RESOURCES — SHORT ARTICLES

 

SHORT ARTICLES BY TOM ELSEROAD
	2021-03-09	What Is The Law of Christ? (Ga.6:2)
		Gal 6:2  Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. 1Co 9:21  to those who are without law, as without law (not being without law toward God, but under law toward Christ), that I might win those who are without law. What is the law of Christ? And how is it fulfilled by carrying each other's burdens? In neither passage is the law of Christ specifically defined. However, many Bible teachers understand the law of Christ to be what Christ called the greatest commandments (Mk.12:28-31). Mar 12:28  Then one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, perceiving that He had answered them well, asked Him, "Which is the first commandment of all?" Mar 12:29  Jesus answered him, "The first of all the commandments is: 'HEAR, O ISRAEL, THE LORD OUR GOD, THE LORD IS ONE.   Mar 12:30  AND YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, WITH ALL YOUR MIND, AND WITH ALL YOUR STRENGTH.' This is the first commandment. Mar 12:31  And the second, like it, is this: 'YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.' There is no other commandment greater than these." The law of Christ is not different in nature from the law of Moses. It is an enlightenment of what the law of Moses really means to all men. The law of Christ supersedes the law of Moses, but it does not change it. It boils down the law of Moses to what Christians should follow— love God and others first. Loving God with our entire being and loving others as ourselves is the most difficult part of keeping the law of Moses. In fact, it is impossible without God doing it through us. The scribe that asked Jesus the question continued (Mk.12:32-33). Mar 12:32  So the scribe said to Him, "Well said, Teacher. You have spoken the truth, for there is one God, and there is no other but He. Mar 12:33  And to love Him with all the heart, with all the understanding, with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love one's neighbor as oneself, is more than all the whole burnt offerings and sacrifices." Jesus and the scribe agreed that those two commands are the core of the entire Old Testament Law. All the Old Testament Law can be placed in the category of “loving God” or “loving your neighbor.” Jesus fulfilled the OT Law, by bringing it to completion and fulfillment (Ro.10:4; Ga.3:23-25; Ep.2:15) In place of the OT Law, Christians are to obey the law of Christ. Instead of trying to follow the hundreds of commands, Christians are to focus on loving God and loving others. Obeying these two commands, we would be fulfilling everything that God requires of us. For the follower of Christ, the avoidance of sin is to be accomplished out of love for God and for others. Love is our motivation for life. We are to obey the law of Christ because we love Him, not so that we can check off a list of commands that we think we successfully obeyed. Pastor Tom Elseroad

 

An Evangelical Free Church of America

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