with my whole self. Amen.

Annabel Robinson