Love, Not the Law

Galatians 2:11-21

11 But when Peter came to Antioch, I had to oppose him to his face, for what he did was very wrong. 12 When he first arrived, he ate with the Gentile Christians, who were not circumcised. But afterward, when some friends of James came, Peter wouldn’t eat with the Gentiles anymore. He was afraid of criticism from these people who insisted on the necessity of circumcision. 13 As a result, other Jewish Christians followed Peter’s hypocrisy, and even Barnabas was led astray by their hypocrisy.

14 When I saw that they were not following the truth of the gospel message, I said to Peter in front of all the others, “Since you, a Jew by birth, have discarded the Jewish laws and are living like a Gentile, why are you now trying to make these Gentiles follow the Jewish traditions?

15 “You and I are Jews by birth, not ‘sinners’ like the Gentiles. 16 Yet we know that a person is made right with God by faith in Jesus Christ, not by obeying the law. And we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we might be made right with God because of our faith in Christ, not because we have obeyed the law. For no one will ever be made right with God by obeying the law.”

17 But suppose we seek to be made right with God through faith in Christ and then we are found guilty because we have abandoned the law. Would that mean Christ has led us into sin? Absolutely not! 18 Rather, I am a sinner if I rebuild the old system of law I already tore down. 19 For when I tried to keep the law, it condemned me. So I died to the law—I stopped trying to meet all its requirements—so that I might live for God. 20 My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. 21 I do not treat the grace of God as meaningless. For if keeping the law could make us right with God, then there was no need for Christ to die.

I find these verses to be very interesting. We see what the Word says all over Proverbs about correcting someone and receiving correction. I love the fact that Paul talks about how following the law brought condemnation. His life in Christ has brought true freedom from the law. When you think about what Jesus commanded us in Matthew 22:36-40:

36 “Teacher, which is the most important commandment in the law of Moses?”

37 Jesus replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.”

When you follow those words of Jesus you keep the entirety of the law without the condemnation that comes with trying to follow the letter of the law. Let's look at that in more detail. For a refresher and to make the comparison properly, here is the original 10 commandments given to Moses:

Exodus 20:3-17

3 “You must not have any other god but me.
4 “You must not make for yourself an idol of any kind or an image of anything in the heavens or on the earth or in the sea. 5 You must not bow down to them or worship them, for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God who will not tolerate your affection for any other gods. I lay the sins of the parents upon their children; the entire family is affected—even children in the third and fourth generations of those who reject me. 6 But I lavish unfailing love for a thousand generations on those who love me and obey my commands.
7 “You must not misuse the name of the Lord your God. The Lord will not let you go unpunished if you misuse his name.
8 “Remember to observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. 9 You have six days each week for your ordinary work, 10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath day of rest dedicated to the Lord your God. On that day no one in your household may do any work. This includes you, your sons and daughters, your male and female servants, your livestock, and any foreigners living among you. 11 For in six days the Lord made the heavens, the earth, the sea, and everything in them; but on the seventh day he rested. That is why the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and set it apart as holy.
12 “Honor your father and mother. Then you will live a long, full life in the land the Lord your God is giving you.
13 “You must not murder.
14 “You must not commit adultery.
15 “You must not steal.
16 “You must not testify falsely against your neighbor.
17 “You must not covet your neighbor’s house. You must not covet your neighbor’s wife, male or female servant, ox or donkey, or anything else that belongs to your neighbor.”

The following verses of Exodus 20 would be encompassed by Verse 37 from Matthew 22: Verses 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 & 11. Verses 12, 13, 14, 15, 16 & 17 would be encompassed in Verse 39. I would rather work on loving God with all my heart, soul and mind as well as loving everyone else like I love myself and knowing that I am covering all the rest of the law. If you study out just the completeness of what Jesus was commanding us in those two verses you realize that you do what the law was intended to do. The reason they couldn't understand back then was because they did not have the revelation of who Jesus was. Jesus' own words were not fully understood by those who heard them until He showed them exactly what He was talking about when He died on the cross.

Jesus I thank You that You gave us the best example to follow when it comes to showing our love for the Father and how we should show our love for others. I thank You that You gave us Your Word, which is Yourself, so that we too can come to know You more and in turn know the Father and the Holy Spirit. It is through You and You alone that we have salvation and I thank You for Your sacrifice for me. I pray that all who read this will come to the same conclusion and will become a part of Your family here on earth, and more importantly, in heaven when they die. I thank You and love You with all my heart, all my soul and all my mind. I will strive to love my neighbors as I love myself. Amen.

Numbers 6:24-26 (AMP)

The Lord bless you and watch, guard, and keep you; The Lord make His face to shine upon and enlighten you and be gracious (kind, merciful, and giving favor) to you; The Lord lift up His [approving] countenance upon you and give you peace (tranquility of heart and life continually).

Published by Erik L. Vakula
Daily Bread From the Word
Copyright © 2009 Erik Vakula, All Rights Reserved