There is a lot of teaching out there that make obedience to God optional in the New Covenant. Their reason: Christ has already fulfilled the Law and, through our faith in Him, has credited to us the fulfillment of the Law.
Personally, I believe that what Christ did has indeed credited to us the fulfillment of the Old Testament Law and keeping it is no longer binding on us to sacrifice animals, keep the Sabbath and festivals, etc. The Bible says that these are but mere shadows of things to come and that the reality is found in Christ. He is the ultimate sacrifice. He is the one foreshadowed in the festivals. He is our True Sabbath Rest. He has completely obeyed the Law so that we no longer need to keep it. We can rest in His finished work.
However, does this remove any need for laws, commandments and guidelines? Not so. The New Testament talks about Christ’s Law and God’s Law. Jesus told His disciples to teach people to obey His commands.
“Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
Matthew 28:18-20
“To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law), so as to win those not having the law.”
1 Corinthians 9:21
“Thanks be to God—through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God’s law, but in the sinful nature a slave to the law of sin.”
Romans 7:25
Grace does not remove the importance of obedience. Neither does it necessitate the absence of law. It only removes the necessity of obedience as a means of justification/salvation/forgiveness. Obedience is not a requirement for acceptance into the Kingdom but an expectation because of our acceptance. As a matter of fact, it is God’s grace and love that empowers us and gives us the motivation to obey God. And it is grace that allows us to stand up again when we fail to obey. It is by grace through faith that we live our lives. It is what we focus on.
“So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.”
Colossians 2: 6-7
The same way we came into the Kingdom is the same way we continue in the Kingdom, by grace through faith. And it is what enables us to obey our Lord and King. For it is after all the Kingdom of God. What kind of Kingdom will it be if the King were not obeyed or that if obedience to Him was optional?
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Related posts:
Sinful obedience?
Living up to personal convictions
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I agree we have so much to thank for with what Jesus did as Christ. Am just sad many mislead or cunning (because you cannot read the bible and not be convicted) some religious men do to rule and persuade their flock that there is a need to maintain work to assure salvation.
How sad that the following won’t go out on a personal study to find more and meditate on the word to be freed from ignorance.
In old testament times the oral tradition takes care of communication and dessimination. In this genre we have all that we need electronic media and print but still the blind kept leading the blind and the deaf if I may add.
I guess it isn’t coincidental that that is the focus of my next blog post. I’ll put it up later. Thank you for the comment Auntie Mary Ann.